InterMat Staff

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Kyle Snyder, who intended to take an Olympic wavier and redshirt for the entirety of the 2015-16 season, will enroll in classes for the spring semester and compete for the Buckeyes this year, head coach Tom Ryan announced today. Kyle Snyder flexes after winning his semifinal match at the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Snyder became the youngest freestyle World champion in U.S. wrestling history this past September and continues to train for the 2016 Summer Olympics. His 2015-16 debut will come Feb. 5 when Ohio State travels to State College, Pa. to tangle with No. 1 Penn State. Prior to that, he is slated to participate in the Ivan Yarygin Memorial Grand Prix Jan. 29-31 and the Alexander Medved International Feb. 18-19. Snyder could also compete in the Buckeyes' dual vs. Wisconsin on Feb. 12. He will wrestle in the Big Ten Championships (March 5-6, 2016 at Iowa City, Iowa) and the NCAA Championships (March 17-19, 2016 at Madison Square Garden, New York City). Snyder originally committed to the Buckeyes three years ago today (Jan. 1, 2013). "Kyle is a leader and recognizes that his team can win a second consecutive NCAA title by his return to the lineup," said Ryan, the 2015 National Coach of the Year. "He has selflessly chosen to enroll second semester and compete in four events. Kyle is mature beyond his years and our team will get a great boost with his return. His choice speaks volumes about him as well as the culture of the program. He will continue to focus his training on making the Olympic team in April as he will travel overseas twice over the next two months leading up to the Big Ten's and NCAA's." "I'm excited to be back on the mat helping my teammates as we chase another title," said Snyder, who will compete for the Buckeyes at heavyweight. "I can get all the freestyle experience I need to be prepared for the Trials in April while also wrestling at the collegiate level. I love Ohio State, the wrestling program and want to do all I can to add to its championship history. This was a well-thought-out plan and I am excited to see how it unfolds." Snyder's explosion to the top of the freestyle scene is well documented - last summer, he won gold at the U.S. Open, U.S. World Team Trials, Pan Am Games and World Championships. Along the way, he defeated 2012 Olympic goal medalist Jake Varner three times and edged returning World champion Abdusalam Gadisov of Russia the gold medal match at the World Championships. Snyder is currently No. 1 at 97kg (215 lbs.) in the United World Wrestling freestyle rankings. He has already qualified for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials, which is slated to take place April 8-10 at Carver Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. In his freshman season for the Scarlet and Gray, Snyder went 30-4 with a team-high 15 major decisions and two technical falls. He was the Big Ten and NCAA runner up at 197 pounds, finishing 15-1 in the regular season against Big Ten competition. His victory over defending champion J'Den Cox in the 197 lbs. NCAA semifinals was instrumental in helping Ohio State earn its first team national title in school history. In the classroom, Snyder, a sport industry major, is a OSU Scholar-Athlete and was named in August to the NWCA True Freshman All-Academic Team.

The initial brackets for the 2016 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle have been released. There may be a few changes before tomorrow's action begins. View Southern Scuffle Initial Brackets

Live Blog InterMat Live Blog: Southern Scuffle

Chuck Clausen, a high school state mat champ who wrestled and played football at the University of New Mexico before going on to coach football at a number of high school, college and NFL teams ranging from the Buckeyes to the Eagles, died on Christmas Eve in Gainesville, Ga. at age 75. Born in Anamosa, Iowa in June 1940, Charles Richard Clausen came to New Mexico with his family in the mid-1950s when his father Dick Clausen took a football coaching job at University of New Mexico. The younger Clausen quickly made a name for himself on the gridiron and on the mat, winning two state heavyweight wrestling titles at Albuquerque's Highland High School. When his dad accepted the Athletic Director position at University of Arizona, Clausen first enrolled at University of Iowa, according to the Albuquerque Journal ... but then transferred to UNM, where the 6'2", 230-pound Clausen was starting center and linebacker for the Lobos, helping them win the inaugural Western Athletic Conference championship his senior year in 1962. Described by his friends as a "big bear of a man" and a "gentle giant," Clausen also wrestled heavyweight for the New Mexico Lobos, winning 90% of his matches, according to his bio at the UNM Hall of Fame website , which also described Clausen as an academic star in addition to his athletic accomplishments. After graduating from UNM, Clausen launched his coaching career, serving as a head wrestling coach at Gallup High School in New Mexico and at Washington High School in Fremont, Calif. However, the greatest portion of Clausen's professional career was spent as an assistant football coach, starting as an assistant with Marv Levy at The College of William & Mary in Virginia in 1958. Later, Clausen accepted a coaching position working with head coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State through the early 1970s, helping to take the Buckeyes to four consecutive Rose Bowl appearances. After a decade-and-a-half in the collegiate football coaching ranks, Clausen then moved on to the NFL, as an assistant coach for Dick Vermeil and Marion Campbell with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976-1985, earning a Super Bowl ring in the process when the Eagles' lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV. Clausen later served as an assistant for the Atlanta Falcons and the San Diego Chargers before retiring from coaching in 1991. He worked in commercial real estate in Gainesville, Ga., some 55 miles northeast of Atlanta. However, Clausen didn't leave the sports world completely. While in Gainesville, he began writing a high school sports column for the local newspaper and serving as a color commentator on high school football broadcasts on WDUN. A memorial service for Clausen will be held Saturday, Jan. 9 at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Gainesville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boys & Girls Club of Hall County, PO Box 691, Gainesville, GA 30503 or Eagle Ranch, P.O. Box 7200, Chestnut Mountain, GA 30502, www.eagleranch.org .

In the past year, a number of individuals who once wrestled, coached or otherwise contributed to the sport passed away. There were young athletes, still competing in high school or college ... as well as those whose time in the sport was decades ago. InterMat pays tribute to these individuals who left us in 2015. Active wrestlers Three active high school wrestlers died during the 2015-16 season. In November, Tristan White, 14, of Treynor High School in western Iowa was struck and killed by a sport utility vehicle while doing roadwork with his teammates after school. Earlier this month, Cullen Porter, 17, a senior at Franklin High School in Virginia died after being injured in wrestling practice. Then, on Dec. 19, Austin Roberts, 18, a 220-pound placer at the Iowa state wrestling championships in March, collapsed during the finals at a tournament in his home gym at Spencer High School, passing away later that evening at the local hospital. At least two current collegiate wrestlers died in 2015. In June, Steven Kelly, 157-pound starter for the Colorado State University-Pueblo wrestling squad, drowned while tubing in the Arkansas River near Pueblo. He was 23. In February, Nick Gavazzi, an 18-year-old freshman member of the Clarion University wrestling team, was killed when his car collided with a coal truck in Armstrong County, Pa. Olympians Dan Brand was welcomed into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in 2011 (Photo/Larry Slater)A quartet of wrestlers who represented the U.S. at the Olympics in the 1950s and 60s died within the past 12 months. Dan Brand, University of Nebraska All-American heavyweight and two-time U.S. Olympic wrestler who earned a bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games, died in February at age 79. Bill Kerslake, three-time Olympian (1952, 1956, 1960) who wrestled heavyweight at what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, died in September at 85. Hugh Perry, a three-time NCAA champ at University of Pittsburgh who wrestled for the U.S. at the '56 Melbourne Games, passed away in January at age 84. A couple weeks earlier, Dick Beattie, 82, two-time NCAA titlewinner for Oklahoma State (1958, 1959) who earned a place on the '56 Olympic team but was forced to sit out because of an emergency appendectomy just before the Games, was killed in a car accident in his native Oklahoma. Two Olympic alternates also left us this year. Bradley Glass, 1951 NCAA heavyweight champ for Princeton University who was a U.S. Olympic alternate for the 1956 Melbourne Games, died at age 84 in August. Verne Gagne, two-time NCAA champ for Minnesota (1948, 1949) and 1948 London Olympics alternate who went on to become a major pro wrestling star in a career that spanned decades, lost his decade-long battle with Alzheimer's disease in May. He was 89. College mat stars of the past In addition to Olympians with college mat titles already mentioned, at least three NCAA champs passed away this year. Bob Hoke, a two-time Big Ten conference champion and 1954 NCAA titlewinner for Michigan State who enjoyed a long career in medicine, died in May at age 82. Steve Fernandes, former Western New England College wrestler who won a 1982 NCAA Division III championship at what was then called Trenton State (now College of New Jersey), died at age 54 in September. The following month saw the passing of Jim Harmon, 81, 1953 NCAA champ for Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa). As for other former collegiate wrestlers who died in 2015 ... Greg Plitt, a 2000 West Point graduate who wrestled for Army, then went on to become a fitness model featured on dozens of magazine covers (and was the subject of 2007 InterMat profile), died in January after being struck by a commuter train in suburban Los Angeles. He was 37. Gary Dillingham, a 1962 SUNY Athletic Conference champion wrestler at SUNY-Cortland who went on to a long coaching career at Cortland High School, died of an apparent heart attack while maintaining statistics at a high school wrestling event in January. Frank Rader, a former Davidson College wrestler and leader in USA Wrestling, passed away in his North Carolina home in May at age 66. George Hobbs, three-time Big Ten finalist and 1962 NCAA All-American for Michigan State who went on to coach the now-defunct mat program at Western Michigan University, died in July. In October, Carl Abell, two-time Big Ten runner-up in the late 1940s at Ohio State, passed away at age 88. Russ Doan, a three-time Interstate conference champ for Kent State in the late 1930s who went on to a long high school coaching/athletic director career in northeast Ohio, died in December at age 99. Emanuel Yarbrough, larger-than-life two-time NCAA heavyweight All-American for Morgan State in the 1980s who went on to compete in sumo and mixed martial arts, died of a heart attack just before Christmas. Chuck Clausen, heavyweight wrestler for the University of New Mexico in the early 1960s who went on to coach football at big-time college programs as well as the NFL, died Christmas Eve at 75. Coaches Death took a trio of well-known, highly-respected former college mat coaches. Joe Wells, former University of Iowa wrestler and retired head coach at Oregon State who led the Beavers to a 161-94-3 record in 14 seasons from 1993-2006, died in April at age 67. Dean Sensenbaugh, who created the intercollegiate wrestling program at California's Modesto Junior College and served as its head coach for nearly 30 years, died in August after suffering a stroke on his 91st birthday. Also passing away in August: Jim Aguiar, 68, former head wrestling coach at New Hampshire's Plymouth State and Minnesota State University Moorhead. In December, it was announced that Dave Foster, long-time wrestling coach at California's Lassen Community College, had passed away. A number of top-notch high school coaching legends who made their mark in intense wrestling hotbeds passed away in 2015. Ray Nunamaker, Penn State wrestler who became a legendary coach at Nazareth High School in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, died in July at age 74, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor last year. John T. Toggas, the first York County, Pa. wrestling coach to reach 300 victories, passed away in October at 83. George Munnich, long associated with wrestling on Long Island - as a wrestler at the storied Mepham High School program in the early 1950s, then at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and later as wrestling coach on the middle and high school level - passed away at age 78 after suffering a stroke in November. The wrestling community also felt the loss of individuals with strong connections to the sport. Ruth McCain Nichols, widow of all-time great Iowa State head wrestling coach Harold Nichols, passed away in September at age 92. That same month, Jillian Tsirtsis, 33, sister of Northwestern wrestling champ Jason Tsirtsis and former Iowa All-American Alex Tsirtsis, was killed in an accident on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive. Doug Reiter, patriarch of a wrestling family that included two sons who won four Iowa state titles and who served the Don Bosco High School wrestling program in a number of ways, passed away this fall after a two-year battle with brain cancer. On December 1, Allen Brown, College Editor for the amateur wrestling website WrestlingReport.com and popular, highly respected participant in various online amateur wrestling forums under the name "Stove Pipe" passed away days after suffering a stroke.

In terms of intercollegiate wrestling programs, the year 2015 saw a number of birth announcements for new programs ... sadly, a few obituaries concerning the death of a handful of programs ... and, even a few programs that returned from the grave to wrestle another day. New programs The roll call of college programs announced in 2015 came from geographically diverse locations throughout the U.S. For the most part, the new programs built on a trend of the past few years of smaller colleges adding wrestling to their roster of sports offerings to attract and keep a diverse student body. The year started off with Greensboro College of North Carolina reporting it would add men's wrestling to its roster of intercollegiate sports competing in NCAA Division III. In April, Ferrum College in Virginia revealed it would build on the success of its current men's wrestling program with the addition of women's wrestling and men's club wrestling. In June, Bacone College in Oklahoma announced it would be adding a women's intercollegiate program to go with its successful men's program. In July, Otterbein University just outside Columbus, Ohio let it be known they would add a men's wrestling program to their roster of Division III sports. The fall saw even more news of new programs. In September, Otero Junior College revealed it was adding a mat program, the first two-year college in Colorado to do so... all with the idea of offering more opportunities for wrestlers in that state and neighboring Kansas. Just last month, Drury University in Springfield, Mo. announced it was launching a men's wrestling program which would compete in NCAA Division II ... while, just before Thanksgiving, Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Ky. -- a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio -- announced it would be adding a varsity Division III wrestling program as well as a dance team to its roster of sports programs in the fall of 2016. Rounding out the newly announced programs for 2015 ... Castleton University, the oldest institution of higher learning in Vermont (founded in 1787), just named Scott Legacy to head up its new wrestling program which takes to the mats in 2016. Reinstated programs Some schools brought back wrestling programs that had been eliminated a number of years earlier. In January, Millikin University of Decatur, Ill. revealed it was bringing back its Division III mat program which had been eliminated in 2008. Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, which had axed its Division III men's program three decades ago, announced its return ... becoming only the third all-male school to offer D3 wrestling. In July, Nebraska Wesleyan announced it was bringing back its D3 program that had been in existence from 1962-1982. Arguably the most eagerly anticipated "return" was Fresno State. After months of statements and speculation, the California university made it official in February: the Bulldogs will be back on the mat in 2018-19 after the program was axed in 2007. Resurrection A couple schools announced they would be saying goodbye to their mat programs ... only to reverse their decisions a couple weeks later. Less than a month after announcing in March it was "suspending" its NCAA Division II wrestling program for two seasons, Northern State University of South Dakota changed its mind and reinstated its Wolves mat program immediately. Cleveland State wrestling teamAbout the same time, Cleveland State revealed it would defund its 52-year-old Division I wrestling program, and replace it with a men's lacrosse program. However, thanks to the efforts of the National Wrestling Coaches Association and Wrestlers in Business Network, coupled with the outrage that erupted from the wrestling community -- not just in the wrestling hotbed of northern Ohio, but throughout the nation, along with the news that the CSU athletic director was a former lacrosse star still involved in the sport, and the embarrassment of having the school host the 2018 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships without having a mat program -- forced the school to change its mind, reinstating and reestablishing funding for the Viking mat program, while staying true to its plan to add a men's lacrosse program. Dealt a death blow Sadly, some college mat programs received the death penalty, with no expectation of being resurrected anytime soon. Darton State College announced it would be axing its intercollegiate wrestling program at the end of the 2014-15 season. The school, located in Albany, Ga., cited significant decreases in revenue and continued decline in enrollment among the reasons. The Darton mat program had generated negative national headlines in September 2013, when a total of three wrestlers had collapsed during outdoor workouts in summer heat on two separate days. One of the wrestlers, 20-year-old Ben Richards of Tampa, Fla. died nine days after collapsing during a five-mile run. Three weeks after placing seventh in the team standings at the 2015 National Collegiate Wrestling Association Championships, the wrestling club at Glendale Community College in Arizona was eliminated in March. In June, Knox College extinguished its Prairie Fire NCAA Division III wrestling program after 65 years, effective with the 2015-16 season. The school, located in Galesburg, Ill., cited low roster numbers and a succession of three coaches each serving only one season as primary reasons for the decision. That same month, New York City's Yeshiva University eliminated its wrestling program launched 65 years ago by legendary Olympic wrestler Henry Wittenberg, and dismissed its head coach of 45 years, Neil Ellman, with a phone call from the athletic directed who cited the school's "pressing financial needs."  

The path to the New Jersey high school state wrestling championships will remain as it has for both public and non-public schools, as the state's Commissioner of Education reversed a decision made earlier this month by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association which would have mandated a separate set of qualifying tournaments for private school wrestlers to qualify for the state tournament. In what the NorthJersey.com website described as "a stunning announcement" late Monday, state Commissioner of Education David Hespe reversed the decisions made by the membership of the NJSIAA earlier this month to separate public and non-public schools in football and on the road to the state tournament in wrestling NJ.com -- website for a number of New Jersey newspapers, including the Newark Star-Ledger -- opened its article announcing Monday's news: "In one of the most significant decisions ever in New Jersey high school sports, State Commissioner of Education David Hespe ruled Monday to reverse a pair of controversial votes separating public and non-public schools in football and wrestling for the first time in state history." Under the plan approved by the NJSIAA in early December but reversed Monday by Hespe, there would have been four districts and one separate region for wrestlers at nonpublic schools in the state individual wrestling tournament. In addition, Hespe asked the NJSIAA to further study the nonpublic/public issue. NJSIAA member schools voted by a nearly 2-to-1 margin to split non-public wrestling programs into their own district and region tournaments before advancing to Atlantic City for the state tournament, echoing a proposal made by the NJSIAA in 2008 but shot down by a previous commissioner of education in January 2009. In a letter to the NJSIAA on Monday, Hespe wrote, "It is clear that some NJSIAA member schools are frustrated by the non-competitive nature of playing elite non-public schools, raising both fairness and safety concerns. However, non-public schools have also raised concerns about discrimination, equal athletic opportunity and the ability to develop full schedules without increased burdens to the non-public schools." Addressing the wrestling proposal, Hespe said that while the proposal is "somewhat different" from the 2008 proposal, it "does not clearly demonstrate an unfair competitive disadvantage for public school participants at the individual State wrestling tournament." He went on to say that even if the proposal was able to demonstrate an unfair advantage, "the submission fails to address how the proposal maintains equal athletic opportunity for non-public school students." In responding to Hespe's decision, Steve Timko, executive director of the NJSIAA, said, "It was a long-awaited decision. I was anticipating a response like everybody else." "When we get back from vacation, we'll be taking a close look at his letter to me and starting our strategy from there," Timko added.

The preseeds for the 2016 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle are listed below. We are just a day after from the start of action, so here is where the top competitors sit in each weight class. Hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Southern Scuffle takes place in the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2. For tickets, local attractions and hotel information, visit www.TheSouthernScuffle.com. Flowrestling and Trackwrestling provide complete coverage of the event through live video and live scoring. Links for both are on www.TheSouthernScuffle.com. Once again, the official hashtag of the Southern Scuffle is #LetsScuffle. The tournament trended nationally on social media each year it has been in Chattanooga. Be sure to use the #LetsScuffle hashtag when tweeting about the event. 125: 1. Nico Megaludis (Penn State) 2. Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) 3. Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 4. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 5. Drew Templeman (Wyoming) 6. Connor Schram (Stanford) 7. Sean Russell (Edinboro) 8. Emilio Martinez (Virginia) 9. Dalton Macri (Cornell) 10. Brent Fleetwood (Central Michigan) 133: 1. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 2. Jordan Conaway (Penn State) 3. George DiCamillo (Virginia) 4. Kaid Brock (Oklahoma State) 5. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 6. David Pearce (Drexel) 7. Caleb Richardson (Penn) 8. Nathan Kraisser (Campbell 9. Sam Brancale (Minnesota) 10. Keegan Moore (West Virginia) 141: 1. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) 2. Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) 3. Joey McKenna (Stanford) 4. Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) 5. Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) 6. Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 7. Zach Horan (Central Michigan) 8. Kevin Devoy (Drexel) 9. Kade Moss (Penn State) 10. Javier Gasca (Michigan State) 149: 1. Zain Retherford (Penn State) 2. Evan Henderson (North Carolina) 3. C.J. Cobb (Penn) 4. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) 5. Jake Short (Minnesota) 6. Matthew Cimato (Drexel) 7. Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) 8. Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) 9. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 10. Paul Fox (Stanford) 157: 1. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 2. Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) 3. Lucas Smith (Central Michigan) 4. Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) 5. Dylan Cottrell (West Virginia) 6. Dylan Palacio (Cornell) 7. Russell Parsons (Army) 8. Aaron Walker (The Citadel) 9. Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) 10. Zack Beitz (Penn State) 165: 1. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 2. Jim Wilson (Stanford) 3. Duke Pickett (Cornell) 4. Casey Fuller (Edinboro) 5. Jake Faust (Duke) 6. Geno Morelli (Penn State) 7. Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) 8. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 9. Garrett Hammond (Penn State) 10. Logan Massa (Michigan) 174: 1. Brian Realbuto (Cornell) 2. Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) 3. Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) 4. Bo Nickal (Penn State) 5. Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) 6. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) 7. Benjamin Stroh (Wyoming) 8. Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) 9. Brian Harvey (Army) 10. Casey Kent (Penn) 184: 1. Gabe Dean (Cornell) 2. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 3. Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) 4. Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) 5. Matthew Miller (Navy) 6. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) 7. Alex Utley (North Carolina) 8. Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State) 9. Jordan Ellingwood (Central Michigan) 10. Austin Severn (Central Michigan) 197: 1. Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) 2. Conner Hartmann (Duke) 3. Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) 4. Jacob A. Smith (West Virginia) 5. Zach Nye (Virginia) 6. John Bolich (Lehigh 7. Marshall Haas (The Citadel) 8. J.T. Goodwin (Cal Poly) 9. Vince Pickett (Edinboro) 10. Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) 285: 1. Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) 2. Michael Kroells (Minnesota) 3. Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) 4. Max Wessell (Lehigh) 5. Riley Shaw (Cleveland State) 6. Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) 7. Tanner Harms (Wyoming) 8. Billy Miller (Edinboro) 9. Nathan Butler (Stanford) 10. Jeramy Sweany (Cornell)

Evanston, Ill. -- For the first time in program history, a member of the NC State wrestling team capture a first place finish at the prestigious Midlands Championships - and the Wolfpack did so twice tonight. Redshirt-seniors Tommy Gantt (157 pounds) and Nick Gwiazdowski (285) each won NC State's first titles at the Midlands Championships. Gantt claimed the Pack's first-ever title at the Midlands Championships, cruising to a 6-0 record and the title at 157 pounds. Going 4-0 on Tuesday to reach the semifinals, Gantt picked up two wins over ranked foes in Wednesday action for the championship. He started with a 6-4 win in overtime over No. 15 Chad Walsh of Rider. In the title bout, Gantt defeated top-seed and No. 7 Cody Pack of South Dakota State, 4-2. Gwiazdowski was dominating enroute to his title win, and extends his NCAA-best winning streak to 71 straight matches in the process. He used three bonus point wins - two falls and a major decision - to reach Wednesday's semifinals. Just like Gantt, Gwiazdowski beat two ranked foes on Wednesday to win the title. He took out No. 13 Sam Stoll of Iowa in the afternoon session with a 10-1 major decision, then in the night-cap defeated No. 15 Tanner Hall of Arizona State, 4-3. Both Gantt and Gwiazdowski remain undefeated on the season, combining to go 28-0, including nine wins over ranked foes. In addition to Gantt and Gwiazdowski's wins, NC State also had two other grapplers on the final podium as So. Kevin Jack was third at 141 pounds, and Jr. Pete Renda was fifth at 184. Jack was a perfect 4-0 in action on Wednesday in the wrestlebacks. He started with a 16-1 technical fall, followed by decisions of 7-4 and 6-3. In the third place bout, Jack topped No. 4 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers 5-2. Renda scored a pair of wins over ranked foes on his way to a fifth place finish. His first match resulted in a first-period pin, and then downed No. 20 Nicholas Gravina of Rutgers. Renda narrowly fell to No. 9 Sammy Brooks of Iowa, 8-7, but finished strong with a 3-2 win over No. 17 Abram Ayala of Princeton in his final bout. In the team standings, NC State placed fourth with 95.5 points. No. 2 Iowa won the event with 152 points, followed by Nebraska (135) and Rutgers (110). Up Next: NC State will be in action for the first time this season, when the Wolfpack travels to Duke on Jan. 6 for a 7 p.m. dual.

Viking junior Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) made program history on Wednesday, becoming the first Grand View wrestler to win a title at The Midlands Championships held in Evanston, Ill. He is also the first NAIA champion to win a title at the Midlands since 2003 and the first non-NCAA Div I wrestler to win a championship since 2006. Long won the 141 pound championship, competing in a bracket that included four NCAA Div I All-Americans. Seeded fourth, Long dominated the 141 bracket with a fall over Will Clark of North Carolina (6:32) in his first match, followed by a 14-4 major decision over Tyler Scotten of American University. He collected another fall over Danny Sabatello of Purdue (6:09) to advance to the semifinals where he recorded a tech fall (25-8) over Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven. In the championship bout, Long matched up against Northern Illinois' Steve Bleise. Long nearly pinned Bleise on two occasions, but settled for another tech fall (23-6) to claim the title. At the conclusion of the tournament, Long was named the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler as well as the Art Kraft Champion of Champions, an award voted upon by the other first place finishers in the tournament. As a team, Grand View tallied 38 points and finished 16th of the 43 mostly NCAA Div I teams in the tournament. In addition to Long, five more Vikings competed at the prestigious Midlands Tourney - Tristan Bundy (125), Jacob Colon (133), Godwin Cutler (133), Elijah Sullivan (149), and Dean Broghammer (285).

Evanston, Ill. -- Led by two finalists, No. 9 Nebraska finished second in the 53rd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday. The Huskers scored 135 points for the tournament to finish behind team champion Iowa (152). Rutgers rounded out the top three with 110 points. All-American TJ Dudley (184) and redshirt freshman Derek White (197) each advanced to the finals, but fell by narrow decisions to collect runner-up honors. Dudley, the No. 8 wrestler by InterMat, pinned No. 16 Abram Ayala of Princeton in the semifinals. Dudley fell to two-time NCAA champion David Taylor, a former Penn State wrestler, by a 5-3 decision in the finals. At 197 pounds, White won a 6-2 decision in the semifinals over Rutgers' Hayden Hrymack. In the finals, White fell to fourth-ranked Nathan Burak of Iowa, 6-1. White, a redshirt freshman from Edmond, Okla., moves to 8-2 on the season. No. 10 Tim Lambert (125), No. 14 Eric Montoya (133) and No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (149) each finished third. Lambert, a junior from Forest Hills, Mich., went 5-1 in the tournament and has won 11 of his last 12 matches. Montoya defeated 20th-ranked Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers in the third-place match, 4-2. Montoya went 7-1 in the tournament, which included one pin and three major decisions. Sueflohn fell to No. 2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the semifinals, but responded with two victories to finish third. Sueflohn won a 10-1 major decision over fourth-ranked Alexander Richardson of Old Dominion in the third-place match. No. 12 Micah Barnes (174) and No. 16 Aaron Studebaker (197) each finished fourth. No. 11 Austin Wilson (165) took fifth place with a 7-2 showing at the Midlands Championships. Freshman Kris Williams (125), wrestling unattached, also finished fifth. He went 6-2 with four bonus-point wins. No. 18 Tyler Berger finished seventh at 157 pounds after a 5-2 performance in the tournament. No. 15 Collin Jensen (HWT) also wrestled on Wednesday, but did not place. The Huskers resume their Big Ten dual slate on Friday, Jan. 8 at Wisconsin at 7 p.m. (CT). On Sunday, Jan. 10, NU will host Minnesota at the Devaney Center at 2 p.m. Both duals will be streamed on BTN Plus.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team won three individual titles and scored a team total of 152 points to win the 53rd annual Midlands Championships on Wednesday night. In the team point race, Iowa was followed by Nebraska (135), Rutgers (110), North Carolina State (95.5), and Rider (67). Iowa crowned three champions -- Thomas Gilman (125), Brandon Sorensen (149), and Nathan Burak (197). No. 1 seeded Gilman took the 125 title for the second time in three years at the Midlands Championships. He collected first place in 2013 and took second in 2014. Gilman surpassed second seeded Ronnie Rios (Oregon St.), 5-1, to improve his Midlands record to 14-3 and advance his season record to 12-0. "It's a feather in your cap", the Iowa junior said. "It's not really about winning the Midlands, it's how you win it and the way I won it was a little too close. I've got to get guys to start coming into me and keep scoring those bonus points". Sorensen, seeded first at 149, gathered his first Midlands Championship with a 3-1 overtime victory over No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern). At the end of regulation, the wrestlers were tied at one, but Sorensen delivered a takedown shortly into sudden victory to secure the title. The win improves the head-to-head record between the competitors to 2-2 and advances Sorensen's season record to 13-0. "It's big, I've been here three times now, finally getting the Midlands title is really what I wanted", Sorensen said. "Moving on still undefeated, let's keep it that way". Burak defended his championship title at 197 after a 6-1 decision over No. 14 seed Derek White from Nebraska. This is the second consecutive year an Iowa wrestler has become a repeat champion (Mike Evans, 174-pounds). "A big takeaway for me is just to score quick and stay on the guy", Burak said reflecting on the tournament. "It feels pretty good (to win two years in a row), it's definitely exciting and I'm gonna try to keep winning". The Hawkeyes also closed out the Midlands Championships with two third-place finishes, as first-seeded Alex Meyer (174) and fourth-seeded Sam Stoll (285) each won their consolation finals matches. Meyer tallies his second consecutive third place finish at the Midlands Championships with a medical forfeit from No. 2 seed Micah Barnes (Nebraska). Stoll recorded a 11-1 major decision over sixth-seeded Ross Larson (Oklahoma) to place for the first time in his career at the Midlands. Sammy Brooks collected a fourth-place finish at 185 pounds. The junior was defeated by the No. 5 seed Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), in a 9-5 decision. This was the third meeting between Brooks and Zillmer, most recently during the Midlands quarterfinals where Brooks took the match 5-2 to advance to the semis. Freshman Michael Kemerer, wrestling unattached, placed fifth in his Midlands debut after a medical forfeit by the fifth-seed, Bryant Clagon (Rider), in the finals. Kemerer went 6-2 at the tournament, four of his victories resulting in bonus points. So far this season, Kemerer holds a 20-2 overall record and tallied bonus points in 16 of those matches. "We've got to do a better job of scoring takedowns", UI head coach Tom Brands critiqued as he summarized the tournament. "We've got to score takedowns. Positive is that we had three in the finals and we went three for three, that's important to me. Winning finals is important". Iowa returns to action on Friday, Jan. 8 at Illinois. Action is set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) inside Huff Hall.