InterMat Staff

The defending NCAA Division II national champion St. Cloud State University wrestling team finished the first day of competition at the 2016 NCAA Division II championships with a first place team total of 52.5 points. Notre Dame College of Ohio is in second place with 50.5 points, while Nebraska Kearney is in third place with 43.5 points. The Huskies will see all seven of its national meet participants wrestling on Saturday, March 12. The tournament will wrap up with the final day of action at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 12. In the first round of action on March 11, Brett Velasquez (125), Matt Nelson (141), Jay Hildreth (149), Clint Poster (165), Uthman Rabiu (184) and Austin Goergen (285) all gained victories. In the evening session, Velasquez continued his run with a big 8-4 win over Lawson Ludwin of Fort Hays State to advance to the semifinals. In one of the biggest comebacks of the tournament, Nelson rallied from a 12-0 deficit to bring home a 19-15 victory over Sam Hanau of Pitt-Johnstown in the quarterfinals at 141-pounds. In the quarterfinals at 149-pounds, Jay Hidreth gained a 2-1 victory in sudden death OT against Drew Schumann of Colorado Mesa. SCSU also gained an impressive pin at 1:12 by Austin Goergen at 285-pounds against Mike Kennedy of Newberry. Velasquez, Nelson, Hildreth and Goergen will now advance to the NCAA semifinals on March 12. In the wrestlebacks, Clint Poster stayed alive with a 10-5 win over Maryville's Dimitri Willis at 165-pounds, while Rabiu charted a 6-4 victory over Scott VanDeLoo of Minnesota State Manakto. Jennissen gained a pair of wins in the consolation brackets, including a 5-2 win over No. 3 ranked August Mizia of Mercyhurst at 174-pounds. The action at the NCAA tournament will resume on March 12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Fans can listen to the opening round of action on the KVSC Sports Stream. with John O. Peterson on the call. The championship matches will all be called by Peterson on the NCAA live video stream. Fans can watch the action live on http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule . Fans can follow the live stats at http://on.ncaa.com/W2016D2.

The death of a Spencer, Iowa wrestler who collapsed on the mat at a pre-Christmas tournament was most likely caused by a congenital heart defect, according to the state medical examiner's office. The office released its final autopsy report on Thursday, March 10, revealing that Austin Roberts' death will be listed as natural. The report stated: "An autopsy was performed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner on the body of Austin Roberts on December 22, 2015, by Dr. Michele Catellier, who determined the cause of death to be sudden cardiac death due to (probable congenital) cardiac valve deformities in the setting of acute cortisol deficiency due to benign hypothalamic lipoma. Of other significance was probable dehydration. The manner of death will be certified as natural." In explaining the State Medical Examiner Office autopsy report on Austin Roberts, Clay County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Robison said, "This was an extremely rare sequence of events that had to happen all at once to happen. No one thing triggered this, it was the total combination." "In very simple terms Austin died from an improbable series of events due to a combination of congenital birth defects of his heart -- abnormal valves -- plus a common benign, non-cancer tumor - lipoma -- a small ball of fat, in a very unusual place: the hypothalamus in the brain," Robison told the Spencer Daily Reporter. "This caused an imbalance in his hormone systems -- your stress hormone, fight or flight hormone -- being the most important. The combination of extreme mental and physical demands placed on Austin while participating in the state qualifier wrestling tournament caused all his cortisol to be used up, causing acute vasodilator collapse -- a severe fall in blood pressure." "His heart could not compensate for the fall in blood pressure resulting in his heart to fail," Robison continued. "This was an extremely rare sequence of events that had to happen all at once to happen. No one thing triggered this, it was the total combination." Robison made clear that all other blood testing -- including tests for anabolic steroids, drugs and alcohol -- came back negative. Roberts, 18, was wrestling in the 220-pound championship match at the Spencer Invitational Wrestling Tournament on December 19 when the senior took injury time late in the third period of a match tied 2-2 after he couldn't catch his breath. Unable to continue to wrestle after the injury time expired, he came onto the mat to shake his opponent's hand after losing by injury default. He then collapsed on the mat. After being treated by emergency responders in the gymnasium, he was taken to Spencer Hospital around 9 p.m. and later pronounced dead. Back in December, Austin Roberts' father said he had never seen his son collapse before. "That's the hard part. He has never had any warning signs. We don't understand what happened," Travis Roberts told NBC News not long after his son's passing. "One minute he was competing for the championship and was doing fine. The third period started and he just went down and never got back up." Austin Roberts was a two-sport athlete at Spencer High School, playing football as well as wrestling. The 6'4" senior had placed eighth in the 220-pound bracket in Class 2A competition at the 2015 Iowa high school state wrestling championships in Des Moines, his first trip to the tournament, after compiling a 47-12 record as a junior. As a senior, Roberts had won 14 straight matches. Roberts had been described as a "gentle giant" and a "physical specimen." A photo of Roberts in his Spencer singlet, showcasing his massive chest and biceps, had been featured in a poster produced for the Tiger wrestling team last fall to promote their 2015-16 season. Roberts' teammates, friends, family and the Spencer community paid tribute to the fallen athlete with a memorial service at the Spencer High School gym. A GoFundMe Page, established to help the Roberts family with expenses, generated over $50,000.

The Wrestling USA Magazine/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic takes place on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. This year's event places an all-star team of seniors from across the country against those from the state of Minnesota. The dual meet will start at 182 pounds, wheeling around to its conclusion at 170 pounds; there will be an intermission after the 126-pound match (the seventh bout of the evening). Below is a preview of the matchups … 182: No. 2 (at 195) Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Taylor Venz (Farmington) Reenan was runner-up at the National Prep Championships competing at 195 pounds, his second National Prep runner-up finish in three years, after winning National Preps last year at 170 pounds; he was a Texas state champion as a freshman. This past off-season, he was a Junior National double champion at 182 pounds and a Super 32 Challenge champion in that weight class. Venz bookended his career with state titles, including one at the end of February, with third place finishes in the middle; he was also runner-up at Preseason Nationals in October. 195: No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) vs. No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) Darmstadt just won his second state title last weekend to go with a runner-up finish his sophomore season. This past off-season, he was a Junior National freestyle All-American and fourth at the Super 32 Challenge; while having split matches with the nation's top ranked wrestler at 195 pounds during this regular season. Moore won a third state title down at 182 pounds at the end of last month, to go with a third place finish his freshman season. His robust resume also includes a Junior National folkstyle title last spring and winning a Cadet National Triple Crown in 2014. The two wrestlers met in Fargo this past summer, Darmstadt winning by technical fall in the quarterfinals in a perceived upset. 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. Kevin Kneisl (Delano) Stencel won his second his second state title last weekend to go with a runner-up finish his sophomore season. This past off-season, Stencel was a Junior National All-American in both styles, and runner-up in the Super 32 Challenge at 220 pounds. He had a consecutive pin streak that lasted from the season opener to the district final, where he lost 4-1, a result that was avenged in the state final. Kneisl is a two-time state finalist, winning state at the end of last month. 285: No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) vs. No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers) Odighizuwa is a three-time state champion and two-time Fargo freestyle champion (last summer as a Junior, 2014 as a Cadet). He was also All-American both years in Greco-Roman (third as a Junior, second as a Cadet in 2015), and will be playing college football as a defensive lineman at UCLA. Piehl won state this past year, placing third the year before; he was also fourth in the Junior freestyle weight class that Odighizuwa won, and placed seventh in both styles as a Cadet in the summer of 2014. 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) vs. Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo) Vega, a three-time state champion, is a two-time Junior National folkstyle champion. He placed sixth in both Greco-Roman and freestyle in Fargo this past summer, after winning the Junior Triple Crown in 2014. Cota placed fourth at state at the end of last month after winning state gold the year before. 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. Victor Gliva (Farmington) Mueller is a four-time National Prep champion and three-time Fargo finalist, including a Junior National title in 2014 and Cadet National crown in 2013. He was the Walsh Ironman champion in this weight class during the season, though he competed at National Preps up one weight class. Gliva won a state title at 113 this season, after finishing as runner-up at 106 the year before; he also is a two-time Preseason Nationals placer in the Junior/Senior division. 126: No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) vs. Adam Hedin (Rosemount) Norstrem, a Virginia Tech signee, is a five-time state champion and placer in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Super 32 Challenge. Hedin was runner-up at 132 pounds this season after placing first and fourth in the same weight class the previous two seasons. 132: No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) vs. Jamin Le Duc (Farmington) LaMont is a four-time state champion, who won a Preseason Nationals crown this fall. In addition, his Fargo resume could fill up a book; this summer it was double finals at the Junior level against McKee (Greco runner-up and freestyle champion). LaMont is also a three-time UWW Cadet world team member in Greco-Roman. Le Duc was a state medalist this season after finishing runner-up the year before. 138: No. 8 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) Moore is a four-time state placer, winning state titles the last two seasons. In addition, he is a two-time placer at the Super 32 Challenge (runner-up this fall) and a two-time placer at the FloNationals (champion in 2014). McKee is a three-time state champion and five-time state placer, whose Fargo resume could also take a book; this year it was double finalist against LaMont (champion in Greco and runner-up in freestyle. He also is a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer. Both wrestlers lost overtime matches to Shane Griffith at the Super 32 Challenge. 145: No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) vs. Brock Morgan (Apple Valley) Happel is a four-time state champion, whose high school record reflects over 200 wins against just one loss. His Fargo resume includes a fifth in Junior freestyle this past summer and a 2013 Cadet freestyle title. Morgan was runner-up at 152 this season after placing third as a sophomore. 152: No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) Manville is a two-time National Prep champion, who won a Super 32 Challenge title this fall to go along with a plethora of international styles accomplishments. Those include double All-American honors this summer at the Junior Nationals and a Cadet World freestyle title in the summer of 2014. Parriott counters with three state titles, two Super 32 Challenge placements, and All-American honors at both the Junior Nationals and UWW Junior Nationals this past off-season. Manville beat Parriott 3-1 in the semifinals of the Super 32 Challenge this fall. 160: No. 8 (at 182) Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) vs. No. 16 (at 182) Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville) Bullard is a four-time state champion and two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, including the runner-up finish at 160 pounds this fall. He also was champion at the NHSCA Freshman and Sophomore Nationals before placing third as a Junior. Jeske is a two-time state finalist, winning as a junior, and was a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer. 170: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) These are two of the top three wrestlers in the Class of 2016, Marinelli ranked third and Hall ranked first. They have ten state titles between them at the high school level, Marinelli with four and Hall with six. Each ended their high school career on an absurdly long winning streak, Marinelli's goes back to his sophomore year, while Hall's goes back to his freshman season. Marinelli is a two-time Ironman champion, while Hall is a 2014 Cadet World freestyle champion. Their most recent competitive meeting came in the fall of 2014 when Hall won at the Grappler Fall Classic.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be live from Madison Square Garden for the first time ever and ESPN will televise every session and cover every mat, every match for the entire three days of the sport's premier event (March 17-19). This is the third year of every session, mat and match coverage. The NCAA announced the full 2016 Division I Wrestling brackets Wednesday night. Third consecutive year with every session televised, every mat, every match on ESPN3 Olympic Trials qualifiers will participate ESPN: Semifinals and finals in prime time ESPNU: 13 hours of coverage; complete first, second, third and medal rounds ESPN3: Multi-mat viewing throughout preliminary rounds; Off the Mat programming during finals Actor Billy Baldwin joins ESPN's accomplished list of analysts To learn more, click here.

The first coaching change of the season went down this week with Brendan Buckley leaving the Cal Poly program to become the new executive director of Beat the Streets. There are myriad benefits to the change. First, BTS now has the leadership of a prolific fundraiser who knows the sport of wrestling and is able to manage a large staff and budget. The biggest non-profit wrestling organization in America's largest city gives Buckley the opportunity to help an incredible number of youth wrestlers, but also continue to push the growth of the sport. This year, under Ken Bigley, BTS launched a coed league, has been wearing modified competition outfits and is ever expanding. With Buckley in place this is certain to continue and possibly expand in new and exciting ways. For Cal Poly the change means they can pursue a new direction. The program didn't have a qualifier in 2016, but even as the Mustangs haven't seen a lot of success on the mats, they did re-energize their donor base and excel in the classroom -- factors that can mean more to long-term sustainability on the West Coast as titles. The Cal Poly athletic director will be in NYC to recruit head coaches. It's unclear who will apply, but along with Fresno State and the simultaneous rise of Stanford and Arizona State the West Coast and Pac-12 could be in for a renaissance on par with that of the ACC. With NYC on the mind, we also turn our attention this week to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships being held next week at Madison Square Garden. The event will feature all the same pomp of previous wrestling championships, but in the country's most famous arena and in the media capital of the world. Let's hope that these factor into a successful and well-covered event. To your questions ... Q: Which No. 1 seed do you see losing first at the NCAAs? -- Mike C. Foley: As with any year, there is little chance that any of the top seeds are losing in the first round. As much as we like to romanticize the first-round upset it rarely happens to the nation's top wrestler. Despite the unlikelihood of a loss, Gabe Dean has the worst first-round matchup of any top seed, potentially having to face unseeded All-American Jack Dechow of Old Dominion (should Dechow he makes it out of the pigtail). Dean is a heads up favorite, but Dechow has the horsepower and skill to test Dean early. Add in the panic of potentially getting behind early at the tournament along with a warmed up Dechow and it could be dangerous for Dean. Dean Heil is in the awkward position of having to look down the bracket and face North Carolina's Joey Ward in the quarterfinals. Ward recently beat Heil in Stillwater with an inside trip in overtime. Q: What do you feel like was the biggest surprise coming out of the conference championships? Any predictions for surprises to come at nationals? -- Ryan P. Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky battles Michigan's Domenic Abounader at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: I was able to watch the ACC Championships in person, which definitely skews my perspective of what is and is not a surprise. However, I was blown away by Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Having spent much of the last three years watching the international guys battle it out, I was shocked to see similar fluidity with ZZ. Like Bo Nickal, the Virginia Tech freshman is less concerned with head-banging and more focused on wrestling through to dominant positions. ZZ does many things well, but what struck me is that he never looked to stop the action. There was always another smart option for him to pursue, and he possessed the athleticism and conditioning to carry through. Prediction: ZZ wins the NCAA tournament Q: Is ESPN going to televise the early rounds of the NCAAs this year? I have blocked off my calendar to stay home and watch, but I haven't seen anything published regarding coverage. -- Tom G. Foley: ESPN will cover every match of the NCAA tournament, meaning your stay-cation isn't for naught. I haven't seen this year's broadcast schedule, but I can imagine it will mimic that of last year's with much of the early action on ESPN3 (you can catch every match there), but with some other rounds dispersed across platforms such as ESPNU and ESPN full-calorie. Here is last year's schedule. I will be doing the Off the Mat show during finals, where I sit next to a bunch of men who have won a variety of very impressive medals and compete for who can act most-crotchety about refereeing and funk wrestling. In this competition I believe I can steal the gold. Q: Any tips on where to suck a few beers between sessions in NYC? I would prefer a place that is close to MSG and not a zoo, if possible. -- Mike C. Foley: The wonderful thing about this year's NYC-based NCAA Championships is that spectators have an abundance of choices when choosing their local watering hole. I live very close to the Garden and have a selection of favorites, but if I post it here there is a good chance that the #FaceMush brigade may be trolling these spots in an effort to collect my head as tribute to Brands & co. There really are no bad choices, except Brother Jimmy's, which is directly across the street and sure to be mobbed by fans interested in wrestling and March Madness. If you want something a little more laid back you should head south on 6th or 7th Avenue and find a pub on any of the streets between 34th and 14th. Heading over further to 8th and 9th and deep into Chelsea is also an option, though the neighborhood might not be most wrestling fans' pace. Stay away from anything north of 34th and into Times Square as you'll be asking for even more crowds and frustration. The other option is to head directly across town and into Murray Hill. My guess is that most wrestling fans won't make the trek across five avenues, but for those that do there is a very relaxed strip of bars that, at night, caters to the 20-something's of NYC. The real treat of being in NYC is the food selection. Chelsea has an incredible selection, but there is also K-Town (Korean) 32nd between 5th and Broadway which has the absolute best chicken wings in NYC. If you're looking for a nice tapas plate dinner I've heard Lupolo, a Portuguese-inspired menu, is better than average. The best way to search for places in NYC is Yelp. I still use it daily. Q: I think it would be interesting if you wrote about NCAA weigh-ins/times and the impact they have on the tournament. I've heard some finalists are 20-25 pounds over the weight by their finals match. -- Dave A. Foley: I don't think that's very true. There is a one-pound allowance given each day, meaning the third day of wrestling finalists are scratch plus two. Though finalists don't wrestle until the evening I think it's a stretch to think that anyone who is in the finals and wrestled all year would be ballooned up another 18 pounds in only 12 hours. Are they maybe 10 pounds heavier? Sure, but I think that would be true across the board. The NCAA weight cutting rules are actually really advanced for combat sports worldwide. Every major international combat sport has night before weigh-ins, whereas the college wrestlers on the mat are getting a TWO HOUR weigh-in. While I'd like to see other restrictions on weight cutting in-place, the current system is not broken. I suppose that if you really wanted to regulate match-time weight you could simply add a weigh-in for finalists, but I don't think that emaciated, weakened finalists is what the American viewing public wants to see. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Sofia Mattsson! Q: Why does it appear like Bruce Baumgartner's career seems to get overshadowed by wrestlers like Dan Gable, John Smith, and Jordan Burroughs? His freestyle stats are amazing, which include four Olympic medals and several world medals. With that all being said, do you think there will ever be another United States wrestler like him? -- Seth S. Foley: The best explanation I can give you between national and international perceptions of Bruce Baumgartner comes from a waiter in Tehran. Bruce BaumgartnerI was there in 2014 to report from the Greco-Roman World Cup. The USA had qualified for the event and on the night before the competition I'd gone to dinner at a famous seafood restaurant. There was beautiful bistro lighting, fish swimming in outdoor aquariums and very pleasant conversation. Our waiter comes over to take our order and through a combination of cauliflower ears and insignia realizes that we are wrestlers from the United States. He's thrilled. Like me going for a sprint workout with Tom Cruise kind of thrilled. "You're American!" he exclaimed. "My wife is a physical therapist!" This, for me, was a non sequitur and as the waiter's words hung in the air we all tried on our most-polite grins. The waiter, whose eyebrows were now in his hairline in anticipation of our responses, finally relented. "Bruce Baumgartner! His wife is a physical therapist, too! Of course, how could I have been so incomplete in my knowledge of our wrestling great's wives?! But think of it: this man, a humble waiter in downtown Tehran, had been carrying this morsel of knowledge and wacky coincidence in his mind for decades and with flawless timing and pride he delivers it only to get back ... crickets. Some of those at dinner actually considered Bruce a dear friend and even they had sat stunned. They'd known of his wife and her occupation, but were stunned at the inquiry and cheerfulness with which it was offered. The truth was that Baumgartner lost in the 1989 World finals to Alireza Soleimani, who to this day remains Iran's only World freestyle wrestling gold medalist at heavyweight. When you're talking up your guy there is no better way to advance his victory than to build up the resume of his opponents, and Bruce's is incredible. (Sadly, Soleimani died shortly after we had this conversation in Tehran.) There are many who think that John Smith was the best American wrestler, and much of that has to do with his athleticism, creativity and overall win-loss record. But when it comes to overall Olympic and world medal haul nobody in the nation and only a few in the world can compete with Bruce's resume. Knowing that, I'd think that we can assume that Bruce's accomplishments and length of career were once-in-a-century. Q: With the recent push toward more aggressive stalling rules and the general outcry about the boring nature of stall riding at the college level, why when a match is tied after 2 full overtime and tiebreaker periods do we reward the wrestler who has several more seconds of riding time with a victory? To me, that's like a soccer game being tied at the end of regulation, staying tied through overtime, and then the winner being declared based on time of possession. Do you think that the rules committee would consider an alternative criteria or a totally different overtime format? -- Pat S. Foley: Let's be clear. The NCAA wrestling rules, as they stand, leave every wrestling match up to the possibility of criteria. The NCAA overtime is no different in theory than that of international wrestling, save the fact international wrestling doesn't add a point on at the end -- something they should adjust for simplicity if nothing else. From what I saw last weekend in Charlottesville there were still several matches in which wrestler chose early in the second period to aim for overtime, or at least to attack in the last 15 seconds. The problem wasn't the wrestler's tolerance for risk as much as it was the referee's lack of enforcement on stalling calls. No action means stalling. Just because you both aren't doing anything doesn't somehow make it less of a stall. The stall calls should come early and often in college wrestling. Once that power dynamic has been set we will see fewer overtime matches and fewer of the four most boring minutes in sports. I want the referee to help promote action as much as I want him to monitor point scoring. The NCAA rules committee could (and should) review the rules for the year after next, but I sincerely doubt that they'd move away from what they believe is an elegant solution to both having overtime and hiding the much maligned "criteria" in plain sight. Q: What is USA Wrestling and NCWA doing to save Grand Canyon. It is absolutely their responsibility to help this sport. Don't tell me how they do this or that, if we don't have post-high school opportunities at the collegiate level the sport will die. I know there are NAIA and Division III opportunities, they do not have nearly the same level of visibility and typically, not always, but typically they are much smaller schools with limited academic program variety. We need to start growing Division I and Division II opportunities. USA Wrestling should have learned by almost losing the Olympics! Let's help ignite a movement or at least get USA and NCWA to respond -- Michael S. Foley: You have the passion that is required to get this movement headed in the right direction. Unfortunately I don't have a lot to add to your comment since you took away all my good talking points about other divisions and the fact that this falls somewhat outside the realm of USA Wrestling's jurisdiction. What I think hurts about Grand Canyon is that the program was being groomed to be added and that attracted a lot of attention over the last couple of years. To lose that opportunity to lose promise and hope, something that wrestlers liked and could enjoy once more. I wish I knew more about why they cut the program, but the only thing I can tell you is that this is not the first time a school has turned back on a Division I commitment at the last moment. Several years ago Southern Illinois at Edwardsville was prepared to go Division I when suddenly in their leap year the school cut the program. We will learn more in the coming weeks and I hope we can gain some context for the decision. Rant(s) of the Week By Pat S. This past weekend, I watched the Big Ten finals with several non-wrestling fans with the hope that they would be intrigued by some top-level action and maybe even consider tuning in for other events down the road. Unfortunately, the response I got from them was one of fairly extreme boredom. The lack of offensive output was fairly alarming especially from the neutral position (with the exception of Bo Nickal). It seemed like most wrestlers were content with one takedown or to wait out the match until overtime. Surprisingly, I haven't seen a lot of condemnation from the wrestling fan base about the snorefest that was the finals of America's toughest conference tournament (but maybe I'm not looking very hard). I feel like dedicated wrestling fans are sometimes entertained purely by the context of a match and tend to excuse the lack of action because of the nature of the matchup or because they can really appreciate the nuance of technique, etc. The casual fan or possible convert to wrestling fandom does not share in this same excitement and instead simply sees the scoreboard reading 1-1 late in the third period for the fourth consecutive match. And they shut it off. I hope that the upcoming NCAA tournament, the crown jewel of our domestic wrestling schedule, does not fall victim to the same fate of scoreless neutral periods and dull, action-less matches that befell the finals in Iowa City. At such a critical time in our sport's development we can't afford displays like that if we are truly hoping to attract outsiders to our community. I don't know whether the blame in these situations rests with the rules, the officials, the wrestlers themselves, or some other factor. What I do know is that when several non-regulars begin watching a wrestling event with an open mind and their only comment after the first 30 minutes is, "Are either of them going to do anything? … that's a problem. By Jay A. For at least the second year in a row, the NCAA wrestling committee has made a joke of the seeding process for the NCAA Division I Championships. I'm particularly drawn to the committee's habit of wrestling conference foes against each other in the first round. I realize that a change was made that eliminated the conference exception to this, but I don't believe that it has improved the seeding process or the event experience. To wit: the MAC conference has conference foes wrestling against one another in the first round, the winner likely wrestles another MAC foe in the second round at 125 and 157. (Shame on Mizzou coach Brian Smith of the MAC for allowing this to happen.) No other conference was required to share this burden. Why would I want to watch a mini version of the conference tournament at the NCAAs? I have attended the championships in Iowa City, St. Louis (twice), Omaha, and Oklahoma City. After my disappointment with the championship "product" and the inherent unfairness of the seeding process, I decided not to attend the event in NYC this year and likely will not return to St. Louis or Cleveland. I understand that it is difficult to have several strong-willed individuals, many of whom have a stake in the outcome of those decisions, make seeding decisions. In the end, my complaint is this: the process is flawed and there has to be another way that improves the process. It's time to hold the committee accountable before they alienate more of the core of wrestling's fan base.

Getting to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships next week in New York City may be more of a challenge than usual for visitors from New Jersey, as NJ Transit faces a possible system-wide shutdown if union workers opt to participate in a work stoppage on Sunday. A strike, which would be effective Sunday, March 13 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern, would make it difficult for wrestling fans who live or are staying in New Jersey or flying into Newark Liberty International Airport to make the trip to Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, site for this year's collegiate wrestling championships from Thursday, March 17 through Saturday, March 19. If the union and management fail to reach an agreement before this weekend, a work stoppage "would result in the complete suspension of NJ Transit rail service, affecting more than 160,000 customers who ride the system on a typical weekday," according to the official website of the New Jersey Transit Company. However, NJ Transit buses and light rail services would continue. What's more, a work stoppage would not involve private carrier buses, Amtrak Northeast Corridor service, PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) trains linking New Jersey and Manhattan, nor MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) subway trains and buses in New York City. What's more, ferry service across the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York would still be operational. NJ Transit has announced contingency plans; however, according to NJ.com -- website for a number of New Jersey newspapers, including the Newark Star-Ledger -- the transit company will be able to accommodate 38 percent of the 105,000 daily commuters who use NJ Transit to get to New York. That means 65,000 users will have to find another way to work ... which could translate to an additional 10,000 vehicles per hour on roads during rush hour. "Officials forecast congestion on highways as far as 9 to 25 miles away from the New York region, which means longer delays, especially at Hudson River crossings and known bottlenecks." Update Friday, March 11: New Jersey Transit and its rail workers have reached a deal to avert a strike.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Brendan Buckley has resigned his position as head wrestling coach at Cal Poly in order to accept a position as executive director of Beat the Streets Wrestling, New York City. Brendan BuckleyCal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman made the announcement Thursday. "We wish Brendan the best in his future endeavors," said Oberhelman. "During his five years at Cal Poly, he has changed the culture of the program for the better and the academic side of the program is as good as anyone else in the country." During his five seasons with the Mustangs, Buckley guided eight wrestlers to the NCAA Division I National Championships. Boris Novachkov placed third at 141 pounds while Ryan DesRoches was eighth at 174 pounds, both in the 2012 national meet. Buckley also mentored a pair of Pac-12 champions -- Dominic Kastl at 165 pounds in 2012 and Devon Lotito at 133 pounds in 2013 -- and four runners-up. In addition, both Kastl and Lotito were named Pac-12 freshmen of the year. "I want to thank Don Oberhelman for the opportunity coach the Cal Poly wrestling program and to President Armstrong for the opportunity to work at this remarkable university," said Buckley. "Both of these men were terrific allies and incredibly supportive. "In addition, I want to thank our alumni that I was fortunate to work with and build relationships with over the last five seasons," Buckley added. "While I am indeed going to miss the many great young men on this team as well as Coaches (Scotti) Sentes and (Mike) Evans, I look forward to being an ardent supporter of the Mustangs and will enjoy watching them taking many teams by surprise next year when we return the entire roster (including many stellar freshmen). "Lastly, I fully intend to continue working on finishing this recruiting class and working with my team until I depart for New York in five weeks," Buckley said. Buckley's first recruiting class at Cal Poly was ranked in the top 25 by two publications. In addition, the Mustang wrestling program raised over $100,000 in private donations each year Buckley was head coach. Oberhelman said a national search for Buckley's successor will begin immediately, adding that he will attend the NCAA Division I National Championships next week at Madison Square Garden in New York. "I will be meeting with members of the wrestling community and to meet candidates and identify our next leader while in New York," Oberhelman said. It was Buckley who brought outdoor wrestling to Cal Poly. Three highly successful dual meets were held in the University Union plaza over the last three years, capped by a 23-15 victory over Boise State in February. Buckley was head wrestling coach at Ivy League member Columbia University in New York for 11 seasons before he was named Cal Poly's head wrestling coach on June 21, 2011. Buckley's accomplishments at Columbia include five years of nationally ranked recruiting classes, 20 NCAA qualifiers and a school-record eight EIWA placewinners in the 2006-07 season. He was named EIWA Coach of the Year in 2005 and received the Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award for NCAA Division I in 2011. In the last six years under Buckley's guidance, Columbia earned 26 All-Ivy League selections, 16 NCAA qualifiers and the program's first All-American in 23 years. Matt Palmer finished eighth in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Championships at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, and the Lions were ranked in the top 25 in 2007. In the 2008-09 season, Buckley coached Columbia's first EIWA champion in 13 years. Off the mat, Columbia shined in the classroom as well, ranking third nationally with a 3.2917 team cumulative grade-point average. The Lions were named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic Team each year under Buckley's guidance and ranked in the top 10 in five of those 11 years. While at Columbia, Buckley raised funds to create three endowments totaling $3.25 million. Buckley was the top assistant coach at Virginia from 1998 to 2000 and was the chief assistant coach at UC Davis as well as at Sacramento City College in the late 1990s. Buckley coached three all-Americans, one an NCAA finalist, at Virginia and the Cavaliers twice finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships. Originally from Long Island, Buckley was a high school All-American and Florida state champion at 135 pounds for Lake Howell High and then starred at Clemson, where he made the freshman All-American team his first year and reached the NCAA Round of 16 as a 142-pound sophomore. When Clemson dropped wrestling after the 1994-95 season, Buckley transferred to Fresno State, where he was a Western Athletic Conference champion and earned All-America status with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championship at 142 pounds in 1997. Buckley graduated from Fresno State in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication and completed his master's degree in sports management at Columbia. Beat the Streets is a non-profit program whose mission is to expand wrestling in America's urban centers, helping at-risk kids through discipline and structure while developing wrestling from youth through the Olympic level. Goal of the program is to provide opportunities for boys and girls in the activity of wrestling, building lifelong skills. Over 200 programs have been developed in 18 major cities across America, beginning in New York. Los Angeles and San Francisco are recent additions to the list of cities currently offering Beat the Streets program.

The 2015 NCAA Division II title-winning wrestling program at St. Cloud State University will remain one of the varsity sports offered by the Minnesota-based school, but is one of four men's sports programs forced to make roster reductions. St. Cloud State will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic Skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field -- directly affecting 80 student-athletes out of a total of approximately 530 -- effective at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. However, wrestling -- along with baseball, football, and swimming & diving -- will take part in what the school described as "an extensive roster management program will be implemented to achieve Title IX compliance." The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program will lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots in 2016-17. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems. "The decision to eliminate programs better aligns St. Cloud State's sport portfolio with the athletics department's mission and vision while addressing budget shortfalls," according to a statement posted on the school's athletics website . The statement went on to say that SCSU considered a number of criteria in its athletics review process, including the history and tradition of the programs, facilities availability and conditions, recent competitive success, investment needs, alumni engagement and financial support, regional participation/interest, and Title IX compliance. "It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," said SCSU President Earl H. Potter III. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do." "This has been a very difficult process and decision," said Weems. "This decision impacts the lives of our students and coaches, and their connection with our community. That said, athletics expenses continue to increase across all sports each year, and we are not able to meet the financial and support expectations of our programs. These reductions will focus our long-term investments into the remaining programs to provide a stronger and more sustainable experience to our student-athletes as part of the university cost-containment requirement." In explaining why some programs survived direct elimination but will still face roster cuts, Weems said, "Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure." (Weems became the school's AD in 2012.) The school expects to save approximately $250,000 in fiscal year 2017, which amounts to about five percent of the athletics general fund allocation. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year. "St. Cloud State, like other public universities across the state, is dealing with falling enrollment and nagging deficits," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. "SCSU enrollment stands at 15,461, down from 18,650 in the fall of 2010, a more dramatic drop than at many of its sister schools. It is currently battling a $6 million budget gap." News of the athletic department cuts was presented to St. Cloud State coaches at a meeting with administrators at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday; 200 to 300 student-athletes learned their fates barely 15 minutes later. Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo. SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen, who qualified to compete at this weekend's NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, said he's trying to stay focused on the national meet, but greeted the news with a glass-half-full attitude. "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams," he said. The St. Cloud State Huskies will attempt to defend their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships to be held this weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. Check out the inspirational story of Devon Berry, a multi-sport high school athlete in Georgia who has cerebral palsy, who has accepted a scholarship to wrestle at St. Cloud State this fall.

125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma) No. 6 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) No. 8 Barlow McGhee (Missouri) No. 9 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford) No. 11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) No. 12 Paul Petrov (Bucknell) No. 13 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) No. 15 David Terao (American) No. 16 Elijah Oliver (Indiana) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) No. 6 George DiCamillo (Virginia) No. 7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) No. 8 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 9 Mack McGuire (Kent State) No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) No. 11 Dom Forys (Pittsburgh) No. 12 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) No. 13 Cameron Kelly (Ohio) No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) No. 15 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) No. 16 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) No. 3 Kevin Jack (NC State) No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri) No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) No. 9 Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall) No. 10 Todd Preston (Harvard) No. 11 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) No. 13 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) No. 14 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) No. 15 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) No. 16 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) No. 4 Matt Cimato (Drexel) No. 5 Alex Pantaleo (Michigan) No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 8 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) No. 9 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) No. 10 Michael DePalma (Kent State) No. 11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) No. 12 Geordan Martinez (Boise State) No. 13 Matt Kraus (Arizona State) No. 14 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) No. 15 Dan Neff (Lock Haven) No. 16 Pat Lugo (Edinboro) 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) No. 2 Tommy Gantt (NC State) No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State) No. 5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) No. 6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) No. 9 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) No. 10 John Boyle (American) No. 11 Lucas Smith (Central Michigan) No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan) No. 13 Edwin Cooper (Iowa) No. 14 Austin Matthews (Edinboro) No. 15 Chad Walsh (Rider) No. 16 Markus Schiedel (Columbia) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) No. 5 Max Rohskopf (NC State) No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) No. 7 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers) No. 8 Chad Welch (Purdue) No. 9 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) No. 10 Austin Wilson (Nebraska) No. 11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) No. 12 Conor Brennan (Rider) No. 13 Jim Wilson (Stanford) No. 14 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) No. 15 Clark Glass (Oklahoma) No. 16 Devon Gobbo (Harvard) 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri) No. 4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) No. 5 Zac Brunson (Illinois) No. 6 Bryce Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) No. 7 Cody Walters (Ohio) No. 8 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) No. 9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) No. 10 Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State) No. 12 Nate Jackson (Indiana) No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) No. 14 Nick Kee (Applachian State) No. 15 Brian Harvey (Army West Point) No. 16 Micah Barnes (Nebraska) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) No. 4 Dominic Abounader (Michigan) No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) No. 6 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) No. 8 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) No. 9 Mathew Miller (Navy) No. 10 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) No. 12 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) No. 13 Pete Renda (NC State) No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) No. 15 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) No. 16 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) No. 6 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) No. 7 Brett Harner (Princeton) No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) No. 9 Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) No. 10 Max Huntley (Michigan) No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) No. 12 Michael Boykin (NC State) No. 13 Jake Smith (West Virginia) No. 14 Zach Nye (Virginia) No. 15 Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State) No. 16 Kyle Conel (Kent State) 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) No. 5 Adam Coon (Michigan) No. 6 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) No. 8 Max Wessell (Lehigh) No. 9 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) No. 11 Sam Stoll (Iowa) No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers) No. 13 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) No. 14 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa) No. 15 Tanner Harms (Wyoming) No. 16 Nathan Butler (Stanford)

The brackets for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were released on Wednesday. As is the case every year, there are some head-scratching seeds. 184 pounds Let's begin at 184 pounds where InterMat's No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 are all on the top side of the bracket. Cornell's Gabe Dean is the clear No. 1. The committee got that right. The No. 2 seed was given to Big Ten champion Sammy Brooks of Iowa. While Brooks did have an impressive run to a Big Ten title, he had losses this season to the No. 7, No. 12 and No. 13 seeds. The loss to the No. 13 seed, Pete Renda of NC State, came just a few weeks ago in his final regular season match. Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky defeated Edinboro's Vick Avery in a dual meet on Feb. 7 (Photo/Rylie Steiner)Michigan's Domenic Aboundader, on the other hand, enters with a 23-2 record, with his only losses coming to the top-seeded Dean and Nebraska's T.J. Dudley, a wrestler who pinned Brooks this season. Abounader has several quality wins as well, including two over fifth-seeded Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Speaking of Zavatsky, he was somehow seeded below Edinboro's Vic Avery, a wrestler he defeated on Feb. 7. While Avery is a returning All-American and accomplished wrestler, the committee uses only current season data. Avery has missed most of this season. He made his season debut on Jan. 16. He has only 13 wins, with only one win over a seeded wrestler, No. 6 Blake Stauffer of Arizona State. Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State has not lost since Jan. 2 (before Avery made his season debut) and is seeded five spots below Avery, but has wins over four seeded wrestlers, and is the only wrestler to defeat No. 1 Dean this season. There's no denying the fact that Avery is really good and has the potential to be an NCAA champion, but it's hard to justify his No. 3 seed when he lacks quality wins this season. Matt Cimato at 149 pounds Drexel's Matt Cimato is having a solid season. He is coming off an EIWA title and enters the NCAAs with a 34-5 record. However, his No. 4 seed is baffling considering his season resume. My opinion is that Cimato should be seeded anywhere from No. 9 to No. 12. He's currently ranked No. 10 by InterMat. During the regular season Cimato competed in three tournaments, Roadrunner Open, Keystone Classic and Southern Scuffle, and failed to reach the finals in any of them. His losses during those events came to Stanford's Paul Fox, Penn's C.J. Cobb and Central Michigan's Justin Oliver. Cimato also has a loss this season to Binghamton's Frank Garcia less than two months ago. Garcia had a season record of 6-5 and a career record of 12-13. Cimato's most notable win this season came over Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis, a 2014 NCAA champion and two-time All-American, but that win came back in November. Michigan's Alec Pantaleo is seeded below Cimato, but has two wins over Tsirtsis this past weekend, and owns more victories over seeded wrestlers. Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn is seeded two spots below Cimato, but has been much more consistent this season. His only questionable loss came to Princeton's Chris Perez, and he has a victory over third-seeded Lavion Mayes of Missouri, who enters the tournament with a record of 26-2. Iowa's Nathan Burak defeated Minnesota's Brett Pfarr at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Brett Pfarr vs. Nathan Burak at 197 pounds At 197 pounds, Minnesota's Brett Pfarr is seeded No. 3, one spot ahead of Iowa's Nathan Burak. The two wrestlers met this past weekend at the Big Ten Championships, with Burak coming out on top. It was the second meeting between the two wrestlers this season, with Pfarr winning the first meeting on Jan. 29. The committee needs to account for when wins and losses occur during the season. Burak's only other losses besides Pfarr (which he avenged) came to No. 1 Morgan McIntosh of Penn State in the Big Ten finals. Burak not only has less losses than Pfarr this season, but also won the most recent meeting. Burak dropping to No. 4 puts him on the same side of the bracket as McIntosh, a wrestler he is 0-5 against. Isaiah Martinez, Tommy Gantt and Jason Nolf at 157 pounds There are countless examples of the committee favoring undefeated wrestlers over wrestlers with one less, even if the undefeated wrestler has less impressive wins than the one-loss wrestler(s). In 2013, Arizona State's Anthony Robles was given the No. 1 seed over one-loss Matt McDonough of Iowa. In 2014, undefeated Mitchell Port of Edinboro was seeded ahead of Ohio State's Logan Stieber, who split with Penn State's Zain Retherford that season. That same season, Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock entered the NCAAs undefeated and earned the No. 1 seed over Penn State's Ed Ruth, who split with Cornell's Gabe Dean that season. Penn State's Jason Nolf is 29-1 with bonus points in 27 of his 29 wins (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Most assumed the committee would seed NC State's Tommy Gantt No. 1 at 157 pounds based on the fact that he's the lone undefeated wrestler in the weight class. Fans feared that the consensus top two wrestlers in the weight class, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Jason Nolf of Penn State, would be placed on the same side of the bracket as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds because they split matches. As turns out, the two wrestlers are on opposite sides of the bracket, but the seeding order of the three leaves a lot of question marks. Martinez was given the No. 1 seed. So does that mean the committee is more forgiving to one-loss wrestlers? Apparently not … because Gantt is seeded No. 2, one spot ahead of one-loss Nolf. Gantt's best wins this season are over eighth-seeded Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech and 10th-seeded John Boyle of American. Nolf has beaten the No. 1 and No. 6 seeds, and has been much more dominant than Gantt. In fact, according to the NCAA Awards Standings, no wrestler in Division I has been more dominant than Nolf this season. So the obvious question is, if one-loss Martinez is seeded ahead of Gantt, shouldn't one-loss Nolf also be seeded ahead of Gantt? Debatable seeds … At 125, Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State is seeded No. 11, four spots below Darian Cruz of Lehigh. Bresser has more wins against seeded wrestlers than Cruz. In addition, Bresser has gone 2-0 against Tim Lambert of Nebraska, while Cruz is 0-1 against Lambert this season. Wisconsin All-American Ryan Taylor is not seeded in the top 10 at 133 pounds despite beating fifth-seeded Jordan Conaway twice at the Big Ten Championships. Taylor missed most of this season due to injury, but is riding a lot of momentum heading into the NCAAs. Interestingly, if the seeds hold, Taylor and Conaway will meet again in the second round in NYC. At 174, Oklahoma State's Chandler Rogers earned a top 10 seed (No. 9) despite losing in his conference tournament this past weekend to a wrestler not seeded at the NCAAs, Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon. While Rogers does have two wins over the No. 10 seed Mike Ottinger of Central Michigan and a win over fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos of North Carolina, he also has losses to Jacobe Smith of Northeast Oklahoma, Ben Stroh of Wyoming and Casey Kent of Penn.

Saving the best for last, it's the Pennsylvania state wrestling tournaments this Thursday through Saturday in Hershey. Five teams in the Fab 50 national team rankings, along with 27 nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the Class AAA (big-school) tournament field. A pair of wrestlers is ranked No. 1 nationally in their weight class are present, as are three others ranked No. 2 in the country. Prohibitively favored in the team race is No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, which won team titles their last three years in AA (2012-2014) before finishing runners-up last year in their debut Class AAA season. The Hawks won the dual team title last month, and qualified a joint-most nine wrestlers to the individual state tournament. They are anchored by a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 4 Luke Karam (126), a returning state champion, and No. 5 Michael Labriola (170). Also qualifying nine wrestlers to the state tournament was No. 21 Boyertown, runners-up in the dual team tournament; however, they are adversely impacted by the absence of returning state champion and three-time state finalist Jordan Wood (220). He was scratched from last week's district tournament due to injury, which means the Bears will be led by No. 14 Jakob Campbell (113). No. 22 Nazareth qualified the next most with seven, as did Erie Cathedral Prep. The Blue Eagles are led by No. 10 Sammy Sasso (138), a returning state runner-up, and No. 20 Tyson Klump (106), a returning state champion. Among the teams to qualify six was No. 10 Belle Vernon Area; however, the Leopards are missing Jarod Verkleeren (145) due to the weight management mishap from the dual meet state tournament and the abject circus which followed. From those competing, No. 10 Austin Bell (170) is the featured wrestler. Others with six in the tournament are Central Dauphin, Council Rock South, Cumberland Valley, Mifflin County, and North Allegheny. Rounding out the nationally ranked teams is No. 34 Kiski Area, which qualified just three to the state tournament. The Cavaliers are much more a dual meet and smaller-sized tournament team, but have to be slightly disappointed with their WPIAL tournament result, even considering the absence of returning state medalist Tyler Worthing (182) from the postseason lineup. The following represents a weight-by-weight overview of the field, as every single weight class features at least one nationally ranked wrestler, with eight featuring multiple ranked wrestlers in the bracket. 106: Much like last year, this is an absolutely wide open weight class, and one that is devoid of true star power. The lone ranked wrestler here is No. 20 Tyson Klump (Nazareth), the returning state champion, who made his season debut in this weight class at the district tournament. The path will be far from easy starting with a round of 16 bout against Walsh Ironman placer Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area); next would be a likely champ-champ quarterfinal against returning state medalist Geo Barzona (Central Mountain). Most likely awaiting that wrestler in the semifinal will be Powerade champion Jobe Chishko (Penn Trafford), who was upset in the southwest regional (aka WPIAL) final this past weekend. The lower half-bracket is anchored by freshman Patrick Gould (East Stroudsburg South) and WPIAL champion Louis Newell (Seneca Valley); Gould had two wins over Klump on the season prior to the northeast regional final loss. 113: There are four nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, and in its infinite wisdom, the PIAA bracket gods have placed two of them in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. Those being No. 8 Matthew Parker (Pennridge) and No. 9 Gage Curry (North Hills); Curry, the returning runner-up in this weight class, is undefeated on the season. Even before that quarterfinal, Parker is likely to face 2014 state medalist Luke Werner (Bethlehem Liberty) in the round of 16. Returning state medalist Jake Cherry (Central Dauphin) is the best bet for a semifinal opponent for either Parker or Curry. The lower half bracket is led by regional champions in No. 7 Julian Chlebove (Northampton) and returning state medalist Devin Schupp (Warwick); No. 14 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown) is positioned to face Schnupp in the quarterfinal round, while returning state medalist Aidan Burke (Council Rock North) could draw Chlebove in the round of 16. 120: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) is undefeated for his career, and prohibitively favored to win his third state title, even with the presence of No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township) in the weight class. DeSanto was Super 32 Challenge runner-up this fall after placing fifth at state last year, even though he took eventual state champion Devin Brown to the brink of defeat. He is featured in the champ-champ quarter of the draw with returning state medalist K.J. Fenstermacher (Bethlehem Liberty), who has wins over 2014 state runner-up Dan Moran (Northampton) the last two weeks. Their most likely semifinal opponent is returning state medalist Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland), runner-up to Lee at the WPIAL meet. Within Lee's half of the draw, Moran is the most notable challenger (in name only), and that would be a semifinal bout. 126: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, and in its infinite wisdom, the PIAA bracket gods have paired two of them together in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. No. 8 Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin) and No. 14 Wade Cummings (Downington East) are the victims of the PIAA's "magic". The third champion in the top half-bracket is the very dangerous Luke Eddins (Greensburg-Salem), who has wins over returning third place medalist Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) each of the last two weeks. Regional champions in the lower half bracket are Cole Manley (Altoona), last year's runner-up at 106 pounds, and No. 4 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic). McCoy is in the quarter bracket with Manley, but has a tough round of 16 bout against fellow returning medalist Lucas Miller (Boyertown). In the Karam quarter of the draw, there is a round of 16 match between two-time medalist Chandler Olson (Shippensburg) and 2014 medalist Kordell Rush (Pennridge) feeding into Karam. 132: When Cummings moved down to 126 for the postseason, breathing a big sigh of relief was No. 10 Zach Trampe (Council Rock South); the returning runner-up has just one loss on the season, and that was to Cummings during the district duals. Trampe is in the champ-champ quarter of the draw with 2014 medalist Jacob Lizak (Parkland), but Lizak could have a very tough round of 16 match against returning state medalist Joe Blumer (Kiski Area). Two-time state placer Brett Kulp (Exeter Township) is the third regional champion in the top half-bracket. The third quarter of the draw is a very dangerous one, anchored by WPIAL champion Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon Area), a returning state medalist; however, he could see returning medalist Lucas Schaf (Emmaus) in the round of 16 as well as returning medalist and Super 32 placer Andrew Wert (Central Dauphin) in the quarterfinal. Favorite in a relatively tame lower quarter of the draw is 2014 state medalist Joey Gould (Bethlehem Catholic). 138: Two ranked wrestlers in this weight class, both are returning state runners-up, let's guess where the PIAA bracket gods have placed them … without saying, No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) and No. 10 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth) are in the champ-champ quarter. Instead of meeting on Saturday evening, they'll meet on Friday afternoon; Pletcher, state champion in 2013 and 2014, gave Sasso his lone loss of the season in a tight King of the Mountain finals bout. The second quarter of the draw features returning medalist Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny), who finished fourth at the WPIAL tournament for a second straight season. Returning state medalist and Super 32 placer Evan Fidelibus (Easton) is the anchor figure in the bracket's third quarter, though he was regional runner-up to Sasso last week; while 2014 state medalist Riley Palmer (Council Rock South) is the regional champion in the bottom quarter, but two-time state medalist Stephen Maloney (Bethlehem Catholic) looms in the round of 16. 145: The second top-ranked wrestler in the nation of the classification is here, Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford). State champion as a freshman, he finished second last year, but is the strong favorite to take home a second gold in this his junior season; especially with the removal over Jarod Verkleeren from the pool of competitors. Coy is in the champ-champ quarter with a familiar last name, freshman Edmund Ruth (Susquehana Township). The bottom half of the draw is anchored by regional champions in returning state medalist Brock Port (Bellefonte) and Beast of the East placer Brock Wilson (Nazareth); 2013 state medalist Dylan Chatterton (Northern York) could face Port in the round of 16. 152: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, led by No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County), who is seeking a first state final; his first three years at state include a 1-2 performance then sixth and third place medals. Surprise, surprise -- Hidlay finds himself in the champ-champ quarter, with state tournament debutant Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area). The third regional champion in the top half of the draw is nationally ranked Travis Stefanik (Nazareth), ranked No. 17 nationally. The third quarter of the draw is anchored by No. 9 Jonathan Ross (Northern York), a regional champion, where he is joined by fellow state medalist Jimmy Saylor (Easton); these two wrestlers are likely to meet in the quarters for a second straight year, Ross knocked off Saylor 4-2 in that round last year. Returning state qualifier Dylan Schwartz (Council Rock South) is the regional champion in the bottom quarter. 160: No. 2 Kaleb Young (Punxsutawney) also seeks a first state final after placing fifth and fourth the previous two seasons. The Iowa commit and Super 32 champion finds himself in the champ-champ quarter, where state tournament debutant Josh Stillings (Pennridge) is the other regional champion; Tm Wallace (Albert Gallatin) is the regional champion in the second quarter after winning the WPIAL this past week. The other ranked wrestler in this weight is No. 18 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County), who lost 2-1 to Young in the regional final. He is in the third quarter of the draw, likely round of 16 match against Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon) and then quarterfinal with regional champion Cade Moisey (Northampton), both of whom are state tournament debutants. Returning state medalist Bailey Shutt (Lower Dauphin) is the likely semifinal opponent for Hidlay down low. 170: Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), ranked No. 5 nationally, is a two-time state placer and the favorite in this weight class. He finds himself in the bottom most quarter of the draw, and likely to see two-time state medalist Jake Shaffer (Greater Latrobe) in the round of 16. The quarter directly above him features No. 10 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon), runner-up in the WPIAL meet last week, along with returning state medalist Noah Stewart (Mifflin County). The third nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 9 Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park), who beat Bell for a second straight week in reverse of a loss from the Powerade final. Bonaccorsi is in the second quarter of the draw and most likely to face undefeated returning state medalist Jared Siegrist (Manheim Central) in the semifinal round. 182: The lone ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 19 Kyle Gentile (Pennridge), who finds himself in the champ-champ quarter bracket with Jake Woodley (North Allegheny); though Woodley is a state tournament debutant, he is a very talented and dangerous opponent. Their most likely semifinal opponent is Drew Peck (Chambersburg), who placed in the Super 32 Challenge this fall. The two best wrestlers of the lower half bracket are both in the bottom quarter, returning medalists Gregg Harvey (Boyertown) and Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff); Harvey finishing runner-up to Gentile at the regional level, while Colello could face returning state medalist Jayden Reyes (Dieruff) in the round of 16. The other lower half-bracket regional champion is two-time state qualifier Adam Soldridge (Bethlehem Catholic), but his likely quarterfinal is against Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon Area), whom he lost to at state duals. 195: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, No. 10 Drew Phipps (Norwin) and No. 14 Jakobsen (Stroudsburg). Returning state finalist Jakobsen finds himself in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. Furthermore, his likely round of 16 opponent is returning state medalist Francis Duggan (North Allegheny); the other round of 16 match in that quarter places the undefeated Jesse Kann (Penn Manor) against Cadet freestyle runner-up Ian Malesiewski (Erie Cathedral Prep). The likely semifinal opponent for that group would be returning state medalist Eli Grape (Upper St. Clair), the WPIAL runner-up who has multiple wins over Duggan this year and his only two losses are by narrow margins to Phipps. Down in the lower half, two-time state placer Phipps is undefeated this season and is looking at a likely semifinal with fellow regional champion Trey Hartsock (Mifflin County), a returning state medalist and Super 32 Challenge placer. 220: With Jordan Wood vacating this weight class, No. 9 Jacob Robb (Armstrong), last year's Class AA runner-up in this weight class, is the lone ranked wrestler present. In what has to be a rarity in the Keystone State, Robb is the only returning state placer in this weight class. However, he is in the champ-champ quarter, which means he could have to beat three regional champions on the way to the title. The regional champion in his quarter is Andrew Boob (Selinsgrove), with Trent Thomas (Pleasant Valley) in the second quarter bracket. The lower bracket regional champions are the undefeated Cameron Tinner (Shippensburg) and Gavin Caroff (Quakertown), though WPIAL runner-up and Powerade placer Michael McAleavy (Peters Township) could knock off Caroff in the quarterfinal. 285:The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 17 Andrew Gunning (Bethlehem Liberty), a returning medalist and Super 32 Challenge champion this fall. He is also undefeated for the season, and is not surprisingly in the champ-champ quarter, with yet another undefeated wrestler in Josh Fye (Bald Eagle Area). The other regional champion in the top half-bracket is Blaine Yinger (Northeastern), though it is likely that either returning state medalist Bruce Graeber (Neshaminy) or Isaac Reid (Kiski Area) will clear to the semifinal round. The lower half is anchored by returning state medalist Tommy Killoran (Boyertown), who beat Graeber in the regional final; while the other quarter of said half includes WPIAL champion Hayden Rice (Norwin) and Niko Camacho (Bethlehem Catholic). Link: Brackets

The brackets have been released for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event takes place March 17-19. Link: NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Brackets

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released the updated standings for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the Division I Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted towards a student-athletes total they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. In the Division I Most Dominant Wrestler standings, Penn State teammates Zain Retherford and Jason Nolf are in a statistical tie with 4.93 average team points per match. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows and based on a minimum of 17 matches in the division. * Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) * Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) * Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) * Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) Navy teammates Michael Woulfe and Mathew Miller lead Division I with 15 falls this season. Miller holds the tiebreaker in aggregate time (43:01-59:52). Nolf is also in position for the award with 14 falls this season. Isaiah Martinez of Illinois has surpassed his winning total from last season with 13 tech falls this season at 157 pounds to hold the Division I lead with five more than the next closest competitor. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In a press statement that weighed in at less than 100 words, Grand Canyon University announced Monday that it was discontinuing its varsity wrestling program, effective at the end of the 2015-16 school year. "As Grand Canyon University continues to assess its overall sports offerings, it has made the decision to discontinue its varsity wrestling program, effective after the 2015-16 academic year. GCU will honor the athletic scholarships of all wrestling student-athletes through their graduations. After evaluating the program, it was determined a programmatic change was necessary to allow the institution to remain successful in a constantly changing collegiate athletics landscape." That terse statement left many more questions than answers ... and, right now, no one from the private, for-profit, four-year Christian university located in Phoenix is saying much. The school's official wrestling website has nothing about the announcement, nor does the program's Facebook page, which seems to be frozen in time -- before the bombshell announcement, touting summer wrestling camps. Seeking additional information, InterMat reached out to Charles Hampton, Associate Athletics Director, Strategic Communications/PR for Grand Canyon University. When asked if there was any significance in the use of the word "varsity" in the above announcement, Hampton responded that the school would continue to offer wrestling as a club sport. Hampton continued, "As for additional information, unfortunately I do not have the ability to elaborate on our statement from the website. While we would love the opportunity for clarification and to refute inaccurate statements as you stated, we are unable to do so at this time." The axing of the Antelope wrestling program at GCU doesn't seem to be generating much media attention in Arizona, either. A brief story at AZCentral.com -- website for the Arizona Republic, the major newspaper of the state -- included the text of the announcement, then added, "This is the third year of the four-year transition period from NCAA Division II to I for GCU, a for-profit school. It attempted to become a non-profit school, but the Higher Learning Commission recently denied its request." The East Valley Tribune provided much more in the way of perspective, starting with the fact that GCU wrestlers and coaches were ushered into a meeting with the compliance department Monday to learn their fate. "They were simply told the program was being cut but their scholarships would be honored," Tom Monty, whose son Blake was a freshman wrestler at GCU, told the Tribune's Jason P. Skoda. "No real discussion of a reason." Skoda went on to report, "A source close to the program said the news surprised just about everyone within the university and not just those involved with the programs directly with results and financial losses being the main reasons." Incoming freshman Danny Vega, who committed to the program as a three-time champion from Ironwood Ridge, told the Tribune, "I'm just a little confused on how this just popped up out of nowhere." (Vega said he's already been contacted by other schools.) Some in the wrestling community -- especially those in the southwest U.S. -- have a strange sense of déjà vu, in that Grand Canyon's announcement that it was eliminating its varsity wrestling program is reminiscent of one made by Arizona State in 2008. However, the Sun Devil mat program was spared, thanks to the fundraising efforts of local boosters and wrestling supporters from throughout the country. While this week's announcement out of Grand Canyon University was startling, there are some historical elements that, in hindsight, may have foretold the fate of the 'lopes wrestling program. The program was established in 2007 as an NCAA Division II program, with R.C. LaHaye serving as head coach from the start before he was abruptly dismissed in the summer of 2014. In the final four years with LaHaye at the helm, Grand Canyon compiled a 62-23 overall record. During that time, LaHaye coached his wrestlers to four individual national titles, with 13 Antelopes earning NCAA All-American honors. One of the program's brightest stars, heavyweight Tyrell Fortune, named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year in 2013. (Fortune, who competes in freestyle, has announced plans to enter mixed martial arts competition after the 2016 Olympics.) The program's trajectory seemed to be headed in the right direction as it was in the process of moving from NCAA Division II to Division I. However, in July 2014, Grand Canyon University issued a pithy, 50-word statement, stating that LaHaye and Larry Wilbanks, assistant coach for five seasons, "had been dismissed for violation of institutional policy" without further explanation. The story was posted at the official Grand Canyon wrestling website with the headline "GCU Announces Wrestling Program Changes." One month later, Grand Canyon announced that Jon Sioredas, former assistant wrestling coach at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and Old Dominion, had been hired as head coach. In September 2014, Sioredas hired two assistant coaches: Mark Ellis, 2009 NCAA heavyweight champ for University of Missouri, and Brian Stith, a two-time NCAA All-American at Arizona State. (For the 2015-16 season, the GCU coaching staff consisted of Sioredas, Stith and graduate assistant Jerome Robinson.) During the past two seasons, the Antelopes had struggled, compiling a 5-19 dual-meet record in 2015-16, albeit against upgraded competition, including University of Iowa, Virginia, Minnesota, and North Carolina State. Just last weekend, Grand Canyon had participated in the National Collegiate Open held in northeast Ohio, where the Lopes had a national champion (Uzo Owuama) and two All-Americans (Austin Gaun, Trayton Libolt). Wrestling isn't the only varsity program to be eliminated in recent years at Grand Canyon. As the Tribune reported, while GCU has grown tremendously in recent years, the school made a similar decision for the men's lacrosse team in 2011 after four seasons at the Division II level. Speculation aside, the real reasons why Grand Canyon University administrators made the decision to eliminate their varsity wrestling program may never be known.

A New Jersey state trooper who was struck and killed by a motorist Monday night was a star high school and NCAA All-American wrestler. Sean CullenSean Cullen, 31, who wrestled at Cinnaminson High School in New Jersey and then at Pennsylvania's Lycoming College, was helping to direct traffic at a car fire on southbound I-295 in Deptford when the incident occurred. He was flown to a hospital in Camden, N.J. where he died early Tuesday morning. The 22-year-old driver who struck Cullen stopped immediately and cooperated with police. She has not been charged, nor is she being identified. "From the day he stepped on campus, he wanted to be a New Jersey state trooper," Roger Crebs, Cullen's wrestling coach at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa told the Courier-Post. "He knew what he wanted to do and he went through the different levels to accomplish it." "That's kind of how he operated in the wrestling room." Cullen was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1985, and came to the United States three years later. He grew up in Cinnaminson, where, as a high school wrestler, he was captain of the wrestling team and the first wrestler in school history to reach 100 wins. It was at Cinnaminson High School where Cullen caught the eye of Lycoming's Crebs. "He's the type of kid, that he had a goal in mind, and he knew what he needed to do to get to those goals," Crebs said. Cullen lived up to expectations. A three-time NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships qualifier for the Lycoming Warriors, Cullen earned All-American honors by placing sixth in the 133-pound bracket at the 2005 NCAAs as a sophomore. He was also a three-time placer at the Middle Atlantic Conference championships. Cullen served as team captain his junior and senior years. Four years ago, Cullen was welcomed into the Lycoming Athletics Hall of Fame. Lycoming Athletics posted this message on its Facebook page Tuesday: "Sean Cullen is one of the great ones. A 2005 All-American at 133 pounds, he finished his career 94-30 and was inducted into the Lycoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this incredibly painful time." Beyond wrestling, Cullen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from Lycoming in 2007. Immediately after college, Cullen launched his police career by serving in three New Jersey communities from April 2007 to February 2012, he worked as a police officer in two communities before graduating from the State Police training academy in August 2014. Cullen leaves behind a fiancee and a 9-month-old son. He is also survived by his father and mother, two brothers (one is a state police detective), and a sister. Cullen was the third New Jersey state trooper to die in the line of duty in 10 months. Update March 10: Funeral arrangements have been announced. Visitation will take place at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 2500 Branch Pike, Cinnaminson, NJ on Sunday from 2-7 p.m. and Monday 8-11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at noon.

The 49 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were announced on Tuesday. Here is a look at 10 wrestlers -- one per weight class -- who entered Tuesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over. 125: Shakur Laney (Ohio) Laney, a freshman, needed a top-four finish at the MAC Championships to earn an automatic qualification. He entered the tournament seeded No. 4 and seemed to be on his way to qualifying after beating Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske in the quarterfinals. It was Laney's second win over Jeske this season. However, the Bobcat freshman dropped his next two matches to land in the fifth-place match, which he won. Meanwhile, Jeske claimed fourth place and earned an automatic qualification. Sam Brancale went 0-2 at the Big Tens and was eliminated by Purdue's Luke Welch (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)133: Sam Brancale (Minnesota) Brancale picked up some very impressive wins this season, but struggled mightily down the stretch, losing his last 10 matches of the season. He was winless in the conference and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. So why is he even in the conversation for best staying home? Because of his wins prior to the start of the Big Ten dual meet season. In November, Brancale beat two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh and NCAA qualifier Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State. In December, he pinned All-American Rossi Bruno of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Then at the Southern Scuffle he dominated eventual SoCon champion Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. Brancale learned that it's not how you start the season that matters, but how you finish it. 141: Trevor Jauch (Northern Iowa) Jauch shared starting duties in the UNI lineup this season with Jake Koethe. Both battled knee injuries. Koethe was lost for the season in January, and Jauch battled through injuries. He had some notable wins this season, none more notable than his victory over Old Dominion All-American Chris Mecate on Jan. 17. He also notched wins over NCAA qualifiers Jamel Hudson of Hofstra and Danny Sabatello of Purdue. Jauch wrestled to his seed at the MAC Championships, placing fifth, finishing one spot below automatic qualification. 149: Luke Blanton (Indiana) Blanton never won a state title in Indiana, but has had a productive start to his college wrestling career while competing in the nation's toughest college wrestling conference. His most notable wins during the regular season came over a couple four-time state champions, Minnesota's Jake Short and Ohio State's Hunter Stieber. Blanton entered the Big Ten Championships unseeded, but took out sixth-seeded Alex Griffin of Purdue in the opening round. He then ran into Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn and lost 11-2, and then was knocked out of the tournament when he was crushed 19-4 by Tyson Dippery of Rutgers. Two wrestlers he beat this season, Short and Griffin, earned at-large selections on Tuesday. Blanton ended his season with a record of 18-13. Lehigh's Ian Brown won 26 matches this season as a freshman (Photo/Lehigh Athletics)157: Ian Brown (Lehigh) Brown, a freshman, split time in the Lehigh lineup this season with two-time All-American Mitch Minotti, who battled an injury. He had a strong showing at the Southern Scuffle, placing third behind Penn State's Jason Nolf and Oklahoma State's Joe Smith. This season Brown had two wins over NCAA qualifier Russell Parsons of Army West Point, and also beat NCAA qualifiers Luke Smith of Central Michigan and May Bethea of Penn. Brown was given the call to compete for Lehigh at the EIWA Championships and entered the event as the No. 6 seed. He dropped a 3-2 match in tiebreaker in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Justin Staudenmayer of Brown. He was then hammered by the aforementioned Parsons 17-4. He concluded his tournament by beating Adam Krop of Princeton 9-4. Brown finished his season with a record of 26-10, but surprisingly his name was not announced on Tuesday afternoon as an at-large selection. 165: Paul Duggan (Campbell) Duggan had a solid season, compiling a 23-12 record and placing third at the SoCon Championships. His lone loss at the SoCon Championships came to Appalachian State's Forrest Przybysz in sudden victory, 3-1. It was the rubber match between the two wrestlers this season, and Przybysz was one of the names announced as an at-large selection on Tuesday. Duggan also had a win this season over American's Mitchell Wightman, who earned an at-large selection over Duggan. 174: Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois) Engelkes missed earning an automatic qualification by two spots, placing fifth at the MAC Championships and needing to finish in the top three. It marked the second straight year Engelkes finished fifth in the conference tournament. He lost a tight 5-4 match to Central Michigan's Mike Ottinger in the MAC semifinals. In the consolation semifinals (and a chance to wrestle for third place) he met Kent State's Jairod James and lost 11-4. Engelkes finished his tournament with a bang, hammering Eastern Michigan's Jacob Davis 9-1, but it wouldn't be enough to get him an at-large selection. 184: Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) Romanchik was an NCAA qualifier last season as a junior, but won't be competing in the big show in his senior campaign. He entered the MAC Championships seeded No. 3 and needing a top-four finish to earn an automatic qualification, but finished a disappointing sixth. It may have been his final defeat in the fifth-place match to Northern Iowa's Drew Foster -- a wrestler with a losing record -- that cost him an at-large selection. Two months ago Romanchik defeated eventual MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan. He also had a 4-1 win over Chattanooga's John Lampe, who earned an at-large selection over Romanchik. 197: Derek Thomas (Utah Valley) For the second straight season Thomas has come up short of an NCAA tournament berth. Last season he lost his true second match at the conference tournament, and this year he finished one win shy of an automatic berth before being passed over for an at-large selection. Thomas went 2-2 at the Big 12 Championships, and actually beat one of the at-large selections, Jake Smith of West Virginia, in the fifth-place match. He finished his senior season with a 12-5 record. Interestingly, for the second straight season it was the same wrestler, Trent Noon of Northern Colorado, who defeated Thomas at the conference tournament and finished one spot ahead of him. Brock Horwath won two matches at the Big Tens to place seventh at heavyweight (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)285: Brock Horwath (Wisconsin) Horwath was given the opportunity to start for the Badgers in his final season after Connor Medbery elected to take an Olympic redshirt season. He entered the Big Ten Championships unseeded, but outperformed his seed, winning two matches and finishing seventh. One of his two wins came over Penn State's Nick Nevills, who entered the tournament ranked No. 17. Earlier in the season Horwath had a 5-0 win over Princeton's Ray O'Donnell, who qualified for the NCAAs by placing fourth in the EIWA Championships.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa wrestlers Patrick Rhoads and Sam Stoll picked up at-large bids to the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships when the NCAA announced the 330-person tournament field Tuesday. Stoll and Rhoads were on the outside looking in after missing the cut at their respective weight classes at the NCAA qualifying tournament last weekend in Iowa City. Rhoads placed seventh at 165 pounds and Stoll placed eighth at 285 at the Big Ten Championships. The top six at each of their respective weight classes earned automatic berths. Rhoads, a senior who is 13-11 overall and ranked No. 27 in RPI, was one of five wrestlers at his weight class to earn an at-large bid. Stoll grabbed one of six at-large selections at 285. The redshirt freshman is 22-5 overall with a team-high 10 falls. He is ranked fourth in RPI, and sixth in the Coaches Poll. Both wrestlers are making the NCAA tournament debuts. The Hawkeyes enter the NCAA Championships March 17-19 in New York City with nine tournament qualifiers. Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), Brandon Sorensen (149), Edwin Cooper, Jr. (157), Alex Meyer (174), Sammy Brooks (184), and Nathan Burak (197) earned automatic berths at the Big Ten Championships. The NCAA Championships selection show will release tournament seeds and brackets Wednesday at 5 p.m. (CT) at NCAA.com.

STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford redshirt sophomore Garet Krohn was one of 49 wrestlers to receive an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced today. Stanford now has set a program record with six individual NCAA qualifiers in 2015-16. "I am really excited for Garet! He had a very solid regular season and has consistently improved throughout the year," stated eighth-year head coach Jason Borrelli. "We certainly felt that he earned the opportunity to wrestle at the NCAA championships, and it's refreshing to learn that the NCAA selection committee felt the same way." Krohn, who is 20-8 at 184 pounds this season, placed third at the Pac-12 Championships on Feb. 27. He will be making his first postseason appearance, competing in the NCAA Championships in New York City's Madison Square Garden, March 17-19. Joining Krohn in New York City next week are redshirt junior Jim Wilson, redshirt sophomores Nathan Butler, Connor Schram and Keaton Subjeck, and freshman Joey McKenna. Wilson (165 pounds), Schram (125 pounds) and McKenna (141 pounds) all won Pac-12 titles, while Butler (285 pounds) finished second and Subjeck (174 pounds) won a true second-place match at the conference tournament to receive automatic bids into the championships. "Any time you are part of history it's a good feeling and qualifying six wrestlers to the NCAA championships is a big step for our program," said an excited Borrelli. "It validates that those involved (the student-athletes, coaches, and support staff) are doing the right things and that we are moving in the right direction as a program. "We still have a lot of work ahead, as the end goal is to have all six wrestlers competing on the final day of the NCAA tournament next week." The at-large selections were made by the Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking, qualifying event placement, and number of matches contested at that weight class.

The NCAA announced the 49 at-large selections for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships today. 125: Dalton Macri (Cornell) Sean McCabe (Rutgers) Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) David Terao (American) Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley) 133: Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) Rossi Bruno (Michigan) Josh Martinez (Air Force) Joey Palmer (Oregon State) Caleb Richardson (Penn) Zach Synon (Missouri) 141: Logan Everett (Army West Point) Jameson Oster (Northwestern) Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga) Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 149: Steven Galiardo (Brown) Alex Griffin (Purdue) Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) Alex Kocer (South Dakota State) Jake Short (Minnesota) Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb) 157: Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) Ian Miller (Kent State) Aaron Walker (The Citadel) 165: Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State) Geno Morelli (Penn State) Forrest Przybysz Appalachian State) Patrick Rhoads (Iowa) Mitchell Wightman (American) 174: Te'Shan Campbell (Pittsburgh) Casey Kent (Pennsylvania) Sean Mappes (Chattanooga) Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) 184: Abram Ayala (Princeton) Kenny Courts (Ohio State) Garet Krohn (Stanford) John Lampe (Chattanooga) Dane Pestano (Iowa State) 197: Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) Chip Ness (North Carolina) Jake Smith (West Virginia) Michael Woulfe (Navy) 285: Mauro Correnti (Rider) Patrick Gillen (Virginia) Joseph Goodhart (Drexel) Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) Garrett Ryan (Columbia) Sam Stoll (Iowa)

Pablo OgataCountless wrestlers who spend years on the mat never win a state title. Pablo Ogata, 16, born and raised in Japan until age 15, won a Massachusetts Division I state wrestling championship after completing his first full year in the sport, according to a feature story in the Boston Globe this weekend. Ogata defeated Matt Cabezas of Methuen High, 7-2, in the 132-pound state finals in Brockton, Mass. in late February to win the state title, becoming his high school's 24th state champ. On the way to the title match, Ogata upset top-seeded Griffin Murray of Chelmsford in the semifinals 12-7, the Framingham Patch reported. How did Ogata get to the state championships seemingly so quickly? He had come to the U.S. with his Brazilian-born parents just in time to enroll for the 2014-15 school year at Framingham High School. It was there that sophomore Pablo Ogata was first introduced to wrestling. While Ogata was new to wrestling, he wasn't new to martial arts. While growing up in Japan, Ogata discovered judo. "I fell in love with the sport when I was in seventh grade. It was competitive, and I liked the discipline and self-control it took," he told the Boston Globe. His talent for judo made it possible for him to participate in national competitions. Ogata was disappointed to learn there wasn't a judo program at Framingham High… but there is a wrestling team. So he met with the school's wrestling coach. "He came into my room and asked about wrestling," said varsity wrestling coach Jon Kanavich. "He said he had a judo background, and competed nationally. I got excited. I said 'show me some of your judo moves,' so he wouldn't hurt the wrestlers (in case he joined the team). The way he was asking about it I could tell he'd have success right away. "He picked up things unbelievably quick, like he was a senior." Despite seeing Ogata's ability to learn a new sport quickly, coach Kanavich was careful in how he used the newest member of his squad. In his first year on the mats - the 2014-15 season -- Ogata compiled a 7-2 record. "Pablo's a happy kid, smiles a lot. Very outgoing," said Kanavich. "But on the mat he turns into something else. A monster! He finds the switch." This season, Ogata -- now a junior -- built a 37-5 record, culminating with the state title. Ogata achieved all this in wrestling while learning English, a completely new language for him. In his first year at Framingham High, Ogata was enrolled in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. He employed his quick-to-learn ability demonstrated in wrestling in the classroom as well, and now is a mainstream student with aspirations to attend college on a scholarship. Perhaps a wrestling scholarship. Update: Pablo Ogata placed fifth in the All-States tournament last weekend, which earned him the right to wrestle at this weekend's New England Championships, where he did not place.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling championships concluded on Sunday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Etching his name clearly into the legend of Garden State wrestling was Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic), who won his fourth state title, finishing off his career with a record of 159-0. Suriano, ranked No. 1 nationally at 126 pounds, upended No. 9 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) 3-1 in the state final; it was a second straight state finals victory for Suriano over 2014 state champion Agaisse. Nick Suriano was one of four Bergen Catholic wrestlers to win a state title this past weekend in Atlantic CityIn addition to Suriano, three additional Crusaders repeated as state champions on Sunday. No. 4 Shane Griffith, just a sophomore, rallied to earn a 4-2 overtime victory over No. 18 Michael Van Brill (Clearview) at 138 pounds. In another showdown of ranked wrestlers, No. 6 Kevin Mulligan knocked off No. 16 Dean Drugac (Morris Knolls) 5-1 in the 195 pound final. Also winning his second title was No. 10 Joe Grello at 170 pounds. The fifth repeat champion of the tournament was No. 10 Brandon Cray (Steinert), who beat No. 3 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park) 5-2 in the final. It should be noted that Raimo had the much tougher path to the final, having to beat both No. 17 Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial) and returning state champion No. 16 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic) in order to make the final; it was 9-3 in the quarterfinal over Ghione, and 3-1 in the semifinal over Angelo, who had won his title at Hanover Park last year. The other wrestler seeking to defend his title was No. 5 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep) at 160 pounds, who was also runner-up at state as both a freshman and sophomore. However, Bierdumpfel was upset 3-2 in the final by Kyle Cochran (Paramus), an opponent he had beaten in both the regular season and in the district final. In addition to the trio of champions from Bergen Catholic, and also Brandon Cray, who beat fellow nationally ranked opponents to earn their title, the final at 113 pounds pitted ranked wrestlers against one another. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers Academy) recovered from a third period deficit to pin No. 5 Patrick Glory (Delbarton) at the 5:59 mark in the championship match, which was a rematch of the pre-season Super 32 Challenge final; said result condemned the sophomore Glory to a second straight runner-up finish. Rivera also had to beat No. 10 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) 6-3 in the semifinal round. Other nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles at Boardwalk Hall on Sunday were No. 15 Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook) at 145 pounds, No. 9 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) at 152, and No. 3 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross) at 220. Capping off an undefeated season to win their state titles were Joe Manchio (Seneca) at 106 pounds and Zack Firestone (Clearview) at 132. Manchio upset No. 2 JoJo Aragona (Pope John) 3-0 in the semifinal round. Rounding out the state champions were Brandon Kui (DePaul Catholic) and Eric Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep), the pair of juniors ascending to the top of the podium at 182 and 285 respectively.

A couple types of history were made this past weekend in the Ohio state wrestling tournament held at "The Schott" on the Ohio State campus. In all 27 previous occasions that a three-time state champion made it to the state tournament with a chance to win their fourth title, said wrestler would win the state title. However, this weekend Seth Beard (Napoleon) took out No. 7 Tyler Warner (Claymont) 6-4 in the Division II 120-pound semifinal. The Kent State bound senior would go on to win the state title over returning state runner-up Justin Stickley (St. Paris Graham) by a 6-3 score, a championship that was also the first ever for his school. Beard opened the tournament with a 15-0 technical fall and a 9-0 major decision in the quarterfinals against a returning state medalist. Said performance earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors in Division II for the state tournament. Alex Marinelli won his fourth state titleAll that being said, the real Outstanding Wrestler in Division II -- at least in my opinion -- was Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham). The No. 2 ranked 170 pound wrestler in the country dominated this tournament with three pins and then a 15-7 major decision in the championship match. Marinelli's victories in the semifinal and final came against returning state medalists. The Iowa-bound wrestler finishes his career as Ohio's 28th four-time state champion, with a career record of 200-4, and a 137 bout winning streak that goes back to midway through is sophomore campaign. Furthering his case as Outstanding Wrestler was the 160 and 182 pound finals in the division. Both contestants in each final were competing at 170 pounds during various points of the season. At 160 it was Garrett Jordan (St. Paris Graham), who flipped weight classes with Marinelli in late December; and Eric Fasnacht (Padua), who dropped right before the state series. Then at 182, Tyler Wiederholt (Bellbrook) and Robbie Bowers (Defiance) each moved up a weight class right after finding out about the Marinelli/Jordan weight class switch. St. Paris Graham, ranked No. 3 nationally, was the story of the tournament from a team standpoint. The Falcons won their 16th straight Division II state title, qualifying (and placing within the top five) 13 wrestlers. The 253 team points eclipsed last year's 250 point total as the second-most in the history of the state tournament for any team/division (St. Paris Graham in 2009 scored 282 points). Marinelli was joined by four other Graham wrestlers as state champions: No. 12 Mitch Moore (126), No. 8 Brent Moore (138), No. 13 Rocky Jordan (145), and Garrett Jordan (160). Moore won the most anticipated Division II final, besting No. 10 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville) by 5-3 decision, propelled by a reversal and three-point near fall in the third period. Stickley was joined as runner-up by Jeff Thomas (113); placing third were Jordan Crace (106), Ryan Thomas (113), and Kanan Sarver (195); while Joey Sanchez (152), Gage Braun (182) and Johnny Shafer (220) placed fifth. Other highlights in Division II included a state title for No. 20 Georgio Poullas (Canfield) at 152 pounds, as he anchored their team runner-up finish; No. 8 Jack Harris (Urbana) and Matt Adams (New Lexington) were the first individuals from their program to win state titles, doing so at 195 and 285 pounds respectively; Ana Abduljelil (Whitehall) won his program's second state title, the other one coming in 1960; while Josh Venia (Toledo Central Catholic) repeated as state champion at 106 pounds. St. Edward ranked No. 7 nationally won its 30th (individual) state tournament title, its 18th in the last 20 years, as they cleared through a field featuring two other nationally ranked teams. Led by state champions in Bryce Andonian (106) and No. 9 Hunter Ladnier (138), the Eagles placed nine wrestlers in amassing 152 points. Other medalists were runner-up No. 9 Jared Campbell (220), Matt Kazimir (113) and Allan Hart (126) finishing third, Jack Conway (152) finishing fourth, Sam Dover (132) finishing fifth, with Mike Carpenter (160) and Tyler Stepic (182) placing sixth. Team runner-up honors went to No. 20 Elyria with 105 points, their highest total in program history. The Pioneers overcame major adversity in the last month of the season: losing returning state medalist Nico O'Dor (152) and returning state qualifier Josh Breeding (120) in go-to-state bouts at the district tournament, along with multiple injury issues. None the less, two of their seven individual state qualifiers brought home state titles: Brandon Fenton (113) and a repeat title for No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (195). Other medalists were No. 3 Kevin Vough (285) finishing as runner-up, J.T. Brown (182) earning fourth, and Mikah Price (160) placing fifth. No. 38 Olentangy Liberty scored 95 points, also placing five wrestlers, led by now three-time state champion No. 12 Kyle Lawson (160). Other placers for the Patriots were state runner-up Trevor Lawson (170), third place medalists Brakan Mead (106) and Trey Grenier (145), along with Connor Brady (132) finishing fourth. Leading the individual highlights were the first two state titles in program history for Central Crossing, coming from No. 7 Jaden Mattox (132) and No. 12 Kameron Teacher (285). Teacher led No. 3 Vough by a 7-2 score midway through the third period when Vough had to default from the match due to injury. The most anticipated match of the whole state tournament was the 145 pound final, one in which No. 2 David Carr (Massillon Perry) dominated No. 8 Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman), the final score of 8-4 was arguably not fully reflective of the dominance shown by Carr. Joining Darmstadt as two-time state champions were No. 12 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth) at 120 pounds and No. 4 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay) at 220. Stencel pinned No. 9 Campbell in the second period to avenge last week's district final loss, and win the season's rubber match. Other notable finals bouts saw Mario Guillen (Perrysburg) upset No. 18 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit) 7-5 in overtime, as well as Austin Hiles (Brecksville) avenge a regular season loss to upend Nick Kiussis (Brunswick) 11-9, a result that made the junior Kiussis a three-time state runner-up. In Division III, the story of the tournament was the overall dominance of No. 25 Delta, which won four state titles on the way to 159 pounds. Winning gold for the Panthers were Drew Mattin (120), Jake Spiess (132), Dustin Marteney (138), and Jesse Beverly (152); it was a second title for Mattin and a third in four years for Spiess. Three of their four additional state qualifiers also placed on the podium: Devin Richard (220) and returning state champion Chance Veller (285) took third, while Cole Mattin (106) finished fourth. Tournament runner-up Dayton Christian placed four wrestlers on the podium, three of them in the state final, on the way to 92.5 points. No. 10 Logan Lacure (145) won his third state title, it was a second state title for No. 16 Tommy Hoskins (113), while Nick Vestal (152) placed second and Ronnie Pietro (106) finished third. Dual team runners-up Mechanicsburg placed third with 86.5 points, placing six of their eight state qualifiers; however, only Kaleb Romero (160) finished as state champion. Romero, ranked No. 11 nationally, won all four of his bouts by technical fall and has the potential to become a four-time state champion next year; he was named Oustanding Wrestler in Division III. Other highlights in the division included freshman Dylan D'Emilio (106), ranked No. 5 nationally, winning his first of a possible four state titles; the first individual state title in school history for Wayne Trace coming from George Clemens (126), who finished his season undefeated; along with junior James Handwerk (Lutheran West) becoming a two-time state champion.

Buchanan won the state title and had three champions and 10 state medalists (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The wrestling season in the Golden State had been a two-team show throughout the season, with No. 5 Buchanan and No. 9 Clovis dominating the narrative. Buchanan had out-pointed Clovis in four tournaments and won the dual meet, prior to Clovis upending the Bears at the Masters tournament last weekend. However, state week saw Buchanan regain their standing atop arch-rival Clovis and overall on top of California wrestling for the 2015-16 season. Ten years prior to this one was the only other state title for Buchanan, they won in 2006 amassing 134 points on the strength of one champion and three other medalists. This past weekend they scored 274.5 points, which is just short of the state tournament record, on the back of three state champions (a program record) and ten overall medalists (also a program record). Those titles were won by Matthew Olguin (106), Ethan Leake (113), and Zach Levatino (220), none of whom were favored to win state titles; Olguin was ranked second, Leake third, and Levatino came from total left field in eleventh. In a bit of irony, their lone state favorite failed to win; No. 11 Durbin Lloren (132) was upset in the state final, 3-2 by Trence Gillem (Helix). The two other runner-up finishers were Abner Romero (160) and Anthony Montalvo (182). Additional medalists were Joel Romero (138) placing third, Brett Villarreal (126) and Greg Gaxiola (145) placing fourth, along with Cade Belshay (170) placing fifth. From their ten placers, six finished above their ranking (three significantly), one was at his ranking exactly, while three were below ranking (though within one or two spots). Three wrestlers that placed were not projected to place, while one wrestler projected to place failed to do so. In all, the story of the tournament weekend for Buchanan was rising to the occasion, and it ultimately showed in a team gold finish. Despite four state champions, Clovis was unable to win its sixth consecutive state championship. The Cougars placed just eight wrestlers (at least "just" in relation to Buchanan) to amass 232.5 points in its runner-up finish. Winning state gold were No. 2 Justin Mejia (120), No. 7 Josh Hokit (182), No. 12 A.J. Nevills (195), and No. 7 Seth Nevills (285); the junior Mejia won his third title, the sophomore Seth Nevills earned a second straight title, while seniors Hokit and A.J. Nevills improved upon last year's runner-up finishes. Other wrestlers placing on the podium for Clovis were Tyler Collier (220) in third, Brandon Betancourt (106) in fourth, Brandon Martino (152) in fifth, and Wyatt Cornelison (113) in eighth. Third in the standings went to No. 13 Poway, which had five medalists - third most in the tournament - in totaling 113 points. The Titans were led by a runner-up finish from Chris Bailey (195), Chase Zollmann (113) placing third, Scott Kiyono (132) and Luis Enloe (145) placing seventh, along with an eighth place finish from Hampton Boyd (160). A look at California's 14 individual state champions from this past weekend (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)On the individual side of things, upsets were the lead narrative of the tournament. In the 106 pound final, it was No. 19 Matthew Olguin upending No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy) 11-4 to avenge two losses from earlier in the season. Then at 132 pounds, it was the previously mentioned 3-2 win for Gillem over returning champion No. 11 Lloren, which reversed an ealier in the season loss; furthermore No. 17 Alex Felix (Gilroy) placed fourth losing 2-1 to Curtis Booth (Folsom) in the quarterfinal before falling 5-4 to Kalani Tonge (Elk Grove) in the consolation final. Returning state champion Julian Flores (San Marino), ranked No. 12 nationally at 138 pounds, placed fourth; losses came 3-2 to Jacob Wright (Dinuba) in the semifinal and then 10-2 to Joel Romero in the consolation final. Luke Troy (Martin Luther King), ranked No. 5 nationally at 152 pounds, was condemned to just a third place finish after losing 5-4 to eventual runner-up Jett Moy (San Marcos) in the round of 16. Finally, No. 18 Jesus Madrigal (Oak Hills) finished fourth at 220 pounds lost 2-1 to Kyle Jennings (Ponderosa) in the semifinal and then 5-4 to Tyler Collier in the consolation final. Other notable champions included No. 13 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) at 138 pounds, No. 5 Zander Wick (San Marino) at 145, No. 4 Evan Wick (San Marino) at 152, No. 8 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel) at 160, and No. 15 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel) at 170. Justin Thomas beat No. 17 Abner Romero 5-3 in his championship match, while Jeremy Thomas pinned No. 14 Anthony Mantanona (Palm Desert) to avenge a loss from last week's Masters final.

The brackets have been released for the 2016 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event takes place Friday and Saturday. There are 180 NCAA qualifiers. Eight wrestlers are seeded in each weight class. Link: NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Brackets

As Grand Canyon University continues to assess its overall sports offerings, it has made the decision to discontinue its varsity wrestling program, effective after the 2015-16 academic year. GCU will honor the athletic scholarships of all wrestling student-athletes through their graduations. After evaluating the program, it was determined a programmatic change was necessary to allow the institution to remain successful in a constantly changing collegiate athletics landscape.