InterMat Staff

Campbell claimed its first SoCon title (Photo/Todd Drexler) CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Campbell picked up two key victories in the championship round to secure the 2017 Southern Conference championship Saturday evening inside McAlister Field House. The Camels finished Saturday's event with an overall team score of 89.5 points to claim their first SoCon Championship in team history. Appalachian State finished second with 86 points and SIUE finished third with 69.5 points. Campbell's 89.5 points is the highest team score by a champion since 2013 when Chattanooga scored 102.5 points. Joshua Heil and Quentin Perez collected first place medals at 141 and 165, respectively. Both competitors defeated their Appalachian State counterparts, which proved to be the difference maker in the team score. The Camels entered the championship round with a 2.5-point lead, 82.5-80, over the Mountaineers. Neither side added to their total through the opening three matches of the championship round until Heil's win at 141. The Brunswick, Ohio native won by a 10-2 major decision over Irvin Enriquez to extend the Campbell lead to 6.5 points. His match was the first of three Campbell championship round matches against Appalachian State. Halfway through the final round, App State's second competitor, Matt Zovistoski, picked up three points at the 149-pound final to close the gap to 3.5 points. With Campbell holding a slim 3.5-point lead, Perez rose to the occasion in his 8-4 victory over App State's Forrest Przybysz. His win increased the Campbell lead to 6.5 points and clinched the team title with four matches remaining. Six competitors reached the podium for Campbell Saturday evening. Along with the two first place finishers, the Kraisser brothers (Austin and Nathan) and Heino brothers (Jere and Ville) picked up second place finishes in their four respective weight classes. Benjamin Barton won his third place matchup, 3-1, in sudden victory at 149-pounds. Five Camels have qualified for the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo., March 16-18. Austin Kraisser also has the potential to qualify, but will have to wait until the NCAA Selection Show, March 8th at 6 p.m. The five NCAA qualifiers are the most in Campbell history. Last season, CU sent two, Nathan Kraisser and Ville Heino, to the 2016 NCAA Championships. The Camels sprinted out of the gate in Saturday's quarterfinal round as all 10 competitors won their opening match. Seven of the 10 wins were bonus point victories, including four falls. As a team, Campbell totalled 10 bonus point wins on Saturday. After the opening two rounds, Campbell had a 16-4 combined record, as six competitors qualified for the championship round. The NCAA qualifiers will now set their eyes on the NCAA Championships, March 16-18, at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. For more up-to-date information, follow Campbell Wrestling on Twitter @GoCamelsWrestle. Team standings Campbell - 89.5 Appalachian State - 86.0 SIUE - 69.5 Chattanooga - 66.0 Gardner-Webb - 37.5 The Citadel - 33.5 VMI - 9.5 Davidson - 7.0 Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers 125 - Freddie Rodriguez, SIUE 133 - Chris Debien, Chattanooga 141 - Josh Heil, Campbell 149 - Matt Zovistoski, Appalachian State 157 - Ryan Mosley, Gardner-Webb 165 - Quentin Perez, Campbell 174 - Jake Residori, SIUE 184 - Bryce Carr, Chattanooga 197 - Jake Tindle, SIUE HWT - Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State Additional NCAA allocations 125 - Nathan Kraisser, Campbell; Vito Pasone, Appalachian State 157 - Aaron Walker, The Citadel 184 - Ville Heino, Campbell; Hunter Gamble, Gardner-Webb HWT - Jere Heino, Campbell ; Jared Johnson, Chattanooga Southern Conference Coach of the Year Cary Kolat, Campbell Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler Ryan Mosley, Gardner-Webb

Grand View won its sixth straight NAIA national title TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Team Scores | Brackets) It happened again. Grand View (Iowa) rewrote the record book by winning its sixth-straight team title and set a new scoring record of 234.5 points Saturday night in the final session of the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas. The 60th annual event took place at the Kansas Expocentre for the fourth-straight season. The Vikings, which realistically locked down the team championship by the end of the first day, are the first team in NAIA Wrestling history to win six-consecutive national titles. Additionally, the Vikings are only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA). The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (six-straight (1995-2000) and nine-straight (1978-1986)), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight (1937-1949)) and NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight (1968-1974)). "This is a really tight nit group," said Grand View head coach Nick Mitchell. "Every year you have to have a close knit group - a bunch of guys that really care for each other - and I think this team had that at another level this year. These guys really looked out for each other, pushed each other. It's something that can't be overlooked." Grand View set a new team scoring standard shattered last season's mark of 210.0. The club has now either tied or set a new scoring record in three out of the last four years. Five of Grand View's six grapplers in the finals walked away as national champions, highlighted by Jacob Colon at 133 pounds. The senior from Clear Lake, Iowa, claimed a major decision (12-1) victory over No. 2 Mitch Pawlak of Indiana Tech to earn a second-straight individual title. "He (Colon) is one of those guys that's a prime example of how to do everything," said Mitchell. "Jacob does a great job in school, he does a great job off the mats and he's a huge leader for us." Grand View's three other national champions were Josh Wenger at 141 pounds, Grand Henderson at 165 pounds, Lawton Benna at 174 pounds and Evan Hansen at 197 pounds. Benna and Henderson both improved upon second-place finishes a season ago, while Wenger and Hansen were competing at the national championships for the first time. In total, the five title winners gives Grand View 29 national champions in the club's nine-year history. The Blue Raiders of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) claimed second-place honors at this year's championships. The team tallied 74.5 points and was headlined by four All-Americans, including runner-up finishes by Cam Tessari at 157 pounds and Rhodes Bell at 174 pounds. Rounding out the top five in the team standings was No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.) (64.5 points), No. 4 Williams Baptist (Ark.) (61.5 points) and No. 5 Southern Oregon (60.5 points). Southern Oregon has now finished among the top 10 in the team standings for nine-consecutive years. Montana State-Northern, which took eighth overall in the team race, was the only club besides Grand View to have more than one individual claim a national title. Brandon Weber, who was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at this year's national championships, started off the finals in exciting fashion for the Lights, as he claimed a 4-2 sudden victory win over Tessari at 157 pounds. Ben Stroh rounded out a perfect championship session for Montana State-Northern with a 6-5 victory over Chuck Sharon of Campbellsville (Ky.) at 184 pounds. The senior for Chinook, Mont., has been the model of consistency all season and was named the NWCA/NAIA Wrestler of the Year after ending the year with a 45-2 record. At 125 pounds, Troy Lakin of Menlo (Calif.) - the No. 3 seed entering the event - downed top-seeded Adrian Camposano, 15-6, en route to the Oaks' first national title since Robert Davis and Jesse Ruiz claimed the 165 pound and 285 pound banners in 2008. Menlo now has seven all-time national champions. Scottie Bonds (133 pounds) of Midland (Neb.) gave the club its second national champion. The junior pinned Walker Marshall of Grand View (Iowa) at the 6:53 mark. Lastly, Williams Baptist (Ark.) made program history when Demetrius Thomas became the school's first-ever national champion. The redshirt freshman used a near fall in the opening period to jump out to an early lead that he would never relinquish en route to a 10-2 major decision win over Ceron Francisco of Concordia (Neb.). For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Ohio State wrestling team recaptured its March magic on Saturday during the first two sessions of the 2017 Big Ten Championships and currently stands in first place with 117.0 points on the strength of six finalists. The Buckeyes won six of seven semifinals matches and are 18.5 points ahead of second-place Penn State. THE SHORT STORY Clutch performances by Myles Martin and Micah Jordan in semifinal upsets were backed up by wins from No. 1 seeds Kyle Snyder, Nathan Tomasello and Bo Jordan along with Kollin Moore's decision that pushed six Buckeyes into tomorrow's championship round. Still alive on the consolation side of the brackets are Luke Pletcher (141), Jose Rodriguez (125) and Cody Burcher (165). MARTIN/NICKAL MEET AGAIN Nearly 12 months after he beat top-seeded Bo Nickal in the 174-lb. NCAA final, Martin added another signature win to his resume when he knocked off the nation's No. 1-ranked and unbeaten top seed again on Saturday night, 6-4. Trailing 2-1, Martin throw Nickal to his back and go two points for a takedown, giving him a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period. He added a second-period takedown to make the score 5-3, escaped the start the third for a 6-4 lead and then held on from there, punching his ticket for a date with second-seeded Sammy Brooks of Iowa tomorrow afternoon. MICAH ADVANCES TO FIRST B1G FINAL The first upset of the semifinals occurred at 149 pounds as M. Jordan finished off a takedown just as time expired in the second period for the decisive points in a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed Brandon Sorensen of Iowa. The win gives Jordan his first-ever berth in the Big Ten finals. THREE NO. 1 SEEDS ADVANCE At 133 lbs., Tomasello once against had a tough match against No. 4 seed Steven Micic of Michigan, winning 6-5 with a takedown in each period. Tomasello previously edged Micic at the CKLV finals last December. B. Jordan advanced to his third straight Big Ten finals by pushing the pace against fourth-seeded Myles Amine of Michigan on his way to a 14-8 decision. Jordan scored eight of his 14 points in the final two minutes and improved to 13-1 on the season. Snyder got out to an early lead against Michael Kroells of Minnesota in the 285 lb. semifinals, scoring four takedowns in the first five minutes and winning by decision, 14-7. Just as his match was ending, Moore was the sixth Buckeye to advance to the finals as he held on for a 10-8 decision over Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker. Moore opened up a sizable lead in the third period and never looked back. BURCHER PULLS SURPRISE AT 165 Cody Burcher, who had wrestled a long list of ranked wrestlers close during the regular season, finally broke through with a signature win in the second round of the consolation bracket at 165, knocking off fifth-seeded Joey Gunther of Iowa, 6-1. Ahead 1-0 in the third, Burcher got Gunther on his back and was awarded a four-point near fall. He later tacked on riding time to complete one of the more notable upsets on Saturday. It also avenged a 3-0 loss to Gunther in the regular season dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. SESSION I STANDOUTS The Buckeyes' three No. 1 seeds - Tomasello, B. Jordan and Snyder - all received byes directly into the quarterfinals. M. Jordan, Martin and Moore picked up the pace and scored much-needed bonus points. Jordan was first, getting a 19-7 major decision over Minnesota's Carson Purinton. Martin then followed with a 20-8 major decision against Michigan State's Shwan Shadaia and Moore easily defeated Jacob Hinz of Indiana, 19-2. Those bonus points would prove vital, as the quarterfinal round saw several top seeds pushed to the limit. Pletcher and Martin picked up two of the most impressive victories of the session, toppling a pair of Nebraska Cornhuskers in the process. Pletcher, a forfeit winner in the first round, defeated No. 4-seeded Colton McCrystal for the second time in the last three weeks by getting a third period takedown and then fighting off one from McCrystal in the closing seconds. Martin, meanwhile, earned another win over 2016 NCAA finalist TJ Dudley with a wild six-point sequence in the third period that include a takedown and four-point near fall on his way to a 12-7 decision. JORDAN SURVIVES B. Jordan got a tougher-than-expected test in the quarterfinals, falling behind eighth-seeded Devin Skatzka of Indiana 7-4 after two periods. Jordan quickly escaped to start the third, got a takedown to make it 7-7 and then scored the decisive points on another takedown with inside of 1:20 remaining. He rode out the remainder of the period for a 10-8 victory. MOORE, SNYDER ROLL AT UPPER WEIGHTS The 1-2 punch of Snyder and Moore had no trouble in their quarterfinal bouts. Snyder won by technical fall for the third time in his last four Big Ten Championship matches (dating back to last season) when he used 11 takedowns and a four points nearfall to finish off a 26-9 technical fall over Rutgers' Razohnn Gross. Moments later, Moore punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 10-5 decision against Iowa's Cash Wilcke. BONUS POINTS PROVE CRITICAL After winning four matches by bonus points in the championship round, Ohio State picked up a pin and major decision in the consolation round by Jake Ryan and Cody Burcher, respectively. Ryan's fall came in just 1:37 over Northwestern's Ben Sullivan and Burcher used a takedown, four point nearfall and over 2:00 of riding time to shut out Dylan Lydy of Purdue. Those points pushed the Buckeyes within two of first-place Penn State at the end of the opening session. SESSION I/II NOTES • Ohio State wrestlers went 14-3 in the first session of the championships with six bonus point wins (three major decisions, one fall, two technical falls). • On the day, the Buckeyes won 23 of 30 matches. • The six finalists in the most the Buckeyes ever had in their Big Ten Championships history. The previous record was four in 2015. HOW IT SETS UP TOMORROW All 10 championship matches can be seen live on BTN beginning at 3 p.m. They will start at 125 lbs. and end at 285. Ohio State's finals matches are: • 133: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello vs. No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) • 149: No. 3 Micah Jordan vs. No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) • 174: No. 1 Bo Jordan vs. No. 2 Mark Hall (Penn State) • 184: No. 4 Myles Martin vs. No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) • 197: No. 2 Kollin Moore vs. No. 1 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) • 285: No. 1 Kyle Snyder vs. No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) Additionally, Pletcher will wrestle in the 141 consolation round against Ryan Diehl of Maryland in the morning session. Rodriguez will go for seventh place against Ben Thornton of Purdue; Cody Burcher wrestles in the 165 lb. seventh-place match against Johnny Sebastian and Jake Ryan goes for ninth place - and an automatic NCAA Championships bid - at 157 lbs.

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Edinboro wrestling team dominated the 42nd Annual Eastern Wrestling League Championships on Saturday at Bloomsburg University. The Fighting Scots sent nine wrestlers to the semifinals, with eight reaching the finals. A school record six wrestlers would come away with championships as Edinboro won its third EWL title in the last four years and 15th in head coach Tim Flynn's 20 years. Edinboro finished with 121.5 points to easily outdistance second-place and defending champion Rider (75 points). Lock Haven was third (71.5 points) in the seven-team field. Lock Haven's Ronnie Perry was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 141 lb. title. More importantly, seven Edinboro wrestlers accounted for the EWL's allotment of 17 automatic qualifiers and qualified for the upcoming NCAA Division I National Championships on March 16-18. "We wrestled good," related Flynn. "We qualified seven guys for Nationals. We're real happy with that. It's hard to get wins in March. We were hungry. I thought we scored points when we had to, and a couple guys two when they were down. This is nice for the kids. They like to get their pictures up on the wall. We didn't win last year." Redshirt sophomore Sean Russell (32-6), ranked ninth by InterMat, earned his second trip to Nationals after winning his second straight 125 lb. title thanks to an 11-3 major decision over Clarion's Jake Gromacki. Patricio Lugo and Billy Miller will also be going to Nationals for the second time after winning their first EWL crowns. Lugo, a sophomore, finished a dominant day with a 17-2 technical fall (6:34) over Sahid Kargbo of George Mason at 149 lbs. Ranked ninth by InterMat, Lugo improved to 30-7 while winning twice by fall along with the technical fall. Miller (31-9) had a much more arduous path to the heavyweight championship. He needed overtime in two of his three matches, winning a 7-3 decision in a tiebreaker over Thomas Haines of Lock haven in the finals. It marked the third time that Miller, ranked 12th, and Haines, ranked 11th, had met this year, with Haines winning the first two by identical 4-3 decisions. Miller trailed 3-2 after Haines escaped in the first 30 second tiebreaker, but Miller would grab a 4-3 lead just before the buzzer with a takedown. An escape and another takedown in the second 30-second session clinched the title. Three other EWL champions will be making their first trip to Nationals. Redshirt freshman Korbin Myers (29-10), ranked 20th, also needed a tiebreaker to defeat Lock Haven's DJ Fehlman by a 7-4 decision. Myers won thanks to a reversal and penalty point in the second 30-second period. With just one spot available at 174 lbs., Ty Schoffstall knew he needed to finish first to reach Nationals. The redshirt junior did just that, picking up a grueling 12-8 decision over Adam Mackie of Lock Haven. Schoffstall will take a 20-9 record to Nationalds. Freshman Dakota Geer also competed in a weight class with just one automatic qualifier, and although he probably had a trip to St. Louis locked up, he left no doubt by winning a 6-3 decision over Cleveland State's Nick Corba in the finals at 184 lbs. Geer is ranked 15th and has a 29-8 record. Austin Matthews is Edinboro's seventh national qualifier after finishing second at 165 lbs. The redshirt junior, ranked 11th with an 18-7 record, will make his third ytip to Nationals He went last year as the 157 lb. champion, and in 2014 while wrestling for Clarion. Matthews dropped a 9-5 decision to fifth-ranked Chad Walsh of Rider in a rematch of last year's 157 lb. finals which Matthews won. Chase Delande (20-16) had a chance to make it eight qualifiers with a win at 157 lbs., but the redshirt junior lost a 9-1 major decision to Rider's B.J. Clagon, ranked 18th, for the lone qualifying spot. Redshirt freshman Dylan Reynolds (14-19) finished fourth at 197 lbs. 2017 EWL CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL TEAM SCORES 1. EDINBORO -- 121.5 points 2. Rider -- 75 3. Lock Haven -- 71.5 4. Clarioin -- 48.5 5. George Mason -- 27.5 6. Cleveland State -- 21 7. Bloomsburg -- 5.5 OUTSTANDING WRESTLER -- Ronnie Perry, Lock Haven (141 lbs.) CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES 133 lbs. -- Korbin Myers (EU) dec. DJ Fehlman (LHU), 7-4 tb1 141 lbs. -- Ronnie Perry (LHU) dec. Brock Zacherl (CU), 5-3 149 lbs. -- Patricio Lugo (EU) tech. fall Sahid Kargbo (GMU), 17-2 (6:34) 165 lbs. -- Chad Walsh (RU) dec. Austin Matthews (EU), 9-5 285 lbs. -- Billy Miller (EU) dec. Thomas Haines (LHU), 7-3 tb1 125 lb. -- Sean Russell (EU) maj. dec. Jake Gromacki (CU), 11-3 157 lbs. -- B.J. Clagon (RU) maj. dec. Chase Delande (EU), 9-1 174 lbs. -- Ty Schoffstall (EU) dec. Adam Mackie (LHU), 12-8 184 lbs. -- Dakota Geer (EU) dec. Nick Corba (CSU), 6-3 197 lbs. -- Ryan Wolfe (RU) dec. Dustin Conti (CU), 9-2

Tulsa, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State Cowboys sent all 10 wrestlers to the finals during the first day of action at the Big 12 Wrestling Championship. This marks the first time in conference history any school has advanced all of their athletes to the final round of action. Oklahoma, North Dakota State and West Virginia both advanced two wrestlers, while Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming all placed one. OSU also sits atop of the team standings with a total 155.5 points. Oklahoma and South Dakota State sit in second and third with 64.5 points and 63 points, respectively. North Dakota State tallied 58.5, while Iowa State recorded 40 and West Virginia posted 37.5 points. Wyoming sits in seventh and Northern Colorado comes in eighth. Utah Valley and Air Force round out the field. The 125-pound bracket will see a matchup of top seed Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) and second-seed Nick Piccininni (OSU), while the high powered match up of No. 1 Seth Gross (SDSU) and No. 2 Kaid Brock (OSU) battle for the 133-pound title. Gross and Brock have meet once before this season, with Gross coming out on top. At the 141-pound dual, OSU's Dean Heil and Wyoming's Bryce Meredith will battle it out. One of two Bedlam matches will see Davion Jeffries (OU) tussle with the No. 1 seed, Anthony Collica (OSU), for the 149-pound title. Joe Smith (OSU) along with NDSU's Clay Ream will go at the 157 slot, while Chandler Rogers (OSU) and Dylan Cottrell (WVU) will face off at 165. Rounding out the finals, OU's Matt Reed opposes OSU's Kyle Crutchmer for the 174-pound title. Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State and Dylan Gabel of Northern Colorado will go for the 184-pound championship, as Jacob Smith (WVU) and Preston Weigel (OSU) compete for the 197 title, followed by a match between Austin Shafer (OSU) and Dustin Dennison (UVU). Sunday's morning session will be broadcast exclusively on FloSports and FloWrestling. FSN picks up the championship round in the afternoon. For live results, visit FloArena.

Cornell claimed its 11th straight EIWA title RALEIGH, N.C. -- Led by individual titles by Joey Dance, Solomon Chishko, Zach Epperly, Zack Zavatsky, Jared Haught and Ty Walz, nationally fifth-ranked Virginia Tech captured the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship Saturday night at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of NC State University in Raleigh, North Carolina before a crowd of 3,081 fans. The title for the Hokies was their third overall as they became only the second team in the last eight years to win the ACC's regular season and tournament wrestling championships in the same year. Tech's 2013 team was the last team to accomplish that feat since 2008. Virginia Tech finished with 93 points, followed by NC State (64), Pitt (54), Virginia (52.5), North Carolina (44) and Duke (24.5). The 29-point margin of victory was the highest by an ACC team since NC State captured the 2007 title by a 36-point margin. "It feels good, obviously, said Tech interim head coach Tony Robie. "The goal every year for us is to win championships and win ACC championships. I think to win the dual meet title and then win the tournament title - says a lot about our guys and our team and our program. It says a lot about our coaching staff and the direction that we're going. I think our guys have come together in the last few weeks, and they're ready to go. They know what this time of year is about. They're seasoned and they're prepared. It's just a matter of competing and going and taking what we feel like we've earned. It was a good day." "We had the hashtag going that it's all about us (#AllAboutUs)," said Dance. "I think we showed everyone that it really is all about us. Whatever happened with [Kevin] Dresser and all that stuff, we didn't let that affect us. We were ready to go here at the ACCs and we'll be ready to go at nationals. We stayed poised and focused the whole time, and the team looked good today." NC State's Kevin Jack, who captured the individual title at 141 pounds with an impressive 10-4 win over Virginia's George DiCamillo, was a unanimous choice by all six ACC coaches as the Most Valuable Wrestler of the Championship. Jack, the nation's second-ranked wrestler, improved to 29-1 for the season. "It is always fun to win such a great individual title as this weight class in this conference," said Kevin Jack. "It was extra special to compete in front of this great crowd and to win the title in Reynolds with my dad down here. The first step is over, now it's time to turn my attention to the NCAAs." "Kevin's wrestling style is so exciting to watch, he can score with the best of them," said NC State head coach Pat Popolizio. "We had such a great crowd in here to watch a great tournament. The title certainly boosts his confidence as he prepares for the NCAA Championships in a couple of weeks." The six individual titles for the Hokies were the most for a single team in the ACC Championship since the NCAA went to its present weight classifications in 1999. Pitt captured three individual titles for the first time since the Panthers have been a member of the ACC. Junior Dom Forys won at 133 pounds, followed by redshirt freshman Taleb Rahmani at 157 and finally, sophomore Te'Shan Campbell at 165. Dance, a senior from Christiansburg, Virginia, started the evening off on the right foot for Virginia Tech by winning his third straight ACC title at 125 pounds with a dramatic 3-1 sudden victory win in overtime over NC State's Sean Fausz. Chishko, a redshirt sophomore from Jeanette, Pennsylvania, then won at 149, defeating North Carolina's Troy Heilmann. The Hokies then won the final four weight classes of the evening. Junior Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Virginia) won at 174, downing North Carolina's Ethan Ramos (4-3). Then sophomore Zack Zavatsky captured the 184 title, defeating NC State's Michael Macchiavello, 3-2. Junior Jared Haught (Parkersburg, West Virginia) then won at 197, defeating UNC's Daniel Chaid (6-3). Senior Ty Walz (Cleveland, Ohio) finished the evening off, taking an 8-3 decision from Duke's Jacob Kasper at heavyweight. "This is a big statement, " "You've seen it on Twitter, the hashtags (#ItsAllAboutUs), it's all about us. That's our main focus. We're focused on all 10 of us and the guys that are behind the scenes - it's all about us and the coaches we have right now. And now we look forward to going to St. Louis in a couple of weeks." Team Scores 1. Virginia Tech, 93.0 2. NC State, 64.0 3. Pitt, 54.0 4. Virginia, 52.5 5. North Carolina, 44.0 6. Duke, 24.5 Most Valuable Wrestler: Kevin Jack, NC State Individual Results: Championship Finals 125: Joey Dance (VT) d. Sean Fausz (NCS), 3-1, SV-1 133: Dom Forys (UP) d. Jamal Morris, 5-0 141: Kevin Jack (NCS) d. George DiCamillo (UVA), 10-4 149: Solomon Chishko (VT) d. Troy Heilmann (UNC), 12-7 157: Taleb Rahmani (UP) major decision Sal Mastriani (VT), 13-5 165: Te'Shan Campbell (UP) d. Brian Hamann (NCS), 7-0 174: Zach Epperly (VT) d. Ethan Ramos (UNC), 4-3 184: Zack Zavatsky (VT) d. Michael Macchiavello (NCS), 3-2 197: Jared Haught (VT) d. Daniel Chaid (UNC), 6-3 285: Ty Walz (VT) d. Jacob Kasper (DU), 8-3 Earning automatic NCAA bids: 125: Joey Dance, Virginia Tech; Sean Fausz, NC State; Jack Mueller, Virginia. 133: Dom Forys, Pitt; Jamal Morris, NC State. 141: Kevin Jack, NC State; George DiCamillo, Virginia; Joey Ward, North Carolina. 149: Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech; Troy Heilmann, North Carolina; Sam Krivus, Virginia. 157: Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech; Teleb Rahmani, Pitt; Andrew Atkinson, Virginia; Jake Faust, Duke. 165: Te'Shan Campbell, Pitt; Brian Hamann, NC State. 174: Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech; Ethan Ramos, North Carolina; Connor Bass, Duke 184: Michael Macchiavello, NC State; Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech 197: Jared Haught, Virginia Tech; Danny Chaid, North Carolina 285: Ty Walz, Virginia Tech; Jacob Kasper, Duke; Ryan Solomon, Pitt; Cory Daniel, North Carolina; Mike Kosoy, NC State. 2017 ALL-ACC Wrestling Team Joey Dance, Virginia Tech (125) Sean Fausz, NC State (125) Dom Forys, Pitt (133) Jamal Morris, NC State (133) Kevin Jack, NC State (141) George DiCamillo, Virginia (141) Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech (149) Troy Heilmann, North Carolina (149) Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech (157) Taleb Rahmani, Pitt (157) Te'Shan Campbell, Pitt (165) Brian Hamann, NC State (165) Ethan Ramos, North Carolina (174) Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech (174) Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech (184) Michael Macchiavello, NC State (184) Jared Haught, Virginia Tech (197) Danny Chaid, North Carolina (197) Ty Walz, Virginia Tech (285) Jacob Kasper, Duke (285)

Cornell claimed its 11th straight EIWA title LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Cornell crowned four individual EIWA champions and the Big Red raised the team title for the 11th straight season when the smoke cleared on Saturday afternoon at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. Sophomore Brandon Womack (165) and seniors Dylan Palacio (157), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) each earned a spot on top of the podium. For Dean, it was the fourth straight year he won the 184-pound title, becoming the 11th wrestler overall and fifth Cornellian to take home four crowns. With the victories, the senior moves within two victories of setting the all-time Cornell record, as his 148 are two shy of Mack Lewnes. For his efforts, the Hodge Trophy candidate also came home with the Coaches Trophy for Outstanding Wrestler and the John FLetcher Memorial Trophy for most career points at EIWAs (96.5 points). Realbuto, meanwhile, won his third EIWA title and Palacio won his second straight. They join Dean in becoming the 15th, 16th and 17th four-time NCAA qualifiers in school history. For Womack, it is his first championship and NCAA appearance. Also earning spots at the national tournament were senior Mark Grey (133) and sophomore Ben Honis (197) by virtue of their third place finishes.Freshman Noah Baughman also placed third, putting him in position to earn a possible at-large bid. In addition, Jonathan Furnas placed sixth at 149 and Craig Scott was seventh at 285, both reaching the podium. Rob Koll, who continues to engineer the greatest run in conference history, was named EIWA co-Coach of the Year. MORE INFO TO COME

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets | Team Scores) Three returning champions punched tickets into the finals, while Grand View (Iowa) locked in a sixth-straight national championship and set another team scoring record Saturday in Session III action at the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas. For the second-straight year, the championship bouts will be distributed live on ESPN3, while a mat-side broadcast is also available on www.NAIANetwork.com. Wrestling starts at 7 p.m. CST. To access the ESPN3 broadcast, click here. Grand View is the first team in NAIA wrestling history to win six-consecutive national titles. Additionally, the Vikings are only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA). The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (six-straight (1995-2000) and nine-straight (1978-1986), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight (1937-1949) and NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight (1968-1974). The Vikings ended the afternoon with 211.5 team points to eclipse 2016's team total of 210.0 points. Grand View has either tied or set a new scoring record in three out of the last four years. Grand View had all 12 of its entries earn All-America honors, including six that have a chance at a national title tonight in Session IV. Jacob Colon, who is the top-seed and returning national champion at 133 pounds, has arguably been the most dominant of the Viking grapplers. The three-time All-American has three pins on the tournament, including a stick of No. 4 David Berg of Midland (Neb.) in the semifinals. Colon faces four-time All-American Mitch Pawlak of Indiana Tech in the 133-pound title match. Pawlak, who won the 125-pound championship last season, is hoping to become the first two-time national champion in program history. These two met earlier this season at the National Duals in a match that was won by Colon, 13-0. Blake Cooper (165 pounds) of Warner Pacific (Ore.) was the third returning national champion to punch a ticket into the finals. The sophomore defeated Ricky McCarty of Oklahoma City - the 2015 national champion at 165 pounds - for a shot to be a two-time title winner. Three other programs have multiple individuals in the finals - Campbellsville (Ky.) (2), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (2) and Montana State-Northern (2). Among these three schools, Montana State-Northern has gone the longest without a national champion. The Lights most recent title winner was Evan Heinbauch at 184 pounds in 2011. Dalton Bailey (197 pound) of Life (Ga.) and Demetrius Thomas (285) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) both became their program's first-ever finalist. Bailey, who is the top-seed at 197 pounds and boasts a 24-0 record on the year, downed unseeded Jeremiah Gerl of Hastings (Neb.) - the only non-seeded individual in the semifinals - 5-2. Prior to Bailey, Life had never had a wrestler finish better than fourth at the national championships. Thomas, who in addition to teammates Tyler Fraley (141 pounds) and Joshua Chiles (184 pounds) are only the fourth, fifth and sixth All-Americans in their program's young history, upset returning national champion Dean Broghammer of Grand View, 18-9. The Ferguson, Mo., native is also an All-American for the first time in his career. In the team race, Lindsey Wilson rests in second-place with 74.5 points. The Blue Raiders previous-best team finish came in 2015 when they took third place. Rounding out the top five within the team scoring are Campbellsville (64.5 points), Southern Oregon (60.5 points) and Indiana Tech (59.5 points). Perennial powerhouse program Southern Oregon pushed its NAIA record number of All-Americans to 227. Overall, the Raiders had four wrestlers place at this year's national championships, including fourth-place finishers Tyler Cowger at 149 pounds and Hunter Hodges at 157 pounds. Montana State-Northern boasts the next most all-time All-Americans with 171. For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 1 Penn State (14-0, 9-0 B1G) sits in first place after the opening session of the 2017 Big Ten Championships at Indiana University. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad will have seven individuals wrestling in tonight's semifinals. Eight Nittany Lions are still alive as Penn State looks to win its second straight, and sixth overall, Big Ten Championship. Penn State, saddled with six first round byes and an injury default, still sits atop the conference in the team race. Penn State is in first with 70.0 points, Ohio State is a close second at 68.0 and Iowa is in third with 55.5. Missing out on the chance for first round bonus points, the Nittany Lions responded with five pins in the quarterfinals and seven overall. True freshman Nick Suriano (Paramus, N.J.), the No. 2 seed at 125, stepped on the mat against Purdue's Ben Thornton for one second and then took an injury default loss. Suriano will medically forfeit out of the tournament and leaves Bloomington with a 16-3 overall record (having lost his last two matches with injury defaults). Suriano will be in the pool for an at-large bid at 125 when the NCAA announces the full field (including at-large bids) for the 2017 NCAA Championships. The announcement takes place on Wednesday, March 8, at 6 p.m. Eastern on NCAA.com. Red-shirt freshman Triston Law (Windber, Pa.) went 0-2 at 133 and did not place. Senior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 2 seed at 141, received a bye and then was upset by Michigan State's Javier Gasca in the quarterfinals. Gulibon's loss moves him into tonight's consolation action, needing one more win to secure a bid to the NCAA Championships and still holding the ability to finish as high as third. Junior Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 149, rolled through his first two opponents. Retherford picked up two pins, getting a the fall at the 6:12 mark over Purdue's Nate Limmex and then pinning Michigan State's Nick Trimble at the 4:45 mark in the quarterfinals. Retherford moves into tonight's semifinals and has secured a spot in the NCAA Championships. The pins were his 14th and 15th of the year. Sophomore Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 157, received a first round bye and then pinned Wisconsin's TJ Ruschell at the 5:58 mark to move into tonight's semifinals and earn a trip to NCAAs. The fall was Nolf's 12th of the year. Red-shirt freshman Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 165, notched an important 8-3 decision over No. 16 Joey Gunther of Iowa, picking up three takedowns, advancing to the semifinals and earning a trip to the NCAA Championships. True freshman Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), the No. 2 seed at 174, received one of Penn State's six first round byes and then made short work of Purdue's Jacob Morrissey in the quarters. Hall pinned Morrissey in just :29 to move into the semifinals and earn a trip to NCAAs. It was his 12th pin of the year. Sophomore Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), the No. 1 seed at 184, continued Penn State's quarterfinal pin parade. Nickal pinned No. 22 Hunter Ritter of Wisconsin at the 3:41 mark. The fall, Nickal's 14th of the year, moved the Texas native into the semifinals and secured a spot in the NCAA Championships. Junior Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the No. 4 seed at 197, received Penn State's sixth first round bye. He then posted a hard-fought 3-2 win over Rutgers' Matt Correnti in the quarterfinals. The win moved McCutcheon into the semifinals and punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Sophomore Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), the No. 3 seed at 285, picked up a first round fall, pinning Michigan's Dan Perry at the 4:25 mark. He then posted Penn State's sixth quarterfinal fall, pinning Brooks Black of Illinois at the 4:45 mark and advancing to the Big Ten semis. Six of Penn State's seven semifinalists have earned spots in the 2017 NCAA Wrestling Championships two weeks from now in St. Louis' Scottrade Center on March 16-18. With 285 only qualifying five automatically, Nevills needs one more win. Gulibon is still alive at 141, needing one more victory in consolation action to get a bid at 141 and can still finish as high as third. Penn State posted a 9-5 overall record and picked up 14.0 bonus point off the seven pins. Penn State will continue the event tonight with session two, set to begin at 6 p.m. Eastern session . The championship, serving as the NCAA qualifier for the conference, concludes on Sunday with 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern sessions. The Nittany Lions, now Big Ten Regular Season (dual meet) Champions and NWCA National Dual Meet Champions, are the defending Big Ten Champion and have won five of the last six Big Ten crowns. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2016-17 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. 2017 Big Ten Championships - Team Standings (top four) after Session 1: March 4, 2017 - Assembly Hall - Bloomington, Ind. 1: PENN STATE - 70.0 2: Ohio State - 68.0 3: Iowa - 55.5 4: Minnesota - 52.0

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets | Team Scores) Grand View's (Iowa) quest for a sixth-straight national title continued Friday night at Session II of the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas. The Vikings, who went 9-1 in their 10 quarterfinal matches, ended the night with 126.5 points and 12 All-Americans. If Grand View wins a sixth-consecutive national title, the Vikings will become the only NAIA program to accomplish the feat and the only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA). The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (six-straight (1995-2000) and nine-straight (1978-1986), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight (1937-1949) and NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight (1968-1974). With all 12 individuals punching through to the All-America rounds, Grand View sets a new program record for All-Americans in a single season and is the first program since Dana (Neb.) in 2006 to place all entries. Highlighting the individuals for Grand View are Jacob Colon (133 pounds), Michael Pixley (184 pounds) and Dean Broghammer (285 pounds). All three student-athletes are in the semifinals and are vying for a second-straight national championship. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) held its second-place position in the team race with 50.5 points. The Blue Raiders had four wrestlers earn All-America accolades, including three individuals in the semifinals -- Cam Tessari (157 pounds), Rhodes Bell (174 pounds) and Matt Walker (184 pounds). Southern Oregon rests in third-place with 48.5 points, while Campbellsville (Ky.) (46.5 points) and Indiana Tech (45.5 points) round out the top five. Twenty different programs have grapplers still competing for a shot at a national title, including nine individuals from Grand View. Campbellsville boasts the next most with four wrestlers, while Lindsey Wilson has the previously mentioned three. Seven different squads have two student-athletes in the semifinals. The parity among this year's championship field was on display during Session II as only three weight classes - 133 pounds, 157 pounds and 184 pounds - fell true to seeds. Jeremiah Gerl of Hastings (Neb.) was the only non-seeded wrestler to advance to the semifinal round. The junior knocked off No. 12 Eric Fan of Eastern Oregon, 9-4, to become only the third individual in Bronco wrestling history to reach the semifinals - Blake Fruchtl (141 pounds) in 2014 and Brandon Hudiburgh (197 pounds) in 2008 are the others. Hastings has never had an individual finish higher than fifth-place at the national championships. Dustin Miller of Lyon (Ark.) became the first-ever All-American in program history with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Chandler Strand of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) in the consolation bracket. The Scots are one of the relatively new programs to NAIA wrestling, as the team has only competed at the varsity level since the start of the 2014-15 season. Eastern Oregon, which resurrected a program that had been dormant since the 1970's, had its first All-American since Greg Nelson finished fifth at heavyweight in 1972 when Matthew Nguyen earned a spot in the semifinals. The junior from Vancouver, Wash., squares off against West Group rival Troy Lakin of Menlo (Calif.) in the semifinals. Nguyen is 2-0 against Lakin this season, including a 9-4 decision in the championship match of the West National Qualifier on Feb. 18. Mitch Pawlak (133 pounds) of Indiana Tech and Tyler Cowger (149 pounds) of Southern Oregon solidified themselves as two of the best wrestlers in their respective program's history, as both became four-time All-Americans today by advancing to the semifinals. Pawlak, who won the 125-pound title last year, is searching for a second-straight national championship, while Cowger is hoping for his first after finishing second a season ago. Other notable performances on the day came from Lawton Benna (174 pounds) of Grand View, Nicholas Meck (174 pounds) of York (Neb.) and Dalton Bailey (197 pounds) of Life (Ga.). A three grapplers kept their unbeaten seasons alive with wins in the quarterfinals. Either Benna or Meck is guaranteed to have their quest for a perfect year ended tomorrow, as the two are matched in one of the two 174-pound semifinals. All 10 top seeds advanced to the semifinal round. For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Cornell advanced six wrestlers to Saturday's quarterfinals and will have nine alive heading into the final day of the 2017 EIWA Championships at Bucknell's Sojka Pavilion. The Big Red enters the final day on top of the team race with 81.5 points, 12 clear of second place Lehigh, who also has six semifinalists. Still alive in the semis and looking to make finals with a win in the morning are Noah Baughman (125), Mark Grey (133), Dylan Palacio (157), Brandon Womack (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184). Cornell and Lehigh will have a pair of matchups right off the bat on Saturday, with the Big Red looking to swing upsets and tilt the race squarely in its favor. Noah Baughman, who used a third period turn to earn an 8-2 win over Binghamton's Steve Bulzomi in the quarters, will meet top-seeded and fifth-ranked Darian Cruz. A win would guarantee the freshman an invitation to the NCAA tournament, while a loss would put him on the outside looking in as the EIWA earned just two qualifiers at 125. Senior Mark Grey will also face a top-seeded Mountain Hawks and will attempt to punch his ticket to the national tournament when he meets ninth-ranked Scott Parker. He won a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Princeton's Pat D'Arcy in the quarters. Unsurprisingly, seniors Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184) will head to their final day of EIWA tournament competition knowing they are safe to make travel plans to St. Louis. Both earned dominant technical fall victories in the quarters and will face fourth-seeded service academy wrestlers on Saturday morning, with Realbuto meeting dangerous Jadean Bernstein of Navy and Dean squaring off with Army West Point's Samson Imonode. Senior Dylan Palacio and sophomore Brandon Womack will also have an opportunity to reach the finals, with Palacio having an oppoortunity to do so while looking for his second EIWA title. Palacio funked out a 5-1 win over Penn's May Bethea, while Womack earned a 3-0 decision over Navy's Drew Daniels. Both will meet opponents from Brown, with Womack facing Jon Viruet, who handed Palacio his only loss earlier this season in a wild 14-13 contest, and Palacio meeting eighth-seeded Steven Galiardo. Jonathan Furnas (149) recovered from his first round loss with consecutive wins by major decision in the back draw, while Ben Honis (197) and Craig Scott (285) bounced back from defeats in the quarters to get within one more win of the podium. Sophomore Will Koll lost twice after winning his opener on Friday morning to fall out of the competition. LEWISBURG, Pa. -- On its quest for an 11th straight EIWA title, Cornell put itself squarely in the middle of the chase with all 10 wrestlers alive after the first session on Friday afternoon at Sojka Pavilion. The Big Red holds a narrow 23-19.5 lead over Lehigh thanks to nine wrestlers advancing to the quarterfinals. Cornell dominated in the first round, going 9-1 with seven bonus wins - including five first period falls. The Big Red hit the mat four straight times from 157 until 184 with consecutive falls in a total of 1:59 - less than a full period of wrestling. The highlight was Dylan Palacio sticking his opponent in 15 seconds, the fastest fall by a Cornell wrestler in EIWA history. Brian Realbuto pinned his opponent in 24 seconds, Gabe Dean put his down in 36 seconds and Brandon Womack took all of 44 seconds. Along with Mark Grey's pin in 1:16, Cornell's bonus point attack gave the Big Red some cushion as its main rival, Lehigh, lost two wrestlers. The Big Red also earned a major decision win by Ben Honis at 197 and a technical fall victory by Will Koll at 141. Both Noah Baughman to begin the tournament and Craig Scott to end the round won regular decisions, though both came by more than a takedown. The lone loss was a late takedown that sent Jonathan Furnas into the back draw, falling 4-3 to Danny Reed of Columbia. Furnas bounced back with a major decision win over Bucknell's Seth Hogue in the consolation rounds to stay alive for the podium and a spot at NCAAs.

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets | Team Scores) Five-time defending team Article Imagechampion Grand View (Iowa) ended Session I of the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, leading the team competition with 39.5 points. Wrestling in Session II starts at approximately 6:30 p.m. CST. The 60th annual event is taking place inside the Kansas Expocentre for the fourth-straight year. Ten of Grand View's 12 qualifiers remain on the championship side of the bracket, including all three of the club's returning national champions -- Jacob Colon (133 pounds), Michael Pixley (184 pounds) and Dean Broghammer (285 pounds). Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) is currently in second place with 23.5 points, followed by third-place Indiana Tech with 23.0 points. The Blue Raiders have five individuals in the quarterfinals, headlined by top-seeded Cam Tessari at 157 pounds, while Indiana Tech has three wrestlers that still have a chance at a national title. Arguably the largest upset on the day so far came early in the morning session, as Casey Dobson of Great Falls (Mont.) downed returning national champion Victor Hughes of Baker (Kan.), 2-1, at 149 pounds. Dobson, a redshirt freshman from Great Falls, Mont., trailed 1-0 late into the third period until a takedown with less than 30 seconds left in the match decided it all. Dobson then pinned Isaiah Frank of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) to become the first Great Falls grappler on the day to punch a ticket to the quarterfinals. He next faces the No. 10 seed Jaedin Sklapsky of Campbellsville (Ky.). Sklapsky is looking to improve upon a sixth-place finish last season. Indiana Tech's Mitch Pawlak, who is a returning national champion and the No. 2 seed at 133 pounds, looked strong through his first two matches. The three-time All-American opened the tournament with a first round pin of Demarco Speller of Wayland Baptist (Texas), before sticking Colby Watters of Baker (Kan.) in the round of 16. Tyler Cowger (149 pounds) of Southern Oregon, who was the national runner-up last year, is also vying for his fourth All-America honor. The senior advanced to the quarterfinals with wins of Robert Humphrey of Indiana Tech (4-2) and Kenny Boyd of Missouri Valley (6-0). He faces the No. 12 seed Hunter Bell of Cumberlands (Ky.) tonight in the evening session. Three wrestlers kept their unbeaten streaks alive by punching tickets into the quarterfinals - Lawton Benna of Grand View (17-0), Nicholas Meck of York (Neb.) (18-0) and Dalton Bailey of Life (Ga.) (22-0). History was made for first-year programs Central Christian (Kan.) and Reinhardt (Ga.) during the opening session. Devontae Fitzgerald - the Central Christian's lone qualifier - picked up the program's first-ever victory at the national championships, downing Brandon Aragon of Jamestown (N.D.), 13-11, in the consolation bracket. Reinhardt's Tucker Russo at 157 pounds knocked off Brandon Archuleta, 10-4, in first round. The freshman from Soddy Daisy, Tenn., is the program's lone qualifier. In his second round match, Russo was pinned by No. 2 seeded Brandon Weber of Montana State-Northern. Unfortunately, his championship came to an end in the first session due to a loss 7-5 Mitch Roadruck of Indiana Tech. All 10 top-seeded grapplers advanced to the round of eight. For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.

Chris Honeycutt (Photo/Bellator) Former Fighting Scot wrestler Chris Honeycutt will not be fighting at Friday's Bellator 174, according to multiple media reports Thursday. Honeycutt, who was slated to face Kendall Grove in a middleweight (185-pound) bout at Winstar Casino in Thackerville, Okla., has been replaced by Mike Rhodes, 27, who brings a 10-4 professional record and a four-match win streak going back to April 2015. Grove, 34, is 23-16-0 overall record in his eighth fight in Bellator, in a professional career that stretches back to 2003. The reason for Honeycutt's withdrawal was not reported. The former Edinboro University Fighting Scot wrestler did not mention why he's not fighting on Friday in his Facebook or Twitter accounts, nor was there any explanation at Bellator's official website. Since launching his pro MMA career in Jan. 2013, the 28-year-old Honeycutt is 9-1-0. His only pro MMA loss was a first-round TKO at the hands of former University of Iowa wrestler Paul Bradley at Bellator 144 in Jan. 2016. As a wrestler at Pennsylvania's Edinboro University, Honeycutt was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American and runner-up at 197 pounds at the 2012 Nationals.

The brackets have been released for the 2017 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday-Sunday at Assembly Hall on the campus of Indiana University. Link: Brackets

The NCAA postseason officially began last week with the Pac-12 Championships held in Palo Alto. The conference tournament -- always held three weeks before the NCAA tournament -- was won by Arizona State who sneaked past host Stanford 127 to 122.5. The balance of NCAA Division I teams hit that mat this weekend, leaving plenty of action for fans of the sport to watch on TV and online. Wrestling has never been more accessible to the fan, which means that the more we tune in, the more positive data can be shared with decision makers at streaming providers. So … watch, it'll help the sport grow! March is an exciting time of year for our young wrestlers. For many their entire wrestling life will come down to this weekend and with most competing in the sport for more than 15 years, there is an incredible amount of pressure building for this weekend, and that of NCAAs. This pressure causes the mind of a college wrestler to exist under constant stress and leaves it incredibly delicate come championship season. From my experience most college wrestlers derive an immense amount of their self-worth from what happens on the mat. Keeping that in mind we should all be respectful of their journey and stay as positive as possible of their successes and their failures. Yes, we might be disappointed in outcomes, but this is sport and these are kids. Let us be positive … to a fault. To your questions … Stanford's Jim Wilson won three Pac-12 titles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Q: What do you make of Stanford coach Jason Borrelli's decision to not let Jim Wilson wrestle off at 174 pounds at the Pac-12 Championships? Peter Galli qualified the spot, giving the Pac-12 two spots at 174 pounds. The allocation would have been taken away had Wilson wrestled. That would have meant Wilson would have had to beat ASU's Zahid Valencia to qualify for the NCAAs, which seems unlikely, because he was not going to receive an at-large spot. -- Mike C. Foley: This is a tricky situation. Coach Borrelli is tasked with qualifying as many wrestlers as possible for the NCAA Championships to help Stanford earn All-American plaques and national championship trophies. Jim Wilson is a senior wrestler who has won three Pac-12 titles. If you take away Jim Wilson's previous successes, Borrelli's thinking is rational. Wilson had suffered a somewhat major injury from which he was only just cleared and is likely not in great condition, hadn't competed in a while, and any wrestle-off is somewhat meaningless given the familiarity of the opponent. I tend to think this was the right call, though extremely difficulty. One note is that this wouldn't have happened in the old qualification system since that one included the subjective opinions of the conference coaches looking to boost their chances at gaining future qualifiers. In that situation I could see Borrelli allowing the wrestle-off and potentially Wilson to wrestle. Heartbreaking for Jim Wilson. Wish him the best in his MMA career. Q: How good at wrestling are the assistants at the top programs? I know that they were amazing in their day, but based on your experience are they as good as the wrestlers they work with? Can Casey Cunningham really beat Jason Nolf consistently in live goes? Would you expect that Donny Pritzlaff can beat everyone under heavyweight at Rutgers? Hard for me to imagine that Terry Brands is still going live with teenagers at 48 years old. Wouldn't these guys still be competing if they were truly good enough to beat these guys in live wrestling? Any context you can share? -- Bryan R. Foley: So much to unpack here … First, the assistant coaches and other mat coaches in their 30's and 40's are NOT going full practices. Most likely they teach technique, go live in situations and maybe go 2-minute go's. This isn't to say they wouldn't be able to hang for longer, but the body doesn't hold up well to that type of abuse. Most of the coach wrestling comes from assistant coaches who are within 5-8 years of graduation. They are either still competing, or haven't felt gravity long enough for their backs, knees, hips or necks to start giving them constant pain. Those are the workhorses in the room. As for Coach Cunningham vs. Nolf, it's important to remember that Coach has seen a lot more wrestling than Nolf, which allows him the privilege of eliminating most of his inefficiencies. He's also a man and man-strength is a real thing. I know it's not wrestling, but I was just having this same conversation a few days ago regarding jiu-jitsu and my professor Marcelo Garcia. Forget what he does to me, I've seen a 35-year-old Marcelo obliterate the top .00001 of jiu-jitsu competitors. Most in the 20's, most of them training year-round and winning tournaments. How does he overcome their multitude of advantages (often including size)? He's more technical and there are no mistakes or risks in his game. One move leads to another, which leads to another and another. Every reaction changes his next decision, but can keep moving down the list. Like a great chess player, guys like Marcelo and Casey know the moves, their opponents and have seen the board way more times than any youngster. Q: Cornell's Dylan Palacio hasn't shown much this season, but he's wildly entertaining on and off the mat. What do you expect from him in the postseason? -- Mike C. Foley: Off the mat? Did I miss something? Maybe I saw something on Facebook or Instagram. I'm not sure what qualifies as a normal expectation, but I assume he'll be in the finals of the EIWA Championships and that he'll place in St. Louis. Tough to see him falling outside of the top eight, though now I'm nervous about this off-the-mat entertainment. Q: Some of the recurring topics of complaint across men's and women's wrestling: 1. 125-pound weight class seems to be too low for men and there seems to be more men between the 140-plus weight ranges in college. 2. Women's/men's wrestling needs more coverage. Would coed wrestling teams be beneficial for wrestling in the long run? We can have anywhere from 16-20 weight classes with the "low" weight classes being more of "unofficial" women's weight classes. Put more weight classes in the middle to upper weights. Some glaring things are the possibility of women "losing" weight classes. Plus the fact that there are probably not enough women competing in high school wrestling to sustain participants at all NCAA divisions, let alone JC/NAIA. I am not advocating that that women's wrestling is failing, but there are opportunities. Much like men's and women's track, where everyone competes on the same date. That is the model I am coming from with the opportunity to trail blaze a truly coed sport. -- Dan C. Foley: Love this idea! The best part is that the first-ever coed dual went down last year in NYC and was such a hit they instituted for 2017, too. There are certain hiccups with starting this program now, but with more focus turning to women's wrestling and the growth of the sport helping push administrators to offer it in more private and public schools, there is certainly hope for coed teams throughout the nation. The Olympics and world championships have days with women and men mixed together and the results have always been encouraging. You tend to hear fans explain that they had no idea women's wrestling was so different in terms of technique. More than a few also flatly admit it's more entertaining than most freestyle and Greco-Roman matches. Kevin Dresser speaks at a press conference after being introduced as ISU's coach (Photo/Iowa State Sports Information) Q: Have any current Virginia Tech wrestlers announced they are following Coach Dresser to Iowa State? Or any of the coaching staff? -- Spencer S. Foley: No Virginia Tech athletes have announced plans to transfer and it's doubtful any will since Tony Robie is a big part of the program's success. Also, the geography of the VT team and recruits would lend to them staying on the East Coast. Q: Where do you think Kevin Dresser will be this weekend? Big 12 Championships? Or ACC Championships? Where should he be? -- Mike C. Foley: He should be at the ACC Championships. He has little domain over the Iowa State program and I'm sure that he'll want to see his guys for Virginia Tech start their postseason performance. Q: What will be the biggest surprise at this weekend's conference tournaments? -- Mike C. Foley: My guy Jack "The Mauler" Mueller will take out top-seeded Joey Dance of Virginia Tech to win the ACC title! COMMENT OF THE WEEK By Jacob J. Disappointed in your assumption here regarding Texas wrestling, especially this statement: " … would have shown the world our sport's most redeemable and admirable qualities, rather than our culture's most vile and basest instinct." Texas has done a phenomenal job of promoting girls wrestling and being ahead of the curve. We have two divisions: 5A and 6A for boys and girls. Because we offer these opportunities the transgender issue became what it did. Most other states don't even offer what Texas does. UIL states that an athlete must participate with the gender given at birth. That is not an unreasonable rule. If a 215-pound boy was transitioning to a female (this will eventually happen) and wanted to compete against females…would you promote Texas to let him wrestle with 215-pound girls so they wouldn't be so VILE? I thought the UIL was actually very progressive in making an exception for the individual because the testosterone was prescribed for medical purposes. They did not ignore her medical situation and say "tough crap, that's not a medical condition. You can't be on testosterone." They made an exception and let her compete deeming the testosterone a medical necessity. They also factored in the amount of testosterone and what its medical impact would be. They deemed it minimal. I feel for the individual and my heart goes out to her situation. I don't know what it is like to be in her shoes and wish her the best of luck. When a few boos started after she won a good bunch of the crowd cheered to drown them out. And they were drowned out. A 17-year-old kid should never be booed whether I agree or not. Overall, I think your opinion is obviously your own and something you are entitled to. But it ignores all the nuances of the situation and is easy to 'arm chair quarterback.' "They should have done this or that….." It was extremely complex and I think the powers that be did their best to navigate a very complicated issue. You gave no mention to Texas girls wrestling being the force that it is, and did not acknowledge the fact that at the end of the day, they did let her compete. There was nothing vile or basest about the way Texas handled the situation.

Follow the action at the seven NCAA Division I conference tournaments taking place this weekend. . Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 - Sunday, March 5 Venue: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (Bloomington, Ind.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 - Sunday, March 5 Venue: BOK Center (Tulsa, Okla.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 - Sunday, March 5 Venue: McLeod Center (Cedar Falls, Iowa) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 Venue: McAlister Field House (Charleston, S.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 Venue: Nelson Field House (Bloomsburg, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 4 Venue: Reynolds Coliseum (Raleigh, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Friday, March 3 - Saturday, March 4 Venue: Sojka Pavilion (Lewisburg, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, February 26 Venue: Maples Pavilion (Palo Alto, Calif.) Event Website | Results

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets) The 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, official brackets have been released. Session I action inside the Kansas Expocentre starts Friday at 10 a.m. CST. The 60th annual event consists of four sessions, concluding Saturday with the championship finals at 7 p.m. Official brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee Thursday afternoon. For the second-straight season, all matches at the national championships will be streamed live. Fans can find sessions I - III on the NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com). It's recommended that fans use the interactive bracket via the live scoring system on Trackwrestling to find their specific match. The title bouts (session IV) will be distributed on ESPN3. For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.

The brackets have been released for the 2017 Big 12 Wrestling Championships. The event takes place Saturday-Sunday at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. Link: Brackets

Wyoming's Bryce Meredith earned a spot on Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling Team (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Sixty-two student-athletes have been named to the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 Wrestling Team. The team features 21 student-athletes from Conference member institutions Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, while student-athletes from the league's affiliate members in the sport -- Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming - total 41 selections. Forty-four student-athletes, including Clay Ream (North Dakota State) with a 4.00 grade point average, made the first team while 18 selections make up the second team. First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA. To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible. 2017 ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 WRESTLING TEAM FIRST TEAM (3.20-PLUS GPA; *INDICATES NOMINATED WITH A 4.00 GPA) Name, School Class Major Hometown Colston DiBlasi, Iowa State RFr. Mathematics and Pre-Business Kansas City, Mo. Gabe Moreno, Iowa State RFr. Psychology Urbandale, Iowa Carson Powell, Iowa State RFr. Kinesiology & Health Ankeny, Iowa Stone Drulman, Oklahoma Sr. English Allen, Texas Clark Glass, Oklahoma RSr. Biology Brandon, Fla. Brad Johnson, Oklahoma RSr. Arts & Sciences - Planned Programs Lockport, Ill. Ross Larson, Oklahoma RSr. Arts & Sciences - Planned Programs Ankeny, Iowa Christian Moody, Oklahoma RFr. Health and Exercise Science Collinsville, Okla. Jon Wayne Townsend, Oklahoma Sr. Human Relations Comanche, Okla. Luke Bean, Oklahoma State Sr. Master's of Business Administration Wichita, Kan. Nolan Boyd, Oklahoma State Sr. General Business Edmond, Okla. Landry Chappell, Oklahoma State Sr. Nutritional Sciences (Allied Health) Guthrie, Okla. Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State Sr. Physical Education (Teacher Education) Solon, Ohio Dean Heil, Oklahoma State Jr. Physical Education (Teacher Education) Brunswick, Ohio Jordan Rogers, Oklahoma State Sr. Nutritional Sciences (Allied Health) Spokane, Wash. Dylan Cottrell, West Virginia Sr. Communication Studies Spencer, W.Va. James Dekrone, West Virginia Sr. Multidisciplinary Studies Northport, N.Y. Ty Millward, West Virginia Jr. Management State College, Pa. Joseph Wheeling, West Virginia So. Civil Engineering Waterford, Pa. Parker Hines, Air Force Sr. Civil Engineering Ellsworth, Wisc. Dylan Hyder, Air Force Sr. Operations Research Yelm, Wash. Connor Hedash, Air Force Sr. Management Slatington, Pa. Zen Ikehara, Air Force Jr. Systems Engineering Wililani, Hawaii Anthony McHugh, Air Force Sr. Economics Lewis Center, Ohio Dylan Gabel, Northern Colorado RSo. Business: General Parker, Colo. Rico Montoya, Northern Colorado So. Human Services Las Vegas, N.M. Ben Polkowske, Northern Colorado RJr. Business: Finance Lajara, Colo. Cordell Eaton, North Dakota State RFr. Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering Long Grove, Iowa Mitch Friedman, North Dakota State RJr. Sport Management Oconto Falls, Wis. Clay Ream, North Dakota State* RJr. Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Wentzville, Mo. Ben Gillette, South Dakota State Sr. Biolgoy/Microbiology Redfield, S.D. David Kocer, South Dakota State Jr. Agriculture Science Wagner, S.D. Alex Macki, South Dakota State Jr. Wildlife and Fisheries Cambridge, Iowa Nate Rotert, South Dakota State Jr. Early Childhood Education Spearfish, S.D. Luke Zilverberg, South Dakota State Jr. Wildlife and Fisheries Belle Plaine, Minn. Kimball Bastian, Utah Valley RFr. Exercise Science & Outdoor Recreation Mapleton, Utah Grant LaMont, Utah Valley RFr. Business Management - International Business Mapleton, Utah Jarod Maynes, Utah Valley RJr. Accounting Liberty Lake, Wash. Tanner Orndorff, Utah Valley RFr. Computer Science Spokane, Wash. Bryce Meredith, Wyoming Jr. Management Cheyenne, Wyo. Tanner Miller, Wyoming Sr. Elementary Education Douglas, Wyo. Luke Paine, Wyoming Jr. Physiology Billings, Mont. Kyle Pope, Wyoming Jr. Communication Bakersfield, Calif. Brandon Tribble, Wyoming Sr. Communication Colorado Springs, Colo. SECOND TEAM (3.00-3.19 GPA) Name, School Class Major Hometown Kaid Brock, Oklahoma State RFr. Undeclared Stillwater, Okla. Jacob Smith, West Virginia RJr. Communication Studies Charleston, W.Va. Jerry McGinty, Air Force Sr. Management Colorado Springs, Colo. Anthony McLaughlin, Air Force So. Management Cleveland, Ohio Conor O'Hara, Air Force Sr. Management Farmingville, N.Y. Tyler McNutt, North Dakota State RSo. Architecture Saint Joseph, Mo. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State RSr. Sport Management Guadalupe, Calif. Timothy Box, Northern Colorado Grad English Bakersfield, Calif. Thomas Chisholm, Northern Colorado Sr. Recreation, Tourism & Hospitality Woodland Park, Colo. Tanner Davis, Northern Colorado RJr. SES: Exercise Science Spokane, Wash. Alex Kocer, South Dakota State Sr. Agricultural Business Wagner, S.D. Logan Peterson, South Dakota State So. History/Political Science Lake Lillian, Minn. Mitch Brown, Utah Valley RSo. Business Management - International Business Payson, Utah Dustin Dennison, Utah Valley RJr. Communication - Speech Communication Pleasant Grove, Utah Raider Lofthouse, Utah Valley RSo. Behavioral Science - Psychology Avon, Utah Trevor Willson, Utah Valley RSr. Communication - Public Relations Tucson, Ariz. Nate Shaw, Wyoming Sr. Public Administration Grad Program Bettendorf, Iowa Drew Templeman, Wyoming Sr. Communication Orting, Wash.

Grand View (Iowa) enters the championship looking for a sixth straight national title TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Schedule | Press Book) The 60th annual NAIA Wrestling National Article ImageChampionships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, opens action Friday at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan. The capital city of the Sunflower State hosts the national championships for the fourth-straight season. For the second-straight season, all matches at the national championships will be streamed live. Fans can find sessions I -- III on the NAIA Network (www.NAIANetwork.com) and on Trackwrestling via Trackcast. It's recommended that fans use the interactive bracket via the live scoring system on Trackwrestling to find their specific match. The title bouts (session IV) will be distributed on ESPN3. Automatic individual qualification for the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships was achieved by a top three finish at one of the six National Qualifiers. The remainder of the 240-wrestler field was filled with at-large individuals. Each of the six qualifying groups received five wildcards, which were chosen by the group's coaches at a post-qualifier meeting. The other 30 individuals were determined by a national selection committee, which consisted of two representatives from each geographic area. Up to 15 nominations from each group were considered and voted upon by the group. To learn more about the 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here. 2017 NAIA Wrestling National Championships Notes The NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, occurs March 3 - 4 at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan., for the fourth-straight year. In the 60-year history, the event has traveled to 19 states and 35 different host sites. With the 2017 championship, the capital city joins Sioux City, Iowa, as the longest consecutive host in NAIA wrestling history. Sioux City held the championship from 2005 - 2008. Prior to the 2014 championships, the event had visited the Sunflower State three times previously - 1992, 1990 and 1980 in Hays, Kan. The field consists of 240 individuals from 49 teams. Thirty-seven All-Americans from last year's event return to compete in 2017. There are six defending national champions in the field - Mitch Pawlak of Indiana Tech (133 pounds) (125-pound champion in 2016), Jacob Colon of Grand View (Iowa) (133 pounds), Victor Hughes of Baker (Kan.) (149 pounds), Blake Cooper of Warner Pacific (Ore.) (165 pounds), Michael Pixley of Grand View (184 pounds) and Dean Broghammer of Grand View (285 pounds). Pawlak and Tyler Cowger of Southern Oregon (149 pounds) are the most decorated wrestlers among the group, as both are three-time All-Americans. Both grapplers had their best performances last season, as Pawlak won the 125-pound weight class and Cowger finished second at 149 pounds. Prior to 2016, neither individual had claimed better than fifth place. Grand View (Iowa) enters the championship looking for a six-straight national title. If the Vikings claim the banner, they will become the only program in NAIA history to accomplish the feat and only the fourth program in collegiate wrestling history (NAIA, NCAA, NJCAA) to win six-consecutive titles. The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (six-straight (1995-2000) and nine-straight (1978-86)), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight (1937-1949)) and NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight (1968-1974)). Grand View, Indiana Tech and Oklahoma City all bring a full roster of 12 individuals to Topeka. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) is next with 11 wrestlers competing, followed by Bacone (Okla.), Concordia (Neb.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.), which all bring nine grapplers. There have been 19 programs to previously take home the team title. Former NAIA members Adams State (Colo.) and Central State (Okla.) each took home eight, the most in 58 years. Of the current NAIA programs, Montana State-Northern leads the way with six national championships, with the last coming in 2004. In the event's 60-year history, 115 institutions have had an individual finish atop the podium. Former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.) boasts the most individual champions with 39, while Southern Oregon is second with 36, followed by Montana State-Northern with 30. In 2016, Grand View set a new national championship record with 210 team points. The previous mark was 193 points, which was originally set by Dana (Neb.) in 2006 and tied by the Vikings in 2014. The largest margin of victory in the team race came in 2014 with Grand View (Iowa) taking top honors by 108.5 points more than second-place Great Falls' (Mont.) 84.5 points. Conversely, Lock Haven State (Pa.) edged Bloomsburg State (Pa.) by one point in 1963, 61-60, for the closest team finish. Southern Oregon and Western Montana shared the team title with 94.5 points in 1994. It is the only time the championship has been shared.

NEW YORK -- Columbia University, together with the New York City Regional Training Center, announced on Thursday, March 2 the addition of Olympic gold medalist Kendall Cross and 2016 U.S. Olympic Women's Wrestling Coach Valentin Kalika to the Regional Training Center coaching staff. The Regional Training Center (RTC) is recognized under USA Wrestling, the governing body of wrestling within the United States Olympic Committee. The facility will be opened year-round and available to USA Wrestling member athletes who meet the designated criteria. The New York City RTC will operate as a partnership between Columbia, The Edge School of Wrestling (Hoboken, NJ) and USA Wrestling, helping to serve as a satellite location for athletes striving to compete in international styles on World and Olympic teams. With Kalika and Cross at the helm, Columbia's RTC will have an unparalleled coaching pedigree. A gold medalist, Kendall Cross is a two-time Olympian who stood at the top of the podium for the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. The former three-time All-American and NCAA Champion for Oklahoma State has coached collegiately at North Carolina and Harvard before coming to New York City. "Obviously, my number one goal is to create and develop world-class wrestling opportunities in the New York City region," said Cross. "The region is laden with talent. I want these opportunities to lead young men and women to World and Olympic teams, and to build Columbia into one of the premier wrestling programs in the country. That said, I am even more excited to work individually, on a micro level, with young men and women in our sport. I'm motivated to take kids and understand their unique, individual talents and help them understand and use those talents to become wildly successful." Valentin Kalika coaching Helen Maroulis at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Valentin Kalika, a U.S. Olympic Coach this past summer at the 2016 Olympic Games, made history with Helen Maroulis, as she became the first female in the history of United States women's wrestling to win an Olympic gold medal. Additionally, Kalika is the personal coach of 2016 U.S. Olympian Elena Pirozhkova and coached 2013 Cadet World Champion Aaron Pico through 2016. He has worked as Coaches Education Coordinator for Beat the Streets Los Angeles and as a coach for the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. Kalika has led U.S. male and female wrestlers on international tours to more than a dozen different countries. He was a Ukrainian national champion and a Soviet Union University champion in Greco-Roman, before later coaching the Ukrainian Junior World Team. Kalika was a national coach and club coach in Israel for three years before moving to the United States, where he continued his coaching career in a variety of roles. He brings more than 35 years of professional coaching experience, as well as a Master's Degree in Professional Coaching and Sports Education from Kiev Sports University, to New York City. "I am proud to coach and support the New York City RTC," said Kalika. "We will offer so many opportunities and exposures for women's wrestling and international wrestling. There is nothing like this anywhere in the United States; senior level men and women, both domestic and international, training alongside one another in a collegiate setting. We are proud to build a training environment and community of athletes and coaches and partners in New York, and I could not be more proud to be here." Zach Tanelli, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling at Columbia, is excited about what the RTC will provide for the wrestling program at Columbia. "I am elated to announce the addition of Kendall and Valentin to the staff of the New York City RTC," said Tanelli. "They immediately elevate the learning environment we are working to create in our wrestling room. Their combined experience, both competitively and as coaches, rivals the best this country has to offer." "Part of my vision in coming to Columbia was to develop a highly operational Regional Training Center, expanding our dimension domestically and internationally," Tanelli continued. "Through the selflessness and passion of our alumni, as well as the support of our administration, we are able to make this happen." "New York City is the greatest city in the world and has the ability to attract not only elite high school talent, but also the highest senior level talent. I believe that a strong RTC portrays a commitment to our student-athletes, putting them in the best situation to become NCAA All-Americans and National Champions, and to earn spots on senior level teams to represent the United States at the World Championships and Olympic Games. They will accomplish this while attending an Ivy League university and receiving one of the best educations in the world." Columbia University's relationship to Olympic Wrestling runs deep. Three of the past six U.S. Team Leaders are Columbia College graduates: Andy Barth '83CC, David Barry '87CC and Kyra Tirana Barry '87CC. Their commitment to wrestling extends from the Olympic level through the collegiate level at Columbia, as well as to the local level where all three are intensely involved in bringing wrestling to under-served communities through the Beat the Streets organization.

ESPN Televises Second Round, Semifinals and Finals; ESPNU has First Round, Quarterfinals and Medal Round ESPN Streams Every Mat, Every Match for Fourth Consecutive Year; Off the Mat for Finals Jim Gibbons, Tim Johnson, and Anthony Robles Return to ESPN's TV Coverage; Billy Baldwin as Guest Analyst Unprecedented coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships features three consecutive nights of prime-time coverage on ESPN for the first time beginning Thursday, March 16. Combined with ESPNU, all six sessions will be televised and ESPN will stream every mat, every match of the championship from Scottrade Center in St. Louis providing fans with unmatched coverage of the sport's pinnacle event. ESPN's Television and Digital Coverage ESPN's prime-time coverage begins with the second round Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. ET, the first time a session from the championships' first day has been televised on ESPN (previously has aired on ESPNU). As in years past, the semifinals and finals will air on ESPN on Friday, March 17, and Saturday, March 18, respectively, beginning at 8 p.m. both nights. ESPNU will carry all the championships' earlier sessions each day, beginning with the first round on March 16 (noon), continuing with the quarterfinals on March 17 (11 a.m.) and the concluding with the medal round on March 18 (11 a.m.) Throughout the entire three days, during all six sessions, ESPN3 streams every single mat and match, allowing fans to follow any wrestler and/or school. During the finals ESPN3 will once again offer Off the Mat -- a combination of live matches, highlights and interviews with newly crowned champions (more details below). ESPN's Coverage Highlights Television coverage will often show multiple mats at one time with a scroll of both individual results and team standings continuously updating fans in real time: ESPN's scroll will let fans know which matchups are coming up next on specific mats: On ESPN3, fans will be provided a menu of current matches, allowing them to choose which one to watch: For computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat, simultaneous viewing allowing fans to watch up to four different mats at one time or substitute a video quadrant for real-time standings: Team standing will keep fans up-to-date in real time; standing page will be an option on ESPN3 Additional Coverage Highlights ESPN3 will have announcers stationed at each mat providing commentary for each specific feed to further enhance the streaming experience. ESPN will utilize still photography throughout the telecasts, capturing the event in a unique way. A look back at a full gallery from last year's event. Fans can follow the action on Twitter through @NCAAWrestling and join the conversation by tagging their tweets #NCAAWrestling Off the Mat - ESPN3 Special During Finals: ESPN3's Off the Mat during the Championship Finals (March 18 at 8 p.m.) will feature two of college wrestling's most decorated athletes - Jim Gibbons and Lee Kemp. The duo will provide viewers a unique perspective of the sport's ultimate finale, along with Kenney who will host. Billy Baldwin will also join the coverage. While also bringing viewers live action, the analysts -- unrestricted by television parameters -- will discuss each match from a tactical and mental standpoint, describing the wrestlers' thought process before, during, and after a finals match. Off the Mat will go behind the scenes, show medal ceremonies and feature an array of guests throughout the night, including newly crowned NCAA National Champions and their coaches. ESPN Analysts: Tim Johnson: The "voice of college wrestling" returns once again to ESPN's coverage, having been a part of it for more than a decade. Named the 2007 broadcaster of the year by the National Wrestling Media Association. His broadcasting and leadership roles in the sport of wrestling span more than 30 years, including being the director of wrestling for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 1984. Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as the recipient of the prestigious Order of Merit award honoring a lifetime of contributions to the sport of wrestling. Anthony Robles: Now in his sixth year as an ESPN analyst, the Arizona State graduate is a three-time All-American and a 2011 NCAA National Champion. Jim Gibbons: Gibbons is a former NCAA Wrestling Coach of the Year, three-time All-American, two-time Big Eight winner at Iowa State and later won an NCAA National Championship as the Cyclones head coach. He was inducted in the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. Lee Kemp: Won three NCAA National Championships as a wrestler at Wisconsin and three gold medals in the World Championships. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1990. Billy Baldwin: A former standout wrestler at Binghamton University turned actor, Baldwin will be a guest analyst throughout the three days for the second straight year. He was a leader in keeping the sport in the Olympic Games having joined USA Wrestling's Committee to Preserve Olympic Wrestling. Mike Couzens will call the action at the wrestling championships for the first time, handling all the prime-time sessions. The experienced ESPN commentator will be adding to his impressive resume, as he already calls numerous college football and basketball games. Shawn Kenney returns to the coverage and will handle the play-by-play for the earlier rounds each day. Quint Kessenich will be the reporter on the telecasts. For more information on the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships: http://www.ncaa.com/wrestling. Please Note: WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN and ESPN app will have links for individual mat feeds throughout the Championship Pictures used in this release are mock-ups and use fictitious names; they are not supposed to be factually accurate.

Seven of the eight NCAA Division I conference tournaments will take place this weekend. The lone Division I conference not competing this weekend is the Pac-12 Conference, which held its conference tournament on Sunday. Twenty-one wrestlers in the Pac-12 earned automatic berths to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. This weekend 260 automatic berths will be up for grabs. Next week the final 49 spots qualifiers will be announced as at-large selections. Conference tournament weekend kicks off with the EIWA Championships on Friday at Bucknell University. The other six conference tournament this weekend will open on Saturday. Three conference tournaments conclude on Sunday: Big Ten, Big 12 and MAC. This weekend's action will not only help set the field for the NCAAs, but also have major implications on seeding in St. Louis. There are many anticipated matchups this weekend. Some will materialize, while others will not. Here are my most anticipated matchups in each conference. Big Ten: No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Mark Hall (Penn State) at 174 Jordan and Hall will be the top two seeds at 174 pounds, and many are anticipating a finals showdown between the two on Sunday afternoon. Jordan, a two-time All-American, has been hampered by an injury all season. He saw limited action through the first few months of the season, wrestling only seven matches through December. On Jan. 27, Jordan faced Iowa's Alex Meyer -- his first ranked opponent this season -- and came away with a 3-2 win. He followed up that narrow victory with two wins before dropping a close match to Cornell's Brian Realbuto, which dropped him two spots in the rankings to No. 3. Hall, the nation's No. 1 recruit last year, was pulled out of redshirt after winning Southern Scuffle title. He took an early season loss and dropped his first match in the PSU lineup to Iowa's Alex Meyer at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but otherwise has been dominating his competition and seems to be peaking at the right time. Hall, a Cadet and Junior world champion, comes into the Big Ten Championships with a 24-2 record, and has wins over the nation's No. 6, No. 9, No. 11, No. 13 and No. 15 wrestlers. OSU's Kaid Brock will look to avenge his only loss of the season to SDSU's Seth Gross (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) Big 12: No. 2 Seth Gross (South Dakota State) vs. No. 3 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) at 133 Gross and Brock have established themselves as NCAA title contenders at 133 pounds. Both are extremely technical, tactical and can scramble well. Both have just have a single blemish on their records. Gross is 27-1, with his lone coming to Nebraska's Eric Montoya in overtime at the Midlands Championships. Brock enters the Big 12 Championships with a 23-1 mark, with the one loss coming to Gross. In the first meeting between these two on Jan. 22 in Stillwater, Brock came out strong, getting a takedown off a body lock in the first minute of the match. Gross battled back, picking up an escape and takedown off a scramble to lead 3-2 after the first period. Gross rode Brock the entire second period. In the third period, Gross escaped to take a 4-2 lead. Brock, though, would score a takedown with a minute remaining, which made the score 4-4. However, an escape by Gross and riding time point would give the SDSU wrestler the 6-4 victory. EIWA: No. 4 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) vs. No. 7 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) at 157 Kutler will enter the EIWA Championships as the top seed at 157 pounds, while Palacio is expected to get the No. 4 seed. That will set up a potential semifinal showdown on Saturday morning. Kutler, a redshirt freshman, has wrestled only 14 matches this season, but his body of work has been impressive. He has a 13-1 record, which includes victories over No. 5 Joey LaVallee of Missouri and No. 6 Joe Smith of Oklahoma State. Palacio, a returning All-American, has also seen limited action this season. He was not enrolled at Cornell during the first semester. When Palacio returned to Cornell in January he was competing at 165 pounds. He took an unexpected loss at 165 pounds to Brown's Jonathan Viruet. Palacio moved down to 157 pounds for the NWCA Division I National Duals against Ohio State and picked up a major decision against Anthony DeCarlo. UNI's Max Thomsen beat Missouri's Lavion Mayes on Feb. 12, but the two have split this season (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com) MAC: No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 7 Max Thomsen (Northern Iowa) at 149 If this matchup happens, it will likely be in the finals on Sunday afternoon. Mayes, a two-time All-American, will enter the tournament as the top seed. The semifinal matchup on the bottom side of the bracket will likely pit Thomsen against Central Michigan's Justin Oliver, a returning All-American. Oliver defeated Thomsen 4-1 on Jan. 15. If a Mayes-Thomsen matchup does materialize on Sunday, it will be the third meeting between the two wrestlers this season. Mayes beat Thomsen 4-2 in the first meeting, which took place at the Southern Scuffle in the semifinals. The two met again on Feb. 12 in Cedar Falls, and Thomsen cruised to a 9-2 victory. ACC: No. 4 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 5 Jacob Kasper (Duke) at 285 Walz and Kasper are both top five heavyweights with similar records. Walz is 20-2, while Kasper is 26-2. The two met on Jan. 29, and Kasper pulled away in the third period for a convincing -- and stunning -- 12-5 victory. Kasper has since taken a loss to Pitt's Ryan Solomon, a wrestler he will likely see again this weekend in semifinals on Saturday afternoon. If one of the top two seeds -- Walz or Kasper -- wins the ACC title, he could earn a top three seed at the NCAAs in St. Louis, which would more than likely land that wrestler on the opposite side of the bracket of Olympic champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State. EWL: No. 11 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) vs. No. 12 Billy Miller (Edinboro) at 285 Haines and Miller will be the top two seeds in the EWL heavyweight bracket, and both are likely to be seeded at the NCAAs in St. Louis. If the seeds hold and the two meet in the finals, it will mark the third meeting between the two wrestlers this season. Haines, a transfer from Ohio State, has won both meetings by the same score, 4-3. The Lock Haven heavyweight enters the tournament with a 29-4 mark, and has lost just twice since Nov. 27. Miller comes into the EWL tournament having won 11 of his last 12 matches. SoCon: No. 9 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) vs. No. 10 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) at 285 These two SoCon big men know each other very well. Last season they met three times, with Dejournette coming out on top in all three matches, including the finals of the SoCon Championships. Two of those three matches were two-point victories for Dejournette, while the other was a six-point win. This season they have met just once, on Feb. 5, with Dejournette winning 10-4. The Appalachian State heavyweight was recently named SoCon Wrestler of the Year, and comes into the tournament with a record of 23-5. Johnson takes a 23-6 record into the postseason.

State championship wrestling takes a turn towards the elite this weekend with medals being decided in the mega-power states of California and New Jersey, both of which also have single classifications. That is to say there is only one division, all the wrestlers in the state compete under one singular umbrella. Other state tournaments this weekend are in Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, and the New England regional. Highlighting the weekend of championships across those seven states are 13 weight classes in which multiple nationally ranked wrestlers contend for a single gold medal. Furthermore, there are three weight classes in which four wrestlers are nationally ranked and another weights in which three wrestlers are ranked nationally. Justin Mejia celebrates after winning the Doc Buchanan Invitational title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) California: 126 pounds The featured narrative of the upcoming weekend has to be the journey of No. 3 Justin Mejia (Clovis) towards a fourth state title. Should he be successful, Mejia would expand the club of four-time state champions in the Golden State from just one -- Darrell Vaquez (Bakersfield) from 1999 through 2002 -- to two. Just this past weekend in the Central Section masters tournament, Mejia had to survive a pair of narrow victories against nationally ranked opposition: a 4-3 semifinal victory in the ultimate tiebreaker against No. 9 Isaiah Perez (Dinbua), and a 3-2 finals victory over No. 19 Robert Garcia IV (Selma). Keep in mind, there are no guarantees for three-time California state champions seeking a fourth title. Just look back to five years ago when Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) used a five-point move in the last 15 seconds of the bout to deny Alex Cisneros (Selma) a fourth state title, Cisneros was up 3-0 prior to the sequence. A fourth nationally ranked wrestler is also in this field, returning state runner-up Jaden Abas (Rancho Bernardo), who is positioned No. 18 nationally. At the state tournament last year, while competing at 120 pounds, Mejia beat Abas for the title with Garcia beating Perez in the consolation final. Based on the draw, Mejia is looking at a quarterfinal against three-time state placer Isaiah Palomino (Bellarmine Prep). The other quarter of the top half places Abas against two-time state placer Chase Zollmann (Poway) in a rematch of the San Diego masters final from the past weekend. Garcia is in the third quarter of the draw, where a quarterfinal against returning state placer Adam Velasquez (Pittman) is forecasted; however Palacio would have to clear the winner of an opening round bout between Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel) and returning state placer Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield) to reach that point. On the surface, it appears that Perez down in the bottom quarter has the most manageable path to the semifinal round. New Jersey: 152 pounds This is one of two showdowns between returning state champions within the Garden state. No. 6 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) won gold in this weight class last year and was second the weight below in 2015; while No. 7 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic) is a two-time state champion, last year at 138 pounds, and at 132 as a freshman in 2015. The third ranked wrestler is No. 18 Michael O'Malley (Hasbrouck Heights), runner-up last year at 145 and fifth as a freshman at 138 in 2015. Glasgow is the top seed, entering the tournament with a 31-1 record, that loss coming 2-1 to No. 2 Cameron Coy (Penn-Trafford) in the ultimate tiebreaker during the Powerade final. In that same tournament, he beat Griffith 3-2 in the semifinal round. Griffith enters as the second seed with a 32-2 record, also splitting matches this season against No. 13 Julian Ramirez (Blair Academy, N.J.), along with a 3-0 record against the third seeded O'Malley, who is 33-3 on the season. O'Malley is looking at a quarterfinal bout against returning state placer Avery DiNardi (Holy Cross), while it would come as a major shock if Griffith does not advance to a semifinal showdown with O'Malley. Glasgow has the clearer path to the final, with the most likely semifinal coming against a returning state qualifier, in either Dillon Taylor (St. Augustine Prep) or Robert Kanniard (Wall Township). New Jersey: 160 pounds The other showdown of returning state champions comes at 160 pounds, where three-time state placer Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook) is the top seed over two-time state placer Kyle Cochran (Paramus). Lewis is undefeated on the season, while Cochran is 36-1 losing just to No. 4 Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.) 1-0 in the tiebreakers during the Beast of the East semifinal. Cochran enters the tournament ranked higher nationally at No. 5, as he was champion of the preseason Super 32 Challenge; while Lewis is No. 8 as he crashed down to sixth in that tournament after suffering an upset defeat in the semifinal. Also in this weight class is No. 19 Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), who qualified for state but missed out on placement last year as a freshman at 132 pounds. He did place fifth in the preseason Super 32 Challenge, but is seeded sixth with a 31-6 season record; the losses came at the Beast as he split against Jared Lough (Colonial Forge, Va.), the Powerade where he split against Trevell Timmons (Lockport, Ill.), in a dual meet against No. 10 Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.), and then an 0-3 record against Cochran. Lewis is looking at a semifinal against either returning state placer Michael Petite (Piscataway) or 2015 state placer Jake Maxwell (Buena Regional). The third seed in this weight is returning state runner-up A.J. Meyers (Toms River East), who lost to Matthew Garrity (Lacey Township) -- the eighth seed -- in this past weekend's regional tournament. Meyers draws Foca in the quarterfinal, while Griffith has a path from which he should reach the semifinal round. Minnesota: 145 pounds (AAA) Another weight class where there is a pair of state champions, as it's a collision between No. 12 Peyton Robb (Owatonna) and No. 13 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee). Robb is the undefeated top seed at 33-0, including a 4-3 at the time upset victory over Lloyd in the final of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in mid-December; Robb is up four weight classes from last year. The second seed Lloyd won state in this weight class last year, while placing third at 120 pounds as an eighth grader in 2014; he is 39-1 on the season, having competed at 152 most of the time before dropping back down for the sectional tournament. There is a quarterfinal showdown between two-time placers Tyler Shilson (Centennial) and Nate Larson (Apple Valley) for the right to most likely face Lloyd in the bottom half semifinal; Shilson was second at state last year in the 138 pound weight class, while Larson was fourth at 113. A rematch of last year's consolation final at 138 pounds is likely in the quarterfinals in order to see who is likely to face Robb in the top semifinal, that match placers Teddy Pierce (St. Francis) against Austin Braun (Woodbury). Both Robb and Lloyd are Class of 2018 verbal commits to South Dakota State. New Jersey: 106 pounds Four nationally ranked wrestlers populate the opening weight class in the Garden State entering the state tournament. The lead in that group is returning state placer Dante Mininno (Gateway-Woodbury), who is undefeated on the season and the top seed, ranked No. 6 nationally. Two of the other three ranked wrestlers are in his half of the draw, No. 14 Dylan Cedeno (Fair Lawn) and No. 20 Sammy Alvarez (St. Joseph Montvale), who are the fifth and fourth seeds respectively. Cedeno's only loss of the season came in the region semifinal against Nicholas Denora (Passaic Valley), who is the eighth seed. Denora, who was then upset by seventh seed Nick Kayal (Bergen Catholic) in the region final, draws a round of 16 match against Cadet National double All-American Justin Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep); the winner of which hits Mininno. Returning state qualifier Alvarez has just one loss on the season, that coming against No. 2 Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.) by a 5-1 score in the Escape the Rock final. No. 11 Anthony Clark (Delbarton) is the lone ranked wrestler in the bottom half of the draw, though he is the sixth seed coming. He would most likely have to face third seed Chase Mullarkey (Holy Cross) in the quarterfinal round, who was undefeated up until losing in the region final. The second seed is the undefeated Hunter Gutierrez (Lacey Township), who beat Mullarkey in the region final, while Kayal is the seven seed. California: 106 pounds It is tradition that the Golden State is extremely strong in the lightest weight classes, and this year is no exception. Four nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this opening weight class, led by a pair of returning state placers in No. 3 Antonio Lorenzo (Del Oro) and No. 12 Eddie Flores (Northview); Lorenzo placed seventh last year and was champion of the preseason Super 32 Challenge, while Flores took sixth at state. Flores also won the Southern Section masters title with a 7-2 win over No. 16 Jonathan Prata (Downey), who had beaten No. 17 Aaron Nagao (Esperanza) 8-4 in the semifinal. Flores is the top seed, and well positioned to make the semifinal. Nagao is the other ranked wrestler in his half of the draw, though a tough quarterfinal bout looms against Cole Reyes (Bakersfield Frontier), who was ranked nationally at some point earlier this season. Prata is looking at a quarterfinal date against Jacob Allen (Poway), who was a quarterfinalist last year in this state tournament weight class; while Lorenzo is looking at a battle against the talented freshman Giano Petrucelli (Clovis) in the quarterfinal round. California: 113 pounds The second weight class, which feels the after-effect of the opening weight class from the previous year, is also most excellent this year in California. In last year's 106 pound state final, it was Matthew Olguin (Buchanan) coming through with an (at the time) upset victory over Nico Aguilar (Gilroy), who would go on to win a Junior National freestyle title in the summer. The sophomore Olguin enters state ranked No. 2 nationally, Aguilar is ranked No. 15, while freshman phenom Jesse Vasquez (St. John Bosco) is ranked No. 5 in the country at this weight class. A nasty semifinal bout looms in the top half-bracket as Olguin and Aguilar are in that half of the draw. It would come as a shock if either did not reach that point. Vasquez is in the bottom half of the draw, and has a straight-forward road to a semifinal date with freshman Devin Murphy (Clovis North), presuming Murphy clears Brandon Paulson (Clovis) in a likely quarterfinal. Murphy did upset Aguilar 5-3 at the Doc Buchanan in early January. New Jersey: 113 pounds The Garden State also has a stellar second weight class this season, as it's a trio of ranked wrestlers present, all also within the top ten nationally. The top seed in this weight class is No. 9 Antonio Mininno (Gateway-Woodbury), a returning state qualifier in this weight class that placed fourth in the preseason Super 32 Challenge; he has an in-season win against returning state champion Joe Manchio (Seneca), while the lone blemish on a 37-1 record came up a weight class. Mininno is looking at a quarterfinal against a fellow undefeated wrestler, and also returning state qualifier, in Mitchell Polito (East Brunswick). The winner of that bout is the likely finalist. Ranked No. 10 nationally, Manchio is the second seed in this weight class, but with an absolutely brutal path. It starts with a likely round of 16 bout against returning state qualifier Kyle Kaiser (Paramus). The other round of 16 match in that quarter places returning state qualifier Victor Lopez (West Orange) against No. 4 in the country Robert Howard (Bergen Catholic), who is (bafflingly) the tenth seed; Howard has two losses on the season, one was an upset pin against No. 6 Gabe Tagg (Brecksville, Ohio) in the Beast semifinal and the other was in overtime up a weight class. The other quarter of the bottom half features 2015 state placer Richie Koehler (Christian Brothers Academy) and 35-1 sophomore Mark Montgomery (Roselle Park). Yet another extraordinarily lopsided draw. California: 145 pounds A rematch of last year's 138 pound state final looms here with No. 2 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) and No. 17 Jacob Wright (Dinuba) dominating the class. Demison, who also was runner-up at state as a sophomore and third as a freshman, beat Wright in the Central section masters final this past weekend. The pair of wrestlers are in opposite half-brackets at the state tournament. Demison is looking at a likely state semifinal bout against two-time state placer Zander Silva (Alta Loma), while Wright is likely to face returning state placer Peyton Omania (De La Salle). Minnesota: 138 pounds (Class AAA) Jakob Bergeland (Centennial) had a pair of unexpected milestone tournaments in the 2016 calendar year, his state title at 132 pounds and the runner-up finish at the Super 32 Challenge in October. He enters the state tournament as the second seed and ranked No. 17 nationally. The top seed in this weight class is two-time state runner-up Tyler Eischens (Anoka), who is undefeated with a 42-0 record. Ranked No. 8 nationally, Eischens had a huge two week stretch in December where he beat Bergeland 4-2 in the Minnesota Christmas Tournament final and then upset No. 3 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.) 11-4 on the first day of The Clash National Duals. It would come as a shock if this pair did not meet for state gold on Saturday night. New Jersey: 126 pounds The top seed in this weight class is No. 6 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park), a two-time Cadet National double champion who ran a total gauntlet to finish runner-up at last year's state tournament. His path to last year's final included three wins over wrestlers that joined him on the podium, including a pair that were also in the 2015 state finals (Ghione and Angelo). Within his half-bracket, there is just one other returning state placer, that would be fifth seed Daniel Percelay (DePaul Catholic). The second seed is No. 16 Shane Metzler (West Morris Central), a two-time state placer who lost 10-5 in overtime and 5-2 the last two weeks to Raimo in the district and region finals. The other returning state placer in his half-bracket is the third seed, two-time state medalist Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic). It would be a significant surprise if Raimo and Metzler did not meet for a third straight weekend in the championship bout. Michigan: 189 pounds (Division I) Mercifully the pair of nationally ranked wrestlers are placed in opposite half-brackets. No. 18 Ryan Vasbinder (Grandville) is in the upper half, with No. 19 Brenden McRill (Davison) in the bottom half. A two-time state placer, Vasbinder finished third in the Super 32 Challenge up at 220 pounds; while McRill is a three-time state placer, including last year's state title. The pair of wrestlers met head-on in the semifinals at the Detroit Catholic Central Invitational in early January, Vasbinder winning on that occasion 3-2. Vasbinder did lose in the final, 3-2 to No. 3 (at 182) Jelani Embree (Warren Lincoln, Mich.); while McRill has an additional in-season loss, suffering a 3-0 defeat against No. 9 (at 195) Brandon Whitman (Dundee, Mich.) the following weekend. McRill is likely to face returning state placer Dylan Powers (Saline) in the semifinal, while Vasbinder is looking at returning state placer Andrew Spisz (Hartland). New Jersey: 170 pounds The pair of nationally ranked wrestlers is in opposite half-brackets. Two-time state placer Dominick Mandarino (Don Bosco Prep), ranked No. 18 nationally and third last year at 152 pounds, is the top seed. Ranked No. 9 nationally is Bryan McLaughlin (Woodbridge), who placed fourth last year at 160 pounds and was fourth in the Super 32 Challenge this pre-season. He is the third seed in this weight class, with his only loss on the season coming by fall to No. 2 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) in the Beast semifinal. The likely semifinal opponent for Mandarino will be one of two returning state qualifiers, either Vince Concina (Cranford) or Aidan Monteverdi (Seton Hall Prep); Monteverdi beat Concina in the region semi last week before losing to McLaughlin in the final. That of course presumes Monteverdi clears undefeated freshman Shane Reitsma (Howell) in the round of 16. McLaughlin has a straight-forward path to the semifinal against most likely returning state placer Bill Janzer (Delsea Regional), who beat beat McLaughlin in last year's consolation final at 160 pounds. Janzer is 39-2 on the season, and is looking at a quarterfinal against 40-1 region champion Joey Schiele (Morris Hills).

Darian Cruz is one of four Lehigh wrestlers pre-seeded No. 1 (Photo/Juan Garcia) The consensus pre-seeds for the 2017 EIWA Tournament are shown below. All vote recipients are shown; seeding goes 8 deep unless coaches decide otherwise. Lehigh has the most No. 1 pre-seeds with four: Darian Cruz (125), Scott Parker (133), Laike Gardner (149) and Jordan Kutler (157). Defending champion Cornell has three No. 1 pre-seeds: Brandon Womack (165), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184). The other No. 1 pre-seeds are Matt Kolodzik of Princeton (141), Tom Sleigh of Bucknell (197) and Joseph Goodhart of Drexel (285). Rank Wrestler, School Points 125: 1. Darian Cruz, Lehigh 112 2. Josh Terao, American 98 3. Tanner Shoap, Drexel 77 4. Noah Baughman, Cornell 76 5. Steven Bulzomi, Binghamton 58 6. Trey Chalifoux, Army West Point 42 7. Johnson Mai, Columbia 24 8. Jordan Gessner, Bucknell 14 9. Trey Keeley, Brown 3 133: 1. Scott Parker, Lehigh 112 2. Esteban Gomez-Rivera, American 92 3. Kevin Devoy, Drexel 87 4. Mark Grey, Cornell 68 5. Pat D'Arcy, Princeton 62 6. Austin Harry, Army 38 7. Jeffrey Ott, Harvard 18 8. Joey Gould, Bucknell 11 9. James Pawelski, Brown 6 9. Dan Martoccio, F&M 6 141: 1. Matt Kolodzik, Princeton 112 2. Randy Cruz, Lehigh 94 3. Tyler Smith, Bucknell 86 4. Jared Prince, Navy 72 5. Logan Everett, Army West Point 56 6. AJ Jaffe, Harvard 42 7. Will Koll, Cornell 25 8. Jacob Macalolooy, Columbia 11 9. Dylan Caruana, Binghamton 9 10. David Pearce, Drexel 1 149: 1. Laike Gardner, Lehigh 112 2. Jordan Laster, Princeton 95 3. Matt Cimato, Drexel 87 4. Jonathan Furnas, Cornell 64 5. Hunter Ladnier, Harvard 54 6. Joe Oliva, Pennsylvania 44 7. Parker Kropman, Binghamton 24 8. Michael Sprague, American 17.5 9. Corey Wilding, Navy 4 157: 1. Jordan Kutler, Lehigh 112 2. Russell Parsons, Army West Point 88 3. Victor Lopez, Bucknell 80 4. Dylan Palacio, Cornell 75 5. May Bethea, Pennsylvania 65 6. Mike D'Angelo, Princeton 42 7. Tom Page, American 14 8. Steven Galiardo, Brown 12 9. Laurence Kosoy, Columbia 11 10. Tristan Rifanburg, Binghamton 2 165: 1. Brandon Womack, Cornell 112 2. Cole Walter, Lehigh 98 3. Tyrel White, Columbia 81 4. Jonathan Viruet, Brown 71 5. Austin Rose, Drexel 51 6. Andrew Mendel, Army West Point 37 7. Brooks Martino, Pennsylvania 23 8. Drew Daniels, Navy 21 9. Rob King, F&M 5 174: 1. Brian Realburo, Cornell 112 2. Ryan Preisch, Lehigh 98 3. Casey Kent, Penn 83 4. Jadaen Bernstein, Navy 70 5. Josef Johnson, Harvard 53 6. Jon Schleifer, Princeton 46 7. Ben Harvey, Army West Point 22 8. Sage Heller, Hofstra 14 9. Ebed Jarrell, Drexel 3 10. DJ Hollingshead, Bucknell 1   184: 1. Gabe Dean, Cornell 112 2. Steven Schneider, Binghamton 98 3. Michael Coleman, Navy 76 4. Samson Imonode, Army West Point 67 5. Alex DeCiantis, Drexel 51 6. Christian LaFragola, Brown 32 7. Garrett Hoffman, Bucknell 31 8. Joe Heyob, Penn 28 9. Kyle Gentile, Lehigh 7 10. Anthony Mancini, F&M 1 197: 1. Tom Sleigh, Bucknell 109 2. Brett Harner, Princeton 101 3. Frank Mattiace, Penn 84 4. Steban Cervantes, Navy 65 5. Ben Honis, Cornell 61 6. Ben Haas, Lehigh 31 7. Jeric Kasunic, American 30 8. Mark Tracy, Binghamton 11 9. Joshua Murphy, Drexel 6 10. Rocco Caywood, Army West Point 4 285: 1. Joseph Goodhart, Drexel 101 2. Doug Vollaro, Lehigh 97 3. Garrett Ryan, Columbia 88 4. Ray O'Donnell, Princeton 77 5. Tyler Greene, Bucknell 45 6. Craig Scott, Cornell 38 7. Connor Calkins, Binghamton 36 8. Ian Butterbrodt, Brown 13 9. Trevor Smith, Army West Point 5 10. Nick Gajdzik, Harvard 3