InterMat Staff

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2016 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 5-6 at Iowa. Five schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with four. Nebraska and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Iowa, Ohio State and Rutgers each boast a seeded grappler in nine classes. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference's coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in eight weight classes, along with all 14 starters in two weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving nine or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Penn State holds four No. 1 seeds, with 149-pounder Zain Retherford, 157-pounder Jason Nolf, 174-pounder Bo Nickal and 197-pounder Morgan McIntosh earning top billing in their weight classes. Michigan boasts two top-seeded grapplers in Dom Abounader (184) and Adam Coon (285), while Ohio State received top seeds in Nathan Tomasello (125) and Micah Jordan (141). The Fighting Illini's Zane Richards (133) and Badgers' Isaac Jordan (165) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers. Three of this year's top seeds claimed titles at last year's Big Ten Championships, with Tomasello (125), I. Jordan (165) and Abounader (184) earning conference crowns last season. This season, three freshman earned No. 1 seeds entering the championships, including M. Jordan, Nickal and Nolf. For more information on the 2016 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Iowa's website here. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below. 125: 1. Nathan Tomasello, OSU 2. Thomas Gilman, IOWA 3. Nico Megaludis, PSU 4. Tim Lambert, NEB 5. Elijah Oliver, IND 6. Johnny Jimenez, WIS 7. Conor Youtsey, MICH 8. Sean McCabe, RU 133: 1. Zane Richards, ILL 2. Cory Clark, IOWA 3. Jordan Conaway, PSU 4. Geoff Alexander, MD 5. Eric Montoya, NEB 6. Ryan Taylor, WIS 7. Johnni DiJulius, OSU 8. Rossi Bruno, MICH 9. Dom Malone, NU 10. Anthony Giraldo, RU 11. Luke Welch, PUR 12. Garth Yenter, MSU 13. Alonzo Shepherd, IND 14. Sam Brancale, MINN 141: 1. Micah Jordan, OSU 2. Tommy Thorn, MINN 3. Anthony Ashnault, RU 4. Jameson Oster, NU 5. Javier Gasca III, MSU 6. Anthony Abidin, NEB 7. Danny Sabatello, PUR 8. Jimmy Gulibon, PSU 149: 1. Zain Retherford, PSU 2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA 3. Jake Sueflohn, NEB 4. Jason Tsirtsis, NU 5. Alec Pantaleo, MICH 6. Alex Griffin, PUR 7. Andrew Crone, WIS 8. Jake Short, MINN 157: 1. Jason Nolf, PSU 2. Isaiah Martinez, ILL 3. Richie Lewis, RU 4. Jake Ryan, OSU 5. Edwin Cooper, Jr., IOWA 6. Brian Murphy, MICH 7. Tyler Berger, NEB 8. Lou Mascola, MD 165: 1. Isaac Jordan, WIS 2. Bo Jordan, OSU 3. Steven Rodrigues, ILL 4. Anthony Perrotti, RU 5. Chad Welch, PUR 6. Austin Wilson, NEB 7. Geno Morelli, PSU 8. Patrick Rhoads, IOWA 174: 1. Bo Nickal, PSU 2. Alex Meyer, IOWA 3. Zach Brunson, ILL 4. Myles Martin, OSU 5. Nathan Jackson, IND 6. Micah Barnes, NEB 7. Nick Wanzek, MINN 8. Ricky Robertson, WIS 9. Phil Bakuckas, RU 10. Mitch Sliga, NU 11. Aaron Calderon, MICH 12. Josh Snook, MD 13. Shane Shadaia, MSU 14. Andrew Hoselton, PUR 184: 1. Dom Abounader, MICH 2. Matt McCutcheon, PSU 3. Sam Brooks, IOWA 4. TJ Dudley, NEB 5. Nick Gravina, RU 6. Kenny Courts, OSU 7. Jeff Koepke, ILL 8. Ryan Christensen, WIS 197: 1. Morgan McIntosh, PSU 2. Brett Pfarr, MINN 3. Nathan Burak, IOWA 4. Max Huntley, MICH 5. Aaron Studebaker, NEB 6. Mark Martin, OSU 7. Hayden Hrymack, RU 8. Jacob Cooper, MSU 285: 1. Adam Coon, MICH 2. Kyle Snyder, OSU 3. Sam Stoll, IOWA 4. Billy Smith, RU 5. Michael Kroells, MINN 6. Collin Jensen, NEB 7. Brooks Black, ILL 8. Nick Nevills, PSU

The United States will send a talented and motivated wrestling team to compete in the 2016 Pan American Olympic Games Qualifer at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas, March 4-6. Teams from North, Central and South America will compete in the three Olympic disciplines, men's freestyle, women's freestyle and Greco-Roman. This event serves as a major qualifier for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The top two place winners in each of the 18 Olympic weight classes will qualify their nation to compete at the Olympic Games. In total, 36 spots in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are up for grabs. The United States has qualified wrestlers for five weight classes for the Olympic Games so far. Therefore, the USA will enter athletes and seek to qualify at the other 13 weight classes in Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier, four in men's freestyle, four in Greco-Roman and five in women's freestyle. The women's wrestling event will be held first on Friday, March 4, and five U.S. women will wrestle. Two-time World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will compete at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. She is joined by three teammates from the 2015 U.S. World Team, Whitney Conder (Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) at 53 kg/116.5 lbs., Alli Ragan (Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) at 58 kg/128 lbs. and Erin Clodgo (Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. The women's team will feature a Texas native, Tamyra Mensah (Katy, Texas/Titan Mercury WC) at 69 kg/152 lbs. She was a two-time Texas girls state high school champion at Morgan Ranch High School, and won a WCWA college national title for Wayland Baptist University. On Saturday, March 5, the men's freestyle division will be held, with four U.S. athletes entered. Team USA will be led by a native Texan, two-time World bronze medalist and 2012 Olympian Tervel Dlagnev, at 125 kg/275 lbs. Dlagnev was a two-time Texas state high school medalist for Arlington High School. He won two NCAA Div. II titles for Nebraska-Kearney and has been one of the world's best heavyweights for many years. Also on the mat for Team USA is 2009 World silver medalist and 2012 Olympian Jake Herbert (Ann Arbor, Mich./New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) at 86 kg/189 lbs. Herbert won two NCAA titles for Northwestern and was a Hodge Trophy winner. The other two freestyle stars were NCAA champions at the Univ. of Iowa, Tony Ramos (Iowa City, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) at 57 kg/125.5 lbs. and Brent Metcalf (Iowa City, Iowa/New York AC/Hawkeye WC) at 65 kg/143 lbs. Metcalf, a two-time NCAA champion and Hodge Trophy winner, has been on four U.S. World Teams, while Ramos has been on two U.S. World Teams. The final day of the Pan American Championships is Sunday, March 6, featuring the Greco-Roman competition. The USA will enter four athletes. Three-time U.S. World Team member Jordan Holm (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) is scheduled to compete at 85 kg/187 lbs. Wrestling at 59 kg/130 lbs. is 2008 Olympian Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP). 2014 U.S. World Team member Joe Rau (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) will wrestle at 98 kg/213 lbs. Also scheduled to compete is RaVaughn Perkins (Omaha, Neb./New York AC) at 66 kg/145.5 lbs., winner of the recent Dave Schultz Memorial International. The weight classes already qualified for the USA are 74 kg in men's freestyle, 97 kg in men's freestyle, 75 kg in Greco-Roman, 130 kg in Greco-Roman and 75 kg in women's freestyle. Team USA will not have entries at those five weights at the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier. Updates on the international team rosters will be announced later this week. This will be the second major international wrestling event in Frisco on consecutive weekends. This past weekend, the Pan American Championships, the annual continental wrestling championships, were held at the Dr. Pepper Arena, Feb. 26-28. The United States won the team title in all three Olympic disciplines. Included were 11 gold medals, three silver medals and seven bronze medals won by U.S. athletes. The final schedule for the Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier has been published. On all three days, there will be a 10:00 a.m. session with Qualification Rounds and Repechage, and a 5:00 p.m. session with the Medal Match Finals. The schedule for Friday, March 4 is slightly different than previously posted, as an Opening Ceremony has been removed, meaning the finals will start 30 minutes earlier than had been announced. All-Session General Admission prices are $14.50 for a single day pass and $39.50 for a three-day pass. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. Click here for direct link for tickets through Ticketmaster. http://www.ticketmaster.com/venue/99156?tm_link=edp_Venue_See_All_Events For more information, please visit the Pan American Championships and Pan American Olympic Games Qualifier website at: http://usawevents.sportngin.com/panams The event will be broadcast live on Flowrestling. Media seeking more information and to receive credentials to cover either or both events should contact Gary Abbott of USA Wrestling at gabbott@usawrestling.org PAN AMERICAN OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFIER At Frisco, Texas, March 4-6 U.S. women's freestyle roster (to compete on March 4) 48 kg/105.5 lbs - Alyssa Lampe, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) 53 kg/116.5 lbs. - Whitney Conder, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) 58 kg/128 lbs. - Alli Ragan, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) 63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Erin Clodgo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) 69 kg/152 lbs. - Tamyra Mensah, Katy, Texas (Titan Mercury WC) Team Leader - Kyra Barry, New York, N.Y. National Women's Coach - Terry Steiner, Colorado Springs, Colo. Coach - Maxim Molonov, Colorado Springs, Colo. U.S. men's freestyle roster (to compete on March 5) 57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Tony Ramos, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 65 kg/143 lbs. - Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC) 86 kg/189 lbs. - Jake Herbert, Ann Arbor, Mich. (New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) 125 kg/275 lbs. - Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC) National Freestyle Coach - Bruce Burnett, Colorado Springs, Colo. Assistant National Freestyle Coach - Bill Zadick, Colorado Springs, Colo. Assistant National Freestyle Coach - Brandon Slay, Colorado Springs, Colo. U.S. Greco-Roman roster (to compete on March 6) 59 kg/130 lbs. - Ildar Hafizov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army WCAP) 66 kg/145.5 lbs. - RaVaughn Perkins, Omaha, Neb. (New York AC) 85 kg/187 lbs. - Jordan Holm, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) 98 kg/213 lbs. - Joe Rau, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm) Team Leader - Kiki Kelley, Minneapolis, Minn. National Greco-Roman Coach - Matt Lindland, Colorado Springs, Colo. Assistant National Greco-Roman Coach - Momir Petkovic, Colorado Springs, Colo. Coach - Dan Chandler, Minneapolis, Minn. Medical - Dr. Jason Holm, Stateline, Nev. Medical - Randy Boswell, Newman Lake, Wash. Massage Therapist - Amy Murry PAN-AMERICAN OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFIER SCHEDULE (all are Central Time) At Frisco, Texas, March 4-6 Friday March 4 Women's Freestyle Wrestling (48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg and 75kg) 10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Qualification Rounds and Repechage 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Medal Match Finals Saturday, March 5 Men's Freestyle Wrestling (57kg, 65kg, 74kg, 86kg, 97kg, 125kg) 10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Qualification Rounds and Repechage 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Medal Match Finals Sunday March 6 Greco-Roman Wrestling (59kg, 66kg, 75kg, 85kg, 98kg, 130kg) 10:00 am - 2:00 pm - Qualification Rounds and Repechage 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm - Medal Match Finals

With a dominating performance at the National Prep Championships this past weekend on the campus of Lehigh University, No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J.) made a compelling closing argument to retain its position atop the national rankings when the final rankings are done in a couple of weeks. Seven wrestlers won their weight class in a tournament field that featured three other nationally ranked teams: No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 23 Malvern Prep (Pa.), and No. 49 Good Counsel (Md.) Blair Academy (Photo/Juan Garcia)Epitomizing the type of tournament, it was for Blair Academy was the out of his mind performance from sophomore Andrew Merola to win the 145-pound weight class. In the quarterfinal, he beat tournament favorite Eric Hong (Kiski Prep, Pa.) 2-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker; Hong is ranked No. 6 nationally. Then after surviving a semifinal bout against now three-time National Prep placer Sam Martino (McDonogh, Md.), 2-1 in the tiebreaker, it was a 4-3 tiebreaker victory in the championship over No. 18 Leonard Merkin (Poly Prep, N.Y.) Six other Buccaneers grapplers won their weight class: No. 13 Michael Colaiocco at 106 pounds, No. 13 Chris Cannon at 113, No. 8 Requir van der Merwe at 132, No. 14 Ryan Karoly at 160, No. 5 Brandon Dallavia at 170, and No. 3 Chase Singletary at 195. Singletary scored a 3-2 championship match victory over No. 1 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), a second victory over Reenan this season. Another close match dagger to the Wyoming Seminary heart came in the 220-pound semifinal where Nick Mosco beat No. 16 Will Hilliard 3-2; Mosco would lose in the final, but Hilliard would lose his consolation semi and finish in fifth. Joining Mosco as runners-up were Zach Sherman at 126 and Neil Putnam at 285; Putnam had a key 2-1 tiebreaker victory over Beast of the East champion Mansur Abdul-Malik (St. Vincent Pallotti, Md.) in the semifinal. Other Blair Academy placers were Mike Madara taking fifth at 120, John Manning earning sixth at 152, and Shane Brackup taking eighth at 285. Wyoming Seminary, with its four champions and 288 points, were second to the 322 points of Blair Academy. The Blue Knights placed 12 overall wrestlers in the tournament, led by championships won by No. 17 Jack Davis at 120 pounds, Patrick Munn at 138, No. 1 Mason Manville at 152, and re-classified senior Michael Rogers at 285. Joining Reenan as runners-up were Benny Baker at 113, Trent Olson at 132, and No. 12 Christian Dietrich at 182. Joining Hilliard in fifth were Justin Hoyle at 106 and Jake Riegel at 126; while Will Verallis placed sixth at 160, losing all three of his matches by two points or less. Seth Janney (Photo/Juan Garcia)Third place in the tournament was earned by Malvern Prep, who placed nine wrestlers to score 197 points. The Friars were led by weight class championships from No. 9 Michael Beard at 182 and No. 15 Seth Janney at 220; Beard beat Dietrich by a 3-0 score in the final. Shane Hanson-Ashworth was runner-up at 106 pounds, while third place finishes were earned by Nick Lattanze at 126, Matt Lattanze at 160, and No. 17 Rashon Lusane at 195. Other placers earned fourth, seventh, and eight. The other weight class champion at National Preps was Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas), who earned the title at 126 pounds.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The nationally-ranked Ithaca College wrestling team had its sights set on winning an NCAA Northeast Regional championship, and the Bombers walked away from Sunday's competition as two-time defending regional champions after six student-athletes qualified for the NCAA championships. Ithaca, ranked fifth in the country by D3wrestle.com and eighth in the country by the National Wrestling Coaches' Association (NWCA) scored 144 points to edge Roger Williams by 7.5 points for the team title. A wrestler needed to place in the top three in the weight class to qualify for the NCAA championships, and the following Bombers will make the trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, March 11 and 12 for the Division III championships: junior Nick Velez (won the 165-pound weight class), sophomore Bryan Israel (second at 133), junior Carlos Toribio (second at 184), senior Dan Glinko (second at 285), junior Jimmy Kaishian (third at 125), and junior Nick Wahba (third at 141). Longtime Bomber head coach Marty Nichols was honored as the Coach of the Year, and assistant coach Seth Ecker earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors. On day two of the Northeast Regionals, hosted by Springfield College, the Bombers capped their strong showing with 10 regional place winners on their way to the championship. Sophomore Jaison White (174) and freshman Jake Ashcraft (197) placed fifth in their weight classes, while seniors Dan Pak (149) and Eamonn Gaffney (157) placed sixth. Velez beat out Roger Williams' Alec Golner by a 4-0 decision to earn the title at 165. The junior won against Justin Marsh from Worcester Polytechnic 10-2 in the semifinals to earn his spot at the national tournament. It is Velez' second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Israel secured his first NCAA appearance at Ithaca thanks to a 10-2 major decision win over Joseph Ferinde (Johnson & Wales). He fought hard in the championship bout against Tyler Keane (Springfield) before falling 4-3. Toribio handed Joe Albina (Roger Williams) an 8-0 major decision setback in the semifinals but dropped a 9-2 decision to No. 1 Christop Chorzepa in the finals. This will be Toribio's first trip to the NCAA championships. Glinko will also be making his first trip to the NCAA championships thanks to a 5-1 victory over Martin Strenk (Williams) in the semifinals. Glink lost to Jake Benedict (Springfield) 6-3 in the championship bout. For the third straight year, Kaishian will be heading to the NCAA tournament, but it wasn't easy for Ithaca's co-captain. After losing his first match Saturday, Kaishian had to wrestle his way through the consolation bracket to have a shot at a repeat NCAA appearance. Kaishian won all five of his matches, including a 7-3 decision over Matt Morris (Williams) to cement his third straight NCAA appearance. Wahba suffered an 8-3 loss in the semifinals, but bounced back with a 4-2 decision of Richard Dennison (Oneonta) and a 6-4 win over Derak Heyman (Cortland) to place third and earn his first-ever trip to the NCAA championships. The Bombers have competed in the Division III national championships 33 straight years, claiming championships in 1989, 1990, and 1994. Two individuals earned All-American honors at NCAA's in 2015 as Ithaca has produced 20 All-Americans since 2010, and 107 in the proud history of Ithaca wrestling.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- The Maryville wrestling team won the Central Super Regional with a team score of 151.5 as all 10 Saints wrestlers advanced to the 2016 NCAA Division II National Championships. The Saints won two weight classifications, and Mike Denney earned the Central Regional Coach of the Year award. After winning the regional in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Saints will return in two weeks for the national championships March 11-12 held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Nate Rodriguez claimed the title at 141 with two more decisions to cap his run. He posted a 7-2 decision in the semifinals and posted a 3-0 shutout of Blake Clevenger to win the championship. Zeb Wahle recorded a 4-1 win in the semifinals to reach the championship match. There, he downed Clayton Jennisen with a 3-1 decision to win the 174 weight class and claim Maryville's second individual regional title. At 125, Jaret Singh fell to top-seed Brett Velasquez but won the consolation semis by a 9-2 decision. He capped his day with a 2-1 win in the third-place match over Danny Swan. Dakota Bauer won his semifinal bout at 133 with a 5-3 decision but dropped the title match to top-seed Blake Bosch. Keenan Hagerty advanced to the title match with a 13-2 major over Tyler Stenberg. However, in the championship match, he was narrowly edged 5-4 in tiebreak No. 1 to finish in second place. In the 157 classification, Greg Hegarty dropped a 2-1 decision to undefeated Terrel Wilbourn. Hegarty won his consolation semi match 9-4 and took third place after an injury default. Dimitri Willis dropped his 165 semifinal match to No. 1 Clint Poster but rebounded to win his next consolation match by a 3-2 count. Willis claimed third place with a 14-10 victory over Qiante Wagner. At 184, Nick Burghardt had to wrestle his way through the consolation bracket but eventually took third place. He won his consolation semifinal with a 12-2 major, then defeated Scott VanDeLoo 3-1 in sudden victory to advance. Ryan Beltz began his day in the 197 semifinals with a 12-3 major decision over Dillon Archer to reach the finals. However, he was sidelined with an injury late in the championship match versus Joe Gomez to finish as runner up. In the heavyweights, Donnell Walker dropped his semifinal match 5-2 but he recovered to take his consolation semifinal by a 5-1 score. In the third-place match, Walker beat Coltyn Pease 3-2 for the victory.

The No. 2 St. Cloud State University wrestling team claimed four individual championships and placed second as a team at the 2016 NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional, which wrapped up action at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Sunday, Feb. 28. The Huskies were led by senior Clint Poster, who won the title at 165-pounds and was also named the NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional's Most Outstanding Wrestler. The Huskies completed the two-day tournament with 145.5 points, while Maryville won the title with 151.5 points. The complete team results are listed below: Maryville 151.5 St. Cloud State 145.5 Upper Iowa 97.0 McKendree 79.0 Minnesota State 78.5 Lindenwood 74.0 Southwest Minnesota State 39.5 Northern State 37.5 Augustana 36.0 Ouachita Baptist 25.5 Minnesota State Moorhead 25.0 Mary 23.5 Central Missouri 12.0 Truman State 9.0 Minot State 2.5 SCSU individuals to gain first place finishes in the regional include Brett Velasquez at 125-pounds, Jay Hildreth at 149-pounds, Clint Poster at 165-pounds and Austin Goergen at 285-pounds. The Huskies will also send seven wrestlers to the NCAA finals on March 11-12. At 125-pounds, redshirt freshman Brett Velasquez brought home a regional crown with his 11-9 victory over Maleek Williams of Upper Iowa in the title bout. Velasquez started his day in the semi's with a 5-4 victory over Maryville's Jared Singh. In the 133-pound bracket, Jared Oftedahl made a deep run in the wrestlebacks on Feb. 28. He opened the day with a 3:54 fall against Tate Barnhardt of Mary. He then lost by a fall to Matt Paulus of Upper Iowa in the consolation semi's. In the fourth place bracket, Oftedahl ended his tournament with a 1:14 fall against Hunter Haralason of Lindenwood. At 141-pounds, Matt Nelson started his day with an 8-3 win over Brandon Charbonneau of Augustana in the wrestlebacks. He continued his day with a 5-4 win over Alphonso Vruno of Minnesota State. In the third place match, Nelson lost a 20-8 decision against Darren Wynn of McKendree. No. 5 Jay Hildreth enjoyed a strong showing at the regional with a first place finish at 149-pounds. Hildreth started his day in the bracket semi's with a 2-1 win over Mech Spraggins of McKendree. In the title bout, Hildreth brought home the gold with a 5-4 victory over Maryville's John Hagerty. Clint Poster won his second consecutive regional title, and his first title at 165-pounds, with a huge 17-0 tech fall win at 5:59 over Lindenwood's No. 8 Kyle Jolas. He opened the day on Sunday with a 13-1 victory over No. 5 Dimitri Willis of Maryville. Poster now owns a 39-1 record this season. He posted a fall, a major decision win, an injury default win and a tech fall win at the regional. Poster will now advance to nationals for the fourth consecutive season. At 174-pounds, Clayton Jennissen gained his ticket to the nationals with a second place finish. He opened the day with a 3-2 win over No. 7 Adam Cooling of Minnesota State. In the title bout, Jennissen lost a 3-1 match against No. 2 ranked Zeb Wahle of Maryville. In action at 184-pounds, SCSU's No. 8 Uthman Rabiu placed second and also gained a ticket to the upcoming NCAA finals. He started his day with a 5-3 OT win over O'Dell Lee and then lost a 4-2 showdown in the title bout against No. 4 Aero Amo of Augustana. At 197-pounds, V.J. Giulio opened his day on Feb. 28 with a 5-3 loss to Northern State's Joe Gomez. In the wrestlebacks, Giulio then lost a 3-2 decision to Ryan Parmley of Upper Iowa. In the fourth place bracket, Giulio finished with a :46 fall against Minnesota State's Darick Vancura. To end the tournament, SCSU's No. 5 Austin Goergen brought home another regional crown with a 3-0 victory over Malcom Allen of Minnesota State in the title bout. Goergen started his day with a key 5-2 victory over Maryville's No. 6 Donnell Walker. Goergen now owns a 36-1 record this season and will be making his third trip to the NCAA nationals. The defending NCAA Division II champions, St. Cloud State will bring seven wrestlers to the upcoming NCAA finals on March 11-12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The list of wrestlers headed to the NCAA finals includes Velasquez (125), Nelson (141), Hildreth (149), Poster (165), Jennissen (174), Rabiu (184) and Goergen (285).

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- The No. 4 Falcons of Messiah College won their third straight Mideast Regional team title with four champions and seven wrestlers that qualified for the NCAA Championships on Mar. 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Falcons accumulated 139.5 points, 29.5 more points than runner-up finisher Baldwin Wallace. 125: No. 1 Lucas Malmberg defeated No. 9 Jacob Spearman from Washington & Jefferson by a tight 5-2 decision in the semifinal bout. Spearman struck first with a takedown on the edge of the match and took an early 2-0 lead. Next, Malmberg earned a quick escape and shot a double leg takedown for two more points. Leading 3-2, Malmberg tallied another escape and finished the second period with a 4-2 advantage. Spearman chose down in the third period and Malmberg rode Spearman for the entire period for the 5-2 decision with riding time. Malmberg captured his third straight Mideast Region title with a second period fall over Asher Kramer of Brockport. Malmberg had an early 4-1 lead when he lifted Kramer and put I a turk for four back points. In the second period, Malmberg locked up a three quarter nelson and earned the fall. 157: No. 7 Larry Cannon lost by fall to Brett Beltz of Thiel in the semifinals during the first period. Beltz scored the first and only takedown of the match from a scramble position. Cannon was coming around for a reversal when Beltz captured Cannon's head and turned him with a headlock for the fall. In his consolation semifinal match, Cannon made quick work of Blake Dixon from John Carroll with a fall in 1:44. Cannon earned third place at 157 pounds with a 5-3 decision over Ian Evans of Scranton. Cannon tallied a first period takedown off a double leg attack and headed into the second period with a 2-1 lead. Cannon held a 3-1 lead late into the third period when Evans reversed Cannon. Cannon had riding time so Evans let Cannon escape and looked for a takedown. Cannon successfully held off Evans late comeback for third place and a bid to the national championships. 165: Jeff Hojnacki grinded out a tough 9-6 decision in the semifinals over Anthony Arroyo of Baldwin Wallace. Hojnacki scored the first takedown of the match off a single leg attack. Shortly after, Hojnack locked up a cradle and turned Arroyo for two back points. Arroyo responded with an escape but Hojnacki capitalized with another takedown. Arroyo tallied two takedowns late in the match but Hojnacki held him off for the 9-6 victory. Jeff Hojnacki won a Mideast Region crown with a 10-4 decision over No. 2 Nolan Barger of Lycoming. Barger scored the first takedown of the match, but Hojnacki capitalized with a reversal at the end of the first period. Hojnacki chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped. Next, Hojnacki tallied another takedown to pull ahead of Barger 5-2. Barger took injury time which led to Hojnacki getting his choice on where he wanted to start. Hojnacki chose the down position and Barger started with an optional start. Barger hit a cement mixer for two back points and Hojnacki quickly escaped. During the third period Hojnacki led 8-4 when he secured another takedown for the 10-4 victory. 174: No. 5 Ben Swarr dominated Troy Semour of Oswego State by a 12-1 major decision in the semifinal bout. Swarr quickly took an early lead with a takedown and locked up a tilt for four points for a 6-0 advantage. Swarr used multiple escapes, takedown, and riding time for the 12-1 major decision victory. No. 5 Ben Swarr dropped a tight 7-6 decision to No. 8 Garret Chase of Baldwin Wallace and finished second in the Mideast Region. Chase tallied the first takedown of the match with a single leg at the edge of the mat and Swarr quickly escaped. During the second period, Swarr reversed Chase but Chase quickly escaped and tied the match at three. The third period started with an escape from chase and a takedown by Swarr. Chase responded with an escape of his own and another single leg takedown at the edge of the mat that decided the match. 184: No. 3 Josh Thomson handled Rocco Hladney of Elizabethtown with a 10-3 decision in the semifinal bout. Thomson tallied a plethora of takedowns and limited Hladney to only escapes. Thomson won his third regional title with a 6-2 decision over Dillen Decker of Heidelberg. Thomson accumulated two takedowns, an escape, and riding time for the comfortable victory. 197: No. 8 Kyle Koser lost by fall to Tyler Maclellan of Baldwin Wallace in the third period during the semifinals. Koser scored the held a comfortable 4-1 lead in the third down when he reacted to a snap down attempt by Maclellan and pulled his head up a little too high. Maclellan took advantage by throwing a headlock and pinned Koser for the upset. Koser dominated John Short of York College by a 17-0 technical fall in the second period during his consolation semifinal match. Koser used multiple takedowns and a couple tilts to rack up his 17 points. Kyle Koser won his third place bout by medical forfeit over No. 10 Daniel Smith of Oswego State. 1285: Jason Wright dominated No. 7 Cole Tristram of Brockport in the semifinals with a fall in the third period. During the first period Wright secured a takedown to Tristram's back and collected two near fall points. Wright led 4-1 late in the second period when he scored a takedown with ten seconds left and extended his lead to 6-1. Finally, Wright perfected a double leg takedown right to Tristram's back and secured the third period fall. Wright won his first Mideast Regional championship with a 5-0 decision over Will Porter of John Carroll. Wright scored a takedown in the first period and used an escape and two stalling points to pull ahead 5-0. Next, Wright tallied a takedown in the third period and accumulated riding time for the 7-0 major decision.

The 5th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team qualified eight individuals for the NCAA Championships after winning Super Regional IV (West) Saturday in Gunnison, Colo. The two-day meet, hosted by Western Colorado State, featured 14 schools. The top four finishers in each weight class advances to the NCAA's, held March 11-12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Racking up 144.50 points, UNK had three first place finishers in seniors Devin Aguirre (165 lbs.) and Daniel DeShazer (133 lbs.) and junior Destin McCauley (149 lbs.). California Baptist (112.5) and Western State (87.0) came in second and third, respectively, in the team race. Coming in second for the Lopers were seniors Connor Bolling (125 lbs.) and Romero Cotton (197 lbs.) and sophomores Calvin Ochs (174 lbs.) and Keith Surber (141 lbs.). Also heading to Sioux Falls will be senior Chase White, who placed third at 157 pounds. Redshirt freshman Zach Stodden (Broomfield, Colo.) was hoping to punch his NCAA ticket at 184 pounds be he dropped third and true fourth place matches. He ends his first regional with a 2-3 mark. In all seven first place matches, UNK scored first. DeShazer (Wichita, Kan.) was up 4-0 just 23 seconds into his match against Chadron State's Taylor Summers. Eventually ahead 10-4, DeShazer pinned Summers with nine seconds left to improve to 33-5. He also wins a rare fourth regional title. McCauley (North Sioux City, S.D.) tallied eight of his nine points in the first period, recording two takedowns and picking up four near-fall points. Central Oklahoma's Spencer Rutherford managed only two escapes in a 9-2 decision. At 165 pounds, Aguirre (Ponca City, Okla.) had a tougher road, using a takedown with 10 seconds left in the second to get past California Baptist's Nolan Kistler, 3-1. Like McCauley, he'll try and become a two-time All-American in a couple of weeks. Both Bolling (Central City) and Surber (O'Fallon, Ill.) had 2-0 leads but ended up falling 7-2. This will be the second straight NCAA meet for both. In his first NCAA regional, Ochs (Hoxie, Kan.) was poised for a thrilling 13-11 victory over Western's Austin Harris. However, a video review wiped off a last second Ochs reversal and Harris managed a quick takedown in sudden victory to win at 174 pounds. Cotton (Hutchinson, Kan.) was seemingly in control of sixth-ranked Paul Wilson of Colorado School of Mines at 197 pounds. He used two takedowns in the first minute and then recorded another to lead 7-3. However, Wilson scored the next seven points and then managed a fall at 5:33. Cotton is still going to the NCAA's for a fourth year in a row and hopes to join DeShazer as a three-time national champion. Finally, White (Lincoln) will be in his third meet after a tough overtime win over Western State's Ian Steen. Just seconds into the sudden victory period, White took Steen down for a 3-1 win. The brackets for the NCAA's will be released this week.

Indianapolis, Ind. -- With four wrestlers winning their respective weight classes and two more finishing in third, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside wrestling team claimed the overall team title at the Division II Midwest Super Regional. Redshirt-freshman, Pernevlon Sheppard (141-pounds) won his first two matches by technical fall (18-0) and major decision (13-3), and that led to a semi-final matchup against the nationally ranked No. 3 wrestler, Bryce Killian from King University. Sheppard edged out the No. 1 seed, 11-10, winning the match with riding time. In the weight class finals, Pernevlon had 1-0 lead after the first two rounds, but closed out the match 3-2 claiming the first Championship of the day for the Rangers. In the 165-pound weight class, Nick Fishback walked into the division championship match with three wins including a tech fall and a major decision. The finals featured two nationally ranked wrestlers, Fishback ranked third and Matt Vandermeer ranked seventh from Lake Erie College. The match was tied 0-0 after the first round. Vandermeer started on top in the second round and took a 1:01 edge in riding time before Fishback took the lead with a one-point escape. Fishback started the third round on top, and he rode Vandermeer the entire two minutes to secure the 1-0 victory. Fishback will now head back to the NCAA Division II Championships for the second year in a row; last year he earned All-American honors at the event. Nick Becker (174-pounds) walked into the Super Regionals undefeated at 33-0, and he walked out of the event with four additional wins each by major decision. Becker is ranked first in the nation, and he went head-to-head against the fourth ranked Blaze Shade of UNC-Pembroke in the championship match winning 9-1. In his first two matches, Montrail Johnson (184-pounds) made short work of his competition winning the first match by major decision (14-2) and he pinned his second opponent at 4:14 in the match. The weight class finals saw No. 3 ranked Huston Evans of Newberry College up against Parkside's Johnson ranked No. 7 in the nation. After being accused of stalling while tied 0-0 in the second round, Johnson wasted no time collecting four points with a near fall, and went on to win the championship 5-1. The first Ranger to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships was 125-pounder, Ronzel Darling. After winning his first match 5-3, Ronzel dropped his next match 3-2, to fifth ranked Josh Kieffer of University of Indianapolis. On the consolation side of the bracket, Darling won his next match by pin fall (5:39). In the third place match, Ronzel found himself trailing 6-5 in the third round, but managed to get a two-point takedown with less than ten seconds left in the match, winning 7-6 and securing his place at nationals. Joseph Her (133-pounds) started off the Regional Championship going 3-1 in his first four matches, including two major decision wins and advancing to the third place match. There Her was going up against eighth ranked, Derrick Nelson of Coker College. Her won his third place match 6-4 with a late third round takedown. UW-Parkside earned its first Regional Championship in team history with an overall score of 121 points. Second place Ashland University finished with 106.5 points and Newberry College took third with 97 points. At the event, Sheppard earned the Freshman of the Year award, and coach Gregg Lewis was named Regional Coach of the Year. The six qualifying Rangers will head to Sioux Falls, SD for the NCAA Division II Championships, which begin on March 11.

The Wabash wrestling team embodied the spirit of the College's "Wabash Always Fights" motto at the NCAA Division III Midwest Wrestling Regional Saturday, overcoming some difficult losses early in the day to claim the team title and qualify six individuals for the national championship meet. The team title is the fifth regional title in school history. The others came in 1981, 1982, 1983, and 2005. Qualifying for the NCAA Championships were Devin Broukal (133), Michael Venezia (141), Nick Bova (157), Connor Brummett (165), Ethan Farmer (174), and Riley Lefever (184). The Little Giants struggled early with only five guys advancing past the quarterfinal round. "During the quarterfinals and early in the semifinals, we had some bad losses, and the guys could have easily quit on us," said Little Giant head coach Brian Anderson. "But they didn't. They were facing some major adversity but stepped up to the challenge to get the job done." At 157 pounds, Nick Bova was the first Little Giant to punch his ticket on the day by pulling off a thrilling overtime victory in his semifinal match against Brandon Arteaga from Wisconsin-Whitewater. To reach the semifinals, Bova recorded falls at the 2:18 mark of his opening round match against Kevin Papak from Olivet and at the 6:45 mark of his quarterfinal match against Clayton Davidson of Ohio Northern. In the championship bout, Bova faced off against North Central's Josh Tardy. After trading escapes in the second and third periods, the match went to overtime. In the second overtime, Bova secured two escapes to win 3-1. "After two years of getting fifth place here, it was pretty awesome to finally get out of here." Bova said. "I'm really looking forward to getting out there on the national level in a couple weeks and wrestle the best I can to get on the podium." The second Little Giant to earn a trip to nationals was senior Ethan Farmer at 174 pounds. Farmer recorded a fall 1:58 into his first round match against John Cooper from Adrian. In his quarterfinal match, Farmer defeated Shawn Brewer from Alma by a 5-2 score. Farmer advanced by defeating Chicago's Paul Papoutsis in the semifinals by major decision 10-2. Farmer recorded two takedowns and put Papoutsis to his back for a four-point nearfall to build up an 8-1 lead by the end of the first period and cruised from there. In the championship match, Farmer lost 3-1 to Tyler Schneider from Wisconsin-La Crosse on a late takedown. "It's great to get back to nationals," Farmer said. "I'm disappointed that I lost to Schneider in the finals, but I'm going to watch the film to see what I need to work on the next two weeks. But, honestly, I'm really more excited for the team right now. Getting six guys through and winning a regional championship is a great accomplishment." The last Little Giant to lock up an NCAA bid in the semifinal round was two-time defending national champion Riley Lefever at 184 pounds. Lefever received a first round bye before pinning Trent Hullett from Alma 1:34 into his quarterfinal bout. Lefever moved through the bracket with a quick pin 1:02 into his semifinal match against James Davis from Adrian. In the championship match, Lefever settled for a 19-3 technical fall at the 4:16 mark to claim his third consecutive regional title. "The individual title was great, but, for me, it was all about the team title," Lefever said. "Last year we got third at the NCAA's but couldn't win the regional title. Hopefully, we can ride the momentum from winning today and get the national team title here in a couple of weeks." Devin Broukal was the first of three Little Giants to secure a spot at the NCAA tournament by placing third. Broukal kicked off his day with a 12-4 major decision over Austin Eldred from Adrian. In his quarterfinal match, Broukal defeated Olivet's Jared Brickley by a 5-1 score. After dropping a close 8-4 match in the semifinals to Wisconsin-La Crosse' Dustin Weinmann, Broukal defeated Kalib Jackson from Manchester by an 11-2 major decision in the consolation semifinals to reach the third place match before clinching his second straight trip to nationals with a dominating 17-2 technical fall over Nick Koch from Wisconsin-Whitewater. "I'm just really excited to make it back to nationals," said Broukal. "I feel like if I do a better job managing my weight the next two weeks, I'll feel a lot better going into the tournament, which will set me up for a strong performance." In a weight class that featured four of the top six ranked wrestlers in the nation and one other returning All-American, Michael Venezia weathered the storm and came away with one of the three coveted national qualifying spots at 141 pounds. Venezia began his day with an 18-0 technical fall in only 2:28 over Aaron Ward from Adrian. He then dropped a tough 5-2 match in the quarterfinals to Cody See from Wisconsin-La Crosse before recording a 14-0 major decision over Eric Wales from Wheaton. In the consolation quarterfinals, Venezia pinned Chase Wilson of Manchester in 1:00 to reach the consolation semifinals, where he recorded a 7-3 decision over Curtis Blackwell from Olivet. In the third place match, Venezia wrestled seventh-ranked Jared Kust of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Near the end of the first period, Venezia defended a shot by Kust and locked up a cradle for a six point move. After building up a 6-0 lead, Venezia cruised to a 6-2 victory and his first berth in the NCAA tournament. "It's pretty surreal," Venezia said. "I had to get through some very tough guys today. Being a national qualifier is a good feeling, but it doesn't end there. I've got to put in a couple more good weeks of practice to make it to the top at nationals." If there was one wrestler that personified the Wabash Always Fights motto the best, it was Connor Brummett at 165 pounds. Brummett began his day with a gutsy 4-3 win over Tyler Grimsley from Olivet. In his quarterfinal match, Brummett dropped an 11-7 decision to eventual champion Logan Hermsen of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. In his first consolation match, Brummett was taken down to his back and trailed Kyler Deeter of Ohio Northern 9-3 at the end of the first period. Brummet clawed his way back into the match with four takedowns and an escape before winning the match with a riding time point to get the final score of 13-12. In his consolation quarterfinal match, he fought off Derek Weinmann from Wisconsin-La Crosse to win 7-6. Brummett fought off numerous deep shots from his opponent, Eric Kirkman from North Central, in the semifinals just to keep the match tied and get into overtime. In overtime, Brummett hit a slick dump for a takedown to win 3-1 and move on to the third place match. He controlled that finals bout from beginning to end against Frank Aiello from Wheaton for a 9-5 win and a berth in the NCAA championships. "It feels good right now," said Brummett. "Making it out of here today has me feeling really good going into the NCAA meet now. I feel like I can go out there and make some noise, and I'm really looking forward to it." Two other Little Giant wrestlers placed on the day, as well. At 149 pounds, Tim Locksmith made it to the semifinals before dropping two straight matches. He received a medical forfeit for fifth place. At 197 pounds, Brett Thumm finished in sixth place. He won two matches in the consolation bracket to get to the placement rounds. "I was really proud of the way that Tim and Brett battled back even after they knew this was their last tournament," Anderson said. "They fought until the very end." Robbie Carter (125 pounds0 won a pair of matches on the day, and heavyweight Paul Snyder won a match as well. Wabash won the team title with a score of 117.5 points, finishing 16 points ahead of runner-up Wisconsin-La Crosse. Broukal, Venezia, Bova, Brummett, Farmer, and Lefever will take the mats on Friday, March 11 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the first day of competition at nationals.

The 106-pound Division 3 semifinals match between Stratford's Macey Kilty and Bayfield/Washburn's Zack Anglin at the 2016 Wisconsin Individual State Wrestling Championships at Kohl Center in Madison Friday had everything a wrestling fan could want. Macey Kilty celebrates (Photo/Wisconsin Wrestling Online)For fans who bemoan the lack of coverage the sport receives, this match has garnered media attention well beyond America's Dairyland ... because it demonstrated wrestling's inclusiveness by featuring a freshman female and a junior male who was born without hands and feet, and is missing portions of his arms and legs. If that weren't enough, the Kilty-Anglin semis match itself was an epic thriller. Major newspapers in both Madison and Milwaukee described it as "the match of the day." It was epic-length, too, weighing in at 8 minutes, 30 seconds, with four overtime tie-breakers. It all ended when Kilty started on top in the ultimate tiebreaker and rode out Anglin to score a 5-4 victory. The win was historic, as Kilty became only the second woman to advance to the state finals in Wisconsin, and the first freshman woman to do so. (2016 U.S. Olympic hopeful Alyssa Lampe did it in 2006, placing second as a senior.) "The way Macey Kilty and Zack Anglin saw it, all they were doing was wrestling," the Wisconsin State Journal of Madison reported. "But a loud, appreciative crowd at the Kohl Center Friday evening saw their battle as one of the most thrilling and inspirational matches in WIAA state tournament history." In commenting on the crowd noise, Kilty said, "I could hear them. I tried blocking them out." Anglin led most of the way during the match. The junior scored the takedown in the first period to go up 2-1, the Ashland Daily Press reported. . In the second period, Anglin scored on an escape to make it 3-1; Kilty added an escape of her own to make the score 3-2. The match became tied 3-3 when Anglin was penalized for stalling in the final seconds of regulation. After a minute-long sudden death overtime period and first tiebreaker, the score was still knotted. Kilty managed another escape in the second tiebreaker to take a 4-3 lead. Kilty was penalized for a hand lock late in the period, however, forcing an ultimate tiebreaker round. Anglin scored the first points in the match and chose to start on bottom, needing an escape to clinch a spot in the title match, but Kilty used her length to keep Anglin contained and earned the final point as time expired. "I'm just really happy right now that I could pull it off," Kilty told the Wisconsin State Journal. "Everything I did in that match was worth it," Kilty told the Marshfield News-Herald . "I just dug down deep because I knew that if I held him down, I'd win." "It was difficult on my feet," Kilty continued. "I wanted to go on one knee, but I didn't feel powerful so I stayed on my feet. It was tough because you can't shoot under him." "The whole place was just electric. It was unbelievable. Everybody was cheering, and everybody was just glued to that match," Ashland coach Joe Hasskamp said. "A freshman girl wrestling in a state semifinal against Zack Anglin. He's a fantastic kid, he works hard, and that whole match was just unbelievable. Great match." Kilty's dream of becoming the first female to win a Wisconsin state title was dashed Saturday night, when the Stratford freshman lost to Clear Lake's Ryan Anderson, 9-5, in the 106-pound Division 3 finals. Watch the epic WIAA semifinals match between Macey Kilty and Zach Anglin here.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa -- With seven wrestlers placing in the top five in their respective weight classes, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M was crowned national champions of NJCAA wrestling for 2016 Saturday evening at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Golden Norsemen racked up 152.5 team points to outpace defending national champion Iowa Central's 128. Ellsworth (Iowa) came in third with 98 points. Three Golden Norsemen took home individual national titles. Sophomore Dawaylon Barnes grinded his way to the finals in the 157-pound weight class via several close matches and ended his run with a 5-2 decision over sophomore Christopher Schmidt of Ridgewater (Minn.). In the 174-pound title tilt, sophomore Jacobe Smith won his second straight individual title with a 14-5 major decision victory over freshman Jordan Gundrum of Ellsworth. With the national championship already in hand for NEO, Blake Andrews closed out the evening in dramatic fashion in the 285-pound title match. At the 2:05 mark, the sophomore over-powered sophomore Guy Henson of Iowa Lakes for a convincing pin -- commencing a Golden Norsemen celebration mat-side and in the stands. In consolation action, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M freshman Curtis Burnett (133 pounds) and sophomores Kristian Holquin-Mendez (149-pounds) and Jacob Hill (184 pounds) each turned in fourth-place finishes in their respective weight classes while sophomore Mitchell Sellers ended his tournament with a pin of sophomore Matt Schmidt of Northwest (Wyo.) to take home fifth place in the 141-pound class. Other notable finishes for the Golden Norse were freshman Logan Terrill with a seventh-place victory in the 125-pound division while sophomore Josh Latham came in eighth in 197 pounds. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M head coach Joe Renfro was named NJCAA Coach of the Year after winning his fifth national title and fourth in five seasons. Prior to taking over the Golden Norse in 2014, Renfro led Labette (Kan.) to NJCAA championships in 2005, 2012 and 2013. Iowa Central's runner-up finish marks the 10th time in the past 11 seasons where the Tritons have finished in the top five. Sophomores Jason Alfau and Tyler Hoffman highlighted the Tritons 2016 campaign by repeating as national champions in the 141 and 184-pound weight classes, respectively.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Oregon State wrestling team captured its fifth consecutive Pacific-12 Conference championship on Saturday night, outlasting host Arizona State 118-113 at the Wells Fargo Arena. Redshirt sophomore heavyweight Amarveer Dhesi was the lone champion for the Beavers, who instead used a balanced attack and bonus points to claim the seventh Pac-12 title of the 10-year Jim Zalesky coaching era. Dhesi won his quarterfinal and semifinal matches by fall, and then destroyed defending champion Nathan Butler of Stanford 19-5 in the title bout to earn his first conference crown. He took second as a freshman in 2014, and redshirted last season while recovering from knee surgery. Dhesi, sophomore Ronnie Bresser (125), redshirt junior Joey Delgado (149), senior Seth Thomas (165) and redshirt freshman Corey Griego all earned automatic berths to the NCAA Championships, set for March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Also, redshirt junior Joey Palmer (133) placed second and could earn one of the five national at-large berths in that weight class. He was ranked No. 12 in the final NCAA Div. I Wrestling Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). It will be the second trip to NCAAs for Bresser, Delgado, Thomas and Dhesi, and the first for Griego. It would also be the second trip for Palmer if he is an at-large selection. "It was a total team effort, in every sense," Zalesky said. "Everybody scored, and we had bonus points," thanks to nine pins or major decisions. "In the afternoon session we strung three straight pins together," by Delgado, Rodriguez and [Cody] Crawford, "and that was six points right there. All that stuff adds up. "We would have liked to have had more wins, but we found a way to get it done." Bresser and Palmer each lost their championship matches in overtime. Bresser lost 3-2 to Connor Schram of Stanford; Palmer fell 4-2 to Dalton Brady of ASU. The other Beaver in the finals, Griego, fell 7-2 to ASU's Blake Stauffer. Bresser then edged Boise State's Rami Haddadin 7-6 in a second-place challenge match to take true second and advance to NCAAs for the second year in a row. Delgado (149), redshirt sophomore Abraham Rodriguez (157), Thomas (165) and redshirt sophomore Cody Crawford (197) placed third. Rodriguez is ranked No. 30 and Crawford is ranked 33rd in RPI, so they have an outside chance at best of earning one of the four at-large berths at their weight classes. For more information on the Oregon State wrestling team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Redshirt junior Jim Wilson became the first three-time conference champion in school history as three Cardinal wrestlers won titles and Stanford finished fourth overall (100) at the 2016 Pac-12 Championships, Saturday, in Wells Fargo Arena. Punching their tickets to the NCAA Championships in New York City next month are Connor Schram (125 pounds), Joey McKenna (141 pounds), Wilson (165 pounds), Keaton Subjeck (174 pounds) and Nathan Butler (285 pounds). Taking home the title at 125 pounds for the Cardinal was redshirt sophomore Connor Schram, who defeated seventh-ranked Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State in the finals. Tied 2-2 after double-overtime, Schram won on criteria with one second of riding time. Ranked 15th nationally, he becomes the 20th different Cardinal wrestler to win an individual conference championship. Schram reached the finals with a 4-1 decision over Ares Carpio of Arizona State in the first round and a 5-4 decision over Boise State's Rami Haddidin in the semifinals. The Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania native moves to 20-5 on the year and has automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second straight season. McKenna, ranked second in the nation at 141 pounds, became just the fifth Cardinal freshman to win a conference title, defeating CSU Bakersfield's Ian Nickell, 6-1. McKenna reached the finals by pinning Boise State's Josh Newberg in 6:36 in the first round and defeating Oregon State's Jack Hathaway, 6-0, in the semifinals. McKenna is the 21st Cardinal to win a conference championship and marks the third straight season a Stanford freshman has won a crown, joining Wilson (2014) and Butler (2015). The Towaco, New Jersey native is now 22-2 on the season. Wilson, who is ranked 19th in the country at 165 pounds, gutted out a 2-1 decision over CSU Bakersfield's Adam Fierro in overtime to win his third consecutive conferennce crown. He posted decisions over ASU's Jacen Petersen (8-2) and Boise State's Taylor West (9-3) to reach the championship bout. Wilson, a returning NCAA All-American, moves to 24-6 on the year and now has 93 career wins. He is four away from breaking into the school's top-10 for career victories. Butler fell in the championship match at heavyweight to Oregon State's Amar Dhesi, 19-5. He advanced to the finals with a 5-3 overtime win over CSU Bakersfield's Matt Williams in the first round and a 4-2 decision over 12th-ranked Tanner Hall of Arizona State in the semifinals. Butler is now 25-7 on the year. Placing third for the Cardinal were redshirt sophomores Subjeck (174) and Garet Krohn (184). Subjeck fell to eventual champion No. 5 Bryce Hammond in the semifinals, 4-2. Afer notching a 7-2 decision against Oregon State's Tyler Chay in the consolation-semis, Subjeck scored a last second takedown over Cal Poly's Travis Berridge to secure third. He then got to wrestle Boise State's Austin Dewey in a true second-place match, where he pinned Dewey in 2:23 to claim his spot at NCAAs. Krohn went 3-1 in the tournament, including an 8-2 decision over CSU Bakersfield's Jesus Ambriz in the first round, a 12-0 major decision against Boise State's Zach Coffman in the consolation-semis and a 14-0 major decision over Ambriz in the third-place bout. Krohn is now 20-8 overall. Sophomore Mason Pengilly (133) and redshirt junior Zach Nevills (197) both went 1-2 in the tournament to place fifth for the Cardinal. Redshirt sophomore Tommy Pawelski (149) and redshirt junior Peter Russo (157) both took sixth. Oregon State won the team title for the fifth straight season with 118.0 points. Host Arizona State finished second (113.0), while CSU Bakersfield took third (101.0).

The Pac-12 Wrestling Championships take place Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona. The finals will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network starting at 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT. The opening session will begin at 11:30 a.m. MT start, with the second session following at 4:30 p.m. MT. The finals matches will begin at 6 p.m. MT and will air on the Pac-12 Networks with Jason Knapp, Ken Chertow, and ASU alum Anthony Robles on the call. View preliminary brackets

The wrestling community can't stop chatting about NC State and their 21-17 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes this past Monday at the NWCA National Duals. What we know is the outcome of the matchup, but what is less clear is how we got to a place where two teams from the ACC are ranked in the top five in the nation. Pat Popolizio (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)The first bit of credit is extended to coach Pat "The Skip" Popolizio who took the Wolfpack from solid ACC outlier to NCAA title contender in his fourth season. For a non-legacy program that type of turnaround is absolutely unique. Cornell took almost two decades before they placed in the top five. Popolizio did that in less than one presidential term. Virginia Tech, who is the only team to beat NC State this season, is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the tournament rankings and No. 4 in the dual meet rankings. Rutgers is ranked No. 10. Lehigh is ranked No.11. Three of the top five teams are East Coast and five of the top ten are within a car drive of each other for the first time in … well, forever. So just what is going on? Has the East Coast become new the center of the collegiate wrestling universe? There are many factors in deciding where to fall on this issue. First, there is an undeniable trend that the East Coast teams are doing a much better job or curating local talent. The "why" seems to be an increase in budgets and higher wrestling acumen of all first-year wrestlers. The second might be the rules. Funk and the ability to roll around for extended amounts of time skews toward benefitting the East Coast wrestler. Iowa, Oklahoma and Minnesota don't encourage "spaghetti wrestling" whereas the East Coast has all but lived off a technical approach to this new trend in the sport. The third reason might be luck. Cael Sanderson, Pat Popolizio and Kevin Dresser have their competitive roots in the Midwest but have journeyed eastward to pursue coaching opportunities. Add in Rob Koll, Scott Goodale, Pat Santoro and there seems to be an entrenched talent pool of coaches that is stationary for years to come. Whatever the reason, the shifting of power eastward is likely good for wrestling in that it expands the media reach of the sport and accelerates the acquisition of new fans. Still, nothing is concrete until after the NCAA tournament in March, which this year is being held in, coincidentally, New York City -- the media capital of the world. To your questions … Q: Do you think Iowa looked past NC State? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't. I think that NC State showed everyone they were capable of winning any match when they rode into Stillwater as underdogs and came away with a win. The wrestling community has continued to underestimate the Wolfpack, despite their ranking. At first blush you may assume that a team from the ACC is ranked high and boasts a big record because they don't compete against a tough schedule. However, even a cursory glance at the NC State schedule shows that isn't the case. In fact, they wrestled THE toughest schedule in the country. Iowa wasn't over-confident or under-prepared. They wrestled a better team and where in previous years they've muscled past these type of competitors, The Skip's team is not one to be bulldozed by anyone. An incredible team, but I'd caution people from assuming the success at NC State is lightning in a bottle. There is a future to this success. The Wolfpack will be in the top 10 for years to come. Q: I see that Adam Batirov is back competing. Do you see him winning an Olympic medal, possibly gold, in Rio? -- Mike C. Foley: Adam Batirov was a star for the Russians as recently as 2011, but has spent the past few years off the mats, likely deep in the bowels of Russia wrestling a bear. I don't know why he took time off from the sport, but I do know that the recent changes to the transfer rules allows for a more lenient transition of athletes to new nations. The rules, which were adopted two years ago, make it easier for nations to purchase athletes from other federations, but limits those purchases to one per year, per style. Batirov looked formidable against a weak field at the Asian Championships, but has a tough road to even making the Olympic Games. Now that he wrestles for Bahrain he will need to qualify for the Olympics at the Asian qualifiers in mid-March, or at one of the two World qualifiers. Assuming Batirov qualifies, he would have an uber-difficult bracket. He may follow the leader all the way into repechage, though, where he would be even money to beat anyone in the world. Still, that's a lot for Batirov to manage. Let's check back with this question when/if he qualifies. Q: This has been the best season I can remember for the ACC. Both Iowa and Oklahoma State lost to an ACC team (NC State) for the first time ever. In the final dual team rankings NC State was ranked No. 2 and Virginia Tech No. 4. VT is also No. 3 in the tournament rankings which brings me to my questions … Has an ACC team ever won a team trophy (top four) at NCAAs? Which ACC team had the highest finish and when? (I know VT and UNC have been in the top 10 before.) Even as a diehard UVA fan it would be kinda cool to see a ACC team take home a trophy. -- Dan C. Foley: The 1982 UNC Tarheels finished fifth! I'm sharing the same bandwagon boat as you in wishing to see a huge performance from Virginia Tech and NC State at the NCAA tournament in three weeks. Though I doubt they can win the NCAA title -- Penn State seems too mighty -- I see both teams making a push for the runner-up position. Of course, Iowa will have a say in the matter, too, but if these teams wrestle like they have all season I think you'll see the two best-ever finishes in the ACC happen in the same year. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Tom Brands post-loss press conference Q: I really hope that Flo lays an egg with their coverage of this year's Pan Ams and UWW never utilizes their live streaming for their events. Call me a cheap skate, but the international tournaments that are UWW sponsored should be made available free of charge. Any chance you know if the matches will be made available outside of the FloPro pay wall after the tournament is over? It would be a shame to have the matches archived behind a pay wall. -- Jacob R. Foley: Yes, the Pan Am Championships and qualifiers livestreams will be behind the paywall and the archived matches will be available within a week of the competition. I understand your frustration and know that it's hard to pay for a service after it's been provided for free since its inception. As you can imagine there are an incredible number of things on the agenda of an international federation that requires investment. Primary among these investment areas is sport development, which includes opening and staffing training facilities around the world but also extends to research studies, meetings and the facilitation of athlete participation. There are a myriad other ways to spend money on development, and that's only one of six departments. Media, or the ability to provide photos and videos of competitions, is something UWW put on their own shoulders after the Save Olympic Wrestling campaign. Livestream, social media, photography, highlight videos, and an upgraded website are only a few of the items added to the user experience. That stuff costs money -- a lot of money. Whereas other sports have substantial coverage and usage agreements for these items, wrestling is forced to do all the heavy lifting internally, which costs money. The Flo partnership will allow UWW to explore the cost/benefit analysis of putting select tournaments behind the paywall. All matches will still be made immediately available to coaches and within one week for fans outside the paywall. The immediacy of a livestream is costly to produce and seen increasingly as a premium. With less to take on and a burgeoning partnership, the perspective of UWW is that this may allow for an incredible growth of viewership opportunities around the world, including non-UWW events ranging from the Klippan to the Medved to the Yarygin. In the end a huge increase in the amount of wrestling available to the fans. After the weekend you should be sure to let Flo and UWW know what you think of the arrangement. I'm sure there will be plenty of opinions, and all of them should be heard. JohnMark Bentley (Photo/Rob Moore)Q: Appalachian State is ranked No. 22 in InterMat's dual meet rankings, and picked up a win in the NWCA National Duals. What do you think of the job JohnMark Bentley is doing? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't know all the ins and outs of Coach Bentley's situation, but I think that his results are speaking to the quality of his coaching. Nothing can directly influence the outcome of a wrestling program's season more than solid leadership. Coach Bentley seems to be leading a great class of wrestlers. Also worth noting that the SoCon, with the addition of Chattanooga at No. 23, has two teams in the top 25, a first for the conference. Q: Do you think Henry Cejudo has what takes to become UFC champion? Why? Or why not? -- Gregg Y. Foley: At times I've been a harsh critic of Cejudo for his lack of professionalism and career ambition. There was odd, lackadaisical behavior and the constant missing weight, but his behavior seems to be changing. In his previous form I don't think there was much evidence to show he could punch, or wrestle, his way to a UFC title. But now? My views have changed. To my knowledge, Cejudo's PR team hasn't been subbed out, which makes me think his recent spat of caught-in-the-moment training sessions only lends credibility to the fact he's a hard-working, dedicated-to-gold MMA fighter. If I remember correctly, only a few months ago he was seen in the background of a UFC Behind-the-Scenes living and training in the mountains of Mexico alongside current UFC heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum. For me, it was an insight into where Cejudo wanted to take his MMA career. There is little question right now that Cejudo has the tools necessary to be a UFC champion. However, I think that the 2008 Olympic gold medalist is up against an incredible challenge when facing Demetrious Johnson. Cejudo can certainly wrestle, but his talents will likely be neutralized by Johnson who can also wrestle and has incalculable quickness in the cage. Can he be champion? Yes. Will he be champion? I'm not so sure. Q: What's your most anticipated matchup at the conference tournaments or NCAAs? -- Mike C. Foley: The ACC tournament. Period. No question. Some of that is homerism, but the competitive dynamic between Virginia Tech and NC State is must-watch wrestling. I'll be in Charlottesville to see it up close and will be sure to tweet images of these maniacs in battle. On my NCAA excitement scale I'm logging in at a 10. Q: So, can you explain why Penn State won the NWCA National Duals without wrestling Iowa? I don't understand this dual tournament thing. Another question about National Duals: shouldn't NC State now wrestle Penn State for the championship? Or am I just not getting it? -- @german663 Foley: HEY! YOU! You just don't get it! The National Duals are like the BCS pre-2014 where they are meant to have the top teams compete and the top two of those are competing for the national title. It seems that the NWCA was unable to place Iowa vs. Penn State due to the fact that they required non-Big Ten teams to wrestle Big Ten teams. Maybe some changes will be made for the future, but your confusion and some bad press seem to be affecting the viability of events past 2017. The dual meet concept is the bee's knees, but there needs to be a wider publicity push made by the NWCA to ensure that fans know exactly what is happening and what this all means. Q: Has @PackWrestle ever beaten Iowa before? -- @caroten_158 Foley: First time! Query of the Week By Nick M. I enjoy your work and look forward to it EVERY WEEK! As for the singlet, I was speaking to a high school coach in Oklahoma and his school is cutting nine teaching jobs! There are a lot of districts in Oklahoma that are doing the same thing. He said that he was told if they go to a "different" uniform option that requires them to replace what they currently have, the program will not be able to survive. Now I understand that this may just be a smoke screen for a different problem that does not involve the wrestling program. I just wonder how many other teams/clubs would be or already are strapped financially. I disagree with you that youth participation numbers would go up if we get rid of the singlet. My experience has been that the kids/parents that are worried about the singlet are not be lifelong fans. After Johnny doesn't get a medal in EVERY tournament that he goes to, they will quit and go play a team sport where they can go eat pizza after every game. What happened to using wrestling as a way to combat childhood obesity?

Eleven former wrestlers and one coach will be welcomed into the Class of 2016 for the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame on Thursday, March 10, at the Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. The ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Todd FullerIndividual wrestlers to be inducted include Augustana University's Tom Meester (2001-05) and Sam Herriman (1975-79); Matt Petsinger (1997-01) of Minnesota State University, Mankato; North Dakota State's Todd Fuller (1998-02), Steve Saxlund (1997-01), Nick Severson (1998-02), George Thompson (1994-98) and Ryan Wolters (1994-98); and South Dakota State's Pat Dorn (1985-89), Paul Konechne (1997-01) and Ryan Resel (1995-99). The one coach -- Jason Liles of South Dakota State (1993-2012) -- rounds out the list of honorees. The Class of 2016 will be the 20th class to be welcomed into the NCAA Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame. The Division II Wrestling Hall of Fame ceremony will be held in conjunction with a reception for coaches and dignitaries preceding the start of the 54th annual NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. Tickets for the reception can be reserved at a cost of $25 by emailing Sean Derry at sfsaintern@siouxfalls.com. The NCAA Division II National Wrestling Championships were first held in 1963. For the first 11 years, it was called the NCAA College Division Tournament. In 1974, when the NCAA started the divisional concept, approximately half of the College Division schools continued competing in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships and about half went into the NCAA Division III. Since 1963, there have been 53 teams crowned National Champion and 534 individual national champions.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- (Preliminary Brackets) The 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas preliminary brackets have been released, the national office announced Thursday. Session one action inside the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan., is scheduled to get underway Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. CST. The 59th annual event consists of four sessions, concluding Saturday with the championship finals at 7 p.m. Preliminary brackets are subject to change and are not considered official until the conclusion of team registration on Thursday, March 3. Official brackets will be released Thursday night following the conclusion of the on-site NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee meeting on NAIA.org. For additional national championships information, click here.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has announced the qualifier allocations for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking. For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament, with automatic qualifying status, was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish. After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 46 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 9. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition; quality wins; coaches ranking; results against common opponents; RPI; qualifying event placement; and winning percentage. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches representing each qualifying tournament. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. In order to be eligible for the rankings, wrestlers must have participated in at least five matches against Division I opponents in the weight class and have wrestled within the last 30 days. To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight class. Among the top-ranked wrestlers by the coaches are four former national champions with Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State (125 pounds), Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State (165), Gabriel Dean of Cornell (184) and Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State (heavyweight). The additional top-ranked wrestlers at each weight class by the coaches are: Nahshon Garrett, Cornell (133 pounds); Dean Heil, Oklahoma State (141); Zain Retherford, Penn State (149); Jason Nolf, Penn State (157), Bo Nickal, Penn State (174) and Morgan McIntosh, Penn State (197). FULL COACHES RANKINGS The top ranked wrestlers in each weight class of the RPI are: Tomasello (125 pounds); Garrett (133); Heil (141); Retherford (149); Thomas Gantt, North Carolina State (157); Dieringer (165); Brian Realbuto, Cornell (174); Dean (184); McIntosh (197) and Austin Marsden, Oklahoma State (heavyweight). FULL RPI The 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York City March 17-19. A limited number of single session tickets are still available, in addition wrestling fans can buy and sell official tickets through the NCAA Ticket Exchangeâ„¢. This gives ticket holders who are unable to attend a session a place to safely sell their tickets. Buyers can also get their tickets knowing the tickets are authentic and guaranteed, visit http://www.ncaa.com/tickets/wrestling/d1 for more information. A full description of the entire selection process is in the 2016 Division I Wrestling Championships Pre-Championships Manual which is available at NCAA.org.

A memorial service has been announced for former Penn State and Edinboro University wrestler Garrett Scott, who died this past weekend in Michigan. The memorial will be held at Juniata Valley High School on Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. The school where Scott earned three Pennsylvania state wrestling titles is located at 7775 Juniata Valley Pike in Alexandria, Pa. The event is open to the public. IGarrett Scott defeated Cornell's Adam Frey, 14-6, at the 2008 NCAA Championships (Photo/GoPSUSports.com)nformation on the memorial service for Garrett Scott was posted Wednesday morning on the GoFundMe.com page established earlier this week, with the stated purpose to "help Tim and Connie Scott with the massive cost of the funeral expenses and bringing Garrett home from Michigan." An earlier post on the GoFundMe.com page declared that the original goal of raising $10,000 before Friday, Feb. 21 had been surpassed in 21 hours -- long before the original target date. Specifics regarding Scott's passing have not been disclosed. A cousin, Sheldon Port, posted on Garrett Scott's Facebook page that the former wrestler "had passed away unexpectedly in Michigan this weekend." Two of his Penn State teammates offered their memories of Scott on Facebook. " ...Garrett Scott was a teammate, a best friend, a brother, a wing man and a great champion," wrote Bubba Jenkins, former Nittany Lion wrestler crowned champ at the 2011 NCAAs after transferring to Arizona State, and now competes in mixed martial arts. "This one really hurts me because I never got to express to him how much he meant in my life. Although I'm focused on my March 4 fight, I'll be competing with a heavy heart...I'll miss you my good man and my sincerest prayers are with your family!!" Dan Vallimont, now assistant wrestling coach at Hofstra University, wrote, "Another one gone way too soon. We weren't as close as we used to be but I'm gonna miss you brother. Rest easy Garrett." Garrett Scott battles Minnesota's Manny Rivera at the 2008 NCAA Championships (Photo/The Guillotine)Here's how award-winning Pennsylvania wrestling journalist Tom Elling described the late wrestler to InterMat. "Garrett Scott was a three-time PIAA champion for tiny Juniata Valley in the middle of District 6, about 20 minutes east of Altoona ... a state champion at 119 in 2003; at 130 in 2004 and at 135 in 2005. "He was an almost certainty to win his fourth title in 2006, but it was not to be. The deceptively-strong and tremendously-skilled middleweight became his own ultimate opponent and experienced a series of events results in his being expelled from school and finishing his high school via a cyber school. "He was good enough that Coach Troy Sunderland offered him a full ride to Penn State. "It was anticipated that among such elite wrestlers, Garrett would get squared away and reach his potential. But like a Greek tragedy, destiny again reared its ugly head and Scott continued to self-destruct. "I received word from a trusted source that Garrett had been found unresponsive in Michigan. I had hoped for the best, but, unbelievably, the young man did not recover. "The possibilities for this young man were limitless. But, finally, the demons claimed him. "I pray for his family, his friends, and mourn the loss of one so young. Rest in peace, Garrett Scott. Life has not been easy for you." Garrett Scott had been on track to become Pennsylvania's 10th four-time state champion before a 2006 off-the-mat incident -- violating his charter school's Internet use policy -- 2006 prevented him from wrestling for his fourth state title. Scott, who was ranked as the No. 4 recruit in the country from the Class of 2006, earned a full-ride scholarship to wrestle at Penn State. Some were hailing Scott as the best high school wrestling talent to come out of the Keystone State since Cary Kolat graduated from Jefferson-Morgan High School in 1992. However, Scott's time at Penn State was full of challenges. He failed to pass the NCAA Clearinghouse, which prevented him from joining the Nittany Lions wrestling team his first year out of high school. The following year, as a freshman, Scott was suspended by his coach, Troy Sunderland, in the preseason after he was arrested for underage drinking. Once reinstated, he had to share the role of starter at 141 pounds with high school rival-turned-teammate Jake Strayer. Scott placed seventh at the 2008 Big Ten Championships, qualifying for the NCAA Championships but failed to place. Less than two months after the NCAAs, Scott was dismissed from the program by then head coach Troy Sunderland for what was described as a violation of team rules. Scott then transferred to Edinboro in the summer of 2008 and competed unattached during the 2008-09 season while he worked on regaining his NCAA eligibility. However, in November 2009, Scott told Edinboro head coach Tim Flynn that he was quitting the Fighting Scot wrestling program. In 2009, InterMat's Andrew Hipps wrote a profile story on Garrett Scott. Read story.

In the Minnesota Class 3A (big school) state tournaments this weekend, No. 15 Apple Valley and No. 19 St. Michael-Albertville will be in the same event for the fourth and fifth time this season. STMA beat Apple Valley at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in mid-December; Apple Valley beat STMA at The Clash on Jan. 2; then STMA out-pointed Apple Valley at the Cheesehead, though the margin was within the probable impact of Brock Morgan's absence for Apple Valley. Thursday is the dual team tournament. The top seed is Apple Valley, and the Eagles face Hastings in the first round before a likely semifinal date against Farmington. In regular season competition, Apple Valley beat Farmington 38-30 (8-6 matches). For second seed STMA, it is an opening round match against Minnetonka before a likely semifinal against No. 36 Anoka; the teams did not meet in the regular season, though STMA out-pointed Anoka at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament and out-placed them at the Clash. University of Minnesota signee Mitchell McKee, a four-time Fargo champion and two-time state champion, is one of 11 state qualifiers for STMA (Photo/The Guillotine)The championship dual between Apple Valley and STMA would be a rematch of last year's state final, which Apple Valley won 36-30 (8-6 matches) with a winner-take-all pin from Gable Steveson at 285. That was a tenth straight team state title for the Eagles, including the shared title with STMA in 2013. This year's regular season dual was won by Apple Valley 38-30 (8-6 matches). The state tournament dual is likely to have many moving parts in comparison to where wrestlers are for the individual bracket, including potential strategy driven by the coin toss. For the individual bracket event, where no official team score is kept, STMA qualified 11 to state (including 10 section champions) along with three alternates (third in the section), while Apple Valley qualified nine (including five champs) along with three alternates. It should be noted that Apple Valley exited arguably the toughest Class 3A section. The following individual weight classes in Minnesota are notable for having multiple high profile wrestlers: Class 3A: 106 pounds: No. 4 Aaron Cashman (Mount Westonka) is in the opposite half-bracket of both No. 8 Patrick McKee (STMA) and No. 18 Israel Navarro (Wilmar). It should be noted that Minnesota has implemented a structure to seed all eight section champions this year, as opposed to randomly pairing section champions with another section's runner-up; as a result, no more stacked quarterfinal bouts. Class 3A: 152 pounds: No. 13 Jake Allar (STMA), a returning state runner-up, is the anchor figure in this weight class. In his half-bracket is returning state placer Kenny O'Neil (Prior Lake). The other half-bracket features the undefeated Brandon Olveson (Chanhassen), a returning state placer, as well as Brock Morgan (Apple Valley), a 2014 state placer; Morgan made the late move up into this weight class after Alex Lloyd (Shakopee) came up from 138 to 145. Class 3A: 182 pounds: No. 10 Lucas Jeske (STMA), a returning state champion, is the top seed in this weight class. The other key figure here is Taylor Venz (Farmington), a 2013 state champion who has placed third each of the last two seasons. Both wrestlers might have considered the 170 pound weight class, except for the presence of a certain Mark Hall.

The Illinois team state tournament finals will be held this Saturday in Bloomington, with preliminary matches being held on Tuesday evening, which was three days after individual state titles were decided. The sixteen teams that wrestled on Tuesday in preliminary matches to pare the field down to eight were determined by champions of the individual regional tournament, which are the first layer of their individual state series. Those teams were placed into pre-determined matchups based on their sectional (second layer) assignment. In Class 3A, it happened that No. 16 Marmion Academy faced No. 17 Carl Sandburg on Tuesday night. For the second time this season, Marmion Academy came up with a narrow win; this time it was 29-26 as the teams split bouts as 7-7. Also in Class 3A, No. 8 Oak Park River Forest and No. 40 Montini Catholic advanced to the team state tournament. Oak Park River Forest is the defending champion and prohibitive favorites to reach the final; the Huskies open with Hononegah before most likely facing Lockport in the semifinal. After beating Carl Sandburg on Tuesday, the award for Marmion Academy is a quarterfinal date with nationally ranked Montini Catholic, the winner will be prohibitively favored to beat Providence Catholic or Fox Lake Grant in the semifinal. The likely final will placed Oak Park River Forest against Marmion Academy, a match that OPRF won at the Clash. In Class 2A, a pair of nationally ranked teams have dominated the classification throughout the season. Each placed ten wrestlers at the state tournament this past weekend. No. 14 Mt. Carmel had one champ, one runner-up, five in third, and then one each take fourth through sixth; while No. 20 Washington was led by three champs, one runner-up, a third, two each in fourth and fifth, and one in sixth. However, the infinite wisdom of the IHSA has set that up as a semifinal match, presuming each clears opening round opposition; Washington vs. Cahokia and Mt. Carmel vs. Antioch. The lower half-bracket will most likely feature a semifinal between Crystal Lake Central and Marian Catholic.

The last weekend of February is here. What competitions remain for teams across the country are within the state series. Below is the schedule of competitions for teams appearing in the Fab50 during the week of Feb. 24-March 1. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. -- compete in National Prep Championships at Lehigh University, Bethlehem (Pa.), on Friday and Saturday No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- compete in National Prep Championships at Lehigh University, Bethlehem (Pa.), on Friday and Saturday No. 3 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- compete in district tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Wilmington (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday No. 4 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- compete in regional tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Bergen County Community College in Paramus (N.J.) on Friday and Saturday No. 5 Buchanan, Calif. -- compete in Central Section Masters Tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Lemoore (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) -- compete in District XI tournament, start of state series, at Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty on Friday and Saturday No. 7 St. Edward, Ohio -- compete in district tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Perrysburg (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday No. 8 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- compete in Class AAA state dual meet tournament on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington (Ill.) No. 9 Clovis, Calif. -- compete in Central Section Masters Tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Lemoore (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday No. 10 Belle Vernon Area, Pa. -- compete in sectional tournament, start of state series, at Ringgold (Pa.) on Saturday No. 11 Tuttle, Okla. -- compete in Class 4A state tournament at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City (Okla.) on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. -- compete in regional tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Titusville (Fla.) on Friday and Saturday No. 13 Poway, Calif. -- compete in San Diego Section Masters Tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Christian (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday No. 14 Mt. Carmel, Ill. -- compete in Class AA state dual meet tournament on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington (Ill.) No. 15 Apple Valley, Minn. -- compete in Class AAA team and individual state tournaments at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (Minn.) Thursday through Saturday No. 16 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- compete in Class AAA state dual meet tournament on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington (Ill.) No. 18 Elyria, Ohio -- compete in district tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Perrysburg (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday No. 19 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- compete in Class AAA team and individual state tournaments at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (Minn.) Thursday through Saturday No. 20 Washington, Ill. -- compete in Class AA state dual meet tournament on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington (Ill.) No. 21 Boyertown, Pa. -- compete in sectional tournament, 2nd of three qualifying layers in state series, at Spring-Ford (Pa.) on Saturday No. 22 Nazareth (Pa.) -- compete in District XI tournament, start of state series, at Bethlehem (Pa.) Liberty on Friday and Saturday No. 23 Malvern Prep, Pa. -- compete in National Prep Championships at Lehigh University, Bethlehem (Pa.), on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Delta, Ohio -- compete in district tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Toledo (Ohio) Waite on Friday and Saturday No. 27 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- compete in Class AA team and individual state tournaments at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (Minn.) Thursday through Saturday No. 32 Kiski Area, Pa. -- host sectional tournament, state of state series, on Saturday No. 36 Anoka, Minn. -- compete in Class AAA team and individual state tournaments at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (Minn.) Thursday through Saturday No. 38 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio -- compete in district tournament, state tournament qualifier, at Hilliard (Ohio) Darby on Friday and Saturday No. 40 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- compete in Class AAA state dual meet tournament on Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington (Ill.) No. 41 Hilton, N.Y. -- compete in Division I state tournament at Times Union Center in Albany (N.Y.) on Friday and Saturday No. 42 Kenyon-Wanamingo, Minn. -- compete in Class AA team and individual state tournaments at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul (Minn.) Thursday through Saturday No. 44 Long Beach (N.Y.) -- compete in Division I state tournament at Times Union Center in Albany (N.Y.) on Friday and Saturday No. 46 Goddard (Kansas) -- compete in Class 5A state tournament at Hartman Arena in Park City (Kans.) on Friday and Saturday No. 47 Lowell, Mich. -- compete in Division 2 state dual meet tournament at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant (Mich.) on Friday and Saturday No. 48 Post Falls, Idaho -- compete in Class 5A state tournament at Holt Arena in Pocatello (Idaho) on Friday and Saturday No. 49 Good Counsel, Md. -- compete in National Prep Championships at Lehigh University, Bethlehem (Pa.), on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Choctaw, Okla. -- compete in Class 6A state tournament at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City (Okla.) on Friday and Saturday Season Completed: No. 17 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 24 Archer (Ga.), No. 26 Allen (Texas), No. 28 Camden County (Ga.), No. 29 Warren Central (Ind.), No. 30 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 31 West Des Moines Valley (Iowa), No. 33 Fort Dodge (Iowa), No. 34 Brownsburg (Ind.), No. 35 Pomona (Colo.), No. 37 Park Hill (Mo.), No. 39 Pueblo County (Colo.), No. 43 Platte County (Mo.), No. 45 Neosho (Mo.)

Two nationally ranked teams anchor the Division I field in New York, No. 41 Hilton and No. 44 Long Beach. Both squads qualified six wrestlers to the state tournament. However, with the structure of qualification the way it is in New York -- 12 sections each take a champion plus just four wild cards -- using the state tournament to assess team strength is a questionable exercise. So, instead, let's look at some places where there is individual talent out the wazoo, and that is in the lower half weight classes. Starting with the 113 pound weight class in Division I, which features three nationally ranked wrestlers. No. 6 Thomas Cox (Deer Park) is in a half-bracket with returning state placer Anthony Sulla (North Rockland), while No. 20 Kellan McKenna (New Hartford) and No. 17 Anthony Cirillo (Rocky Point) occupy the other half-bracket. Even though there is no nationally ranked wrestler at 120 pounds in the Empire State, the talent here across both divisions is crazy good, with many on the precipice of a ranking. In Division I, the top seed Anthony Sparacio (North Babylon) - a returning state placer -- was done no favors. He'll have the winner of an opening match between returning state placers in Austin Hertel (Hilton) and Anthony Argentieri (Kenmore West) in the quarterfinal, while 2014 state placer Tito Colom (St. Francis) lurks as a possible semifinal opponent. Returning state runner-up, and 2014 Super 32 placer, Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge) is seemingly by himself in the other half-bracket. The Division II 120 pound bracket features four wrestlers that were in the state finals last year. The returning state runners-up occupy different quarters of the top half, Dane Heberlein (Alexander) and Jacob Nolan (Saranac); while returning state champions Jonathan Gomez (Locust Valley) and Theo Powers (Mexico) are in the lower half, with 2014 state placer Dean Raymond (Deposit-Hancock) in the same quarter as Powers. There is a champ vs. champ clash in Division I at 126 pounds with No. 16 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach) and John Arceri (Huntington) possibly to meet on Saturday night in Albany. The 132 pound bracket in Division I features a pair of ranked wrestlers with No. 2 Vitali Arujau (Syosset) and No. 18 Peter Pappas (Plainview JFK); Arujau is a two-time state champion after finishing runner-up to Yianni Diakomihalis in eighth grade, while Pappas has finished runner-up each of the last two years to Diakomihalis. Arujau was done no favors, though it doesn't matter, as returning state placers Phil Spadafora (Half Hollow Hills East) and Hector Colom (St. Francis) loom in the quarterfinal and semifinal. Returning state qualifier Freddie Eckles (Lake Shore) is also in the half-bracket with Pappas. Finally, the 145 pound Division I bracket is heavy with talent, anchored by returning state champion Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield). Ranked No. 8 nationally, Gissendanner is looking at a likely semifinal against either returning state placer Evan Barczak (Monroe Woodbury) or the very talented Connor Melbourne (John Jay Cross River). The likely finals opponent will be the winner of a quarterfinal bout between returning state placer Jack Taddeo (Shoreham-Wading River) and two-time National Prep placer John Busiello (Eastport-South Manor).

Blair Academy's Michael Colaiocco (106) won a Beast of the East title earlier this season, and will now look to add a National Prep title (Photo/Rob Preston)The top two teams in the country, No. 1 Blair Academy and No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, will be joined by another pair of nationally ranked teams, No. 23 Malvern Prep (Pa.) and No. 49 Good Counsel (Md.), in the tournament on Friday and Saturday. Wyoming Seminary beat Blair Academy to win the Walsh Ironman in mid-December, while Blair Academy won a late January dual meet. In some ways this is a rubber match. However, this rubber match has a complicating factor, as post-graduate wrestlers and/or those re-classified as seniors can compete. That is to say wrestlers otherwise unable to compete in NFHS sanctioned events will be among the field. Given that is the case, performance by those wrestlers has to be "controlled for". Blair Academy has no post-graduate wrestlers in their lineup, while Wyoming Seminary will have Greg Kleinsmith (170) and Michael Rogers (285); Kleinsmith is a potential finalist, while Rogers is the defending National Prep champion. Twelve of the fourteen weight classes in this tournament have at least one nationally ranked wrestler. Below is a listing of nationally ranked wrestlers in the field. 106: No. 13 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy) 113: No. 13 Chris Cannon (Blair Academy) 120: No. 13 Trey Chalifoux (Father Ryan, Tenn.), No. 17 Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary); also here is two-time National Prep champion Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.) 126: No. 5 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) 132: No. 8 Requir van der Merwe (Blair Academy) 145: No. 6 Eric Hong (The Kiski School, Pa.), No. 18 Leonard Merkin (Poly Prep, N.Y.); also here is three-time National Prep runner-up Kevin Budock (Good Counsel) 152: No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary) 160: No. 15 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy) 170: No. 5 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy) 182: No. 9 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep), No. 12 Christian Dietrich (Wyoming Seminary) 195: No. 1 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary), No. 3 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy), No. 17 Rashon Lusane (Malvern Prep), No. 18 Ryan Parker (The Baylor School, Tenn.) 220: No. 15 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep), No. 16 Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary) Wyoming Seminary seems to have the deeper overall roster in this tournament, especially with the two post-graduate wrestlers augmenting their NFHS roster. They are the favorites to win the tournament; however, the question is if the margin is enough to be ahead when considering the impact of post-graduate wrestlers compared to their NFHS option.