InterMat Staff

The International Olympic Committee has decided against a complete ban on all Russian athletes for the 2016 Rio Olympics, putting it on individual global sports federations such as United World Wrestling to decide which athletes should be cleared to compete. The decision was announced after a three-hour meeting of the IOC's 15-member executive board on Sunday, less than two weeks before the Opening Ceremonies for the Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Aug. 5. As of early Sunday afternoon, United World Wrestling -- the international federation governing amateur wrestling -- had not announced any decision pertaining to wrestlers from Russia competing at the Olympics. The IOC said United World Wrestling and other federations would have to apply their own rules if they want to ban an entire Russian team from their events in Rio, as the IAAF -- the International Association of Athletics Federations -- has already done for track and field ... a decision upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday. The IOC said that federations "should carry out an individual analysis of each athlete's anti-doping record, taking in account only reliable adequate international tests ... in order to ensure a level playing field." While deciding against an outright ban of all Russian athletes, the IOC said it was imposing tough eligibility conditions, including barring any Russian athlete from competing in the Rio Games who has ever been sanctioned for doping. The IOC said it would accept the entry only of those Russian athletes who meet certain conditions set out for the 28 international federations to apply. Russian entries must be examined and upheld by an expert from the CAS, the IOC said. Russian athletes who are cleared for the games will be subjected to a "rigorous additional out-of-competition testing program." "We had to balance the collective responsibility and the individual justice to which every human being and athlete is entitled to," IOC President Thomas Bach said. "An athlete should not suffer and should not be sanctioned for a system in which he was not implicated," Bach told reporters on a conference call after Sunday's meeting. Bach acknowledged the decision "might not please everybody." "This is not about expectations," he said. "This is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world." Demands for an outright ban on all Russian athletes from the 2016 Olympics intensified last week after Richard McLaren, a Canadian lawyer commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), issued a report accusing Russia's sports ministry of overseeing a vast doping program of its Olympic athletes. Anti-doping leaders had argued that the extent of state-backed doping in Russia had tainted the country's entire sports system, and the only way to ensure a level playing field was to bar the whole team, even if some innocent athletes will lose out. However, there were strong concerns about a complete ban on all Russian athletes going beyond potential issues of fairness to individual athletes who may be innocent of actual doping. For starters, in the more than a century of the Modern Olympics, never has an individual nation's athletes been kicked out of the Olympics for doping violations. Russia is a major force in the Olympic movement; many international Olympic officials and federation leaders have close ties to Russia. Many Russians within the Olympic movement -- along with officials within the Russian government -- have suggested talk of a proposed ban was nothing more than a political, Western-led campaign against their nation and its athletes. Despite today's IOC announcement to punt the decision for banning Russian athletes from the Olympics to United World Wrestling and the other 27 athletic federations, Russia still faces a possible ban from the Paralympic Games. Citing evidence in McLaren's report of doping among Russian Paralympic athletes, the International Paralympic Committee said Friday it will decide next month whether to exclude the country from the Sept. 7-18 event in Rio.

Rich Hasenfus has been named the head coach of the American International College wrestling program, the Springfield, Mass. school announced Friday. Rich HasenfusHasenfus brings impressive credentials as a wrestler and coach to the Yellow Jackets NCAA Division II mat program. Hasenfus' college mat career began in the community where he will be coaching, at Springfield College, where he wrestled from 1986-89. He was a captain and team MVP, two-time Eastern Finalist, an Eastern champion, and an NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships qualifier. He graduated from Springfield College with a Bachelor's degree in business management. Hasenfus launched his coaching career started at Harvard University, where he was the assistant coach from 1993-95, and then he was hired to his first head coaching position at Wesleyan University, serving from 1995-97. He then moved on to Norwich University, where he was head coach from 1997-2010, spearheading a fundraising drive to save the Cadets' program in 2008, then coached at Williams College from 2010-2012. Hasenfus was welcomed into the New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Hall of Fame in 2012. "We are delighted to announce the hiring of Rich Hasenfus as our new Head Wrestling Coach," said American International College's director of athletics Matt Johnson. "Rich is a true professional with tremendous experience and a great reputation in the wrestling world." "Rich was an elite wrestler in college and has been a very successful collegiate coach at the NCAA Division I and III levels for many years. We have no doubt he will raise the standard within our current program while recruiting student-athletes that are high achievers on the mat and in the classroom." Hasenfus appears eager to be coaching in the community where his college mat career started. "I am excited to work with the wrestlers, alumni, and community to build a nationally competitive team," said Hasenfus. "I look forward to building a successful program both academically and athletically." Founded in 1885, American International College is a private, four-year college located in Springfield, Mass. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,800 students.

Junior freestyle champions (Photo/Trackwrestling.com) FARGO, N.D. -- Another year of Fargo has reached its conclusion, as the Junior National freestyle finals were held on Saturday morning. Fifteen champions were crowned on the raised mat of the Fargodome located on the campus of North Dakota State University. Minnesota's Griffin Parriott won double titles in Fargo at 152 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)A pair of top 20 ranked graduated seniors swept through the Greco-Roman and freestyle tournaments in their last competition as high school athletes. No. 14 Samuel Colbray (Oregon) won his first freestyle title after two previous runner-up finishes (once as a Junior) to go with four Greco-Roman titles in his Fargo career. The Iowa State bound scored his sixth technical fall victory in as many matches, giving points for the first time in the tournament, during a 15-4 finals victory over Keegan Moore (Minnesota) at 220 pounds. No. 17 Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) has six technical falls from seven matches during his run to the freestyle title at 152 pounds, giving up points in only one of his seven bouts. The Purdue-bound Parriott upended fellow returning Junior freestyle All-American Zander Wick (California) by 10-0 technical fall in the championship bout. Five other Class of 2016 wrestlers also won Junior freestyle titles before starting their collegiate careers shortly. Ian Parker (Michigan) and Gannon Gremmel (Iowa) joined Colbray in making it three soon-to-be Cyclones as champions on Saturday. Parker, ranked No. 72 overall in the Class of 2016, upset defending champion Taylor LaMont (Utah) 3-2 in the final; LaMont finished as the No. 23 prospect in the graduated senior class, and won the Greco title earlier in the week. Gremmel, ranked No. 43 overall in the Class of 2016, scored his fourth technical fall from six bouts in a 14-4 finals victory at 285 pounds over Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois). Also winning gold were the Missouri-bound Canten Marriott (Missouri), the Minnesota-bound Owen Webster (Minnesota), and Cornell-bound Ben Darmstadt (Ohio). Marriott scored a 6-5 victory at 170 pounds over Owen Pentz (Utah). Webster, ranked No. 48 overall in the Class of 2016, upended fellow returning Junior freestyle All-American Kevin Parker (New York) by 10-0 technical fall in the 182 pound final; it was the fifth technical fall for Webster from seven tournament bouts. Darmstadt, ranked No. 28 in the graduated senior class, earned Outstanding Wrestler after securing four shutout technical falls and two pins from six tournament bouts. The championship match for Darmstadt was a 10-0 technical fall over John Borst (Virginia) at 195 pounds. Joining Parker in denying wrestlers a sweep of the Junior titles during the Fargo week were Malik Heinselman (Colorado) and Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania), both of whom are two-time Cadet World Team members in freestyle. Heinselman upended fellow Colorado state champion Brendon Garcia by 15-5 technical fall at 100 pounds, while Teasdale, ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2018, beat Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) by 8-6 decision at 120 pounds. The lone wrestler to repeat as a Junior freestyle champion this year was Jason Holmes (Arizona), who beat Rayvon Foley (Michigan) 7-2 in the 106 pound final. His four previous matches were technical fall victories, including a semifinal victory over two-time Junior Greco champion Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania), whom Holmes had beaten in last year's final. Three elite rising seniors won Junior freestyle titles on Saturday, No.5 in the Class of 2017 Nick Lee (Indiana), No. 13 Austin Gomez (Illinois), and No. 34 Jake Allar (Minnesota). Lee beat Kanen Storr (Michigan), ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2016, in an 11-10 barn-burner at 138 pounds; prior to the final, all six of Lee's matches were technical fall victories. Gomez pinned Paul Konrath (Indiana), who is ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2017, in 1:44 in the 126 pound final. Allar scored a 10-0 technical fall victory over Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) in the 160 pound final. It was the third shutout tech for Allar to go with three pins in seven matches, while Wohlabaugh finished as runner-up in both tournaments. Rounding out the champions were Nico Aguilar (California) and Anthony Artalona (Florida). Aguilar replicated his victory from the 2014 Cadet freestyle final by beating Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio) 12-7 in the 113 pound final; D'Emilio was a Cadet freestyle champion last year and also a Cadet World Team member last year. Artalona, ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2018, beat Jarod Verkleeren (Pennsylvania) 2-1 in the 145 pound final; Verkleeren, a Cadet World freestyle champion last year, is ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2017. Results: 100: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) tech. fall Brendon Garcia (Colorado), 15-5 106: Jason Holmes (Arizona) dec. Rayvon Foley (Michigan), 7-2 113: Nic Aguilar (California) dec. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio), 12-7 120: Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) dec. Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma), 8-6 126: Austin Gomez (Illinois) fall Paul Konrath (Indiana), 2:43 132: Ian Parker (Michigan) dec. Taylor LaMont (Utah), 3-2 138: Nick Lee (Indiana) dec. Kanen Storr (Michigan), 11-10 145: Anthony Artalona (Florida) dec. Jarod Verkleeren (Pennsylvania), 2-1 152: Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) tech. fall Zander Wick (California), 10-0 160: Jake Allar (Minnesota) tech. fall Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), 10-0 170: Canten Marriott (Missouri) dec. Owen Pentz (Utah), 6-5 182: Owen Webster (Minnesota) tech. fall Kevin Parker (New York), 10-0 195: Benjamin Darmstadt (Ohio) tech. fall John Borst (Virginia), 10-0 220: Sam Shields-Colbray (Oregon) tech. fall Keegan Moore (Minnesota), 15-4 285: Gannon Gremmel (Iowa) tech. fall Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois), 14-4

Andy Hamilton, award-winning wrestling writer for the Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen, will be now joining the Trackwrestling/SportsEngine/NBC Sports team to lead Trackwrestling's newly created media group, it was announced Saturday. Hamilton's hiring comes on the heels of the announcement earlier this week that Trackwrestling had been acquired by SportsEngine, now a part of the NBC Sports Group, to strengthen its product solution offered to wrestling events and clubs. Hamilton will join forces with Shane Sparks of Trackwrestling and the Big Ten Network, along with a team of contributors to create a media platform for Trackwrestling, according to this morning's press release. He will be based out of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. Hamilton spent the past five years as the lead wrestling writer at the Des Moines Register, where he was responsible for the coverage of 26 college programs and more than 260 high schools across Iowa. Prior to joining Iowa's largest newspaper in 2011, he spent 12 years at the Iowa City Press-Citizen, where he handled the University of Iowa football and wrestling beats. In March, Hamilton was named the National Wrestling Media Association's journalist of the year, becoming the first two-time winner in the award's history. He received the NWMA award for the first time in 2004, won Amateur Wrestling News' Dellinger Award as the top wrestling writer in the country in 2005 and was honored by W.I.N. Magazine as its journalist of the year in 2011. "I couldn't be happier to have hired a professional like Andy," Trackwrestling founder and general manager Justin Tritz said. "He is a great writer and extremely well respected across the country. He fits in really well with our team and is going to do a great job building our media presence." "I can't express enough how grateful and excited I am to have the chance to cover the sport I'm most passionate about on a full-time basis," Hamilton said. "I'm blessed that Trackwrestling, SportsEngine and NBC Sports have provided me with a tremendous opportunity that allows me to do what I love and also checks off a lot of the top priorities in my life on a personal level. I'm looking forward to building more relationships with coaches and athletes across the country and delivering stories that reach the masses in the wrestling world and help enhance the sport." Hamilton revealed his career move in a two-step process on his Inside Trip Facebook page. On Monday, the wrestling writer wrote, "Today is my last day at the Register. I've been living a dream, working at the newspaper I grew up reading and alongside some of the writers who inspired me to get into sports journalism when I was a teenager. I've been blessed to work with so many talented people inside the Register newsroom for the past five years. They've made me a better journalist. I'll have some more news to share later in the week about my next career step." That next step came late Saturday morning with this simple message: "I'm excited to join the Trackwrestling/SportsEngine/NBC Sports team and lead Trackwrestling's newly created media group." Here's how Trackwrestling describes itself: "Trackwrestling managed over 7,400 events last year, including 38 state high school tournaments and all college national championships, including NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA. Originally created to seed wrestling events, Trackwrestling.com has evolved into a customizable, comprehensive solution for the wrestling world, offering tools for weight management, team management, event management, rankings, athlete profiles, and more. Wrestling fans across the country can also log in to follow their favorite athletes online with real-time results and streaming video services."

Sports Illustrated has weighed in with its predictions as to how U.S. wrestlers will do at the 2016 Olympics, seeing gold medals for Jordan Burroughs and Adeline Gray, according to its Rio 2016 Olympic Preview issue, dated July 25-August 1, and delivered to subscribers this week. The sports weekly predicted a total of six Olympic medalists out of 14 wrestlers for Team USA who will be taking to the mats August 14-21 at Carioca Arena 2 at the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an equal distribution of two silver and two bronze medals along with the two golds for U.S. wrestlers. SI believes Burroughs will win gold at 74 kilograms/163 pounds in men's freestyle wrestling, which would be his second Olympic gold medal, having won gold at the 2012 London Games. The magazine also anticipates a gold medal for Gray in women's freestyle competition in the 75 kilogram/165-pound weight class. Both Burroughs and Gray each have three World championships. Sports Illustrated sees silver for Helen Maroulis at 53 kilograms/116.5 pounds in women's freestyle. In addition, the magazine predicts men's freestyle wrestler Kyle Snyder – who won the heavyweight title at for Ohio State at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships just four months ago – will claim a silver medal at 97 kilograms/213 pounds. As for the bronze medal… SI predicts one for Elena Pirozhkova at 63 kilograms/138.75 pounds, as well as for men's Greco-Roman competitor Andy Bisek at 75 kilograms/165 pounds. Tallying Sports Illustrated's anticipated medal haul for Team USA, the magazine sees three out of the four U.S. women's freestyle wrestlers competing in Rio earning medals… two of the six members of the U.S. men's freestyle team leaving Brazil with some hardware… and one of four Greco grapplers from the U.S. earning a medal. Four years ago, four Team USA freestyle wrestlers medaled at the 2012 London Olympics: gold for Jordan Burroughs and Jake Varner, and bronze medals for Clarissa Chun and Coleman Scott. Note that these predictions were made in advance of a possible ban on Russian wrestlers and other athletes competing at the 2016 Olympics because of allegations of drug-test violations from Russian officials. The International Olympic Committee will be meeting this Sunday to make a decision, less than two weeks ahead of the Opening Ceremonies on August 5. Track and field athletes from Russia are already banned from Rio; their appeal was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday. In addition to seeing Sports Illustrated single out six U.S. wrestlers as potential 2016 Olympic medalists, the magazine featured a two-page photo of Jordan Burroughs within its Olympic Preview issue. However, SI failed to include any wrestlers among the seven athletes pictured on the cover. In the 60+ year history of Sports Illustrated, only once has the magazine featured an amateur wrestler on its cover as an amateur wrestler: three-time NCAA champ Dan Hodge of the Oklahoma Sooners, back in 1957. To see a complete list of wrestlers Sports Illustrated sees as winning gold at the Rio Olympics, check out TheMat.com. Want to help the families of Team USA wrestlers travel to Rio? Check out InterMat's article which provides links to each wrestler's fundraising website.

Darrion Caldwell knows what it's like to be on the winning end of an upset, as the former North Carolina State wrestler toppled defending champ Brent Metcalf of Iowa to win the 149-pound title at the 2009 NCAA Division championships. Darrion Caldwell (Photo/Bellator)Now rising MMA star Caldwell has experienced the upset of being stunned by a 14-1 underdog. The former Wolfpack mat champ suffered his first loss of his professional MMA career when he was submitted in the opening seconds of the third round of his top-of-the-card bout at Bellator 159 at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas Friday night. Joe Taimanglo applied a guillotine choke on Caldwell nine seconds into Round 3 of their bantamweight (135-pound) bout in what MMAJunkie described as a "shocking submission win." According to the MMA website Sherdog.com, "Caldwell controlled virtually all 10 minutes of the first two rounds, utilizing takedowns and suffocating top control to corral the former Pacific Xtreme Combat champion." Here's how LowKickMMA.com described the end of what it had described as "a fun fight": "In round 3, Caldwell took him down to begin the round but was caught by Taimanglo, who locked in a guillotine choke for the win." MMAJunkie.com provided a bit more detail of that very brief last round: "In the third, Caldwell shot from distance but couldn't get hold of the legs. Taimanglo took advantage of his one opportunity, wrapping up the neck and falling to his back. Squeezing hard in full guard, Taimanglo forced the frustrated Caldwell to tap for his first professional loss, just nine seconds into the final round." After the match, Caldwell posted the following on Instagram: "Tonight he was the better man. Still smiling because I know this just the beginning. Back to the drawing board. Thanks for the support!" With this first loss, Caldwell, who launched his pro MMA career in September 2012, falls to 9-1 overall and 6-1 in Bellator ... while the veteran Taimanglo improves to 23-6-1, with a 6-2 record in Bellator bouts. Prior to entering MMA competition, Caldwell was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at N.C. State, winning the 149-pound title at the 2009 NCAAs in what the late amateur wrestling historian Jay Hammond considered to be one of the three biggest upsets in NCAA finals history. Caldwell was named Outstanding Wrestler for that tournament.

FARGO, N.D. -- On Friday afternoon in Fargo, N.D. many of the young stars of high school wrestling took to the raised mat and showed their true potential. Of the 17 weight class champions, 13 are ranked in their grade level, with two of the other champions upending a grade-level ranked wrestler. The lone Cadet Triple Crown winner this year was Travis Wittlake (Oregon). He won the folkstyle title in April at 160 pounds, and swept the Greco and freestyle events this week at 170 pounds. All six matches in freestyle ended in shutout technical fall victories, including 10-0 in the final over Tyler Barnes (New York), whom he beat by decision in the Greco final. Wittlake is ranked No. 8 overall in the Class of 2018, and will represent the United States in freestyle at the Cadet Worlds competing in the 76 kilo (167 pound) weight class. Four other wrestlers swept the tournaments this week in Fargo, including Nick Raimo (New Jersey) who did so for a second straight year. Raimo, ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2019, won the 126 pound title with a 3-1 victory in the final over Jaden Abas (California); Abas is ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2019. Additional double champions were Aaron Brooks (Maryland) at 160 pounds, Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) at 182, and Braxton Amos (West Virginia/Ohio) at 195. Brooks upended Julian Ramirez (Florida), who is ranked No. 4 overall in the Class of 2019, by a 6-2 decision in the championship bout. Karoly, ranked No. 25 in the Class of 2018, repeated as Cadet freestyle champion with a 4-1 victory over Cadet folkstyle champion Lucas Davison (Indiana) in the final. Amos, ranked No. 5 in the Class of 2020, upended Cadet folkstyle champion Sergio Villalobos (Illinois) by 17-7 technical fall in the final. Joining Raimo and Decatur as repeat champions in Cadet freestyle was Jordan Decatur (Ohio) at 120 pounds. Ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2019, Decatur earned a fifth technical fall from seven bouts in a 13-0 finals victory over Brody Teske (Iowa). The 138 pound final was a rematch of last year's 132 pound Cadet freestyle final, with Brock Hardy (Utah) gaining revenge in a 10-9 decision victory over Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania); Hardy is ranked No. 26 in the Class of 2018, while Sasso is ranked No. 6 overall. It was Hardy's first Fargo title in four finals appearance, having advanced to the final in both styles in both Cadet eligible years. The other wrestler in contention for a Cadet Triple Crown entering the finals on Friday afternoon was Jace Koelzer (Kansas). However, Corey Gamet (Michigan) derailed that plan with an 11-2 victory in the 106 pound final. Joining No. 5 Amos as incoming freshmen to win Cadet National freestyle were No. 25 Cullan Schriever (Iowa) at 88 pounds, No. 6 Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) at 94, and No. 18 Julian Tagg (Ohio) at 100. Cadet folkstyle champion Schriever beat Greco champon Sam Latona (Alabama) by 8-5 decision in the final; UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up Reno scored a 10-0 technical fall over Justin Bierdumpfel (New Jersey), ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2020; while Tagg beat Cadet Greco champion Ridge Lovett (Idaho) 10-2 in the final, which relegated him to a second straight runner-up finish in Cadet freestyle. A pair of Colorado natives joined Decatur and Raimo as nationally ranked Class of 2019 wrestlers to win Cadet freestyle titles on Friday. No. 22 Colton Yapoujian (Colorado) upended Travis Ford-Melton (Illinois) 3-1 in the 113 pound final; it was a second straight Cadet freestyle runner-up finish for the No. 11 overall Class of 2019 wrestler. No. 1 Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) used a fourth consecutive technical fall to beat Gavin Hoffman (Pennsylvania) 16-4 in the 220 pound final; Hoffman is ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2018. Rounding out the Cadet freestyle champions are a pair of nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers from New York, along with Montana Phillips (Oklahoma) and Jared Franek (North Dakota). Phillips, state medalist this past season as a freshman, pinned Cadet folkstyle champion Ronald Tucker (Illinois), who is ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2019, in the 285 pound final. Cadet folkstyle champion Franek upended Markus Hartman (Illinois) 15-12 at 145. Jacori Teemer, ranked No. 29 in the rising junior group, used a late reversal to upended Cadet Greco champion Mason Phillips (Washington) 12-10 at 132 pounds. Frankie Gissendanner, ranked No. 10 in that same group, beat Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) by 9-2 decision at 152. Results: 88: Cullen Schriever (IA) dec. Sam Latona (AL), 8-5 94: Jeremiah Reno (MO) tech. fall Justin Bierdumpfel (NJ), 10-0 100: Julian Tagg (OH) dec. Ridge Lovett (ID), 8-2 106: Corey Gamet (MI) dec. Jace Koelzer (KS), 11-2 113: Colton Yapoujian (CO) dec. Travis Ford-Melton (IL), 3-1 120: Jordan Decatur (OH) tech. fall Brody Teske (IA), 13-0 126: Nicholas Raimo (NJ) dec. Jaden Abas (CA), 3-1 132: Jacori Teemer (NY) dec. Mason Phillips (WA), 12-10 138: Brock Hardy (UT) dec. Sam Sasso (PA), 10-9 145: Jared Franek (ND) dec. Markus Hartman (IL), 15-12 152: Frankie Gissendanner (NY) dec. Michael O'Malley (NJ), 9-2 160: Aaron Brooks (MD) dec. Julian Ramirez (FL), 6-2 170: Travis Wittlake (OR) tech. fall Tyler Barnes (NY), 10-0 182: Ryan Karoly (NJ) dec. Lucas Davison (IN), 4-1 195: Braxton Amos (OH) tech. fall Sergio Villalobos (IL), 17-7 220: Cohlton Schultz (CO) tech. fall Gavin Hoffman (PA), 16-4 285: Ronald Tucker (IL) fall Montana Phillips (OK), 5:28

FARGO, N.D. -- The 1200 wrestlers in Junior freestyle have competed for two days to become one of 30 to wrestle on the raised mat starting from 10 a.m. CT on Saturday morning. Championship stop signs will be on the line in fifteen weight classes, and here are the matches. 100 pounds: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) vs. Brendan Garcia (Colorado). This is a battle of state champions from the past scholastic season. Heinselman, a Cadet World Team member in freestyle for the second straight year, is after a third straight Fargo freestyle title (the previous two as a Cadet). Garcia seeks a sweep of the Junior Nationals titles this week, having won the Greco title on Tuesday. 106: Jason Holmes (Arizona) vs. Rayvon Foley (Michigan). Holmes is after a second straight Junior freestyle title, after earning a technical fall over Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) in the semifinal; that was a rematch of last year's Junior freestyle finals bout. Foley was runner-up to Heinselman last year in Cadet freestyle. 113: Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio) vs. Nico Aguilar (California). This is a rematch of the 2014 Cadet freestyle final at 94 pounds, a bout won by Aguilar. Aguilar was third to D'Emilio's eighth in the Super 32 Challenge this past fall at 106 pounds, while Aguilar was third when D'Emilio won the UWW Cadet freestyle title in the spring of 2006 at 46 kilos (101 pounds). D'Emilio is ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2019, and was a Cadet freestyle champion last year. 120: Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) vs. Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma). Teasdale is ranked No. 3 overall in the Class of 2018, and was a Cadet World Team member in freestyle the previous two years; he also won a Cadet freestyle title in 2013. Duffield won a second straight Junior Greco title on Tuesday, and will be headed to the University of Oklahoma very soon. 126: Austin Gomez (Illinois) vs. Paul Konrath (Indiana). This is a battle of Cadet National freestyle champions from 2014; Gomez was also a Cadet Greco champion in 2013 and 2014, while Konrath was champion in Junior folkstyle this spring and Cadet folkstyle back in 2014. Both wrestlers are ranked within the Class of 2017, Gomez is No. 13, while Konrath is No. 45 overall. 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) vs. Ian Parker (Michigan). LaMont is after a repeat Junior freestyle title, and was champion in Junior Greco for the second time in three years on Tuesday; while this marks a fourth straight Fargo freestyle All-American finish for Parker (fourth place at the Junior level last year). Each is also ranked in the Class of 2016, LaMont is No. 23, while Parker is No. 72 overall. 138: Nick Lee (Indiana) vs. Kanen Storr (Michigan). Lee upended seven-time Fargo finalist Mitch McKee (Minnesota) in the semifinal round by technical fall, McKee was a Junior freestyle champion in 2014 and runner-up last year (also repeating as champion in Greco on Tuesday). The 2014 Cadet freestyle Outstanding Wrestler is ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2017, while NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Storr is ranked No. 45 in the Class of 2016. 145: Jarod Verkleeren (Pennsylvania) vs. Anthony Artalona (Florida). Last year's Cadet World champion at 69 kilos (152 pounds), and a 2014 Cadet freestyle champion, Verkleeren is ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2017. Artalona is ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2018, and was a Cadet National double champion last year. 152: Zander Wick (California) vs. Griffin Parriott (Minnesota). Both wrestlers in this match were also Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, and ranked nationally within the Class of 2016; the Wisconsin-bound Wick is No. 37, while Purdue-bound Parriott is No. 17 overall. Wick was champion in Junior folkstyle, while Parriott won the Greco title on Tuesday afternoon. 160: Jake Allar (Minnesota) vs. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida). Allar is ranked No. 34 in the Class of 2017, while Wohlabaugh was runner-up in Greco earlier this week and is on the Cadet World Team in Greco that competes this coming September at 69 kilos (152 pounds). 170: Owen Pentz (Utah) vs. Canten Marriott (Missouri). Probably the most unexpected final of the tournament, as neither wrestler is ranked in their respective grade level. Pentz was state champion this past year as a junior, while the Missouri-bound Marriott didn't make the state final during his senior year after winning state last year. 182: Kevin Parker (New York) vs. Owen Webster (Minnesota). This is a battle of returning Junior freestyle All-Americans. The Princeton-bound Parker was a two-time state champion and a two-time Flo Nationals placer during his scholastic career. Bound for Minnesota, the No. 48 overall prospect in the Class of 2016 Webster missed his senior season due to injury, but was a Cadet World medalist in freestyle last year at 85 kilos (187 pounds). 195: John Borst (Virginia) vs. Ben Darmstadt (Ohio). Two-time state champion Borst was a Flo Nationals placer and NHSCA Junior Nationals champion this spring. Darmstadt finished his high school career ranked No. 28 overall in the Class of 2016, and the Cornell bound wrestler is now a two-time Junior freestyle All-American. 220: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) vs. Keegan Moore (Minnesota). Two of the nation's elite wrestlers from the Class of 2016 will do battle here. Colbray seeks a sweep of the titles this week after winning in Greco on Tuesday, and is ranked No. 14 overall; it is also an eighth Fargo final in five seaons. Moore was a Cadet Triple Crown winner in 2014, and ranked No. 47 overall in the graduated senior group. 285: Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) vs. Gannon Gremmel (Iowa). Both wrestlers are ranked in their respective grade level, Cassioppi is No. 42 in the Class of 2018, while Gremmel is No. 43 in the Class of 2016. Cassioppi placed third at state this year, and placed third in three previous Fargo tournaments (2015 both styles as Cadet, 2016 Junior Greco); while Gremmel was state champion this past year and a 2014 Cadet freestyle champion.

IOC president Thomas Bach Earlier this week the World Anti-Doping Agency's independent report on doping was released and the findings were less-than-flattering in indicating widespread corruption within the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. The accusations are being mulled over by the IOC this week, in their consideration as to whether or not to ban the entire Russian Olympic Committee from attending the Games in Rio de Janeiro. For IOC president Thomas Bach it's not an issue to take lightly and I'm certain that the political ramifications are more complex than most of us have taken time to consider. Shifting gears, this week it was announced that former UFC champion Jon Jones had failed his B Sample from as out-of-competition test conducted by USADA. We also found out that Brock Lesnar failed a pair of USADA tests for the same estrogen-blocker, Clomiphene, found in Jones' system. Finally, Chad Mendes also received his two-year ban for a myriad of agents that were not allowed to be in his blood. The suspensions of the UFC fighters and the potential political ramifications of a Russian-ban in Rio has some asking, "Are PED's really all that bad?" There is a growing number of journalists in the MMA and sport's industry who are stating that there is no evidence to prove most PED's actually harm the body, and even less evidence that they can injure someone else. If you hate seeing the top athletes suspended then the argument is compelling since it seems to beat back against prevalent stereotypes of the 'roided athlete: shrinking balls and early onset cancer. However, those don't speak to the larger issue of doping within sport, which is what would happen if there were no tests. What would happen if everyone could do all the time? For fans it would mean more Herculean Humans bashing skulls, but for the athletes it would take away the meaning of sport, making it more of a science experiment than an athletic competition. One of the major issues with doping is that those most at advantage are those already at the top of the game -- those with funding behind them and entourages (or governments) willing to assist. This is a typical rich-get-richer monopoly that if left unrestricted would lead to an incredible concentration of talent among camps and nations, but also increase significantly the barrier to entry within combat sports -- a variety of sports which always welcomed the disenfranchised. Left untested in the offseason juiced athletes who can cut down on recovery time, can gain 20 to 30 percent more time to train. That's an incredible advantage that fundamentally disrupts the core idea that effort and intelligence can lead to a winning outcome and instead replaces it with money and science. Doping in sport is a problem, but it's one that is being addressed. Like any scandal or illegal activity, uncovering it makes it feel worse than it was before. That's not the case. Every time someone gets caught it's a warning to the rest of the competitors to not undergo the same strategy and that deterrence is what will ultimately save amateur and professional athletics. I know it's hard to see sometimes, but sport is about more than money and science. There is something human about competition that we can't lose -- that we shouldn't sell to the pharmaceutical giants. Sport is about what you can get out of your body, not what you can put into it. Whether or not Russia gets banned, the fight for anti-doping needs to continue. Imperfect and frustrating, yes, but nonetheless a requisite part of the modern sports world. To your questions … Q: You coached at Columbia. Do you like the hiring of Zach Tanelli as head wrestling coach? -- Mike C. Foley: Columbia certainly didn't grab the biggest name in the hopper, but overall I like the idea of a young, motivated coach with Big Ten bench experience. No question Columbia is a challenging place for anyone to coach. The city provides a massive distraction to the already preoccupied college student's mind. While there it was easy to see that some of the student-athletes simply veer off towards life in the city rather than life on the mats. That's natural. Curbing the number of AWOL student-athletes and incentivizing wrestling will be a major aspect of Tanelli's responsibilities in his first few months in Morningside Heights. Wish him the best of luck! Q: How important to college coaches is it to wrestle at Fargo? What's your favorite Fargo moment of all time? -- @J_Agnitsch125 Foley: I never competed in Fargo, but my favorite moment as a coach was getting into a five-minute discussion about NYC with the drive-thru attendant at the Starbucks. She was so kind and I kept having to remind myself that not everyone in America acts like a New Yorker. Attending Fargo is certainly a recruiting advantage for wrestlers outside of the top 100 recruits since every college coach will have a chance to see you compete. The simple act of going to Fargo shows a level of dedication to the sport of wrestling that I think coaches also find attractive. I'm all for seasonal athletics, but I stand in the minority and know it might be hard for some wrestlers to get recruited to a school in 2017 if they haven't been competing and training year-round. The results in Fargo are not THAT big of a story among college coaches. Winning Junior freestyle is something to discuss, but a Cadet Greco-Roman trophy doesn't really convert 1-1 into projection as an NCAA All-American and national champion. Really, at the end of the tournament the college-bound athletes should have met the same number of college wrestling coaches as matches they wrestled. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Woah. Great video from Western Mongolia Mark Madsen: The Will to Victory Tough little girl Q: Some are talking about the fact that the contract with Fargo is up, will they continue to have the Junior & Cadet Nationals in that location or will they look for other locations to host the event? Does tradition win out over trying to make the product better? Or more central to the country? I would like to see it stay in Fargo. -- Hylnder133 Foley: I'm really not zeroed in on this item, but I think that it will come down to finances over tradition. Fargo likes the tournament for the boost in revenue so I'll go ahead and assume they won't look to push out (get it?!) USA Wrestling with increased monetary requirements. I think that there is full participation from member states, correct? So the financial issues for each state, including transportation, doesn't seem to be a big factor pressuring USA Wrestling to make a move to something more central. Though please let it be known that Fargo is pretty darn close to perfectly central … if maybe a little north. Fargo is close to perfectly central Q: If Russia is out of the Olympics, does it cheapen an Olympic medal in Rio? -- Mike C. Foley: No Olympic medal is cheapened if you show up and compete on a level playing field. The wrestlers have no control over the decision of the IOC. It's worth noting that from the conversations I've had with the USA team members every one of them said they preferred to have Russia on the mats. They like the idea of competing against the best. The mentality isn't that they want to win Olympic gold so much as they want to prove to themselves and to the world that they are the best in the world at the sport of wrestling. But again, the participation of Russian wrestlers at the Olympics is not their decision and rather just another distraction to deal with once in Brazil. Q: Is UWW going to publish a full list of all the Rio competitors? -- @JaroslavWrestle Foley: Yes. The MOMENT it's finalized the lists will be shared with the wrestling public and sent out in a press release. Q: Thoughts on the new ACC Network that will launch in 2019? -- Mike C. Foley: More money for college athletic programs could be a good thing, though I'd be interested to see how the ACC ends up monetizing their online content. That'll be the key: turning a profit not only on live sporting events (a rapidly decreasing viewership) but in the shorter bits that become popular through social media. There is a complex marketing platform that needs to be integrated and I'm curious to see how the ACC adapts, because by 2019 what we think we know about viewership of sports online and on TV will almost certainly be changed. Q: Thoughts on safety, security, well-being of U.S. athletes in Rio? Also, Jordan Burroughs made Twitter comments about race. That OK? -- @tenner73 Foley: The USA athletes will be very well-managed and under plenty of protection in-and-around Rio de Janeiro. There is no doubt that Rio can be an incredibly dangerous place, but within the Olympic Park there will be very little for anyone to worry about in terms of safety. That said, it's always best to stay vigilant on the road. I'll be there for two weeks and have no plans of wearing anything flashy or transporting expensive items around the city. Heck, I'll even bury my sandals in the sand if I go into the ocean. As for Burroughs and his comments on the use of force by police, I have nothing but respect for him and endorse him expressing his opinions in any format he sees fit. However, he didn't mention race directly. Q: Darrion Caldwell fights tonight in Bellator. He's 9-0. Obviously, he hasn't faced the stiffest competition, but has still been impressive. Do you think we will ever see him move to the UFC and become a title contender? -- Mike C. Foley: Bellator is a solid promotion! While Cadlwell hasn't gotten his hands on the very, very best he has put in dominating performances against Joe Warren and Shawn Bunch -- wrestlers with an ability to put a stop to Caldwell's perceived strength. Each opponent was dispatched with a choke. My guess is that his opponent Joe Taimanglo puts up a decent effort, but is really just a minor hurdle before Caldwell finds his way to the 135-pound title fight against Eduardo Dantas. Caldwell has the ability to draw fans and when he's given top billing I'd expect he also receives top payment and a new contract. Does North Korea have a shot at a medal at 57 in men's freestyle? If so, what do they receive? -- @Bloodround Foley: Assuming they send two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Yang Kyong-il they have a better than 50 percent chance of placing. The North Koreans don't show up for much, but when they do they tend to earn medals.

Jeff Callard, standout wrestler for the University of Oklahoma in the early 1970s, will be welcomed into the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame later this month, the Lansing State Journal reported Thursday. Jeff CallardPrior to wrestling for the Sooners, Callard was a two-time Michigan high school state champion at two different schools within the Lansing area. He won the Class A state title as a junior at 137 pounds for Sexton High School, then transferred to East Lansing for his senior year, winning the 145-pound crown in Class A. Callard then headed southward to Norman, Okla. to continue his successful wrestling career at Oklahoma. He was a four-time Big 8 conference championships finalist, winning titles at 158 pounds in 1972, and at 167 in 1974. In addition, Callard was a four-time NCAA qualifier for the Sooners, earning All-American honors three times. The Lansing-area native placed third in 1973, was runner-up in 1974, and coming in fifth at the 1975 NCAAs. Thirty-five years after graduating from Oklahoma, Callard returned to his college alma mater ten years ago. The 63-year-old Callard now teaches in the same department in which he studied -- petroleum engineering. Callard is one of ten former athletes who will be welcomed into the Class of 2016 for the Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place Thursday, July 28 at the Lansing Center; dinner is scheduled for 5:45 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 6:45. Admission is $35 per person, reserved seating only; no ticket sales at door. To purchase tickets, visit lansingsportshalloffame.org.

FARGO, N.D. -- Thursday morning saw 1200 wrestlers take to the mats in the Junior National freestyle championships. Come day's end, 60 percent of them were eliminated. The top 32 wrestlers remain in each weight class, 16 in the championship half of the bracket, and the other 16 in consolation. The round of 16 will begin at 9 a.m. CT on Friday with the quarterfinals set to follow within that session. The evening session starts at 6:00 p.m., and that is when the semifinals will be wrestled. Medal matches are slated for Saturday at 10 a.m. Below are the matchups in the round of 16 on Friday morning. 100 pounds: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) vs. Ernest Del Rio IV (Arizona), Chris Thomas (Texas) vs. Cevion Severado (Missouri); Brandon Nunez (New York) vs. Beau Ladu (Wisconsin), Justin Montani (Illinios) vs. Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington). Riley Weir (Oklahoma) vs. Chris Whisenant (Arkansas), Daniel Rehfeldt (Michigan) vs. Matt Petersen (Minnesota); Anthony King (Illinois) vs. Carlos Posas (California), Cole Siebrecht (Iowa) vs. Brendon Garcia (Colorado) Heinselman will be competing in his second straight Cadet World championships this September in freestyle, this time at 46 kilos (101 pounds). He is after what would be a third consecutive Fargo freestyle title. Garcia, Chaowanapibool, and Nunez were the top three finishers in Greco earlier this week. 106: Jason Holmes (Arizona) vs. Justin Portillo (Iowa), Ezra Elliott (Illinois) vs. Brandon Kaylor (Washington); Nathan Rankin (Texas) vs. Dominic Dentino (Wisconsin), Darrick Stacey (Idaho) vs. Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania). Ty Smith (Nevada) vs. Dalton Stutzman (Utah), Griffin Wilfing (Ohio) vs. Elijah Varona (Florida); Rayvon Foley (Michigan) vs. Nathan Orosco (Illinois), David Woo (Washington) vs. Cody Craig (Maine). Holmes beat Lane in last year's Junior freestyle final, but they could meet in the semifinal this year. Lane beat Varona for the second straight year in the Junior Greco final on Tuesday afternoon. Smith was champion in Junior folkstyle. 113: Tomas Gutierrez (Colorado) vs. Will Patterson (Alabama), Joey Thomas (Maryland) vs. Michael Colaiocco (New Jersey); Alek Ziegler (Illinois) vs. Clayton Singh (Missouri), Dylan Koontz (Wisconsin) vs. Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio). Patrick McKee (Minnesota) vs. Anthony Pisciotta (Missouri), Mike Madara (Pennsylvania) vs. Kevin Radcliff (Illinois), Nico Aguilar (California) vs. Jack Medley (Michigan), Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin) vs. Hasan Krigger (Georgia). D'Emilio (No. 10), Colaiocco (No. 27), and Madara (No. 29) are ranked nationally in the Class of 2019. D'Emilio and Colaiocco are joined by Aguilar and McKee in having been ranked nationally at 106 pounds to end the 2015-16 high school season. 120: Brandon Courtney (Arizona) vs. Jack Wagner (Iowa), Paxton Rosen (Oklahoma) vs. McGwire Midkiff (Iowa); Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) vs. Matthew Parker (Pennsylvania), Jack Skudlarczyk (Texas) vs. Drew Mattin (Ohio); Jaxon Cole (Utah) vs. Bryce West (Iowa), Killan Cardinale (Virginia) vs. Jet Taylor (Oklahoma); Liam Cronin (California) vs. Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma), Garrett Vos (Minnesota) vs. Danny Vega (Arizona). Returning Junior free champion Courtney (No. 66) is joined by three other top 100 Class of 2017 recruits: Rosen (No. 95), Mattin (No. 63), and Parker (No. 71); 2014 Junior free champ Vega (No. 76) and Wagner (No. 83) were both top 100 Class of 2016 wrestlers; while two-time Cadet World team member in freestyle Teasdale is ranked No. 3 overall in the Class of 2018. 126: Austin Gomez (Illinois) vs. Brandon Bright (Oklahoma), Drew Marten (Michigan) vs. Drew West (Iowa); Weston DiBlasi (Missouri) vs. Quinn Kinner (New Jersey), Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin) vs. Dan Moran (Pennsylvania). Paul Konrath (Indiana) vs. Clai Quintanilla (Washington), Michael McGee (Illinois) vs. Jakob Campbell (Pennsylvania); Zach Sherman (New Jersey) vs. Jackson Henson (West Virginia), Jack Karstetter (Oklahoma) vs. Zeke Alirez (Colorado) Returning Junior freestyle All-American, and two-time UWW Junior freestyle All-American, Gomez (No. 13) is joined by four other top 100 Class of 2017 prospects: Marten (No. 87), West (No. 81), Konrath (No. 45), and Sherman (No. 97). Another pair of wrestlers are ranked in the Class of 2018, No. 45 Kinner and No. 47 Henson. 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) vs. Caden Darber (Virginia), Jakob Bergeland (Minnesota) vs. Taylor Brown (Missouri); Brent Jones (Minnesota) vs. Tanner Cox (Utah), Quan Campbell (Georgia) vs. Timmy Kane (Connecticut). Gabe Townsell (Illinois) vs. Zach Van Alst (Alabama), Dalton Young (Washington) vs. Brock Rathbun (Iowa); Max Murin (Pennsylvania) vs. Josh Breeding (Ohio), Jerry Mealey (Oregon) vs. Ian Parker (Michigan). Returning Junior freestyle champion LaMont, also a two-time Junior Greco champion was ranked No. 23 in the Class of 2016; while Parker (No. 72), a returning Junior freestyle All-American joins him from the Class of 2016 rankings. Another pair in this weight class were ranked in the Class of 2017, No. 29 Murin and No. 86 Kane. 138: Mitch McKee (Minnesota) vs. Nate Keim (Oklahoma), Sam Eckhart (Idaho) vs. Jamie Hernandez (Illinois); Carter Happel (Iowa) vs. Jarrett Degen (Montana), Scott Cook (Wisconsin) vs. Nick Lee (Indiana). Ben Freeman (Michigan) vs. Gavin Sutton (Illinois), Nikolas Chavez (Missouri) vs. Parker Filius (Montana); Kanen Storr (Michigan) vs. Jaden van Maanen (Wisconsin), Rudy Yates (Illinois) vs. Brock Mauller (Missouri) Returning Junior freestyle runner-up McKee, who repeated as champion in Greco on Tuesday afternoon, is ranked No. 20 overall in the Class of 2016. Four other wrestlers that graduated as ranked in that class are also among those in the round of 16: No. 36 Happel, No. 86 Degen, No. 45 Storr, and No. 24 Yates. Another five wrestlers in this weight class are ranked in the Class of 2017, led by No. 5 Lee and joined by No. 48 Hernandez, No. 27 Freeman, No. 83 Filius, and No. 93 van Maanen. 145: Jarod Verkleeren (Pennsylvania) vs. Cory Crooks (Arizona), Ethan Ewing (California) vs. Yahya Thomas (Illinois); Devin Bahr (Wisconsin) vs. Charles Kane (Connecticut), Connor Noonan (Oregon) vs. Ryan Deakin (Colorado). Anthony Artalona (Florida) vs. Vincent Dolce (Arizona), Alex Lloyd (Minnesota) vs. Steven Isaac (New York); Jaron Jensen (Utah) vs. Phil Conigliaro (Massachusetts), Nelson Brands (Iowa) vs. Jarrett Jacques (Missouri) Cadet World freestyle champion Verkleeren is ranked No. 24 in the Class of 2017, and is joined by No. 68 Bahr as a ranked rising senior. Junior Greco champion Deakin is ranked No. 95 in the Class of 2016; while Artalona (No. 17), Lloyd (No. 24), and Brands (No. 48) make it a trio of ranked Class of 2018 prospects. 152: Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma) vs. Joshua Kim (California), Ryan Epps (Minnesota) vs. Austin Hiles (Ohio); Zander Wick (California) vs. Dylan Shuck (Iowa), Zemua Baptista (Nebraska) vs. Quentin Hovis (Arizona). Joe Lee (Indiana) vs. BIlly Higgins (Nebraska), Nathaniel Trepanier (Wisconsin) vs. David San Miguel (California); Tommy Strassenberg (Washington) vs. Hunter Willits (Colorado), Drew Nicholson (Tennessee) vs. Griffin Parriott (Minnesota). Parriott (No. 17) was champion in Greco on Tuesday afternoon and is a returning Junior freestyle All-American; Sheets (No. 59) and Wick (No. 37) are also ranked in the Class of 2016. Hovis is ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2017, and Lee is ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2018. 160: Evan Wick (California) vs. Daniel Filipek (Missouri), Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma) vs. Layne van Anrooy (Oregon); Jake Allar (Minnesota) vs. Sal Arzani (Iowa), Darrell Coleman (Nebraska) vs. Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania). Eric Hong (Pennsylvania) vs. Ryder Punke (Illinois), Nick Knutson (Minnesota) vs. Blake Montrie (Michigan); Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa) vs. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), Hunter Bolen (Virginia) vs. Trey Meyer (Washington) Returning Junior freestyle runner-up Wick (No. 39) is joined by No. 85 Clingenpeel in being a nationally ranked Class of 2016 prospect. Four wrestlers in this weight class are nationally ranked in the Class of 2017: No. 19 van Anrooy, No. 34 Allar, No. 32 Hong, and No. 35 Bolen. Hidlay (No. 23) is the lone ranked Class of 2018 wrestler. 170: Owen Pentz (Utah) vs. J.T. Brown (Ohio), Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada) vs. Ty Bagoly (Pennsylvania); Johnny Blankenship (Missouri) vs. Robbie Bowers (Ohio), Myles Wilson (Colorado) vs. Marcus Coleman (Iowa). Jack Jessen (Illinois) vs. Tyler Morland (Michigan), Josh Ramirez (Louisiana) vs. Daniel Butler (Kansas); Andrew McNally (Ohio) vs. Victor Marcelli (Ohio), Canten Marriott (Missouri) vs. Anthony Mantanona (California). Coleman (No. 42) and Junior Greco champion Mantanona (No. 31) are the lone ranked Class of 2017 wrestlers on the front side bracket, while the only other grade ranked wrestler in contention for the title is Jessen, who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2018. 182: Jelani Embree (Michigan) vs. Taylor Venz (Minnesota), Jesse Shearer (North Dakota) vs. Jacob Gray (Indiana); James Handwerk (Ohio) vs. Tony Vezzetti (Illinois), Max Lyon (Ohio) vs. Kevin Parker (New York). A.J. Pedro (Massachusetts) vs. Casey Randles (Idaho), Matt Waddell (Georgia) vs. Andrew Demos (Illinois); Jake Woodley (Pennsylvania) vs. Riley Vanik (Illinois), Trevor Nichelson (Nebraska) vs. Owen Webster (Minnesota) Embree, who was champion in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals last year, is ranked No. 25 in the Class of 2017. Four other round of 16 participants are also ranked from the rising senior class: Handwerk (No. 65), Lyon (No. 62), Pedro (No. 73), and Woodley (No. 90). The lone ranked Class of 2016 wrestler on the front side of this weight class is No. 48 Webster, a returning Junior freestyle All-American. 195: Jack Harris (Ohio) vs. Miles Lee (Pennsylvania), Samuel Grove (North Dakota) vs. Matthew Wroblewski (Illinois); Colton Wolfe (Nebraska) vs. Dan Baker (Oklahoma), John Borst (Virginia) vs. Haydn Maley (Oregon). Jacob Raschka (Wisconsin) vs. Brandon Kui (New Jersey), Patrick Brucki (Illinois) vs. Brandon Whitman (Michigan); Andrew Davison (Indiana) vs. Cody Howard (Ohio), Chad Porter (Arizona) vs. Ben Darmstadt (Ohio). Returning Junior freestyle All-Americans Harris (No. 69) and Darmstadt (No. 28) were both ranked nationally in the Class of 2016. All four wrestlers ranked nationally in the Class of 2017 reside in the bottom half of the draw: Raschka (No. 52), Kui (No. 46), Brucki (No. 41), and Davison (No. 61); also in that half is Whitman, who is ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2018. 220: Samuel Colbray (Oregon) vs. Jeremy Rodman (Minnesota), Zane Black (Pennsylvania) vs. Lucius Rinehart (Wisconsin); Wyatt Wriedt (Iowa) vs. Ashton Seely (Utah), Jacob Sobbing (Missouri) vs. Jeffrey Allen (Virginia). Darryl Aiello (California) vs. Jared Campbell (Ohio), Brandon Reed (Kentucky) vs. Anthony Piscopo (Pennsylvania); Francis Duggan (Pennsylvania) vs. Cole Bateman (Illinois), Thomas Gates (Virginia) vs. Keegan Moore (Minnesota). Colbray (No. 14) and Moore (No. 47) were both ranked in the Class of 2016; Colbray was champion in Junior Greco this week, and is after a third straight double All-American finish at the Junior level, while Moore was a Cadet Triple Crown winner in 2014. Three others are ranked in the Class of 2017: No. 69 Black, No. 89 Wriedt, and No. 40 Campbell; while Duggan is ranked No. 36 in the Class of 2018. 285: Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois) vs. Jamez Young (Ohio), Brian Andrews (Texas) vs. Zach Muller (Illinois); Carter Isley (Iowa) vs. Evan Ellis (Indiana), Ethan Andersen (Iowa) vs. Thomas Helton (Illinois). Brandon Metz (North Dakota) vs. Aaron Costello (Iowa), Brian Barnes (Oregon) vs. Jon Spaulding (Ohio); Brandon Furman (Pennsylvania) vs. Darrien Kaufman (Illinois), Jacob Rhoades (Indiana) vs. Gannon Gremmel (Iowa). A trio of Iowa wrestlers were ranked nationally in the Class of 2016: No. 43 Gremmel, No. 57 Andersen, and No. 58 Isley; Isley was champion in Junior folkstyle this spring. Junior Greco champion Metz (No. 57) is the lone ranked Class of 2017 prospect in this weight class, while Cassioppi is No. 42 in the Class of 2018.

FARGO, N.D -- Two days of high impact and high intensity wrestling have seen the championship and other medal matches set for the Cadet freestyle tournament. Those will take place on Friday afternoon during a session that starts at 2 p.m. CT. Championship matches: 88 pounds: Cullan Schriever (Iowa) vs. Sam Latona (Alabama). Schriever, ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2020, was champion of this weight class in Cadet folkstyle; while Latona was champion in Cadet Greco on Monday afternoon. 94: Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) vs. Justin Bierdumpfel (New Jersey). Both wrestlers are ranked nationally in the Class of 2020, Reno is No. 6 while Bierdumpfel is No. 20. The pair of wrestlers placed second and third respectively at 42 kilos (92 pounds) in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals last month. 100: Ridge Lovett (Idaho) vs. Julian Tagg (Ohio). Lovett was champion in Greco on Monday afternoon, and runner-up in this tournament last year, while Tagg is ranked No. 18 overall in the Class of 2020. 106: Jace Koelzer (Kansas) vs. Corey Gamet (Michigan). Koelzer seeks the Cadet Triple Crown in this weight class, having won the folkstyle title in April and the Greco title on Monday afternoon. Both wrestlers were state champions this past high school season. 113: Travis Ford-Melton (Illinois) vs. Coltan Yapoujian (Colorado). Both wrestlers are ranked nationally in the Class of 2019, No. 11 and No. 22 respectively. Each also earned All-American honors in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals last month, Ford-Melton sixth at 54 kilos (119 pounds) and Yapoujian fourth at 50 kilos (110). Ford-Melton was also runner-up in this tournament last year. 120: Jordan Decatur (Ohio) vs. Brody Teske (Iowa). Decatur is ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2019, and is after a repeat title in this tournament. In addition he finished runner-up in freestyle at 54 kilos last month at the UWW Cadet Nationals. Teske is a two-time state champion. 126: Nick Raimo (New Jersey) vs. Jaden Abas (California). Raimo is ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2019, and is after a second straight sweep of the Fargo titles at the Cadet level. Each wrestler was a state runner-up during their freshman season of high school (Abas is ranked No. 12 overall in the class), and has a UWW Cadet freestyle All-American finish; Raimo third this year at 54 kilos, Abas sixth last year at 50 kilos. 132: Mason Phillips (Washington) vs. Jacori Teemer (New York). Phillips was champion in Greco on Monday afternoon, while this is a second Cadet freestyle All-American finish for Teemer, who is also ranked No. 29 overall in the Class of 2018. 138: Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania) vs. Brock Hardy (Utah). This is a rematch of last year's Cadet freestyle final, one that was won by Sasso; it also marks four straight Fargo finals appearances for Hardy, who has lost on the previous three occasions. Both are ranked nationally in the Class of 2018; Sasso is ranked No. 6, while Cadet folkstyle champion Hardy is No. 26. 145: Markus Hartman (Illinois) vs. Jared Franek (North Dakota). Hartman was a state medalist this year at 126 pounds, and third in Greco earlier in the week, while three-time state champion Franek was also champion in Cadet folkstyle. 152: Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) vs. Frankie Gissendanner (New York). O'Malley was third in Greco earlier in the week and is now a two-time Cadet double All-American, while Gissendanner is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2018. 160: Julian Ramirez (Florida) vs. Aaron Brooks (Maryland). Ramirez is ranked No. 3 overall in the Class of 2018, and was third at 69 kilos (152 pounds) in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals last month. Brooks was champion in Cadet Greco earlier in the week, and has won titles at both the NHSCA Sophomore and Freshman Nationals. 170: Tyler Barnes (New York) vs. Travis Wittlake (Oregon). This is a rematch of the Greco final in this weight class held on Monday afternoon, one that Wittlake won on Monday afternoon. Ranked No. 8 overall in the Class of 2018, Wittlake will represent the United States at the Cadet Worlds in freestyle come September at 76 kilos (167 pounds). Barnes was a state medalist this past season. 182: Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) vs. Lucas Davison (Indiana). Karoly is in his fourth Fargo final at the Cadet level, and seeks a third title; it would mark double titles for him this week and a repeat title in freestyle. He is also ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2018. Davison was champion in Cadet folkstyle this past April. 195: Braxton Amos (Ohio/West Virginia) vs. Sergio Villalobos (Illinois). Amos is ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2020, and seeks a Fargo double, having won the Greco title on Monday. Villalobos was champion in Cadet folkstyle at 220 pounds. 220: Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) vs. Gavin Hoffman (Pennsylvania). Schultz is ranked No. 1 overall in the Class of 2019, and seeks to improve one position after finishing second in Cadet freestyle last year. He avenged a quarterfinal loss from Greco in the semifinal round to reach the final. Hoffman is now a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American and ranked No. 27 overall in the Class of 2018. 285: Montana Phillips (Oklahoma) vs. Ronald Tucker (Illinois). State medalist Phillips was runner-up in Greco on Monday, while Cadet folkstyle champion Tucker is ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2019.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Nate Carr Jr. has been named the new Lock Haven University assistant wrestling coach. Carr, a 2012 graduate of Iowa State, is a former standout wrestler for the Cyclones. Most recently, Carr has spent the last two years with the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club in Ithaca, New York. As a senior level athlete and coach at the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club, Carr has also spent time working with the nearby NCAA Division I Cornell wrestling program. Cornell finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Tournaments in each of the last two seasons. Prior to his time in Ithaca, Carr spent time on both the University of Maryland and University of Virginia coaching staffs. Before joining the Iowa State wrestling program as a student-athlete, Carr was a 2007 National Junior College Champion at Iowa Central Community College. At Iowa State, he was a two-year starter. Carr was a 2010 United States Freestyle All-American and finished as runner-up at the 2015 Canada Cup. He graduated from Iowa State with a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in 2012. Carr's father, Nate Carr, Sr. was a three-time NCAA champion at Iowa State and won a bronze medal while competing for Team USA at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. LHU head coach Scott Moore is excited about the addition of Carr to the Bald Eagle staff. "Nate is a great addition to the staff and I'm looking forward to him getting here," said Moore. "The LHU wrestling program is certainly back on the map in a big way and Nate will help us continue our climb. His recent experience working with some of the best coaches in the country will certainly make an impact here at Lock Haven." Carr is looking forward to his start in The Haven. "I'm excited about joining the Lock Haven University wrestling program," said Carr. "I am looking forward to helping these young men achieve their goals both on and off the mats. Lock Haven wrestling has a rich tradition of winning and competing at a high level, and it will be an honor to help continue that tradition alongside coach Moore."

NEW YORK -- Former Purdue Assistant Coach and Wisconsin All-American Zach Tanelli has been named the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling, announced today by the Campbell Family Director of Athletics Peter Pilling. Zach Tanelli"We are very pleased to welcome Zach to Columbia as our new head coach of the wrestling program," Pilling said. "His credentials as a student-athlete and a coach on the national level will enhance the success our current wrestlers have established. Zach's proven track record in recruiting paired with his ties to the East Coast and Midwest will undoubtedly aid in attracting talented student-athletes to Columbia." Tanelli comes to Columbia after spending the past two years at Purdue, having gotten his start in collegiate coaching at Hofstra. "I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity that the administration, staff and supporters of Columbia Wrestling have given me," Tanelli said. "Having grown up in the New York City area, this brings me home. Our road ahead is exciting and challenging, but I can't wait to begin to build relationships with the student-athletes and community behind Columbia University and the Athletic Department." This past year, Tanelli helped Purdue send three wrestlers to the NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden, with two of those qualifiers earning automatic bids from the Big Ten Championships. Seniors Danny Sabatello and Chad Welch led the way, as Tanelli helped the pair take fifth at 141 and 165, respectively, during the conference tournament. Tanelli left the Boilermakers in good shape, as FloWrestling ranked Purdue with the sixth best recruiting class of 2016. During his first season with the Boilermakers, Tanelli saw eight wrestlers advance to the 2015 NCAA Championships after five grapplers took home podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships. Purdue spent seven weeks on the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, finishing the season ranked 23rd. The 2014-15 dual season saw Purdue win 10 duals, including six home dual victories, which was the most in Holloway Gymnasium since the 2005-06 season. Tanelli joined the Boilermaker wrestling program after a five-year coaching stint at Hofstra from 2009-14. During his time with the Pride, Tanelli worked his way up the coaching ranks, serving as interim head coach prior to his stint at Purdue. He was the head assistant coach for the two previous seasons after spending his first three years as an assistant at Hofstra. The former Badger made an impact throughout Hofstra's lineup, particularly in the lower weights. Tanelli coached four All-Americans, while the Pride won three-straight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) team titles from 2011-13 before moving to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) in 2013-14. Hofstra placed fourth with two finalists during Tanelli's time coaching in the EIWA, including the 165-pound champion, Joseph Booth. While in the CAA, seven Hofstra athletes claimed tournament crowns under the guidance of Tanelli, including a pair of two-time champs. In addition, five other wrestlers claimed individual CAA titles during his stint. Tanelli wrestled the first three years of his Wisconsin career at 133 pounds and bumped up to 141 for his senior campaign in 2009. He was a two-time NCAA qualifier at 133 and earned a spot on the 141 podium with a fourth-place finish to earn All-America accolades. Tanelli wrapped up his senior season with a 31-6 record, including a perfect 7-0 mark against Big Ten foes. He was ranked No. 1 at his weight for the second half of the 2008-09 season after winning the 141-pound Midlands Championship, before becoming the runner-up at the Big Ten Championships. A native of Millburn, New Jersey, Tanelli earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Wisconsin in 2009 and his master's degree in higher educational leadership and policy studies from Hofstra in 2012.

Chad Mendes, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight fighter and two-time NCAA All-American wrestler, has been suspended for two years, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced Wednesday. Chad MendesUSADA, which independently administers the UFC's anti-doping policy, said that an out-of-competition test conducted May 17 revealed the presence of GHRP-6, which stands for Growth Hormone-Releasing Hexapeptide. GHRP-6 falls under the class of Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics in the UFC's anti-doping program, which has been adopted from the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited list, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday. "Something to note is that while it has growth hormone in the name, GHRP-6 is not the same as human growth hormone (hGH)," wrote Iain Kidd for mixed martial arts website BloodyElbow.com. "GHRP-6 is a substance which is designed to increase your body's natural production of growth hormone," Kidd continued. "Much like clomiphene is useful for increasing the body's production of testosterone, GHRP-6 does the same thing for growth hormone, though in a different way. GHRP-6 can be used as needed without requiring any 'cycling' or post-cycle therapy." BloodyElbow.com went on to say that GHRP-6 and other drugs intended to increase hGH fall into the middle of the scale in terms of outlawed supplements. While the competitive advantage is nowhere near that of an anabolic steroid at the top of the scale, it's also a definitive physiological advantage above and beyond what is offered from legal supplements. Mendes' suspension will be retroactive to June 10, 2016, the day his sample was returned and he received a provisional suspension while the matter was adjudicated. The 31-year-old Mendes has compiled a 17-4 overall record as a featherweight (145 pound) fighter. He has lost three of his last four fights, suffering a first-round KO at the hands of Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter 22 event in Dec. 2015. Prior to launching his professional MMA career in Sept. 2008, Mendes crafted a successful amateur wrestling career, first as a three-time California state placer in high school, then at Cal Poly, where he was a two-time NCAA Division I finalist, making it to the 141-pound finals at the 2008 NCAA championships. News of Mendes' two-year suspension comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this week that Brock Lesnar, former collegiate wrestling champ, UFC heavyweight champ and WWE titleholder, may face a suspension after reportedly failing a drug test.

Jace Koelzer of Kansas is after a Cadet Triple Crown(Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) FARGO, N.D. -- Day 1 of Cadet freestyle saw the field of over 1100 wrestlers pared down to 24 in each of 17 weight classes, which means only about 35 percent of the wrestlers that started in the tournament remain headed into two sessions of wrestling on Thursday. The quarterfinals will be wrestled during the 9:30 a.m. CT session, while the semifinals will be wrestled in the 3:30 p.m. session. Medal matches are scheduled for 2 p.m. on Friday. Quarterfinal pairings: 88 pounds: Andrew Chambal (Michigan) vs. Cody Minor (Wisconsin), Paxton Creese (Minnesota) vs. Sam Latona (Alabama); Wyatt Yapoujian (Colorado) vs. Cullan Schriever (Iowa), Timothy Levine (California) vs. Blake Noonan (Michigan) Chambal and Schriever were champions in Cadet folkstyle, Latona won Cadet Greco, while Schriever is ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2020 94: Jeremiah Reno (Missouri) vs. Braydon Mogle (Utah), David Stepanian (Michigan) vs. Josh Ogunsanya (Illinois); Justin Bierdumpfel (New Jersey) vs. Dominic Chavez (Texas), Isaac Romero (Montana) vs. Dylan Ragusin (Illinois) Ragusin was champion in Cadet Greco, while Reno (UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up) and Bierdumpfel are ranked No. 6 and No. 20 respectively in the Class of 2020. 100: Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) vs. Oscar Sanchez (Ohio), Kellyn March (South Dakota) vs. Ridge Lovett (Idaho); Julian Tagg (Ohio) vs. Trey Crawford (Missouri), Matthew Ramos (Illinois) vs. Eric Faught (Iowa) Lovett was champion in Cadet Greco, Tagg is ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2020, and Faught was runner-up in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals. 106: Angelo Rini (Ohio) vs. Patrick Allis (Colorado), Corey Gamet (Michigan) vs. Beau Bayless (Pennsylvania); Joseph Heilmann (New Jersey) vs. Greg Diakomihalis (New York), Dylan Ryder (New York) vs. Jace Koelzer (Kansas) Koelzer seeks a Cadet Triple Crown, having won the folkstyle title in April and the Greco-Roman title on Monday afternoon. 113: Coltan Yapoujian (Colorado) vs. Trevor Mastrogiovanni (New Jersey), Malyke Hines (Florida) vs. Jordan Hamdan (Michigan); Travis Ford-Melton (Illinios) vs. Adrian Marquez (Colorado), Kyle Burwick (North Dakota) vs. Adam Busiello (New York) Hamdan was champion in Cadet Greco, while Yapoujian (No. 22), Ford-Melton (No. 11), and Busiello (No. 3) are all ranked within the Class of 2019. 120: Jordan Decatur (Ohio) vs. Reece Witcraft (Oklahoma), Theorius Robison (Colorado) vs. Andrew Alirez (Colorado); Brody Teske (Iowa) vs. Carmen Ferrante (New Jersey), Robbie Precin (Illinois) vs. Joshua Saunders (Missouri) Robison was champion in Cadet Greco, and is ranked nationally (No. 15) in the Class of 2019 along with Decatur (No. 5) and Alirez (No. 17); while Saunders is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2020. 126: Nick Raimo (New Jersey) vs. Caleb Birdwell (Montana), Jacob Garcia (Arizona) vs. Chris Cannon (New Jersey); Peyton Robb (Minnesota) vs. Aidan Medora (Wisconsin), Job Greenwood (Colorado) vs. Jaden Abas (California) Raimo seeks a second straight sweep of the Cadet titles in Fargo, and is ranked No. 2 overall in the Class of 2019. Also ranked overall in the Class of 2019 are Abas (No. 12) and Cannon (No. 13). 132: Jacori Teemer (New York) vs. Dustin Plott (Oklahoma), Nick Freeman (Michigan) vs. Tyler Eischens (Minnesota); Trevor Mansfield (South Carolina) vs. Kevon Davenport (Michigan), Alfonso Martinez (Arizona) vs. Mason Phillips (Washington) Phillips was champion in Cadet Greco, Teemer is ranked No. 29 overall in the Class of 2018, Davenport is ranked No. 49 in the Class of 2019, while Plott (No. 11) and Martinez (No. 16) are ranked nationally in the Class of 2020. 138: Sammy Sasso (Pennsylvania) vs. Fidel Mayora (Illinois), Gerard Angelo (New Jersey) vs. Zac Musselman (Utah); Will Lewan (Illinois) vs. Jacob Tvinnereim (Minnesota), Kiernan Shanahan (New York) vs. Brock Hardy (Utah) Lewan (No. 28) was champion in Cadet Greco, Sasso (No. 6) seeks a second straight Cadet freestyle title, while Hardy (No. 26) is after a second straight double finals appearance at the Cadet level in Fargo; each is also ranked nationally in the Class of 2018. Mayora is ranked No. 15 in the Class of 2020. 145: Zach Lee (Wisconsin) vs. Baylor Fernandes (Illinois), Abe Assad (Illinois) vs. Markus Hartman (Illinois); Brian Meyer (New Jersey) vs. Devin Roberts (Minnesota), Justin McCoy (Pennsylvania) vs. Jared Franek (North Dakota) Franek was champion in Cadet folkstyle. 152: Frankie Gissendanner (New York) vs. Jordan Komac (Montana), Carter Starocci (Pennsylvania) vs. Sean Harman (Oregon); Tyler Dow (Wisconsin) vs. Anthony Jackson (Minnesota), Hunter Jump (Oklahoma) vs. Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) Dow was champion in Cadet folkstyle. Gissendanner is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2018, while Jackson is ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2019. 160: Julian Ramirez (Florida) vs. Bryce Alsteen (Wisconsin), Josh Stillings (Pennsylvania) vs. Jacob Logan (New York); Aaron Brooks (Maryland) vs. Parker Keckelsen (Wisconsin), Drian Hays (Colorado) vs. Jake Hendricks (Pennsylvania) Brooks was champion in Cadet Greco, while Ramirez is ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2019. 170: Travis Wittlake (Oregon) vs. Joel Shapiro (Iowa), Guillermo Escobedo (California) vs. Devin Winston (Missouri); Tyler Barnes (New York) vs. Joey Ewalt (Kansas), Zach Peterson (Minnesota) vs. Billy Janzer (New Jersey) Wittlake is after a Cadet Triple Crown, and Winston joins him in having won a Cadet folkstyle title. UWW Cadet World freestyle team member Wittlake is ranked No. 8 in the Class of 2018, while Winston is ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2019. 182: Ryan Karoly (New Jersey) vs. Jonathan Fagen (Idaho), Nick Casperson (South Dakota) vs. Julian Gorring (Pennsylvania); Jake Thompson (Ohio) vs. Lucas Davison (Indiana), David Schultz (Maryland) vs. Austin Cooley (Massachusetts) Karoly was champion in Cadet Greco, and is after a repeat title in Cadet freestyle (which would mean double finals in Fargo during both Cadet years); he is also ranked No. 25 in the Class of 2018. Davison was the Cadet folkstyle champion. 195: Jake Cook (New York) vs. Sergio Villalobos (Illinois), Hunter DeJong (Iowa) vs. Eli Pokorney (Indiana); Kaleb Reeves (Iowa) vs. Santos Cantu (Oregon), Elijah Osit (Illinois) vs. Braxton Amos (Ohio) Amos was the Cadet Greco champion, and is ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2020, while Villalobos was a champion in Cadet folkstyle. 220: Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) vs. Cabe Dickerson (Oklahoma), Tristan Bennett (Oregon) vs. Tyler Curd (Missouri); Kyle Cornwell (Indiana) vs. Chase Trussell (Utah), Jace Punke (Illinois) vs. Gavin Hoffman (Pennsylvania) Schultz is ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2019, while Curd was champion in Cadet Greco after upsetting Schultz in the quarterfinals. Also in this weight class is Hoffman, who is ranked No. 27 in the Class of 2018. 285: Ronald Tucker (Illinois) vs. Jayson Gomez (New York), Andy Garcia (Colorado) vs. Austin Emerson (Michigan); Montana Phillips (Oklahoma) vs. Payton Smith (South Dakota), Moses Jackson (Oregon) vs. Spencer Trenary (Iowa) Trenary was champion in Cadet Greco, while Tucker was champion in Cadet folkstyle; Tucker is ranked No. 25 in the Class of 2019.

Bill Donnelly, a wrestler on the University of Northern Iowa in the late 1970s, has lost his battle with colon cancer. He was 57. Bill DonnellyA resident of Davenport, Washington, Donnelly passed away on July 11. William Gerald Donnelly III was born in Davenport, Iowa in December 1958. He wrestled at nearby Bettendorf High School where he posted a 28-4-0 record, placing sixth at the Iowa high school state tournament at 128 pounds, according to his biography in the 1978-79 UNI wrestling media guide. Donnelly then headed northwest from the Quad Cities to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where he was a member of the Panther wrestling squad for coach Chuck Patten at 142 pounds. Donnelly could count among his teammates NCAA champs Kirk Myers and Keith Poolman. "(Donnelly) had injury problems and never wrestled first team but he had a heart of gold," Myers - three-time NCAA Division II champ at 190 pounds (1978-1980) - told InterMat Wednesday. "He was a very caring person. He was a UNI Panther in every sense of the word." Jim Swieter, also a teammate of Donnelly's at UNI and native of Maquoketa, Iowa, posted this message on the CaringBridge.com website set up for the wrestler they called "Billy D": "I was fortunate to have known your dad since high school," said the former Panther 150-pounder. "We grew up about 40 miles from each other and became friends through wrestling. We attended UNI together and were teammates. The brotherhood and bond of the sport enhanced our friendship along with many shenanigans during our college years. In 2007 we had a UNI reunion and I had a chance to spend time with your dad. We were in the same foursome for the golf tournament and had a blast." "Your dad was such a great guy and respected by all of his friends and teammates," Swieter continued. "I will miss him as I'm sure you will too."

California state champion Evan Wick is one of the favorites at 160 pounds (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com) "The Super Bowl of high school (aged) wrestling." That is what many a person has described the Junior National freestyle tournament as being over the years. The field of wrestlers that will be competing on Thursday and Friday to pare down to Saturday morning's medal round represent the crème de la crème of high school wrestling. Those competing will mostly be rising seniors with a chunk of graduated seniors and rising juniors as well, rising sophomores are also eligible for the Junior freestyle tournament. The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of the projected field. It is based on wrestlers entered online in Trackwrestling as of Tuesday evening. 100 pounds: Malik Heinselman (Colorado), who will be competing in his second straight Cadet World freestyle tournament in September, is the extreme favorite in this weight class. He was also a Cadet Nationals double champion last year. Others to watch include state champion Brendon Garcia (Colorado), who won the Junior Greco title on Tuesday afternoon; state medalists Brandon Nunez (New York) and Matthew Petersen (Minnesota); along with junior folk runner-up Cody Holmes (Wisconsin) 106: Jason Holmes (Arizona) is the defending champion in this weight class. However, there is a strong group of challengers behind him. Said pack is led by Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania), who won a second straight Junior Greco title on Tuesday afternoon, and was runner-up to Holmes in last year's Junior freestyle tournament; he also was a FloNationals champion this spring. Another pair of contenders were champions in Junior folkstyle, Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) and Ty Smith (Nevada); Schwartz was a Cadet Triple Crown winner last year, while Smith is a two-time scholastic state champion. Three others in this weight will be seeking a second straight double All-American finish at the Junior Nationals: Elijah Varona (Florida), Nathan Rankin (Texas), and Tyler Cunningham (Nebraska); Varona was runner-up to Lane for a second straight year in Greco on Tuesday afternoon. Additional contenders include Cody Phippen (Missouri), an All-American last year at both the Cadet and Junior levels in freestyle; returning Cadet freestyle runner-up Rayvon Foley (Michigan); along with a trio of two-time state champions in Brandon Kaylor (Washington), Koby Milner (Georgia), and Wyatt Adams (Oklahoma). 113: The slight favorite in this weight class might be 2015 Cadet World team member Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio), who was also a Cadet freestyle champion last summer and a UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up last month. He is joined by six other wrestlers who were nationally ranked at the end of the 2015-16 season at 106 pounds: Nico Aguilar (California), Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Kyle Biscoglia (Iowa), Joey Melendez (Illinois), Michael Colaiocco (New Jersey), and Joseph Harrison (Nebraska). McKee, Biscoglia, Colaiocco, and Harrison were all Cadet freestyle All-Americans last year; Aguilar was a Cadet freestyle champion in 2014; while Melendez was a UWW Cadet freestyle All-American this spring along with McKee. Four wrestlers in this weight class are returning Junior freestyle All-Americans: state champions Brady Koontz (Wisconsin) and Hasan Krigger (Georgia), two-time state champion Dominic LaJoie (Michigan), along with state medalist Graham Shore (Ohio). At least four other contenders are two-time state champions: Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin), Justin Portillo (Iowa), Rhett Golowenski (Oklahoma), and Tomas Gutierrez (Colorado). 120: Four wrestlers in this absolutely loaded weight class have been Junior National freestyle finalists. Brandon Courtney (Arizona) won the title last year at 113 pounds, while three-time Junior folkstyle champion Danny Vega (Arizona) won a title in 2014 at 106 pounds. Finishing as runners-up last year were two-time state champion Drew Mattin (Ohio) and two-time state runner-up Liam Cronin (California), doing so at 113 and 106 respectively. However, the favorite in this weight class is none of them. Instead it is two-time Cadet World team member Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania), who is undefeated in two years of high school wrestling and was the UWW Junior runner-up at 55 kilos (121 pounds) in freestyle this April. Two others in this weight class were Junior freestyle All-Americans last year, state champion Paxton Rosen (Oklahoma) and three-time state champion Jaxon Cole (Utah). Another pair in this weight class earned their second Cadet freestyle All-American finish last year, 2015 state champion Jonathan Gomez (New York) and two-time state placer Matthew Parker (Pennsylvania). At least three other wrestlers in this weight class are three-time state champions: Jack Wagner (Iowa), Connor Brown (Missouri), and FloNationals champion Ian Timmins (Nevada). At least three others in this weight class are two-time state champions: Bryce West (Iowa), Jet Taylor (Oklahoma), and Tommy Hoskins (Ohio). Other contenders include Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma), who is now a two-time Junior Greco champion, as well as state champion and Super 32 Challenge placer Colin Valdiviez (Missouri). 126: In terms of overall resume, two wrestlers in this field stand above all the rest, Austin Gomez (Illinois) and Matthew Schmitt (Missouri). Gomez beat Schmitt for fifth place in last year's Junior freestyle tournament at 120 pounds. In addition, Gomez is a two-time UWW Junior freestyle All-American, and a three-time Cadet National champion in Fargo (2013 in Greco, 2014 double); while Schmitt won the Greco title in this weight class on Tuesday afternoon after three prior runner-up finishes in Fargo (Junior Greco 2015, Junior free 2014, Cadet free 2013). Another contender in this weight class is Junior folkstyle champion Paul Konrath (Indiana), who was a FloNationals champion in 2015 and a Cadet freestyle champion in 2014. At least three additional wrestelrs in this weight class are two-time state champions: Alex Thomsen (Iowa), Jackson Henson (West Virginia), and Quincy Monday (Texas); two-time state champion Thomsen was a runner-up in Cadet freestyle last year and placed in the Super 32 Challenge this past fall. At least five others in this weight class have a single state title: NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Codi Russell (Georgia), 2014 champion Drew West (Iowa), Drew Marten (Michigan), Jake Gliva (Minnesota), and 2015 champion Michael McGee (Illinois). Justin Portillo (Iowa) is a three-time state champion; while Cole Manley (Pennsylvania), Dan Moran (Pennsylvania), and Zach Sherman (New Jersey) are each multi-time state/National Prep placers with at least one runner-up finish. 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) is the defending champion in this weight class, and added a second Junior Greco title on Tuesday afternoon. In addition, LaMont is a three-time state champion, a FloNationals champion this spring, and a 2013 Cadet freestyle champion. Joining LaMont as a top 25 Class of 2016 prospect in this weight class is three-time state champion Rudy Yates (Illinois), though he has a relatively light Olympic styles resume. There is a pair of wrestlers in this weight class who join LaMont in returning as Junior freestyle All-Americans, Chris Sandoval (Colorado) and Ian Parker (Michigan). Sandoval is a three-time state finalist, 2015 state champion, and was the Junior folkstyle champion this spring; while Parker won his second state title this past season. Another pair have Junior Greco-Roman runner-up finishes on the resume, Dalton Young (Washington) and Gabe Townsell (Illinois); Young was runner-up to LaMont on Tuesday afternoon and is a three-time state champion; while Townsell was runner-up down a weight class on Tuesday afternoon after winning a Junior Greco title last year at 126, and is also a three-time state placer. At least four additional wrestlers in this weight class have won three-or-more state titles: two-time Cadet freestyle All-American Brent Jones (Minnesota), Brock Rathbun (Iowa), Danny Bertoni (Maryland), and Zach Van Alst (Alabama). At least four others have state titles on the resume: two-time champion Grant Willits (Colorado); 2015 champion Max Murin (Pennsylvania), a two-time Cadet National and UWW Cadet All-American in freestyle; Timmy Kane (Connecticut), and Triston Lara (Iowa). At least four additional wrestlers are two-time state placers: Brendan Black (Indiana); Gianni Ghione (New Jersey), a 2015 state runner-up; K.J. Fenstermacher (Pennsylvania); and Super 32 Challenge placer Quinn Kinner (New Jersey). 138: The word "loaded" doesn't even scratch the surface to describe the quality in this weight class. However, based on resume alone, Mitch McKee (Minnesota) would be the slight favorite. He won a fourth Fargo title in Greco-Roman on Tuesday afternoon (repeat Junior level title), and is after a fourth consecutive Fargo final in freestyle this week (winning the Junior title in 2014). The Minnesota bound grappler was also a UWW Junior National freestyle champion this spring, though he lost the World Team Trials series in three bouts at 60 kilos (132 pounds). In addition to McKee, there are three other returning Junior National freestyle All-Americans: Carter Happel (Iowa), Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma), and Parker Filius (Montana). Happel is also a four-time state champion, 2014 Cadet World team member in freestyle, and 2013 Cadet National freestyle champion; Gfeller is also a three-time state champion, Super 32 Challenge placer, and 2013 Cadet freestyle champion; while Filius is also a three-time state champion. Two others in addition to McKee were UWW Junior freestyle All-Americans this spring, Ben Freeman (Michigan) and Nick Lee (Indiana). Freeman is a two-time state champion and was runner-up at both the UWW Junior Nationals (63 kilos) and FloNationals this spring; while Lee is a 2015 state champion (three-time placer), earned All-American honors in the 60 kilo class at UWW Juniors, and was the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2014 Cadet National freestyle tournament. Three additional wrestlers in this weight class were two-time Cadet freestyle All-americans: Corey Shie (Ohio), Jaden Enriquez (California), and Jamie Hernandez (Illinois). Two-time state placer Shie placed at the Super 32 Challenge this fall, was runner-up in Junior folkstyle this spring, and is now a two-time Junior Greco All-American; Enriquez is a two-time state placer, including a runner-up finish in 2015; while Hernandez is a two-time state placer (runner-up this year), was a Cadet freestyle runner-up last summer, and was runner-up in freestyle at the UWW Cadet Nationals this spring. Others to watch include four-time state champion and Junior Greco runner-up this week Jarrett Degen (Montana); NHSCA Senior Nationals champion Kanen Storr (Michigan), a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer and FloNationals runner-up this spring; three-time state champion Garrett Aldrich (Minnesota); two-time state champion Brock Mauller (Missouri); along with state champions Alec Hagan (Missouri) and Jaden Van Maanen (Wisconsin) 145: Two wrestlers in this weight class have been Junior National freestyle All-Americans previously, Hunter Marko (Wisconsin) and Ryan Deakin (Colorado). Marko was champion in 2013 and is a three-time All-American, to go with four scholastic state titles and a pair of Junior folkstyle runner-up finishes; while Deakin was champion in Greco on Tuesday afternoon (third Junior All-American finish in that style), and is a two-time state champion to go with the Super 32 Challenge third place finish this past fall. Another pair in this weight class have been finalists in Junior Greco-Roman, Austin O'Connor (Illinois) and Jaron Jensen (Utah); O'Connor is also a three-time state champion and runner-up in the Super 32 Challenge this fall, while Jensen is also a two-time state champion. Winning a Junior folkstyle title this spring was Alex Lloyd (Minnesota), who is also won a state title this winter scholastically. At least six others have won a pair of high school state-level titles: last year's Cadet National double champion Anthony Artalona (Florida), Charles Kane (Connecticut), FloNationals placers Devin Bahr (Wisconsin) and Jarrett Jacques (Missouri), Justin Ruffin (Georgia), and Ryan Leisure (Iowa). Additional wrestlers to watch include state champions A.J. Jaffe (Illinois), Brik Filippo (Oklahoma), and Nelson Brands (Iowa); along with two-time state-level medalists in Phil Conigliaro (Massachusetts) and two-time FloNationals placer Jake Hinkson (Pennsylvania). 152: Griffin Parriott (Minnesota) earned what was for him an elusive stop sign on Tuesday afternoon in Junior Greco, and is arguably the favorite to make it a sweep of the titles this week before headed off to Purdue. He was also a four-time state champion, two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, and two-time UWW Junior freestyle third place finisher. One of the primary threats to Parriott is Zander Wick (California), who like Parriott, finished fifth in Junior freestyle alst summer; he also won a state title this winter and was a Junior folkstyle champion this spring. The third returning Junior freestyle All-American in this weight class is four-time state champion Wyatt Sheets (Oklahoma), who also was a UWW Junior freestyle All-American this spring. A pair of Cadet freestyle finalists from last year are present in this weight class, Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma) and Joe Lee (Indiana). Curry was runner-up in Fargo, and a state champion this winter; while Lee was champion last year in Fargo, a state champion this winter, and a runner-up in freestyle last month at the UWW Cadet Nationals. At least three additional wrestlers in this weight class have won three or more state titles: Hunter Willits (Colorado), Zemua Baptista (Nebraska), and Super 32 Challenge placer Quentin Hovis (Arizona). Others to watch include NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Billy Higgins (Nebraska), two-time state placer Jack Conway (Ohio), two-time state champion Kyler Rea (Missouri), as well as Junior Greco runner-up and two-time National Prep placer Lenny Merkin (New York). 160: Entering this weight class as a slight favorite is returning runner-up Evan Wick (California), who also won a Junior folkstyle title this spring. In addition, Wick was a state champ this winter, and a UWW Junior freestyle runner-up this spring. Five wrestlers within the top 50 overall for the Class of 2017 are among the challengers: Eric Hong (Pennsylvania), Hunter Bolen (Virginia), Jake Allar (Minnesota), Layne van Anrooy (Oregon), and Luke Troy (California). Hong is a 2014 National Prep champion and two-time Super 32 Challenge placer; Bolen is a two-time state champ, Super 32 placer, and FloNationals runner-up; Allar is a Super 32 placer and state champion; van Anrooy is a three-time state champion and FloNationals placer; while Troy is a two-time state placer, 2015 Junior folkstyle champion, and a returning Junior freestyle All-American. Two others in this weight class were Junior folkstyle runners-up this spring, state champions Bailee O'Reilly (Minnesota) and Colton Clingenpeel (Iowa). At least five others in this weight class were state champions this past season: Austin Hiles (Ohio), two-time champion Blake Montrie (Michigan), Emille Shannon (Illinois), two-time champ and NHSCA Senior Nationals champ Luke Weber (Montana), along with 2014 Cadet freestyle champion Trey Meyer (Washington). Others to watch include 2014 state champions Dan Filipek (Missouri) and Junior Greco runner-up Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), along with state runner-up and FloNationals placer Trent Hidlay (Pennsylvania). 170: Anthony Mantanona (Calfiornia) moves up a weight class after winning the Junior Greco title at 160 pounds on Tuesday afternoon. The two-time state placer (runner-up this past year) was also champion at the FloNationals and a placer in the Super 32 Challenge this past season. The most prime challenger to Mantanona would be 2015 UWW Cadet freestyle champion Jelani Embree (Michigan), who was also a state champion and FloNationals runner-up during the first half of 2016. Three others in this weight class were freestyle runners-up in Fargo last summer, Lucas Jeske (Minnesota) at the Junior level, with Marcus Coleman (Iowa) and Jack Jessen (Illinois) doing so at the Cadet level; Jeske was state champion in 2015, Coleman is a two-time state champion, while two-time state medalist Jessen also was a Cadet Greco finalist last year and a UWW Cadet freestyle runner-up last month. At least five additional wrestlers in this weight class have previously earned a state title: 2015 Junior Greco runner-up Andrew Berreyesa (Nevada), Canten Marriott (Missouri), two-time champion Johnny Blankenship (Missouri), Myles Wilson (Colorado), and Tyler Morland (Michigan). Also in the weight class are multi-time placers A.J. Pedro (Massachusetts), J.T. Brown (Ohio), Leo Tarantino (Florida), two-time runner-up Robbie Bowers (Ohio), and Victor Marcelli (Ohio); Marcelli seeks a double All-American finish at the Junior level to go with the one at the Cadet level last year. 182: In a weight class that features three returning Junior freestyle All-Americans, it is not one of that trio who is favored. Instead the pick here is Keegan Moore (Minnesota), who won multiple state titles in high school and was a 2014 Cadet Triple Crown winner; falling short of All-American honors last summer in this weight class came as a total surprise. The three wrestlers to earn All-American in Junior freestyle last year in this field are James Handwerk (Ohio), Kevin Parker (New York), and Owen Webster (Minnestoa). Handwerk seeks a second straight double All-American finish at the Junior Nationals, and is a two-time state champion; Parker is also a two-time state champion and was a FloNationals placer this spring; while Webster won state in 2014 and was a Cadet World team member last year at 85 kilos (187 pounds). Three wrestlers in this weight class have the state champion and FloNationals placer combo from this year: Bob Coleman (Oregon), Casey Cornett (Kentucky), and Jake Woodley (Pennsylvania); Woodley is also a two-time Cadet freestyle All-American. At least four additional wrestlers in this weight class are multi-time state champions: Casey Randles (Iowa), Chase Shiltz (Iowa), Jesse Shearer (North Dakota), and Taylor Venz (Minnesota). Another trio of wrestlers -- at least -- were state-level champions this year: NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Anthony Falbo (Connecticut); Matt Waddell (Georgia), a two-time Junior Greco All-American; and Junior folkstyle runner-up Max Lyon (Iowa). Rounding out the contenders are Junior Greco champion Logan Gruszka (Illinois), as well as two-time state placers Aaron Paddock (New York) and Anthony Sherry (Iowa). 195: As one of two returning Junior freestyle All-Americans in this weight class, two-time state champion Ben Darmstadt (Ohio) enters the tournament favored to win his first stop sign. The Cornell bound wrestler is also a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer. The other returning Junior freestyle All-American is Jack Harris (Ohio), who is also a two-time Super 32 placer and won his first state title this past season. Four wrestlers in this weight class were state champions and FloNationals placers this past season: Brandon Whitman (Michigan), also a Cadet freestyle runner-up last year; Haydn Maley (Oregon), champion in Junior Greco on Tuesday afternoon; Jacob Raschka (Wisconsin), champion in Cadet freestyle last year; and John Borst (Virginia). At least four other wrestlers in this weight class have also earned state titles: Brandon Kui (New Jersey), two-time champion Colton Wolfe (Nebraska), returning Cadet double All-American Dan Baker (Oklahoma), and Trenton Schultz (Colorado). Another pair were runners-up this past season: Patrick Brucki (Illinois) and junior folkstyle runner-up Samuel Grove (North Dakota). Rounding out wrestlers to watch are Junior folkstyle champion Andrew Davison (Indiana) and two-time state placer Danny Salas (California). 220: Leading the way in this weight class is now seven-time Fargo finalist Samuel Colbray (Oregon), who won his fourth Greco-Roman title in five finals appearances on Tuesday afternoon (Junior titles in 2014 and 2016). In freestyle, the four-time state champion has finished third and second at the Junior level after a runner-up finish at the Cadet level in 2013. Three primary challengers to Colbray are ranked within the top 100 for the Class of 2017: Jared Campbell (Ohio), Zane Black (Pennsylvania), and Wyatt Wriedt (Iowa); two-time state runner-up Campbell was a FloNationals champion this spring, Black placed at the Super 32 Challenge this past fall, and Wriedt was a state champion this season. At least four others in this weight class were state champions this past season: three-timer Ashton Seely (Utah), returning Junior freestyle All-American Cole Nye (Pennsyvlania), Junior Greco runner-up Jeffrey Allen (Virginia), and Noah Ryan (Minnestao). Others to watch include state medalists Anthony Piscopo (Pennsylvania) and Diata Drayton (Illinois), as well two-time state placer and FloNationals placer Francis Duggan (Pennsylvania). 285: Even though Junior Greco was unkind for Carter Isley (Iowa) earlier in the week, the Junior folkstyle champion is the favorite in freestyle. The two-time state champion seeks a second straight double All-American finish at the Junior level. At least two others in this weight class are multi-time state champions, two-timer Brian Barnes (Oregon) and three-timer Brandon Metz (North Dakota); Metz was champion in Greco on Tuesday afternoon. Two wrestlers in this weight class were Junior folkstyle runners-up this spring, state runner-up Aaron Costello (Iowa) and two-time state placer Evan Ellis (Indiana); Ellis was also a placer in both the FloNationals and Super 32 Challenge during the 2015-16 season. At least three additional wrestlers in this weight class were state champions this past season: 2014 Cadet freestyle champion Gannon Gremmel (Iowa), Kayne Hutchison (Kansas), and Sammy de Seriere (Colorado). Others to watch include state medalist Anthony Cassioppi (Illinois), who placed third in Junior Greco after placing third in both styles at the Cadet level last year; state medalist Thomas Helton (Illinois), who was runner-up in Junior Greco and seeks a second straight double All-American finish at the Junior level; two-time state placer Tommy Killoran (Pennsylvania), who also was a Super 32 Challenge placer; two-time state placers Gavin Nye (California) and Trenton Lieruance (Oklahoma); as well as state medalist Zach Muller (Illinois).

FARGO, N.D. -- Teshya Alo made USA Wrestling history on Tuesday night, winning her fourth-straight Junior Nationals title and sixth overall national championship at the Fargodome. Alo, representing Hawaii, capped off her sensational Fargo career with a 12-0 tech fall win over Colorado's Ashlynn Ortega. The 2014 Cadet World champion teched her way through the tournament, outscoring her opponents 52-0. "It feels really good," Alo said. "These girls are getting stronger and better, which is amazing to see. The wrestling community for girls is getting so huge and it's awesome. When I was small I was the only girl wrestling an all boy's tournament, I'm like, let's get some girls in here." Read complete story on TheMat.com … 2016 ASICS/VAUGHAN JUNIOR GRECO-ROMAN NATIONALS July 19 at The Fargodome in Fargo, N.D. Finals results: 97 lbs. - Emily Shilson (Minnesota) fall Naomi Chavez (Texas), 0:32 105 lbs. - Alleida Martinez (California) tech. fall Jasmine Weaver (Virginia), 14-3 112 lbs. - Cameron Guerin (Washington) fall Amanda Walker (Pennsylvania), 0:45 117 lbs. - Brenda Reyna (Washington) fall Ronna Heaton (South Dakota), 1:09 121 lbs. - Gracie Figueroa (California) tech. fall Alexandra Hedrick (California), 12-1 125 lbs. - Michaela Beck (New York) dec. Gabrielle Garcia (California), 3-1 130 lbs. - Alexandria Liles (Texas) tech. fall Emma Bruntil (Washington), 10-0 139 lbs. - Teshya Alo (Hawaii) tech. fall Ashlyn Ortega (Colorado), 12-0 148 lbs. - Kayla Marano (Georgia) dec. Jayden Laurent (Wisconsin), 7-5 159 lbs. - Rachel Watters (Iowa) dec. Alexis Bleau (New York), 7-0 172 lbs. - Sara Kouba (Wisconsin) tech. fall Joanna Mack (California), 18-8 198 lbs. - Victoria Espinoza (California) dec. Alexandera Castillo (California), 8-5

Andrew "Drew" Esquivel, wrestler at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was killed about 3 a.m. Saturday when an off-duty New York City police officer allegedly struck him while driving under the influence. Esquivel was 21. Andrew "Drew" EsquivelEsquivel was struck on a Brooklyn sidewalk by a Dodge Durango driven by Nicholas Batka, 28, at 3 a.m. Saturday, four hours before scheduled to report to work. Batka's SUV plowed into Esquivel and three friends who were severely injured but are expected to survive. Batka is facing manslaughter charges and has been suspended from duty by the NYPD. A California native, Esquivel was living in Manhattan while working at a software firm as a summer intern. This fall, he would have begun his senior year at MIT, as a computer science major on a full academic scholarship, according to KTVU-TV, which reported that Esquivel had selected the Cambridge, Mass. school over offers from Stanford and Ivy League schools. Esquivel was captain of the MIT wrestling team, where he competed at 125 and 133 pounds. He was team MVP in 2015 as well as Rookie of the Year in 2014, according to his MIT wrestling bio. Esquivel was a two-time National Collegiate Wrestling Association national championships qualifier and a NCWA Northeast Conference finalist. Prior to enrolling at MIT, Esquivel wrestled at Healdsburg High School in California, where coach Scott Weidemier described Esquivel as being "extremely bright, extremely personable, and always giving of his time. Eagle Scout, straight A's, I really don't know how he managed to do it all. "This is such a waste. To be killed by a drunk driver, everybody is in complete shock about it. It's just a complete waste." Officials at MIT extended their sympathies Monday to those who knew Esquivel. On behalf of MIT president Rafael Reif, Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart issued this statement to the MIT community: "President Reif, who is currently traveling, asked that I share this with you and that I express, on behalf of the entire MIT community, our deepest sympathy to Drew's family and friends." Esquivel is survived by his parents Andy and Sue, and two younger sisters. A Facebook page -- "Celebrating Drew Esquivel" -- has been established to memorialize the former high school and college wrestler. A candlelight vigil will take place Friday, July 22 at Healdsburg Plaza starting at 7:30 p.m. Pacific time. In addition, there will be a memorial service for Esquivel at the Healdsburg Community Church, 1100 University Ave, Healdsburg on Saturday July 23 at 1 p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Junior National Greco-Roman champions (Photo/Trackwrestling) FARGO, N.D. -- Mitchell McKee has always shined in Fargo. The Minnesota native entered this year's event with four Fargo titles in four years and seven finals appearances in eight attempts. On Tuesday, McKee made it five Fargo titles by cruising to a Junior National Greco-Roman title at 138 pounds with a 13-0 technical fall in the finals over Montana's Jarett Degen. In his post-match interview, McKee was asked by Shane Sparks what the word commitment means to him. "Commitment is getting in the practice room, wrestling hard every, getting in there often and training for moments like this that you have to come out and give it your all with the right technique," said McKee. McKee was one of four wrestlers to repeat as a champion in the Junior National Greco-Roman competition. Other repeat champions included Pennsylvania's Jaret Lane (106), Illinois' Dack Punke (113) and Oklahoma's Dalton Duffield (120). Lane battled Florida's Elijah Varona in the finals at 106 pound in a rematch of last year's finals match at 100 pounds. Varona led most of the match until the closing seconds when Lane hit a four-point move to steal a 5-2 victory. "Even if you're down you can come back in this style of wrestling at any point with a big throw or a pin," said Lane. Punke was dominant in the finals at 113 pounds, earning a 10-0 technical fall over Nebraska's Joseph Harrison in under a minute. Punke's title gave Illinois its 73rd Junior Greco title, which is more than any other state. "The team and the state of Illinois just keeps me motivated to come out here and do as best as I can at nationals," said Punke. Duffield used a five-point throw to put an exclamation point on a 13-2 victory in the finals over Austin Macias of Illinois. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the competition. Utah's Taylor LaMont (132), who placed fifth at the Cadet World Championships last year in Greco-Roman, claimed his fourth Fargo title. He was a Junior Greco-Roman champion in 2014. "I think my biggest accomplishments are probably here on this stage," said LaMont. "This is my fourth Fargo title. It's really hard to compare to those." Local favorite Brandon Metz, a Fargo native, concluded the Junior National Greco-Roman competition with a fall in 29 seconds to win the title at 285 pounds. Illinois claimed the team title with 72 points. Minnesota came in second with 38 points. Colorado (30), California (29) and Oregon (29) rounded out the top five teams. Finals results: 100: Brendon Garcia (Colorado) tech. fall Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington), 11-0 106: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) dec. Elijah Varona (Florida), 5-2 113: Dack Punke (Illinois) tech. fall Joe Harrison (Nebraska), 10-0 120: Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) tech. fall Austin Macias (Illinois), 13-2 126: Matt Schmitt (Missouri) dec. Gabe Townsell (Illinois), 6-1 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) pinned Dalton Young (Washington), 1:33 138: Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) tech. fall Jarett Degen (Montana), 13-0 145 Ryan Deakin (Colorado) dec. Jaron Jensen (Utah), 2-1 152: Griffin Parriot (Minnesota) dec. Lenny Merkin (New York), 9-2 160: Anthony Mantanona (California) dec. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), 8-5 170: Thomas Brackett (Tennessee) by medical default over Kamal Bey (Colorado) 182: Logan Gruszka (Illinois) dec. Tony Vezzetti (Illinois), 9-2 195: Haydn Maley (Oregon) tech. fall Isaac Bartel (Iowa), 14-2 220: Sam Shields-Colbray (Oregon) tech. fall Jeffrey Allen (Virginia), 13-2 285: Brandon Metz (North Dakota) pinned Thomas Helton (Illinois), 0:29

BLACKSBURG -- Derek St. John has been promoted to the role of volunteer assistant coach, head coach Kevin Dresser announced on Monday. St. John joined the Hokies' staff at the beginning of the 2015-16 and w! as with the team in their most successful season in program history. “Now I'll be able to be matside, be more involved,” said St. John. “That will be good, it will give me more freedom. The biggest change is being able to be in the corner during matches.” In St. John's first season at Virginia Tech, the team went undefeated in ACC duals and powered to a program-best fourth place finish at Nationals. Six wrestlers earned All-America honors, with eight qualifying to compete in Madison Square Garden at the National Championship. “The thing I'm looking most forward to [in the upcoming season] is continuing to build off what was already there,” said St. John. “I'll have a full year and then some with most of these guys will be extremely positive. We want to continue to build their mindset.” Tech's fourth place finish is also the best finish among ACC teams, topping a fifth place finish by UNC in 1982. Tech won the ACC dual meet title for the second season in a row and finished runner up at this year's conference tournament. “The best thing about this coaching staff is how much freedom Coach Dresser and Coach Robie give us. They have a lot of trust in what I bring to the table and they want to give me the freedom to do as I feel fit. I think it's a good give-and-take relationship with the whole staff. It's an awesome group.” St. John came to Virginia Tech after one season as an assistant coach at North Dakota State. During that season, the Bison finished 9-4 overall, a perfect 5-0 in Western Wrestling Conference action and 23rd in the NCAA Championship. St. John, the 2013 NCAA champion at 157 pounds, became the 18th four-time All-American in Iowa history in 2014. He placed fourth at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, second as a sophomore, first as a junior and fifth as a senior, claiming his spot as one of the most decorated Hawkeye wrestlers in history. The Parnell, Iowa, native concluded his collegiate career with a record of 106-17. St. John was the 2012 Big Ten champion and a two-time Big Ten runner-up at 157 pounds. He posted a record of 31-2 in his national championship campaign of 2012-13, earning Iowa's Mike Howard Most Valuable Wrestler Award. St. John was a redshirt on the Iowa team that won the NCAA team title in 2010. He graduated from Iowa in May 2014 with a degree in business studies.

Bulgaria's junior national team coach will step in to replace Lyuben Iliev at the 2016 Rio Olympics after the 27-year-old freestyle wrestler went missing, according to multiple media reports Tuesday. Junior team coach Dimitar Kumchev will take the place of Iliev, who was slated to wrestle at 120 kilograms/275 pounds in freestyle competition at next month's Games. Where's the Bulgarian big man? "He (Iliev) just sank out of sight, we can't reach him," Bulgarian freestyle wrestling team coach Valentin Raychev said, adding that Iliev went missing on July 4 when the national team returned to Bulgaria following a training camp in Russia. Raychev described Iliev as "emotionally unstable." In 2012, Iliev spent five days in custody following a scuffle with police officers in a community in southwestern Bulgaria. Iliev qualified for the Rio Games after Belarus' Yusup Jalilau tested positive for doping during the European Olympic Qualifier in May. He had competed in at least three major world events: the 2013 European Championships (where he won a bronze medal) and World Championships, and the 2010 World Championships. Eleven Bulgarian wrestlers, including three women, will compete at the 2016 Olympics which begin in less than three weeks in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bulgarian wrestlers have won 16 Olympic titles, making wrestling the most successful sport in the Balkan country.

FARGO, N.D. -- Six wrestlers will look to repeat as Junior National Greco-Roman champions as the finals are now set. Those vying for repeat titles include Pennsylvania's Jaret Lane (106), Illinois' Dack Punke (113), Oklahoma's Dalton Duffield (120), Illinois Gabe Townsell (126), Minnesota's Mitchell McKee (138) and Colorado's Kamal Bey (170). Returning runner-up finishers Elijah Varona of Florida (106), Missouri's Matt Schmitt (126), Utah's Taylor LaMont (132) and Oregon's Sam Shields-Colbray (220) are back in the finals. The Junior National Greco-Roman finals are scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. CT. Finals matchups: 100: Brendon Garcia (Colorado) vs. Brenden Chaowanapibool (Washington) 106: Jaret Lane (Pennsylvania) vs. Elijah Varona (Florida) 113: Joe Harrison (Nebraska) vs. Dack Punke (Illinois) 120: Dalton Duffield (Oklahoma) vs. Austin Macias (Illinois) 126: Gabe Townsell (Illinois) vs. Matt Schmitt (Missouri) 132: Taylor LaMont (Utah) vs. Dalton Young (Washington) 138: Mitchell McKee (Minnesota) vs. Jarett Degen (Montana) 145 Ryan Deakin (Colorado) vs. Jaron Jensen (Utah) 152: Griffin Parriot (Minnesota) vs. Lenny Merkin (New York) 160: Anthony Mantanona (California) vs. Max Wohlabaugh (Florida) 170: Kamal Bey (Colorado) vs. Thomas Brackett (Tennessee) 182: Logan Gruszka (Illinois) vs. Tony Vezzetti (Illinois) 195: Isaac Bartel (Iowa) vs. Haydn Maley (Oregon) 220: Sam Shields-Colbray (Oregon) vs. Jeffrey Allen (Virginia) 285: Brandon Metz (North Dakota) vs. Thomas Helton (Illinois)

Russia and its athletes who were expecting an answer Tuesday as to whether they will be able to compete at the 2016 Rio Olympics must now wait even longer. The International Olympic Committee announced this morning it would "explore legal options" for banning wrestlers and other Russian athletes -- approximately 400 in all -- from the Summer Games which start in Rio de Janeiro in less than three weeks. At an emergency IOC Executive Board meeting in Switzerland today -- just one day after an independent report detailed a systematic and state-run doping program in Russia -- members fell short of an immediate ban but they did issue a series of measures relating to the McLaren Report from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) which said Russia had concealed hundreds of positive doping tests from its athletes. "With regard to the participation of Russian athletes in the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the IOC will carefully evaluate the Independent Panel [McLaren] Report," the IOC said in a statement issued Tuesday. "It will explore the legal options with regard to a collective ban of all Russian athletes for the Olympic Games 2016 versus the right to individual justice," the statement continued. It added that the committee would have to take into consideration the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decision due on Thursday concerning appeals made by 68 Russian track and field athletes who have been banned from international competition -- including next month's Olympics -- by the International Association of Athletics' Federations (IAAF) over allegations of widespread doping in the sport. The IOC also announced these actions on Tuesday: It has started disciplinary action against Russian officials mentioned in the report, adding that anyone implicated would not be given accreditation for Rio; The immediate re-testing of all Russian athletes who took part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, based on alleged problems with drug tests conducted at that event; All international Winter Olympic Winter Sports Federations must freeze their preparations for major events in Russia; The IOC will not back the European Games, scheduled for Russia in 2019. In commenting on the McLaren Report , IOC president Thomas Bach said, "The findings of the report show a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sports and on the Olympic Games. Therefore, the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organization implicated." In a chart revealing the number of positive test results for Russian athletes which disappeared from Russian drug test facilities, wrestling ranked third among Olympic sports -- behind track and field, and weightlifting -- with 28 missing test samples.