InterMat Staff

KEARNEY, Neb. -- The now 5th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney wrestling team won several close matches to rally past Central Oklahoma, 21-15, Thursday night at Kearney High. This was UNK's (7-2, 1-0) first MIAA dual of the year with Bronchos now 4-3 (1-1). Down 12-3 after the first four matches, the Kearney comeback started at 157 lbs. when Lincoln senior Chase White recorded an overtime takedown to edge Jeromy Davenport, 3-1. Next, Oklahoma senior Devin Aguirre used a takedown and escape in the second period to edge Danny Carrillo, 3-2, with Kansas junior Calvin Ochs racking up five points in the final period to win 12-5 at 174 lbs. UCO turned the tables and won a close match at 184 lbs. but top-ranked Romero Cotton (Hutchinson, Kans.) gave UNK the lead for good with a first period fall. Finally, California redshirt freshman heavyweight Luke Petersen secured the win by beating Evan McGee, 4-2. Petersen scored in each period, including a takedown in the first. On Saturday, UNK faces New Mexico Highlands, 16th-ranked Western State and 20th-ranked Colorado State-Pueblo at the Buffalo County Fairgrounds. Results: 125 - Zac D'Amico, UCO, dec. Connor Bolling, 3-2 (TB). 133 - Blake Dauphin, UCO, won by forfeit. 141 - Keith Surber, UNK, dec. Joshua Ailey, 15-12. 149 - Spencer Rutherford, UCO, dec. Nick Babcock, 7-3. 157 - Chase White, UNK, dec. Jeromy Davenport, 3-1 (SV). 165 - Devin Aguirre, UNK, dec. Danny Carrillo, 3-2. 174 - Calvin Ochs, UNK, dec. Mason Thompson, 12-5. 184 - Brock Warren, UCO, dec. Michael Lambert, 5-2. 197 - Romero Cotton, UNK, pinned Brody Largent, 1:08. Hvy - Luke Petersen, UNK, dec. Evan McGee, 4-2.

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The No. 19 Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team tied a program record with its ninth consecutive dual match win Thursday in a 25-13 victory over the University of Dubuque. The win moved the Ducks to 13-2 overall, while Dubuque fell to 9-5 and had its eight-match win streak snapped. Stevens previously won nine-straight during the 2011-12, and 1979-80 seasons, and is also now one win shy of matching the program record for wins in a season set in 2011. After dropping three of the first four matches, Stevens rebounded with six straight wins to capture the record-tying victory. Of Dubuque's three wins, two came by wrestlers currently receiving honorable mention recognition in the MyHOUSE/d3wrestle.com national rankings. Junior Rob Murray got the Ducks winning started with an 8-6 decision win at 125, but Dubuque answered with a major at 133 to take the one point lead. The win was the 12th straight dual match victory for Murray, and 21st overall on the season. Dubuque added to its lead with a decision victory at 141 and a pin at 149, however Stevens responded with freshman Thomas Poklikuha's decision victory at 157, followed by a major decision win by junior Colin Navickas at 165 to cut the deficit to three. Navickas, currently ranked No. 7 at 165 nationally, won the match 12-2 for his 14th consecutive dual match win. Stevens continued the run with sophomore Phil Woods' 3-2 decision win at 174, before sophomore A.J. Kowal's pin in 1:16 at 184 gave the Ducks the lead back for the first time since the opening match. The fall was the team-leading ninth of the season for the No. 8 ranked grappler in the country at 184. Junior Danny Moore extended the Stevens lead to 22-13 with an 11-6 decision win at 197, before senior Tyler Maher finalized the action with a 3-1 win at 285 to cap the win. The Ducks will continue their Iowa road trip Saturday with the Cornell Matman Invitational. Results: 125: SIT Rob Murray (Dec 8-6) over Julio Chavez, SIT 3-0 133: UD Stephen Rosenburg (Maj. Dec. 11-3) over Joey Borai, UD 4-3 141: UD Jeremy Melendez (Dec 6-3) over Ryan Wilson, UD 7-3 149: UD Adrian Collier (Fall 2:55) over Zach Wilhelm, UD 13-3 157: SIT Thomas Poklikuha (Dec 5-4) over Kody Krenz, UD 13-6 165: SIT #7 Colin Navickas (Maj. Dec. 12-2) over Frank Frassetto, UD 13-10 174: SIT Phil Woods (Dec 3-2) over Elton Turnage, UD 13-13 184: SIT #8 A.J. Kowal (Fall 1:16) over Collin Heidemann, SIT 19-13 197: SIT Danny Moore (Dec 11-6) over Cosmo Halwix, SIT 22-13 285: SIT Tyler Maher (Dec 3-1) over Sawyer McCaffrey, SIT 25-13

CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron State College wrestling team (5-1, 1-0 RMAC) got six-point falls from Chadron freshman Cooper Cogdill (285 pounds), Beatrice sophomore Chance Helmick (165), and junior Caleb Copeland (174) as the Eagles closed out Colorado School of Mines (3-1, 0-1 RMAC) Thursday night by a score of 32-12, in their first team contest since before the holiday break. Cogdill earned his first career varsity victory by fall when he pinned Mines' Nick DeBruyn (1-5) in 4:31. Helmick's second-period fall over John Crowley (4-2) came following a aggressive show of takedown skills which built an early 6-2 lead. Crowley, ranked among the top-six in the West Super Region earlier this season and voted Second Team All-RMAC in 2014-15, was an NCAA All-American in 2012-13 before redshirting in 2013-14. Copeland (Bennett, Colorado), ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, dispatched Rocky Michaelson (12-4) at 174 pounds at 2:41 into the first period, earning him the Eagles' quickest pin on the night. His win clinched the dual meet victory for the Eagles. Sophomore Terrance McKinney (Spokane, Washington), ranked No. 2 nationally at 149, earned a quality win over the region's fifth-ranked wrestler, Jacob Gerken (4-6), gaining an early edge and then nailing down a major decision with four near-fall points in the third period followed by a riding point to make it 10-2. Gerken claimed fourth place at the 2013-14 NCAA West Super Regional tournament. Junior Taylor Summers of Plymouth, Nebraska, nearly had a technical fall with 15 seconds remaining in the match, but settled for a 15-1 major decision over CSM's Caleb Micho (5-8) after a near-fall came up two counts short, and he received a riding bonus at the end of regulation. Other CSC wins included a 7-3 decision by Brandon Kile (Hastings, Nebraska) over Matthew Lavengood (7-3) at 125 pounds, and Shane Rodenburg of Kent City, Michigan (184 pounds) blanking Karl Breidenbach (5-7) by a score of 6-0. Colorado Mines picked up a pin at 197 as their sixth-ranked wrestler in the nation, Paul Wilson, pulled off a first-period pin. Other Oredigger winners were Lukas Erickson at 141 and Ethan Ruby at 157. Chadron State hands Colorado Mines their first dual defeat of the season. The win was the largest margin of victory for the Eagles in nearly a year, when they defeated Newman University 34-9 on January 17, 2015. The Eagles have a quick turnaround before they wrestle again Saturday, Jan. 16. CSC faces a slate of four duals this weekend, taking on Minot State, Newman, University of Mary, and Southwest Minnesota State at the Nebraska-Kearney Midwest Duals, all on Saturday. Results: 125 Brandon Kile (Chadron State) over Matthew Lavengood (Colorado School Of Mines) (Dec 7-3) 133 Taylor Summers (Chadron State) over Caleb Micho (Colorado School Of Mines) (MD 15-1) 141 Lukas Erickson (Colorado School Of Mines) over Brock Thumm (Chadron State) (SV-1 9-3) 149 Terrance McKinney (Chadron State) over Jacob Gerken (Colorado School Of Mines) (MD 10-2) 157 Ethan Ruby (Colorado School Of Mines) over Johnny Porter (Chadron State) (Dec 6-4) 165 Chance Helmick (Chadron State) over John Crowley (Colorado School Of Mines) (Fall 4:49) 174 Caleb Copeland (Chadron State) over Rocky Michaelson (Colorado School Of Mines) (Fall 2:41) 184 Shane Rodenburg (Chadron State) over Karl Breidenbach (Colorado School Of Mines) (Dec 6-0) 197 Paul Wilson (Colorado School Of Mines) over Stuart Hircock (Chadron State) (Fall 2:22) 285 Cooper Cogdill (Chadron State) over Nick DeBruyn (Colorado School Of Mines) (Fall 4:31)

ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Olivet College wrestling team scored bonus in six of its eight wins to easily defeat Trine (Ind.) University, 37-6, tonight at Hershey Hall in Angola, Indiana. At 125 pounds, junior Michael Schmidt needed only a takedown near the end of the first period to win a 2-1 decision and give the Comets the 3-0 lead. The Thunder answered with their own one-point decision, 4-3, at 133 pounds to tie the match at 3-3. Junior Curtis Blackwell won a hard-fought, 8-6 decision at 141 pounds to put Olivet back ahead 6-3. A four-point near fall in the second period was the difference in the match. Junior Matthew Lopez used a takedown in the second period and an escape in the third period to post a 3-1 win at 149 pounds and make the score 9-3. Junior Lake Bennett increased the Comets' lead to 12 points, 15-3, by pinning his opponent with 48 seconds left in the 157-pound bout. Junior Kevin Papak registered a 13-5 major decision win at 165 pounds. Trine picked-up three team points with a 3-1 overtime victory at 174 pounds to cut its deficit down to 19-6. At 184 pounds, junior Rodney Harvey wasted no time in winning his match, as he pinned his man only one minute and 11 seconds into the bout. The pin put Olivet up 25-6 and seal its win. Senior Thomas Hall received a forfeit win at 197 points. Junior Jesse Judge capped Olivet's win by pinning his opponent with 16 ticks left in the first period of the 285-pound bout. On Saturday, the Comets will participate in the 2016 Al Hanke Invitational, hosted by Elmhurst (Ill) College. Action from inside R.A. Faganel Hall gets under way at 9 a.m. CST. Results: 125- Michael Schmidt (OC) over David Moore, Dec. 2-1 133- Caleb Maddox (TU) over Jared Brickley, Dec. 4-3 141- Curtis Blackwell (OC) over Jeffrey Helm, Dec. 8-6 149- Matt Lopez (OC) over Austin Helm, Dec. 3-1 157- Lake Bennett (OC) over Austin Nault, Fall 2:12 165- Kevin Papak (OC) over Brandon Gay, Maj. Dec. 13-5 174- Jaycee Jensen (TU) over Jacob Harvey, SV 3-1 184- Rodney Harvey (OC) over Kerry Raab, Fall 1:11 197- Tom Hall (OC) won by forfeit 285- Jesse Judge (OC) over Joe Stasiak, Fall 2:44

WASHINGTON, Pa. -- With his team trailing 21-16 and one bout remaining in Waynesburg's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) matchup with Washington & Jefferson, redshirt sophomore Zach Swarrow took to the mat knowing what he needed to do to pull out a Yellow Jacket victory. Swarrow squared off with President senior Johnathan Swann at 133 pounds needing a pin to produce a one-point Jacket win. After dominating Swann in the first period, Swarrow went to period two racking up the points, but not being able to turn the veteran to his back. The native of nearby Fredericktown kept up the offensive assault and finally stuck his opponent 3:50 into the contest to pull out a thrilling 22-21 victory. The night started at 141 pounds, where Jacket (6-7, 1-0) junior Filippo Crivelli picked up a win by forfeit. Back-to-back victories by the home-standing Presidents (0-6, 0-1) put them ahead 9-6 after three bouts. Waynesburg sophomore Landon Lohr put his team back in the lead with a 12-2 major decision at 165 pounds. Momentum swung back to W&J with a win at 174 pounds, before junior Ryan Shank made the score 13-12 with an 11-6 victory at 184 pounds. A pin by W&J at 197 pounds gave it a five-point edge (18-13), but freshman Jake Evans cut the deficit down to just two points with a 5-0 decision at heavyweight. The Presidents took their final lead after a decision at 125 pounds to set up Swarrow's heroics. The victory kept Jacket head coach Ron Headlee unbeaten (8-0) against W&J. Waynesburg returns to competition on Saturday, Jan. 23, when it heads to Maryland to take part in a quad-match hosted by McDaniel College. Wrestling is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Results: 125 – Jacob Spearman (WJ) 5, Tristan Buxton 3 16-21 133 – Zach Swarrow (WAY) Pin 3:50 Johnathan Swann 22-21 * 141 – Filippo Crivelli (WAY) wins by forfeit 6-0 149 – Trevor Meyers (WJ) Pin 5:23 Nick Kusich 6-6 157 – Sam Florentino (WJ) 3, Derek Hull 1 6-9 165 – Landon Lohr (WAY) 12-2 Maj. Dec. Jesse Lesko 10-9 174 – Sonnieboy Blanco (WJ) 5, Mike Millero 2 10-12 184 – Ryan Shank (WAY) 11, William Oberschelp 6 13-12 197 – Ezekiel Stroupe (WJ) Pin 6:57 Joshua Sneeringer 13-18 285 – Jake Evans (WAY ) 5, Nicholas Kumburis 0 16-18

After falling behind 10-0 to start the dual, the Mavericks won six of the next eight matches to surge past the Dragons of MSU Moorhead to remain undefeated in conference action. Trailing 10-0, Alphonso Vruno (Sr., 141 lbs.), who was ranked third in the region, would square off against fifth-ranked in the region Kristian Vazquez. Vruno was in control the entire match. While leading 14-6 in the third period, Vruno secured the win via fall with 23 seconds remaining in the match to make the dual score 10-6. After the Mavericks fell in the 149-pound match, Matt Mincey (R-Sr., 157 lbs.) would pick up a 3-0 decision over Garrett Hoffner to make it a 13-9 dual score. Mincey moved to 13-0 on the season and was ranked sixth in the nation coming into the night. Following the 165-pound contest, the score was 18-9 MSU Moorhead. The Mavericks would fire off four consecutive victories to complete the comeback victory. Adam Cooling (Jr., 174 lbs.) picked up a tech fall victory over Brayden Kuntz to improve to 17-3 on the year. Scott VanDeLoo (Sr., 184 lbs.) won by a close 4-2 decision over Austin May to move to 12-1 on the season. The score was 18-17 MSU Moorhead heading into the 197-pound match. Darick Vancura(Jr., 197 lbs.) gave MSU a huge boost in momentum after picking up a quick fall over Cody Anderson in 2:04 that also gave them its first lead of the night. Malcolm Allen (R-Sr., 285 lbs.) sealed the deal with a fall over Nader Abdullatif in 48 seconds. With the win, the Mavericks move to 3-0 in NSIC matchups. That mark is good enough for the NSIC lead in conference wins. The Mavericks will compete next Thursday, Jan. 21, at Taylor Center as they host the Johnnies of St. John's University. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Results: 125-Jared Goldsmith (MSUM) maj. dec. Trevor Schultz, 11-3 133-Blake Bosch (MSUM) pinned Tyler Funk, 5:47 141-Alphonso Vruno (MSU) pinned Kristian Vazquez, 6:37 149-Isaac Novacek (MSUM) dec. Daniel Close, 13-6 157-Matt Mincey (MSU) dec. Garrett Hoffner, 3-0 165-Adam Blees (MSUM) tech fall over Corey Abernathy, 18-3 174-Adam Cooling (MSU) tech fall over Brayden Kuntz, 21-6 184-Scott VanDeLoo (MSU) dec. Austin May, 4-2 197-Darick Vancura (MSU) pinned Cody Anderson, 2:04 285-Malcolm Allen (MSU) pinned Nader Abdullatif, 0:48

Links: Team Rankings | Individual Rankings NEWBERRY, S.C. -- The Notre Dame College Falcons have jumped to No. 1 in the third regular season 2015-16 Division II Wrestling Coaches' Association Poll after taking the title at the 2016 NWCA National Duals. The Falcons took six first place votes after their 4-0 run in Fort Wayne, Ind., including a semifinal win over former top dogs, Maryville. The Saints took the other two first place votes in the poll and are in third place. National Duals runners-up St. Cloud State remained in second place, while the Mountain Cats of Pitt-Johnstown jumped to fourth from seventh. Nebraska-Kearney rounds out the top five. Seven top-ranked wrestlers were knocked off in Fort Wayne, but nine of the 10 weight classes still have the same wrestler ranked No. 1 despite tough competition just behind them. Lindenwood's Terrel Wilbourn at 157 lbs. is the only new No. 1. The next national rankings will be released on January 28.

Bryce BrillEVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern redshirt freshman Bryce Brill will undergo surgery and miss the rest of the 2015-16 season, interim head coach Matt Storniolo announced Thursday. "We are disappointed for Bryce that he has to miss the rest of the season," Storniolo said. "It is always tough to lose someone as talented as Bryce, but we are confident that he will rebound from this setback.” Brill wrestled three matches for the Wildcats this season, winning all three with two bonus point decisions. He is 7-0 in his Northwestern career. True freshman Anthony Petrone will wrestle at 157 lbs. for the remainder of the season.

Funeral services have been announced for Chris Ford, former Ohio State head wrestling coach from 1976-86, who died Monday, Jan. 11 while hunting with one of his sons. He was 83. Visitation will take place Sunday, Jan. 17th from 3-8 p.m. at Schoedinger-Worthington Chapel, 6699 North High Street, Worthington, Ohio in suburban Columbus. The funeral will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at noon at the same location, with visitation starting one hour earlier. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions in Coach Ford's name be made to support the Ohio State University Wrestling Practice Facility. Donations can be made online. Chris FordFord compiled a 115-92-3 record with the Buckeyes, fourth most in school history. He coached Jude Skove to the national title at 158 pounds at the 1986 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, giving Ohio State its first NCAA champion in 20 years. During the decade Ford was at the helm, the Buckeyes had 46 Big Ten place winners and six NCAA All-Americans. For his contributions to the sport, Ford was inducted into the Ohio Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1978, and into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2010. Born in August 1934 in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Chris Ford launched his athletic career at Mansfield Senior High School, where he played football from 1949-52. Ford received a football scholarship from Bowling Green State University, where he first took up wrestling. After graduating from BGSU, he began his teaching and coaching career at Huron High School in Ohio. Ford left Huron for Ashland College (now Ashland University), where he was head wrestling coach, as well as coach for the football and soccer programs. While at Ashland, Ford coached 21 NCAA All-Americans, and was named NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1976. In addition, Ford served as the President for the NCAA College Division Wrestling Coaches Association for Divisions II and III, as well as President of the National Wrestling Coaches Association. After completing his tenure as Ohio State mat coach, Ford became a financial and estate planner. However, he returned to coaching to start the wrestling program at Dublin Jerome High School outside Columbus, to coach his grandson, Mike Jr. With Chris Ford as coach, the new high school could claim 8 district qualifiers, 1 state qualifier and 5 first team All-Conference members. Even in retirement, Chris Ford led an active life, as a supporter of Ohio State athletics, and in various hobbies, including woodcarving. He celebrated his 80th birthday by skydiving with his three oldest grandchildren. Ford is survived by his wife of 57 years, Georgene, three children, and six grandchildren, along with two brothers.

Oklahoma State has suspended two of its wrestlers -- Chance Marsteller, and Austin Schafer -- for the remainder of the season, according to multiple media reports. Chance Marsteller defeated Iowa's Edwin Cooper at Grapple on the Gridiron (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Marsteller, a redshirt freshman starter at 157 pounds, and 197-pound junior Austin Schafer, will be out for the rest of the 2016 season for violating undisclosed team rules, according Cowboy head coach John Smith. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibits colleges and universities from releasing personally-identifiable information derived from education records, including information regarding student disciplinary matters. Coach Smith denied reports that Marsteller had quit the team. Two redshirt freshmen will step in to fill the newly created openings. Marsteller will be replaced by Joe Smith, coach Smith's son. The freshman 157-pounder known as Jo Jo -- who had been wrestling unattached this season -- was a three-time Class 6A state champion at Stillwater High School, and The Oklahoman's Wrestler of the Year last season. Andrew Marsden has stepped into the slot at 197. Marsteller was a high school superstar out of Pennsylvania who compiled a perfect 166-0 record at Kennard-Dale High School, winning four state titles. He had originally committed to wrestle at Penn State before switching to Oklahoma State. Marsteller wrestled in five duals this season for the Cowboys, going 2-3. He climbed as high as No. 14 in the national rankings at 157 pounds before falling out of top 20 over the last month. Schafer, who wrestled at Edmond North High outside Oklahoma City, was 1-3 in four duals this season.

Multiple dual meet showdowns between nationally elite squads highlight a busy MLK Holiday weekend docket across the United States. No. 5 St. Paris Graham at No. 7 St. Edward for Buckeye State supremacy The annual dual meet between Ohio and national powers St. Paris Graham and St. Edward takes place Saturday night at 7 p.m. Eastern Time from St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. The visiting Falcons are prohibitively favored to win a 16th straight (traditional) state title in Division II, which is the medium-school division; while the host Eagles are favored for what would be a 30th state, and their 18th in the last 20 years in Division I (big-school). Below are the projected lineups for the dual meet. 106: Bryce Andonian (St. Edward) vs. Jordan Crace (St. Paris Graham) 113: Matt Kazimir/Angelo Rini vs. Jeff Thomas 120: Josh Leidich vs. Justin Stickley 126: Allan Hart vs. No. 11 Mitch Moore 132: Sam Dover vs. Ryan Thomas 138: No. 6 Hunter Ladnier vs. No. 7 Brent Moore 145: Isaac Collier vs. No. 16 Rocky Jordan 152: Jack Conway/Larry Grapo vs. Joey Sanchez 160: Mike Carpenter vs. Garrett Jordan 170: Jared Leidich vs. No. 2 Alex Marinelli 182: Tyler Stepic vs. Gage Braun/Kanan Sarver 195: Cody Howard vs. Gage Braun/Kanan Sarver 220: No. 16 Jared Campbell vs. Johnny Shafer 285: Mike O'Malley/Kevin Ward vs. Nick Newport In looking at the lineups, there are three key swing bouts: 106, 132, and 138. St. Paris Graham has an advantage in six weight classes: 120, 126, 145, 160, 170, and 182/195 (Sarver). St. Edward has the advantage in five weight classes: 113 (if Kazimir wrestles), 152, 182/195 (against Braun), 220, and 285. St. Paris Graham has the easier path to win, while the upset is plausible for St. Edward. Multiple matches to note in Illinois Friday night features No. 19 Marmion Academy hosting No. 31 Montini Catholic. It would be a shock if the visiting Broncos were able to pull off an upset here, as they ae much more of a tournament team with stars in the lower half of the lineup and very little in the way of quality upper weights. On the other hand, the host Cadets have talent and balance within their lineup. Two individual showdowns should strike the attention of fans. At 132 pounds, Montini Catholic has state champion Dylan Duncan, who is ranked No. 8 nationally; while Marmion Academy features state runner-up Anthony Cheloni. At 138 pounds, Montini Catholic features No. 19 Will Lewan, while Marmion Academy has fellow state tournament and Walsh Ironman placer A.J. Jaffe. Then on Saturday at Carl Sandburg, the host Eagles (ranked No. 15 nationally) will face both No. 19 Marmion Academy and No. 8 Oak Park River Forest as part of the Carl Sandburg Duals; Marmion Academy and OPRF will not wrestle, as they already met at the Clash two weekends ago. Below are projected lineups for each of the three teams. 106: Joe Domenick (Carl Sandburg) vs. P.J. Ogunsanya (OPRF), Sean McKenna (Marmion Academy) 113: Louie Hayes vs. Roberto Campos, Ryan Fleck/Trevor Chumbley 120: Kevin Stearns vs. No. 9 Jason Renteria, Fleck/Cumbley 126: Robbie Precin/Ben Kirby vs. No. 17 Anthony Madrigal, Jake Polka 132: No. 6 Rudy Yates vs. Gabe Townsell, Anthony Cheloni 138: Christian Robertson vs. Jamie Hernandez, A.J. Jaffe 145: Alex Hirschfield vs. Michael Ordonez, Peter Ferraro/Brad Gross 152: John Prieto vs. Drew Matticks, Michael Callahan 160: Ben Schneider vs. No. 1 Isaiah White, No. 19 Trace Carello 170: Brian Krasowski vs. Rollan Sturkey, Matt Ferraro/Nate Jimenez 182: No. 18 Patrick Brucki vs. D'Unre Garner, Ferraro/Jimenez/No. 6 Nathan Traxler 195: Cole Bateman vs. Max McDermott, Traxler/Peter Capetillo 220: Jack Hart vs. Allen Stallings, Capetillo 285: Malik Scates vs. Chris Middlebrooks, Wes Kramer Who's Number One Duals at University of Pennsylvania Five of the nation's top twelve squads are among the eight teams competing at the Who's Number One Duals being conducted on Saturday by FloWrestling at The Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The teams will be split into two pools. Pool 1: No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 6 Clovis (Calif.), Holy Cross (N.J.), Delbarton (N.J.) Pool 2: No. 2 Bergen Catholic (N.J.), No. 9 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), No. 12 Lake Highland Prep (Fla.), St. Augustine Prep (N.J.) Teams will dual the other squads in their pool and then a crossover match against the team that finished in the same position from the other pool. The following nationally ranked wrestlers are possible competitors on Saturday. 106: No. 15 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy) 113: No. 4 Patrick Glory (Delbarton), No. 16 Chris Cannon (Blair Academy) 120: No. 2 Justin Mejia (Clovis), No. 18 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic) 126: No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic), No. 2 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic), No. 5 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep), No. 6 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) 132: No. 10 Requir van der Merwe (Blair Academy) 138: No. 4 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic) 160: No. 16 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy) 170: No. 4 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy), No. 6 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), No. 10 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic), No. 12 Elijah Cleary (Lake Highland Prep) 195: No. 3 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy), No. 5 Josh Hokit (Clovis), No. 6 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic) 220: No. 5 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross), No. 9 A.J. Nevills (Clovis) 285: No. 6 Seth Nevills (Clovis) No. 6 Clovis will also take on No. 2 Bergen Catholic on Thursday night As part of the perennial California state champions' trip to the east coast, the No. 6 ranked Cougars will compete in a dual meet at No. 2 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) on Thursday night. This should be a stern test for each team, though Clovis is likely to be without at least two starters due to injury, No. 2 Justin Mejia at 120 pounds and returning state qualifier Brandon Martino at 1378/145. There will be two other dual meets within the event at Bergen Catholic: Clovis facing Paramus (N.J.), who placed 10th at the Beast of the East in December; along with Bergen Catholic facing arch rival No. 33 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) Below are the projected lineups for each squad: 106: Richie Halal (Bergen Catholic), Brandon Betancourt/Brandon Paulson (Clovis), Mike Reardon (Don Bosco Prep), Kyle Kaiser (Paramus) 113: Carmen Ferrante, Wyatt Cornelison, Ryan Caywood, Joey Pettineo 120: No. 18 Gerard Angelo, No. 2 Justin Mejia/Cody Okerson, Tommy Chiellini, Jack Bessen 126: No. 1 Nick Suriano, Brandon Rhoads/Max Anderson, TBD, Nick Petinneo 132: Chris Foca, Rhoads/Anderson, Evan Deluise, Ryan Freeman 138: No. 4 Shane Griffith/Ricky Cabanillas, Jordan Geiger, Robert Arloro, Joe Capone 145: Andrew Somple, Dylan Martinez, Taylor Shay, Brandon Loftiss 152: Brady Ford, Jared Hill, Dominick Mandarino, Alex Sebahie 160: Jerod Rolan/Anthony Astarian, Victor Vargas, No. 6 Kyle Bierdumpfel, Kyle Cochran 170: No. Joe Grello, Jerrin Dean, Costa Hartofilis, Chris Voorhis 182: Josh McKenzie, Ruger Wyneken, Peter Acciardi, Ryan Forero 195: No. 6 Kevin Mulligan, No. 5 Josh Hokit, Alec Corrao, Brian Bonino 220: Danny DeLorenzi/TBD, No. 9 A.J. Nevills, John Grifonetti, Michael Daniele 285: Antonio Alfano, No. 6 Seth Nevills, Eric Chakonis, Sam Daniels It should be noted that Bergen Catholic wrestled without Griffith and DeLorenzi at Doc Buchanan. One, both, or neither may be back for the Crusaders' competitions this week. No. 30 Southeast Polk travels to No. 32 West Des Moines Valley in Iowa showdown on Saturday With both squads having taken eight matches from No. 34 Fort Dodge in Thursday night dual meets over the course of the season, this match between Southeast Polk and West Des Moines Valley is for the top spot in the state of Iowa. This will also only be chapter one as a dual meet for the season, as the teams will most likely meet in the Class 3A District 5 final to determine a spot among the eight teams in the state dual meet tournament. Southeast Polk beat Fort Dodge 36-27 on December 17, while West Des Moines Valley earned their 42-28 victory on January 7. This matchup will take place as part of multi-team dual meet event at West Des Moines Valley on Saturday. Below are projected lineups for this dual meet (* indicates wrestler is ranked in the top ten in their weight class in Iowa 3A per The Predicament as of January 7). 106: *Nick Oldham (West Des Moines Valley) vs. Mark Ames/Devin Harmison (Southeast Polk) 113: *Spencer Hutchinson/Noah Micka vs. *Gauge Perrien 120: Damond Lockner vs. *Adam Brown 126: *Grant Stotts/Tristan Cobb vs. *Nathan Lendt 132: Stotts/Cobb vs. *Zach Barnes 138: Noah Carr vs. *Cody Batterson 145: *Joel Shapiro vs. Gunner Jorgensen 152: Joe Nicholson vs. Solomon Jones 160: *Jack Koethe vs. Gavin Babcock 170: *Austin Stotts/Tanner Smith vs. *Cody Wonderlich 182: Stotts/Smith vs. *Kameron Padavich 195: Connor Corbin vs. Eric Pingel 220: *Rocky Lombadi vs. No. 6 *Ethan Andersen 285: Riley McClaskey vs. Daniel Ramirez Let the state championship season commence! Even though the state championships for both classifications in Alaska (123A and 4A) were held four weekends ago, state championship season in the "Lower 48 (err, 47)" starts this weekend. It commences with the dual meet championships for the state of Georgia in all six classifications. No. 22 Archer is the heavy favorite in Class 6A, which is the largest division; while No. 28 Camden County is strongly favored in Class 5A. Escape the Rock Tournament anchored by four Fab 50 teams Over 45 teams are slated to compete at the Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Council Rock South (Pa.), which is outside of Philadelphia. Nationally ranked teams are No. 11 Belle Vernon Area (Pa.), No. 20 Malvern Prep (Pa.), No. 26 Boyertown (Pa.), and No. 33 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.). Other notable squads include Colonial Forge (Va.), Council Rock South (Pa.), Cumberland Valley (Pa.), and Pennridge (Pa.) Preliminary seeds have been posted for the event on the tournament website . As a result, the following entrants are in the national rankings. 106: No. 19 Kurt McHenry (St. Paul's, Md.) 113: No. 7 Matthew Parker (Pennridge, Pa.), No. 11 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.), No. 12 Julian Chlebove (Northampton, Pa.) 132: No. 12 Zach Trampe (Council Rock South, Pa.) 145: No. 6 Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.), No. 9 Eric Hong (Kiski Prep, Pa.) 160: No. 6 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) 170: No. 3 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) 182: No. 7 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.), No. 16 Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.) 195: No. 13 John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg, Pa.), No. 17 Rashon Lusane (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 220: No. 2 Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.), No. 18 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep, Pa.) 285: No. 19 Andrew Gunning (Bethlehem Liberty, Pa.) No. 1 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) travels to the Eastern States Classic in New York State Over 150 schools will be sending competitors to the Eastern States Classic this Friday and Saturday at Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. Anchoring the field will be defending champions Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), the nation's top ranked team, though they will be absent one of their best wrestlers -- Mason Manville, who is ranked No. 1 nationally at 152 pounds. Also in the field are two other Fab 50 teams, No. 40 Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.) and No. 42 Long Beach (N.Y.), as well as Hilton (N.Y.) Below is a listing of nationally ranked wrestlers slated to compete in this event: 106: No. 1 Adam Buseillo (Eastport-South Manor, N.Y.) 113: No. 6 Thomas Cox (Deer Park, N.Y.), No. 1 overall junior high wrestlers Beau Bartlett (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 120: No. 17 Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge, N.Y.) 126: No. 12 Peter Pappas (Plainview JFK, N.Y.) 132: No. 2 Vitali Arujau (Syosset, N.Y.) 138: No. 1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, N.Y.) 145: No. 10 Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield, N.Y.), No. 15 Leonard Merkin (Poly Prep, N.Y.) 152: No. 11 Chris Mauriello (Hauppauge, N.Y.) 160: No. 13 Alex Herringshaw (Holland Patent, N.Y.) 170: No. 9 Louie Deprez (Hilton, N.Y.) 182: No. 11 (at 195) Christian Dietrich (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 12 Kevin Parker (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) 195: No. 1 (at 182) Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 7 Christian Araneo (Ward Melville, N.Y.) 220: No. 15 Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 285: No. 9 Edwin Rubio (John Glenn, N.Y.)

The Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend tends to also be a busy one for teams across the country. Here is the schedule for nationally ranked teams during the week of January 13 through 19. No. 1 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- travel to Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake (N.Y.) for the Eastern States Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 2 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- host No. 6 Clovis (Calif.) and No. 33 Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) for dual meets tomorrow night, compete in the Who's No. 1 Duals at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday, host Pope John (N.J.) and Paramus Catholic (N.J.) on Monday 1/18. No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. -- compete in the Who's No. 1 Duals at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday No. 4 Buchanan, Calif. -- host Central (Calif.) in dual meet tonight No. 5 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- travel to No. 7 St. Edward (Ohio) for dual meet on Saturday evening No. 6 Clovis, Calif. -- travel to Clovis East (Calif.) for dual meet tonight, compete at Bergen Catholic (N.J.) against the hosts and Paramus (N.J.) tomorrow night, compete in the Who's No. 1 Duals at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday No. 7 St. Edward, Ohio -- host No. 4 St. Paris Graham (Ohio) for dual meet on Saturday evening No. 8 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- host York (Ill.) in dual meet on Friday, travel to No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.) for multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 9 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- host Parkland (Pa.) in dual meet tonight, compete in the Who's No. 1 Duals at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday No. 10 Tuttle, Okla. -- host Greg Henning Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 11 Belle Vernon Area, Pa. -- host Albert Gallatin (Pa.) in dual meet tonight, travel to Council Rock South (Pa.) for the Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday and Sunday No. 12 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. -- compete in the Who's No. 1 Duals at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, Pa.) on Saturday No. 13 Poway, Calif. -- travel to Canyon Crest (Calif.) for dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Battle for the Belt at Temecula Valley (Calif.) on Friday and Saturday No. 14 Mt. Carmel, Ill. -- travel to Lyons Township (Ill.) for dual meet tomorrow, host Brother Rice (Ill.) in dual meet on Friday, compete in the Hinsdale South (Ill.) Quad on Saturday No. 15 Carl Sandburg, Ill. -- host Rockford (Ill.) Stagg in dual meet tomorrow night, host Lockport (Ill.) in dual meet on Friday, host multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 16 Apple Valley, Minn. -- host Rosemount (Minn.) in dual meet on Friday No. 17 Elyria, Ohio -- compete in Bill Dies Memorial Tournament at Akron (Ohio) Firestone on Friday and Saturday No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. - travel to Buffalo (Minn.) for dual meet tomorrow, compete in the East Ridge (Minn.) Tournament on Saturday No. 19 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- host No. 27 Montini Catholic (Ill.) in dual meet on Friday, travel to No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.) for multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 20 Malvern Prep, Pa. -- host Chestnut Hill (Pa.) Academy in dual meet on Friday, travel to Council Rock South (Pa.) for the Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday and Sunday No. 21 Washington, Ill. -- host Bloomington (Ill.) and Moline (Ill.) in tri-meet tomorrow No. 22 Archer, Ga. -- compete in state dual meet championships at the Macon (Ga.) Coliseum on Thursday through Saturday No. 23 Delta, Ohio -- travel to Montpelier (Ohio) for tri-meet with the hosts and Patrick Henry (Ohio) tomorrow, compete in Maumee Bay Classic at Oregon Clay (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday No. 24 Allen, Texas -- host Berkner (Texas) in dual meet tonight, host dual meet state championships on Saturday No. 25 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- host Cannon Falls (Minn.) and Hayfield (Minn.) in tri-meet tomorrow, travel to Osage (Iowa) for the Green Devil Team Duals No. 26 Boyertown, Pa. -- travel to Perkiomen Valley (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, travel to Council Rock South (Pa.) for the Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday and Sunday No. 27 Nazareth, Pa. -- travel to Easton (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, host East Stroudsburg South (Pa.) in dual meet on Friday No. 28 Camden County, Ga. -- compete in state dual meet championships at the Macon (Ga.) Coliseum on Thursday through Saturday No. 29 Platte County, Mo. -- travel to No. 44 Park Hill (Mo.) for dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Basheor-Linwood (Kansas) Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 30 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- travel to Ankeney (Iowa) for dual meet tomorrow, compete in the West Des Moines Valley (Iowa) Duals on Saturday No. 31 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- host Marist (Ill.) in dual meet tomorrow, travel to No. 19 Marmion Academy for dual meet on Friday, travel to Dakota (Ill.) for quad meet on Saturday No. 32 West Des Moines Valley, Iowa -- travel to Dowling Catholic (Iowa) for dual meet tomorrow, host multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 33 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- travel to Paramus Catholic (N.J.) for dual meet tonight, travel to Council Rock South (Pa.) for the Escape the Rock Tournament on Saturday and Sunday No. 34 Fort Dodge, Iowa -- host Marshalltown (Iowa) in dual meet tonight, compete in Cedar Rapids Jefferson (Iowa) Invitational on Saturday No. 35 Brownsburg, Ind. -- compete in conference tournament at Avon (Ind.) on Saturday No. 36 Pueblo County, Colo. -- travel to Pueblo East (Colo.) for dual meet tomorrow, compete in Bulldog Invitational at Centennial (Pueblo, Colo.) on Saturday No. 37 Kiski Area, Pa. -- host Penn Hills (Pa.) in dual meet tonight, travel to Erie (Pa.) McDowell for dual meet on Saturday No. 38 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio -- travel to Thomas Worthington (Ohio) for tri-meet with the hosts and Upper Arlington (Ohio) on Thursday, compete in Maumee Bay Classic at Oregon Clay (Ohio) on Friday and Saturday No.39 Warren Central, Ind. -- host Warren Duals on Saturday No. 40 Monroe Woodbury, N.Y. -- travel to Bergen Catholic (N.J.) for dual meet against No. 6 Clovis (Calif.) tomorrow, travel to Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake (N.Y.) for the Eastern States Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Anoka, Minn. -- host Centennial (Minn.) in dual meet tomorrow, travel to Elk River (Minn.) for an individual bracket tournament on Saturday No. 42 Long Beach, N.Y. -- compete in dual meet at Westbury (N.Y.) tonight, travel to Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake (N.Y.) for the Eastern States Wrestling Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Hartland, Mich. -- travel to Milford (Mich.) for tri-meet against the hosts and Pinckney (Mich.) tonight, travel to Central Michigan University for dual meets against Davison (Mich.) and Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) on Sunday No. 44 Park Hill, Mo. -- host No. 33 Platte County (Mo.) tomorrow, compete in Jefferson City (Mo.) Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 45 Reynolds, Pa. -- host Mercer (Pa.) in dual meet tonight, compete in the Brookville (Pa.) Duals on Saturday No. 46 Pomona, Colo. -- travel to Chatfield (Colo.) in dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Arvada West (Colo.) Invitational on Saturday No. 47 San Marino, Calif. -- No. 48 Lowell, Mich. -- host Caledonia (Mich.) in dual meet tonight, host Gary Rivers Memorial Invitational on Saturday No. 49 Post Falls, Idaho -- host Columbia (Idaho) and Sandpoint (Idaho) in tri-meet on Thursday, host the River City Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Good Counsel, Md. -- host tri-meet against Bishop Ireton (Md.) and Bishop O'Connell (Md.) tonight, travel to Stephen Decatur (Md.) for the War on the Shore Tournament on Friday and Saturday

Drew Pariano, former Northwestern University head wrestling coach who was fired in late October, responded to a recent InterMat "2015 in review" article which described his dismissal as a "bafflement." In an email to this writer who authored the "Looking back at 2015: Other newsworthy stories" which mentioned his firing as one of the baffling developments of the year, Pariano wrote, "I am looking forward to the next chapter in my coaching/administrative career. The AD (athletic director) decided that a change was needed and I respect his opinion. I will come back an even stronger coach with a greater perspective on our sport, its future, and what we can do (as a wrestling community) to strengthen our brand. I absolutely love the competitive side of collegiate coaching and developing athletes is one of the most rewarding experiences any former wrestler-turned-coach can have. We are unique in that our coaches across all NCAA divisions have competed in the sport. We know the highs and lows that our athletes experience. We can help an 18-to-23 year old with what they are going through, whether it's on the mat or off the mat. Putting the athlete before yourself is paramount and being one-hundred percent accessible to the athlete is a prerequisite in wrestling. We have personal relationships that coaches in other sports may never experience or comprehend. It's what sets us apart …" Drew Pariano (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)In a follow-up message to InterMat, Pariano wrote, "Our program went through a lot in the past year and our athletes have gone through unthinkable challenges, most specifically Jason Tsirtsis with his family's loss and Pierce Harger with his injury moments before the NCAA Quarterfinals." "I am truly grateful to Northwestern University, and yet I believe that my coaching career or a possible future in athletic administration is in some ways, just starting to take off…" "Sometimes, people need to blaze new trails and escape from their 'home base' to continue to mature professionally. Northwestern was home to me for 15 of my last 20 years as both an athlete and coach. It's also imperative that I thank Tim Cysewski. Had it not been for Timmy, I would have never been at Northwestern as an athlete or as a coach. The man was and will remain a huge part of my life. Apart from calling Tim my coach, I get to call him my mentor, boss, co-worker, and most importantly, a great friend." Pariano wrestled for Cysewski at Northwestern from 1995-1999, where he was a three-time NCAA qualifier as well as an academic All-American. He returned to the Evanston, Ill. Big Ten school as an assistant coach in 2005, then was promoted to associate head coach before taking the helm of the Wildcats in June 2010. During Pariano's tenure on the Northwestern coaching staff, the Wildcats could claim an Olympic wrestler (Jake Herbert, 2012), four NCAA champs, 24 NCAA All-Americans, and ten Big Ten champs. "The program has experienced a plethora of injuries in the past few years and it's been difficult on the staff," Pariano continued. "Matt, Brandon, Conor and Tim all provide different experiences and they diversify the room. With increased health, each athlete in the program will greatly improve as the season takes shape. The current staff is very accomplished and they will have their best team out on the mat by the time March approaches."

Big weekend of high school wrestling came and went, it included two tournaments that featured fourteen of the nation's Fab 50 teams. Here were some of the highlights. Bergen Catholic (N.J.) with strong statement at the Doc Buchanan Invitational For the first time in the 39-year history of the Doc Buchanan Invitational, it was won by an out of state team. Bergen Catholic (N.J.), ranked No. 2 nationally, ended the six year run of titles for the host squad of Clovis (Calif.) with an impressive performance in which they scored 224 points, placing 12 starting wrestlers to go along with two backups. Leading the way for the Crusaders were three weight class champions, No. 19 Gerard Angelo (120), No. 1 Nick Suriano (126), and No. 11 Joe Grello (170). Two other wrestlers earned runner-up honors: Carmen Ferrante (113) and No. 5 Kevin Mulligan (195). Other starters to place for Bergen Catholic were Brady Ford (152) in third; freshmen Christopher Foca (132) and Josh McKenzie (182) in fifth; Ricky Cabanillas (138) in seventh; along with eight place finishes by Richie Halal (106), Andrew Somple (145), and Antonio Alfano (285). Reserve wrestlers to place were Wade Unger (138) in sixth and Nicky Cabanillas (120) in eighth. And to think state champion Shane Griffith (138) and state placer Danny DeLorenzi (220) should be returning within the next one to two weeks for the Crusaders. Finishing as runners-up with 212 points were No. 5 Buchanan, which was coming off their title won at the Clash National High School Wrestling Duals last weekend. The Bears had eight starters place, all in the top five, as well as reserve wrestler Jake Levatino (152) finishing sixth. Weight class champions for the Bears were No. 17 Durbin Lloren (132) and Anthony Montalvo (182), runner-up finishes came from Matthew Olguin (106) and Greg Gaxiola (152), Ethan Leake (113) and Cade Belshay (170) finished third, Trevor Ervin (195) placed fourth, while No. 18 Abner Romero (160) took home fifth. It's a testament to the perennial strength of the hosts, who are ranked No. 6 nationally, that seven placers including two champions on the way to 163 points can be called a disappointment. Especially when Clovis saw their best wrestler, No. 2 Justin Mejia, have to exit the tournament in the second round at 120 pounds; along with missing state qualifier Brandon Martino (138/145) from the lineup. Champions for the Cougars in this tournament were No. 8 (at 182) Josh Hokit (195), who earned the Outstanding Wrestler award for upper-weights, and No. 6 Seth Nevills (285); No. 11 (at 195) A.J. Nevills (220) placed second; Brandon Betancourt (106) finished sixth; Dylan Martinez (145) and Ruger Wynekem (182) placed seventh; while Jared Hill (152) finished eighth. Despite being outside the Fab 50, though not for long, Pueblo County (Colo.) had a most excellent tournament to place fourth with 132.5 points. They were anchored by a pair of weight class champions in Josiah Nava (113) and No. 13 (at 132) Chris Sandoval (138), who was named the Outstanding Wrestler among lower-weights. Four other wrestlers placed: Grant Willits (126) in third, Hunter Willits (145) in fourth, Nathan Bonham (106) in fifth, and Justin Davis (132) in eighth. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy) at 106 pounds, No. 5 Zander and No. 4 Evan Wick (San Marino) at 145 and 152, No. 11 Layne van Anrooy (Rosebug, Ore.) at 160, and No. 9 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) at 220. Mt. Carmel (Ill.) takes home the Cheese(head) in Wisconsin One of the season's bigger stories has been the re-emergence of Mt. Carmel into a strong national force as John Kading puts his stamp on the Caravan. If it wasn't already apparent, it became abundantly clear this weekend when No. 21 Mt. Carmel (Ill.) earned the tournament title at the Cheesehead Invitational over a field that included seven other nationally ranked teams. Mt. Carmel entered 13 wrestlers in the tournament, eleven of them placed in the top eight, another wrestler earned 9th (which meant they were champion of the "middle bracket"), while returning Kaleb Guzior (120) finished 16th after sustaining an injury in his second match that precluded him from competing further in the tournament. All eleven top eight placers finished within the top six, led by champion Matthew Reyes (285) and a runner-up finish from No. 19 Jake Tucker (152). Finishing third were Yahya Thomas (126), Cameron Lopez (60), and David Riojas (170); fifth place finishes came from Kendall Coleman (132) and Dillon Hoey (145); while Joey Egan (113), Jack Mulay (138), Dru Worker (195), and Leo Ortiz (220) each finished sixth. That was enough to amass 582 points. Tournament runners-up despite the absence of state placer Robbie Precin (126) were No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.) with 557 points, eight placers within the top eight, and an additional ninth place finisher. The Eagles were led by a first place finish from No. 6 Rudy Yates (132) as well as runner-up finishes from Louie Hayes (113) and Brian Krasowski (170). Third place finishes were earned by Kevin Stearns (120), Christian Robertson (138), and No. 18 Patrick Brucki (182). Placing fifth was John Prieto (152), while Ben Schneider (160) took eighth. It was a tight battle for third place between a trio of Minnesota teams - No. 39 Kasson-Mantorville (465 points), No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville (459), and No. 16 Apple Valley (445.5). The Komets placed nine in the top eight, including two finalists, champion No. 4 Brady Berge (160) and runner-up Noah Ryan (195); St. Michael-Albertville only placed six in the top eight, but all of them were in the top three, including the weight class titles won by No. 16 Patrick and No. 5 Mitchell McKee at 106 and 138; while the Eagles placed six in the top eight and an additional wrestler in ninth, led by weight class champions in No. 1 Mark Hall (170) and No. 1 Gable Steveson (220), despite missing state placer Brock Morgan (145) from the lineup. Finishing sixth in the tournament was No. 33 Platte County (Mo.) with 438.5 points, as they had eight top eight placers. The Pirates were led by the weight class title won by No. 8 Matthew Schmitt (126) and the runner-up finishes from Cody Phippen (106) and No. 14 Ethan Karsten (145). No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa) finished eighth with 354.5 points, as they were without state placer Adam Brown (120) and two other starters; leading the way for the Rams were runner-up finishes from Zach Barnes (138) and No. 6 Ethan Andersen (220). No. 27 Montini Catholic (Ill.) finished ninth with 313 points, led by five top eight placers; while feeling the absence of No. 16 Will Lewan at 138 pounds. The Broncos lone champion was No. 2 Real Woods (113), No. 8 Dylan Duncan (132) placed second, while No. 10 Joey Melendez (106) placed third. Rounding out the weight class champions were Paul Bianchi (Two Rivers, Wis.) at 120 pounds, No. 3 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita's, Ill.) at 145, No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.) at 152, No. 3 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.) at 182, and No. 16 Jacob Raschka (Pewaukee, Wis.) at 195. No. 1 Pletcher falls to defeat in finals of the WCCA Tournament Two nationally ranked teams and a large number of nationally ranked individuals were among the field at the Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament held at Franklin Regional High School just outside of Pittsburgh this weekend. No. 40 Kiski Area outlasted No. 12 Belle Vernon Area by a score of 215 to 209 for the title, though it should be noted that the runner-up Leopards were without the presence of No. 3 Austin Bell at 170 pounds. The tournament champion Cavaliers placed eleven wrestlers, led by four runner-ups: Noah Levett (120), Matt Siszka (126), Tyler Worthing (182), and Chad Kuhn (220). Four other wrestlers placed third, two more took fourth, and another earned fifth. Runner-up Belle Vernon had three weight class champions in Derek Verkleeren (152), Mitch Hartman (160), and Milton Kobaly (182); while Jacob Dunlop (106) and No. 6 Jarod Verkleeren (145) placed second. Three Leopards wrestlers also finished third, while single wrestlers placed fourth and sixth. Two showdowns of nationally ranked wrestlers happened in the finals: No. 3 George Phillippi (Derry Area) upset No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) in the 138 pound final, winning with a rideout in the ultimate tiebreaker after the match was tied 2-2; while No. 2 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) upended Jarod Verkleeren 2-0 in the 145 pound final. Other weight class champions were Job Chishko (Penn Trafford) at 106, Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional) at 113, Ty Griffiths (Southmoreland) at 120, No. 6 Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) at 126, Luke Kemerer (Hempfield Area) at 132, Drew Phipps and Hayden Rice from Norwin at 195 and 285, along with Derek Berberick Greensburg-Salem) at 220. Rice won the 285 pound weight class when No. 10 Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) did not contest the final due to injury. Blair Academy (N.J.) bounces back with dominant repeat at the Geary Invitational Coming off of last Saturday's upset dual meet loss at St. Paris Graham (Ohio), No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.) continued its rigorous schedule with a trip to Oklahoma for the nation's oldest high school in-season tournament, the Geary Invitational. The Buccaneers dominated their way to the title with 209 points, placing 13 wrestlers, including six weight class champions: No. 13 Michael Colaiocco (106), Chris Cannon (113), Andrew Merola (145), No. 17 Ryan Karoly (160), No. 4 Brandon Dallavia (170), and No. 3 Chase Singletary (195). Requir van der Merwe, ranked No. 11 nationally, lost his championship bout by 5-3 decision to No. 3 Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.) at 132 pounds. Finishing second in the standings was No. 11 Tuttle (Okla.) with 141.5 points, as the Tigers placed nine wrestlers, including three champions: Noah McQuigg (120), Brik Filippo (138), and Blake Berryhill (220); McQuigg upset No. 12 (at 126) Dalton Duffield (Westmoore, Okla.) 4-1 in the championship match. Finishing as runners-up were Dayton Garrett (160) and Tanner Johnson (170), Tanner Litterell (132) finished third losing by fall to van der Merwe in the semifinal. The squad was absent two-time state champion Beau Guffey (152). Rounding out the weight class champions were Montorie Bridges (126) of Altus (Okla.), Joseph Messer (152) and Gage Johnson (285) of Norman North (Okla.), and Isaiah Page (182) of Broken Arrow, Okla. Quick hits No. 8 St. Edward (Ohio) and No. 9 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.) each went 4-0 and dominated their opposition in the Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals on Saturday. Both squads beat the host Shamrocks and Portage (Ind.), who are top ten overall squads in their states. St. Edward also beat St. Johns and Hudson, who are top ten overall squads in Michigan; while Oak Park River Forest added victories against Davison (Mich.), top ten overall in their state, and No. 35 Brecksville (Ohio). No. 35 Brecksville lost to Wadsworth in a most excellent 28-22 dual meet on Thursday evening. The dual meet was split at seven weight classes apiece, as bonus points amassed by the Grizzlies made the difference. As a result, Wadsworth now has 68 consecutive dual meet wins in the Suburban League going back to December 2006; Brecksville is in their debut season in the conference. No. 36 Brownsburg (Ind.) won the title at the Mat Mayhem Duals this weekend in Fort Wayne, Ind. They beat Mechanicsburg (Ohio) 50-18 in the final, after the Indians upset No. 24 Lowell (Mich.) 42-22 in preliminary pool action. Returning to the mat this week were a pair of elite lower weights in Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) at 120 pounds and Ty Agaisse (Delbarton, N.J.) at 126. Look for both wrestlers to return to the weight class rankings on Wednesday. On the individual side of things, it was a classic finals bout in the 120 pound weight class at the Peoria (Ariz.) Tournament of Champions between a pair of top 15 wrestlers on Saturday night. No. 5 Roman Bravo-Young (Sunnyside) came through the 8-5 decision over No. 14 Brandon Courtney (Desert Edge) in the tiebreaker.

Junior National freestyle runner-up Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio), a multi-time All-American in Fargo across styles, verbally committed to the University of Michigan on Sunday evening. The defending state champion is also a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, a two-time Walsh Ironman runner-up, and was a UWW Cadet National runner-up last spring. Mattin is ranked No. 50 overall in the Class of 2017 and joins No. 44 Ben Freeman (Walled Lake Central, Mich.) in committing to the Wolverines.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Terps won seven bouts, including the final three of the match as the Maryland wrestling program secured its first-ever Big Ten Conference dual meet victory 26-10 over Michigan State Sunday afternoon. After trailing 3-8 through the first three weights, the Terps came from behind to take six of the next seven and move to 4-6 (1-3 Big Ten) on the year. The Spartans drop to 0-8 (0-3 Big Ten). “It feels good to finally get that first one,” said head coach Kerry McCoy. “It's been a long time coming we were really close last year. We were close with a bunch of opportunities in other matches, but finally we were able to push through and get it done. There's no real secret to it, guys went out there and wrestled hard. We had some roller coaster matches but guys were able to bounce back and finish strong. It's exciting to get this one. We're going to enjoy it for a little bit, but we're going to continue to get back to work we have a lot more coming.” After the visitors jumped out to a 5-0 lead on a technical fall at 125, redshirt senior Geoffrey Alexander (133) got the Terps back on track with his second head-to-head conference win of the year. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native got an early takedown for a 2-0 lead, then muscled his way to a hard fought escape for a 3-0 edge in the second period. MSU's Garth Yenter countered with a takedown, but an escape and late takedown from Alexander sealed a 7-2 decision. The Spartans would push the lead back to five with a close decision at 141, but freshman Wade Hodges (149) responded for the hosts with his first major decision win of the season. He jumped out to 6-0 lead after the first on a takedown and four-point near fall, then remained in control en route to a 9-0 major over Kaelan Richards. Consecutive victories from redshirt senior Lou Mascola (157) and freshman Brendan Burnham (165) put the Terps up by six, starting with a solid 8-4 decision for Mascola over Michigan State's Joe Johnson. The win marked the fourth Big Ten dual victory of the year for Mascola, who now sits at 12-3 on the season with a team-leading eight dual meet twins. Burnham turned in perhaps his most complete performance of the season vs. Dean Vettese, sealing a 13-3 major decision. The 10-point margin of victory was his largest of the year, as he continually found ways to take the Spartan to the mat giving his team a 14-8 advantage. MSU managed another win at 174 to cut it to 14-11, but it was all Maryland from there winning the final three. The Spartans didn't make it easy, as freshman Jaron Smith (184) found himself behind 0-4 on an early takedown and two-point near fall from Shwan Shadaia. Smith countered swapping two reversals for a takedown, but trailed 4-6 heading into the second period. There Smith took command, getting a takedown after an escape to get ahead 7-6. Both wrestlers were scrambling for points in the third, but Smith held up defensively to clinch his second straight Big Ten victory by decision. Redshirt-freshman Garrett Wesneski (197) was also on the ropes against Jacob Cooper, finding himself behind 2-1 with the clock winding down in the third period. A clutch reversal from the bottom ended up making the difference, as the Canton, Pa. native captured his first career Big Ten win. With the team decision in hand, freshman Youssif Hemida (285) provided perhaps the most entertaining match of the afternoon in a back-and-forth heavyweight tussle with Dimitrus Renfroe. The two wrestlers found themselves tied at four heading into the third, before a MSU penalty and takedown made it 6-5 in the final minute. There Hemida dug deep, getting a reversal and position on Renfroe to take the lead. From there the Mamaroneck, N.Y. native executed the pin with just two seconds remaining to send the XFINITY Center crowd into a frenzy and clinch the 26-10 team victory. The win marked the first victory for the Terps over Michigan State, who came into the day leading the all-time series 2-0. Maryland will be back in action for another Big Ten doubleheader next weekend January 15 & 17 when the team travels to wrestle Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana and Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Results: 125: Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) tech fall over Jhared Simmons (MD), 15-0 (0-5) 133: No. 15 Geoffrey Alexander (MD) decision over Garth Yenter (MSU), 7-2 (3-5) 141: Javier Gasca (MSU) decision over Alfred Bannister (MD), 7-4 (3-8) 149: Wade Hodges (MD) major decision over Kaelan Richards (MSU), 9-0 (7-8) 157: No. 18 Lou Mascola (MD) decision over Joe Johnson (MSU), 8-4 (10-8) 165: Brendan Burnham (MD) major decision over Dean Vettese (MSU), 13-3 (14-8) 174: Shane Shadaia (MSU) decision over Derrick Evanovich (MD), 3-1 (SV-1) (14-11) 184: Jaron Smith (MD) decision over Shwan Shadaia (MSU), 7-6 (17-11) 197: Garrett Wesneski (MD) decision over Jacob Cooper (MSU), 3-2 (20-10) (Unsportsmanlike penalty assessed) 285: Youssif Hemida (MD) fall over Dimitrus Renfroe (MSU), 6:58 (26-10)

LINCOLN, Neb. -- No. 9 Nebraska (9-1, 3-1 Big Ten) won seven of 10 matches against No. 23 Minnesota en route to a 24-10 victory at the Devaney Center on Sunday afternoon. Senior Jake Sueflohn, the No. 5 wrestler at 149 pounds by InterMat, earned his 100th career victory with a 5-3 decision over ninth-ranked Jake Short in the fourth bout of the day. With the win, Sueflohn becomes the 24th member of NU's 100-win club. No. 10 Tim Lambert (125) collected his 13th win in his last 14 matches with a 10-1 major decision over Steve Polakowski in the opening match of the dual. No. 13 Eric Montoya (133) and Anthony Abidin (141) added decisions in the next two bouts. Abidin notched a 10-6 decision over No. 10 Tommy Thorn after trailing by two points in the first period. No. 17 Tyler Berger (157) and No. 15 Austin Wilson (165) extended Nebraska's lead to 19-0 by each winning decisions. Dustin Williams fell to Nick Wanzek at 174 pounds, 10-1, but All-American TJ Dudley responded with a decisive technical fall at 184 pounds. Dudley, the No. 5 wrestler by InterMat at 184 pounds, won by a 17-2 margin over Chris Pfarr. Derek White (197) and No. 17 Collin Jensen (HWT) suffered losses in the final two matches of the afternoon. Jensen led No. 7 Michael Kroells several times during the match, but ultimately fell in sudden victory-1, 7-5. The Huskers return to action next weekend with a pair of Big Ten road duals. NU visits Penn State on Friday, Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. (CT) before battling Ohio State on Sunday, Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. Both duals will be streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required). Results: 125: #10 Tim Lambert (NEB) major dec. Steve Polakowski (MINN), 10-1 (NEB 4, MINN 0) 133: #13 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. Sam Brancale (MINN), 8-3 (NEB 7, MINN 0) 141: Anthony Abidin (NEB) dec. #10 Tommy Thorn (MINN), 10-6 (NEB 10, MINN 0) 149: #5 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) dec. #9 Jake Short (MINN), 5-3 (NEB 13, MINN 0) 157: #17 Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. Brandon Kingsley (MINN), 3-2 (NEB 16, MINN 0) 165: #15 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. Brandon Krone (MINN), 3-1 (NEB 19, MINN 0) 174: Nick Wanzek (MINN) major dec. Dustin Williams (NEB), 10-1 (NEB 19, MINN 4) 184: #5 TJ Dudley (NEB) tech. fall Chris Pfarr (MINN), 17-2 (NEB 24, MINN 4) 197: #4 Brett Pfarr (MINN) dec. Derek White (NEB), 5-2 (NEB 24, MINN 7) HWT: #7 Michael Kroells (MINN) sudden victory-1 #17 Collin Jensen (NEB), 7-5 (NEB 24, MINN 10)

DEKALB,Ill. -- The Orange and Blue stepped outside of the rugged Big Ten today when they traveled to take on Northern Illinois today in Dekalb, Illinois. Once there, the Illini got back to their winning ways with a strong performance, beating the Huskies 27-14, snapping their two-match losing streak. The victory was jump-started by a pin from Brooks Black to open the match and an upset of No. 12 Steve Bleise by Brock Ervin. After dropping his first two matches in Big Ten, Brooks Black responded with a commanding performance at heavyweight this afternoon. Black opened up the first period against Arthur Bunce with a takedown and two, two-point near falls. He increased his lead into the third period, where it stood 9-0, when he pinned Bunce with just under a minute remaining, giving the Illini an early 6-0 lead. At 125 pounds, Francis Edelen and Alijiah Jeffery battled hard for five straight minutes, but remained deadlocked at 2-2 entering the final period. After a reversal by Jeffery in the third period, Edelen responded with a reversal of his own at the end of the period. However, Jeffery's riding time exceeded the one-minute mark, giving him a 5-4 decision. At 133 pounds, Zane Richards won by forfeit after Austin Eicher of Northern Illinois was not available due to having the flu. With two of the first three matches resulting in six points for Heffernan's squad, the Illini led 12-3. The match of the day occurred at 141 pounds where Brock Ervin faced off against Northern Illinois' best, #12 Steve Bleise. The two grapplers went back-and-forth for seven, hard minutes with neither of them giving way to the other. Ervin led 4-3 after the first period when he grabbed both a reversal and a two-point near fall. Similar action took place in the second period with Ervin and Bleise exchanging takedowns and reversals that resulted in an 8-8 tie after two periods. In the final period, Bleise opened an early 11-8 lead, but once again Ervin refused to be denied. Ervin used an escape and two takedowns to retake the lead in the match's final seconds, while adding a point for riding time to ice the match. The 14-12 victory was Ervin's first career victory over a ranked opponent. At 149, Kyle Langenderfer and Gabe Morse spent most of the match in a stalemate with only an escape netting a point for the two. However, a takedown by Morse in period three was the difference in the a 3-1 victory for Northern Illinois. After intermission, Isaiah Martinez quickly dispatched of Huskies' grappler Austin Culton 22-4, needing only two periods to earn the technical fall. The technical fall was Martinez's 12th of the season, surpassing his NCAA-leading 11 from last season. The win also stretched his consecutive win streak to 59 straight matches. Northern Illinois' Shaun'Que McMurtry gave #6 Steven Rodrigues everything he could handle, pushing him hard for three periods. However, Rodrigues used an early takedown to gain a 2-0 lead and never relinquished his advantage. Rodrigues executed two more takedowns as he entered the final period up 6-3, where the redshirt-senior used an escape, a take down, and a point for riding time in period three to finalize his 10-6 decision. The win increased the Illini lead to 23-6, the largest of the day. Once again wrestling four weight classes above normal, Isaac Reinemann struggled to contain Trace Engelkes, who entered the dual 12-8 on the season. Reinemann hung with the Huskies' junior, only trailing 4-1 through one period and 10-4 through two, but Engelkes put Reinemann away in period three to earn a 24-7 technical fall. The five-point victory brought the Huskies deficit down to 23-11. Illinois' final victory of the day came at 184 pounds, where #16 Jeff Koepke earned a major decision over Quinton Rosser. Koepke struck early, and often, in period one, notching three takedowns and a two-point near fall to lead 8-2. The senior from Prospect Heights, Illinois continued to add on, during periods two and three, in route to an 18-6 major decision that pushed the Illini lead to 27-11. In the final bout of the day, Coach Heffernan elected to use redshirt-sophomore Danny Hicks at 197 pounds against Northern Illinois' Shawn Scott. Like multiple other matches on the day, the two wrestlers remained tight throughout After Scott claimed a 3-2 edge in period one, Hicks got an escape to tie the score 3-3 entering the final period. In the period three, Scott put Hicks away with an escape and a takedown to hold on for a 7-5 victory. The 27-14 victory over the in-state rival put the Orange and Blue back in the win column as they reenter Big Ten play next weekend. On Friday, the Fighting Illini will travel to Michigan 6 p.m. dual before completing the road trip in East Lansing with a noon central time match against Michigan State on Sunday. Results: HWT: Brooks Black (ILL) fall Arthur Bunce (NIU); 6:04 | 6-0 125: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) dec. Francis Edelen (ILL) 5-4 | 6-3 133: #3 Zane Richards (ILL) forfeit Austin Eicher (NIU) | 12-3 141: Brock Ervin (ILL) dec. #12 Steve Bleise (NIU), 14-12 | 15-3 149: Gabe Morse (NIU) dec. Kyle Langenderfer (ILL), 3-1 | 15-6 157:#1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall Austin Culton (NIU), 22-4 (3:34) | 20-6 165: #6 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) dec. Shaun'Que McMurtry (NIU), 10-6 | 23-6 174: Trace Engelkes (NIU) tech fall Isaac Reinemann (ILL), 24-7 | 23-11 184: #16 Jeff Koepke (ILL) major dec. Quinton Rosser (NIU), 18-6 | 27-11 197: Shawn Scott (NIU) dec. Danny Hicks (ILL), 7-5 | 27-14

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Coach Tom Borrelli stressed the importance of riding time Saturday after his Central Michigan wrestling team dropped a non-conference dual meet to Oregon State. On Sunday, that crucial factor hit home for the Chippewas. CMU's Newton Smerchek defeated Jesse Webb, 2-1, in the heavyweight match to lift the Chippewas to a 16-15 victory over Ohio in a Mid-American Conference dual at McGuirk Arena. CMU, which is ranked 16th, improved to 5-1 overall, 2-0 MAC. No. 21 Ohio is 5-2, 1-2. Smerchek and Webb were tied, 1-1, when the final buzzer sounded. Smerchek earned the riding-time point as he held the advantage for 1 minute, 41 seconds of the match. Both teams won five matches and the score stood 15-15 after Smerchek's win. The Chippewas won the meet based on the third tie-breaker, total points, which ended 39-36 in their favor. "I think we found out (Saturday) how important riding is," Borrelli said. "Oregon State wore us out on top and we tried to do that today." The meet was about as even as one can get and, after 15th-ranked Phil Wellington defeated CMU's Jackson Lewis, 4-1, at 197, the Bobcats led, 15-12. Smerchek stepped on the mat knowing he needed a victory to pull the Chippewas even and give them a chance to win the tie-breaker. "I just told him to be himself," Borrelli said. "Newton knows what he has to do to win. He's got to be good on top, which is what he did today. He's just got to be himself, he's got to wrestle from the positions he's good at. He really did a good job on top today." Equally as important as riding time for the Chippewas were aggressiveness and striving to score as many points as possible. Eight of the 10 matches were decided by two points or less, and another, Lewis' loss to Wellington, was decided by just three points. CMU's Brent Fleetwood defeated Shakur Laney, 9-2, in the day's opening bout, 125 pounds. Fleetwood's margin of victory eventually proved critical. "I would say that was the difference in the dual meet," Borrelli said. "When I say that I mean him scoring nine points in that match. That was huge. "(Fleetwood) was good on top today. He turned the guy and got a four-point near-fall. He was real good on top and that's his best position." Another key came at 174, where CMU's Mike Ottinger defeated Cody Walters, 3-2. Ottinger got a reversal with 45 seconds remaining. Ottinger is ranked 12th in the weight class, Walters is ninth and placed first a week ago at the prestigious Midlands Championships. It was Ottinger's fourth victory in five career meetings with Walters. "Just keeping my composure (was key)," said Ottinger, a senior. "I've wrestled so many good guys in the last month. I think he got kind of amped up for it, and I just went out like it was just another match." Which, he added, was the Chippewas' philosophy coming into the Ohio meet despite the 26-9 loss on Saturday to Oregon State. "I think we were motivated by the loss a little bit, but we were just trying to get ready for the next one," Ottinger said. "Coach keeps pressing about don't let it bother you, don't get too high or low. "You just kind of put your head down and keep going. We've got to wrestle Missouri next week. There's no time to be happy or sad." The Chippewas' other victories came from Zach Horan (141), 4-3 over Noah Forrider; and freshman Justin Oliver (149), 5-3 over Cullen Cummings. It was CMU's fifth consecutive dual meet victory over the Bobcats. Ohio has beaten the Chippewas just once since 1998. "I know Ohio really, really wants us bad," Borrelli said. "They haven't beat us in a long time. They thought they were going to get us today and our guys responded pretty well. "I didn't tell them too much. I just said, 'Are you ready to compete?' (Ottinger) had a really huge win. (Smerchek) came through for us. There were some other matches where we kind of left them out there. But you've got to give (Ohio) credit too. "Anytime you win you feel a lot better about yourself. I think when you have some success, especially as a team, I think you can be harder on the guys in practice because they understand, 'Hey, we can get better.' "They feel good about themselves. When you keep getting knocked down and you try to be hard on guys, it's tough." Results: 125 pounds: Brent Fleetwood (CMU) decisioned Shakur Laney, 9-2. 133: Cameron Kelly (OU) def. Corey Keener, 3-2. 141: Zach Horan (CMU) def. Noah Forrider, 4-3. 149: Justin Oliver (CMU) def. Cullen Cummings, 5-3. 157: Spartak Chino (OU) def. Luke Smith, 4-3. 165: Austin Reese (OU) def. Jordan Atienza, 9-7 SV-1. 174: Mike Ottinger (CMU) def. Cody Walters, 3-2. 184: Andrew Romanchik (OU) def. Jordan Ellingwood (CMU), 5-3. 197: Phil Wellington (OU) def. Jackson Lewis, 4-1. HWT: Newton Smerchek (CMU) def. Jesse Webb, 2-1. CMU wins on tie-breaker, most match points, 39-36.

EVANSTON, Illinois -- The University of Iowa wrestling team improved to 4-0 in the Big Ten and 10-0 overall with a 54-0 win against Northwestern on Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The second-ranked Hawkeyes (10-0, 4-0) scored bonus points in nine matches -- including five pins and a technical fall -- to record the largest margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent in school history, topping the previous mark of 53-0 against Illinois in 1992. The 54 points scored are the most against a Big Ten team in program history, and the 54-0 win is the largest win in series history (50-0, 1979). "It was more than going out and scoring points," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "This was about wrestling opponents that we could have overlooked and we didn't, and that was good." Iowa took a 30-0 lead into intermission after Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, and Edwin Cooper recorded falls, and Topher Carton and Brandon Sorensen won by forfeit. Northwestern didn't field a wrestler against Carton at 141, and midway through the second period the Wildcats' third-ranked Jason Tsirtsis medically forfeited to Sorensen at 149. Sorensen was finishing a takedown 1:15 into the second period when Tsirtsis pulled out with an elbow injury. "My goal is not to hurt the guy," said Sorensen. "I wanted to finish the match. I rode him longer this time, took him down earlier this time, so that's good, now we need to do multiple, even in the first period." The second half included two more Iowa pins, one technical fall and one major decision. Patrick Rhoads won by decision at 165, Alex Meyer recorded a technical fall for the second time in as many times out at 174, Nathan Burak extended his career-best win streak to 15 with a major decision at 197, and Sammy Brooks and Sam Stoll recorded pins at 184 and 285, respectively. Brooks was leading 15-1 and looking at a potential match termination when he finally stuck his opponent with 50 seconds left in the second. "I didn't want to let that pin go," said Brooks. "I wanted it bad. I went from position to position until it worked out." The Hawkeyes' lone decision of the day came at 165, where Patricks Rhoads won 9-3. "The only thing we need to work on was scoring bonus points at 165," added Brands. "We could have had bonus points at every weight, that would have made a better statement in my mind. "We want to wrestle in the moment, but doing a good job now makes it easier down the road, it's that simple. The positive impacts a positive for the future." Iowa returns to the mat Friday, Jan. 15 in Madison, Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes and Badgers meet at 8 p.m. at the Kohl Center. The dual is televised on BTN. NOTES: Attendance was 960... the 54-0 win was the largest margin of victory in series history, and the largest margin of victory in a Big Ten dual in program history... Iowa has won 11 straight conference road duals... Gilman improved to 14-0 with 12 wins by bonus point, his 14-match win streak matches a career high... Sorensen has won 15 straight for the first time in his career... Meyer's technical fall was his second of the weekend, and second of the season... Burak has won a career-best 14 straight matches... Sam Stoll and Thomas Gilman share the team lead with six falls. Results: 125 -- #2 Thomas Gilman (IA) pinned Garrison White (NW), 0:56; 6-0 133 -- #2 Cory Clark (IA) pinned Dominick Malone (NW), 6:41; 12-0 141 -- Topher Carton (IA) won by forfeit; 18-0 149 -- #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) medical forfeit #3 Jason Tsirtsis (NW), 24-0 157 -- #16 Edwin Cooper, Jr. (IA) pinned Anthony Petrone (NW) 30-0 165 -- Patrick Rhoads (IA) dec. Luke Norland (NW), 9-3; 33-0 174 -- #10 Alex Meyer (IA) tech. fall Mitch Sliga (NW), 15-0; 38-0 184 -- #8 Sammy Brooks (IA) pinned Regis Durbin (NW), 4:10; 44-0 197 -- #3 Nathan Burak (IA) major dec. Jacob Berkowitz (NW), 13-3; 48-0 285 -- #8 Sam Stoll (IA) pinned Conan Jennings (NW), 3:46; 54-0

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Junior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) provided the magic No. 4 Mizzou Wrestling (7-0) needed to erase a 17-10 deficit to defeat No. 14 Cornell (1-3), 18-17, Sunday at Jesse Auditorium. Head Coach Brian Smith bumped redshirt sophomore Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) and Cox up one weight class to 197 pounds and heavyweight, respectively. The strategy paid off, as Miklus won his match by decision, and Cox earned a victory by technical fall over Jeramy Sweany, 24-9, to push Mizzou over the top for the 18-17 win. Mizzou's dual win-streak improved to 35 duals with the defeat of the No. 14-rated Big Red. 1,224 fans were in attendance Sunday to witness the Tigers' win, the second time in program history Mizzou has wrestled in Jesse Auditorium. The Tigers defeated Ohio, 23-10, on Dec. 6, 2013. Cornell had a 6-0 lead after two matches when redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.) took to the mat. The Tiger junior earned a 9-1 major decision against Will Koll, scoring four points for the Tigers. Manley scored a near-fall in the closing seconds of the third period, then riding time gave him his ninth point for the 9-1 major decision. Manley improved to 6-0 in dual competition and 20-4 overall with the victory. Next, redshirt junior Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) continued his undefeated season with a 9-2 decision win over Joey Galasso. Mayes took control early with a takedown in the first period, and never looked back. Mayes is now 16-0 this year and 7-0 in duals. The decision victory gave Mizzou a 7-6 lead after four matches, the first lead of the day for the Tigers. Redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) squared up against Duke Pickett in the 165-pound match. Lewis earned a 3-2 victory by decision in overtime. In the third period, Lewis scored an escape with 1:39 left and another escape with 32 seconds left to make the score 2-2. The score remained tied at 2-2 through two overtime periods, despite excellent wrestling by Lewis, who came close to scoring takedowns on two separate occasions. Finally, in the third overtime, Lewis scored an escape with just eight seconds left on the clock to secure the win, 3-2. The victory by decision gave the lead back to Mizzou by the score of 10-9. Cornell led 17-10 heading into the 197-pound match between W. Miklus and Jake Taylor. Miklus was awarded a stalling point with one minute left in the third period, giving him an 8-7 victory by decision. Miklus improved to 11-2 this year and a perfect 7-0 in duals. The victory cut the Cornell lead to 17-13 going into the final heavyweight match. Cox took to the mat needing a technical fall against Cornell's Jeramy Sweany for Mizzou to win the dual. Cox used 10 takedowns, including four in the third period to make the score, 23-9. At the end of the match, riding time was in Cox's favor, giving him the victory by technical fall, 24-9, and Mizzou the dual, 18-17. The Tigers will be back in action again on Friday, Jan. 15 when they take on MAC rival Eastern Michigan at the Hearnes Center. The dual will begin at 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed on the ESPN3/Watch ESPN. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling). Results: 125: Dalton Macri (Cornell) def. Barlow McGhee (Mizzou) by 7-6 decision 133: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) def. Zach Synon (Mizzou) by 12-5 decision 141: Matt Manley (Mizzou) def. William Koll (Cornell) by 9-1 major decision 149: Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) def. Joey Galasso (Cornell) by 9-2 decision 157: Chris Dowdy (Cornell) def. Le'Roy Barnes (Mizzou) by 9-7 decision 165: Daniel Lewis (Mizzou) def. George Pickett (Cornell) by 3-2 TB-1 174: Brian Realbuto (Cornell) def. Blaise Butler (Mizzou) by 3-2 decision 184: Gabriel Dean (Cornell) def. Tim Miklus (Mizzou) by 18-1 technical fall 197: Willie Miklus (Mizzou) def. Jacob Taylor (Cornell) by 8-7 decision HWT: J'Den Cox (Mizzou) def. Jeramy Sweany (Cornell) by 24-9 technical fall

PHILADELPHIA -- No. 10 Lehigh faced a tough challenge from a Penn team wrestling its first dual meet of the season but the Mountain Hawks found a way to win seven bouts in a 27-10 victory over the Quakers Sunday at the Palestra. A 4-2 decision by senior Nathaniel Brown over Lorenzo Thomas at 184 clinched Lehigh's seventh straight dual win as the Mountain Hawks improve to 9-1 in duals. The Mountain Hawks posted three bonus wins with sophomore Darian Cruz winning by technical fall, freshman Ryan Preisch earning a major decision and junior Ben Haas winning by injury default in the final bout of the dual. “That was a great match,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “We knew it would be a battle, and it was. Penn came to wrestle and I'm proud of the way our guys got through this. “Three guys got banged up last week,” Santoro continued. “We sat them yesterday but they were day-to-day. They all wanted to wrestle. They didn't have a lot of mat time last week so it was good to see them go out there and wrestle hard. Penn elected to draw the starting weight and pulled 285. Lehigh took the first two bouts to claim an early 8-0 lead. Senior Max Wessell starting things off with an 11-4 decision over Patrik Garren, falling one takedown short of a major decision. Darian Cruz followed with a dominant offensive performance against Jeremy Schwartz at 125, scoring 11 takedowns including one at the buzzer to get the 26-9 technical fall. The Quakers posted their first win at 133 as Caleb Richardson edged Mason Beckman 4-3 with 1:05 riding time the difference. Richardson had the only takedown of the bout, which came in the first period. Junior Randy Cruz gave Lehigh three of the first four bouts with a 6-3 win over Marc Mastropietro at 141. Penn's second win of the day also was decided by riding time. Junior Laike Gardner returned to action after missing the Navy dual against Penn's C.J. Cobb. In the second period, Cobb was able to build a sizeable riding time advantage before Gardner could escape and after a third period escape of his own, survived several Gardner flurries to win late on riding time. Cobb's win cut Lehigh's lead to 11-6 at the halfway point of the dual. Junior Mitch Minotti returned to the lineup against May Bethea at 157 after missing Saturday's dual. Bethea scored the first takedown at the end of the first period but a Minotti escape and takedown in the second period plus solid defense in neutral in the third gave Minotti a 3-2 decision. Preisch gave Lehigh a big boost in the second half of the dual with his second bonus win of the weekend. Leading 4-1 with riding time late in the third period, Preisch cradled Ray Bethea for a takedown and four point near fall, which turned the match into an 11-2 major decision for Preisch and an 18-6 Lehigh lead. At 174, Lehigh once again turned to freshman Gordon Wolf, who took on Penn's 16th-ranked Casey Kent. While Wolf kept fighting, Kent opened up a 9-0 lead into the third period before Wolf scored a takedown of his own and then a penalty point for stalling. A late reversal gave Kent a 12-3 major decision, which kept the Quakers alive in the team race with two bouts remaining. Brown and Thomas met for the second time in eight days and again the Lehigh senior found just enough to win. Brown scored a takedown for the only points of the first period, then went up 3-0 on a second period escape before Thomas countered a Brown shot for a takedown to climb within 3-2 after two. Needing a strong third period, Brown rode out Thomas while thwarting a late reversal attempt. The riding time point gave Brown a 4-2 win and clinched the dual for the Mountain Hawks. “Nate wasn't feeling well today but he just kept battling,” Santoro said. “That's why he's such a great leader.” In the final bout of the dual junior Ben Haas, subbing for senior John Bolich, won by injury default over Frank Mattiace in 2:07. Mattiace opened the scoring with a takedown but Haas escaped and was in on a shot when Mattiace called for injury time. After Mattiace used up all of his injury time, Haas escaped to tie the score at 2-2 then scored a takedown to go in front before Mattiace took a second injury timeout and defaulted. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats next Saturday when they travel to Lancaster to face Franklin & Marshall at 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast on WLVR-FM (91.3) and wlvr.org beginning at 1:45 p.m. Results: 285 – Max Wessell (Lehigh) dec. Patrik Garren (Penn) 11-4 125 – Darian Cruz (Lehigh) tech fall Jeremy Schwartz (Penn) 26-9, 7:00 133 – Caleb Richardson (Penn) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 4-3 141 – Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Marc Mastropietro (Penn) 6-3 149 – C.J. Cobb (Penn) dec. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 2-1 157 – Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. May Bethea (Penn) 3-2 165 – Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) major dec. Ray Bethea (Penn) 11-2 174 – Casey Kent (Penn) major dec. Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) 12-3 184 – Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) 4-2 197 – Ben Haas (Lehigh) injury default Frank Mattiace (Penn) 2:07

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- No. 1 Penn State (8-0, 3-0 B1G) dominated home standing Indiana on Sunday, closing out a Big Ten road weekend with another lopsided victory. Penn State rolled to a 34-8 win in Bloomington and remains perfect on the year. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts, six of which brought bonus points. The dual began at 157 where red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3, dominated Jake Danishek. Nolf tallied nine takedowns on his way to a 21-8 major with over 3:00 in riding time. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), fresh off pinning the Midlands Champion two days earlier, dominated Bryce Martin in an 11-2 major at 165 to put Penn State up 8-0 early. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, suffered a 7-6 upset loss to No. 11 Nate Jackson in the dual's most anticipated bout. Nickal got caught for back points on a counter throw by the Hoosier junior and then had a third period takedown waived off. Indiana was penalized one team point during the bout. Red-shirt freshman Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) got the call at 184 and picked up his first dual win as a Nittany Lion. Van Cura notched a late takedown to post the 5-3 win over Matt Irick and put Penn State up 8-2. Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, picked up his second first period pin of the weekend, turning Jake Masengale for a fall at the 2:50 mark. The fall, the 19th of McIntosh's career, put Penn State up 17-3 at the midway point of the dual. Indiana senior Garret Goldman pinned Lion true freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) at heavyweight, getting the fall at the 5:35 mark. Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4, rolled to a 6-2 win over Elijah Oliver and the Lions led 20-8 with three bouts remaining. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, posted a 14-3 major over Alonzo Shepherd with 2:00 in riding time. Junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, returned to action with a strong 11-3 major over Cole Weaver with 2:39 in riding time. Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, closed out the lop-sided win by pinning Luke Blanton at the 2:43 mark in the first period. Retherford's fall, his seventh of the year, gave Penn State the 34-8 victory. Penn State is now 8-0, 3-0 in the Big Ten while Indiana falls to 4-1, 1-1 in the conference. Penn State won the takedown battle 27-4 and rolled to ten bonus points off two pins and four majors. The Nittany Lions host Nebraska on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall in their next action. With the remaining Rec Hall duals already at seated capacity, a limited number of Standing Room Only tickets (SROs) can be purchased for each of those duals as well. Rec Hall SROs may only be purchased by calling 1-800-NITTANY and are $15 per person. A limited number of tickets to Penn State's second BJC Dual, Feb. 5 vs. Ohio State, are available but disappearing fast. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for youth (12-and-under) and can be purchased via www.GoPSUsports.com/accountmanager or by calling 1-800-NITTANY Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2015-16 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Results: 157: #3 Jason Nolf PSU maj. dec. Jake Danishek IU, 21-8 / 4-0 165: Shakur Rasheed PSU maj. dec. Bryce Martin IU, 11-2 / 8-0 174: #11 Nate Jackson IU dec. #1 Bo Nickal PSU, 7-6 / 8-2* * Indiana penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct 184: Devon Van Cura PSU dec. Matt Irick IU, 5-3 / 11-2 197: #1 Morgan McIntosh PSU pinned Jake Masengale IU, WBF (2:50) / 17-2 285: Garret Goldman IU pinned Jan Johnson PSU, WBF (5:35) / 17-8 125: #4 Nico Megaludis PSU dec. Elijah Oliver IU, 6-2 / 20-8 133: #4 Jordan Conaway PSU maj. dec. Alonzo Shepherd IU, 14-3 / 24-8 141: #13 Jimmy Gulibon PSU maj. dec. Cole Weaver IU, 11-3 / 28-8 149: #1 Zain Retherford PSU pinned Luke Blanton IU, WBF (2:43) / 34-8 Attendance: 453 Records: Penn State 8-0, 3-0 B1G; Indiana 4-1, 1-1 B1G Up Next for Penn State: home vs. Nebraska, Friday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. in Rec Hall BOUT-BY-BOUT: 157: Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, met Jake Danishek. Nolf set the tempo early and broke through for a takedown at the 1:21 mark after forcing Danishek into an early stall warning. He then put together a strong ride, working his way to a ride out to lead 2-0 with 1:21 in riding time after the opening stanza. Nolf chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. He then pulled Danishek's head to the mat and controlled his legs for another takedown and a 5-0 lead. Nolf cut Danishek loose and then once again used shoulder control to notch another takedown, upping his lead to 7-1. Danishek chose down to start the third period and Nolf cut him loose to a 7-2 score. He then countered a shot for another takedown and cut. The Lion went on to total xx takedowns in the third period 165: Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) took on Indiana freshman Bryce Martin. Rasheed fought off two swift and sold scoring attempts by Martin to keep the bout scoreless early and then turned his first single leg into a takedown and a 2-0 lead at the 1:57 mark. Rasheed then controlled the action from the top position, working his way to over a 1:00 riding time edge. Rasheed then turned Martin for four back points to up his lead 6-0 at the :25 mark and rode Martin out to carry that lead, plus 1:56 in time, into the second period. Martin chose neutral to start the second period, took a quick shot only to have Rasheed deftly counter it and notch another takedown to up his lead to 8-0 at the 1:30 mark. A stall point gave Rasheed a 9-0 lead as the Lion freshman continued a dominant ride for the remainder of the period. Leading 9-0 with a clinched riding time point, Rasheed chose down to start third period and quickly escaped to a 10-0 lead. Rasheed worked his way to a high single, forcing a scramble at the :45 mark. Martin scrambled to a last second takedown but 3:34 in riding time gave Rasheed the 11-2 major. 174: Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, battled No. 11 Nate Jackson in the dual's most anticipated bout. Nickal battled Jackson, a junior, evenly for the opening two minutes before shoulder tossing the Hoosier to the side and slipping behind him for a takedown and an early 2-0 lead. Jackson reversed Nickal to tie the bout and then, as Nickal tried to counter turn the Hoosier for a throw, put Nickal to his back for four back points and a 6-2 lead after the first period. Nickal chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 6-3 score. Nickal shot throughout the second period and forced Jackson into a stall warning but could not break through for a score and trailed 6-3 after two. Jackson neutral to start the third period. Nickal quickly wrapped the Hoosier at the waist, lifted him off the mat and took him down for a takedown to cut the lead to 6-5 at the 1:50 mark. Nickal cut him loose to a 7-5 score and connected on a low single, taking him down and initially getting a takedown call. The official waived the takedown off and action moved out of bounds with :50 left. Penn State challenged the call of no takedown but the call was confirmed. Nickal picked up a point on a second Jackson stall to trail 7-6 with :25 left. He looked to have Jackson taken down again only to have no call once more and time ran out with Jackson posting the 7-6 upset victory. Indiana was docked a team point for unsportsmanlike during the bout. 184: Red-shirt freshman Devon Van Cura (Washington, N.C.) faced off against Matt Irick at 184. Irick got in on a low single at the 2:00 mark but Van Cura was able to force a stalemate and keep the bout scoreless. The duo battled evenly for the remainder of the period and the bout moved to the second tied 0-0. Irick chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Van Cura tried to connect on a single leg with :30 left but Irick fought the move off and the bout moved to the third period with Van Cura trailing by one. The Lion freshman chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Irick countered a Van Cura shot and took a 3-2 lead with :50 on the clock. Van Cura reversed Irick but the Hoosier called for an injury timeout. Van Cura was not credited with the reversal and instead he was awarded with an escape and trailed 3-2. He chose down on the restart and escaped to a 3-3 tie with :30 left. Van Cura muscled his way through a high single and lifted Irick off the mat and down for a takedown and a 5-3 lead to seal the victory. The 5-3 win was Van Cura's first dual win as a Nittany Lion. 197: Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, took on Jake Masengale. McIntosh took a 2-0 lead midway through the opening period and then dominated the action from the top position. He steadily worked his way into control of Masengale, turning him for back points and then adjusted himself for a quick first period pin. The fall, the second of the weekend for McIntosh and the 19th of his career, came at the 2:50 mark. 285: True freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) met Indiana senior Garret Goldman. Goldman scored quickly, taking Johnson down and nearly locking up a cradle. Johnson fought off the turning attempt and trailed 2-0 early in the bout. Johnson escaped to a 2-1 score at the 1:27 mark but Goldman had 1:16 in riding time. Leading 2-1 after one, Goldman chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. He then gained control of Johnson's leg and picked up his second takedown of the match, upping his lead to 5-1. Goldman controlled the action from the top position until Johnson seemingly escaped on the edge of the mat. The official did not award the escape, forcing a reset. Johnson did escape on the reset, cutting the lead to 5-2 at the :25 mark. Trailing 5-2 with Goldman owning 2:17 in riding time, Johnson chose down. Johnson gave up a point on cautions and then escaped to a 6-3 score. Goldman then tripped Johnson to the mat 125: Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, met talented Hoosier freshman Elijah Oliver. Megaludis was taking a shot on Oliver midway through the period and his head caught the Hoosier in the chin, causing a concussion protocol break. Oliver was deemed okay to continue and action resumed scoreless at the 1:23 mark. Megaludis took Oliver down and led 2-1 after a quick Oliver escape, a lead he carried into the second period. The Lion senior chose down to start the second stanza, got a point for a third Oliver caution, and then escaped to a 4-1 lead. The Lion continued to shoot the Hoosier off the mat and picked up another point on a second Oliver stall. Megaludis led 6-1 after two thanks to yet another Oliver stall and Oliver chose down to start the third period. The Hoosier escaped to a 6-2 score and made it through another concussion protocol to continue the match. Megaludis pressed the Hoosier for the rest of the period and while not breaking through for a takedown, coasted to a 6-2 victory. 133: Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 133, battled senior Alonzo Shepherd. Conaway opened up a 2-0 lead with a takedown midway through the opening period. He then controlled the action from the top position and worked his way into a potential cradle. Conaway locked up underneath the Hoosier but could not roll Shepherd over for the fall and a reset was called at the :20 mark. Leading 2-0 with 1:29 in riding time, Conaway chose down to start the second period. He escaped and then ended the period with a takedown and ride out to lead 5-0 with 1:23 in riding time after two periods. Shepherd chose neutral to start the third period and Conaway made him pay for the decision. The Lion senior took Shepherd down, cut him loose and took him down once more to lead 9-1 at the 1:00 mark. Conaway cut him loose once more and blew through another high shot to up his lead to 11-2 with :30 on the clock. One more cut and takedown gave Conway the 14-3 major with 2:00 in riding time. 141: Junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 141, tangled with freshman Cole Weaver. Gulibon quickly took Weaver down to a 2-0 advantage and then cut him loose right away. He picked up a second takedown and then nearly picked up two quick back points. Leading 4-1 at the 1:09 mark, Gulibon built up a 1:09 time edge before cutting Weaver loose to a 4-2 score. Gulibon added one more takedown to lead 6-2 with 1:20 in after one period. Gulibon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. Gulibon controlled the action for the rest of the period and carried that lead with 1:13 in time after two. Weaver chose down to start the third period and Gulibon controlled the action for a minute-plus, picking up a stall point, before cutting Weaver loose to an 8-3 lead. Gulibon took Weaver down at the :30 mark and rode the Hoosier out to post the 11-3 major with 2:39 in riding time. 149: Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, took on Luke Blanton. Retherford dominated the action from the start, forcing Blanton backwards out of bounds and then blowing through a high double after a reset to lead 2-0 early. He then turned Blanton for two near fall points and scrambled out of a potential reversal to lead 4-0 with 1:24 on the clock. Retherford worked Blanton's head and shoulders for the next minute-plus before turning the Hoosier for a quick first period pin. Retherford got the fall, his seventh of the year and the 11th of his career, at the 2:43 mark.

Wrestling is returning to Eastern Oregon University for the first time since the late 1970s. The only four-year state university in the eastern portion of Oregon will announce Monday that it is bringing back its long-dormant intercollegiate wrestling program, thanks to a $300,000 allocation from the Oregon State Legislature. The good news came this weekend from a press release from the politician who has been working on the issue, as well as local media reports. Eastern Oregon University will make the news official in a ceremony Monday, Jan. 11 at the school's Quinn Coliseum. During the 2015 Legislative Session, Rep. Greg Smith worked with leadership and a group called Restore College Wrestling to find funding to resurrect the wrestling program at Eastern Oregon University. Smith serves as Co-Vice Chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee and is a member of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Capital Construction, which helps appropriate resources throughout the state. "Eastern Oregon is home to many wrestling champions both on individual and team levels," said Smith, who was a wrestler himself and has a son Ryan who is a two-time Oregon state wrestling champ for Heppner High School. "EOU is unable to attract these athletes who desire to continue wrestling in college. I believe wrestling will give EOU another tool for recruitment and help keep our youth in Eastern Oregon." "Representative Greg Smith has been a pivotal person in the effort to restart competitive wrestling at EOU," said Dr. Mike Clock, Chair of the Restore College Wrestling Oregon Committee. "Over the past seventeen years, teams from east of the Cascades have won almost 55% of the team titles. Since the late '70s, there have been no geographically convenient opportunities for those young individuals to compete at the college level in Oregon." High school wrestling coaches from the region are excited about the return of the Mountaineer mat program for the opportunities it will provide for local athletes, and in how it can help grow the sport. "Eastern Oregon University's decision to create a college wrestling program is a phenomenal opportunity for our kids, and will help them stay in our communities and strengthen local programs," said Hermiston head wrestling coach Kyle Larson. Riverside coach Richard Rockwell said, "I feel with the reinstatement of wrestling at Eastern Oregon University, this will further strengthen regional programs and give more Oregonians access to competing in the sport they love. Eastern Oregon high school wrestlers have needed a college wrestling program for years. With its long history of solid individuals and teams at the high school level, I have no doubt EOU will be competitive in no time." With the reinstatement of the wrestling program, EOU will now have 12 full-fledged athletic programs competing in NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics). Founded in 1929, Eastern Oregon University opened as Eastern Oregon Normal School, a teachers college. The four-year school has approximately 1,650 students at its La Grande campus, located between Portland, Ore. and Boise, Idaho off I-84. Update Monday, Jan. 11: When Eastern Oregon made the official announcement today, there was a nice surprise: a women's intercollegiate wrestling program is also being added. Both will take to the mat in fall 2016. Kurt Davis of Restore College Wrestling commended the new programs, saying, “I don't think you guys realize just how huge this is... Women's wrestling is the fastest growing women's sport in the country right now, and you guys are on the ground floor.” In addition to the $300,000 startup funding from the Oregon Legislature, EOU has received $200,000 in private donations, according to the school's president, Tom Insko. Insko said the programs have been forecasted over a 10-year period and indicate “positive cash flow from Day 1.”