InterMat Staff

MARSHALL, Minn. --The Southwest Minnesota State wrestling team picked up a 29-19 win over Northern State and in the process its second home win of the season on Thursday nightin Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference wrestling. Taylor Curtis started the scoring for the Mustangs with an 8-3 decision at 125 pounds to start the match. Northern State came back with a pin at 133 pounds to grab a 6-3 lead. Cortez Arredondo picked up extra points at 141 pounds with a 17-0 tech. fall at 3:20 to give the Mustangs a lead again. NSU took the next two bouts with a major decision and decision to regain the lead at 13-8 at the halfway mark. SMSU would start a three-bout run, as Kegen Fingalsen recorded a 11-3 major decision at 165 pounds, while Kyle Begin pinned his fourth opponent of the season in :40 seconds to give SMSU a 18-13 lead. Brody Goens picked up extra points at 184 pounds with a 15-0 tech. fall at 4:34 to give the Mustangs a 10-point lead with two bouts left. NSU cut the SMSU lead at 197 with a fall at 2:19, but Cole Wilson picked up six points from a forfeit at 285 to give SMSU a 29-19 win. Southwest Minnesota State will travel to Upper Iowa tomorrow at 7 p.m. Results: 125 | Taylor Curtis (SMSU) won by decision over Ben Cauffman (NSU), 8-3 133 | Carson Henry (NSU) won by fall over Antnio Meikel (SMSU), 1:14 141 | Cortez Arredondo (SMSU) won by tech. fall over Matt Bettencourt (NSU), 17-1, 3:20 149 | Tyler Stenberg (NSU) won by major decision over Zach Beaumaster (SMSU), 15-1 157 | Blake Perryman (NSU) won by decision over Patrick Kelley (SMSU), 13-8 165 | Kegen Fingalsen (SMSU) won by major decision over Grant Steen (NSU) 11-3 174 | Kyle Begin (SMSU) won by fall over Ayden Garcia (NSU), :40 184 | Brody Goens (SMSU) won by tech. fall over David Murphy (NSU), 15-0, 4:34 197 | Joe Gomez (NSU) won by fall over Ashton Bartlett (SMSU), 2:19 285 | Cole Wilson (SMSU) won by forfeit

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- No.8-ranked Concordia used their season-long recipe for success in dual meets. The Cobbers sprinted from the starting block and never looked back as they rolled to a 30-10 win over NAIA opponent Dickinson State. Concordia won the first three individual bouts of the match to quickly grab a 16-0 lead and never allowed the Blue Hawks to get within 13 points for the rest of the dual. The dual-meet win is the 13th of the season for Concordia and all 13 victories have come when the Cobbers have started the dual at the 125-lb weight class. CC is now 13-5 in duals and 13-2 when the match starts at 125. Concordia is 0-3 when the dual is started with a random draw. The secret behind the national-ranked recipe is the front end of talent that Concordia has at the lower weight classes. Two of the three national ranked wrestlers for CC are at 125 and 133 and both have been extremely tough in dual meets. That stacked early-dual lineup was evident against Dickinson State with No.5-ranked Jakob Stageberg starting the match with a pin fall at 125 and then No.4-ranked Gabe Foltz added a major decision at 133 to put the Blue Hawks in an early 10-0 hole. Freshman Blane Tschida then scored a pin at the 1:38 mark of his bout at 141 and suddenly Concordia was up 16-0 before the match was more than 15 minutes old. Dickinson State would cut the lead to 16-3 and then again get within 13 points at 20-7 but a three straight wins by Jake Johnson, Ricky Briggs and Jake Briggs put the team score out of reach. Senior Ben Cousins collected the other win for Concordia. He never trailed in his match at 157. He picked up a pair of first-period takedowns and went on to record one of the Cobbers' three major decisions in the dual match at 11-3. Johnson used the same formula as Cousins in his win at 174. He had two takedowns in the opening period and then didn't allow his opponent to get inside in the final two frames and won 5-3. Ricky Briggs was never in trouble in his match at 184. He had a takedown in each period and cruised to an 8-0 major decision. Jake Briggs provided the most dramatic win of the night. He struggled to get any offense in the first two periods and almost the entire third. He saved his best for the very end as a last-second takedown helped him earn a thrilling 2-1 win at 197. SILVER WIN Sophomore Jakob Stageberg earned his team-leading 25th win of the season when he started the match with a pin at 125. Stageberg is now 25-7 on the year and has won 10 of his last 11 matches. His lone loss in that stretch came at the hands of Ryan Weinmann of Wis.-La Crosse who is ranked one spot ahead of Stageberg at No.4 in Division III. With his 25 wins this year Stageberg now owns an 51-18 mark in his first two years at Concordia. DRIVER EIGHT TAKE A BREAK You might think that Stageberg is the hottest Cobber wrestler right now but that would be incorrect. That title goes to senior Gabe Foltz who has won eight straight matches and hasn't lost at all in 2016. Foltz is now 20-3 on the season which marks the first time in his career that he has reached the 20-win plateau. Foltz' previous single-season high was 19 wins in 2013-14. WAITING ON A THIRD Senior Ben Cousins is on the brink of making it three Cobber wrestlers with 20 wins on the season. Cousins picked up his 19th win on Thursday and is now 19-10 for the year. And like fellow senior Foltz, Cousins' previous single-season best win total is 19. He had 19 victories last year when he earned a spot at the NCAA National Meet. WHAT'S NEXT Concordia was supposed to go to the North Country Invite on Saturday but had their plans changed and will now have a six-day break before returning to the mat. The Cobbers will host St. John's on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. in the last home dual of the year. Results: 125 - #5 Jakob Stageberg (CC) pin fall Brice Gorsline (DSU); 5:54 (Concordia 6-0) 133 - #4 Gabe Foltz (CC) major decision Anthony Locke (DSU); 12-4 (Concordia 10-0) 141 - Blane Tschida (CC) pin fall Marshall Swanson (DSU); 1:38 (Concordia 16-0) 149 - Seth Ehlang (DSU) decision Ben Baumgartner (CC); SV-1 8-6 (Concordia 16-3) 157 - Ben Cousins (CC) major decision Pat Tangen (DSU); 11-3 (Concordia 20-3) 165 - Taylor Hodel (DSU) major decision #9 Cole Sladek (CC); 13-1 (Concordia 20-7) 174 - Jake Johnson (CC) decision Cody Johnson (DSU); 5-3 (Concordia 23-7) 184 - Ricky Briggs (CC) major decision Nick Dekalb (DSU); 8-0 (Concordia 27-7) 197 - Jake Briggs (CC) decision Jon Solano (DSU); 2-1 (Concordia 30-7) 285 - Trevor Conrad (DSU) decision Kody Van Den Eykel (CC); 9-2 (Concordia 30-10)

No. 12 Luther posted its fourth consecutive victory defeating University of Dubuque 31-9 tonight in Dubuque. After falling behind 6-0, the Norse rolled off 18 unanswered points, taking control of this match. No. 9 ranked Nick Scheffert (133) got things started with a major decision (11-1) over Steve Rosenburg. No. 1 Drew Van Anrooy (141), Dakota Gray (149) and Tristan Zurfluh (157), all posted decisions, and Blake Letney (165) completed the run with a tech fall (17-1, 5:58) over Alek Aragon. No. 7 Justin Kreiter posted a major decision (8-0) over Jonathan Denikas. Derek Stork followed with a fall (3:43) over Cosmo Halwix and Conner Herman ended the match with a 5-0 victory over Sawyer McAffrey. The win gives Luther an Iowa Conference record of 4-1, 11-5 overall. Dubuque fell to 2-3, 12-9. Luther returns to action this Saturday when it will compete at the Loras College Duhawk Open. Results: 125 Julio Chavez - D Fall (3:00) Connor Murphy – L 0 6 133 #9 Nick Scheffert Maj. Dec. (11-1) Steve Rosenburg - D 4 6 141 #1 Drew Van Anrooy - L Dec. (6-0) Jeremy Melendez - D 7 6 149 Dakota Gray – L Dec. (7-1) Adrian Collier - D 10 6 157 Tristan Zurfluh - L Dec. (3-2) Kody Krenz - D 13 6 165 Blake Letney - L Tech Fall (17-1, 5:58) Alek Aragon - D 18 6 174 Elton Turnage-Manuel - D Dec. (3-2 SV-2) Javier Reyes - L 18 9 184 #7 Justin Kreiter - L Maj. Dec. (8-0) Jonathan Denikas - D 22 9 197 Derek Stork - L Fall (3:43) Cosmo Halwix - D 28 9 285 Conner Herman - L Dec. (5-0) Sawyer McAffrey - C 31 9

MANKATO, Minn. -- The #15 Minnesota State wrestling team (8-2, 4-0) grinded out a tough 19-16 win against Augustana (14-3, 3-1) on Thursday night, in front of an intense Taylor Center crowd. The dual started off at 125-pounds, where Trevor Schultz (Jr., 125 lbs.) would defeat Javier Vieyra by a 6-4 decision to give the Mavericks an early 3-0 lead. Schultz has now won four consecutive matches. Paul Selman (Fr., 133 lbs.) continued the Mavericks initial momentum, winning by decision over Morgan Engbrecht, 11-7. Alphonso Vruno (Sr., 141 lbs.) defeated Brandon Charbonneau by an 8-3 decision to open up the Mavericks lead to 9-0. After the Mavericks first loss of the day at 149-pounds, Matt Mincey (R-Sr., 157 lbs.) went on to defeat Shawn Hatlestad by decision, 9-6. Mincey remained second in the country after the latest national poll came out today, and currently holds a 17-0 record on the year. Heading into the intermission, the Mavericks lead 12-5. Minnesota State would drop the match at 165-pounds to make the score 12-8. In what was the match of the day, eighth-ranked Adam Cooling (Jr., 174 lbs.) picked up a clutch takedown in overtime to defeat Tim Weber by a score of 3-1. Cooling improved to 18-3 on the year with the win. Eighth-ranked Scott VanDeLoo (Sr., 184 lbs.) was defeated for just the second time this season, as he fell to fourth-ranked Aero Amo by technical fall, 16-0. The score was a tight 15-13 MSU with just two matches remaining. Darick Vancura (Jr., 197 lbs.) won by a 16-6 major decision over Lane Lettau that gave the Mavericks a 19-13 lead, and took away any chance of a loss in the dual. Despite dropping the heavyweight match, Minnesota State came away with the victory by a final score of 19-16. Minnesota State's five-game home stand came to a close on Thursday, and they will next travel to Fayette, Iowa on Saturday, where the team will take on #8 Upper Iowa in a battle of teams undefeated in NSIC action. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Results: 125 - Trevor Schultz (MSU) over Javier Vieyra (AUGGIE) dec 6-4 133 - Paul Selman (MSU) over Morgan Engbrecht (AUGGIE) dec 11-7 141 - Alphonso Vruno (MSU) over Brandon Charbonneau (AUGGIE) dec 8-3 149 - Jacob Anderson (AUGGIE) over Daniel Close (MSU) tech 16-0 157 - #2 Matt Mincey (MSU) over Shawn Hatlestad (AUGGIE) dec 9-6 165 - Mitch Rechtzigel (AUGGIE) over Brad Maas (MSU) dec 4-3 174 - #8 Adam Cooling (MSU) over Tim Weber (AUGGIE) dec OT 3-1 184 - #4 Aero Amo (AUGGIE) over #8 Scott VanDeLoo (MSU) tech 16-0 197 - Darick Vancura (MSU) over Lane Lettau (AUGGIE) major 16-6 285 - #8 Michael Lowman (AUGGIE) over Malcolm Allen (MSU) dec 7-1

ALFRED, N.Y. -- A pair of bonus-point wins from Lycoming College's ranked wrestlers helped the wrestling team post a 26-19 win over Alfred State on Thursday night, Jan. 28, at the Orvis Activities Center, as the team clinched the 52nd winning season in program history. Lycoming improved to 11-6 overall, securing the program's 52nd year with a winning percentage over .500 and 55th season at .500 or better in the program's 60 years. Alfred State, ranked 18th in the National Wrestling Club Association, dropped to 1-4. The Pioneers jumped out to a 12-0 lead through the first three bouts before Lycoming got rolling, as sixth-ranked junior Seth Lansberry (Klingerstown, Pa./Line Mountain) posted an early takedown and two four-point near falls before pinning Satchel Holder in 2:26 at 149 pounds. The win was the 90th in the career of Lansberry, making him just the 11th wrestler in program history to reach the mark, as he improved to 24-2 this year and 90-18 in his career. Senior Matt Neff (Sunbury, Pa./Shikellamy) followed with a forfeit win at 157 pounds to tie the match and second-ranked junior Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield Area), who improved to 24-0 this season, followed with a 19-2 technical fall win over Konnor Kremer), earning 10 points by near-fall, four by reveral and four by takedown in the match to go with a riding-time point. Barger is now 89-20 in his career. Sophomore Brandon Conrad (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) followed with a 3-0 win over Alfred State's George Vanvalen at 174 pounds to give Lycoming a 20-12 lead and a forfeit win by Skylar Ebner (Muncy, Pa./Muncy Area) clinched the meet at 197 pounds. The Warriors head to King's (Pa.) on Sunday, Jan. 31, when for a 2 p.m. dual meet. Results: 125: Michael Boyle (AS) dec. Will Newmiller, 6-4 133: Daniel Hosking (AS) dec. Andres Aguilar, 3-2 141: Austin Parker (AS) by forfeit 149: #6 Seth Lansberry (LC) fall Satchel Holder, 2:26 157: Matt Neff (LC) by forfeit 165: #2 Nolan Barger (LC) tech fall Konnor Kremer, 19-2, 6:16 174: Brandon Conrad (LC) dec. George Vanvalen, 3-0 184: Bradley Haggerty (AS) dec. Brandon Rudy, 9-6 197: Skylar Ebner (LC) by forfeit 285: Riley Andrews (AS) maj. dec. Loc Long, 9-1

DUBUQUE -- Heavyweight Eric Tucker (SR/Monroe, Conn.) returned to Cornell's lineup Thursday night and sealed a 23-16 dual win over the host Loras Duhawks in the Athletic & Wellness Center. The 11th-rated Rams (10-6) reached the 10-win mark for the ninth time in Coach Mike Duroe's 11 seasons at the helm. Cornell beat Loras (1-11) for the 10th consecutive time, but trailed 13-10 at the halfway point of this meet. The Rams pulled it out by taking four of the final five matches, including Tucker's 5-2 decision over Dillon Wagner. Cornell clung to a 20-16 lead going into the heavyweight bout involving Tucker, who was competing for the first time since Jan. 8. The Ram senior posted a first-period takedown and added a reversal in the second period on his path to victory. "Tucker is an anchor for us at the end of a meet. We can count on him to wrestle a solid match," Duroe said. "We did some good things, but need to keep getting better. We've been training hard with high-volume workouts the last couple weeks and it's showing a little bit. We looked a little tired." The Rams recorded bonus points in three of their six match wins, highlighted by 133-pounder Phillip Opelt (JR/Neillsville, Wis.)'s pin in 4:26 over Michael Triplett. The team received major decisions from eighth-ranked Trevor Engle (SR/Kansas City, Mo.) at 149 (9-1 over Colin Griffin) and Ben Hewson (FR/Loveland, Colo.) at 165 (9-1 over Sam Schuler). Hewson tallied the first eight points in his convincing win that put the Rams ahead to stay at 14-13. Cornell's Brian Cristion (JR/Port Angeles, Wash.) followed with a 7-6 victory in the first tiebreaker against Chris Malone at 174. Cornell made it three straight with Joseph Keller (FR/Windsor, Colo.)'s 12-7 decision over Javier Soto at 184, pushing the lead to 20-13. The Duhawks had a chance at the end after Malcolm Watson's 10-3 decision over Ben Bergen (FR/Oak Park, Ill.) at 197 cut the margin to 20-16. Loras prevailed in a tight battle at 141, with Evan Weaver rallying for a 10-8 sudden victory over Josh Martin (SO/Lombard, Ill.). At 157, Loras' Jimmy Davis scored a 12-3 major decision over Aaron Engle (JR/Kansas City, Mo.). The Rams forfeited the first match of the night at 125. "The most important thing we need to work on is our minds," Duroe said. "We've got to start focusing on the mental side, which is so critical in this sport. Our guys need to trust their training and abilities." Coming up - Cornell will take its non-starters back to Loras Saturday for the Duhawk Open. Action gets underway at 9 a.m. Results: 125 – Dayton Olson (Lor) won by forfeit 133 – Phillip Opelt (Cor) pinned Michael Triplett, 4:26 141 – Evan Weaver (Lor) dec. Josh Martin, 10-8 SV-1 149 – #8 Trevor Engle (Cor) maj. dec. Colin Griffin, 9-1 157 – Jimmy Davis (Lor) maj. dec. Aaron Engle, 12-3 165 – Ben Hewson (Cor) maj. dec. Sam Schuler, 9-1 174 – Brian Cristion (Cor) dec. Chris Malone, 7-6 TB-1 184 – Joseph Keller (Cor) dec. Javier Soto, 12-7 197 – Malcolm Watson (Lor) dec. Ben Bergen, 10-3 285 – Eric Tucker (Cor) dec. Dillon Wagner, 5-2.

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- The Camels squeezed past the Bulldogs in a 19-16 win over The Citadel to pick up their second dual win in a row. Jere Heino was the star as he sealed the victory with a takedown over Joe Bexley (CIT) in the third period of the heavyweight bout to go up 3-2 with 0:20 left on the clock. Campbell improves to 2-11, 2-2 in the Southern Conference while The Citadel falls to 4-7 and 1-3 in the battle for fourth place. The Camels take to the mat again on Sunday as they travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. to take on the Runnin' Bulldogs from Gardner-Webb. The night started on the right foot with Collin Stewart picking up his first dual win at 125-pounds over Charles Kearney to give the Camels the first team points of the match (3-0). Redshirt junior Nathan Kraisser extended the Campbell lead as he racked up a 21-4 technical fall over Caleb Smith for five more team points giving the Camels an 8-0 lead over the Bulldogs. The Citadel grapplers battled back as they took the next three bouts and the lead going up 10-8 over Campbell. Tyler Buckiso earned an 8-4 decision over Luke Stewart at 141-pounds. Matt Frisch earned another three team points with his 4-0 decision over Kaleb Warner in the 149lbs. bout (8-6). Aaron Walker pushed the Bulldogs past the Camels (10-8) as he racked up 14 points on his way to a major decision over Quentin Perez (157lbs.). With five weight classes remaining, redshirt senior Paul Duggan took to the mat facing Daniel Smith at 165-pounds. The first period was quite until Duggan got a takedown with 0:33 seconds remaining on the clock. The two entered the third period with the score sitting at 4-1 and Duggan having 1:07 of riding time when the Campbell grappler put on the pressure and recorded four takedowns. Duggan emerged the victor with a 13-5 major decision and regained the lead for Campbell (12-10). Tim Knipl won the 174-pound bout as he earned the 8-4 decision over newcomer Alex Vosburgh swing the score in favor of The Citadel (13-12). Ville Heino stepped up next for the Camels at 184-pounds to take on Sawyer Root in a rematch of the Virginia Duals. Heino earned the takedown and followed with a four-point near fall to close out the first period. He earned an escape and another takedown in the second for the last points of the bout as the third went scoreless. Heino defeated Root for the second time this season with a 9-0 major decision giving Campbell the 16-13 lead. Austin McNeill took to the mat against Marshall Haas at 197-pounds knowing the match was neck-and-neck. Haas earned two takedowns in the first period to go up 4-2 with 1:55 of riding time over McNeill. Haas stretched his lead in the second going up 7-2 on an escape and a takedown combo and finished the bout with an 8-3 decision tying the match at 16 points apiece. Much like the match at the Virginia Duals the outcome came down to the last bout. Jere Heino and Joe Bexley squared off in a rematch from three weeks ago in the heavyweight matchup. The pair went scoreless in the first period with Heino choosing down to start the second. He earned the escape only to have Bexley counter with a takedown to lead 2-1 heading into the third. After starting in neutral the duo grappled for advantage but it was Heino who with 0:20 seconds left on the clock got the takedown to win the bout 3-2 and give the Camels their second consecutive win 19-16. Results: 125 Collin Stewart (CAM) over Charles Kearney (Citadel) (Dec. 6‐3)  0 3 133 Nathan Kraisser (CAM) over Caleb Smith (Citadel) (TF 21‐4 5:29)  0 5 141 Ty Buckiso (Citadel) over Lucas Stewart (CAMl) (Dec. 8‐4)   3 0 149 Matt Frisch (Citadel) over Kaleb Warner (CAM) (Dec. 4‐0)    3 0  157 Aaron Walker (Citadel) over Quentin Perez (CAM) (MD 14‐3)   4 0 165 Paul Duggan (CAM) over Daniel Smith (Citadel) (MD 13‐5)   0 4 174 Tim Knipl (Citadel) over Alex Vosburgh (CAM) (Dec. 8‐4)   3 0 184 Ville Heino (CAM) over Sawyer Root (Citadel) (MD 9‐0)   0 4 197 Marshall Haas (Citadel) over Austin McNeil (CAM) (Dec. 8‐3)   3 0 285 Jere Heino (CAM) over Joe Bexley (Citadel) (Dec. 3‐2)  0 3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Four U.S. wrestlers won gold medals in Greco-Roman on the first day of the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on Thursday. Winning the Outstanding Wrestler award in Greco-Roman was RaVaughn Perkins (USA/New York AC), who defeated Alejandro Sancho (USA/New York AC), 3-0 in the finals at 66 kilos/145.5 pounds. Perkins hit a two-point gutwrench in the first period and added a point on a passivity in the second period for the margin of victory. The 66-kilo/145.5-pound class was one of the most competitive in the tournament. Sancho placed second in the 2015 World Team Trials, the highest ranked athlete in the field at the weight class. Read complete story … Greco-Roman results 59 kilos: Gold: Jermaine Hodge (USA/U.S. Army WCAP) pin Sammy Jones (USA/New York AC), 5:36 Bronze: Max Nowry (USA/U.S. Army WCAP) dec. Justin LaValle (USA/Minnesota Storm), 5-0 66 kilos: Gold: RaVaughan Perkins (USA/New York AC) dec. Alejandro Sancho (USA/New York AC), 3-0 Bronze: Hayden Tuma (USA/U.S. Army WCAP) dec. Michael Hooker (USA/U.S. Army WCAP). 7-6 75 kilos: Gold: Corey Hope (USA/New York AC) dec. Dylan Cowan (USA/U.S. Army WCAP), 7-0 Bronze: Alec Ortiz (USA/Minnesota Storm) dec. Kamal Bey (USA/Front Range Twisters WC), 19-12 85 kilos: Gold: Amer Hrustanovic (Austria) tech. fall Courtney Meyers (USA/U.S. Army WCAP), 8-0, 2:34 Bronze: Ryan Hope (USA/New York AC/Cliff Keen WC) tech. fall Kevin Radford (USA/Sunkist Kids), 10-0 98 kilos: Gold: Kevin Mejia (Honduras) tech. fall G'Angelo Hancock (USA/New York AC), 8-0, 3:26 Bronze: Patrick Carey (USA/Minnesota Storm) dec. Endyr Meza (USA/U.S. Army WCAP), 9-0 130 kilos: Gold: Toby Erickson (USA/New York AC) dec. Matthew Lamb (USA/U.S. Army WCAP), 5-2 Bronze: Tyrell Fortune (USA/Titan Mercury WC) tech. fall Zach Merrill (USA/Titan Mercury), 8-0 Outstanding Wrestler: RaVaughn Perkins (New York AC), 66 kilos Team Standings: 1. Army WCAP, 32 2. New York AC, 31 3. Minnesota Storm, 12 4. Titan Mercury WC, 8 5. (tie) Austria and Honduras, 6 7. (tie) Front Range Twisters and Sunkist Kids, 3

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Danny Carrillo pulled off a big upset at 165 pounds to highlight a six-match winning streak that gave Central Oklahoma a big lead and the Bronchos went on to knock off NAIA's No. 3-ranked Oklahoma City 20-15 Wednesday night at Abe Lemons Arena. It was the fourth straight win for UCO, which got major decisions from 133 Aaron Hane and 141 Joshua Ailey in addition to regular decisions from Carrillo, 149 Spencer Rutherford, 157 Jeromy Davenport and 174 Mason Thompson in improving to 9-5. Carrillo upended second-rated Ricky McCarty 4-3 in helping UCO turn a 3-0 deficit into a 20-3 lead before the Stars won the final three matches to arrange the final score. "We won some tight matches that we had to have," head coach David James said. "Danny really had a gutsy performance in what was probably the swing match of the dual. I thought our guys wrestled hard and we continue to make positive strides." Hane broke a scoreless tie with an escape seconds into the second period before adding a takedown and penalty point to go up 4-0. He pulled away in the final stanza with two more takedowns, an escape, penalty point and riding time point to notch the bonus-point win. Ailey racked up nearly five minutes riding time in recording his fourth consecutive bonus-point win at 141 to bump UCO's lead to 8-3, throwing James Landoll to his back for a six-point move in the final 20 seconds to secure the 13-1 rout. Rutherford prevailed for the eighth time in nine matches with a 5-0 shutout at 149, sandwiching first- and third-period takedowns around a second-period escape. Davenport needed a riding time point to pull out a tight 3-2 victory at 157 that put the Bronchos up 14-3, gaining the need one-minute advantage time by a scant two seconds. Carrillo followed with his huge win, using first- and third-period takedowns along with some scappy defense to trim McCarty for his sixth consecutive victory. Thompson gave UCO its sixth straight win – and third straight nail-biter -- at 174 with a 5-3 triumph , getting a final-minute takedown on the edge of the mat to break a 2-2 tie and then barely staving off Jamie Shawver's tying takedown try in the final seconds. Zac D'Amico dropped a hard-fought 3-1 overtime decision to top-ranked Adrian Gaines in the first match of the night. The two traded escapes in regulation and D'Amico was in position to score the tie-breaking takedown in the final seconds of the sudden-victory period when Gaines flipped D'Amico over to get the winning takedown at the buzzer. The Bronchos dropped two one-point decisions, with Brock Warren falling 2-1 to fourth-ranked Derek Sivertsen at 184 and Evan McGee losing to Korey Walker 3-2 at heavyweight. UCO is back in action Sunday when it hosts Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association rival Central Missouri at 2 p.m. in the home finale. Results: 125 – Adrian Gaines, OCU, dec. Zac D'Amico, 3-1 (SV). 133 – Aaron Hane, UCO, major dec. Parker Bohannan, 11-0. 141 – Joshua Ailey, UCO, major dec. James Landoll, 13-1. 149 – Spencer Rutherford, UCO, dec. Travon Smith, 5-0. 157 – Jeromy Davenport, UCO, dec. Brok Williams, 3-2. 165 – Danny Carrillo, UCO, dec. Ricky McCarty, 4-3. 174 – Mason Thompson, UCO, dec. Jamie Shawver, 5-3. 184 – Derek Sivertsen, OCU, dec. Brock Warren, 197 – Cody Sivertsen, OCU, pinned Brody Largent, 2:01. Hvy – Korey Walker, OCU, dec. Evan McGee, 3-2.

After the shock waves of this past weekend at top of the rankings with the upset victory for Blair Academy over Wyoming Seminary, two more dual meets placing top ten teams against one another are slated to happen this week. No. 5 Buchanan (Calif.) at No. 9 Clovis (Calif.) on Thursday A battle for supremacy in the Clovis Unified School District, as well as the state of California, will take place on Thursday night at Clovis High School when the nation's fifth-ranked Bears travel to take on the ninth ranked Cougars. Clovis has won the last five state titles, and 13 in all; while Buchanan has but one state title in program history (2006). The last time Clovis lost an in-state dual was to Buchanan back in 2007, and the Cougars have won 91 consecutive in-state dual meets since. That streak is in legitimate jeopardy on Thursday night as Buchanan has out-pointed Clovis in two different tournaments this season, the Zinkin Classic in mid-December and the Doc Buchanan Invitational three weeks ago. Below are projected lineups for the dual meet on Thursday night, rankings come courtesy of The California Wrestler from Jan. 21. 106: (2) Matthew Olguin (Buchanan) vs. (4) Brandon Betancourt (Clovis) or Brandon Paulson 113: (6) Ethan Leake vs. (12) Wyatt Cornelison 120: (18) Chris Gaxiola vs. (1) No. 2 Justin Mejia Note: Mejia has not wrestled since sustaining an injury during his second round match at the Doc Buchanan Invitational; however, given the importance of this dual meet, presume he will wrestle until he doesn't. 126: (18) Brett Villarreal vs. Brandon Rhoads 132: (1) No. 14 Durbin Lloren vs. (28) Jordan Geiger 138: (13) Joel Romero vs. (14) Dylan Martinez Note: Returning state qualifier Martinez has been up at least one weight from this for the season to date, some of that due to varying personnel issues season to date 145: (10) Tristan Zamilpa vs. (7) Brandon Martino Note: Returning state qualifier, round of 12, Martino has not competed since the second week of the season when he was at least one weight up from this weight class. 152: (3) Greg Gaxiola vs. (6) Jared Hill 160: (2) No. 19 Abner Romero vs. (12) Victor Vargas 170: (3) Cade Belshay vs. (12) Jerrin Dean 182: (4) Anthony Montalvo vs. (1) No. 6 Josh Hokit or Ruger Wyneken Note: Hokit and A.J. Nevills have been up one weight class all season from their state ranking. However, it would be an interesting strategic play to drop into their state rank weight class for this dual meet, with Collier at 220 yielding better overall lineup strategy. 195: (3) Trevor Ervin vs. (1) No. 11 A.J. Nevills 220: (12) Zak Levatino vs. (15) Tyler Collier 285: (26) Isaiah Ortiz vs. (1) No. 7 Seth Nevills For purposes of this dual meet, it makes most sense to analyze things from back to front. If Clovis drops down Hokit and A.J. Nevills, they will win at least three of the back four weight classes, with a shot of taking all four; the Cougars would likely end up 3-1 (losing 182) if Hokit and A.J. Nevills hold at 195 and 220. From there, Clovis would need to find four more potential victories, and that's where it gets interesting. One of them would be a healthy and available Mejia. In order of likelihood, other options become: 145, 152, 106, 138, and 113. In terms of Buchanan's match optimization, it centers around minimizing bonus points in the upper weight classes, getting momentum through the lower weights outside of Mejia, as well as wins in as many tossup matches as possible. No. 4 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) at No. 2 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on Sunday Coming off their loss of the top spot in the rankings to Blair Academy (N.J.), which now occupies the top spot, the Blue Knights will host No. 4 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) in another excellent dual meet showdown this coming Sunday. Both teams will come into this dual meet having faced stern competition throughout the season, and it will be interesting to see how they compete. Below are projected lineups for this dual meet. 106: Richie Halal (Bergen Catholic) vs. Justin Hoyle (Wyoming Seminary) 113: Carmen Ferrante vs. Benny Baker 120: No. 17 Gerard Angelo vs. Jack Davis 126: No. 1 Nick Suriano vs. Jake Riegel 132: Chris Foca vs. Trent Olson 138: No. 4 Shane Griffith or Ricky Cabanillas/Wade Unger vs. Patrick Munn Note: Griffith has not competed since sustaining an injury at the Beast of the East, though a return has been reported as "close" for multiple weeks 145: Andrew Somple vs. Jake Hendricks 152: Brady Ford vs. No. 1 Mason Manville 160: Anthony Asatrian vs. Will Verallis 170: No. 10 Joe Grello vs. Michael Doggett 182: Josh McKenzie vs. No. 1 Nick Reenan 195: No. 5 Kevin Mulligan vs. No. 11 Christian Dietrich Note: a flip between Reenan and Dietrich for strategy would not surprise 220: Danny DeLorenzi vs. No. 14 Will Hilliard 285: Antonio Alfano vs. Dillon Ryan An analysis of matches in this dual meet should start with where Wyoming Seminary is most likely to accrue wins. It starts with matches at 152, 160, and 182. The Blue Knights would also be considered favorites at 132, 145, and 220 (though DeLorenzi has already knocked off one nationally ranked opponent this year). On the other hand, Bergen Catholic would be considered as favorites at 126, 138 (if Griffith is available to wrestle), and 170. Tossup matches loom at 106, 113, 120 (though Bergen Catholic has the nationally ranked wrestler), 195 (though Bergen Catholic has the higher ranked wrestler), and 285 (a relative weakness for both squads). Based on an "on paper" assessment, things will have to go rather right for Bergen Catholic to pull off this upset. A fifth top ten team has a dual meet scheduled for Saturday night against nationally ranked opposition. No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) vs. No. 21 Nazareth (Pa.) for the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title Both the Hawks and Blue Eagles swept through their divisional dual meets within the EPC during the season, so they are slated for a collision course on Saturday night. However, it is but a first chapter, as the teams will most likely be the top two seeds for the District XI Dual Meet Championships for Class AAA to be held the next week. Bethlehem Catholic currently holds the "big bully" status within Lehigh Valley wrestling, and has for about five years now; while Nazareth, traditionally a power program, is trying to knock the Hawks off their perch. Below are projected lineups for this dual meet. 106: Zach Glenn (Bethlehem Catholic) vs. Sean Pierson (Nazareth) Note: Glenn placed fifth at the Beast, Pierson seventh 113: Ryan Anderson vs. Tyson Klump Note: Klump placed seventh at the Beast, including a 3-1 win over Anderson in the match to place 120: Luke Carty vs. Ryan O'Grady Note: Both wrestlers were two rounds from placing at the Beast 126: No. 2 Luke Karam vs. Trevor Tarsi Note: Karam was runner-up at the Beast, including an opening round technical fall over Tarsi 132: Joey Gould vs. Ian Pulli 138: Jared Papscy vs. No. 10 Sammy Sasso Note: Sasso was champion at the Beast 145: Stephen Maloney vs. Brock Wilson Note: Maloney was one match from placing at the Beast, while Wilson placed fourth 152: Cole Karam vs. Ricky Fornaciari Note: Karam was one match from placing at the Beast 160: Ryan Zeiner vs. Travis Stefanik Note: Stefanik was third at the Beast 170: No. 6 Michael Labriola vs. Cade Wilson Note: Labriola was champion at the Beast 182: Adam Soldridge vs. Austin Vlasaty 195: Jody Crouse vs. Tucker Klump Note: Crouse was one match from placing at the Beast 220: Jase Crouse vs. Mohamed Tounkara 285: Niko Camacho vs. Antonio Novielli Note: Camacho placed third at the Beast Even against what is a formidable Nazareth squad, Bethlehem Catholic is strong favorites, as their likelihood of taking victories in the back five weight classes makes it a herculean task for the Blue Eagles. The Hawks are also strong favorites at 126, 132, and 152; that's eight wins right there, even if Nazareth struck perfectly everywhere else. Quick hitting the individual bracket tournaments Two notable individual bracket tournaments are also on the docket for this weekend. It starts Friday with the Central Iowa Metropolitan League (CIML) Invitational at No. 30 Southeast Polk. Joining the Rams in the field are two other nationally ranked teams, No. 31 West Des Moines Valley and No. 33 Fort Dodge. Southeast Polk beat both squads in dual meets, West Des Moines Valley beat Fort Dodge in their dual meet, while West Des Moines Valley outlasted Southeast Polk by one point in the Ed Winger Invitational this past weekend. This conference tournament features eight of the fourteen top-ranked wrestlers in their respective Class 3A state tournament weight class per The Predicament; furthermore seven weight classes feature at least four top ten ranked wrestlers, with six of the others featuring three. The 58th annual Rocky Welton Invitational, hosted by Garden City (Kansas) features 33 teams from five different states, this includes two nationally ranked teams: No. 35 Pomona (Colo.) and No. 40 Pueblo County (Colo.). Those two teams finished one-two at the Top of the Rockies Tournament last weekend. Also in the field are three top ten overall teams in the state of Kansas, Dodge City, Garden City, and St. James Academy.

Hard to believe, but the last week of January is upon us. Some states are starting their state tournament series this week. Below is the schedule of competitions for teams appearing in the Fab 50 during the week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. -- travel to St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) for a dual meet on Friday No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- host No. 4 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) in a dual meet on Sunday No. 3 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- host regional quarterfinal round of state dual meet tournament tonight, compete in the Jimmy Wood Invitational at New Lexington (Ohio) on Saturday No. 4 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- travel to Ridgewood (N.J.) for a dual meet on Friday, travel to No. 2 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) for a dual meet on Sunday. No. 5 Buchanan, Calif. -- travel to No. 9 Clovis (Calif.) for a dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Oakdale (Calif.) Duals on Saturday No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- compete in league championship dual meet on Saturday No. 7 St. Edward, Ohio -- host regional quarterfinal round of state dual meet tournament tonight, host Claymont (Ohio) and Davison (Mich.) in tri-meet on Saturday No. 9 Clovis, Calif. -- host No. 5 Buchanan (Calif.) in a dual meet tomorrow No. 10 Belle Vernon Area, Pa. -- travel to Peters Township (Pa.) for dual meet sectional playoff tonight No. 11 Tuttle, Okla. -- host Yukon (Okla.) in a dual meet tomorrow, compete in Hub City Classic at Clinton (Okla.) on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. -- compete in the Flagler (Fla.) Rotary Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 13 Poway, Calif. -- host Mt. Carmel (Calif.) in a dual meet tomorrow No. 14 Mt. Carmel, Ill. -- host Providence Catholic (Ill.) in a dual meet on Friday No. 15 Carl Sandburg, Ill. -- host Andrew (Ill.) in a dual meet on Saturday No. 16 Apple Valley, Minn. -- travel to Eagan (Minn.) for a tri-meet tomorrow, compete in the Blaine (Minn.) Invitational on Saturday No. 17 Elyria, Ohio -- host regional quarterfinal round of state dual meet tournament tonight, host Brunswick (Ohio) in a dual meet tomorrow No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- host conference tournament on Friday No. 20 Boyertown, Pa. -- host Spring-Ford (Pa.) in a dual meet tonight, compete in district duals first round tomorrow No. 21 Nazareth, Pa. -- travel to Pocono Mountain East (Pa.) for a dual meet tonight, compete in league championship dual meet on Saturday No. 22 Washington, Ill. -- host Dakota (Ill.) in a dual meet on Friday No. 23 Malvern Prep, Pa. -- host Germantown Academy (Pa.) in a dual meet tomorrow, host Smyrna (Del.) in a dual meet on Friday No. 24 Archer, Ga. -- travel to Grayson (Ga.) for the area tournament on Saturday, which is the start of the individual state series No. 25 Delta, Ohio -- host regional quarterfinal round of state dual meet tournament tonight, No. 27 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- host Owatonna (Minn.) in a dual meet tomorrow, travel to Goodhue (Minn.) for a dual meet on Tuesday 2/2 No. 28 Camden County, Ga. -- host area tournament on Saturday, which is the start of the individual state series No. 29 Brownsburg, Ind. -- travel to Jeffersonville (Ind.) for the sectional tournament on Saturday, which is the start of the individual state series No. 30 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- host CIML Invitational on Friday No. 31 West Des Moines Valley, Iowa -- compete in CIML Invitational at Southeast Polk (Iowa) on Friday, travel to Urbandale (Iowa) for a dual meet on Tuesday 2/2 No. 32 Kiski Area, Pa. -- travel to Greater Latrobe (Pa.) for dual meet sectional playoff tonight No. 33 Fort Dodge, Iowa -- compete in CIML Invitational at Southeast Polk (Iowa) on Friday, host Ames (Iowa) for a dual meet on Tuesday 2/2 No. 34 Warren Central, Ind. -- travel to Shelbyville (Ind.) for the sectional tournament on Saturday, which is the start of the individual state series No. 35 Pomona, Colo. -- travel to Lakewood (Colo.) for a dual meet tomorrow, compete in Rocky Welton Invitational at Garden City (Kans.) on Saturday No. 36 Anoka, Minn. -- travel to Coon Rapids (Minn.) for a dual meet on Friday, compete in the Canby (Minn.) Duals on Saturday No. 38 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio -- host Olentangy Orange (Ohio) in a dual meet tomorrow No. 39 Platte County, Mo. -- compete in the Blue Springs (Mo.) South Tournament on Friday and Saturday, host Kearney (Mo.) in a dual meet on Tuesday 2/2 No. 40 Pueblo County, Colo. -- travel to Pueblo (Colo.) Central for a dual meet tomorrow, compete in Rocky Welton Invitational at Garden City (Kans.) on Saturday No. 41 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- host Joliet (Ill.) West in a dual meet tomorrow, travel to TF South (Ill.) for a tri-meet on Friday No. 42 Hilton, N.Y. -- travel to Brockport (N.Y.) for a dual meet tonight, compete in the Lewiston (N.Y.) Porter Tournament on Sautrday No. 43 Kenyon-Wanamingo, Minn. -- travel to Zumbrota-Mazeppa (Minn.) for a dual meet on Friday, compete in the Cannon Falls (Minn.) Invitational on Saturday No. 44 Long Beach, N.Y. -- compete in the Nassau County Dual Meet Championships on Friday and Saturday No. 45 Goddard, Kans. -- compete in the Chanute (Kans.) Invitational on Saturday No. 46 Council Rock South, Pa. -- host Pennsbury (Pa.) in a dual meet tonight, compete in district duals first round tomorrow No. 47 San Marino, Calif. -- No. 48 Lowell, Mich. -- host East Grand Rapids (Mich.) in a dual meet tonight, travel to the University of Michigan for a dual meet against Davison (Mich.) on Friday, travel to Michigan State for a dual meet against Dundee (Mich.) on Sunday No. 49 Post Falls, Idaho -- compete in the Cour d'Alene (Idaho) Tournament on Friday and Saturday No competitions during the upcoming week: No. 8 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 19 Marmion Academy (Ill.), No. 26 Allen (Texas), No. 37 Park Hill (Mo.), and No. 50 Good Counsel (Md.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- No. 14 North Carolina's wrestling dual against Navy has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 5 p.m. The dual with Navy was originally scheduled for Jan. 24 but was postponed due to Winter Storm Jonas. The Tar Heels will also face Duke on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. Admission to both duals at Carmichael Arena is free to all spectators.

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- West Liberty University head coach Mitch Smith and his Hilltopper wrestling team have reached out to embrace a young mat fan who is dealing with a difficult challenge. West Liberty wrestling team"Holdyn Keefer is a 4-year-old boy from Point Pleasant, W.Va. who loves the sport of wrestling," Smith said. "I found out from a friend of mine, who's related to Holdyn, that Holdyn had been diagnosed with leukemia earlier this month. "I immediately started thinking about ways our wrestling team could reach out in support of Holdyn and his family. When I told the guys about it the next day, they were all in to do anything they could to help Holdyn and lift his spirits." Smith and the WLU wrestling team conducted a 40-minute "live-go" mat session in Holdyn's honor. After the session, they collected a broad assortment of West Liberty wrestling gear to send to the youngster along with a card signed by every member of the Hilltopper wrestling program. In addition, the Hilltoppers have designated their Feb. 12 home match against Gannon (Pa.) as "Team Holdyn Night" at the ASRC. Various fundraisers -- T-shirt sales, a 50-50 raffle and donations - are planned for the evening with all proceeds donated to the GoFundMe account set up in Holdyn's name to help the family with medical expenses, travel for treatment and other necessities. Here's the link to Holdyn's GoFundMe page: Holdyn Keefer GoFundMe Page "I'm really looking forward to taking the team down to meet Holdyn this spring," Smith said. "We just want to let him know that he's not fighting this battle alone. He's part of the West Liberty wrestling family now."

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released the second week of standings for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the respective Division I, II and III Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted towards a student-athletes total they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. Navy 197-pounder Michael Woulfe retains the top spot with his 11 falls in Division I, while Jason Nolf of Penn State is second with 10 falls after his pin against 2015 national champion Isaiah Martinez of Illinois on Saturday. In Division II, Pittsburgh-Johnstown 184-pounder Travis McKillop added a fall to increase his national leading total to 10, while four wrestlers sit two falls behind him. A three-way tie exists in Division III at 14 falls each between Roger Williams 141-pounder Justin Cochran, Williams 184-pounder Christopher Chorzepa and Stevens Institute of Technology 184-pounder AJ Kowal. Cochran holds the tiebreaker with his 14 falls coming in an aggregate time of 27:08. Nate Brown of Lehigh has moved into second place in Division I tech falls with seven at 184 pounds, but is still four behind Martinez' national-leading 11 tech falls for the Fighting Illini. The Division II tech fall standings are a family affair at the top where the Mizia brothers of Mercyhurst hold the top two spots. Francis Mizia leads the country with seven at 165 pounds, while older brother August is right behind with six tech falls at 174 pounds. Springfield 149-pounder Zach Joseph has taken over the lead in Division III with 10 tech falls, while Ursinus 149-pounder Alex Kramer has totaled nine tech falls this season. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows. A 12-match minimum is required to be eligible for the Most Dominant Award. * Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) * Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) * Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) * Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) The initial Most Dominant Wrestler standings will be released later this season in order to allow wrestlers to achieve the 12-match minimum that is required to be eligible for the standings.

The 2015-16 season has been marked by tumult within the Fab 50 national team rankings. Spots throughout the rankings have involved deliberation and contention, with asymmetrical outcomes among teams aspiring for ranking spots. Now for a second straight year, the number one spot in the country is up for debate (and not during the speculative nature of the pre-season when the primary data-point is a subjective one, namely "roster talent"). At the start of the season, Blair Academy (N.J.) was the top ranked team, with Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) the second ranked team. Upon the completion of the Ironman, the top two teams switched positions, while Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and St. Paris Graham (Ohio) retained their spots at third and fourth in the country. The standings at the Ironman went like this: (1) Wyoming Seminary, (2) Blair Academy, and then (3) St. Paris Graham. Then, on Jan. 2, Blair Academy traveled to St. Paris Graham and was upset by the host Falcons. Each team earned seven victories across the 14 weight classes, with St. Paris Graham earning a 27-24 dual meet win. At that point, Bergen Catholic and Blair Academy swapped positions in the rankings, St. Paris Graham staying at fourth nationally. Two weeks subsequent, No. 3 Bergen Catholic lost to (at the time No. 9) Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) by a 28-26 score in a dual meet where each team won seven bouts. That match took place at the Who's Number One duals held at the University of Pennsylvania. The championship match of that event Blair Academy would beat Bethlehem Catholic in the final 36-18 winning nine bouts. The Fab 50 took this shape: (1) Wyoming Seminary, (2) Blair Academy, (3) St. Paris Graham, (4) Bergen Catholic, with Clash champions Buchanan (Calif.) in fifth, while Bethlehem Catholic sat in sixth. This past weekend's key result was the 35-20 dual meet victory for No. 2 Blair Academy at home against No. 1 Wyoming Seminary, a match in which the Buccaneers took home victories in nine of the 14 weight classes. After this match, there is some argument to be had for three different teams to hold the number one spot in the country: Blair Academy, St. Paris Graham, and Wyoming Seminary (listed alphabetically). There are some similarities to last season when multiple teams had a case to be ranked number one in the country. At the end of last season, St. Paris Graham was crowned as national champions. In the wrap-up article discussing the rationale for the decision, a primary consideration was how the teams performed when all were present at the same event, the Walsh Ironman. In this year's edition of that tournament, which was in mid-December, Wyoming Seminary won with 171 points, Blair Academy was second with 146, and St. Paris Graham was third with 126.5. Both the champion Blue Knights and third place Falcons had essentially their "base" (i.e. primary starting) lineup, Blair Academy was absent a nationally ranked wrestler in No. 9 Requir van der Merwe at 132 pounds. The replacement for van der Merwe in the Ironman lineup for the Buccaneers went 0-2, while it was likely that van der Merwe would have been a mid-to-high placer. That obviously would have yielded more points for Blair (about 15), which shrinks the gap between first (Wyoming Seminary) and second, while extending the margin between second and third (St. Paris Graham). Subsequent to the Ironman, Blair Academy has taken on both teams in the number one position debate in dual meets. Against St. Paris Graham, the teams split the bouts, but the Falcons came on top by a 27-24 score; while against Wyoming Seminary, Blair Academy won nine bouts in a 35-20 victory. When comparing their direct competitions, it is my opinion that Blair Academy has had better overall performances against both Wyoming Seminary and St. Paris Graham. Winning nine of 14 weight classes in a 35-20 victory over Wyoming Seminary out-weighs a relatively narrow defeat in bracketed tournament competition, when considering the personnel in each setting. Within that bracketed tournament, Wyoming Seminary put eight on the podium; Blair Academy put seven on the podium, and van der Merwe would have been number eight. Even though Blair Academy lost the dual meet to St. Paris Graham, it is my opinion that their margin of victory in the bracketed tournament -- especially short a nationally ranked wrestler as they were -- carries more weight. At the Ironman, the Falcons only put five on the podium, which is obviously less placers than either Wyoming Seminary or the Buccaneers. The Ironman performance of Wyoming Seminary also merits it being positioned above St. Paris Graham at the present time, even considering the relative dual meet results for each against Blair Academy. An additional consideration used when considering the position of teams close to one another in the rankings is their overall season resume (obviously if there is a situation where a team is constrained by state regulations on scheduling, that is considered). Here are the notable to-date accomplishments for each team (teams are listed alphabetically): Blair Academy Second place at the Walsh Ironman, placed seven wrestlers (second most in the tournament) Champions at the Beast of the East, placed eight wrestlers (most in the tournament) Champions at the Geary (Okla.) Invitational (second place was No. 11 Tuttle, Okla.) Dual meet victories over top ten teams Clovis (Calif.) and Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.) Dual meet loss to St. Paris Graham, dual meet victory over Wyoming Seminary St. Paris Graham Third place at the Walsh Ironman, placed five wrestlers Dual meet victory over Blair Academy Dual meet victory over top ten team St. Edward (Ohio), 37-17 (9 matches to 5) Champions at the GMVWA Tournament (though that is weaker than the two tournaments that Blair Academy won or the three major tournaments that Wyoming Seminary won) Wyoming Seminary Champions at the Walsh Ironman, placed eight wrestlers (most in the tournament) Champions at the Powerade, placed seven wrestlers (second most in the tournament); all of those placers finishing in the top four, and the Blue Knights were missing two Ironman placers (including champion Nick Reenan). Also in that tournament were three other nationally ranked teams, including No. 10 Belle Vernon (Pa.) Champions at the Eastern States Classic (N.Y.), two other teams in that field are ranked in the back portion of the Fab 50 Dual meet loss to Blair Academy When stacking up the three resumes, their order of robustness also happens to be the order in which the teams will be ranked in the Fab 50, though that was a peripheral criterion last year and remains as such this year. Given all arguments listed, it is my belief that the top three teams should be positioned in the following fashion at this time: (1) Blair Academy (2) Wyoming Seminary (3) St. Paris Graham. Notable events going forward Sunday: Wyoming Seminary hosts No. 4 Bergen Catholic Feb. 14: St. Paris Graham seeks its fourth consecutive Ohio state dual meet tournament title in Division II (medium school classification) Feb. 26-27: National Prep Championships, both Blair Academy and Wyoming Seminary are in the tournament field (note that reclassified seniors as well as post-graduate wrestlers, neither of whom can compete in regular NFHS events, can compete in this tournament) March 3-5: St. Paris Graham seeks its 16th consecutive Ohio state (traditional) tournament title in Division II

Northeastern Junior College will be bringing back its once-thriving intercollegiate wrestling program -- and add a new women's soccer program -- the Colorado-based college announced Tuesday. Both programs will begin competition in NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Division I in fall 2016. Decades ago, Northeastern Junior College had a successful wrestling program. NJC wrestlers won the first-ever Empire Conference Championship in 1954-56. A decade later, NJC earned its first NJCAA national champion in wrestling in 1964, then claimed back-to-back national titles in 1966 and 1967… which remain the only national championships in the school's 70-plus year history. Back in the day, Northeastern was taking on programs at larger schools such as Colorado State University, Denver University, University of Northern Colorado, and the U.S. Air Force Academy. Here's how the two-year college described the demise of its mat program: "Wrestling at Northeastern went by the wayside in the 1980s when Title IX legislation affected a number of these programs across the nation." In subsequent years, more and more small colleges have seen the value of adding wrestling to their sports roster as a way to increase enrollments and offer greater opportunities for student-athletes. "We've had a number of students asking if and when we would be adding women's soccer and men's wrestling, so there is a good interest," said Northeastern president Jay Lee. "When we began men's soccer the fall of 2011, we knew it would be just a matter of time before we would be expanding the women's athletic offerings to also include soccer. Several schools in our region have added men's wrestling and already have had women's soccer in place and we want to allow our students the same opportunities here." "As the largest residential two-year college in Colorado also offering competitive athletics, we have the largest number of dorm rooms to fill," Lee continued. "Adding sports is one way to help keep our beds full and, in turn, help keep us economically viable." Lee also added that wrestling and soccer are both sports requiring only a minimal amount of initial equipment to run. The resurrected men's wrestling program and the new women's soccer program join Northeastern's existing men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, men's baseball, women's softball, men's soccer and men's and women's golf programs. In addition the college has very competitive rodeo and livestock judging teams. The school is already seeking a wrestling coach, and actively recruiting potential wrestlers. Founded in 1941, Northeastern Junior College is located in Sterling, Colo. in the northeast portion of the state, near the Colorado-Nebraska border. The school offers over 80 areas of study. NJC's sports teams as the Plainsmen.

BOILING SPRINGS -- Gardner-Webb took wins in six weight classes and scored bonus points in two bouts to key a 22-18 win over 25th-ranked Appalachian State Tuesday night in Southern Conference wrestling action. It marked the first win over a nationally-ranked team for Gardner-Webb (4-5, 3-1 SoCon) and its first win over the Mountaineers (9-3, 4-1 SoCon) in program history. The loss snapped a six-match win streak for the Mountaineers. Chris Vassar's pin at 149 pounds started a string of three consecutive victories in the middle weights for the Runnin' Bulldogs, with Ryan Mosley following that with a 3-1 decision at 157 and Austin Trott taking a healthy 11-4 decision over No. 25 Forrest Przybysz at 165 pounds. Trott's win put GWU up 15-8, before No. 21 Nick Kee stemmed the tide with a 14-3 major decision over Gardner-Webb's Brett Stein at 174. Hunter Gamble matched that effort with a major decision of his own at 184 pounds - a 10-2 margin over Taylor Jackson - and Gray Jones battled to a 4-1 win at 197 pounds to clinch the match for Gardner-Webb. Jones recorded his points on a takedown, an escape and a late stall point for the win. Appalachian State heavyweight Denzel Dejournette - ranked 5th nationally - pinned No. 33 Boyce Cornwell in 3:15 for the final margin. Appalachian State's Vito Pasone (No. 33) nipped Cortez Starkes in a low-scoring bout (3-0) for an early Mountaineer lead, but Gardner-Webb veteran Tyler Ziegler posted a hard-fought, 4-2, decision (TB-3) at 133 pounds - rallying with a takedown for the victory to knot the team score after two matches. Ryan Hull darted to a quick lead at 141 pounds, but the Mountaineers' Michael Longo took control late in the first period and eventually powered to a 23-7 tech. fall win (5:11) for an 8-3 Appalachian State lead. The fast-rising Vassar recaptured the lead for Gardner-Webb at 149 pounds, thoroughly dominating the bout and jumping out to a 14-0 lead before pinning Matt Zovitoski late in the second period. That win gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a 9-8 lead and Mosley extended the margin with a 3-1 decision at 157 pounds. Mosley, wrestling up one weight class, picked up a key takedown in the third period to take a 2-1 lead and held on to secure riding time as the clock expired. Trott nearly posted bonus points at 165 over nationally-ranked Pryzbysz - powered by a pair of near falls - but put momentum squarely in Gardner-Webb's favor with the win. Gardner-Webb - undefeated so far in 2016 in Paul Porter Arena - will wrestle on its home mat again Sunday at 3:00 pm against Campbell. The match will air live on The Big South Network (bigsouthsports.com), with Alex and Andy Bennett calling the action. Results: 125: #33 Vito Pasone (ASU) dec. Cortez Starkes (GWU), 12-5 - 0-3 133: Tyler Ziegler (GWU) dec. Jacob Grigg (ASU), 4-2 (TB-3) - 3-3 141: Michael Longo (ASU) tech. fall Ryan Hull (GWU), 23-7 (5:11) - 3-8 149: Chris Vassar (GWU) pinned Matt Zovitoski (ASU), (4:12) - 9-8 157: Ryan Mosley (GWU) dec. David Peters-Logue (ASU), 3-1 - 12-8 165: Austin Trott (GWU) dec. #25 Forrest Przybysz (ASU), 11-4 - 15-8 174: #21 Nick Kee (ASU) major dec. Brett Stein (GWU), 14-3 - 15-12 184: Hunter Gamble (GWU) major dec. Taylor Jackson (ASU), 10-2 - 19-12 197: Gray Jones (GWU) dec. Randall Diabe (ASU), 4-1 - 22-12 285: #5 Denzel Dejournette pinned #33 Boyce Cornwell (GWU), (3:15) - 22-18

Dave SchultzTwenty years ago today -- Jan. 26, 1996 -- Dave Schultz, gold-medal-winning wrestler, coach and goodwill ambassador for the sport, was murdered in cold blood by John du Pont -- multimillionaire and wrestling benefactor -- on du Pont's Foxcatcher estate outside Philadelphia. At the time, Schultz's murder barely made headlines outside of eastern Pennsylvania. After all, it was two days before Super Bowl XXX (30), and most sportswriters and fans were focused on the NFL mega-event featuring NFC champs Dallas Cowboys vs. AFC title-winning Pittsburgh Steelers at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. outside Phoenix. (The 'boys won, 27-17.) In subsequent years, however, the shooting of Dave Schultz has received greater attention, in the form of a number of books, articles, an Oscar-nominated, major Hollywood movie ("Foxcatcher", released to most of America in early 2015), and an ESPN "30 for 30" documentary ("The Prince of Pennsylvania", which debuted on the sports network last October). Schultz was head wrestling coach for du Pont's Team Foxcatcher. On that dreary, wintry Friday, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist and three-time NCAA All-American was working on his car outside the home on the estate grounds where he, his wife Nancy and two small children lived. du Pont had his chauffeur drive to the house, where the heir to the du Pont chemical fortune fired three shots into Schultz. The killer then fled to the mansion on the estate grounds, where he was holed up for the entire weekend, keeping a SWAT team at bay, until they were able to flush him out by cutting off heat to the house and take him into custody. A year later, there was a trial. du Pont pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity; the jury rejected that claim, but found him mentally ill, and convicted him of third-degree murder. He was also found guilty of assault for pointing the gun at Schultz's wife. du Pont died in a Pennsylvania prison in December 2010 at age 72. The taking of Dave Schultz's life tore asunder the U.S. amateur wrestling community … doing damage that, in the minds of some individuals involved in the sport two decades ago, still has yet to be completely repaired. Want to know more? Here are links to some articles … InterMat's "The Life and Legacy of Dave Schultz: The Day Wrestling Died" -- First chapter of a multi-part series on the murder of Schultz, written to mark the tenth anniversary of the crime. "History vs. Hollywood: Foxcatcher" -- Fascinating Q&A which answers dozens of questions about the accuracy of the "Foxcatcher" movie. "Foxcatcher: True Story Fact and Fiction" -- Slate.com serves up a comparison of the movie to Mark Schultz's book. "USA Today: Fact vs. Fiction" -- The national newspaper compares fact vs. fiction regarding the movie, asking the question, "What about the seven-and-a-half-years between the 1988 Seoul Olympics and Dave Schultz's murder?" "The Twisted Saga of John du Pont" -- Washington Post article about John du Pont, from the day he murdered Dave Schultz until he died in prison. "Schultz Brothers' Offer They Should Have Refused" -- British newspaper The Guardian compares real life to reel life as portrayed in "Foxcatcher", based on an extensive interview with Nancy Schultz. "Film Odyssey: The Missing du Pont Factor" -- • A New Jersey author's analysis of the differences between the portrayal of John du Pont in "Foxcatcher" and what is known about his strange behavior throughout his life. … and links to books about the crime "Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John du Pont's Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold" by Mark Schultz. 320 pages, published in 2014. "No Holds Barred: The Strange Life of John E. du Pont" by Carol Turlington. 213 pages, published in 1996. "Wrestling With Madness: John Eleuthere du Pont and the Foxcatcher Farm Murder" by Tim Huddleston. 48 pages. "Blood Money: The Du Pont Heir and the Murder of an Olympic Athlete" by Carlton Smith. 269 pages, published in 1996. "Fatal Match: Inside the Mind of Millionaire Killer John du Pont" ("True Crime" series) by Bill Ordine and Ralph Vigoda. 357 pages, published in 1998. … and a book from John du Pont himself "Off the Mat: Building Winners in Life" by John E. du Pont. 115 pages, published in 1987

Another former college mat star is off to a successful start in his mixed martial arts career. Eric Grajales, NCAA All-American wrestler at University of Michigan, won his debut match in amateur MMA competition at World Class Fight League's WCFL 14: Resolutions event at the DoubleTree Hilton Tampa Airport Hotel Saturday night. Eric Grajales defeated Manny RodriguezGrajales earned a submission victory over Manny Rodriguez by mounted guillotine in the third round. "Thanks to everyone that made it out last night and watched online!" the former Wolverine wrestler posted on Twitter. "It was a great experience, but now it's time to get back to the mat and get ready for the next one." "It was a great first experience, and I'm really glad to finally get done with the first fight, but more than anything it was awesome to compete again in my hometown," Grajales told InterMat. "I haven't had this kind of opportunity since high school and I was just overwhelmed with how much support I got and the amount of fans from the wrestling community that came out to watch, it was a truly amazing experience." The World Class Fight League describes itself as "Florida's premiere amateur MMA competition" at its official website. "We feature a variety of talented MMA fighters that travel across the US to compete in our exclusive invite-only events! Our fighters are selected after they prove themselves to be aggressive, fearless, and highly skilled." The WCFL website goes on to say, "Now, with the state of Florida requiring that all MMA fighters have a minimum of 5 amateur MMA fights, the WCFL is the proving ground to see who will make a solid career out of MMA. WCFL fighters have been offered professional contracts and turned pro as a result of fighting for World Class Fight League!" A native of the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, Grajales first made a name for himself in wrestling at nearby Brandon High School, a highly-respected, nationally ranked program. He was a four-time Florida state champ (2006-2009) who compiled a perfect 217-0 record in high school. For his on-the-mat success Grajales was named the Tampa Tribune's 2009 Male Athlete of the Year. Grajales then headed north to Michigan, where he was a three-time Big Ten championships placer, earning runner-up honors at 149 pounds at the 2011 conference championships. The Brandon, Fla. native earned All-American honors in the 149 bracket the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City. Grajales built an 89-42 career record as a Wolverine.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The No. 3 NC State wrestling team won all four matches among the ranked vs. ranked bouts, and defeated visiting No. 14 North Carolina 28-8 Monday night at Dorton Arena. The Wolfpack (18-0, 3-0 ACC) won eight of the 10 matches on the night, and took control early by jumping out to an 11-0 lead after the first three bouts. The ACC dual featured four different matches where both wrestlers were ranked nationally. The Pack won all four, and all eight NC State wrestlers ranked in this week's NCAA Coaches Panel rankings won their bout (the top-33 wrestlers at each weight class are ranked from now till the end of the season by the Coaches Panel). NC State improves to a perfect 18-0 on the season, the second-highest single-season win total in school history, and 3-0 in ACC action. The Pack has outscored its ACC competition 97-24 on the year, winning 23 of the 30 matches with 14 bonus point wins. The Wolfpack started with back-to-back major decision and then a decision to jump out to the early 11-0 lead after the first three matches. R-Fr. Sean Fausz had five takedowns and accumulated 5:08 of ride time to earn an 11-3 win at 125 pounds to start the dual. Fellow redshirt-freshman Jamal Morris followed suit with another major decision, as he won 13-3, powered behind five takedowns as well. No. 3 Kevin Jack picked up a 5-3 OT win over No. 11 Joey Ward at 141 pounds. Jack made the comeback possible with riding out Ward the entire third period to erase a ride time point, then in the OT three stalls were called between the two and Jack earned an escape point for the final total. After a UNC major at 149 pounds, No. 4 Tommy Gantt responded with 10-4 decision (with 2:12 of ride time) to give NC State a 14-4 lead halfway through the dual. The Pack scored another decision right after the intermission, when No. 7 Max Rohskopf picked up a 1-0 win over No. 10 John Michael Staudenmayer. After the first two periods were scoreless, Rohskopf got an escape and did not let Staudenmayer get a late takedown after he took a shot with about a minute left. UNC got a second major decision at 174, but No. 15 Pete Renda came right back and scored an 11-7 win over No. 17 Alex Utley. Renda scored a quick takedown and a four-point near-fall for a quick 6-0 lead and held on for his fourth win over a ranked foe this year. In the final battle of ranked foes, No. 17 Michael Boykin scored an 11-6 win over No. 23 Chip Ness at 197 pounds. No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski closed out the victory with a 19-2 second-period technical fall. Results: 125: No. 24 Sean Fausz (NCSU) major dec. Anthony Bosco; 11-3 - 4-0 133: No. 28 Jamal Morris (NCSU) major dec. James Szymanski; 13-3 - 8-0 141: No. 3 Kevin Jack (NCSU) dec. No. 11 Joey Ward; 5-3 (TB-1) - 11-0 149: No. 7 Evan Henderson (UNC) major dec. Beau Donahue; 12-2 - 11-4 157: No. 4 Tommy Gantt (NCSU) dec. Christian Barber; 10-4 - 14-4 165: No. 7 Max Rohskopf (NCSU) dec. No. 10 John Michael Staudenmayer; 1-0 - 17-4 174: No. 3 Ethan Ramos (UNC) major dec. Nicky Hall; 14-2 - 17-8 184: No. 15 Pete Renda (NCSU) dec. No. 17 Alex Utley; 11-7 - 20-8 197: No. 17 Michael Boykin (NCSU) dec. No. 23 Chip Ness; 11-6 - 23-8 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) technical fall Cory Daniel; 19-2 - 28-8 Up Next: The Wolfpack will be in road action this weekend competing in two duals. NC State travels to ACC foe No. 18 Pittsburgh on Saturday, and then to West Virginia on Sunday.

Patrick Duggan will now be a Lock Haven Bald Eagle. A four-time PIAA state placer and two-time state finalist, Duggan brings his long wrestling resume to Mat-Town USA. During his high school tenure Duggan posted a 160-11 record for Coach Heckard at Cumberland Valley High School. Ranked as high as fifth in the country at 145 pounds, Duggan was the 36th overall recruit at any weight by InterMat last season. Patrick DugganA former PAWF freestyle state champion and Junior National freestyle runner-up, Duggan has been at the top at every level. He spent the past semester at West Virginia before deciding to transfer to Lock Haven and wrestle for head wrestling coach Scott Moore. Lock Haven boasts several wrestlers from District 3, including returning NCAA All-American Dan Neff and NCAA qualifier Ronnie Perry. Duggan will have four years of eligibility remaining at Lock Haven starting in the fall. Coach Moore on Patrick Duggan: "Patrick is a great young man with a bright future. We look forward to working with him at every level and helping him make a run at a national title in the near future. He knows the discipline it takes to succeed at this level and is excited to get started on that journey. Having someone of Patrick's background and ability in our room will help our program continue to build for the future. "

Kyven Gadson (Photo/Rob Preston)This week's edition of "On the Mat" is Wednesday, Jan. 27 with Kyven Gadson, NCAA wrestling champion at 197 pounds for Iowa State. Gadson was a two-time state wrestling champion for Waterloo East High School and is currently a 2016 Olympic hopeful. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments.

Jared Platt, who had wrestled at Blair Academy and Penn State, competed in mixed martial arts, and coached, died Friday. The 26-year-old had been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer last fall. Jared Platt wrestled and coached at Blair Academy in New Jersey (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Platt had a successful competitive career in personal combat sports most of his life, going against the advice of doctors, because he had been diagnosed Type 1 diabetes at age 8. He was a two-time Prep School National champion for national New Jersey-based powerhouse Blair Academy in high school, winning at 215 pounds in 2006 and 2007. In 2007, Platt was named to the ASICS High School All-American Team as its third team member at 215 pounds. He was honorable mention in 2006. In addition to success in folkstyle, Platt made a name for himself in freestyle, where he was a Junior Nationals freestyle champion in 2007 at 215 pounds. He placed second in the 2010 University Nationals and fourth in 2008 University Nationals. He also won gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2007 Pan American Junior Championships. Platt was recruited by Penn State for the 2007-08 season, and was a leading candidate to replace NCAA champ Phil Davis at 197 upon graduation. However, Platt was unable to wrestle because of a shoulder injury according to news reports at the time. Platt had been dealing with severe back pain for years, the result of a traumatic injury sustained while competing in a wrestling tournament, according to his GoFundMe.com page. In early September 2015, Platt underwent emergency surgery on his spine because the pain had become extreme. While in surgery a growth was spotted by the operating surgeon. After multiple tests, it was determined that Platt had Stage 4 cancer. Friends from throughout the wrestling community offered their thoughts on Jared Platt. "Jared Platt exited his Life as a Championship Fighter who never gave up the fight," wrestling journalist El Fatom posted on Facebook. "The Blair Academy wrestler and type-1 diabetic inspired many of his colleagues and teammates to stand by him in faithfully raising support for his benevolent cause. The father, husband and athlete was recently diagnosed with a progressive stage 4 cancer. Our shared condolences with his family, friends and community." It's hard to express compounding feelings of loss. It's hard to understand why some people don't have the opportunity to live equally long lives," wrote Hudson Taylor, former University of Maryland NCAA All-American and founder of Athlete Ally organization. "But what I can express and do understand is that Jared is still here. His impact on our lives is still here. His humor and joy and friendship is still here. We may not be able to see him in person, but we can see and celebrate his legacy every day. I love and miss you Jared Platt." Bubba Jenkins, Arizona State NCAA champ now competing in mixed martial arts, posted this message on Facebook: "The say the good die young, and this couldn't be more true with the passing of my good friend and teammate Jared Platt. The cliché lines like my prayers are with his family are obvious, but what we don't often hear and think about is how short life is and how much we need to show the people we care for so much more love on a daily basis then we already do. This loss hurts so many people that it's hard to comprehend how we are supposed to move forward. I say we don't. I say we pause right now and take a moment to think about who Jared Platt was to his friends, his teammates and most importantly to his family, his smile was infectious and his personality one of a kind, I never have and will never meet another human being like my boy Platt. My heart is heavy cuz I don't deal well with death but my strength abide in my father who art in Heaven. You fought a great fight my friend and you will be truly missed. I'm sure you children know but when I see them again I will be sure to tell them again how much of a great man you were! R.I.P my boy, I'll never forget you." Kellen Russell, NCAA champ at the University of Michigan, paid tribute to two wrestlers in their 20s who had recently passed away, Jared Platt, and Justin Chrzanowski, his teammate on the Wolverines. "The world lost two bright rays of light this past week. They both were brothers to me; anyone who has ever wrestled or seen wrestlers knows that the bond is one of true brotherly love. We shared many ups and downs together but ups were always better with both Justin and Jared around and the lows never felt as low when I was with them. They were both the life of the party and where ever they were there was sure to be laughs. We shared the misery of cutting weight and hard workouts but we also shared in the celebration of victory and the laughter from the close call the night before. I know that heaven is a much funnier place with Justin and Jared there. My thoughts and prayers go out to both the Platt and Chrzanowski families. I love and miss you both." Platt leaves behind his wife Candace, and two daughters, CaiLee and Cara-James, as well as other family members. Funeral arrangements had not been publicized as of Sunday afternoon.

Services were held Saturday afternoon, Jan. 23, for Justin Chrzanowski, former University of Michigan wrestler-turned-actor who died Jan. 9. He was 28. Justin ChrzanowskiThe funeral was held at Elton Black & Son Funeral Home in Highland, Mich. Visitation had taken place Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the service. Born in April 1987 in Metamora, Mich., Chrzanowski wrestled at Lapeer West High School, where he compiled a 228-11 overall record. He was a four-time Michigan state finalist, winning back-to-back titles in 2003 (130 pounds) and 2004 (135). Those same years Chrzanowski earned Cadet Nationals Freestyle All-American honors. At Michigan, Chrzanowski wrestled at 141 and 149 pounds from 2005-2009. He earned multiple Academic All-Big Ten, and U-M Athletic Academic Achievement honors during his time in Ann Arbor. In his LinkedIn.com bio, Chrzanowski listed his activities while at Michigan as including Motts Children's Hospital, Ozone House, Mock Rock and Light Works Film Festival as well as wrestling. When asked in a Michigan wrestling "Off the Mat" feature what he liked about wrestling for the Wolverines, Chrzanowski responded, "Everything. The guys on the team, everyone gets along really well. I'd probably say that the team unity is the best thing. Every single person is best friends with everybody else. We all go through the same things -- regardless of whether Eric (Tannenbaum) is going to be a doctor and I'm going to be a rock star -- our day is the same. We go to class until 3 p.m., go to practice, go to study table, and just hang out. Our lives basically are all the same right now. We go through everything together." Since graduating from Michigan in 2010 with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Film/Cinema/Video Studies, Chrzanowski's professional career had focused on acting and working with children. In fact, the summary on his LinkedIn page stated: "I act and work with kids!" His most recent listing had him serving as being Director of Education at Young Actors Camp in Los Angeles since May 2012, and as being registered with the Honolulu-based Kathy Muller Modeling and Talent Agent since 2014. According to his page at Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), Chrzanowski had been involved in various movie and TV projects as an actor and in behind-the-scenes jobs. The official University of Michigan wrestling Facebook page had the following message: "Like so many of you, we are grieving the sudden passing of Wolverine alum Justin Chrzanowski. He was one of a kind -- quirky, funny and outgoing -- and will be missed by many." Justin ChrzanowskiKellen Russell, three-time NCAA champ, paid tribute to his former Michigan teammate Chrzanowski (as well as wrestler Jared Platt, who lost his battle with cancer Friday) with this message on his Facebook page: "The world lost two bright rays of light this past week. They both were brothers to me, anyone who has ever wrestled or seen wrestlers knows that the bond is one of true brotherly love. We shared many ups and downs together but ups were always better with both Justin and Jared around and the lows never felt as low when I was with them. They were both the life of the party and where ever they were there was sure to be laughs. We shared the misery of cutting weight and hard workouts but we also shared in the celebration of victory and the laughter from the close call the night before. I know that heaven is a much funnier place with Justin and Jared there. My thoughts and prayers go out to both the Platt and Chrzanowski families. I love and miss you both."