InterMat Staff

NEW YORK -- The top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions went five-for-six in Friday's quarterfinal round -- with four of the wins coming with bonus points -- to extend their lead at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York. No. 1 seed Morgan McIntosh advanced to the semifinals by pinning Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker in the quarterfinals at 197 pounds (Photo/Juan Garcia)Penn State has 68.5 points and sits 14.5 points ahead of defending NCAA champion Ohio State in the team standings after Session III. Iowa (48.5), Oklahoma State (46) and Missouri (42.5) round out the top five teams. Nico Megaludis (125), Zain Retherford (149), Jason Nolf (157), Bo Nickal (174) and Morgan McIntosh (197) punched their tickets to the semifinals for the Nittany Lions. "We're doing great," said McIntosh, who entered the tournament undefeated and seeded No. 1. "It's fun to see all those guys doing well and achieving their goals. We're all excited. Guys are wrestling well. We have some good momentum going into the semis. Tonight is going to be exciting. Our team is just having a lot of fun." Ohio State and Iowa both posted 4-1 records in the quarterfinals. Oklahoma State had the most quarterfinalists with seven, but went 3-4 in the round. The Cowboys did pick up a key upset at 149 pounds with No. 11 Anthony Collica knocking off No. 3 Lavion Mayes of Missouri. "That dude is pretty solid, strong," said Collica. "I just had to keep wrestling hard, stay in good position and I came out on top." Nebraska had a tough quarterfinal round, going 1-4. The Cornhuskers currently sit in sixth place with 35.5 points. Top-ranked heavyweight Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State dominated Lehigh's Max Wessel in the quarterfinals (Photo/Juan Garcia)Two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State and World champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State appear to be on a collision course to meet on Saturday night. Both were dominant in quarterfinal victories on Friday. "I feel confident that I have the best coaches, best training partners in the world at Ohio State. I feel like I'm constantly improving with Tervel Dlagnev and the whole coaching staff. I feel good about tonight. I'm excited to wrestle and excited to challenge myself and see if I can score more points." Nine wrestlers seeded outside the top 10 advanced to tonight's semifinals, including unseeded Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State at 174 pounds. He becomes ISU's first unseeded All-American since John Thorn in 1983. In addition, two No. 15 seeds and two No. 14 seeds advanced to the semifinals. Tonight's session is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET. Below is a weight-by-weight synopsis of what transpired in the quarterfinals. 125: Defending NCAA champion Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State cruised to the semifinals with a 10-4 decision over No. 9 Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa. He'll meet Iowa's Thomas Gilman in the semifinals. Gilman of Iowa handled Oklahoma's Ryan Millhof 16-5 in the semifinals. On the bottom side of the bracket, Nico Megaludis blanked Michigan's Conor Youtsey 4-0. Tonight he will face surprise semifinalist, No. 15 seed David Terao, who advanced to the semifinals by pinning Stanford's Connor Schram. With the match tied at 2-2 in the third period, Terao used a headlock to throw Schram and secure the pin. 133: The top two seeds, Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) and Cory Clark (Iowa), both earned shutout victories to advance to the semifinals. Garrett blanked No. 8 Earl Hall of Iowa State 5-0, while Clark topped Nebraska's Eric Montoyo 4-0. Tonight Garrett will meet defending NCAA champion Cody Brewer of Oklahoma, who earned an 8-4 victory over Penn State's Jordan Conaway. Clark will face Zane Richards of Illinois in a rematch of the Big Ten finals. 141: No. 1 Dean Heil avenged his only loss of the season, beating North Carolina's Joey Ward 8-3. Heil broke open a 1-1 match in the third period with a takedown and four nearfall points to go up 7-1. Ward would add a late reversal, but it was too little too late. Heil will battle local favorite Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers, a four-time undefeated New Jersey state champion, who advanced with a 5-4 victory over Old Dominion's Chris Mecate. Second-seeded Joey McKenna controlled Solomon Chishko of Virginia Tech from start to finish, winning 6-1. His semifinal opponent will be No. 14 seed Bryce Meredith of Wyoming, who won 5-2 over No. 6 Micah Jordan of Ohio State. 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford of Penn State continued his domination, pinning No. 9 Justin Oliver in the first period to advance to the semifinals. He will now face Michigan's Alex Pantaleo, who also advanced to the semifinals with a pin. Pantaleo's pin came in the second period over fourth-seeded Matt Cimato of Drexel. Retherford has pinned Pantaleo twice this season in two meetings. On the bottom side of the bracket, No. 2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa needed a second sudden victory period to defeat Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn 4-2. He will now meet Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica, who edged Missouri's Lavion Mayes 3-2. 157: Two of the nation's top wrestlers, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Jason Nolf of Penn State, moved one step closer to a potential third meeting on Saturday night with victories on Friday. Martinez picked up a 6-3 victory over two-time All-American Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech. Nolf pulled away late against Oklahoma State's Joe Smith to win 11-3. The match was tied 2-2 late in the second period before Nolf scored a takedown to go up 4-2 after two periods. The PSU freshman poured it on in the third period to pick up a major decision. The surprise of the bracket was No. 15 Chad Walsh reaching the semifinals with an 11-10 victory over No. 7 Cody Pack of South Dakota State. Kent State's Ian Miller punched his ticket to the semifinals with a 6-3 win over All-American Brian Murphy of Michigan State. 165: The top four seeds at 165 pounds advanced to the semifinals. Two-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer rolled to an 11-5 victory over Iowa State's Tanner Weatherman in a rematch of the Big 12 finals. With the victory, Dieringer becomes Oklahoma State's 14th four-time All-American. He will now face Missouri's Daniel Lewis, who blanked Rider's Connor Brennan 4-0 in the quarterfinals. Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin and Bo Jordan of Ohio State were winners on the bottom side of the bracket. Isaac used a first-period takedown to pace him to a 3-1 victory over Nebraska's Austin Wilson. Bo was much more dominant in the quarterfinals, earning a 10-2 major decision over Rider's Connor Brennan. The Jordan cousins will meet for the fourth time in their college careers tonight, with Isaac holding a 3-0 advantage in the series. 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal of Penn State broke open his quarterfinal match early against Oklahoma State's Jordan Rogers, picking up a takedown and four-point nearfall points to go up 6-0. Rogers earned an escape in the second period to make it 6-1. Nickal then pulled away in the third period to earn a 12-4 major decision. Nickal's semifinal opponent will be Indiana's Nate Jackson, the only wrestler to defeat him this season. Jackson won 6-4 in the quarterfinals over unseeded Jadaen Bernstein of Navy. Winners on the bottom half of the bracket, which was turned upside down early, were true freshman Myles Martin of Ohio State, seeded No. 11, and unseeded Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State. Martin's quarterfinal victory came over Oklahoma's Matt Reed, 2-0. Weatherspoon knocked off No. 7 Cody Walters of Ohio 5-3. 184: Returning NCAA champion Gabe Dean of Cornell avenged his only loss of the season, beating Oklahoma State's Nolan Boyd 10-4. Dean had two first-period takedowns and added a takedown in each of the final two periods. He will face NC State's Pete Renda, who advanced by edging No. 5 Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech 4-3. Nebraska's T.J. Dudley won the rubber match against Big Ten champion Sammy Brooks of Iowa 9-6. Dudley's semifinal opponent will be surprise semifinalist Willie Miklus of Missouri, who came through as the No. 14 seed. 197: The top four seeds advanced to tonight's semifinals. The top two seeds, Morgan McIntosh of Penn State and J'den Cox of Missouri, were especially dominant in the quarterfinals, winning by scores of 16-4 and 6-0 respectively. Iowa's Nathan Burak used a takedown in each of the final two periods to beat Duke's Connor Hartmann 5-2. Minnesota's Brett Pfarr dominated Iowa State's Pat Downey 12-3 to reach the semifinals. 285: Two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State continues to roll as he picked up a 9-1 major decision over Lehigh's Max Wessel. He will now meet Michigan's Adam Coon in the semifinals in a rematch of last year's NCAA finals match at heavyweight. Coon won narrowly, 3-2, over Oklahoma State's Austin Marsden. On the bottom side of the bracket, No. 2 Kyle Snyder dominated No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State 16-5 in a battle of past Junior World champions. Tonight Snyder will meet third-seeded Ty Walz of Virginia Tech. Walz advanced by beating Brooks Black of Illinois 4-1. Team Standings 1. Penn State 68.5 2. Ohio St. 54 3. Iowa 48.5 4. Oklahoma St. 46 5. Missouri 42.5 6. Nebraska 35.5 7. NC State 32.5 8. Michigan 32 9. Virginia Tech 30.5 10. Cornell 28.5 11. Illinois 28 12. Oklahoma 24.5 13. Rutgers 22 14. Lehigh 19.5 15. Iowa St. 19 16. Kent St. 18.5 17. Wyoming 17.5 18. Minnesota 16 18. Rider 16 18. Stanford 16 21. Wisconsin 13 22. American 12.5 23. Indiana 12 23. Oregon St. 12 25. Bucknell 10 25. Edinboro 10 Semifinal Matchups 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 15 David Terao (American) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) vs. No. 14 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Alex Pantaleo (Michigan) No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. No. 11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State) No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Chad Walsh (Rider) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) vs. No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 12 Nate Jackson (Indiana) No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 13 Pete Renda (NC State) No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) vs. No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) vs. No. 5 Adam Coon (Michigan) No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech)

Here is a look at the results from the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships … 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. No. 9 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa), 10-4 No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma), 16-5 No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 4-0 No. 15 David Terao (American) pinned No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford), 5:41 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) dec. No. 8 Earl Hall (Iowa State), 5-0 No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) dec. No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 8-4 No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. No. 6 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 12-4 No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska), 4-0 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina), 8-3 No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 5-4 No. 14 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) dec. No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 5-2 No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) dec. No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech), 6-1 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) pinned No. 9 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan), 2:13 No. 5 Alex Pantaleo (Michigan pinned No. 4 Matt Cimato (Drexel), 3:49 No. 11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri), 3-2 No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska), 4-2 SV2 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech), 6-3 No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State) dec. No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan), 6-3 No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State), 11-3 No. 15 Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. No. 7 Cody Pack (South Dakota State), 11-10 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 9 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), 11-5 No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) dec. No. 12 Connor Brennan (Rider), 3-0 No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 10-2 No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) dec. No. 10 Austin Wilson (Nebraska), 3-1 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State), 15-4 No. 12 Nate Jackson (Indiana) dec. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy), 2-0 No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State) dec. Matt Reed (Oklahoma), 2-0 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) dec. No. 7 Cody Walters (Ohio), 5-3 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 8 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), 10-4 No. 13 Pete Renda (NC State) dec. No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 4-3 No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 16-6 No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) dec. No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 9-6 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 16-4 No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke), 5-2 No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) maj. dec. Pat Downey (Iowa State), 12-3 No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 7 Brett Harner (Princeton), 6-0 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) maj. dec. No. 8 Max Wessell (Lehigh), 9-1 No. 5 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State), 3-2 No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) dec. Brooks Black (Illinois), 4-1 No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State), 16-5

NEW YORK -- For the second straight year David Terao of American shined in the second session of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. David Terao advanced with a victory over Joey Dance of Virginia Tech (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)A year ago Terao topped two-time NCAA champion Jesse Delgado of Illinois in the second session. This year Terao, who qualified for the tournament by getting an at-large selection, stunned No. 2 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech to advance to the quarterfinals. With the match tied 2-2 in the third period, Terao reversed Dance to take a 4-2 lead. Dance cut the lead to one point with an escape, but Terao held on and added an additional point for riding time to claim a 5-3 win. "Coming in I haven't had the best season for sure, but none of that matters here as long as I get in and I get the chance. I'm pulling out all the stops and giving it everything I have," said Terao, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii. Another second-round surprise came at 157 pounds where Rider's Chad Walsh beat second-seeded Tommy Gantt of North Carolina State 11-8. Gantt entered the tournament undefeated. "I lost to him earlier in the year," said Walsh. "It was a battle just like that one. This time I just wanted to come into it with a clean slate, wrestle my own match and stay in it the whole time." TZain Retherford pinned Patricio Lugo of Edinboro to advance to the quarterfinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)op-ranked Penn State leads the team race with 27.5 points after Day 1. The Nittany Lions advanced six wrestlers to the quarterfinals on Friday morning. Two other Penn State wrestlers remain alive in the consolation bracket. PSU 184-pounder Matt McCutcheon, seeded No. 16, was eliminated after going 0-2. Ohio State and Oklahoma State are tied for second in the team standings, 3.5 points behind Penn State. Oklahoma State has seven wrestlers in the quarterfinals, while Ohio State has five.Nebraska is in fourth place with 20 points and five quaterfinalists, followed by a three-way tie for fifth place with Iowa, Missouri and Virginia Tech. The quarterfinals and consolation rounds begin on Friday at 11 a.m. (ET). Below is a weight by-weight summary of notable results from Session II: 125: The biggest surprise in this weight class -- and round -- came when American's David Terao stunned No. 2 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech 5-3 to advance to the quarterfinals. No. 5 Ryan Millhof of Oklahoma edged Collins Hill (Ga.) teammate Sean Russell of Edinoro 1-0. Unseeded Conor Youtsey advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-5 win in sudden victory over Dalton Macri of Cornell. No. 9 Dylan Peters of Northern Iowa topped No. 8 Barlow McGee of Missouri 3-1 in sudden victory, avenging a loss from the MAC finals. Stanford's Connor Shram, seeded No. 10, earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over No. 7 Darian Cruz of Lehigh. 133: Penn State's Jordan Conaway was finally able to turn the tables on Wisconsin's Ryan Taylor, who had defeated the Penn State wrestler twice late in the season. With the match tied 4-4 in the third, Conaway picked up the go-ahead takedown in the final minute and held on for the victory. 141: No. 14 Bryce Meredith of Wyoming upset No. 3 Kevin Jack of North Carolina State, a returning All-American, 5-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. The two were teammates and training partners a year ago at North Carolina State before Meredith transferred to Wyoming. 149: Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica, seeded No. 11, claimed a 3-2 victory over Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis, a 2014 NCAA champion and two-time All-American. It was the only match in the weight class in which the lower seeded wrestler won. 157: Rider's Chad Walsh, seeded No. 15, stunned second-seeded Tommy Gantt of North Carolina State 11-8 to advance to the quarterfinals. It was Gantt's first loss of the season. 165: North Carolina State's Max Rohskopft, seeded No. 5, was the highest seed in the weight class to lose in the second round. He fell 4-2 in sudden victory to Rider's Conor Brennan. No. 9 Tanner Weatherman of Iowa State punched his ticket to the quarterfinals with a 7-4 victory over No. 8 Chad Welch of Purdue. Two-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer continues to cruise, picking up his second pin of the day to advance to the quarterfinals. In a Big Ten battle, No. 10 Austin Wilson of Nebraska defeated No. 7 Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers 4-1. 174: Three unseeded wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals in this weight class: Jadaen Bernstein of Navy, Matt Reed of Oklahoma and Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State. No. 12 Nathan Jackson of Indiana hammered No. 5 Zac Brunson of Illinois 10-1. 184: Two top six seeds, No. 4 Dom Abounader of Michigan and No. 6 Blake Stauffer of Arizona State, failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Abounader dropped a match in sudden victory to North Carolina State's Pete Renda 4-2. Stauffer was dominated by No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas 10-1. No. 2 Sam Brooks of Iowa was pushed by MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood, but held on for the 10-8 victory. Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky avenged a loss from earlier this season, beating No. 12 Hayden Zillmer of North Dakota State 3-2. 197: Top-seeded and undefeated Morgan McIntosh of Penn State continued his dominance, picking up a third-period pin over Kyle Conel of Kent State. Unseeded Pat Downey, a past Junior World silver medalist and NJCAA champion, won in dramatic fashion, pinning No. 6 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech in tiebreaker. Fifth-seeded Connor Hartmann, a two-time All-American, was pushed in his second-round match against North Carolina State's Michael Boykin but prevailed 3-2 in tiebreaker. 285: The top two seeds, two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State and World champion Kyle Snyder of Ohio State, continued to cruise and appear to be on a collision course to meet on Saturday night. Gwiazdowski dominated Nathan Butler of Stanford 16-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Snyder, after picking up the first pin of his college career in the opening session, won by technical fall in his second match over Wyoming's Tanner Harms. Brooks Black of Illinois is the lone unseeded heavyweight to reach the quarterfinals. After beating No. 6 Denzel Dejourmette of Appalachian State in the first round, he edged Boyce Cornwell of Gardner-Webb in tiebreaker in his second-round match. Team Standings 1. Penn State 27.5 2. Ohio State 24 2. Oklahoma State 24 4. Nebraska 20 5. Iowa 17.5 5. Missouri 17.5 5. Virginia Tech 17.5 8. Michigan 15 9. NC State 13 9. Oklahoma 13 11. Illinois 12 11. Iowa State 12 13. Cornell 11 14. Lehigh 10.5 15. Rutgers 10 16. Bucknell 9 17. Kent State 8.5 18. Ohio 8 19. Arizona State 7.5 19. Bakersfield 7.5 19. Oregon State 7.5 19. Stanford 7.5 23. Appalachian State 6.5 23. Old Dominion 6.5 23. Princeton 6.5 23. Rider 6.5 23. South Dakota State 6.5 Quarterfinal Matchups 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma) No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. Conor Youtsey (Michigan) No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford) vs. No. 15 David Terao (American) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) vs. No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) vs. No. 6 George DiCamillo (Virginia) No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) vs. No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) vs. Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) vs. No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) No. 4 Matt Cimato (Drexel) vs. No. 5 Alex Pantaleo (Michigan) No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State) vs. No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan) No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) vs. No. 15 Chad Walsh (Rider) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 9 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) vs. No. 12 Connor Brennan (Rider) No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) vs. No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) vs. No. 10 Austin Wilson (Nebraska) 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) No. 12 Nate Jackson (Indiana) vs. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs. Matt Reed (Oklahoma) No. 7 Cody Walters (Ohio) vs. Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 13 Pete Renda (NC State) No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) vs. No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) vs. No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) vs. Pat Downey (Iowa State) No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 7 Brett Harner (Princeton) 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) vs. No. 8 Max Wessell (Lehigh) No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 5 Adam Coon (Michigan) No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) vs. Brooks Black (Illinois) No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) vs. No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State)

NEW YORK -- The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships kicked off for the first time ever at historic Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday. The field consists of 329 wrestlers representing 72 different schools. Oklahoma's Matt Reed upset Missouri's Blaise Butler at 174 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The opening session saw 29 seeded wrestlers drop their first-round matches. The 174-pound weight class had the most surprising results at the top with three of the top four seeds losing in the first round: No. 2 Brian Realbuto of Cornell, No. 3 Blaise Butler of Missouri and No. 4 Ethan Ramos of North Carolina. The heavyweight class saw the most seeded wrestlers lose with six. Other highly seeded wrestlers to lose in the opening session included No. 3 Vic Avery of Edinboro, No. 5 Matt Manley of Missouri at 141 pounds, No. 6 Eddie Klimara of Oklahoma State at 125 pounds and No. 8 Evan Henderson of North Carolina at 149 pounds. Ohio State leads the team race by a half point over top-ranked Penn State. Nebraska sits in third place, followed by Iowa in fourth. Michigan, Missouri and Oklahoma State are tied for fifth place. Session I attendance was 17,761. Tonight's second session is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. Here's a look at some of the notable results from Session I: 125: Oklahoma State took a hit with No. 6 Eddie Klimara falling to unseeded Conor Youtsey of Michigan 7-6 in a battle of returning All-Americans. It marks the second straight year that Youtsey defeated Klimara at the NCAAs. Other seeded wrestlers to lose in the first round were No. 11 Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State and No. 12 Paul Petrov of Bucknell. Bresser was edged 6-5 by Cornell's Dalton Macri, while Petrov lost 9-8 to EWL champion Sean Russell of Edinboro. 133: This weight class played out according to the seeds, with the exception of the No. 16 seed Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers getting pinned by unseeded Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. (Note: Kraisser is ranked No. 16 by InterMat, while Giraldo is No. 20.) 141: Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon, who entered unseeded, dominated No. 5 Matt Manley of Missouri, earning a 17-2 technical fall. Two other seeded wrestlers dropped first-round matches in this weight class, No. 10 Todd Preston of Harvard and No. 13 Steve Bleise of Northern Illinois. Preston was edged 4-2 by Army West Point's Logan Everett. Bleise dropped a 6-3 match to South Dakota State's Seth Gross. No. 2 Joey McKenna of Stanford survived a scare in the opening round, beating Central Michigan's Zac Horan 2-1 in sudden victory. Horan was originally awarded the go-ahead takedown in the closing seconds of regulation, but it was reviewed and overturned. 149: The highest seed to lose in the opening round at 149 pounds was No. 8 Evan Henderson of North Carolina, a two-time All-American, who was defeated by returning All-American B.J. Clagon of Rider 3-1. Also losing was No. 15 Dan Neff of Lock Haven, a returning All-American and EWL champion, who was pinned by Bucknell's Victor Lopez. It marked Neff's first loss this season at 149 pounds. 157: Two Division I head coaches' sons met in the first round as Oklahoma State's Joe Smith, son of Cowboy coach John Smith, battled unseeded Jake Ryan of Ohio State, son of Buckeye coach Tom Ryan. Ryan led for much of the match before Smith mounted a rally and eventually sent the match to sudden victory. Smith then took the match in sudden victory 11-9 with a takedown. The seeded wrestlers to lose in this weight class were No. 11 Lucas Smith of Central Michigan and No. 14 Austin Matthews of Edinboro. Smith lost to Northern Iowa's Bryce Steiert 4-1, while Matthews fell to Penn's May Bethea 8-7. 165: Geno Morelli became Penn State's second unseeded wrestler to knock off a seeded wrestler by defeating No. 11 John Staudenmayer of North Carolina 5-3. Staudenmayer was the lone seeded wrestler to lose at 165 pounds in the opening round. 174: This weight class was turned upside down early as five seeds fell in the opening round, including three of the top four. Cornell's Brian Realbuto, an NCAA runner-up last season, lost 7-4 to Big 12 champion Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State 7-4. Missouri's Blaise Butler, seeded No. 3, was handled 16-9 by Oklahoma's Matt Reed. Fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos of North Carolina was upended 13-8 by Navy's Jadaen Bernstein. Other seeded wrestlers to lose first-round matches in this weight class were returning All-American Zach Epperly, seeded No. 8, and Iowa's Alex Meyer, seeded No. 13. 184: The surprise in this weight class was returning All-American Vic Avery of Edinboro, seeded third, dropping his first match to Buffalo's Joe Ariola, who entered the tournament with a losing record (13-15). The only other seeds to lose in this weight class were Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) and No. 16 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State). Gravina lost to MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan 9-3, while McCutcheon was edged 4-3 by Bucknell's Tom Sleigh. 197: None of the top eight seeds fell in the opening round, but the No. 9, No. 11 and No. 15 seeds lost. No. 9 Reuben Franklin of CSU Bakersfield lost 8-5 to Shawn Scott of Northern Illinois. No. 11 Phil Wellington fell to Iowa State's Pat Downey 5-3 in sudden victory. Chattanooga's Scott Boykin topped No. 15 Nate Rotert of South Dakota State 5-3. 285:The highest seeded heavyweight to lose in the first round was No. 6 Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State, who was defeated 7-2 by Brooks Black of Illinois. Other seeded heavyweights to lose in the first round included No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell), No. 11 Sam Stoll (Iowa), No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers), No. 13 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) and No. 14 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa).

In its nearly century-and-a-half history, Madison Square Garden has welcomed boxing and basketball, presidents and a pope, religious revivals, rock concerts and circuses ... and plenty of professional wrestling events. However, for the first time, the iconic midtown Manhattan facility known as "the world's most famous arena" will be hosting an NCAA wrestling championship. The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will take place at The Garden Thursday, March 17 through Saturday, March 19 ... welcoming 330 top collegiate wrestlers and their coaches, along with thousands of fans, and (hopefully) plenty of press coverage in what has been declared the media capital of the world, New York City. It is the first time that an NCAA championship in any sport will be held at Madison Square Garden in more than sixty years. The last: the 1950 NCAA Basketball Final Four. InterMat thought it would be fun to take a look at Madison Square Garden and its storied history. 142 years, four facilities, one name The Madison Square Garden that will host the 2016 NCAAs is the fourth facility to bear that name in New York City. The first was built in 1874 by none other than P.T. Barnum of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Located appropriately enough on Madison Avenue and 26th Street, the first Garden was a roofless structure with 28-foot high walls that hosted various outdoor events. The facility was originally called "Barnum's Monster Classical and Geological Hippodrome"; it acquired the name Madison Square Garden in 1879 when multimillionaire George Vanderbilt purchased the facility. It was torn down in 1889. The second-generation Madison Square Garden was constructed on the site of the original structure in 1890 at a cost of $1.5 million. It included an 8,000-seat arena, 1,500-seat concert hall, 1,200-seat theater, and the world's largest indoor swimming pool. It hosted countless sports events -- including tons of boxing and wrestling -- along with the 1924 Democratic National Convention. It closed in May 1925. The third Madison Square Garden was located at 49th Street and Eighth Avenue. Built at a cost of $5.6 million in 1925, its arena could seat 18,000 fans for just about every sporting event imaginable, along with an annual visit from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. MSG Three closed with the Westminster Dog Show in February 1968. The Worldwide Plaza office tower now occupies this spot. Today's Madison Square Garden -- Generation Four -- is located in the block between 31st and 33rd Streets, and Seventh and Eighth Avenues. It was built atop the Pennsylvania Station, a major commuter and intercity rail facility. The arena opened February 1968 with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby headlining "The Night of the Century" tribute to the USO; the New York Rangers held their first hockey game in the facility a few days later. At the heart of the facility: an arean with a seating capacity of 19,000-20,000, depending on type of event. In 2013, a massive three-year renovation of Madison Square Garden was completed. New features include a larger entrance with interactive kiosks, retail, climate controlled space, and broadcast studio ... larger concourses ... new lighting and LED video systems with HDTV ... new seating ... two new pedestrian walkways suspended from the ceiling to allow fans to look directly down onto the games being played below ... new dining options ... and improved dressing rooms, locker rooms, green rooms, upgraded roof, and production offices. It was in 2013 that the NCAA announced that the newly-upgraded Madison Square Garden would host its 2016 Division I Wrestling Championships. In a 2013 audio interview conducted by Takedown Wrestling's Scott Casber, wrestling journalist Jason Bryant cited MSG's ability to accommodate eight mats, excellent video and sound systems, and accessibility via public transit as positives for the venue hosting the event. (Sponsoring school for the 2016 NCAAs at Madison Square Garden will be Hofstra University.) Pro rasslin' to amateur wrestling Say "Madison Square Garden" and "wrestling" in the same sentence, and most folks will immediately think of guys in trunks (or flamboyant costumes) body-slamming each other in a roped-off ring. That's only natural, as the Garden has hosted professional wrestling events in all four facilities of that name, starting with late 1800s strongman/wrestler William "the Solid Man" Muldoon at the first Madison Square Garden, and including all-time pro wrestling greats such as Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Jim Londos, Gorgeous George, Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Hulk Hogan ... as well as collegiate champs-turned-pro stars Bob Backlund (North Dakota State), Tim Woods (Tim Woodin, Michigan State), Jack Brisco (Oklahoma State), and Verne Gagne and Brock Lesnar (University of Minnesota), among others. Wrestling fans curious to see what pro wrestling was like at Madison Square Garden nearly a century ago can watch old newsreel footage online of a January 1920 World Heavyweight Championship at the second-generation Garden between two Midwestern farm boys and World War I heroes -- Earl Caddock of Iowa, a protégé of the legendary Frank Gotch, and Nebraska native Joe Stecher. The film is highly edited -- about 25 minutes in length, for a match that took over two hours -- and not in the best condition. While pro wrestling historians argue as to whether Caddock-Stecher what they would call a "work" (with a predetermined outcome, as with today's WWE matches) or an honest wrestling match, a number of amateur wrestlers and historians who have viewed the film have noted that it more resembles a typical amateur wrestling match, completely lacking the theatrics and showbiz elements that most of us think of with pro wrestling today. (The Caddock-Stecher film had long believed to have been the oldest surviving footage of a wrestling match; more recently, a 1913 film featuring European wrestlers Gustav Fristensky vs. Josef Smejkal has surfaced and posted online.) By contrast to the more than a century of pro wrestling at Madison Square Garden, amateur wrestling does not have the same long, colorful history at the arena ... but that has changed in the new millennium. The Garden was slated to host the 2001 World Wrestling Championships in late September that year ... but the terror attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 forced that event to be relocated to other countries. However, two years later, Madison Square Garden played host to the 2003 World Wrestling Championships, welcoming participants and fans from all over the world. In December 2012, Madison Square Garden welcomed college wrestlers and their fans by hosting its first Grapple at the Garden event. Just over 9,000 fans witnessed this inaugural event that brought together fourteen college programs in a two-session, dual-meet format, including (then) top-ten ranked Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Iowa, Missouri and Cornell University. The following year, Grapple at the Garden 2 expanded its format to incorporate a 16-team dual meet event ... and added two individual matches, one featuring former Penn State teammates, Bubba Jenkins taking on Frank Molinaro which had a tense weigh-in ceremony and pre- and post-match trash-talk that seemed like something out of a prizefight or big-time MMA event. Grapple at the Garden 3 built on the college dual-meet tournament format of past Grapple events, with more elements which grabbed media and fan attention, including a wrestling dual meet featuring wrestlers and mixed martial arts fighters organized into Team Joe Warren vs. Team Renzo Gracie (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend and MMA champ). If that weren't enough, Grapple 3 showcased two bouts for the newly formed Global Wrestling Championships' professional wrestling venture, one a freestyle match where Tervel Dlagnev (two-time NCAA Division II heavyweight champ for Nebraska-Kearney) defeated Olympic champion and five-time World champion Khadjimurad Gatsalov of Russia ... the other, a Greco-Roman bout where Kyle Dake, a four-time NCAA champ for Cornell who is now competing in freestyle, stepped out of his comfort zone to wrestle 2014 Greco World champion Arsen Julfalakyan of Armenia. Last November, Madison Square Garden hosted its fourth Grapple at the Garden event, which has now become an early-season staple on a number of college wrestling programs' schedules. The 2015 edition welcomed 22 colleges and universities representing all levels of competition, including NCAA Division I, II and III programs as well as a trio of school-affiliated wrestling clubs. All these amateur wrestling events could be considered something of a dress rehearsal for hosting the 2016 NCAAs. Beyond wrestling Wrestling -- on the mat, or in a ring -- isn't the only game in town for Madison Square Garden over its long and illustrious history. The Garden is the home of the New York Knicks of the NBA (National Basketball Association), and the New York Liberty of the (WNBA) Women's National Basketball Association, as well as home ice for the NHL (National Hockey League) New York Rangers. In addition, Madison Square Garden is also host to selected home games for the St. John men's college basketball, as well as the Big East Men's Basketball Conference Tournament and the finals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Madison Square Garden is also the venue for the Millrose Games track and field event, major tennis events, and the Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series event. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been held at the Garden for decades. As for musical entertainment ... the current Madison Square Garden has been the site for some truly memorable concerts, including George Harrison's Concern for Bangladesh, the Concert for New York City following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, John Lennon's final concert appearance (at an Elton John concert on Thanksgiving Night, 1974) before his murder in 1980, and Elvis Presley, who gave four sold-out performances in 1972, his first and last ever in New York City. In addition, the Garden hosted the Grammy Awards in 1972, 1997 and 2003, as well as the Latin Grammy Awards in 2006. The 2005 Country Music Association Awards -- normally held in Nashville -- were held at Madison Square Garden. It's not all entertainment at Madison Square Garden. The New York Police Academy, Baruch College/CUNY, and Yeshiva University all hold their annual graduation ceremonies at the midtown arena. In addition, the iconic facility has welcomed a number of Democratic and Republican National Conventions. The third-generation Garden was the venue where Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday" to President John F. Kennedy in 1962. On a more spiritual note, Madison Square Garden hosted a Pope John Paul II youth event in 1979, and a nearly two-week Billy Graham revival in 1957. Now Madison Square Garden can add "2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships" to its impressive resume of hosted events. Thanks to Dylan Wanagiel and Larry Torres of Madison Square Garden for providing much of the information in this article. For more info about the facility and upcoming events -- including a WWE event less than a week after the NCAA championships -- visit TheGarden.com.

Live Blog NCAA Division I Championships

Two months after Eastern Oregon University announced it was bringing back its long-dormant men's wrestling program and establishing a women's program for the first time, Dustyn Azure has been hired as head coach of both wrestling programs, the school revealed Tuesday . It's the first head coaching job for Azure, who has served as assistant wrestling coach as well as head strength and conditioning coach at Montana State University-Northern for the past four years. The MSU-Northern Lights recently placed second in the team standings at the 2016 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Wrestling National Championships in Topeka, Kan. Prior to coming to MSU-Northern, Azure was the head wrestling coach for Ronan School District No. 30 in Ronan, Mont. At the prep level, Azure produced five state champions and one academic All-American. Four of the state champions Azure coached went on to become All-Americans at the collegiate level. "I am excited to announce that Dustyn Azure will be talking the helm of the EOU men's and women's wrestling programs," said Director of Athletics Anji Weissenfluh. "Dustyn is a proven winner who comes from a long history of success both as a student-athlete and a coach. I am anxious for him to bring that level of success to Eastern. Dustyn's background in strength and conditioning will be an asset to not only his program, but to the entire department." "I am excited to start bringing wrestlers onto campus in order to give them a chance to receive a great education, do what they love, and start the hunt for individual and team championships," said Azure. "I feel EOU is in a prime location with amazing wrestling talent surrounding it. I am ready to put top-level student-athletes into place who are willing to become champions in the classroom, on the mat, and in the community." With men's and women's wrestling, Eastern Oregon will now have 12 full-fledged athletic programs competing in the NAIA. Founded in 1929, Eastern Oregon University opened as Eastern Oregon Normal School, a teachers college. The four-year school has approximately 1,650 students at its La Grande campus, located between Portland, Ore. and Boise, Idaho off I-84.

Blaize Cabell, senior heavyweight at the University of Northern Iowa, will not be competing at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships because of an undisclosed illness, the school announced Wednesday afternoon. Blaize CabellCabell, the No. 14 ranked wrestler at 285 pounds, did not make the trip to New York City with his coaches and teammates. It would have been his third appearance at the NCAAs, having qualified for this year's championships at Madison Square Garden by winning the heavyweight title at the Mid-American Conference championships two weeks ago. "It's painful," Panthers head coach Doug Schwab said. "If you deal with it and have a fighting chance at nationals, it makes you feel a little better. You work you whole life for this opportunity." "There will be more opportunities for him, but those are hard to see right now," Schwab said. "There's nothing you can do, and you don't have control." "What's also really hard is that you wish you could be with him," Schwab continued. "You hurt right along with him, but the decision is made. You have to keep perspective. There are things that are worse. It's hard to see that right now though." "I want people to remember how he competed and what he did for this program. He made it fun at heavyweight. I am so proud of him and how he has grown, not just as a wrestler, but as a man. We want to keep him competing and around the program." A product of Independence, Iowa, Cabell had compiled an overall record of 20-3 this season, and was undefeated in dual meets in the MAC. Cabell completes his career in a UNI singlet with a 82-39 record. Although Cabell was unable to make the trip, four other Panthers will be competing at the 2016 NCAAs: Dylan Peters at 125 pounds, Josh Alber at 133, Bryce Steiert at 157, and Cooper Moore at 165.

This week on Takedown; Highlights from the Division II and III National Championships Division II National Championship Recap Steve Costanzo Interview Joey Davis Interview Division III National Championship Recap Eric Keller Interview Special Finals Preview Show Announcement with Dylan Wanagiel Grand View on Takedown Radio Technique of the Week Takedown Shop Singlet Winner

The InterMat staff writers have broken down the brackets for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in New York, and made their predictions. T.R. Foley 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) over No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) Nato found his way past Nico in a hard-fought match this February. Not much has seemed to change since then. More importantly Nato seems to know the way to reduce the success rate of Nico's scramble-to-scoring ratio. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) Undefeated and largely unchallenged, Garrett is about as sure a bet as you get in 2016. On his feet he is better than 99 percent of college wrestling, but his real skill comes in maintaining an active ride and accruing quick and dirty back points. 141: No. 3 Kevin Jack (NC State) over No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) While Dean Heil earned the top seed, Kevin Jack has the right skill set to make it comfortably through the bottom side of the 141 bracket. His ability to stay active on top and the frustration of his unique style should be enough to get him past Heil in the rematch. 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) over No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Retherford hasn't been stopped this season and though he faces a tough matchup in Sorensen, there is no reason to think Retherford's intensity will be outdone -- even by the Hawkeye. 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) Martinez took a bad loss to Nolf during the dual meet season, but was able to hold on and find the slimmest of victories at Big Tens. With that confidence and the bump in energy from a (much) early weigh-in, I think Martinez has the edge. 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) Dieringer has dominated for two years in a row and he's won everything he's laid eyes on this season. There is nothing to imply anything has changed. The Cowboy wrestler will go down as one of the best, and likely least-heralded three-time NCAA champion in history. 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) over No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) Nickal is wrestling as well as any of the top seeds in the country. The Texas native not only is winning, but wrestling a more aggressive style each week. Save the over-aggressive mistake against Indiana earlier in the season, Nickal has been nails. Realbuto is my emotional choice, having decided to not cut weight this season. 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) over No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) I want to see ZZ earn the title in his first season, and if he were facing someone less experienced I'd take the odds, but Dean is just too strong this season. Their semifinal match should be a showstopper, though! 197: No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) over No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) Cox looks to repeat after earning his first title as a freshman in 2014. That'll be difficult against a game McIntosh, but the Mizzou wrestler's creative defense and high-and-hard finishes will be the difference. 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) over No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) Not only will Nick win the title, but in beating Snyder he'll be besting a possible 2016 Olympic teammate. Top Five Teams: 1. Penn State 2. NC State 3. Iowa 4. Virginia Tech 5. Oklahoma State Andrew Hipps 125: No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) over No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) If Nico doesn't finish on top in NYC he will go down as one of the best to never win a title. He has two NCAA runner-up finishes and an NCAA third-place finish. I think he gets it done this season. I look for him to avenge his loss to Dance in the semifinals on Friday night, and then beat Tomasello on Saturday night. The top four seeds (Tomasello, Dance, Megaludis, Gilman) are very evenly matched and all are capable of finishing on top. I just think it's Nico's time. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) Garrett, like Megaludis, is looking to becoming a four-time All-American and cap his collegiate wrestling career with an NCAA title. The Cornell wrestler has jumped levels this season and enters the tournament undefeated and the clear favorite. Garrett hasn't had too many competitive matches this season, and already owns a 14-9 victory over returning NCAA champ Cody Brewer of Oklahoma, who he will likely see in the semifinals. I like Clark coming out of the bottom side, beating fellow Big Ten wrestlers in the quarterfinals and semifinals. 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) over No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) Don't expect the freshman McKenna to be intimidated by the big stage and big crowd at Madison Square Garden. He has wrestled in major events and tough environments throughout his young career. McKenna's only blemishes this season have come against No. 1 Dean Heil of Oklahoma State. I like Ashnault to come out of the top side and give Rutgers coach Scott Goodale his first NCAA finalist. McKenna beats Ashnault on Saturday night in a battle of New Jersey natives. 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) over No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) Retherford has been the most dominant wrestler in the NCAA this season. He is 29-0 with 12 pins, seven technical falls and six pins. He has put the only blemish on Brandon Sorensen's record this season, beating him in the Big Ten finals 4-0 in match that wasn't as competitive as the score indicates. Tsirtsis has had a disappointing season, losing seven times. Call it a hunch, but I see Tsirtsis putting it together at the right time, beating Sorensen in the semifinals to reach the finals against. Retherford then handles Tsrirtsis in the finals to claim his first NCAA title. 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) Martinez and Nolf will be on a collision course to meet in the finals in a rubber match on Saturday night. Both should cruse through their competition on Friday and Saturday. Imar made adjustments after the first loss, wrestling a more tactical match the second time around. It will be interesting to see what adjustments the wrestlers make in their third meeting. Martinez has been on the big stage before, which should give him a slight advantage in the finals. I like Imar to make it two titles in two seasons. 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) Dieringer is the arguably the nation's top pound-for-pound wrestler and will be looking for his third straight NCAA title. He takes a 77-match streak and perfect 28-0 season record to the Big Apple. His finals opponent will likely be either Isaac Jordan or Bo Jordan. It seems as though it's a big brother syndrome (cousins, I know) with Isaac and Bo, with the Badger junior winning all three of their meetings over the past two seasons. I'll take Dieringer to claim his third straight title and finish his career on an 82-match win streak. 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) over No. 6 Bryce Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) The freshman Nickal has been a breath of fresh air in college wrestling … A wrestler who is not afraid to take risks, can score with big moves and scramble. He started the season ranked No. 14, beat returning All-American Zach Epperly of Virginia Tech in his second match and has never looked back. At the Big Tens he scored bonus points in all three of his matches, and put up nearly 20 points in his finals match against Zac Brunson of Illinois. There are several wrestlers on the bottom side of the bracket who could reach the finals. I'm taking Bryce Hammond to come through as the No. 6 seed and face Nickal for the second time this season. Nickal pinned him early in the season. This time I see Nickal not pinning, but winning comfortably. 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) over No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) The top half of the bracket has the nation's No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 wrestlers in the latest InterMat rankings. Dean is the most accomplished wrestler in the weight class, and I like him to repeat as champion, although his potential quarterfinal matchup against Oklahoma State's Nolan Boyd scares me. Boyd is the only wrestler to beat Dean this season, and did so just over a month ago. I'm picking Avery to come out of the bottom side. He missed over half the season with an injury, but since returning he has been impressive, going 13-1, which includes a victory over Arizona State's Blake Stauffer. 197: No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) over No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) Cox and McIntosh have separated themselves from the competition in this weight class. Cox leads the all-time series between the two wrestlers, but McIntosh won the most recent meeting. This is a tossup match. I'm taking Cox to win his second title, while McIntosh finishes his career as a four-time All-American. 285: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) Two-time NCAA champion Gwiazdowski vs. World champion Snyder is the most-anticipated match of the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Snyder is coming off a Big Ten title over Michigan's Adam Coon, but enters the tournament with just six matches under his belt at heavyweight. Gwiazdowski brings an NCAA-best 84-match winning streak to Madison Square Garden. Flip a coin … I'm picking Snyder over Gwiazdowski (maybe against my better judgment). Top Five Teams: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Iowa 4. Virginia Tech 5. Cornell Josh Lowe 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) over No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) Tomasello is the defending champion in this weight class, having won the title last year as a redshirt freshman. He is on a 41 match winning streak entering the NCAA tournament, and is likely to face the last opponent to beat him in the national semifinal; Thomas Gilman (Iowa) beat him in an early January dual meet, but Tomasello avenged that loss in the Big Ten tournament. In the other half-bracket, look for Megaludis to avenge his early season loss to Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) in the semifinal, and advance to his third national final. Tomasello has two wins over Megaludis this season, and should make it three on Saturday night. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) In what is basically a four-person weight class, the two most talented wrestlers happen to be in the top half of the bracket. Three-time All-American Garrett is the favorite, and has beaten defending champion Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) already this season; Garrett did so 14-9 in December, and should replicate that in the semifinal. From the lower half-bracket, look for returning runner-up Clark to replicate his Big Ten finals victory over Zane Richards (Illinois) in the semifinal, for what is a rubber match of this season. Garrett then gets his elusive title on Saturday night. 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) This is an extremely wide open weight class with no returning top three finisher in the bracket. Heil is the highest returning placer, fourth, and has had the best overall season. However, the road to the final will not be easy; it most likely involves a quarterfinal against Joey Ward (North Carolina), the one opponent to beat him this season, and then a semifinal against Big Ten champion Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers). From the lower half-bracket, the pick is McKenna, who arguably is the most talented wrestler in the weight class, but has lost twice to Heil this season (his only two losses). 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) over No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Retherford has been absolutely dominant this season, 25 wins by bonus point margins, just four by decision. He was fifth as a true freshman in 2013-14 losing to four-time national champion Logan Steiber in the semifinal and then in the consolation semifinal to three-time All-American Mitchell Port. Look for the absolute dominance to continue, and yield a first national title for the Nittany Lion star. From the lower half-bracket, returning All-American Sorensen is the best bet, as he won all matches this season up to the Big Ten final against Retherford; he lost that one by a very one-sided 4-0 decision. 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) over Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) The most anticipated match of the Big Ten finals certainly did not disappoint, as Nolf took it to the returning national champion Martinez at every turn; however, Martinez was able to fend off each and every attack to muster a victory based on greater riding time in the tiebreaker periods. Remember that Nolf was dominant against Martinez one month ago in earning a pin during the dual meet, which is the only loss for Martinez in his two-year to-date career. The fact that Nolf has been the dominant wrestler in both bouts is enough for me to conclude he wins on Saturday night in the rubber match of the season. Respective semifinals should be but nominal challenges for each: Nolf against undefeated Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State), the second seed; and Martinez against two-time All-American Ian Miller (Kent State). 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) The superlative ability of Dieringer has been lost in the midst of the Kyle Dake, David Taylor, and Logan Stieber types in college wrestling the last few years. He is a two-time national champion and three-time All-American. Should Dieringer win on Saturday night, he would end his career with a 133-4 record. On the season, Dieringer has 28 wins so far, only four not via bonus points. A possible challenge would be a semifinal against Daniel Lewis (Missouri), whom he only beat 4-3 mid-season. From the lower bracket, look for the undefeated Isaac Jordan to clear, beating cousin Bo Jordan (Ohio State) in the semifinal; Isaac has beaten Bo three times against no defeats the last two seasons. 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) over No. 6 Blaise Butler (Missouri) Outside of one bizarre match in early January, the redshirt freshman Nickal has dominated all comers. Look for that pattern to continue, as he grows into being a lynchpin of the absolutely dominant Penn State squad. The path won't be easy, as both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches could be against returning All-Americans; Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) in the quarter and Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) in the semi, though Big Ten runner-up Zach Brunson (Illinois) could knock off Ramos in the quarterfinal round. Last year's national runner-up at 157 pounds Brian Realbuto (Cornell) is the highest seed in the bottom half-bracket; in what is a total crap shoot, my pick to face Nickal in the final is the senior Butler. 184: No. 4 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) over No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) Though Gabe Dean (Cornell) is the defending champion and the odds on favorite in this weight class, there is something about his path that makes me uneasy. It starts with a potential opening match against 2014 All-American Jack Dechow (Old Dominion), and continues with a quarterfinal against Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), who has a victory over Dean this season. Though Abounader has not earned All-American honors yet in his career, he has shown the potential to be in the title hunt. Going by the InterMat rankings, the top four kids are in the top half, with the next four in the lower half; returning All-American Avery is my pick to clear that group. 197: No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) over No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) Outside of an illegal slam disqualification, the top two wrestlers in this weight have extremely separated from this field in not losing a match this season. Though McIntosh beat Cox 3-1 last year in the consolation semifinals, my pick is for Cox to win a second national title in three seasons in this weight class. The potential for McIntosh to face Conner Hartmann (Duke), who beat him in last year's quarterfinal, in the national semifinal is something interesting to note; however, McIntosh's form and talent should prevail. In terms of Cox, if he's not a finalist, I'm shocked. 285: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) In transitioning to heavyweight from 197, the primary concern for Snyder was how he would deal with bigger body mass opposition that was also athletic. The match against Adam Coon (Michigan) in the Big Ten final demonstrated that it was a non-issue. From a path standpoint, the potential quarter with Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) is interesting because both have strong Olympic styles resumes; while Snyder's likely semifinal with Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) should be a very similar match to his against Coon. Looking at Gwiazdowski, picking against a two-time national champion that is on an 84 match win streak could lead me to being put into an asylum. His record these last three seasons is 106-2. A Gwiazdowski vs. Coon semifinal would be a rematch of last year's national final. Top Five Teams: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Iowa 4. Ohio State 5. Cornell Penn State wins its fifth title in six seasons and continues their assault on college wrestling. One that is going away no time soon with three projected national champions all returning to State College next year plus the injection of a No. 1 recruiting class this spring/fall. Tom Franck 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) over No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) Tomasello really turned the corner in the post season last year and avenged losses on his way to his NCAA title as a freshman. This year, he has been more consistent and shown remarkable maturity in going undefeated and winning a second Big Ten title against a talented field. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) Garrett took over the No. 1 ranking in December when he dominated standing NCAA champ Cody Brewer of Oklahoma 14-9 at the Cliff Keen tournament in Las Vegas … and has carried that momentum into March. 141: No. 3 Kevin Jack (NC State) over No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) Heil might be the best strategist of any wrestler competing this weekend, being supremely prepared for all of his opponents and being able to execute smart game plans. However, the competition has gotten their matches in against Heil and could make victory-deciding adjustments of their own. Kevin Jack had a Cinderella run last year to All-American status and might go all the way this year. 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) over No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Somebody's 0 had to go in the Big Ten finals as undefeated Retherford and undefeated Sorensen squared off in the final. Retherford looked sharp in a 4-0 win and should do the same this weekend. 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) Martinez and Nolf have ruined each other's chances to go undefeated throughout college and have only lost to each other. Nolf dominated and then pinned Martinez in the dual meet when Martinez did not look like himself. After struggling in the opening rounds of the Big Ten tournament, Martinez turned the result around winning in the final tiebreaker against Nolf. The potential rubber match will certainly have a lot riding on it as only the winner will have a shot at joining becoming only the fifth wrestler to win four NCAA titles. 165 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) Dieringer has been stellar throughout his college career. The Cowboy will be a heavy favorite to win his third NCAA title. 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) over No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri) One would think that the wide-open style of Nickal would lead him to get into trouble in his first season of Division 1 college wrestling, but Nickal has been composed even when giving up early points and has dominated his opponents throughout the season. Look for Nickal to be very prepared for the event and put up a lot of bonus points throughout the three days of wrestling. 184: Gabe Dean (Cornell) over No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) Standing NCAA champ Dean won a tight 4-3 match on the second tiebreaker against Avery in the semifinals last year. Avery came back to take third, but with the two on opposite sides of the bracket this year, should meet in the final. 197: No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) over No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) The two haven't met this year, but McIntosh defeated the 2014 NCAA champ 3-1 in the consolation semifinals last year. Both have been stellar throughout the 2015-16 season. Will McIntosh finally get his NCAA title as a senior? Or will Cox get back to the top of the podium? 285: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) It is surprising that Martinez-Nolf III isn't the most anticipated potential finals match in the tournament, but this is the bout everyone has been talking about. Initially, it was announced that World champion Kyle Snyder would be taking an Olympic redshirt year, but that changed mid-season and he came back to wrestle a limited season for the Ohio State Buckeyes to try and help them defend their title from last year. Competing in both collegiate and international events over the past few months, Snyder has looked amazing. In the way of the talented sophomore stands two-time NCAA champ Gwiazdowski, an equally athletic heavyweight who is 29-0. Snyder has shown amazing leg attacks since his return, the question is will he be able to finish on the likes of Gwiazdowski. At the beginning of the 2015-16 NCAA Division I wrestling season it appeared that there would be an interesting battle in the team race at the national tournament. As the event finally approaches this weekend, that continues to be true … but for second place. Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions have distanced themselves from the field in a surprising fashion. While it was known that two key members, 125-pounder Nico Megaludis and 149-pounder Zain Retherford would be coming off of redshirt seasons and rejoin the lineup, it was impossible to foresee that Retherford would be as dominant all season long after moving up eight pounds to a very deep weight class. More difficult to predict would be that freshmen Jason Nolf at 157 pounds and Bo Nickal at 174 pounds would each rise up to each take over the No. 1 ranking. With three No. 1 seeds and two No. 3 seeds, Penn State will be very tough to beat at the Big Show. Steve Elwood 125: No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) over No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) After two epic overtime defeats to Tomasello, I think Nico Megaludis gets the job done and finishes his career out with the national title. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) over No. 3 Zane Ricahards (Illinois) This move up in weight has proven to be the right call for Garrett. He will have to get past the returning champion in the semifinals, but I like his chances. 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) over No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) This is a wide open weight class and there are several good picks here. This is just a hunch. It's time for Blair Academy to produce another national champion. 149: No. 1 Zane Retherford (Penn State) over No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) The PSU star is my lock of the weekend. He should cruise to the top of the podium 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) There's a lot of talent in this weight class. These two young guys lead the pack but both can be beaten. I like Martinez in another overtime thriller full of scrambles and probably some crazy antics thrown in. 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) Nothing shows me these two guys shouldn't make the finals. How do you not pick the Oklahoma State stud to get his third title? AD all the way. 174: No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) over No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) Nickal and his teammate Nolf are the biggest surprises of the year. Although Nickal probably has the most talent, I'm going with the experience of Realbuto. 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) over No. 6 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) I must be drinking the Red Kool-Aid. This makes three champions for this Ivy school. 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) over No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) It feels like MM is on a mission this year. I think it carries him all the way to Saturday night. 285 No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) After watching Snyder roll through the Big Tens, I think he's just too talented to not win. He's a gem to watch. He will have a tall order here. Top Five Teams: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Cornell 4. Iowa 5. Virginia Tech Jim Beezer Herewith are the premier predictions for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. You're welcome. 125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) over No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) Gilman is fresh off his first loss of the season at the Big Ten tournament and you can bet he has a bad taste in his mouth. That fury will take him through the tournament, where I expect to see him knock off No. 1 seed Tamasello in the semifinals, and avenge his loss to Megaludis in the finals. 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garret (Cornell) over No. 2 Corey Clark (Iowa) With apologies to a few matches in November in which he was asleep, Garret hasn't had a close match all season. I expect to see that dominance to continue throughout the tournament, culminating in a win over Cory Clark in the finals. 141: No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) over No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) This weight class is wide open and could play out like any given poker hand. However, I like the relentless style of Ashnault and the balance of power and technique of McKenna. I see McKenna emerging as the champion in a match-up of former teammates at Eclipse Wrestling club in New Jersey. 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) over No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) Retherford beat Logan Stieber two years ago as a true freshman, and (following a redshirt season and up a weight class) has shown that victory was no joke. Sorensen has the moxie to beat serviceable opponents in Sueflohn and Mayes, but won't touch Retherford in the finals. 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) Undeniable willpower led Martinez through an undefeated freshman season to an NCAA championship last March. A loss in January to Jason Nolf won't erode his confidence; if anything it will relieve some of the pressure that comes with chasing an undefeated career (see Dan Gable, Cael Sanderson, Marcus LeVesseur and Joey Davis for details). Martinez is locked-in once again and should bring home another title after winning another tight one against Nolf in the finals. 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) over No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) The winner of the "I get to wrestle Alex Dieringer in the finals" sweepstakes will come down to the better of the two Jordan cousins in Friday's semifinals. I like the Badger to make finals, but fall short against a dominating Dieringer in the finals. The Cowboy wins his third NCAA championship by at least six points. 174: No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) over No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) Realbuto had one bad day at the Southern Scuffle. It happens. Blame it on an awesome New Year's Eve party. I can relate. He has found his old form and avenged one of those losses since. I've said it before: Kyle Dake and Jason Tsirtsis are the exception. Max Askren is the norm. Freshman nerves are hard to overcome. I'd be surprised if Nickal makes the finals, let alone wins it. Realbuto takes the title up two weight classes from last year. 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) over No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) Dean will have his hands full in the quarters against Boyd of Oklahoma State, who represents his only loss of the season. Assuming he can survive that match, I see him taking out the winner of the weaker lower half of the bracket. 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) over No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) This bracket could play out a number of ways, but any way you cut it, McIntosh and Cox seem to be the cream of the crop. I think it's McIntosh's turn to win as he has been battle tested all season. 285: No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) over No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) I have a hard time believing that someone who beat Abusalam Gadisov of Russia could lose to someone in a college tournament. But then again, some would argue that freestyle and folkstyle are a different as football and soccer. Other factors include size and conditioning. In any case, this poses an interesting match-up: two very technical and athletic big men. I'll take the World champ Snyder to cover 1.5 points. Top Five Teams: 1. Penn State 2. Oklahoma State 3. Iowa 4. Cornell 5. Ohio State 5. Oklahoma State

Two-and-a-half years after the Hollywood movie "Foxcatcher" based on Mark Schultz's book about the murder of his brother Dave Schultz at the hands of multimillionaire wrestling supporter John du Pont, and six months after "The Prince of Pennsylvania" documentary was shown on ESPN, Dave's widow Nancy Schultz will finally have her opportunity to tell her story in the documentary "Team Foxcatcher" which will premiere next month. "Team Foxcatcher" will have its official debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 18 ... then will be available for viewing on Netflix starting April 29. Entertainment Weekly, in announcing the release of "Team Foxcatcher" on Tuesday, reported, "Told predominantly through the lens of David's wife, Nancy, director Jon Greenhalgh's film combines archival home videos and firsthand interviews to relive the events that led to murder. Du Pont had supported and developed a friendship with the Olympic medalist, but the relationship crumbled when the increasingly paranoid millionaire began to perceive David as 'his demon that was after him.'" A two-minute trailer for "Team Foxcatcher" is available for viewing. Hollywood entertainment website IndieWire.com wrote , "If you've only seen Bennett Miller's 'Foxcatcher,' you haven't seen it all. A new look at the world of John du Pont, his Team Foxcatcher wrestling outfit and wrestler Dave Schultz, the man that du Pont tragically murdered after attempting to mentor him for years, is getting a new look thanks to Jon Greenhalgh's massively unsettling and deeply researched documentary 'Team Foxcatcher.'" IndieWire.com went on to say, "'Team Foxcatcher' promises to demystify the story, complete with new interviews and never-before-seen footage." "I'm proud to be a part of this film that was six years in the making to honor the incredible legacy of David," said Nancy Schultz in a statement. "With his ties to the wrestling community, we felt Jon Greenhalgh was the perfect filmmaker to tell this story and pay homage to the kind of man and athlete David was." Jon Greenhalgh crafted the 2002 documentary "The Smashing Machine" on former wrestler-turned-MMA star Mark Kerr. What's more, he is also the son of Sonny Greenhalgh, who, for decades, was in charge of the wrestling program at the New York Athletic Club. Check out InterMat's September 2013 feature on Nancy Schultz's then-unnamed documentary project, based on interviews with Nancy as well as the film's executive producer Jeremy Bailer.

With the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championships concluding this past Saturday, organizers for the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic (formerly the Dapper Dan) established the lineups for the Pennsylvania and WPIAL (Pittsburgh area) all-star teams. Lineups for Team USA and Team Indiana were already released. The event will be held on Saturday, March 26th at the Fitzgerald Field House on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The undercard bout involving senior all-stars from Indiana and the WPIAL will take place at 4:00 p.m. The format for that event involves two periods, each 2:30 in length. The main event involving senior all-stars from across the United States and Pennsylvania takes place at 6:00 p.m. with the standard match format in place. There is a one-time weigh-in at scratch-plus-seven. Below are the matches for each event, rankings are from the March 9th update. Team USA vs. Team Pennsylvania 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) vs. No. 9 Gage Curry (North Hills) 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. No. 8 (at 126) Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin) 126: No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) vs. No. 4 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) 132: No. 1 Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind.) vs. No. 2 (at 138) Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) 138: No. 5 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) vs. No. 3 George Phillippi (Derry Area) 145: No. 7 (at 138) Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.) vs. No. 10 Mike Carr (South Fayette) 152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.) vs. No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) 160: No. 3 (at 170) Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.) vs. No. 4 Jake Wentzel (South Park) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) vs. No. 10 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) 182: No. 3 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.) vs. No. 17 Greg Bulsak (South Park) 195: No. 3 Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore.) vs. No. 14 John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg) 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. No. 9 Jacob Robb (Armstrong) 285: No. 2 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.) vs. No. 11 Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) Team Indiana vs. Team WPIAL 113: Geoffrey Davis (Fort Wayne Wayne) vs. Aaron Burkett (Chestnut Ridge) **2x state 4th vs. 3x state placer (6th/2nd/3rd); Burkett at 106 this year 120: Drew Hildebrandt (Penn) vs. Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) **4x state placer, 2x finalist (8th/6th/2nd/1st) vs. 3x medalist (NP 2nd/INJ/3rd/7th); McCoy at 126 this year 126: Gaige Torres (Portage) vs. Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem) **3x state placer, 2x finalist (7th/DNQ/2nd/2nd) vs. state 6th 132: Owen Doster (New Haven) vs. Mike Heinl (Shaler) **state 5th vs. 2015 state qualifier 138: Evan Eldred (Westfield) vs. Shaun Wilson (Waynesburg) **2x state placer (6th/3rd) vs. state 5th 145: Jordan Vaughn (Franklin Central) vs. Damon Greenwald (Burrell) **2x state placer, 2015 finalist (2nd/4th) vs. 2x state placer, state champ (7th/1st); Greenwald at 152 this year 152: Steven Lawrence (Portage) vs. Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) **3x state placer, 2x finalist (7th/2nd/2nd) vs. state 4th 160: Cayden Whitaker (Martinsville) vs. Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon) **2x state placer (7th/3rd) vs. state qualifier 170: No. 6 Drew Hughes (Lowell) vs. Anthony Welsh (Beth-Center) **4x state placer, 3x finalist (2nd/5th/1st/1st) vs. 2x state placer (5th/3rd) 182: No. 4 Blake Rypel (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon) **4x state placer, 3x finalist (7th/2nd/1st/1st) vs. state runner-up 195: Jake Kleimola (Lake Central) vs. No. 10 Drew Phipps (Norwin) **state champion vs. 3x state placer, state finalist (4th/3rd/2nd) 220: Sam Hipple (Carmel) vs. Mike McAleavey (Peters Township) **2x state placer (4th/6th) vs. state runner-up 285: Sean Galligar (Columbus East) vs. Hayden Rice (Norwin) **state 3rd vs. state qualifier

ST. LOUIS -- Beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 a.m. Central, fans can order tickets for next year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Tickets can be purchased online at ncaa.com/tickets or by phone at 800-745-3000. The 87th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place at Scottrade Center on March 16-18, 2017. The University of Missouri and the St. Louis Sports Commission serve as hosts for the event, which returns to St. Louis for the eighth time since 2000. The 2015 Championships in St. Louis set the event's all-time total attendance record of 113,013. More than 19,000 out-of-town fans, student-athletes, coaches, media and officials visited St. Louis for the 2015 Championships. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have had six consecutive sellouts: 2010 in Omaha, 2011 in Philadelphia, 2012 in St. Louis, 2013 in Des Moines, 2014 in Oklahoma City and 2015 in St. Louis. The 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships take place this week at Madison Square Garden in New York. For more information on the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, visit stlsports.org/wrestling.

The first-ever NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held at New York City's Madison Square Garden will now have another new first-time event: the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Finals Preview Show on Saturday, March 19. All of the finalists for the 2016 NCAA title matches will be on stage at the MSG Theater, a 4,000-seat facility located inside the Garden, for a special weigh-in event and Finals Preview Show at 3 p.m. Eastern Saturday, between Sessions 5 and 6 (the finals). In an interview with Scott Casber for Takedown Wrestling Tuesday, Dylan Wanagiel, Director of Sports Events for the Madison Square Garden Company, described the pre-finals event as "two hours of entertainment" complete with videos and an MSG deejay. In describing how the inaugural Finals Preview Show came about, MSG's Wanagiel told Takedown Wrestling, "We approached the NCAA and they were receptive to the concept, as well as some coaches we talked to." The show will begin with an on-stage weigh-in ceremony, much like those before a mixed martial arts event or pro boxing match. The two wrestlers in each of the ten collegiate weight classes will step onto the iconic scale used by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for their weigh-ins for their "Fight of the Century" heavyweight boxing title bout at Madison Square Garden in 1971. (Official weigh-ins for the championship round, closed to the public and press, will take place earlier Saturday, as they have for a number of years.) There will be preview videos for each of the ten finals matches. What's more, each of the twenty student-athletes will be interviewed by Casber, Shane Sparks of the Big Ten Network, and A.L. Haizlip, play-by-play announcer for Oklahoma State wrestling, for their thoughts on their lifelong wrestling journey to the NCAA Finals. In addition, there will be a 30-minute autograph session allowing fans in attendance to get the signatures of the top Division I college wrestlers of 2016. Current college wrestling stars and their coaches won't be the only individuals in the spotlight at the Finals Preview Show. Wanagiel told Takedown Wrestling that he has been working with USA Wrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame to also include past mat legends at this first-ever event for interviews, autographs and photo opportunities. Among the names Wanagiel mentioned as possible guests: Jordan Burroughs, two-time NCAA champ for University of Nebraska and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, and Kyle Dake, four-time titlewinner at Cornell University. Tickets for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Finals Preview Show will be available Wednesday, March 16 at noon ET. Tickets cost $10 and $15 each, and may be purchased online, or at the Madison Square Garden box office.

Every year there are bracket busters -- lower seeded or unseeded wrestlers -- who wreak havoc on the brackets by pulling upsets. Here is a look at 10 potential bracket busters -- one in each weight class -- to keep an eye on in New York City. 125: Nick Herrmann (Virginia) The fiery mat wrestler in the mold of head coach Steve Garland, Nick Hermann came within a questionable call of beating No. 3 seed Joey Dance at the ACC tournament. He'll face No. 15 David Terao (American) in the first round, a matchup of squirrelly wrestlers that could find Hermann in the driver's seat. Next would be No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia), who he knows well and may be able to navigate a win from an underdog role. From there it's No. 7 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) and No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), both of who would likely give Hermann difficulties, but not before he changed the bracket. 133: No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) I like the Buckeye as a favorite against No. 7 Eric Montoya (NEB). From there he'll need to find his way past No. 2 Cory Clark (IOWA), who bested him 7-3 at Big Tens, but in the NCAA's the gap could close, and quickly. Should the Buckeye make it this far, he'll be staring down a formidable No. 3 in Zane Richards. 141: No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) Facing the winner of the wrestle-in match, Mecate should cruise in the first round. In the second, he's likely to face Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), who I have beating No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri). From there he could face No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) who looks at a second-round rematch with Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) who he beat late in the season. To the finals Mecate, a returning All-American, would need to beat No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), a wrestler he lost 4-3 to at the Midlands. Remember that Mecate also has a win this season over No. 3 seed Kevin Jack (NC State). 149: Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) Without Cody Brewer in great form this year, the Sooners will look up their lineup for a burst of inspiration in MSG. For them it could be Davion Jeffries who will face off in a favorable first-round matchup against No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri). After stealing the seed, Jeffries will see No.14 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) and then a fairly stale No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern). Unfortunately, no matter how well he's wrestling he'll be unlikely to make it past semifinal opponent, No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa). Edwin Cooper battles Tommy Gantt at the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)157: No. 13 Edwin Cooper (Iowa) If history is any indication, the Hawkeyes will be primed for the NCAA tournament and that means outperforming seeds and expectations. Look for Cooper to once against blow past Tyler Berger (Nebraska) before making a major upset against slightly hampered No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State). After the upset he'll face No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan), a wrestler he lost to in tiebreaker at the Big Tens two weeks ago. Make it through to the semifinals and Cooper will face an uphill slog against No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois). 165: No. 11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) After a winnable first round match against Geno Morelli (Penn State), look for the ACC hot hand to beat No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) before making a valiant effort against No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State). Assuming he makes it out in one piece, it'll be No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) in the semifinals. Tall order, but also a very tough weight class! 174: No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) Maybe the only reason Meyer isn't a higher seed is because he had a disappointing Big Ten tournament, taking two losses in quick fashion. Prior to that his only losses had been to Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) and Cody Walters (Ohio). Meyer will take on, and beat, Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) in the first round, before using solid finishes and punishing pressure to make it past 2015 bracket buster nominee Ethan Ramos (North Carolina). Meyer will then need to overcome a Big Ten fall loss to Zac Brunson (Illinois) before trying his semifinal luck against Bo Nickal (Penn State). 184: No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) Returning to the list in 2016, Willie Miklus can, and will, cause serious issues with the 184-pound bracket. First on the Mizzou wrestler's hit list will be Corey Griego (Oregon State). After breezing past the Beaver, he'll face No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro), who is in the midst of an up-and-down, injury-riddled season and does not match up well against Miklus. Next he'll probably face No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) before meeting a mulleted No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) in the semifinals. 197: Patrick Downey (Iowa State) Hell … why not?! Takes out No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) in the first round before steamrolling a sometimes-stiff Jared Haught (VT) in the second. Quarterfinals may be a challenge with Downey facing No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), who handled him in February, but with so much unknown in Downey's comeback anything and everything feels possible! 285: No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) After a winnable first-round match against a wrestle-in winner, Stolfi will need to get right to work facing formidable Canadian and No. 7 seed Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State. He won't make it past No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), but wouldn't that be the best bracket buster ever if he did?

Cain Velasquez battles with Cole Konrad in the semifinals of the 2006 NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)After one last clubbing forearm to the head, a familiar buzzer sounded. Cain Velasquez rose out of his wrestling stance and began to circle away. As his opponent pumped his right fist in the sky, the Arizona State wrestler completed his circle walk and returned to the center. He toed the line and performed the ceremonial match-ending handshake. The season was over. Velasquez finished his collegiate wrestling career with a fourth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA tournament. As he stood there on the mat, in his sweat soaked maroon singlet, he might have thought his athletic career was over. That could not have been further from the truth. A little over four years later, he would be the one getting his hand raised after defeating another former heavyweight wrestler for the UFC heavyweight title. This weekend Madison Square Garden hosts the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. 330 wrestlers will compete for 10 weight class championships. The top eight finishers in each weight class will earn All-American status. If history holds, the tournament will produce at least one All-American who will embark on an MMA career. Since 1979 every All-America team has produced at least one MMA competitor. Over the past 20 seasons, around six All-Americans from each tournament have entered MMA. This number will most likely rise as it usually takes a few years for wrestlers to trickle into the fighting ranks. However, one year in particular sticks out. 15 members, nearly 18 percent, of the 2006 All-American class have transitioned into MMA. Some of the members of this class have already earned legendary status, some have decided that it is simply not for them and some are still trying to make it in the combat sport. Chad Mendes (Cal Poly), sixth place, 125 pounds Mendes entered the tournament as the ninth seed. He fell in the championship bracket to future World Team regular Nick Simmons. He rebounded nicely in the consolation bracket to earn All-American status but dropped his last two matches to future Olympian Sam Hazewinkel and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott. Two years later, Mendes would return to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed. He dominated his way to the finals before being upset by J Jaggers in a controversial final. Mendes made his professional MMA debut in 2008. He has built himself into a perennial contender in the featherweight division. He has fought for that division's UFC title three times but has never been able to capture the belt. Shawn Bunch (Edinboro), third place, 133 pounds As the returning NCAA runner-up and No. 1 seed, Bunch was considered a strong favorite to win the 133-pound tournament. He dropped a 9-2 match to Chris Fleeger in the semifinals and ended up finishing third. After college, Bunch became a regular on the international freestyle circuit. He won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Championships and was a member of the 2009 U.S. World Team. Bunch signed with Bellator in 2012 after coming up one match short of qualifying for the Olympics. In his last fight for the promotion, he was submitted by Darrion Caldwell. The defeat dropped his Bellator record to 4-2. Bunch currently trains at American Kickboxing Academy. Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro), seventh place, 149 pounds Gillespie's seventh-place finish marked the first time a true freshman had become an All-American in Edinboro history. He would go on to finish his career in 2009 as a four-time All-American and one-time NCAA champion. The New York native did not transition into MMA right away. His struggles with addiction and injuries are well documented in a Sherdog Prospect Watch article. Since finally making his debut in 2014, Gillespie has gone 6-0 under the Ring of Combat banner. He recently scored a first-round knockout over Jose Mariscal at ROC 54. Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State), first place, 165 pounds Hendricks entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. In the finals, he defeated Michigan's Ryan Churella but not without controversy. Churella turned Hendricks with an inside cradle late in the second period. Many fans still claim that Hendricks was pinned, but the referee did not call the fall. Hendricks won the match 9-8. After winning a pair of fights in the WEC, Hendricks moved to the UFC in 2009. He won nine of his first 10 fights in the promotion to earn a title shot against then-champion Georges St. Pierre. Hendricks fell via dubious decision. He returned in his next fight and defeated Robbie Lawler for the vacant title. Since then, he has lost the belt and gone 1-2. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American), third place, 165 pounds Abdurakhmanov is a three-time Uzbekistan national champion and a Junior World silver medalist. After a pair of junior college national titles, he joined the American University squad. He quickly became one of the most highly decorated wrestlers in the program's history highlighted by this third-place finish. His only defeat in the tournament was a 4-3 loss to Hendricks in the semifinals. After college, he became a training partner for Kenny Florian. In 2009, he split a pair of fights on regional shows in the Northeast. After falling via submission to Rene Nazare at FFP-Untamed 29, he never fought again. Abdurakhmanov has been an assistant coach for the Harvard wrestling team since 2008. Ben Askren celebrates after winning the NCAA title in 2006 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Ben Askren (Missouri), first place, 174 pounds At this tournament, Askren won his first of two NCAA titles. In the finals, he defeated future World silver medalist and Olympian Jake Herbert. After college, Askren continued to wrestle for a few years. He represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics but failed to medal. About 20 months after making his MMA debut, Askren defeated Lyman Good for the Bellator welterweight title He currently holds an undefeated 14-0 record and the One Championship welterweight title. C.B. Dollaway (Arizona State), fifth place, 184 pounds Dollaway entered the tournament as the 10th seed. He was knocked out in the quarterfinals by the eventual runner-up Roger Kish. Dollaway then eliminated current Bellator fighter Paul Bradley in the consolation bracket and eventually finished fifth. "The Doberman" would launch his UFC career on the seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter." He reached the season title match but submitted to Amir Sadollah on the finale card. Over the course of his UFC career he has picked up victories over the likes of Joe Doerksen, Daniel Sarafian and Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Eric Bradley (Penn State), eighth place, 184 pounds Early in his college career, Bradley suffered a rather serious back injury that threatened to end his time in the sport. During his time away, he took up boxing and won a National Collegiate Boxing championship in 2003. For most of his senior season, Bradley was ranked No. 1 at 184 pounds. However, a series of late season losses pushed him down to the eighth seed. After defeating Paul Bradley, he fell to the No. 1 seed Josh Glenn in the quarterfinals.The Penn State wrestler managed to earn All-American status in the wrestlebacks. In 2007, Bradley became one of the first fighters to sign with management group Team Takedown, which also represented Hendricks, Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller. He began his career with a 2-1 record including a victory over Mikey Gomez on the undercard of EliteXC "Street Certified." Bradley was then arrested alongside collegiate teammate Patrick Cummins for theft and burglary. Bradley's last fight on his record came in 2012. The following year he was a cast member of "Fight Master: Bellator MMA." He defeated A.J. Matthews and Joe Williams to reach the semifinals of the reality show competition but ultimately fell to Mike Bronzoulis and was eliminated. Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State), first place, 197 pounds; Phil Davis (Penn State), second place, 197 pounds; Chris Weidman (Hofstra), sixth place, 197 pounds; Ryan Bader (Arizona State), seventh place, 197 pounds Four of the eight All-Americans at 197-pounds went on to become MMA fighters. Weidman, who was unseeded, knocked off the No. 1 seed Wynn Michalak. He then defeated Bader in the quarterfinals. Rosholt, Davis and Weidman all reached the semifinals. There, Rosholt defeated Weidman and moved onto the finals. Davis advanced in his side of the bracket but fell to Rosholt via a 10-3 score. Weidman ended up finishing sixth, while Bader finished seventh. Rosholt began fighting in 2007. He made his UFC debut after only five professional fights. The former Cowboy wrestler went 1-2 with his lone victory coming over Chris Leben before the UFC released him. He continued to fight on the smaller shows but ultimately retired after falling via knockout to Anthony Johnson in 2012. Davis won his first five fights in the UFC before running into former champion Rashad Evans. He left the promotion last year after going 9-3 in the promotion. In Bellator, Davis won the promotion's one-night light heavyweight grand prix. He will face Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in a bout which will determine a No. 1 contender at Bellator 154 in May. Weidman shocked the world when he scored a second-round knockout of Anderson Silva and took home the middleweight title. He defended the belt twice over former champions Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. In his last outing, Weidman fell for the first time to Luke Rockhold. The two are scheduled for a rematch at UFC 199 in June. Bader won the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2008 and has been fighting in the UFC ever since. He had recently won five fights in a row to put himself into title contention. However, his momentum was stopped when he was finished in the first round by Anthony Johnson at UFC on Fox 18. Cole Konrad (Minnesota), first place, 285 pounds; Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State), second place, 285 pounds Mocco vs. Konrad is one of the best rivalries in the history of college wrestling. In 2005, Mocco went undefeated and picked up an overtime win over Konrad in the NCAA finals. The following year, Konrad stopped Mocco's 85 match unbeaten streak with a pin in the finals of the National Duals. The two rematched in the 2006 NCAA final with Konrad taking the overtime victory. After Mocco's graduation, the Minnesota wrestler won another NCAA title in 2007. Konrad began his MMA training as a partner for fellow Minnesota alumnus Brock Lesnar. He made his professional debut in 2010. Later that year, he won Bellator's Season 3 heavyweight tournament to claim the promotion's inaugural heavyweight championship. He fought two more times against Paul Buentello and Eric Prindle before retiring with an undefeated record to become a full-time commodities broker. Mocco would go on to compete on the international freestyle circuit. He represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics. In 2009, he won a pair of prestigious international tournaments: the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix and Alexander Medved Tournament. After failing to make the 2012 Olympic team, Mocco began training with American Top Team. He has gone 5-1 with his last two bouts coming under the World Series of Fighting banner. Cain Velasquez (Arizona State), fourth place, 285 pounds Velasquez was unlucky that his career coincided with great heavyweights Mocco and Konrad. In his two years at Arizona State, he was knocked out of the championship bracket in the semifinals by Konrad both years. Their 2006 match was about as close as it gets. Konrad won a 2-2 match on tie breaker. Velasquez made his MMA debut later in 2006. He joined the UFC two years later after only two fights. He won first six fights in the promotion to earn a title shot against Lesnar, which he won. After dropping the belt to Junior dos Santos on the first FOX show, Velasquez won it back in 2012. He defended it twice before submitting to Fabricio Werdum last summer. Other notes from 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships: Former Bellator champion Michael Chandler (Missouri), Scott Jorgensen (Boise State), Paul Bradley (Iowa) and Kenny Robertson (Eastern Illinois) all came up one match short of All-American status. UFC veteran Dave Herman (Indiana) went 1-2 in the heavyweight bracket. Current WWE wrestler Jake Hager (Oklahoma), who wrestles under the name Jack Swagger, finished seventh at heavyweight. Richard Mann currently runs the data-driven MMA blog StrikeScoreMMA.com.

Four individuals with roots deep in wrestling in the state of Iowa -- Rick Caldwell, Jim Duschen, Mark Reiland, and Tim Johnson -- have been announced as members of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The ceremony will take place Monday, April 11 at the Cresco Country Club, south of the northeast Iowa community where the Iowa Wrestling Hall is located. Rick Caldwell was a two-time All-American at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. Following his graduation, Caldwell launched his coaching career that included BGM-Brooklyn, Iowa Falls and Ames high schools before becoming an assistant coach at Wartburg College from 1988-1999. He stayed in Waverly, Iowa, taking the helm at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. In twelve years, Caldwell's teams won 14 state team trophies, including nine state championships (five traditional, four dual-meet championships), coached 20 Go-Hawk state champions, an twice had four Iowa state champs in one year. Jim Duschen wrestled at East Waterloo High School, then headed west to Iowa State. As a Cyclone, Duschen racked up two Big 8 titles, a Midlands championship, NCAA All-American honors ... and was captain of the 1969 Iowa State national championship team. After graduating from ISU, Duschen won two National Greco-Roman titles, was a 1972 Olympic alternate, and earned a place on the 1973 World team. After hanging up his singlet, Duschen started a successful coaching career that spanned 30 years, from Iowa to Nevada. Mark Reiland was a four-time medalist -- and two-time Iowa state champ -- for his father, Marv Reiland, at Eagle Grove High School. The younger Reiland added to his mat laurels as a University of Iowa mat star for coach Dan Gable, becoming a two-time NCAA All-American, winning the 167-pound title at the 1991 NCAAs. As coach at Iowa City West High, Mark Reiland has built a perennial prep powerhouse. Tim JohnsonTim Johnson is a familiar face -- and voice -- in wrestling broadcasting within the state of Iowa and well beyond. He has covered wrestling for Iowa Public TV, ESPN, Real Pro Wrestling, and the BIG 10 Network. For the past dozen years, he has been part of the broadcast team for ESPN's coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Before launching his broadcast career, Johnson wrestled at Morning Sun High, then at Coe College ... then served as coach at Mount Vernon High, guiding future Boise State coach Greg Randall to four Iowa state championships. Banquet tickets for the 2016 induction are available at the Cresco Chamber of Commerce (563-547-3434) and CIA Insurance in Cresco (563-547-2382). Tickets are $25, and advance registration is required. The Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame, located in downtown Cresco at the Cresco Welcome Center at Highway 9 and Elm Street, honors wrestlers and coaches who were born in the state of Iowa. The Hall of Fame will be open until 6 p.m. the day of the banquet. Information about the hall and its inductees is available at their website.

"The sight I adore on a basketball floor is wrestling mats from door to door." That slogan dotted more than a few T-shirts during my youth wrestling days and is perhaps more relevant for this year's tournament than ever. Wrestling now has a chance to prove its worth at the home of the Knicks in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. On Thursday, collegiate wrestlers and coaches from around the nation will gather in the Big Apple to put individual and team titles on the line. In turn, fans will flock to arena seats and couches to take in all the action. Viewers will also have the opportunity to join their basketball counterparts by putting their money where their mouth is to make legitimate wagers on their sport. 2015 proved to be yet another winning opportunity for wrestling fans who knew where to look. An abnormal amount of low seeds found their way to the finals last year, including an unseeded Zeke Moisey of West Virginia. That type of outcome is the norm, not the exception, for our sport's culminating event and can in turn mean big pay days for those willing to lay some money down. Each year the NCAA tournament gains more visibility and coverage and New York City will help push that envelope even further. Oddsmakers have responded by tightening the lines they offer, making it tougher to gain an advantage in the wagering world. However, we have a few wide open weights this year, including 141 pounds where roughly ten young men have a realistic opportunity to walk away with gold. That could make for some very big lines and prosperous bets! I'm here to help you identify some of those winning plays, but remember, I'm in no way responsible for what you bet, or if you bet. Think twice before going all-in on the field versus Alex Dieringer at 165 pounds. This is for fun, so if you can't afford to pay, don't play. For the newcomers, here's how it usually works: Each weight class is broken down with a money line on the top two or three individuals (usually by seed). Then the remaining wrestlers, or the Field, are given a collective money line to win. For clarity purposes each line uses a base amount of $100. So if the line is +150, that means you risk $100 to win $150. Likewise, if the line is -150, you risk $150 to win $100. A few numbers for thought before we break down the weight classes (all data is since the 2003 NCAA tournament): The top seed at the NCAA tournament has won almost exactly 50% of the time. A wrestler seeded third or lower has won approximately 30%. A wrestler seeded fourth or lower has won approximately 20%. The Field comes in on average two to three times a year. All champs in 2013 came from either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. That hadn't happened previously since John Smith was hitting low singles in an orange singlet. On to the breakdown of this year's weight classes and my personal (pre-official) lines: 125: Nathan Tomasello enters as the top seed and will look to defend the title he obtained last year as a No. 4 seed. He currently holds the narrowest of advantages over Nico Megaludis, Joey Dance and Thomas Gilman. Each are capable of sending Nato back to Columbus in a cranky mood. Zeke Moisey will miss the tournament due to injury and will not have the chance to repeat last year's impressive Cinderella run. The Lines: Tomasello +110, Dance +300, Field +200 The Play: Nato has controlled the weight with two walk-off wins over Megaludis as well as a slim victory over Dance by way of a confusing stall call. He has not faced Gilman yet this season, who has given him problems in the past. I don't see a Moisey-type bracket buster so we shouldn't expect any surprise matchups in the semifinals. I like Gilman to earn a slight upset over Tomasello for a rematch with Megaludis on the elevated mat. It would be Megaludis' third time in the finals. Third time a charm? I take the Field over Nato. 133: Top-seeded Nahshon Garrett made the healthy choice to go up in weight for his last year of competition. That decision has paid dividends as he has consistently obliterated this field, including a shootout win over last year's champ Cody Brewer. The top two Big Ten entrees, Cory Clark and Zane Richards, headline the lower half of the bracket. The Lines: Garrett -200, Brewer +200, Field +350 The Play: I had doubts about Garrett's ability to handle what is likely the toughest draw of any top seed. I then went back and watched his last few matches … I no longer have doubts. There is a chance that Brewer re-enacts that alien-like performance from a year ago and slices through the bracket. However, I believe it's more likely that Garrett keeps the form he's had all season and goes out with a big title for the Big Red. I like him at -200 or better. Watch out for sixth-seeded George Dicamillo to make some noise for the Cavaliers in the lower half. 141: Dean Heil enters as the top seed and held an unblemished record until late in the season. Newcomer Joey McKenna of Stanford has taken Heil to deep waters twice this season while Anthony Ashnault earned Rutgers' first Big Ten title in dominant fashion. Kevin Jack has come on strong after an improbable run at last year's tournament. The Lines: Heil +225, McKenna +300, Field even The Play: You could wrestle this weight ten different times and see ten different champs. For the sake of putting a prediction on the line I'll take an Ashnault-McKenna all-Garden State matchup in the Garden. One for the bridge and tunnel crowd. Let's take the Field with confidence. 149: Top-seeded Zain Retherford may be the most improved wrestler in the nation. A scary proposition considering he held a win over Logan Stieber his true freshman year. His lone "scare" came at the hands of All-American B.J. Clagon of Rider, a match in which he only allowed an escape point. Former NCAA champ Jason Tsirtsis will battle with Brandon Sorensen, Lavion Mayes and Jake Sueflohn for the right to wrestle Retherford under the bright lights. The Lines: Retherford -400, Sorensen +320, Field +300 The Play: The Zain Train has been rolling all season and hasn't shown any signs of coming to a stop. The potential rematch with Clagon in the quarterfinals is one to watch and may very well pose his biggest challenge. However, nobody has been able to match Zain's all-around abilities and I don't think that will change by Saturday. You may however have to pay a high price for the lock of the tournament. 157: Isaiah Martinez nabs the top seed after avenging the lone loss of his career in the Big Ten finals with third-seeded spark plug Jason Nolf. Thomas Gantt has done his part to propel NC State to their dream season by compiling a perfect record. Two-time All American Ian Miller will be looking to go out on top after a controversial loss last year in St. Louis. Dylan Palacio and Joe Smith add some serious pedigree and depth to the field of contenders. The Lines: Martinez even, Nolf +120, Field +425 The Play: Fans are getting their popcorn ready for the third installment of this epic Big Ten trilogy between Imar and Nolf. They should also be hoping the stars align for a Miller-Palacio quarterfinal matchup. Let's keep an eye on the scoring in that one. Either wrestler will give Martinez an interesting look in the semifinal. On the flip side, Nolf certainly can't overlook Smith or Gantt. In the end, these things seem to have a way of working out and we'll be granted our third meeting between these two talents. Flip a coin. I'm going with the PSU buzz saw via devastating pace. 165: Alex Dieringer heads to New York looking to extend his lengthy win streak and gain his third title in as many years. He may be hoping to avoid a semifinal matchup with Missouri's Daniel (middle name not Day) Lewis, who found a way to ride the Oklahoma State Cowboy for a good portion of their dual meet matchup. We have the Jordan Bowl to look forward to on the bottom side of the bracket between Isaac and Bo. The Lines: AD -400, Isaac +250, Field +375 The Play: Lewis is an absolute hammer on top, but Dieringer will be ready and prepped for the rematch. Bo Jordan has not looked nearly as dominant since making the drop in weight and sadly we'll have to wait another year for his return to 174 pounds and the impending Bo Bowl. I still like him to turn the corner against his cousin and give Dieringer a lot to handle under the spotlight. A bet against AD would be foolish and a bet on him would be too expensive. Let's stay away from this one and enjoy the ending to a great career as he makes the leap to the next level. 174: Penn State's high-flying phenom Bo Nickal lets it all hang out and is your top seed. Nickal enjoyed a coming out party at this year's Southern Scuffle with wins over second-seeded Brian Realbuto of Cornell as well as UNC's fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos. Blaise Butler of Missouri joins Realbuto down low. The Lines: Nickal -175, Realbuto +250, Field +275 The Play: I picked Realbuto over a highly touted freshman last year and came up a bit short. Bo knows things .. Wrestling things .. namely scrambling and double over hooks. Realbuto knows scrambling and position. I'll take another shot on Realbuto to win a much-anticipated rematch. 184: Defending champ Gabe Dean returns as the No. 1 seed in a barn burner of a weight class. Sammy Brooks earned himself a Big Ten title and the second seed simply by focusing on developing the right postseason hairstyle. Vic Avery and Domenic Abounader have only three losses between them and slot in at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds respectively. The field is deep and scrappy. The Lines: Dean even, Brooks +350, Field +225 The Play: Dean looked like he would run away with this one before suffering his only loss of the season to Nolan Boyd, who he will see early if seeds hold. You either believe that match was a fluke or you don't. I'm in the second camp and I'm going with Brooks here because upsets happen every year and sometimes you just need to take a chance on a mullet. 197: Top seed and undefeated Morgan McIntosh is yet another entry by the seemingly unstoppable force that is PSU. Former NCAA champ J'den Cox will look to regain his title from the second seed. Brett Pfarr and Nathan Burak will try to disrupt what appears to be a collision course as part of the field. The Lines: McIntosh +165, Cox +115 Field +700 The Play: PSU fans cannot be happy to see Conner Hartmann on their side of the bracket here. The Blue Devil ended McIntosh's momentum in last year's tournament and will look to repeat that feat. Meanwhile, Cox shouldn't be tested until the finals. He holds a 2-1 advantage in the series with McIntosh and already owns a title. I like him with a late takedown for the win. 285: Two time champ and top-seeded Nick Gwiazdowski will try to conquer a tough bracket in his home state. WORLD CHAMPION and 2 seed Kyle Snyder decided to spend his free time taking on the collegiate big boys. Ty Walz, Austin Marsden and Adam Coon will look to play spoiler to the most anticipated match of the weekend. The Lines: Gwiazdowski even, Snyder even, Field +1000 The Play: Any concerns over Snyder's ability to handle the weight were alleviated in his Big Ten final with Coon. This is the most anticipated 285-pound match since Stephen Neal-Brock Lesnar and we can only hope a team title is on the line when they meet. Did I mention Kyle Snyder is a WORLD CHAMPION? Gwiazdowski will hold the weight advantage but world gold gives Snyder the better trophy case and perhaps a slight mental edge. I'll go with the guy who challenges Russians overseas in his spare time. Snyder by one. Official lines should be available at your online sportsbook midweek (Wednesday) and individual lines are posted before the semifinals and finals in case you would like to hedge your bets ... or double down. Good luck and enjoy the winnings!

Tyler Gilmore, former wrestling team captain at Vigo North High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, died this weekend after falling from a parking garage in Panama City Beach, Florida during Spring Break. He was 20. Tyler GilmorePanama City Beach police said Gilmore was found by a passerby after midnight Sunday morning at the parking garage for the Shores of Panama residential building where he was staying with friends. Police said it's unclear at what height Gilmore was when he fell. Gilmore's death is under investigation, but authorities don't suspect foul play. As a wrestler at North, Gilmore went on to become a 2014 regional champion and two-time semi-state qualifier. He was also a two-time Amateur Athletic Union All-American on North's Disney Duals wrestling team. "He had a magnetic personality," North head wrestling coach Mark Frisz told the Terre Haute Tribune-Star by email. "When he first came out for wrestling as a freshman, he immediately challenged me to a match (one that never took place)." After learning about this death, friends posted messages on Gilmore's Facebook page . One said that Gilmore "helped build a family in the Terre Haute wrestling room." Gilmore's Facebook page listed "Orderly at Terre Haute Regional Hospital" as one of his jobs, along with Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Terre Haute. His Facebook page includes a coupon for guests to have 10 percent of their dinner check donated to help pay for funeral expenses. Gilmore had studied nursing at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, becoming among the first men admitted to the on-campus undergraduate program at what had been a women's school. "I had the opportunity to be first at something, and it got me excited to do it," Gilmore said in an interview with the Tribune-Star back in August. He left Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in December, according to the school's executive director of college relations. "Tyler had a lasting impact on me and our wrestling family," said coach Frisz, who noted that Gilmore would continue to visit the North wrestling room from time to time. "His passing hurts, and I feel for all of Tyler's family and friends. The great memories we all share will help us as time goes on."

Tyler Brown, a senior wrestler at Salesianum Catholic High School in Wilmington, Del. was killed in a traffic accident this weekend that left four others seriously injured. Brown was 17. Tyler BrownA resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Brown was a passenger in a Dodge Dakota pickup that was crossing U.S. 301 when it was struck on the right side by a semi tractor-trailer at 11:30 p.m. Friday in Middletown, Del. The driver of the pickup as well as a passenger in the back seat sustained serious injuries. The semi was knocked onto its side, and the driver and passenger were both seriously injured, according to Delaware State Police. Brown was a multi-sport athlete at Salesianum. In addition to being a wrestler, Brown played rugby and lacrosse. He was also a participant in the school's Model United Nations program. Brown was planning to go to Syracuse University in the fall to study architectural design. His art teacher, Brian Magargal, said Brown had worked hard to get into Syracuse, his number one choice. "He had never picked up a paintbrush before last fall, but he wanted to go in for architecture," Magargal told DelawareOnline.com . "The good architecture schools ask for an art portfolio, so he came to me and asked for help." Magargal soon found Brown had a natural talent. Brown was working on a very large painting, a streetscape he was painting from a photo he took of a town in New Jersey, which is about three-quarters of the way finished, Magargal said. Brown's artwork was on display at a Saturday evening Mass held at the gym at Salesianum. More than 600 people offered prayers for Brown and for the recovery of his Salesianum classmate John W. Kirsch (the driver of the Dakota) and Kelley Muschiatti, a student at Padua High School, who was in the back seat. The school also had its chapel open Sunday afternoon for prayers. "On Monday, we will mark this sad occasion with a special schedule at school, and provide opportunities for students and staff to grieve and receive support," said Salesianum principal The Rev. Chris Beretta in a letter posted at the school's website. "This will be a difficult week for our school community. All of us will deal with it in different ways; many will struggle. Every Salesian needs to arrive Monday knowing that we are grieving the loss of one of our own."

Mark Hall defeated Alex Marinelli by major decision, 14-5 (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)NEW PRAGUE, Minn. -- Held about a month earlier than normal, the Wrestling USA Magazine Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic took place last night in New Prague, Minn. This year's event featured some of the nation's top seniors facing many of the top seniors from the Gopher State. To be expected, a group of seniors from across the United States was clearly favored; and in mostly unsurprising fashion, Minnesota seniors won just three of the thirteen bouts. However, one of those wins was the evening's biggest story. Coming in the last match, No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) used a third period barrage to upend No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) by a 14-5 major decision at 170 pounds. Hall is the nation's overall top senior, bound for Penn State; while Marinelli, an Iowa commit, is third overall in the senior class regardless of weight class. One of the other two wins for a Minnesota wrestler came against Marinelli's St. Paris Graham teammate Brent Moore. Earning the 10-2 major decision victory was No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) at 138 pounds. The third and final Gopher State victory came at 126 pounds, as Adam Hedin (Rosemount) rallied from a 5-0 deficit to earn a 6-5 upset victory over No. 3 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) at 126 pounds; Hedin was a state runner-up at 132 in Minnesota's big-school Class AAA this year. Nick Reenan celebrates after defeating Taylor Venz at 182 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)That first Minnesota win came in the evening's seventh bout, which meant that Team USA amassed wins in the evening's first six bouts. It started off with a victory at 182 pounds coming from Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), who is ranked No. 2 nationally at 195; Reenan earned a 13-10 victory over two-time state champion Taylor Venz (Farmington) in an absolute barn-burner. Next on the mat was the 195 pound bout, where No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) pinned No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) in the first period. The 220 pound match had zero surprise with No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) earning a 9-1 major decision victory over Kevin Kniesl (Delano). It was somewhat an unexpectedly close bout at 285 pounds, where No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) beat No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers) 3-1 in overtime. Turning back to the lower weights, No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) earned a 12-3 major decision over 2015 state champion Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo) at 113. Last in the six match winning streak to open the dual meet, it was a 21-6 technical fall for for No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) over 113 pound state champion Victor Gliva (Farmington). Sandwiching the first two Minnesota victories, which came over future Virginia Tech wrestlers, it was No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) earning an 11-5 victory over two-time state runner-up Jamie LeDuc (Farmington) at 132. After the loss at 138, it was three straight United States victories before the last bout of the evening. Winning at 145 was No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa), who beat state runner-up Brock Morgan (Apple Valley) 7-4. Then at 152 pounds, it was No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) scoring a 4-1 victory in the tiebreaker over No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) in a battle of future Big Ten wrestlers; Manville bound for Penn State along with Hall, and Parriott the Purdue commit. Lastly it was a pair of nationally ranked 182 pound wrestlers taking to the mats at 160, where No. 8 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) beat No. 16 Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville) 3-1. Results: 182: No. 2 (at 195) Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Taylor Venz (Farmington), 13-10 195: No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) pinned No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central), 1:43 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) maj. dec. Kevin Kneisl (Delano), 9-1 285: No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) dec. No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers), 3-1 OT 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) maj. dec. Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo), 12-3 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) tech. fall Victor Gliva (Farmington), 21-6 4:10 126: Adam Hedin (Rosemount) dec. No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.), 6-5 132: No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) dec. Jamin Le Duc (Farmington), 11-5 138: No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) maj. dec. No. 8 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 10-2 145: No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) dec. Brock Morgan (Apple Valley), 7-4 *152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) won by forfeit Exh 152: No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague), 4-1 OT 160: No. 8 (at 182) Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) dec. No. 16 (at 182) Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville), 3-1 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) maj. dec. No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 14-5 * Manville did not make weight

Winning a high school state title in wrestling in any state is a worthy accomplishment. Brian Courtney (Photo/Bill Ennis)Achieving that by defeating three past state champs is even more impressive. Doing it in a wrestling-rich state like Pennsylvania -- and making history in the process? That's priceless. Brian Courtney of Athens High School won the 2016 PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) Class AA 126-pound championship at Giant Center in Hershey Saturday did all that -- and made history, becoming the first Pennsylvania wrestler to beat three past PIAA champs on his way to the state title in the 79-year history of high school state wrestling championships in the Keystone State. In fact, it was the first time that three former titlewinners were in the same bracket in the PIAA tournament. If all that weren't enough, Courtney was named Class AA Outstanding Wrestler. The first former champ to fall to Courtney was Jonathan Gabriel of Bedford, defending 126-pound titleholder, who the Athens junior defeated 8-3. That victory put Courtney into the 126-pound semifinals where he defeated Reynolds sophomore Cole Matthews, last year's champion at 120, by a 9-3 score. In the finals, Courtney faced Central Cambia's Max Murin, last year's Class AA 113-pound champion. There was no scoring in the first period; Courtney earned an escape at the start the second period. Murin attempted a single-leg takedown, but Courtney used his flexibility gained in gymnastics training in fifth and sixth grade to break his opponent's grip and score a reversal, taking a 3-0 lead. Murin managed to score an escape in each of the two remaining periods but was unsuccessful in another takedown attempt, and could not overcome the deficit. Final score: 3-2 for Courtney. "All four wrestlers I wrestled this weekend were great," Courtney told PennLive.com. "Everyone on the podium was a great wrestler, so it was really cool to stand on the top of it." "They were all super tough," Courtney continued. "Gabriel was a five-point move, but it was 3-3 before that. I was 4-2 with Matthews before the last period, and Murin was 3-2 at the end." "I can't say one was tougher than the other. It hasn't sunk in yet, but I feel pretty good about it."

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Notre Dame College wrestling's Joey Davis won his fourth straight NCAA Championship on Saturday night at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, defeating Pitt-Johnstown's Travis McKillop via 3-1 Decision in the 184 lb Finals to finish his career with a perfect 131-0 career record. Davis becomes the first wrestler in NCAA Division II history to win four NCAA Championships while also going undefeated in the process. "I was so stressed out this whole process. I'm really at a loss for words," said Davis. "I worked tremendously hard. The coaches worked me so hard, but it has all been worth it." Furthermore, Davis (20-0 this season) is one of just three wrestlers in NCAA history to finish his career undefeated as a four-time national champion, joining Iowa State's Cael Sanderson (159-0) and Augsburg-Minn.'s Marcus LeVesseur (155-0). "I never thought about something like this, going undefeated in college," said Davis. "To be able to have my name mentioned with some of the greats, it's an amazing accomplishment for me. I have some options, but for me it's about graduating first." As a team, the Falcons placed second overall at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships with 82.0 team points. Additionally, seven different Falcons earned All-American status with Top-8 finishes at Nationals. Isaac Dulgarian also had a strong showing for the Falcons, placing second at 149 lbs to highlight a stellar freshman campaign. At 125 lbs, Jacob Goodwin placed third with a 7-3 Decision over Wisconsin-Parkside's Ronzel Darling in the 3rd Place Match. Former national champions Jonatan Rivera (157 lbs) and Garrett Lineberger (197 lbs) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, for NDC. Rivera (22-5) went 4-2 at Nationals while Lineberger defeated Tiffin's Jake Cramer via 6-2 Decision in the 197 lb 5th Place Match. Cobey Fehr (20-3 overall) placed seventh at 141 lbs while Justan Rivera placed eighth at 174 lbs in his freshman season. Team Scores (Top 5): 1. St. Cloud St. 90.0 2. Notre Dame (OH) 82.0 3. Neb.-Kearney 78.5 4. Pitt.-Johnstown 71.5 5. Maryville (MO) 65.5

The St. Cloud State University wrestling team captured the 2016 NCAA Division II national championship for the second consecutive season on Saturday, March 12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Huskies tallied 90 points to bring home the national team title and they were led by redshirt freshman Brett Velasquez, who captured first place in the 125-pound bracket with a 5-0 win over Willy Bohince of Mercyhurtst. Velasquez finished the tournament with a 4-0 record. Velasqez is the sixth SCSU wrestler to win an NCAA Division II individual national crown and he is the 16th Husky to win an individual national title (NCAA and NAIA combined). For his work this season, SCSU's Steve Costanzo was named the 2016 NWCA Coach of the Year. This is SCSU's second consecutive national team title and the second NCAA championship for any sport in the history of the University. SCSU saw all seven of its athletes in competition at the tournament gain All-America honors. Clint Poster placed third at 165-pounds to earn his fourth consecutive All-America award, while Austin Goergen placed third at 285-pound to gain his third consecutive All-America award. At 149-pounds, Jay Hildreth placed fourth to earn his second All-America award, while Matt Nelson placed fifth at 141-pounds to bring back his second All-America award as a Husky. First time All-America award winners for SCSU were Clayton Jennissen, who placed seventh at 174-pounds and Uthman Rabiu, who placed eighth at 184-pounds. SCSU's finish at the NCAA Division II championships today marks another milestone in the program. The Huskies have finished among the NCAA's top 10 eight times since 2009. SCSU won the NCAA title in 2015 and placed second in 2011, 2012 and 2013 under the direction of head coach Steve Costanzo. The tournament finishes the 2015-16 season for SCSU. The Huskies charted a 16-1 dual match record this winter and also claimed their fifth consecutive NSIC championship with an 8-0 record. SCSU placed second at the 2016 NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional and saw four of its athletes gain championships at the Regional meet. In the final Division II national poll of the season, the Huskies gained a No. 2 ranking.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Top-ranked Wartburg won its twelfth National Championship with 129.5 points Saturday.Finals Results: 149: Kenny Martin (WB) win by 7-5 dec vs. Trevor Engle (Cornell) 157: Robert Dierna (SUNY-Cortland) won by 7-5 dec vs. Drew Wagenhoffer (WB) 165: Logan Hermsen (UW-Stevens Point) win by 5-3 dec OT vs. Nick Michael (WB) 174: Ben Swarr (Messiah) win by 3-1 dec vs. Eric DeVos (WB) 197: David Welch (Roger Williams) win by 5-4 dec vs. Gerard Roman (WB) Notes: -Wartburg wins 12th NCAA National Championship with 129.5 pts. -The total ties the record of 12 that Augsburg also holds. -Martin moves winning streak to 15. -Martin wins his second straight and second overall National Championship. -Martin also earns second career All-American honor. -Wagenhoffer finished as the National Runner-Up. -Wagenhoffer earned his third career All-American honor. -Wagenhoffer's winning streak halted at seven. -Michael finished as the National Runner-Up. -Michael earned his first career All-American honor. -DeVos earns first career All-American honor. -DeVos' winning streak halted at 23. -Roman finished as the National Runner-Up. -Roman earned his second career All-American honor. -Roman's winning streak halted at 11. -Wagenhoffer, Michael, DeVos and Roman made their first appearances in the National Finals. Complete Results: 125: Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) won by 8-1 dec vs. Arnulfo Olea (WB) 125: Zac Denny (UW-Whitewater) win by 8-5 dec vs. Arnulfo Olea (WB) 125: Arnulfo Olea (WB) won by fall at 5:26 vs Jakob Stageberg (Concordia-Moorehead) 133: Dustin Weinmann (UW-LaCrosse) win by fall at 3:36 vs. Connor Campo (WB) 133: Connor Campo won by medical forfeit vs. Romeo Riley (Alma) 149: Kenny Martin win by 3-2 dec vs. Dan Mirman (John Carroll) 157: Drew Wagenhoffer (WB) won by 7-5 dec OT vs. Jorge Lopez (Williams) 165: Nick Michael (WB) win by 5-3 dec vs. Colin Navickas (Stevens Instituite) 174: Eric DeVos (WB) win by 6-4 dec OT vs. Ryan Harrington (Coe) 197: Gerard Roman (WB) win by 10-3 dec vs. Joe Giaramita (SUNY-Cortland) 285: Zachery Roseberry (DelValley) win by 8-6 dec vs. Lance Evans (WB) 285: Lance Evans (WB) win by 4-2 dec vs. Trevor Maresh (Alma) Notes: -Olea winning streak halted at seven. -Olea takes fifth for All-American status, first career All-American award. -Campo finishes seventh for All-American status, for second career All-American honor. -Martin moves winning streak to 14. -Martin makes second straight appearance in National Finals. -Wagenhoffer moved his winning streak to seven. -Wagenhoffer, Michael, DeVos and Roman make their first appearances in the National Finals. -DeVos moved winning streak to 23. -Roman moved winning streak to 11. -Evans winning streak halted 32. -Evans takes third for All-American honors, first career All-American honors.