InterMat Staff

Matt Brown has accomplished much in his 25-year life. Three Utah high school state titles. Three Big Ten championships. Three-time NCAA All-American. 2015 NCAA 174-pound championship. Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) member. A bachelor's and master's degree from Penn State. Numerous academic awards. And, just last month, he learned he was the only wrestler in a group of ten student-athletes to earn the NCAA Today's Top 10 Award which will be presented to him in January 2016. If that weren't enough, Matt Brown took two years out of his college career to serve on a mission in Africa for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Oh, and he got married. If anyone so young had enough life experiences to put down in a memoir, it would be Matt Brown. He shares his impressive and varied life story in his new book "Mission: Accomplished: Reflections of an NCAA National Champion." Meet Matt Brown Brown was born in Utah, the youngest of six children, raised in an LDS (Mormon) household. He was introduced to wrestling at age four at a local youth program, then later joined Treehouse Athletic Club, more commonly referred to as TAC, which Brown describes as "a premier youth wrestling program." At Cypress High School outside Salt Lake City, Brown earned three Utah state titles. Despite that accomplishment -- and his equally impressive performance in the classroom -- Brown was not highly recruited. In fact, in an unofficial visit to Penn State while in the area for a family funeral, Brown was basically told by the previous coaching regime that they had all the talent they needed from Pennsylvania. Matt Brown runs out onto the mat for his NCAA finals match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)So how did Matt Brown come to wear the classic blue-and-white singlet of the Nittany Lions? By way of a side trip to Ames, Iowa and Iowa State. While still in high school, Brown was exploring the possibility of attending the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He had earned a coveted appointment from his congressman, and was impressed with the facilities and the idea of wrestling for Army. However, Brown still had a visit scheduled at Iowa State. After meeting then head coach Cael Sanderson, Brown decided he would put on the cardinal and gold of the Cyclones. When Sanderson made his bombshell announcement in April 2009 that he had accepted the head coaching job at Penn State, Matt Brown was one of the wrestlers who followed Coach Cael to Happy Valley. How the book came together "Mission: Accomplished" takes readers through Matt Brown's life journey, with stops along the way in Utah, Iowa State, Penn State, and two years in sub-Saharan Africa on his LDS mission, providing a compelling, behind-the-scenes look at things most of us will never experience. That said, Brown's book is more than a traditional memoir. In fact, his own account of his life is just part of his book -- in fact, Part I of three parts. In Part II, Brown shares Principles of Success that he has acquired from multiple sources, most notably Cael Sanderson. Part III is titled Personal Application -- how Brown has implemented those success principles in his life on and off the mat. At the very beginning of "Mission: Accomplished", Matt Brown writes, "I wrote this book for three reasons. First, to express gratitude for the help that I have received along my journey. Secondly, I truly believe that the same lessons that helped me become a national champion will help you accomplish what you want in life. Through living correct principles we find happiness and success. Lastly, it is conceivable that this work is one of my last contributions to the sport of wrestling -- a sport that has given me so much." Knowing all that, how did Matt Brown come to write his book? "Throughout my college career, I learned a lot from Coach Cael," Brown told InterMat. "I thought there was a lot worth sharing with others who had not been blessed with that same experience. "After winning the title, it seemed even more appropriate for me to put this down in a book. People like to hear from a winner. Winning a national championship gave me an audience which I didn't have before." "Luckily I took notes like crazy throughout my college career which helped me put the book together." "Before writing, I gave serious thought as to who my audience would be," Brown continued. "I didn't want to write just to Mormons or to married athletes, two aspects who define who I am. I hoped my book would speak to a general audience -- to multiple audiences, in fact." "After I won the title, I started writing. I knew the story had a short shelf life, and I needed to get my book completed in a timely way. Needless to say I had a busy summer." The ultimate do-it-yourself project Matt Brown wrote with the goal of having a published book by the beginning of the 2015-16 college wrestling season -- a goal he achieved. "I asked myself, 'How do I get the book out quickly?'" Brown had the book published through Amazon, using their CreateSpace self-publishing division. "I like working on home improvement projects," Brown disclosed. "Making sure things look good, come out the way I want them." "I did the design -- how the inside pages would look, what the front cover would look like. The program made it easy for me to do this, but an author can choose to let Amazon do all that for them." "My sister did the editing." Matt Brown defeated Matt Wilps of Pitt in the NCAA finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Brown said that by using Amazon's CreateSpace tool, he was able to bring his book to readers much more quickly than if he had gone a more traditional route of hiring a literary agent to pitch his idea to publishers, or knocking on publisher doors himself. Brown also brought up other benefits of self-publishing through Amazon -- no up-front expense, and no inventory taking up space in the garage or a storage facility. The Penn State mat champ mentioned yet another reason: an enhanced degree of control. "One reason I was grateful to be able to self-publish: sometimes, an editor might tell you to leave out a particular story, or urge you to emphasize something you may not want to highlight," according to Brown. "In addition, I wanted my own voice to come through. I didn't want to sound like I was bragging." "Setting the right tone was a challenge for me." This writer had to ask Brown if it was easy to write about his life. "Despite academic achievements, I had struggles with reading and writing early in my life," Brown responded, mentioning that he was juggling the writing of his memoir with his coursework as he sought to complete his Master's degree. "It was gratifying to get my thoughts down on paper. Truly rewarding to be able to share my story." "I'm grateful to have a story to tell, and for the chance to write it ... I had fun doing it." What's next for Matt Brown? "I ask myself, 'Now where do I go?'" "I am interested in a career in national defense," Brown continued. "I could imagine myself being an analyst." "I have some military training scheduled for February. That may shape my decision." That said, Brown has not shut the door on continuing his wrestling career, telling InterMat that he is working out with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in freestyle. Whatever career path he takes, Matt Brown may have to write a sequel. "Mission: Accomplished: Reflections of an NCAA National Champ" by Matt Brown is available in paperback direct from Amazon. Enjoyed reading about this book? You might want to check out InterMat's article from earlier this month about wrestler Dan Russell's memoir "Finish Strong" ... and, from June 2014, "Faith and Wrestling" by Michael Fessler, former wrestler at Apple Valley High School and Cal State Bakersfield.

A former wrestler at California's Calaveras High School and Lassen Community College was killed in a motorcycle accident on New Year's Eve, according to multiple media reports. Kyle Towler, 23, of Valley Springs, Calif. was riding his 2016 Harley-Davidson west on Barbour Road at 10:45 p.m. on Dec. 31 when he lost control at a curve east of Silver Rapids Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Towler went off the road, striking a mailbox. The patrol reported that drugs and alcohol did not appear to be involved, but the investigation is ongoing. Towler graduated from Calaveras High in 2011, winning a Sac-Joaquin Section Division V wrestling championship in his senior season. The 6'1", 175-pound athlete went on Lassen Community College in Susanville, Calif., where he placed sixth at the Northern California regionals and qualified for the California Community College State Championships.

The first full week of January is upon us, as the holidays came to their end. This is still a very big weekend of wrestling across the country. Nowhere is this more abundantly clear than out in Fresno, Calif. where the Doc Buchanan Invitational is being held at Clovis High School. Doc Buchanan Invitational Over 90 schools, including six nationally ranked squads, will be sending wrestlers to this pre-eminent event in the western part of the United States on Friday and Saturday. In recent years, this tournament is arguably a top five in-season event across the United States. The field this year also includes 28 nationally ranked wrestlers in their respective weight classes, as well as wrestlers from six states other than California. Host Clovis, ranked No. 6 nationally, is only the third highest ranked team in the field -- one that also includes No. 2 Bergen Catholic (N.J.) and No. 5 Buchanan. The other three nationally ranked teams are No. 37 Bakersfield, No. 46 Pomona (Colo.), and No. 47 San Marino. Below is a listing of wrestlers to watch in the field (nationally ranked first, then alphabetically by school). 106: No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy), No. 14 Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco), No. 18 Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.), Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield), Matthew Olguin (Buchanan), Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel), Brandon Betancourt (Clovis), Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) 113: Carmen Ferrante (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Jaden Abas (Frontier), Justin Pacheco (Pomona, Colo.), Josiah Nava (Pueblo County, Colo.) 120: No. 2 Justin Mejia (Clovis), No. 17 David Campbell (Mission Oak), No. 19 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Patrick Ramirez (De La Salle), Tomas Gutierrez (Pomona, Colo.), Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.) 126: No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Isaiah Palomino (Bellarmine), Donovan Guerrero (De La Salle), Devan Turner (Dixon), Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.), Grant Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), Zander Silva (San Marino), Robert Garcia (Selma) 132: No. 9 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield), No. 13 Chris Sandoval (Pueblo County, Colo.), No. 17 Durbin Lloren (Buchanan), Chris Foca (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Chris DeLoza (Clovis North), Curtis Booth (Folsom), Alex Felix (Gilroy), Trence Gillem (Helix), Dayton Marvel (Pomona, Colo.) 138: No. 4 Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 9 Jaden Enriquez (Mission Oak), No. 17 Julian Flores (San Marino), J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield), Brady O'Keefe (Carson City, Nev.), Jake Douglas (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.) 145: No. 5 Zander Wick (San Marino), No. 10 Quentin Hovis (Seton Catholic, Ariz.), Brandon Martino (Clovis), Ruben Gacia (Selma) 152: No. 4 Evan Wick (San Marino), No. 6 Israel Saavedra (Granite Bay), Greg Gaxiola (Buchanan), Jared Hill (Clovis), Brandon Claiborne (Oak Ridge), Hunter Willits (Pueblo County, Colo.), Brandon Konecny (Seton Catholic, Ariz.) 160: No. 10 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 11 Layne van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.), No. 18 Abner Romero (Buchanan), Sam Loera (Bakersfield), Beau Colombin (Windsor) 170: No. 10 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 11 Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Michael Soler (Lake Stevens, Wash.), Dominic Ducharme (Windsor) 182: No. 8 Josh Hokit (Clovis), Josh McKenzie (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Anthony Montalvo (Buchanan), Roman Romero (McNair), Wyatt Westfall (North Medford, Ore.), Abel Garcia (Oakdale), Haydn Maley (Roseburg, Ore.), Bridger Barker (Seton Catholic, Ariz.) 195: No. 5 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), No. 11 A.J. Nevills (Clovis), Trevor Ervin (Buchanan), Noe Garcia (Gilroy), Danny Salas (St. John Bosco) 220: No. 9 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), No. 20 Bevan Brandt (Bullard), Danny DeLorenzi (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), Darryl Aiello (De La Salle), Christian Ayala (Pacifica) 285: No. 6 Seth Nevills (Clovis), Jarrod Snyder (Frontier), Christian Rebottaro (Monta Vista Christian) Cheesehead Invitational Similar to the Doc Buchanan, another prominent and nationally elite tournament is on the docket this weekend. This one is being hosted by Kaukauna High School, located near Green Bay (Wis.). Of the 28 teams from six states in the field, eight of the squads are ranked among the nation's top 40 teams: No. 7 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 14 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 16 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), No. 21 Mt. Carmel (Ill.), No. 27 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 33 Platte County (Mo.), and No. 39 Kasson-Mantorville (Minn.). Additional teams to note include Lockport (Ill.), Kaukauna (Wis.), Stoughton (Wis.), Wisconsin Rapids (Wis.), Waverly-Shell Rock (Iowa), and Thompson (Ala.) From an individual standpoint, two wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight class are in the field, both from Apple Valley: Mark Hall (170) and Gable Steveson (220). Each wrestler is also ranked as the top overall wrestler in their respective grade level, Hall for the Class of 2016 and Steveson for the Class of 2018. The tournament is the nation's best hybrid format (pool-to-bracket) event. Preliminary matches and/or byes based on seeding are used to determine entry into the upper pools or the consolation bracket. The upper pools, four-by-four, consist of the top 16 wrestlers. From there, the top two wrestlers in each pool will compete in an eight-man bracket for the top eight positions; while the remaining wrestlers will compete in a bracket for ninth place. Below is a listing of nationally ranked wrestlers in the field, 21 in total. 106: No. 10 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.), No. 16 Patrick McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) 113: No. 2 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 126: No. 7 Matthew Schmitt (Platte County, Mo.) 132: No. 6 Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill.), No. 8 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 138: No. 5 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 16 Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 145: No. 3 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita's, Ill.), No. 14 Ethan Karsten (Platte County, Mo.) 152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), No. 12 Jake Allar (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 19 Shane Tucker (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) 160: No. 4 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), No. 9 Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) 182: No. 3 Beau Breske (Hartford Union, Wis.), No. 18 Patrick Brucki (Carl Sandburg, Ill.) 195: No. 16 Jacob Raschka (Pewaukee, Wis.) 220: No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 6 Ethan Andersen (Southeast Polk, Iowa) Nation's oldest tournament: the 72nd annual Geary (Okla.) Invitational One of the most unique and longest-standing scholastic wrestling events happens this Friday and Saturday in Oklahoma with the Geary invitational. First and foremost, it is the longest lasting in-season scholastic wrestling tournament in the United States. Secondly, the draw is 100% random, no seeds; also, there are challenge matches for "true second" after the completion of the tournament. About 25 teams from five different states are slated to compete. Anchoring the field are No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.) and No. 11 Tuttle (Okla.). Other notable teams include fellow Oklahoma state champions Broken Arrow and Collinsville. Below is a list of nationally ranked wrestlers, along with other state champs (and some finalists). 106: No. 13 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.) 113: No. 17 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North, Okla.), Marcus Robinson (Arkansas City, Kans.), Rhett Golowenski (Tutle, Okla.), Mason Naifeh (Tulsa Union, Okla.), Canon Randall (Westmoore, Okla.) 120: No. 20 Garrett Rowe (Choctaw, Okla.), Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.), Xavier Torres (Canyon Randall, Texas), Noah MacQuigg (Tuttle, Okla.) 126: No. 12 Dalton Duffield (Westmoore, Okla.), Montorie Bridges (Altus, Okla.), Andrew Nieman (Stillwater, Okla.) 132: No. 3 Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.), No. 11 Requir van de Merwe (Blair Academy, N.J.), Nate Keim (Collinsville, Okla.), Tanner Litterell (Tuttle, Okla.) 138: Ryan Rochford (Rio Rancho, N.M.), Brik Filippo (Tuttle, Okla.) 152: John Manning (Blair Academy, N.J.), Elijah Tanner (Collinsville, Okla.), Ross Shawnee (Geary, Okla.), Joseph Messer (Norman North, Okla.), Dayton Garrett (Tuttle, Okla.) 160: No. 17 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy, N.J.), Kendall Biddle (Arkansas City, Kans.) 170: No. 4 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.), Tanner Johnson (Tuttle, Okla.) 195: No. 3 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.), Skyler Haynes (Broken Arrow, Okla.) 220: Nick Mosco (Blair Academy, N.J.), Blake Berryhill (Tuttle, Okla.) 285: Keegan Pride (Altus, Okla.) Mat Mayhem High School Duals Nationally ranked squads in No. 24 Lowell (Mich.) and No. 36 Brownsburg (Ind.) headline the eight high school teams that will be competed on Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne (Ind.) as part of the NWCA Mat Mayhem festivities. Other squads include defending Michigan state champions in Brighton and Richmond, though neither is favored to repeat in their division this year; Dakota and Oxford, who are both top ten squads in Michigan's big-school division (D1); Mechanicsburg (Ohio), who is a candidate to finish second in Ohio's small-school division (Division III), and finished top five at the Brecksville Invitational last week; and Merrillville, a potential top ten team in single-class Indiana. The teams will be split into two pools, where they will wrestle dual meets against the three other teams in their pool. Then each squad will wrestle a cross-over bout against the team that placed in the corresponding position of the other pool. There is a smattering of nationally ranked wrestlers from these teams. 126: No. 13 Lucas Hall (Lowell, Mich.) 160: No. 12 Kaleb Romero (Mechanicsburg, Ohio), No. 16 Jacob Covaciu (Merrillville, Ind.) 195: No. 6 Max Dean (Lowell, Mich.) 220: No. 8 Lucas Ready (Brighton, Mich.) 285: No. 2 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.) Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals Also on Saturday in the Great Lakes region is the annual Super Duals event at Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.). Eight teams will compete in four dual meet each. Three of the out of state teams are nationally ranked, No. 8 St. Edward (Ohio), No. 9 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), and No. 35 Brecksville (Ohio); the other out-of-state team is Portage (Ind.), a probable top ten team in single-class Indiana. All four in-state teams are viewed as top ten squads statewide; Detroit Catholic Central and Davison are viewed as next best to nationally ranked Hartland in the big-school division (D1), St. Johns is rated next best to nationally ranked Lowell in Division 2, while Hudson is second in the small-school division (D4). To my understanding, here is the order of matches for the three nationally ranked teams. Matches will take place at 9:00 a.m., 11:00, 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 Eastern Time. St. Edward: Portage, St. Johns, Hudson, Detroit Catholic Central OPRF: Detroit Catholic Central, Davison, Portage, Brecksville Brecksville: Davison, Hudson, Detroit Catholic Central, OPRF It should be noted that St. Edward beat OPRF in a dual meet last week at the Clash, St. Edward has a dual meet against Davison scheduled for the end of the month, and it is possible that St. Edward and Brecksville could meet during the state dual meet tournament in February Quick hitters New to the Fab 50 national team rankings this week are four schools: No. 35 Brecksville (Ohio), No. 36 Brownsburg (Ind.), No. 41 Anoka (Minn.), and No. 50 West Des Moines Valley (Iowa). **Brecksville won their home tournament last week out-pointing three nationally ranked teams: No. 17 Elyria (Ohio), though without a returning state champion; No. 25 Delta (Ohio), second to the champion Bees by a half-point; and No. 38 Olentangy Liberty (Ohio), who were missing three or four starters. **Brownsburg won the big-school (Class 3A) IHSWCA Team State title last week with a 34-24 victory, eight matches to six, over now No. 42 Warren Central, who were ranked No. 25 natonally at the time. **Anoka won the third place bracket at The Clash XIV, including a 34-27 victory over now No. 44 Park Hill (Mo.), who was ranked No. 41 at the time **West Des Moines Valley joins the rankings this week, and will be immediately tested when they host No. 29 Fort Dodge (Iowa) as part of a tri-meet tomorrow night. One will see some familiar wrestlers subtracted from the individual weight class rankings. That is due to their not having yet competed during the 2015-16 season. When those wrestlers return to the mat, they will return to the weight class rankings in their rightful positions. No. 30 Nazareth (Pa.) is the top seed in the National High School Division portion of this weekend's Virginia Duals, to be held on Friday and Saturday in Hampton. Primary challenge for the Blue Eagles will come from Colonial Forge (Va.), who was ranked in the pre-season, but dropped out due to some struggles; however the Eagles are the event's defending champion.

Ian Cheatum's stunning seven-second pin at 285 pounds punctuated a 35-13 win for Colorado School of Mines against Simon Fraser as the Orediggers improved to 3-0 this season. Cheatum ended the dual with one of the fastest falls in program history, upsetting regionally-ranked No. 4 Sean Molle by turning a quick leg sweep into a pin seven seconds into their match. That followed No. 6 Paul Wilson's match-clinching fall over Ciaran Ball at 197 pounds. The senior dominated the match with an early fall, then rode out most of the second period before turning Ball for the stick at 4:13. Mines also received bonus points from Matthew Lavengood at 125 pounds and Rocky Michaelson at 174. Lavengood got things started with a decisive 15-5 major decision over Oscar Bulaqui. Lavengood used a four-point nearfall at the end of the first period to lead 6-0, then added another nearfall-4 in the third to secure the major. Michaelson earned four takedowns and a two-point nearfall in his match against Alexander Berfanger to win 12-1, giving up a long third-period escape and dominating with more than four minutes of riding time. Ethan Ruby won his match at 157 pounds 10-3, and was unlucky not to win by fall as the referee indicated a pin a split-second after the end of the first round. Still, Ruby earned a nearfall-4 and added a third-period reversal and an escape to secure his seventh win of the season. Lukas Erickson and Jacob Gerken won by forfeit at 141 and 149, respectively, to finish Mines' scoring. Simon Fraser earned their points at 133, 165, and 184. Cruz Velasquez won 8-0 over Caleb Micho at 133, and Mclean wrestled a tough match to beat John Crowley 9-4 at 165. Smith earned a 6:44 fall over Karl Breidenbach at 184. NOTABLES - Cheatum's pin is believed to be the fastest in program history and ranks among the fastest ever in collegiate wrestling. He did it in front of his high school alma mater as his Golden High Demons wrestled Chatfield High concurrently to Mines' match. Cheatum is 7-5 this season with five of his victories coming by fall. - Wilson's pin gives him a team-best 16 points in three dual matches this season. It was his fourth fall in seven victories this year. - Michaelson extended his team-best record to 12-3. The freshman is now 2-0 in duals and has scored 10 points in those two matches. - It was the second-ever meeting between Mines and SFU and the first in Golden; Mines improved to 2-0. Simon Fraser, located in Burnaby, British Columbia, is Canada's only NCAA institution. NEXT UP Mines heads to Nebraska this Saturday to compete in the Hastings College Cusatis Open. Results: 125: Matthew Lavengood (CSM) over Oscar Bulaqui (SFU), MD 15-5 133: Cruz Velasquez (SFBC) over Caleb Micho (CSM), MD 8-0 141: Lukas Erickson (CSM) by forfeit 149: Jacob Gerken (CSM) by forfeit 157: Ethan Ruby (CSM) over Tanner Spray (SFU), Dec 10-3 165: Tyler Mclean (SFU) over John Crowley (CSM), Dec 9-4 174: Rocky Michaelson (CSM) over Alexander Berfanger (SFU), MD 12-1 184: Morgan Smith (SFU) over Karl Breidenbach (CSM), Fall 6:44 197: #6 Paul Wilson (CSM) over Ciaran Ball (SFU), Fall 4:13 285: Ian Cheatum (CSM) over Sean Molle (SFU), Fall 0:07

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Appalachian State University wrestling traveled to Campbell University on Wednesday night for its second Southern Conference match of the season. The Mountaineers (7-2, 2-0 SoCon) topped the Camels (0-7, 0-2 SoCon), 28-12. The match started at the 125-pound weight class. Vito Pasone got the Mountaineers off to a fast start when he dominated his match, winning by technical fall, 22-5. The Camels would answer in the 133-pound match when Nathan Kraisser defeated Jacob Grigg with a technical fall of his own to level the team score at, 5-5. Michael Longo would push the Apps in front in the 141-pound clash with his 11-10 decision win over Lucas Stewart. Matt Zovistoski helped stretch the Appalachian lead when he earned bonus points with his 12-4 major decision over Zane Knight. With the score 12-5, Angel Najar fell in a 13-7 decision to Quentin Perez. In the 165-pound match, Forrest Przybysz battled hard to fight off Paul Duggan in TB-1, 9-5. Nick Kee recorded the only pin of the day when he stuck Matthew Olauson 4:32 into the 174-pound bout to give Appalachian a 21-8 advantage. Campbell would not cave and won the 184-pound match behind Ville Heino's 12-4 major decision over Taylor Jackson. Freshman Randall Diabe showed great resiliency by winning in overtime, SV-1 9-7 over Austin McNeil. The Reigning Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, Denzel Dejournette, closed out the dual with an 11-3 major decision win over Jere Heino to hand Appalachian its second SoCon win of the season and extend its winning-streak to four matches. The Mountaineers will return to action at home in Varsity Gym on Sunday against SIUE for their Old Timers Match. Match time is set for 3:00 p.m. Results: 125: Vito Pasone (APP) def. Collin Stewart (CAM), TF 22-5 (App 5-0) 133: Nathan Kraisser (CAM) def. Jacob Grigg (APP), TF 18-0 (Tied 5-5) 141: Michael Longo (APP) def. Lucas Stewart (CAM), D 11-10 (App 8-5) 149: Matt Zovistoski (APP) def. Zane Knight (CAM), MD 12-4 (App 12-5) 157: Quentin Perez (CAM) def. Angel Najar (APP), D 13-7 (App 12-8) 165: Forrest Przybysz (APP) def. Paul Duggan (CAM), TB-1 9-5 (App 15-8) 174: Nick Kee (APP) pinned Matthew Olauson (CAM), (4:32) (App 21-8) 184: Ville Heino (CAM) def. Taylor Jackson (APP), MD 12-3 (App 21-12) 197: Randall Diabe (APP) def. Austin McNeil (CAM), SV-1 9-7 (App 24-12) 285: Denzel Dejournette (APP) def. Jere Heino (CAM), MD 11-3 (App 28-12)

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team completed a milestone dual win by defeating the University of Northern Iowa, 22-14, in Mid-American Conference action at the Convocation Center Wednesday night, Jan. 6. The victory marked the first ever program victory over the Panthers for EMU in seven tries. The Eagles (7-2, 2-0 MAC) won six of the ten matches on the night, including one by major decision and another by pin-fall in the final match of the night to secure the victory. Two other wins came from decisions, while the sixth came on a tiebreaker. The bout started at the heavyweight where redshirt sophomore Gage Hutchison (Buchanan, Mich.-Buchanan) had the tall task of wrestling No. 15 Blaize Cabell in a rematch of last year's dual. The 285-pounder put up a great fight, but in the end Cabell finished with the 9-4 decision. Going back to the top, redshirt freshman Armando Torres (Lorain, Ohio-Elyria) gave Eastern the lead back when he dominated his opponent for an 11-1 major decision. He is now 6-1 in dual action this season. With the score sitting at 4-3, UNI countered back when No. 18 Josh Alber won a technical fall victory over redshirt sophomore Blake Caudill (Butler, Pa.-Butler), 18-2. The lead would be extended at 141 lbs.when redshirt sophomore Kyle Springer (New Boston, Mich.-Davenport Assumption) lost a tightly contested decision 6-3 on a late takedown. EMU gained some momentum back at 149 lbs. when redshirt junior Nicholas Barber (Cleveland, Ohio-St. Edward) knocked off his opponent with a hard earned 4-1 decision. UNI gained the points back at 157 lbs., however, when redshirt junior Devan Marry (Hudson, Mich.-Hudson) lost just his second dual of the season, dropping his bout by a 9-5 decision. After six matches, UNI led 14-7. Then EMU turned the switch, beginning with redshirt freshman Dakota Juarez (Grand Haven, Mich.-Grand Haven) at 165 lbs.He took his match, 8-3, to tighten the gap to 14-10 and earn his fourth dual victory this season.Next up was redshirt junior Jacob Davis (North Ridgeville, Ohio-St. Edward) at 174 lbs, and in the tightest contested match of the night, Davis rode out a hard fought 2-1 overtime win, making the score just 14-13 heading into the final two matchups.Davis now has a 7-2 dual record on the year. At 184 lbs., redshirt freshman Derek Hillman (Woodhaven, Mich.-Woodhaven-Brownstown) matched up with 2014 NCAA qualifier Cody Caldwell. Hillman was up to the challenge though, as he led 5-3 going into the final period. Late in the third, he picked up a huge takedown, extending his lead to 7-4, and took the 8-4 decision with riding time. This gave EMU the 16-14 lead going into the final match. Hillman is also 7-2 in duals on the season. Waiting in that final match was redshirt senior No. 14 Anthony Abro (Canton, Mich.-Canton), needing to get EMU the win in the matchup to ultimatelyget the win in the match. After one period, he found himself trailing 4-2. Things turned around in the second period though, as Abro quickly sub-missed his opponent, notching the huge fall in 4:27 and securing the 22-14 victory for the Eagles. The victory put the nationally ranked Abro's record at 16-2 on the year, and 8-1 in duals. Eastern now heads on the road for its first conference action away from when they travel down to Athens, Ohio to square off against the Ohio University Bobcats. The match is set to start at 7 p.m. Results: 285: No. 15 Blaize Cabell (UNI) dec. Gage Hutchinson (EMU), 9-4 125: Armando Torres (EMU) maj. dec. Leighton Gaul (UNI), 11-1 133: No. 18 Josh Alber (UNI) tech. fall Blake Caudill, 18-2 (5:40) 141: Trevor Jauch (UNI) dec. Kyle Springer (EMU), 6-3 149: Nick Barber (EMU) dec. Jake Hodges (UNI), 4-1 157: No. 20 Bryce Steiert (UNI) dec. Devan Marry (EMU), 9-5 165: Dakota Juarez (EMU) dec. Taylor Berger (UNI), 8-3 174: Jake Davis (EMU) dec. Drew Foster (UNI), 2-1 (TB-1) 184: Derek Hillman (EMU) dec. Cody Caldwell (UNI), 8-4 197: No. 14 Anthony Abro (EMU) Jared Bartel (UNI), 4:27

DURHAM, N.C. -- The No. 3 NC State wrestling team opened ACC competition with a dominating 34-9 win at Duke Wednesday night. NC State won seven of the 10 bouts, with six of those wins being bonus point victories. The Wolfpack improves to a perfect 12-0 on the season. The Pack started the bout with six points. Starting at 133 pounds, Jamal Morris dominated the first period and scored a pin at the 2:59 mark. The pin was Morris' first in his Pack career. No. 3 Kevin Jack then picked up a 6-3 win at 141 pounds to put the Pack up 9-0 after two bouts. Down 2-1 to start the second, Jack scored a reversal and accumulated 2:31 of ride time in the final two periods to go with a third-period takedown. After Duke's first win at 149, No. 6 Tommy Gantt improved to a perfect 13-0 on the season with a 13-4 major decision. Gantt scored all six takedowns of his match, and earned his 10th bonus point win among his 13 season wins. Duke picked up their second win at 165 pounds, and at the intermission NC State held a 13-6 lead. Nicky Hall picked up more bonus points for the Pack, with a 12-4 major decision at 174 pounds. After each grappler scored a first-period takedown, Hall got a four-point near-fall near the end of the period and held the lead throughout. No. 15 Pete Renda made it back-to-back bonus point wins with his 17-1 tech fall win at 184 pounds. Renda locked un a couple of cradles during the bout and scored two four-point near-falls. Duke's third win of the night was at 197 pounds, and all three Blue Devil wins were by ranked guys against unranked NC State wrestlers. The Pack closed the dual with back-to-back six-point wins. No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski picked up another first period pin, and improves to 17-0 on the season and runs his NCAA-leading winning streak to 72 matched. Gwiazdowski's pin was his ninth of the season. In the final bout, Duke forfeited at 125 pounds and Jamel Morris was credited with the ACC win. NC State has now won 38 of the last 42 duals against Duke dating back to 1975. Over those last 40 years, NC State is now a perfect 22-0 in dual action at Duke. The 34 points scored against Duke are the most in the series since a 38-3 win in 2001, and are the most at Duke in a dual since a 36-0 win in 1996. Results: 133: Jamal Morris (NCSU) fall Brandon Leynaud; 2:59 - 6-0 141: No. 3 Kevin Jack (NCSU) dec. Zach Finesilver; 6-3 - 9-0 149: No. 9 Mitch Finesilver (DU) dec. Beau Donahue; 12-7 - 9-3 157: No. 6 Tommy Gantt (NCSU) major dec. Connor Bass; 13-4 - 13-3 165: No. 17 Jake Faust (DU) dec. Lee Davis; 5-0 - 13-6 174: Nicky Hall (NCSU) major dec. Alec Schenk; 12-4 - 17-6 184: No. 15 Pete Renda (NCSU) tech fall Trey Adamson; 17-1 - 22-6 197: No. 5 Conner Hartman (DU) dec. No. 17 Michael Boykin; 6-0 - 22-9 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Brendan Walsh; 1:53 - 28-9 125: Jamel Morris (NCSU) forfeit - 34-9

BRACKETS NCAA Division II Bracket | NCAA Division III Bracket | NAIA Bracket | NJCAA Bracket | WCWA Bracket Manheim, Pa. -- Mat Mayhem is here. United Wrestling Group hosts the 2016 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the United States Marine Corps in honor of Cliff Keen on January 8-9 from Fort Wayne, Indiana and the Allen County War Memorial. Action begins on Friday with 88 teams across five collegiate divisions. Teams can now prepare for their opening opponents as the draws were released on Tuesday evening. While national rankings are posted for each division, each division seeds with their own set of votes and criteria. In Division II, coach Mike Denney looks to coach Maryville to its second straight National Duals title. The Saints, seeded No. 1, will open up with Findlay. Two of Denney's former wrestlers, Marc Bauer and Steve Costanzo, will try to knock off their former coach. Costanzo, the head coach at St. Cloud State and Bauer, the head coach at Nebraska-Kearney, wrestled for Denney at Nebraska-Omaha. Costanzo's Huskies won a pair of National Duals titles in 2012-13 and are the returning NCAA Division II national champions. St. Cloud State opens with Newberry with the winner facing the winner of the Lake Erie-Central Missouri dual. Nebraska-Kearney, returning to the event for the first time in four seasons, opens with Tiffin and the winner of that dual will face either McKendree or Pitt-Johnstown. Fourth-seeded Mercyhurst will take on Indianapolis in the opening round with the winner facing Notre Dame College or Minnesota State. Denney's Maryville squad eyes the winner of the Upper Iowa-Wheeling Jesuit dual should the heavily-favored Saints beat Findlay. Eric Keller's Wartburg Knights have reloaded and are favorites to win the 24-team field in the Division III portion of the event. Winners of five straight National Duals championships and nine overall, the Knights will have a first-round bye and then face the winner of the Mount Union-Augustana (Ill.) dual. Augsburg, which moved up to No. 2 in this week's NWCA Division III team rankings, will also have a bye and will face the winner of the UW-Whitewater-Heidelberg dual. That dual is of interest as UW-Whitewater head coach Ned Shuck's previous head coaching job was at Heidelberg. UW-La Crosse, Ithaca, Roger Williams, Wabash, Cornell College and Concordia-Moorhead will also have opening-round byes. A couple of intriguing first-round duals in Division III will see nationally-ranked teams clash with Baldwin Wallace facing NYU and Wilkes facing Luther. Grand View's quest for a fifth consecutive National Duals crown in the NAIA begins with the Vikings opening-round dual with Missouri Baptist. The winner will face either Great Falls or York (Neb.). Missouri Valley, the second seed, will open with Ottawa with the winner facing either Concordia (Neb.) or Lindsey Wilson. Third-seeded Indiana Tech opens with the University of the Cumberlands with the winner facing the winner of the Midland-Oklahoma City dual. No. 4 Campbellsville opens with Williams Baptist with the winner advancing to face Life or Cumberland University. On the women's side, King University, the University of the Cumberlands and Oklahoma City, the top three seeds, will have opening round byes and await opponents in the quarterfinals. The Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association also participates in freestyle wrestling, one of the two Olympic styles of wrestling, compared to the collegiate style or “folkstyle” colleges and high schools wrestle in the United States. Junior college powers Clackamas, Iowa Central, Ellsworth and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M are all in the mix for an NJCAA title. Clackamas, winners of two of the last three championships, will open up with Triton with the winner facing either Mercyhurst NorthEast or Iowa Western. Iowa Central opens up with Northwest Tech (Kansas) with the winner advancing to face either Harper or Colby in the quarterfinals. Ellsworth opens with Labette and the winner will take on either Western Wyoming or Muskegon, which is having a strong season. NEO's championship run will start out with Northwest College (Wyo.). The winner will face either Iowa Lakes or Neosho in the quarterfinals. King, the two-time defending WCWA National Duals champions will face the winner of the Adrian-Ottawa dual. Both programs are new as Adrian, a Division III school in Michigan, is in its first year as a varsity program while Ottawa, an NAIA institution in Kansas, is in its second. University of the Cumberlands, one of the most-established women's programs, will face the winner of the Wayland Baptist-Missouri Valley dual in the bottom half of the bottom bracket. Oklahoma City, multiple-time winners of the WCWA National Duals, will see the winner of the Life-Lindenwood dual in the quarterfinals. Other first-round matchups include fourth-seeded McKendree facing Waldorf and Campbellsville facing Missouri Baptist. TICKETS Tickets will be available at the box office of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and are $40 for an adult All-Weekend pass and $20 for single day passes. Youth tickets (16-and-under) are $30 for an All-Weekend pass and $15 for single day passes. RESULTS, STREAMING & TELEVISION Event results will be available live on Trackwrestling.com and live streaming of the event will also be provided via Trackwrestling's TrackCast program. Fans will be able to watch every mat and every dual for the event for a one-time cost of $19.95. FOX College Sports will also air one selected dual in each of the five collegiate divisions on a tape-delayed basis. Each dual will be re-broadcast a minimum of 10 times for a total of 50 national broadcasts to a potential universe of 54 million homes. Results from the four men's divisions: http://bit.ly/Mayhem16 Results from the WCWA division: http://bit.ly/MayhemWCWA16 MEDIA INQUIRIES For any media requests for the NWCA Duals this weekend please contact Eric Hughes at erichughes0667@gmail.com About the National Wrestling Coaches Association The NWCA brings the wrestling coaching community together to advance the sport and ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to engage in a safe and educationally based wrestling experience. This is primarily done by strengthening existing programs, creating new programs, and providing coaches with progressive educational opportunities. About the United States Marine Corps On November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, the Marine Corps, through service on land, in air, and at sea, have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term “Marine” has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue. Whether facing our nation's foes or conducting humanitarian relief and disaster recovery operations at home or abroad, today's Marine Corps stands ready to continue in the same proud tradition of faithful service to the United States. For more information, visit www.Marines.com.

NORMAN -- The University of Oklahoma wrestling team's dual with American University has been canceled. The match was scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24, and will not be rescheduled. All tickets for the American dual can now be used on Jan. 22 when the Sooners wrestle Iowa State at 7 p.m. inside Lloyd Noble Center for Beauty and the Beast. The event, held with the OU women's gymnastics team, is a split-floor wrestling dual and gymnastics competition. Season ticket holders will double their allotment of tickets for the Iowa State matchup. For example, if a season ticket holder has two tickets per match, he or she will add the two for the American dual and have four for Iowa State. Purchasers of the Sunday Funday mini-plan package can use the American ticket for the contest against the Cyclones. With the cancellation, the Sooners have two remaining home matches, including Iowa State (Jan. 24) and South Dakota State (Feb. 14). For questions about ticketing, please call the OU Athletics Ticket office at 405-325-2424.

This week's edition of "On the Mat" is Wednesday, Jan. 6 with 1994 NCAA wrestling champion Alan Fried (Oklahoma State) and two-time NCAA wrestling champion Mark Ironside (Iowa). Randy Lewis, a two-time NCAA wrestling champion for Iowa and a 1984 Olympic wrestling champion, is the special guest host for the opening segment of the show. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday at 5 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on mattalkonline.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments.

ANDERSON, S.C. -- Director of Athletics Bill D'Andrea announced on Thursday that at the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, Anderson University will no longer sponsor intercollegiate wrestling. Following a thorough review of the wrestling program by the Department of Athletics and discussion with campus administration, the decision was made to discontinue the wrestling program after this season. Wrestling is the only scholarship supported athletic program at the University that is not a South Atlantic Conference sport. “This is obviously a very difficult decision to make and I understand the impact this will have on our student-athletes,” said D'Andrea. D'Andrea added, “However, we have to strategically use our resources in the most efficient and effective manner. The decision to move forward without wrestling, though difficult, is the right one for Anderson University. Like all universities, academic and athletic units constantly assess their strategic priorities. These processes can necessitate making difficult decisions like this one.” All student-athletes currently receiving wrestling scholarships will have those scholarships honored for the remainder of their undergraduate careers at AU, provided they make satisfactory academic progress as mandated for all student-athletes by the school. Should student-athletes seek to continue their wrestling careers at other institutions, they will be eligible immediately under NCAA guidelines and the University will provide assistance in the transfer process. “We want to be sensitive to the impact this will have on our wrestlers and allow them as much time as possible to consider their options,” noted D'Andrea. “I want to thank former coach Dock Kelly for his contributions to Anderson wrestling and also thank J.J. Jackson for his willingness to serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the final season. Following a five-week break, the Trojan grapplers are slated to get back in action on Friday at the Virginia Duals.

The busy wrap-around period between Christmas and the New Year is now done. The "second third" of the season has begun across most parts of the country. Here is the schedule for nationally ranked teams during the week of January 6 through 12. No. 1 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- split squad for pair of events on Saturday, Elinsky Tournament in Deposit (N.Y.) and the Bissel Tournament at The Hill School (Pa.) No. 2 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- travel to Clovis (Calif.) for the Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. -- compete in the Geary (Okla.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- compete at the Valley View (Ohio) Invitational on Saturday No. 5 Buchanan, Calif. -- travel to Clovis (Calif.) for the Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 6 Clovis, Calif. -- host the Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 7 Carl Sandburg, Ill. -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for the Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 8 St. Edward, Ohio -- compete in the Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals on Saturday No. 9 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- travel to Glenbard West (Ill.) for dual meet on Thursday, travel to Penn (Mishawka, Ind.) for dual meet on Friday, compete in the Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals on Saturday No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- travel to Emmaus (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, host Whitehall (Pa.) tomorrow No. 11 Tuttle, Okla. -- compete in the Geary (Okla.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday, travel to Bridgecreek (Okla.) for dual meet on Monday (1/11) No. 12 Belle Vernon Area, Pa. -- travel to Ringgold (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, compete in Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament at Franklin Regional (Pa.) on Friday and Saturday No. 13 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. -- compete in Lake Mary (Fla.) Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saurday No. 14 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for the Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 15 Poway, Calif. -- host Rancho Bernardo (Calif.) for dual meet tomorrow night No. 16 Apple Valley, Minn. -- travel to Shakopee (Minn.) for dual meet tomorrow, travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 17 Elyria, Ohio -- travel to Solon (Ohio) on Friday for tri-meet with the hosts and Mentor (Ohio) No. 18 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. - travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 19 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- host multi-team dual meet on Friday, travel to Waubonsie Valley (Ill.) Mega Duals on Saturday No. 20 Malvern Prep, Pa. -- host Glen Mills (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, travel to The Haverford School (Pa.) for dual meet on Friday, compete in the Bissel Tournament at The Hill School (Pa.) on Saturday No. 21 Mt. Carmel, Ill. -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 22 Washington, Ill. -- host Morton (Ill.) for dual meet tomorrow night, compete in Sycamore (Ill.) Invitational on Saturday No. 23 Archer, Ga. -- host Area 8 Duals for Class 6A on Saturday No. 24 Lowell, Mich. -- host Jenison (Mich.) for dual meet tonight, travel to Fort Wayne (Ind.) for multiple dual meets as part of Mat Mayhem on Saturday No. 25 Delta, Ohio -- travel to Bryan (Ohio) for tri-meet with the hosts and Archbold (Ohio) tomorrow night, compete in the Perrysburg (Ohio) Invitational Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 26 Allen, Texas -- travel to Plainview (Okla.) for dual meet tomorrow night, compete in Cushing (Okla.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 27 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 28 Boyertown, Pa. -- travel to Upper Perkiomen (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, host Owen J. Roberts (Pa.) for dual meet Saturday No. 29 Fort Dodge, Iowa -- travel to No. 50 West Des Moines Valley (Iowa) for tri-meet with the hosts and Ankeney (Iowa) Centennial tomorrow night No. 30 Nazareth, Pa. -- host Stroudsburg (Pa.) in dual meet tonight, travel to Hampton (Va.) for the Virginia Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 31 Camden County, Ga. -- travel to Statesboro (Ga.) for the Area Duals in Class 5A on Saturday No. 32 Monroe Woodbury, N.Y. -- travel to Middletown (N.Y.) for dual meet tonight, compete in the Union-Endicott (N.Y.) Duals on Saturday and Sunday No. 33 Platte County, Mo. -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday, travel to Belton (Mo.) for dual meet on Tuesday 1/12 No. 34 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- travel to St. Peter's Prep (N.J.) for dual meet tonight, travel to Passaic County Tech (N.J.) for dual meet on Friday No. 35 Brecksville, Ohio -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio) for double dual with the hosts and Wadsworth (Ohio) tomorrow night No. 36 Brownsburg, Ind. -- travel to Fort Wayne (Ind.) for multiple dual meets as part of Mat Mayhem on Saturday No. 37 Bakersfield, Calif. -- travel to Clovis (Calif.) for the Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 38 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio -- travel to Westland (Ohio) for tri-meet with the hosts and Grove City (Ohio) Central Crossing on Thursday, host tri-meet against Cincinnati (Ohio) Moeller and Walsh Jesuit on Saturday No. 39 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- travel to Kaukauna (Wis.) for Cheesehead Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 40 Kiski Area, Pa. -- travel to Franklin Regional (Pa.) for dual meet tonight, compete in Westmoreland County Coaches Association Tournament at Franklin Regional (Pa.) on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Anoka, Minn. -- travel to Cambridge-Isanti (Minn.) for an individual bracket tournament on Saturday No. 42 Warren Central, Ind. -- host Carmel (Ind.) in dual meet tonight, travel to New Palestine (Ind.) Invitational on Saturday No. 43 Hartland, Mich. -- compete in double dual at Salem (Mich.) tonight, compete in Wyandotte Roosevelt (Mich.) Tournament on Saturday No. 44 Park Hill, Mo. -- host Kearney (Mo.) for dual meet on Friday night, travel to Liberty North (Mo.) for dual meet on Tuesday 1/12 No. 45 Reynolds, Pa. -- travel to Sharpsville (Pa.) for dual meet tonight No. 46 Pomona, Colo. -- host Ralston Valley (Colo.) for dual meet tomorrow night, compete in Conifer (Colo.) Invitational on Saturday No. 47 San Marino, Calif. -- travel to Clovis (Calif.) for the Doc Buchanan Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 48 Post Falls, Idaho -- travel to Boise (Idaho) for the Rollie Lane Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 49 Good Counsel, Md. -- host tri-meet against Gonzaga (D.C.) and Paul XII (D.C.) tonight, travel to Hagerstown (Md.) for the HUB Cup Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 50 West Des Moines Valley, Iowa -- host No. 29 Fort Dodge (Iowa) and Ankeney (Iowa) Centennial for tri-meet tomorrow night, travel to Ames (Iowa) for the Mendenhall Invitational on Saturday.

MANHEIM, Pa. -- With 88 teams competing, the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum will be the place to be January 8-9 as Mat Mayhem will invade Fort Wayne, Indiana. United Wrestling Group hosts the 2016 NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals presented by the United States Marine Corps in honor of Cliff Keen. It will be the second straight year Fort Wayne will serve as the host for the event. "We've been fortunate to have the support of some great sponsors and donors throughout the history of this event," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "As hosts, the United Wrestling Group provides much-needed event support and manpower, while the Marine Corps has been one of the biggest supporters of our events and wrestling in general for a number of years. Resilite's name in wrestling is highly regarded and their presence at this event is also a vital one." Of the 88 teams in action across five collegiate levels of wrestling, 70 are ranked in their respective national rankings, including all five No. 1's -- Maryville (Division II), Wartburg (Division III), Grand View (NAIA), Ellsworth (NJCAA) and King (WCWA). "The growth of college wrestling is coming from the groups we'll see in Fort Wayne," said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "When you look at the 88 teams competing at the Multi-Divisional National Duals, 46 of them were started after 2000. This is phenomenal growth and shows the tremendous commitment to wrestling we are seeing, especially with women's wrestling, where 14 of the 16 teams competing are newer programs." Individually, 345 nationally-ranked wrestlers will take to the mats at the Allen County War Memorial, that comprises over 60 percent of the wrestlers ranked across the five divisions. The largest concentration of ranked wrestlers is in the Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association bracket, where an astounding 91 of the 100 athletes ranked in the organization will be in attendance. Maryville and coach Mike Denney will look to win the program's second consecutive NWCA National Duals title in Division II. The Saints topped Notre Dame College 16-15 in last year's final. The championship was Denney's first at Maryville after a string of National Duals championships as the head coach at Nebraska-Omaha. Thirteen of the 16 teams are ranked in the Top 20 by D2wrestle.com, including seven of the top 10. Wartburg looks to claim its sixth straight National Duals championship and 10th overall as the Knights defeated UW-Whitewater 20-13 in last year's final. Wartburg is expected to receive a push from second-ranked Augsburg and third-ranked UW-La Crosse. The Division III field is also the largest, with 24 teams competing in college wrestling's largest division in terms of teams. Of the 24 teams in the field, 18 are ranked in the Top 30 and nine of the top 10 teams will be competing. Grand View looks to continue its dominance in the NAIA as the Vikings reloaded for 2015-16 and look to capture a fifth straight NAIA National Duals title. Coach Nick Mitchell's squad defeated Southern Oregon 23-13 in last year's championship bout. Twelve nationally-ranked teams are in the field of 16, led by Grand View and seven of the top 10 teams in the country. In the Junior College Division, Clackamas is the two-time returning champions, but the Cougars will be pushed hard by current No. 1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Last season, Clackamas upended NEO 26-18 to win its third National Duals title in the last five years. Every team in attendance is ranked in the Top 25 in the NJCAA with seven of the top 10 in attendance. Repeat is the word of the day as King University looks to claim its third straight WCWA National Duals title. Coach Jason Moorman's team beat rival Oklahoma City 24-17 in the 2015 championship final. The WCWA, unlike the other four divisions, wrestles freestyle, which is one of the two Olympic styles of wrestling. Eleven of the nation's top 14 teams will be in the mix here, including multi-time champions Oklahoma City. Action begins at 9 a.m. on Friday, January 8 with the final rounds set for 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 9. TICKETS Tickets will be available at the box office of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum and are $40 for an adult All-Weekend pass and $20 for single day passes. Youth tickets (16-and-under) are $30 for an All-Weekend pass and $15 for single day passes. RESULTS, STREAMING & TELEVISION Event results will be available live on Trackwrestling.com and live streaming of the event will also be provided via Trackwrestling's TrackCast program. Fans will be able to watch every mat and every dual for the event for a one-time cost of $19.95. FOX College Sports will also air one selected dual in each of the five collegiate divisions on a tape-delayed basis. Each dual will be re-broadcast a minimum of 10 times for a total of 50 national broadcasts to a potential universe of 54 million homes. Results from the four men's divisions: http://bit.ly/Mayhem16 Results from the WCWA division: http://bit.ly/MayhemWCWA16 THE FIELD Division II: #1 Maryville, #2 St. Cloud State, #3 Nebraska-Kearney, #4 Mercyhurst, #5 Notre Dame College, #7 Pitt-Johnstown, #9 Lake Erie, #11 Upper Iowa, #12 Findlay, #12 Tiffin, #14 Indianapolis, #15 Wheeling Jesuit, #18 Newberry, McKendree, Minnesota State-Mankato, Central Missouri Division III: #1 Wartburg, #2 Augsburg, #3 UW La Crosse, #4 Roger Williams, #5 Ithaca, #7 Concordia - Moorhead, #8 Wabash, #9 Cornell College, #10 SUNY Cortland, #11 Johnson & Wales, #12 Coe, #13 Alma, #15 Baldwin Wallace, #17 Luther, #20 UW Whitewater, #21 Mount Union, #23 Wilkes, #24 NYU, Augustana (Ill.), Coast Guard, Heidelberg, North Central, US Merchant Marine Academy, Wheaton NAIA: #1 Grand View, #2 Indiana Tech, #3 Missouri Valley, #5 Oklahoma City, #6 Life, #7 Campbellsville, #9 Concordia-NE, #13 Great Falls, #15 Midland, #16 Cumberland U., #17 Lindsey Wilson, #19 U. of the Cumberlands, Benedictine, Jamestown, Ottawa, Williams Baptist NJCAA: #1 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, #2 Ellsworth, #3 Muskegon, #4 Iowa Central, #5 Iowa Western, #6 Clackamas, #7 Iowa Lakes, #12 Western Wyoming, #13 Colby, #14 Northwest, #15 Nassau, #17 Mercyhurst Northeast, #20 Harper, #23 Neosho, #24 Labette, #25 Triton WCWA: #1 King, #2 Oklahoma City, #3 Simon Fraser, #4 U. of the Cumberlands, #5 Campbellsville, #6 Lindenwood, #7 Wayland Baptist, #8 McKendree , #10 Life, #11 Missouri Baptist, #14 Adrian, Emmanuel, Lyon, Missouri Valley, Ottawa, Waldorf MEDIA INQUIRIES For any media requests for the NWCA Duals this weekend please contact Eric Hughes at erichughes0667@gmail.com About the National Wrestling Coaches Association The NWCA brings the wrestling coaching community together to advance the sport and ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to engage in a safe and educationally based wrestling experience. This is primarily done by strengthening existing programs, creating new programs, and providing coaches with progressive educational opportunities. About the United States Marine Corps On November 10, 1775, the Marine Corps was established by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, the Marine Corps, through service on land, in air, and at sea, have acquitted themselves with the greatest distinction, winning new honors on each occasion until the term "Marine" has come to signify all that is highest in military efficiency and soldierly virtue. Whether facing our nation's foes or conducting humanitarian relief and disaster recovery operations at home or abroad, today's Marine Corps stands ready to continue in the same proud tradition of faithful service to the United States. For more information, visit www.Marines.com.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- SIUE wrestling head coach Jeremy Spates announced the addition of Alfredo Rodriguez to the Cougars' roster. Freddie RodriguezRodriguez, the 2015 NJCAA national champion at 125 pounds, was the NJCAA Male Athlete of the Year at Iowa Lakes Community College. He also previously attended Oklahoma. A native of Lansing, Michigan, Rodriguez was a three-time state champion. He set the state record for the largest margin of victory in a championship match (29-11). "Freddie has won at every level in which he has wrestled," said Spates. "Being a multiple state and national champion, he will add a lot to our room. He also likes to work so we are expecting him to use his experience to be a leader on the team." Rodriguez is slated to compete at 125 pounds and will likely sit out the rest of the 2015-16 season. He is a projected psychology major.

The just-concluded year of 2015 was one of significant events in college wrestling ... some which made headlines beyond the sport, while others may not have received much coverage at the time, but may be considered major milestones in the coming years. Let's take it outside: Grapple on the Gridiron The original idea behind Grapple on the Gridiron -- the outdoor dual meet between University of Iowa and Oklahoma State held on the football field at Iowa's Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14 -- may have been to break the official dual-meet attendance record and put it out of reach of any other college wrestling program. However, the event ultimately did so much more. Grapple on the Gridiron, which took place on Nov. 14 in Iowa City, drew 42,287 fans, which set a national attendance record for a wrestling meet (Photo/Mark Lundy, LutteLens.com)By any measure, Grapple on the Gridiron was a success. With 42,287 fans in attendance, the previous attendance record of 15,996 set by Penn State in 2013 was shattered. The event went without a hitch, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 50s. There was plenty of exciting on-the-mat action, with the Hawkeyes edging the Cowboys, 18-16. Arguably most importantly, it was a media sensation that generated significant buzz within the wrestling community -- and beyond -- which should have substantial, positive repercussions for college wrestling overall. Outdoor wrestling isn't totally unprecedented; colleges in Arizona and California have been hosting al fresco dual meets for decades. Grapple on the Gridiron took that idea to a new level, by taking wrestling outdoors at an unexpected time and place (Iowa City in mid-November) ... featuring the two legacy programs that have won the most NCAA Division I team titles -- a combined 57 in the 85-year history of the championships. The positive buzz about Grapple on the Gridiron started long before the wrestlers stepped onto the mat. Just about every media outlet in Iowa and Oklahoma served up stories in advance of the dual, joined by NCAA, ESPN and Washington Post websites, among others. While the action was still underway, positive feedback was pouring in on social media. Seemingly countless photos and upbeat assessments appeared on Facebook, Twitter and other online outlets. Once the event was over, wrestling and non-wrestling media alike served up favorable accounts of the groundbreaking, record-breaking dual meet ... generating even more priceless publicity, not just for the University of Iowa and Oklahoma State, but for amateur wrestling in general. Newly expanded Big 12 In 2015, the Big 12 got a bit bigger, as the conference announced the addition of six affiliate members to its postseason wrestling competition as Air Force, Northern Colorado, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming joined legacy members Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and West Virginia, effective this season. Now that there are ten Big 12 wrestling programs, the single-day conference championships of recent years are now a thing of the past. Starting this year, the Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championships will be a two-day event, taking place March 5-6, 2016 at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. "We are excited to announce the addition of affiliate members in sports where the league already maintains a strong competition level," Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. "The additional institutions will improve and strengthen what are already strong postseason events for the Big 12." A (mostly) quiet year for coaching changes What a difference a year makes. In 2014, the coaching carousel seemed to spin at warp speed, with a dozen NCAA Division I wrestling programs hiring new head coaches (not to mention dozens more assistant coaching positions filled). By contrast, 2015 was a slow year for coaching changes. Arguably the most newsworthy was University of North Carolina announcing the departure of C.D. Mock, 1982 NCAA champ for the Tar Heels who has headed up the program for 12 seasons, saying the coach "has been relieved of his duties as the head wrestling coach." The official press release also went to say that Coleman Scott, who came to UNC as an assistant coach last May, would be interim head coach. (UNC later deleted the word "interim" from Scott's title.) Mock admitted that he was blindsided by what took place during his visit with the athletic director. "I went in, frankly, thinking I was going to get an, 'Atta boy,'" Mock told a Durham, N.C. newspaper a week after his dismissal. "A lot of really good things happened this year. Instead, I was asked to resign. I was kind of blown away ..." While the Tar Heels could claim an NCAA All-American and a place among the top 25 teams at the NCAAs for the third straight year, there have been off-the-mat issues involving coach Mock which may have been a factor with his dismissal. Since January, Mock had been writing a blog to defend his son Corey, who had been a student-wrestler at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, who he believes was falsely accused of sexual assault of a fellow student. In his blog, the former UNC coach has criticized the handling of the case, going so far as to name the alleged victim. Some within the UNC community have openly criticized statements in Mock's blog. (In August, the original decision to expel ex-UTC wrestler Corey Mock was reversed in court.) One other major coaching change announced in 2015 won't go into effect until 2016 ... In what Michigan State described as a "coaching succession plan for wrestling", the East Lansing school revealed that Tom Minkel would be retiring at the end of the 2015-16 season -- his 25th as head coach -- with associate head coach Roger Chandler being promoted to "head coach designate" in 2015 until he officially takes the reins of the Spartans in fall 2016. Wronged coach finds new position In 2014, Tim Fader was considered one of the nation's most successful NCAA Division III wrestling coaches. After ten seasons at the helm at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Fader took the Warhawks to second place at the NCAAs, the highest finish in team history ... and was named Coach of the Year by the amateur wrestling website d3wrestle.com, his third such award. Yet, two months later, Fader's contract at UW-Whitewater was "non-renewed" regarding his handling of sexual assault allegations involving a wrestling recruit and a female student at the school -- allegations that were withdrawn hours after first being made to coach Fader. In fall 2014, Fader shared his story with InterMat ... while trying to find a full-time coaching job. A year later, Fader was hired as head coach at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a mat rival to his former employer. How did Fader end up at Eau Claire? The school's Athletic Director Dan Schumacher told InterMat, "As we considered hiring a new coach this summer, Tim's name kept coming up on our lists." "We saw what he had achieved at Whitewater. We also heard from lots of people who urged us to consider him for the position." "It was one of the most thoroughly vetted situations I've been around in the course of my career. Our Chancellor and executive staff did their due diligence." Schumacher added, "Looking at his credentials and body of work, it made sense for us to make that effort." Bafflements Two late-in-the-year announcements left many in the college wrestling community baffled. Northwestern dismissed head coach Drew Pariano two years after having renewed his contract through 2018. No reasons were provided. Pariano had deep roots with the Evanston, Ill.-based Big Ten mat program, having wrestled for the Wildcats from 1995-99. He returned to Northwestern as an assistant coach in 2005, then promoted to associate head coach before taking the helm in June 2010. In a second surprise, Sandy Stevens revealed on her Facebook account that she would not be announcing at the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City ... and the decision was not hers. "I was notified today [Wednesday, Oct. 21] that the NCAA and NYC LOC [Local Organizing Committee] have chosen to go in a 'different direction' for the 2016 Div. I Championships; after 34 years, my announcing voice is no longer included," wrote Stevens. "I am sad and deeply disappointed, but I thank the administrators, fans, officials, volunteers, coaches, and wrestlers with whom I've worked, many of whom have become friends. You have blessed me." Stevens has continued to announce major amateur wrestling events throughout the U.S., including this week's 2015 Ken Kraft Midlands Classic (where she was welcomed into the event's Hall of Fame) ... but, come March 2016, will not be voicing the NCAA D1 championships for the first time in 34 years. Foxcatcher Although officially released in New York City and Los Angeles in 2014, the much-anticipated Hollywood film Foxcatcher was made available nationwide in 2015, first in theaters in a slow rollout, then on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming services in March. Pros: The movie earned a number of awards, made many film critics' Top Ten lists for 2014, and was nominated for Golden Globe and Oscar awards. The performances of the three lead male actors (Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Steve Carell) were nothing short of amazing. It was fun to see so many wrestlers, coaches and others in the wrestling community up on the big screen ... and the film provided new career opportunities (and royalty checks) for these folks. Cons: Foxcatcher the movie did not track 100% with actual events as they occurred. The studio did little to try to promote the film to the wrestling community, first, by not providing info to wrestling publications and websites ... then, with a rollout schedule where the film opened first in large Sunbelt cities where there's little or no high school or college wrestling, leaving wrestlers and their families in traditional wrestling hotbeds to wait till February or later ... or until available on DVD or streaming services. Then again, one could argue the film was not a "wrestling film" per se, with perhaps 2-3 minutes of actual mat action in a 2 hour, 15-minute movie. For those who would like to see a film that is more realistic portrayal of life and events at Foxcatcher Farm -- including the murder of legendary wrestler/coach Dave Schultz at the hands of multi-millionaire wrestling benefactor John du Pont -- check out ESPN's "30 for 30" documentary tilted "The Prince of Pennsylvania" which debuted in fall 2015. Dennis Hastert's fall Six months ago, J. Dennis Hastert was thought of as the former Wheaton College wrestler who became a teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School outside Chicago, who then crafted a successful political career that culminated with him becoming the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House before retiring in 2007. That all came crashing down in late May 2015, when Hastert was indicted for setting up cash withdrawals to avoid bank reporting requirements to make payments to an unnamed individual to "compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct" against that person. In late October, the two-time National Wrestling Hall of Fame honoree (Order of Merit, 1996; Outstanding American, 2000) reached a plea deal in federal district court in Chicago, and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 29. However, in the past couple weeks, it was revealed that Hastert (who turned 74 on Jan. 2) had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized, which may have an impact on sentencing. Long finds redemption in his return to wrestling This year saw the return of Andrew Long to college wrestling. The former Iowa State and Penn State All-American is now on the roster at Grand View University, the Des Moines-based school that won the 2015 NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Wrestling Championships team title. This past week, Long won the 141-pound championship at the 2015 Ken Kraft Midlands Classic tournament at Northwestern, becoming the first champ from a NAIA school at the prestigious post-Christmas event in a dozen years. Long also earned the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler award, and, in a vote of first-place finishers at the tournament, was named the Art Kraft Champion of Champions. "Being part of a team and surrounding myself with good, healthy guys, coaches and athletes," Long said after achieving his first Midlands title. "Being a student again is a way to finish what I started and continue to head down the right path on the right track." Long, a three-time Iowa high school state champion from Creston High School, first competed at Iowa State, where he was 125-pound runner-up at the 2010 NCAAs. However, Long had a number of run-ins with police in Ames; issues continued after the wrestler transferred to Penn State. In the summer of 2013, Long pled guilty to assaulting a 55-year-old mother of a fellow student in State College, Pa., and was sentenced to 1-2 years in county jail. When he was accepted by Grand View, Long, now a 26-year-old junior, pledged to comply with all aspects of his probation, abstain from alcohol, and stay out of trouble. "It feels good. My first competition was a little surreal, but it's a blessing to be a part of the wrestling community and have the support of my family, fans and those who were involved in kind of keeping track of me throughout the process," said Long. NCAA champ, New Jersey state champ reveal they're gay Months before the Supreme Court ruled on same-sex marriage in the summer of 2015, two U.S. college wrestlers -- one who wrestled nearly a decade ago, the other, just embarking on his collegiate career -- came out in the media as gay. Just after the conclusion of the 2014-15 college wrestling season, Mike Pucillo, three-time NCAA All-American and 2008 NCAA 184-pound champ for Ohio State, revealed his sexual orientation in an exclusive interview with wrestling journalist Jason Bryant ... becoming the first NCAA mat champ to do so. A few weeks later, Alec Donovan -- a 2015 New Jersey state champ at 145 pounds for Brick Memorial High School -- was asked about his sexual orientation on a recruiting trip to Limestone College, an NCAA Division II program in Gaffney, S.C. Donovan -- who was actively recruited by a number of colleges, including Edinboro University -- signed with Division I Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., becoming the first openly gay college wrestler in the nation. While Pucillo's and Donovan's revelations generated coverage in mainstream and gay media, the news seemed to cause barely a ripple in the college wrestling world. In fact, for the most part, openly-stated reaction was mostly positive, leading Pucillo to post this message on his Twitter account: "Just want to thank everyone for the overwhelming support and kind messages. You have made this very easy for me. #thankyou."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Senior Mark Martin edged Andre Lee 2-1 in the final winner-take-all match of the night at 197 lbs. to secure No. 6 Ohio State's 22-17 win over No. 11 and previously unbeaten Illinois Sunday afternoon at Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill. The Buckeyes, who win six of 10 matches, improve to 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten while the Illini are 8-1, 0-1. THE SHORT STORY With Ohio State ahead 19-17 after Jack Rozema lost a 15-6 major decision at 184 pounds, the fate of Sunday's dual came down to Martin vs. Lee at 197 lbs. After a scoreless first quarter, Lee scored the first point of the match on an escape to begin the second period and then held that lead headed into the final two minutes. But as is their mantra, the Buckeyes won the third, as Martin escaped to tie it at 1-1 and then scored the decisive point when Lee was called for locked hands. He made that lead stand up for the rest of the period and improved to 14-4 on the year. STARS OF THE AFTERNOON 197: Mark Martin decision over Andre Lee, 2-1 165: No. 2 Bo Jordan won by decision over No. 6 Steven Rodriguez, 6-3 174: Myles Martin tech fall over Isaac Reinemann, 22-7 141: No. 9 Micah Jordan decision over Brock Ervin, 6-3 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello tech fall over Francis Edelen, 18-3 285: Thomas Haines decision over No. 13 Brooks Black, 3-2 MARTIN MAKES BANG IN DEBUT Highly-touted freshman Myles Martin, one of the top-ranked pound for pound recruits in the nation, did in his starting debut what he's been all season - scored points and scored them often. Martin earned a 22-7 tech fall at 174 pounds over Isaac Reinemann. He scored two takedowns and a two point near fall in the first period to build a 7-1 lead and then broke it open in the second with four more takedowns and the match eventually ended in the third when Reinemann was called for stalling. It was Martin's 14th win this year via bonus points and gave Ohio State a 19-13 lead. TOP 10 MATCH-UP AT 165 In one of two matchs on the day that featured a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top 10,No. 2 Bo Jordan stayed unbeaten with a hard-fought 6-3 decision over sixth-ranked Steven Rodrigues. Jordan scored first with a takedown and eventually pushed his head to 5-0 late in the second before Rodrigues scored a reversal to cut the deficit to 5-2. Rodrigues scored the only point of the third period on an escape, but Jordan racked up enough riding time to tack on a bonus point. Jordan improves to 8-0 this year while Rodrigues is 13-1. The win also gave the Buckeyes the lead in the dual for good at 14-13. HAINES ALSO MAKES DEBUT The dual started at heavyweight with the starting debut of redshirt freshman Thomas Haines, a four-time Pennsylvania state champion. Haines scored a key 3-2 decision over 13th-ranked Brooks Black, an NCAA qualifier in 2015. Haines took a 1-0 lead into the third period thanks to a second-period escape, and Black tied the match at 2-2 on a reversal late in the third, but Haines escaped and then scored the decisive point via riding time. He's 12-2 on the season. TOMASELLO EXTENDS THE LEAD Top-ranked Nathan Tomasello (11-0) extended Ohio State's early lead to 8-0 when he won his 29th straight match dating back to last year, needing just five minutes to tech fall Francis Edelen, 18-3. The key stretch came in the first period when Tomasello scored seven points on a takedown and five-point near fall. JORDAN PICKS UP WIN NO. 13 Like his brother Bo, Micah Jordan also gritted out a 6-3 decision to improve his 2015-16 mark to 13-1. His win at 141 lbs. over Brock Ervin gave Ohio State an early 11-3 edge after four matches and was triggered by a strong third period. Tied a 3-3 entering the final two minutes, Jordan escaped for a 4-3 and then scored two off a low single for the final 6-3 margin. ILLINI WINNERS Illinois won at 133, 149, 157 and 184 pounds. At 157, Jake Ryan suffered his first loss of the year against top-ranked and defending national champion Isaiah Martinez. Third-ranked Zane Richards topped Johnni DiJulius, 8-3, while Kyle Langenderfer won by tech fall at 149 over Matt Davis. Jack Rozema was also beaten by Jeffrey Koepke at 184. UP NEXT Ohio State returns home to St. John Arena for the first time in a month and a half when it hosts No. 13 Michigan next Saturday, Jan. 9, at 5 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on BTN and tickets can be purchased by clicking here. Results: 285: Thomas Haines (OSU) decision over No. 13 Brooks Black 3-2 | OSU 3, ILL 0 125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) tech fall over Francis Edelen (ILL) 18-3 | OSU 8, ILL 0 133: No. 3 Zane Richards (ILL) decision over No. 8 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) 8-3 | OSU 8, ILL 3 141: No. 9 Micah Jordan (OSU) decision over Brock Ervin (ILL) 6-3 | OSU 11, ILL 3 149: Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) tech fall over Matt Davis (OSU) 20-5 | OSU 11, ILL 8 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall over No. 13 Jake Ryan (OSU) 24-8 | ILL 13, OSU 11 165: No. 2 Bo Jordan (OSU) decision over No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) 6-3 | OSU 14, ILL 13 174: Mark Martin (OSU) tech fall over Isaac Reinemann (ILL) 23-7 | OSU 19, ILL 13 184: Jeffrey Koepke (ILL) major decision over Jack Rozema (OSU) 15-6 | OSU 19, ILL 17 197: Mark Martin (OSU) decision over Andrew Lee (ILL) 2-1 | OSU 22, ILL 17

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- The fifth-ranked Hokies picked up a 32-11 victory over George Mason to open 2016 Sunday, returning to competition after a month off. Using a new starting lineup, Tech grapplers picked up wins in seven weight classes, including four bonus victories and two major decisions. Junior Joey Dance opened the day with a 17-1 technical fall victory at 125 pounds. Redshirt freshman Solomon Chishko earned his first major decision of the year with a 10-2 win at 141 pounds in Tech's second win of the first half. Trailing 11-9, freshman David McFadden won a 10-3 decision to give the Hokies a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Redshirt sophomore Zach Epperly recorded his first win since the season opener against Iowa State, a fall in 3:26. At 184 pounds, Zack Zavatsky continued the momentum from his third place finish at CKLV to a 17-2 tech fall win. Jared Haught earned the fourth and final bonus victory for Tech, an 18-1 technical fall in 5:00. To close the day, redshirt junior Ty Walz earned his 11th victory of the year, an 18-7 major decision, and the Hokies went undefeated in the second half of action. Tech will be back in action on Friday, January 8, when they head to Hampton for the 2016 Virginia Duals. Coach Dresser Sounds Off: "Today was hopefully about building. We got back on the horse after a month away from competition. We were a bit sluggish but we have a lot to build on. We need to progress individually starting tomorrow to get ready for Virginia Duals on Friday and Saturday." #HokieHits: · Four Hokies are undefeated in dual meets in 2015-16: Joey Dance (4-0), Solomon Chishko (4-0), David McFadden (4-0), and Ty Walz (4-0) · Walz has started his redshirt junior season 11-0, his best start in three season, including winning the program's first title at Cliff Keen Las Vegas · Dance picked up his team-best sixth major decision or better this year without surrendering a loss of the same kind · The Hokies move to 4-1 this season, with their only loss coming to top-ranked Penn State (21-15). Tech's four victories have come by a margin of 107-43. Results: 125: Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) over Ibrahim Banduka (George Mason) (TF 17-1 5:02) 133: Vince Rodriguez (George Mason) over Ryan Haskett (Virginia Tech) (MD 11-3) 141: Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) over Tejon Anthony (George Mason) (MD 10-2) 149: Konbeh Koroma (George Mason) over Chad Saunders (Virginia Tech) (Dec 6-4) 157: Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) over Jameson Spengler (Virginia Tech) (MD 10-2) 165: David McFadden (Virginia Tech) over Blake Roulo (George Mason) (Dec 10-3) 174: Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) over Daniel Mika (George Mason) (Fall 3:26) 184: Zachary Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) over Luke Ludke (George Mason) (TF 17-2 4:04) 197: Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) over Cameron Houston (George Mason) (TF 18-1 5:00) 285: Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) over Gary Miltenberger (George Mason) (MD 18-7)

The NCAA Wrestling Championships are the marquee event for all three levels of NCAA college wrestling. All three editions of the 2015 championships -- Division I, II and III -- had plenty of drama and compelling storylines to make them must-see events for fans of the oldest and greatest sport. That championship season for Buckeyes, Huskies, Auggies The Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate after winning the team title at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)For the Ohio State wrestling program, the 2014-15 season started with the tragic death of a former teammate, Kosta Karageorge (who wrestled heavyweight the previous season), found dead from an apparent suicide Thanksgiving weekend ... and ended triumphantly with the Buckeyes sharing the 2015 Big Ten conference championships team title (with Iowa), then winning their first team crown outright at the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Ohio State won the 2015 NCAA team title with a total of five All-Americans. Three made it into the finals, with two -- Nathan Tomasello at 125, and Logan Stieber at 141 -- winning individual titles. With the team championship, the Buckeyes joined that elite group of a dozen college mat programs that had won at least one team title in the 85-year history of the NCAAs. Stieber's title was his fourth, making him the fourth-ever NCAA D1 four-time individual champ. (As Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan correctly stated, "More people have been on the moon than have won four national titles.") That wasn't the end of the honors for Logan Stieber. At the 2015 NCAAs, he was named the NCAA's Most Dominant Wrestler for the 2014-15 season, and the NWCA's Most Outstanding Wrestler for the championships. After the NCAAs, Stieber was named winner of the Hodge Trophy as best college wrestler of 2015, InterMat's Wrestler of the Year, Ohio State Male Athlete of the Year, and the 2015 Big Ten Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year. In Division II, the St. Cloud State University wrestling program had been the proverbial bridesmaid, having placed second at three consecutive national championships from 2011 to 2013. That all changed this year, when the Huskies won the team title at the 2015 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis in March, their first national championship in wrestling ... or in any sport. St. Cloud State edged out University of Nebraska-Kearney (which had won three straight titles from 2011-13) by eight points. The Huskies had six wrestlers at the NCAAs; all earned All-American honors. Two were finalists, with Tim Prescott winning the 125-pound crown. That's in sharp contrast to the previous year, when the school located in St. Cloud, Minn. had no finalists at the 2014 NCAAs, and placed sixth in the team standings. Months after winning the NCAA D2 crown, St. Cloud State wrestling scored more great publicity, announcing it had signed Devon Berry, a multi-sport high school athlete from Georgia who has cerebral palsy, a disease which impairs muscle control, but hasn't stopped him from wrestling, playing football, and throwing the shot put and discus ... and earning a 3.7 overall grade point average. "I don't think there's anything this kid can't do," SCSU head wrestling coach Steve Costanzo told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution when Berry signed his letter of intent this fall. "He's one of the most incredible people I've ever met." (Berry's scholarship story was one of the most-read --and shared -- InterMat news stories of the last half of 2015.) Augsburg College won the team title at the 2015 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at Giant Center in Hershey, Pa. in March for the 12th time in the history of the program, but for the first time since 2010. Six Auggies earned NCAA All-American honors; three made it to the finals, with two leaving the mat with national titles: Mike Fuenffinger at 125 pounds, and, at the opposite end of the weight scale, Donny Longendyke at heavyweight. In addition, the Minneapolis-based school swept the awards presented by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Augsburg head coach Jim Moulsoff was named Division III National Coach of the Year and Division III Rookie Coach of the Year (having taken the helm for the 2014-15 season after long-time coach Matt Matzek left the college to teach and coach in his hometown in Wisconsin), while Tony Valek earned Assistant Coach of the Year honors. Augsburg's Fuenffinger was selected the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, while the Auggies' 165-pounder Eric Hensel earned the Most Falls in Least Time award at the championships. Fab freshmen Martinez, Tomasello, Snyder Three college freshmen had stellar seasons in their first year of competition. Illinois' Isaiah Martinez capped off a flawless season as a freshman -- the first first-year collegian to do so since Cael Sanderson for Iowa State in 1999 -- by winning the 157-pound title at the 2015 Big Ten and NCAA Division I championships ... then being named InterMat Freshman of the Year in a unanimous vote of the website's staff. Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello was a key contributor to the Buckeyes' championship season, claiming the 125-pound crown at both the 2015 Big Tens and NCAAs. His true freshman teammate, Kyle Snyder, made it to the 197-pound finals of the conference and national championships ... but has truly left his mark on the mat in international freestyle wrestling. Snyder defeated 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jake Varner at the 2015 U.S. Open, then at the finals of the 2015 U.S. World Team Trials in June to qualify for the World Championships where the big Buckeye became the youngest U.S. wrestler to win a world title at age 19. Snyder originally had announced he was taking a year away from Ohio State to prepare for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, but head coach Tom Ryan said the Maryland native had enrolled in classes for spring quarter and would return to wrestle for the Buckeyes. An NCAA scoring fiasco It wasn't all good news coming out of the 2015 NCAA Division I championships. A scoring error in a 157-pound quarterfinals match between Cornell's Brian Realbuto and Kent State's Ian Miller at the 2015 NCAAs actually altered the outcome of the match. Coupled with the NCAA's handling of the situation, the incident left many within the college wrestling community scratching their heads and openly expressing their anger. In a nutshell, the scoreboard indicated an incorrect score, which eventually sent the match into sudden victory, ultimately resulting in a win for Cornell's Realbuto, who advanced to the finals. During the quarterfinal round, Kent State coaches protested the result; however, at the time, the NCAA ruled that they did not challenge the score during the match, therefore the result would not be reversed. Months later, in issuing rules for the 2015-16 season, the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee put out a clarification, stating that coaches can approach the scoring table if there's an issue with either the time on the clock, or the score of the match on the scoreboard, making clear that all match disputes must be resolved during the match, before the wrestlers leave the mat, or before the score sheet leaves the scoring table. The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee also made clear: tournament officials can't adjudicate match outcomes.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Oklahoma State had three Cowboy wrestlers crowned champions at the 2016 Southern Scuffle with Alex Dieringer winning his third, Austin Marsden winning his second and Dean Heil winning his first. The Cowboys finished the team race in second with 158 points, trailing Penn State by 25 points. “I think we can take a lot out of this tournament overall,” coach John Smith said. “It's pretty good to finish with three champs and several guys placing in the top-seven. The one thing we're going to have to do is get more aggressive. Our mentality on the mat is not exactly where I want it but that's where we need to get it in the next month.” Heil became the first champion for the Pokes, defeating three-seed Joey McKenna of Stanford. The two wrestled cautiously, tying the match 1-1 at the end of regulation. With no points scored in sudden victory, the bout went to a tiebreaker. Heil went down first and was not able to escape, but McKenna was hit with two stalling calls, resulting in a point for Heil. The Cowboy was able to ride out McKenna for the second part of the tiebreaker and won the title, 2-1. In the 165-pound final, top-seeded Dieringer won his third title, making it look easy against No. 10 Logan Massa of Michigan. Dieringer scored a takedown halfway through the first period and kept the lead. He opened the second period with an escape and notched another takedown. The Cowboy sealed the win with a third takedown with seven seconds to go, defeating Massa, 8-2. Dieringer now has a 63-match win streak and sits fifth all-time, tied with Dwayne Keller. “I'm happy that I had five bonus-point matches. That's always good for the team,” Dieringer said. “I only beat a true freshman in finals 8-2 so there's room to make improvements. When it comes to the team race, it's all about bonus points. That's why Penn State won NCAAs four years in a row. That's the biggest thing moving forward.” Austin Marsden was the final champ for the Pokes with his win at heavyweight over No. 3-seed Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State. Marsden opened scoring with a takedown late in the first period to carry a 2-0 lead into the second period. His escape in the second was the last point scored, but riding time advantage gave Marsden a 4-0 win. “It feels good to win a second Southern Scuffle title,” Marsden said. “It's a tough tournament. I still think I have a lot of work to do. I'm not where I want to be so I have to work really hard for that national title.” In the 125-pound finals, Eddie Klimara took on top-seeded Nico Megaludis of Penn State. The Cowboy was outwrestled as Megaludis picked up three takedowns for an 8-1 win. Earning his best finish at the event, Klimara went 5-1. He now holds 93 career wins. True freshman Joe Smith finished second in his Southern Scuffle debut, wrestling unattached. He faced No. 1-seed Jason Nolf of Penn State. Nolf controlled most of the match, picking up two takedowns. Smith earned a takedown in the third, but it was not enough as he fell 7-3. Seven other Cowboys finished in the top-eight. Chandler Rogers fell to tenth-seed Casey Kent of Penn in a 10-0 major decision to finish fourth at 165 pounds. Kyle Crutchmer and Nolan Boyd finished fifth at 174 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively. Crutchmer knocked off No. 1-seed Brian Realbuto with a last-second takedown to win 4-3, while Boyd defeated teammate Jordan Rogers with a dominant 12-2 major decision. Three Cowboys finished sixth, including Kaid Brock (133), Anthony Collica (149) and Jordan Rogers (184). Brock, a true freshman, medical forfeited out of the tournament to earn a sixth-place finish, and Collica fell in a 10-8 heartbreaker to Mitch Finesilver of Duke. Finally, Eli Hale was awarded seventh place with a medical forfeit over after Connor Schram of Stanford. The Cowboys will be back in action on Jan. 15 and 17 as they travel to West Virginia and Pittsburgh for a pair of duals.

CHATANOOGA, Tenn. -- No. 1 Penn State (6-0, 1-0 B1G) used its high-octane offensive style to run away from the field at the 2016 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad won its sixth straight Southern Scuffle title and crowned five individual champions as well. Penn State set itself up for a superb evening by dominating the early session Saturday. The Nittany Lions were a perfect 6-0 in semifinal action, including two pins, a major and a win over a top-ranked opponent. The Nittany Lions followed that up with a superb final session, going 5-1 in the championship finals and 3-1 in placing bouts. Penn State won the team title with 183.0 points, out-distancing second place Oklahoma State (158.0) and third place Lehigh (104.5). Senior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, won the 125 pound title to pace Penn State early. Megaludis, who was awarded a forfeit victory overnight when the bracket irregularity was corrected by tournament officials, picked up his 100th career win in the quarterfinals with a 15-5 major over Oklahoma State's Elijah Hale. In the semifinals, he was dominant from the top position, rolling to a 6-3 win over No. 13 Darian Cruz of Lehigh with nearly 3:00 in riding time The win over Cruz set up a championship bout against No. 5 Eddie Klimara of Oklahoma State. Megaludis countered an early Klimara shot for a first period takedown and a 2-0 lead at the 1:05 mark of the first period. He then rode Klimara out to carry that lead and 1:04 in riding time into the second. Klimara chose down to start the second period and Megaludis controlled the action until the 1:34 mark. Klimara's escape cut the lead to 2-1 but Megaludis quickly too him down again to up his lead to 4-1. Leading by three, Megaludis chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 advantage. The Lion senior added one more takedown and a riding time point (2:05) to post the dominant 8-1 win. Megaludis went 5-0 with two majors to claim the title, Penn State's first of the night. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 6 at 133, reached the 2016 Scuffle finals and ended as the runner-up at 133. Conaway's day began against West Virginia's Keegan Moore. Conaway was up 14-0 when he received an injury default win to move into the semifinals, where he met No. 4 George DiCamillo of Virginia. In that bout, Conaway mounted a furious comeback late, getting two takedowns in the final :30 to grab a thrilling 6-5 win to advance to the finals. Conaway took on No. 1 Nashon Garrett of Cornell in the finals. Garrett took a 2-0 lead with a fast takedown in the first period and then turned Conaway for two back points and a 4-0 lead after the opening period. Garrett chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 5-0 lead. He added two more takedowns and Conaway trailed 9-1 after two. Conaway cut the lead to 9-2 with an escape to start the third period but Garrett continued his offense and posted a 14-4 major. Conaway went 4-1 with one major at the Scuffle to finish as the runner-up at 133. Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, easily won the 149-9pound Scuffle title. Retherford began the day with a sizzling 22-6 technical fall at the 6:47 mark over Stanford's Paul Fox. He took on No. 8 Matt Cimato of Drexel in the semifinals and hammered Cimato, rolling to a 13-3 major. Retherford's dominant performance moved him into the finals where he took on North Carolina's Evan Henderson. Retherford connected quickly on a low double, taking a 2-0 lead at the 2:29 mark. He turned the Tar Heel for four back points and led 6-1 at the :40 mark after Henderson escaped. Retherford added another takedown and led 8-1 with 2:18 riding time after one period. He reversed Henderson to start the second period and then added a two point near fall and a four point near fall to post the 16-1 technical fall at the 4:14 mark. Retherford rolled to the 149-pound Scuffle crown with a 5-0 record, including three tech falls, a major and a pin. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157, rolled to his first Scuffle title as well. Nolf pinned Chattanooga's Kamaal Shakur (5:45) in the quarterfinals to start his day and then pinned No. 10 Mitch Minotti of Lehigh in the semfinals. Nolf used constant first period pressure to set up a sizzling move late in the first period, taking Minotti down and to his back for a pin at the 2:50 mark. The fall, Nolf's second straight, moved him into the finals against unattached Oklahoma State freshman Joe Smith. Nolf steadily set his offense up and connected on a high single leg to take a 2-0 lead at the 1:30 mark of the first period. He rode Smith out to lead by two after one, chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-0 lead with 1:38 left in the second (he maintained a 1:09 riding time edge). Trailing 3-0, Smith chose down to start the third and escapes to a 3-1 Nolf lead. Smith then quickly took Nolf down, Nolf escaped and led 4-3 with 1:07 riding time in third. Nolf withstood a furious Smith flurry as the match wound down and then iced the bout with a late takedown. The riding time point gave Nolf the thrilling 7-3 win and the 2016 Scuffle title. Nolf went 5-0 with two pins and two tech falls to claim the crown. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 5 at 174, rolled through a crowded field to win his first Southern Scuffle title. Nickal opened up his day with a 4-3 win over No. 11 Michael Ottinger of Central Michigan in the quarterfinals. Nickal then gave notice to the nation with one of the tournament's most dominant performances. Nickal downed previously unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Brian Realbuto of Cornell 14-7, tallying 2:04 riding time in the process. The thrilling victory moved Nickal into the finals where he met North Carolina's Ethan Ramos. Nickal wasted no time in taking a 2-0 lead, moving through a takedown and then breaking Ramos down on the mat. He added one more takedown in the first period and led 4-2 with 1:18 in riding time after one period. Nickal escaped to a 5-2 lead to start the second period and then took Ramos down one more time to lead 7-3 with 1:55 in time after two. Ramos escaped to start the final period but Nickal countered a shot to extend his lead to 9-4 with another takedown. Nickal gave up one takedown at the :10 mark but with an escape and 2:27 in riding time, posted the dominant 11-7 win. Nickal won the 174-pound title with a 6-0 record, including two tech falls and a major. Nickal was named the 2016 Southern Scuffle Most Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts. Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, won his first Southern Scuffle title with a perfect run at 197. McIntosh picked up critical team points by pinning Edinboro's Vincent Pickett at the 4:24 mark in the quarterfinals early in the day. He then dominated No. 8 Jacob Smith of West Virginia in the semifinals. McIntosh opened up a 12-1 first period lead then, after Smith chose down to start the third, locked up a cradle and pinned the Mountaineer at the 5:20 mark to advance to the finals. He took on No. 5 Brett Pfarr of Minnesota in the finals. McIntosh had a good chance to score as the period ended, connecting on a low single with :40 left. But Pfarr forced a scramble that killed the clock and the bout moved to the second period tied 0-0. McIntosh chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The score held through two and Pfarr chose down to start the third. A quick escaped by Pfarr tied the score at 1-1 with 1:35 left to wrestle. McIntosh got in on another low single and Pfarr tried to flee. But McIntosh held firm and finished off the takedown before Pfarr could get out of bounds, taking a 3-1 lead. Pfarr did escape but McIntosh's takedown was the difference in a 3-2 McIntosh victory. McIntosh won the 2016 Scuffle crown with a 5-0 mark, including two pins and a tech and a major. Junior Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) followed up a tough quarterfinal loss to take care of Minnesota's Brandon Kingsley with ease (8-1), advancing to the conso quarters and earning a top eight finish. Beitz stunned No. 8 Luke Smith of Central Michigan in the second period, locking up a cradle from his feet and turning Smith for a pin at the 3:53 mark. The fall moved Beitz into the conso semifinals where he met No. 10 Minotti of Lehigh and dropped a tough 5-3 (sv) decision. The Lion junior wrestled for fifth during the evening session and downed No. 14 Russell Parsons of Army 8-6. Beitz took fifth place with a 6-2 mark, including a tech and a pin. Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 165, rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to beat Edinboro's Casey Fuller, advancing to the conso quarters and clinching a place at 165 for the Lions. Morelli met teammate Garett Hammond in the conso quarters and grabbed a hard-fought 2-1 (tb) win. In the consolation semifinals, Morelli received a medical forfeit win over No. 14 George Pickett of Cornell and placed fifth with a 5-2 mark (including a tech fall). Sophomore Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) was impressive in conso rounds four and five as well. Hammond picked up a major and a first period pion (2:44). He then caught Gardner-Webb's Tyler Marinelli in a headlock and pinned him at the 2:15 mark to move into the conso quarters and place. Hammond dropped a tough 2-1 (tb) decision to teammate No. 18 Geno Morelli in the conso quarters, dropping to the seventh place match where he pinned Campbell's Paul Duggan at the 2:49 mark. Hammond took seventh place with a 5-2 record, including three pins and two majors. Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) came back from a close quarterfinal loss to the tournament's top seed to beat Michigan State's Javier Gasca 3-2 to advance to the consolation quarterfinals, clinching a place and critical team points. Moss dropped a 9-7 decision to Jared Prince of Navy and dropped to the seventh place bout where he dropped a 9-6 decision to West Virginia's Tony DeAngelo. Moss ended the tourney with a 4-3 record, including a pin, for eighth place. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) won with ease in consolation rounds four and five, picking up a pin in just :14 in conso 4 and downing No. 16 Jake Faust of Duke 5-2 in conso 5. Rasheed then dropped a 3-1 decision to Lehigh's Ryan Priesch, bowing out of his first Southern Scuffle with a 3-2 mark (including two pins). The day began with quarterfinal action and Penn State extended its team lead by going 6-3 with two pins, a tech fall, a major and an injury default victory. Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, who advanced to the quarterfinals on day one, had to medically forfeit out of the tournament after suffering an injury in his last match Friday night. McCutcheon went 2-0 with a pin at the Scuffle. Junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 6 at 141, went 1-2 and bowed out on day one; red-shirt freshman Kenny Yanovich (Effort, Pa.) went 1-2 at 125 on day one; true freshman Gary Dinmore (Skillman, N.J.) went 2-2 with two majors at 149, wrestling unattached; and true freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) went 0-2 at 285 on day one. Penn State posted a gaudy 59-20 overall record, with 59 percent of those victories (35) earning bonus points. The Nittany Lions collected nine majors, 10 tech falls and 13 pins in their title run. Penn State combined to go 23-0 in tech falls and pins, 9-3 in majors and 3-1 in forfeits/injury defaults. The top-ranked Nittany Lions will hit the road once again next weekend, trekking through Indiana for a Big Ten road swing. The Nittany Lions are at Purdue on Friday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. and then visit Indiana on Sunday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m. Penn State's next home dual is on Friday, Jan. 15, when it hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. 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 few limited tickets remain for the second BJC Dual, the Feb. 5 date against Ohio State. Fans can purchase those tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY as well. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for students. 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. 2016 Southern Scuffle - Final Team Standings (Top Five): January 2, 2016 - McKenzie Arena - Chattanooga, Tenn. 1: PENN STATE - 183.0 2: Oklahoma State - 158.0 3: Lehigh - 104.5 4: Cornell - 98.5 5: North Carolina - 97.5 Attendance: 3,172

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Top-ranked Penn State went 6-0 in the semifinals and leads the team race at the Southern Scuffle.. Semifinal Results 125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 13 Darian Cruz (Lehigh), 6-3 No. 5 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) dec. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan), 9-3 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) by injury default over No. 10 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) No. 6 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) dec. No. 4 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 6-5 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 11 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota), 10-7 No. 4 Joey McKenna (Stanford) dec. No. 16 Zach Horan (Central Michigan), 4-2 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 8 Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 13-3 No. 7 at 141 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) dec. Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 5-2 157: No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) pinned No. 10 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh), 2:50 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) dec. Ian Brown (Lehigh), 12-6 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) pinned John Staudenmayer (North Carolina), 1:14 Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. No. 14 Duke Pickett (Cornell), 7-3 174: No. 5 Bo Nickal (Penn State) dec. No. 1 Brian Realbuto (Cornell), 14-7 No. 4 at 165 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. No. 2 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State), 6-5 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 15 Matthew Miller (Navy), 10-5 No. 4 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. No. 6 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 5-3 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) pinned No. 8 Jacob A. Smith (West Virginia), 5:21 No. 5 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) dec. No. 3 Conner Hartmann (Duke), 4-3 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 12 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State), 4-1 No. 13 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) dec. No. 6 Michael Kroells (Minnesota), 6-3 Finals Matchups 125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 6 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Joey McKenna (Stanford) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 7 at 141 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) 157: No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. Logan Massa (Michigan) 174: No. 5 Bo Nickal (Penn State) vs. No. 4 at 165 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 4 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 13 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The semifinals are set at the Southern Scuffle, and will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET. Penn State leads the team race with 100 points, followed by Oklahoma State with 91 points. Cornell sits in third place with 73.5 points. Below are the semifinal matchups. 125: No. 4 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) No. 5 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) vs. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 10 Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) No. 4 George DiCamillo (Virginia) vs. No. 6 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 11 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) No. 4 Joey McKenna (Stanford) vs. No. 16 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Matthew Cimato (Drexel) No. 7 at 141 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) vs. Mitch Finesilver (Duke) 157: No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) vs. Ian Brown (Lehigh) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) Logan Massa (Michigan) vs. No. 14 Duke Pickett (Cornell) 174: No. 1 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) vs. No. 5 Bo Nickal (Penn State) No. 2 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 at 165 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 15 Matthew Miller (Navy) No. 4 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) vs. No. 6 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Jacob A. Smith (West Virginia) No. 3 Conner Hartmann (Duke) vs. No. 5 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 12 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State) No. 6 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) vs. No. 13 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State)

CHATANOOGA, Tenn. -- No. 1 Penn State (6-0, 1-0 B1G) is leading the field after day one of the 2016 Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Nittany Lions, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, are looking to claim their sixth straight Southern Scuffle title. Penn State owns a slim three point lead over second place Oklahoma State at the event's midway point. Penn State advanced ten wrestlers into tomorrow morning's quarterfinals after a solid first round that saw the team advance 12 of its 16 wrestlers into the third round. Penn State then went 10-2 in the third round to move ten grapplers into the quarters. Penn State sits in first place with 47.5 points while Oklahoma State is a close second with 44.5. Penn State's first quarterfinalist was senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) at 125. Megaludis, the top seed and ranked No. 4 nationally, was the victim of a bracketing error, receiving two byes (instead of a bye and a forfeit win) when his first opponent did not make weight and the tournament directors chose not to redraw the bracket after weigh-ins. The decision cost Megaludis a victory and critical team bonus points and kept the senior inactive for the entire morning session. The issue is being clarified and could change overnight. The Lion senior's third round win; a 14-5 major over Mitch Rogaliner of Michigan State, was the 98th of his career and has him in tomorrow morning's quarterfinals. Senior All-American Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 6 at 133 and the second-seed, went 2-0 on the day, including a tech fall and a 6-1 win over Gardner-Webb's Tyler Ziegler to advance to the quarterfinals. Sophomore Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) went 3-0 on day one, including a first round pin. He posted a thrilling 4-3 (tb) win over Campbell's Lucas Stewart at 141, riding him out to claim the tie-breaker victory and move into the quarterfinals. Sophomore All-American Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the top seed at 149 and ranked No. 1 nationally, rolled to two victories to move to the quarterfinals. Retherford got a pin and a technical fall to roll into the quarters and pick up big team bonus points along the way. Freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 157 and the tournament's top seed, rolled to two technical falls by a combined 48-18 score to move into tomorrow's quarterfinals. Nolf's second tech fall was a 23-8 win over Cornell's Chris Dowdy. Junior Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) also advanced to the quarters at 157, going 3-0 on day one, including a technical fall in the opening round. Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 165, went 2-0 to advance to the quarters at 165. Morelli posted a 20-5 tech fall in his Scuffle opener and then escaped with a hard-fought 6-5 (tb) win over Appalachian State's Forest Przybysz to advance to the quarterfinals. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 5 at 174, rolled to a 3-0 mark with two tech falls and a major, advancing to the quarterfinals by a combined score of 53-9. Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 184, went 2-0 with a pin to move to the quarterfinals. McCutcheon posted a hard-fought 5-4 win over North Carolina's Michael Macchiavello in his second bout, avenging his only loss of the year (suffered at the Nittany Lion Open in December). Senior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the top seed and ranked No. 1 at 197, went 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals as well. McIntosh notched a technical fall and a major in his two Scuffle bouts. Red-shirt freshman Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.) got a pin in his first Scuffle bout of the day and the lost a hard-fought 5-3 decision to Michigan's Logan Massa in his next bout. The 1-1 day has Rasheed in consolation round four tomorrow. Sophomore Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) went 1-1 on day one, including a major. A 7-4 loss in the second round has Hammond in the fourth round of consolation action tomorrow. Penn State suffered a major upset loss in the second round at 141 where junior All-American Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 6, lost his opening match 4-3 to Lehigh's Cortland Schuyler. Gulibon rebounded to beat Appalachian State's Payton Shuford but was then upset again in the third round of consolation action, 6-3 by Michigan's Zac Hall. Gulibon went 1-2 at the Scuffle and bowed out on day one. True freshman Gary Dinmore (Skillman, N.J.), wrestling unattached at 149, won his first round bout (a 10-1 major over Chattanooga's Roman Boylan) then lost in the second round. He opened consolation action by majoring Michigan State's Kaelen Richards. He was leading his third round conso bout over Army's Mark Marchetti before having to take an injury default and bowing out of the tournament with a 2-2 record (including two majors). True freshman Jan Johnson (Mohnton, Pa.) got a first round bye and then missed on a last second takedown attempt to drop a 3-2 second round decision to Cornell's McZiggy Richards. Johnson then dropped a 5-3 decision to Central Michigan's Adam Robinson to bow out of the tournament with a 0-2 mark. Red-shirt Kenny Yanovich (Effort, Pa.) won his first round match up before losing in the second round. He closed out day one with a loss in his first consolation bout and ended his tournament with a 1-2 mark. Penn State went 28-10 one with a whopping 19 wins for bonus points. Sanderson's aggressive Lions notched seven majors, eight technical falls and four pins during the first day of action in McKenzie Arena. Day two of the Scuffle begins tomorrow, January 2, at 9 a.m. back in McKenzie Arena. Penn State's next home dual is on Friday, Jan. 15, when it hosts Nebraska at 7 p.m. in Rec Hall. 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 few limited tickets remain for the second BJC Dual, the Feb. 5 date against Ohio State. Fans can purchase those tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY as well. BJC Dual tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for students. 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. Team Standings: 1: PENN STATE - 47.5 2: Oklahoma State - 44.5 3: Cornell - 38.5 4: Lehigh - 36.5 Attendance: 2,670

Happy New Year, wrestling fans! The Professional Wrestling League of India wrapped up this week with Adeline Gray's Mumbai team taking the championship trophy. I was in India to profile Adeline for ESPN and was impressed with wrestling's newest venture into the professional realm. The in-arena and on-camera production values were second-to-none and the interest within the wrestling community was much higher than I anticipated. Also, women wrestlers were not only prominently featured, but were often the stars of the event as witnessed in the applauses, cheers and media requests. But that's all I'll report for now. Unfortunately a few days after landing I had an emergency appendectomy. I don't know if India was somehow the cause, but it certainly felt a little too coincidental. Anyway, I'll keep this week's column shorter to allow me more time to relax, and you, likely in a hungover stupor, to reflect on the decisions you made last night. To your questions … Q: Is it just me, or is Kyle Dake simply David Taylor's Kryptonite? And this is from a huge Taylor fan who thinks he's one of the best ever college champs. But he just can't get past Dake. Why not drop back down to 74 kilos where he matches up much better against Jordan Burroughs? -- Lon S. Foley: That would be a terrible idea! David Taylor may not have won many matches against Kyle Dake, but there is even less chance that the Penn State grad is going to outwrestle Burroughs two of three times. I just finished watching "Terry" and couldn't help but see some hope for Taylor in the story of Kendall Cross. All he really has to do is focus on the one guy … Q: How well do you think Eric Grajales will do in MMA? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Nobody can predict the long-term success of an MMA fighter because there are too many variables figuring into their in-cage and out-of-cage progression. From a tactical standpoint I think Grajales is well-suited to succeed in MMA. He's extremely athletic, which means he should pick up striking and jiu-jitsu faster than most. Grajales is also talented with upper-body throws, which means he can control where the fight goes much better than a leg-first wrestler. In that way he could be a lot like Daniel Cormier the current light heavyweight champion. A knock on Grajales is his conditioning. He's gassed quite a few times, though it's not clear if that's from weight cutting, bad dieting, or just a stunted Vo2 max. As we've seen with Conor McGregor, Grajales may just need to learn how to promote himself for fights. If he can get the media interested and pump up ticket sales then he'll get a chance to fight in the bigger organizations. If he sits back and hopes that results speak for themselves, then he'll be passed over for fighters willing to engage fans and motivate them to push play on a $70 PPV package. Q: It seems that the Aaron Pico hype machine has been very quiet lately. There was a time when the young kid was the hottest thing in amateur wrestling with speculation that he could beat Brent Metcalf while still of high school age. Since showing himself to not be invincible there is a lot less excitement around the young man. He's kind of blended into the rest of the group on the senior level. But he is 19! He's handling guys that were multiple-time NCAA champs in senior level freestyle tournaments while being the age of true freshman. My question is do you feel Pico is under appreciated? If he never achieves world medal success before he moves on to MMA he will never be mentioned in the same breath as other great wrestlers who have big NCAA success. Even though it's an easy assumption that he would be a multiple-time national champ. I say "easy assumption" because he's beating old champs right now. The same thing for Henry Cejudo and he even won a gold medal. But since he didn't have a long illustrious college career he fades to the back of our minds. Your thoughts? -- Dustin K. Aaron Pico battles Logan Stieber at the U.S. Senior Nationals/Trials Qualifier (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Foley: Pico is appreciated by plenty of fans keen to the international scene. However, I agree that there is less attention on his successes than there are on collegiate stars who have done less in freestyle. That might be frustrating for some, but I don't get the sense that Pico is bothered by that disparity. As you mentioned, Pico is still young and being developed in a way that is unfamiliar to many in the wrestling community. If you look at the international World champions you'll see that most are roughly 24 years old, or the approximate age of Pico during the 2020 cycle. I think it's fair to assume he'll progress the most over that quad, though nothing is guaranteed, especially with MMA looming in the background. I've talked with Pico about all of this on several occasions and I get the sense that he's enjoying the opportunity to see the world and meet interesting people. He's confident and mature in a way that almost nobody his age can match. Another four years of bopping around the world to train and learn about the world is (in my mind) to great an opportunity to pass up -- perceptions of his success at home be damned. Taking everything into account, and assuming he makes a run at 2020, I don't think he'll fade away at all. I think that win or lose Pico is someone who will be talked about for a long time to come because he had the courage to take his own path and has pursued it with passion. MULTIMEDIA HALFIME Points for technique Points for control