InterMat Staff

PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team collected its fifth dual victory over No. 15 Wisconsin (1-1) 25-9 Saturday afternoon at the Fitzgerald Field House. Pitt entered the dual having received just nine votes in the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll on Tuesday while Wisconsin came in at No. 15. Those numbers did not affect the Panthers this afternoon as they never trailed in the team score. “Rankings are just a number, but it's always nice when people think well of you,” head coach Jason Peters said. “These guys earned it. They worked hard and now they are sitting 5-1 and won a tournament. I think we're getting better week-to-week, so I'm happy for them.” Ranked No. 19 by InterMat, redshirt sophomore Ryan Solomon set the tone for the dual at 285 pounds as he pinned Brock Horwath in 1:29, giving Pitt an early 6-0 lead. Freshman LJ Bentley used Solomon's momentum at 125 pounds to win in an exciting sudden victory match, 14-12 over Johnny Jimenez. Bentley fired first with a takedown and Jimenez escaped in the first period. Jimenez took the lead in the middle of the second period after collecting six total nearfall points. However, Bentley wasn't finished just yet as the Twinsburg, Ohio native, strung together five total takedowns in the third period to bring the score to 12-12 at the end of regulation. A takedown by Bentley in sudden victory gave him the win, extending Pitt's team score to 9-0. At 133 pounds, No. 19 Dom Forys came out with an impressive win over No. 4 Ryan Taylor. The sophomore defeated the returning All-American in a 10-6 decision. Taylor struck first with an early takedown, but a reversal by Forys would tie the score entering the second period. Forys escaped from the bottom, taking a 3-2 lead. Taylor had another takedown in the second, but Forys escaped and had another takedown, giving him a 6-4 lead entering the final period. Forys finished the match with two more takedowns to secure his win and improving Pitt's score to 12-0. No. 9 Mikey Racciato carried the winning momentum into his match at 141 pounds, defeating Luke Rowh 9-4. The junior had an early takedown in the first period and Rowh escaped. Racciato wouldn't score again until the beginning of the third period as he dominated with two reversals, a two-point nearfall and had riding time. At 157 pounds, redshirt senior Ronnie Garbinsky picked up his first dual win of the season as he won in a 4-2 decision over TJ Ruschell. Garbinsky recorded two escapes and a two-point nearfall in his victory. Freshman TeShan Campbell put on another impressive performance this afternoon at 174 pounds. Campbell defeated No. 16 Rickey Robertson in a 13-5 major decision. The Pittsburgh native opened with a takedown and would have two more in the second period. In the third, a reversal, two more takedowns and riding time secured his eighth win as a Panther. In the final bout of the day at 197 pounds, redshirt senior Nick Bonaccorsi came out with a convincing 5-3 decision over Eric Peissig. The Pittsburgh native led 2-1 at the end of the first period after an early takedown. An escape and takedown in the third period ensured the victory and a Pitt win as well. The Panthers return to the mats December 29 as the squad travels to the Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern. For all things Pitt wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Results: 285: #19 Ryan Solomon (P) pins Brock Horwath (W), 1:29 – Pitt leads 6-0 125: LJ Bentley (P) SV-1 Johnny Jimenez (W), 14-12 – Pitt leads 9-0 133: #19 Dom Forys (P) dec. #4 Ryan Taylor (W), 10-6 – Pitt leads 12-0 141: #9 Mikey Racciato (P) dec. Luke Rowh (W), 9-4 – Pitt leads 15-0 149: Rylan Lubeck (W) dec. Robert Lee (P), 3-1 – Pitt leads 15-3 157: Ronnie Garbinsky (P) dec. TJ Ruschell (W), 4-2 – Pitt leads 18-3 165: #3 Isaac Jordan (W) dec. Cody Wiercioch (P), 4-3 – Pitt leads 18-6 174: TeShan Campbell (P) m. dec. #16 Rickey Robertson, 13-5 – Pitt leads 22-6 184: Ryan Christensen (W) dec. Zach Bruce (P), 2-0 – Pitt leads 22-9 197: Nick Bonaccorsi (P) dec. Eric Peissig (W), 5-3 – Pitt wins 25-9

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- By the time the clock ticked to zero, Nicholas Gravina (Allendale, N.J.) admitted he wasn't sure who had won the 184-pound bout. He was quickly reminded by the 2,652 fans cheering on their feet at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Gravina got his hand raised with an upset win over No. 4 T.J. Dudley, two other Scarlet Knights secured upsets, and No. 11 Rutgers wrestling beat No. 4 Nebraska by criteria, 17-16, Saturday afternoon for its first Big Ten win of the season. Rutgers (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten) prevailed, 51-48, in criterion 3.15.3 – total match points scored only from decisions, major decisions and technical falls – to claim its first Big Ten win in front of the N.J. faithful. “It's great to fill the arena and pack the RAC, but you want to win. Today was that day,” said head coach Scott Goodale. “I've been dying for one of those. We've been close and I just think what happened in the last 48 hours makes it even more special.” “We needed a huge upset somewhere, and Nick got it.” Rutgers' win was its second over a top-10 opponent this season and fifth against a team ranked in the USA Today/ NWCA Coaches Poll. What's more, the victory secured the program's first top-five win since a 24-7 rout against Virginia Tech at the RAC on Jan. 21, 2011. Gravina earned his first victory over a ranked opponent in his young RU career. The Northern Highlands Regional HS product started the period on bottom, reversed Dudley with 1:25 on the clock and rode out the All-American the rest of the way. The win tied the dual at 13-13 with two matches remaining. “I just tried to wrestle as hard as I could and it worked out,” Gravina said. “Just like everyone other match, I had to push pace, go as hard as I could, try to score as much as possible, not to go too much over the head, and that was it.” Senior Hayden Hrymack (Point Pleasant, N.J.) took No. 16 Aaron Studebaker to the wire at 197 pounds. Neither wrestler scored a takedown in regulation or a minute of sudden victory, but Studebaker reversed Hrymack in the first round of tiebreakers and hung on for the 3-1 win. With the dual favoring the Cornhuskers (7-1, 1-1 Big Ten), 16-13, entering heavyweight, Rutgers needed redshirt senior Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) to deliver. The No. 6-ranked heavyweight in the nation did just that with an 8-2 win against No. 13 Collin Jensen. The point differential in Smith's bout gave Rutgers enough to score the criteria point and snap Nebraska's 16-dual winning streak. Consecutive upset wins at 157 and 165 pounds were key in leading RU to victory Saturday afternoon. Junior Richie Lewis (Toms River, N.J.) got the trend started with a 10-3 decision against No. 10 Tyler Berger. The No. 17-ranked Lewis (8-1) took Berger down three times and got a four-point tilt in the win – his first against a ranked opponent. “After I won coach Goodale said to me ‘this is what you came here for,” Lewis said. “To wrestle at the RAC and be on a team like this with nine of my brothers is exactly what I came here for.” Redshirt senior Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) kept the momentum going with a 9-4 decision against No. 4 Austin Wilson. Wilson held a 3-2 lead entering the second period, but Perrotti (10-1) reversed five seconds in and scored five additional points to put it away. The win, Perrotti's team-leading fourth against a ranked opponent, brought the dual to a 10-10 tie with four matches to go. “It's huge. As coach said, the last 48 hours were really tough,” Perrotti said. “We went out to Iowa and we got beat eight matches to two, and to say that me and Anthony [Ashnault] picked up the only ‘Ws' – we were not happy with our performance at all. Waking up this morning I just felt different. I felt ready. I felt prepared.” Early on the Huskers had control, with No. 10 Tim Lambert (125 pounds), No. 9 Eric Montoya (133 pounds), and No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (149 pounds) all earning wins to give Nebraska a 10-4 dual lead. RU broke through at 141 pounds thanks to No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) against No. 17 Anthony Abidin. Ashnault lost twice to the Husker last season, but made a statement Saturday with an 11-2 major decision. Ashnault (11-0) is off to the best start of his career and has topped three top-20 opponents. Seven of his 11 wins were by bonus-points. “We're more of a team than we've ever been,” Ashnault said. “We're one unit. Everyone gets along really well. The 30 guys on the team are my best friends and I wouldn't want to be spending time with anyone else. This is what I came to Rutgers for, to be a part of things like this. It's really cool to see it all come true.” Rutgers competes next at the Midlands Championships from Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. Results: 125: #10 Tim Lambert (NEB) dec. #18 Sean McCabe (RUT), 9-4 (NEB 3, RUT 0) 133: #9 Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. #17 Anthony Giraldo (RUT), 2-0 (NEB 6, RUT 0) 141: #3 Anthony Ashnault (RUT) major dec. #17 Anthony Abidin (NEB), 11-2 (NEB 6, RUT 4) 149: #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) major dec. Tyson Dippery (RUT), 12-3 (NEB 10, RUT 4) 157: #17 Richie Lewis (RUT) dec. #10 Tyler Berger (NEB), 10-3 (NEB 10, RUT 7) 165: #12 Anthony Perrotti (RUT) dec. #4 Austin Wilson (NEB), 9-4 (NEB 10, RUT 10) 174: #12 Micah Barnes (NEB) dec. Phillip Bakuckas (RUT), 9-3 (NEB 13, RUT 10) 184: Nicholas Gravina (RUT) dec. #4 TJ Dudley (NEB), 3-2 (NEB 13, RUT 13) 197: #16 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) tiebreaker-1 Hayden Hrymack (RUT), 3-1 (NEB 16, RUT 13) HWT: #6 Billy Smith (RUT) dec. #13 Collin Jensen (NEB), 8-2 (NEB 16, RUT 16) Note: Rutgers won by criteria (total match points, 51-48) (RUT 17, NEB 16) More From HUSKERS WRESTLING

Semifinal matches started at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Finals will be wrestled at 6:00 p.m. 106 pounds: No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) vs. Nate Keaton (Circleville, Ohio) 113 pounds: No. 2 Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 120 pounds: No. 2 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) 126 pounds: Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. No. 20 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio) 132 pounds: No. 12 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield, Calif.) vs. No. 6 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 138 pounds: Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (St. Edward, Ohio) 145 pounds: No. 1 Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) vs. No. 3 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) 152 pounds: No. 2 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 7 Evan Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 160 pounds: No. 1 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 13 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) 170 pounds: No. 9 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon, Pa.) vs. No. 7 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) 182 pounds: No. 1 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 6 Jacob Warner (Washington, Ill.) 195 pounds: No. 5 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 10 Jack Harris (Urbana, Ohio) 220 pounds: No. 3 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. No. 17 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) 285 pounds: Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing, Ohio) vs. No. 9 (at 220) Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary, N.Y.)

Quartefinal matches started at 10:00 a.m. Semifinal matches are emerging as the round progresses. Team Scores through semis 1. Wyoming Seminary, PA 91.0 2. Blair Academy, NJ 85.0 3. Graham, OH 76.5 4. St. Edward. OH 69.0 5. Montini Catholic, IL 64.5 6. Belle Vernon, PA 58.0 6. Marmion Academy, IL 58.0 8. Malvern Prep, PA 54.5 9. Oak Park River, IL 53.0 10. Delta, OH 50.0 106 pounds No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) vs. No. 11 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) Nate Keaton (Circleville, Ohio) vs. Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) 113 pounds No. 2 Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio) vs. Chris Cannon (Blair Academy, N.J.) No. 6 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 17 Tommy Hoskins (Dayton Christian, Ohio) 120 pounds No. 1 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian, Texas) vs. Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.) 126 pounds No. 8 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) vs. Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) No. 17 (at 120) Mario Guillen (Perrysburg Ohio) vs. No. 20 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio) 132 pounds No. 12 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) vs. No. 17 Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) Jaden Mattox (Central Crossing, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 138 pounds Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) vs. Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. Patrick Munn (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 145 pounds No. 1 Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) vs. No. 12 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) No. 3 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Zander Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 152 pounds No. 2 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 12 Trace Carello (Marmion Academy, Ill.) vs. No. 7 Evan Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 160 pounds No. 1 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Jesse Beverly (Delta, Ohio) No. 13 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) vs. No. 10 Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell, Okla.) 170 pounds No. 2 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 9 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) No. 7 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) vs. No. 18 James Handwerk (Lutheran West, Ohio) 182 pounds No. 1 Nick Reenan (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. No. 12 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 6 Jacob Warner (Washington, Ill.) vs. No. 4 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 195 pounds No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) vs. No. 5 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.) No. 19 Tyler Frankrone (Trinity, Ky.) vs. No. 10 Jack Harris (Urbana, Ohio) 220 pounds No. 3 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. Jared Campbell (St. Edward, Ohio) No. 10 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep, Pa.) vs. No. 17 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) 285 pounds Chance Veller (Delta, Ohio) vs. Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing, Ohio) No. 9 (at 220) Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 15 Hunter Mullins (Orting, Wash.)

College wrestlers and fans know that the oldest and greatest sport is also the toughest. Now, a new medical study provides proof. Men's wrestling poses the highest risk for injury for male college athletes, according to a report outlined in a HealthDay feature published by U.S. News and World Report . A research team led by Thomas Dompier of the Datalys Center for Sports Injury Research and Prevention in Indianapolis, Ind. looked at data on injuries suffered by male and female NCAA athletes in 25 sports between the 2009-10 and 2013-14 school years. They tabulated 1,053,370 injuries over the five years of the study, for an average of 210,674 injuries per year. In terms of injury rates, college wrestling leads the way for male athletes, with an overall rate of just over 13 injuries per 1,000 times an athlete engaged in the sport -- what the report referred to as athlete-exposures. How does wrestling compare to another rough-and-tumble sport? Football accounted for the most injuries overall, at more than 47,000 per year, according to the study. That sport also had the highest rate of injuries during competition, at just less than 40 per 1,000 times per athlete-exposure. However, when the researchers factored in the relatively low rate of practice-linked injuries for football, the overall injury rate that sport fell to 9.2 per every 1,000 athlete-exposures ... less than the overall jury rate for wrestling. Among women's sports, gymnastics had the highest overall injury rate (10.4 per 1,000), as well as practice injury rate (10 per 1,000), while soccer had the highest injury rate during competitions (slightly more than 17 per 1,000). Arguably one of the most surprising results from this study: more injuries occurred during practices than during competition in all sports except men's ice hockey and baseball. Overall, nearly 64 percent of injuries occurred during practices. The study appears in the Dec. 11 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report."

BUFFALO, NY --The University at Buffalo, the State University of New York wrestling team won its home opener in dominant fashion, defeating Gardner-Webb, 30-6, at Alumni Arena on Friday night. The Bulls posted a pin and three major decisions en route to their first home victory since the 2013 season. With the win, the Bulls improved to 5-2 on the season - their best start since the 2010-11 campaign. "I thought we wrestled well," head coach John Stutzman said. "They're a good team. That team beat us 33-6 last year. That same exact team. So, to come out and win like we won and score points like we were scoring points, it feels good." Kyle Akins started things off by defeating Cortez Starkes, 9-0, in a major decision at 125 lbs. The Bulls earned their second major decision in the first three matches when Brandon Lapi topped Ryan Hall, 10-3, at 141 lbs. Finally, Joe Ariola cruised past Hunter Gamble, 11-2, at 184 lbs. for the Bulls third major decision. Tyler Rill earned his second pin of the season when he pinned Austin Trott in the third period to improved to 5-2 on the year. After being deadlocked 1-1 following regulation, Bryan Lantry defeated Tyler Ziegler, 3-1, in a sudden victory at 133 lbs. Lantry earned the decisive 2-point takedown in the closing seconds of overtime. Equally as exciting was Tim Schaefer's buzzer-beating win over Kyle Ash at 157 lbs. The redshirt-sophomore earned a two-point takedown moments before the final buzzer to earn a 3-1 victory. Also earning decisions for the Bulls were Muhamed McBryde and James Benjamin. McBride won, 3-2, over Brett Stein at 174 lbs. and Benjamin defeated Gary Jones, 5-4, at 197 lbs. The Bulls are back in action on Sunday when they travel to Kent State to face the Golden Flashes at 2:00 pm. Results: 125: Kyle Akins won by major decision over Cortez Starkes, 9-0 133: Bryan Lantry won by sudden victory over Tyler Ziegler, 3-1 141: Brandon Lapi won by major decision over Ryan Hall, 10-3 149: Ryan Mosley won by sudden victory over Colt Cotten, 4-2 157: Tim Schaefer won by decision over Kyle Ash, 3-1 165: Tyler Rill won by pin over Austin Trott, 6:37 174: Muhamed McBryde won by decision over Brett Stein, 3-2 184: Joe Ariola won by major decision over Hunter Gamble, 11-2 197: James Benjamin won by decision over Gary Jones, 5-4 285: Boyce Cornwell won by decision over Jake Gunning, 12-6

PRINCETON, N.J. -- Despite better than a decade lapse in the series between Navy and Princeton on the mat, the Mids were looking to extend their 16-match winning streak over the Tigers Friday evening. After a series of momentum shifts, Navy conquered what it set out to achieve as senior Michael Woulfe (Oak Park, Ill.) stunned Brett Harner, pinning the nation's 12th-ranked 197-pounder and leading the Mids to an 18-16 victory over the Tigers at Dillon Gym in Princeton. “Tonight was a great team win that was wrestled the Navy way,” said second-year Navy head coach Joel Sharratt. “We made our opponents earn every point scored. We set our pace high and made fatigue a factor in the final outcome.” The two teams split the first eight matches with Princeton taking the 3-0 lead on a 6-0 victory at 125 pounds by Pat D'Arcy. Navy, though, battled back and an 11-5 victory by sophomore Zack Davis (Granger, Ind.) at 133 pounds triggered four straight wins by the Midshipmen. Freshman Nicholas Gil (Crystal Lake, Ill.) dropped a tough 6-5 decision to Princeton's Jordan Laster in the championship bout of the Navy Classic two weeks ago, however, Gil turned the tables on the 2015 EIWA runnerup and instead had his hand raised with a 3-2 victory at 141 pounds. Sophomore Corey Wilding (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was expecting to face 20th-ranked Chris Perez, who he lost to by a point at the Navy Classic, but instead faced Mike D'Angelo. Wilding bested his foe with a quick takedown in sudden victory to earn the 3-1 victory. Then, sophomore 157-pound Drew Daniels (Overland Park, Kan.) gave the Mids a 12-3 advantage in the mat thanks to a 7-4 win over Francesco Fabozzi. Princeton snapped the Mids' momentum when senior Judd Ziegler used a long third-period ride to win 2-1 over Navy team captain John Keck (Wading River, N.Y.) at 165 pounds. Ziegler's win was the first of three in a row for the Tigers that included victories by nationally-ranked wrestlers #14 Jonathan Schleifer at 174 pounds and #16 Abram Ayala at 184 pounds. Navy's Jadaen Bernstein (Glen Gardner, N.J.) and Mathew Miller (Edgewood, Md.), who are both ranked #15 in their respective weights, were held out of Friday night's dual due to injuries. Ayala's win gave Princeton the go-ahead points as the Tigers held a 13-12 advantage with two bouts to go. Onto the mat marched Woulfe and Harner, Woulfe with a 14-6 record, while Harner was undefeated. Harner held the lead in the final period, but Woulfe caught him in a spladle and despite Harner's best effort, Woulfe dealt his foe his first loss of the year via pin with 1:10 left in the period. That left Princeton's Ray O'Donnell needing a fall at heavyweight to pull off the comeback for the Tigers. He controlled Navy sophomore Nick Mabry (New Braunfels, Texas) throughout the match and momentarily got Mabry on his back, but Mabry was able to scramble and fight his way out to help seal the win for the Mids. Navy will step away from competition for the next few weeks to focus on final exams before returning to the mat and ringing in the new year Jan. 1-2 at the annual Southern Scuffle. Results: 125 - Pat D'Arcy (P) dec Brant Leadbeter (N) 6-0 133 - Zack Davis (N) dec Trey Aslanian (P) 11-5 141 - Nicholas Gil (N) dec Jordan Laster (P) 3-2 149 - Corey Wilding (N) dec Mike D'Angelo (P) 3-1 (sv) 157 - Drew Daniels (N) dec Francesco Fabozzi (P) 7-4 165 - Judd Ziegler (P) dec John Keck (N) 2-1 174 - #14 Jonathan Schleifer (P) major Michael Coleman (N) 15-4 184 - #16 Abram Ayala (P) dec Robert Mannier (N) 8-2 197 - Michael Woulfe (N) fall #12 Brett Harner (P) 5:50 285 - Ray O'Donnell (P) dec Nick Mabry (N) 10-3

After 10 matches at the Sports Pavilion on Friday night, there was no clear winner between No. 20 Minnesota and Indiana. The Gophers and the Hoosiers were tied at 18 after splitting five matches, the latter serving as the first tiebreaker when duals end with the two teams even on the scoreboard. It would take two additional tiebreakers to declare a winner, with Indiana's 55 points scored in decisions, major decisions and tech falls edging Minnesota's 52 and earning Indiana the criteria point and the victory, 19-18. "We got to be the guys who score the points. We got to be the guys who get the bonus. You can't let matches, either individually or team, go down like that," said Head Coach J Robinson. "We didn't do that. We wrestled well last week. You've got to be able to come back and do it again but we didn't do it. Some of our guys got to take a deep look at themselves and figure out what they got to do to be consistent." In its ninth dual of the season, Minnesota drew weights for the first time and the meet began at 165 pounds, where Brandon Krone earned a 7-2 decision over Bryce Martin. The victory was Krone's first career dual meet win after making his career dual debut two weeks ago at Oklahoma State. Indiana fired back, leveling the match at three when No. 11 Nate Jackson defeated Nick Wanzek, 9-3, and jumpinig ahead when Matt Irick followed with a 7-4 decision over Chris Pfarr at 184 pounds. No. 5 Brett Pfarr thrust Minnesota in front again when he pinned Jake Masengale in the first period of their 197-pound match. The fall was the third of the year for Pfarr and his seventh bonus win in his last nine matches. No. 8 Michael Kroells followed up with a 6-0 decision over Garret Goldman at heavyweight, putting Minnesota in front 12-6, the biggest lead either team would hold in the dual. Kroells' win is his second in as many matches against Goldman. Following the intermission, Indiana picked up a 14-8 decision at 125 before Alonzo Shepherd pinned Sam Brancale early in the second period of their match at 133 which, like Pfarr's pin early, transformed a three-point deficit into a three-point advantage for the pinning team. No. 11 Tommy Thorn pulled the Gophers even once again when he defeated Cole Weaver, 6-2, but the advantage was short-lived as Indiana again jumped in front by three with a 17-10 decision by Luke Blanton over No. 10 Jake Short at 149, leaving the Gophers in need of a win at 157 to at least tie, if not win, the dual. Brandon Kingsley delivered that victory, taking an 8-4 decision over Jake Danishek. Kingsley's win scored the three points need to evened the score for a third time on the night. With the score tied at 18, officials convened at the table and reviewed the tiebreaking criteria, which ultimately gave the match to Indiana. Friday's defeat snapped several Gopher winning streaks, including a 13-match run over the Hoosiers. It was Minnesota's first loss in a Big Ten home opener since 2007-2008. Minnesota will have several weeks off for finals and the holidays before returning to action at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Jan. 1 and 2. The Gophers return to dual meet action at home against Maryland on Jan. 8. That match will be the team's lone home dual broadcast on the Big Ten Network this season. Results: 165: Brandon Krone (Minn) dec. Bryce Martin (Ind) 7-2 174: #11 Nate Jackson (Ind) dec. Nick Wanzek (Minn) 9-3 184: Matt Irick (Ind) dec. Chris Pfarr (Minn) 7-4 197: #5 Brett Pfarr (Minn) fall Jake Masengale (Ind) 2:16 285: #8 Michael Kroells (Minn) dec. Garret Goldman (Ind) 6-0 125: Elijah Oliver (Ind) dec. Skylar Petry (Minn) 13-8 133: Alonzo Shepherd (Ind) fall Sam Brancale (Minn) 3:44 141: #11 Tommy Thorn (Minn) dec. Cole Weaver (Ind) 6-2 149: Luke Blanton (Ind) dec. #10 Jake Short (Minn) 17-10 157: Brandon Kingsley (Minn) dec. Jake Danishek (Ind) 8-4

College Park, Md. -- No. 4 Nebraska (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) opened its conference slate with a 30-9 win over Maryland at the XFINITY Center on Friday night. Trailing the Terrapins, 6-5, after three matches, NU won six bouts in a row, including four by bonus points. No. 4 Austin Wilson began the Husker rally with a 6-1 decision over Derrick Evanovich at 165 pounds. Wilson, a senior from Hastings, Neb., improves to 7-0 this season. No. 12 Micah Barnes (174) managed a 14-3 major decision over Josh Snook to extend NU's lead to 12-6 before fourth-ranked TJ Dudley (184) notched a 9-2 decision against Jaron Smith. No. 16 Aaron Studebaker (197) began a string of three consecutive bonus-point wins for Nebraska, which put the dual out of reach for Maryland. Studebaker, a junior from Raymond, Neb., collected his first pin (4:01) of the season against Garrett Wesneski at 197 pounds. At heavyweight, 13th-ranked Collin Jensen won a 16-3 major decision over Youssif Hemida before No. 10 Tim Lambert (125) tallied a 15-0 technical fall over Jhared Simmons. No. 17 Anthony Abidin (141) won the first match of the dual, 7-5, over Billy Rappo and No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (149) followed it up with a 2-0 win over Wade Hodges in the subsequent bout. The Huskers' two losses came to Maryland's only returning NCAA qualifiers, Geoffrey Alexander (133) and Lou Mascola (157). At 157 pounds, No. 10 Tyler Berger lost by uncontrolled fall, while No. 9 Eric Montoya (133) dropped a 6-2 decision in the final match of the night. The Huskers wrap up their road trip on Saturday against No. 11 Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. The dual, which will be streamed on BTN Plus (subscription required), is set to begin at noon (CT). Results: 141: #17 Anthony Abidin (NEB) dec. Billy Rappo (MD), 7-5 (NEB 3, MD 0) 149: #7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) dec. Wade Hodges (MD), 2-0 (NEB 6, MD 0) 157: Lou Mascola (MD) fall #10 Tyler Berger (NEB), 4:07 (MD 6, NEB 5)* 165: #4 Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. Derrick Evanovich (MD), 6-1 (NEB 8, MD 6) 174: #12 Micah Barnes (NEB) major dec. Josh Snook (MD), 14-3 (NEB 12, MD 6) 184: #4 TJ Dudley (NEB) dec. Jaron Smith (MD), 9-2 (NEB 15, MD 6) 197: #16 Aaron Studebaker (NEB) pin Garrett Wesneski (MD), 4:01 (NEB 21, MD 6) HWT: #13 Collin Jensen (NEB) major dec. Youssif Hemida (MD), 16-3 (NEB 25, MD 6) 125: #10 Tim Lambert (NEB) tech. fall Jhared Simmons (MD), 15-0 (5:37) (NEB 30, MD 6) 133: Geoffrey Alexander (MD) dec. #9 Eric Montoya (NEB), 6-2 (NEB 30, MD 9)

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- Quarterfinal matches are being set on Friday afternoon and evening here at the Walsh Ironman. Those matches will be wrestled on Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. ET. The team race is extraordinarily tight with the top four teams less than three points apart. 1) No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio 62.5 (4 QF/5 CON) 2) No. 10 St. Edward, Ohio 61 (5/5) (tie) No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. (7/2) 4) No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. 60 (5/5) 5) No. 26 Malvern Prep, Pa. 47 (4/3) 6) No. 11 Marmion Academy, Ill. 44 (4/3) 7) No. 18 Belle Vernon Area, Pa. 43 (4/2) 8) No. 40 Montini Catholic, Ill. 42.5 (5/0) (tie) Wadsworth, Ohio (1/5) 10) Reynolds, Pa. 39 (3/3) Other Nationally Ranked Teams: 11) No. 7 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. 38.5 (2/4) 12) No. 24 Delta, Ohio 37 (5/0) 15) No. 22 Washington, Ill. 29 (2/3) 17-tie) No. 17 Elyria, Ohio 25 (2/1) 19) No. 47 Brecksville, Ohio 24 (2/2) 20-tie) No. 48 San Marino, Calif. 23 (2/3) 27-tie) No. 28 Bakersfield, Calif. 19 (3/0) 106 pounds No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) vs. Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) No. 11 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. Beau Bayless (Reynolds, Pa.) Nate Keaton (Circleville, Ohio) vs. No. 14 Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco, Calif.) Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon, Pa.) vs. Izzak Olejnik (Bakersfield, Calif.) 113 pounds No. 2 Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio) vs. Alex Cruz (Orting, Wash.) Julian Sanchez (Genoa, Ohio) vs. Chris Cannon (Blair Academy, N.J.) No. 4 Real Woods (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 12 Jordan Decatur (CVCA, Ohio) Dack Punke (Washington, Ill.) vs. No. 17 Tommy Hoskins (Dayton Christian, Ohio) 120 pounds No. 1 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. Nick Henneman (Oregon Clay, Ohio) Jack Davis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 11 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio) No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Seth Beard (Napoleon, Ohio) Tony Decesare (Padua, Ohio) vs. Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.) 126 pounds No. 8 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) vs. Jimmy Pawleski (Montini Catholic, Ill.) Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. Nick Lattanze (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 14 Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 17 (at 120) Mario Guillen (Perrysburg, Ohio) No. 20 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio) vs. No. 8 (at 120) Tyler Warner (Claymont, Ohio) 132 pounds No. 12 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield, Calif.) vs. No. 11 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional, Pa.) Jake Spiess (Delta, Ohio) vs. No. 17 Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) Jaden Mattox (Grove City Central Crossing, Ohio) vs. No. 18 Trent Olson (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 138 pounds No. 4 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) Will Lewan (Montini Catholic, Ill.) vs. No. 11 Ryan Deakin (Legacy, Colo.) No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield, Calif.) No. 18 A.J. Jaffe (Marmion Academy, Ill.) vs. Patrick Munn (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) 145 pounds No. 1 Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon, Pa.) vs. Josh Heil (Brunswick, Ohio) Kevin Budock (Good Counsel, Md.) vs. No. 12 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) No. 3 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. Ben Anderson (Pleasant Grove, Utah) Justin Demicco (Brecksville, Ohio) vs. No. 6 Zander Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 152 pounds No. 2 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Jack Conway (St. Edward, Ohio) No. 12 Trace Carello (Marmion Academy, Ill.) vs. No. 5 Eric Hong (Kiski Prep, Pa.) Julian Ramirez (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) vs. Nick Vestal (Dayton Christian, Ohio) Tyler Megonigal (James Madison, Va.) vs. No. 7 Evan Wick (San Marino, Calif.) 160 pounds No. 1 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 19 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy, N.J.) Nick Kiussis (Brunswick, Ohio) vs. Jesse Beverly (Delta, Ohio) No. 13 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) vs. Austin Hiles (Brecksville, Ohio) No. 14 Riley DeMoss (Marmion Academy, Ill.) vs. No. 10 Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell, Okla.) 170 pounds No. 2 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Koy Wilkinson (Pleasant Grove, Utah) Cody Mulligan (Saegertown, Pa.) vs. No. 9 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) No. 7 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) vs. Tyler Wiederholt (Bellbrook, Ohio) Brian Buser (Tampa Buser, Fla.) vs. No. 18 James Handwerk (Lutheran West, Ohio) 182 pounds No. 1 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Dominic Cooper (Canfield, Ohio) Zach Blackiston (Massillon Perry, Ohio) vs. No. 12 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 6 Jacob Warner (Washington, Ill.) vs. Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) J.T. Brown (Elyria, Ohio) vs. No. 4 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy, Ill.) 195 pounds No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) vs. Rashon Lusane (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 5 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 11 Christian Dietrich (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Aaron Naples (Brunswick, Ohio) vs. No. 19 Tyler Frankrone (Trinity, Pa.) Gary Traub (Sycamore, Ohio) vs. No. 10 Jack Harris (Urbana, Ohio) 220 pounds No. 3 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. Devin Richard (Delta, Ohio) Jerek Cropper (Manchester, Ohio) vs. Jared Campbell (St. Edward, Ohio) No. 13 Zane Black (The Phelps School, Pa.) vs. No. 10 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep, Pa.) No. 17 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) vs. Jack Meyer (Moeller, Ohio) 285 pounds Chance Veller (Delta, Ohio) vs. David Aranda (St. John Bosco, Calif.) Gene Ringer (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing, Ohio) Sadi Santana (Lorain, Ohio) vs. No. 9 (at 220) Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) Mansur Abdul-Malik (St. Vincent Pallotti, Md.) vs. No. 15 Hunter Mullins (Orting, Wash.)

Day one of the 2015 Walsh Jesuit Ironman started at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Wrestling goes up until the quarterfinals of the championship bracket today, with a total of 16 wrestlers remaining in the tournament. 7:15 p.m. We are into the last round of the day, where it will narrow down to eight wrestlers in consolation joining the eight wrestlers up in the quarters per weight class. No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. has the most quarterfinalists with seven. Next in line with five each are No. 10 St. Edward, Ohio, No. 40 Montini Catholic, Ill., No. 24 Delta, Ohio, and No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. Four each in the quarterfinals for No. 18 Belle Vernon, Pa., No. 26 Malvern Prep, Pa., No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio, and No. 11 Marmion Academy, Ill. 7:10 p.m. In the 285 pound round of 16, Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing, Ohio) pinned returning Ironman placer Trenton Lieurance (Broken Arrow, Okla.). Also in that round was an upset, Sadi Santana (Lorain, Ohio) with an overtime decision over three-time state/National Prep placer Neil Putnam (Blair Academy, N.J.) 7:00 p.m. The 220 pound quarterfinal matches have been determined. Freshman Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.), ranked No. 17 nationally with a major decision over an Ohio state placer, advances. 6:50 p.m. Nationally ranked Kevin Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.) was upset by Gary Traub (Sycamore, Ohio) 7-3 in the round of 16 at 195 pounds. Blair vs. Wyoming Seminary in the quarters here with Singletary vs. Dietrich. 6:40 p.m. Zack Blackiston (Massillon Perry, Ohio), one week off the football field, beats two-time state placer Tre Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio) 4-3 in the round of 16 at 182 pounds. Also that round, Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) pinned No. 20 Chasen Blair (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) in the third period; the nationally ranked Leopards have four in the quarters. 6:35 p.m. All quarterfinals at 170 pounds have been determined. Pretty much all chalk there. 6:20 p.m. Big overtime match between wrestlers from the top two programs in the country at 160 pounds saw No. 19 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy) upend Will Verallis (Wyoming Seminary) 4-2 in overtime, now faces No. 1 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham) in the quarterfinal round. 6:15 p.m. Huge upset at 152 in the round of 16 as Julian Ramirez (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) beats No. 6 Luke Troy (Martin Luther King, Calif.) by injury default in the first period; Ramirez was winning at the time. St. Edward picked up a fourth quarterfinalist in Jack Conway, Wyoming Seminary picked up a fourth with No. 2 Mason Manville, and they'll face each other tomorrow morning. 6:10 p.m. The most interesting round of 16 match at 145 pounds was Justin Demicco (Brecksville, Ohio) beating state champion Adam Lewis (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) 12-11. Rocky Jordan over Andrew Merola 8-5 in a Graham vs. Blair battle. 5:50 p.m. Huge upset upset at 138 pounds with Patrick Munn (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) advancing to the quarterfinals after a 5-1 win over No. 6 Julian Flores (San Marino, Calif.). The match featuring ranked wrestlers saw No. 11 Ryan Deakin (Legacy, Colo.) beating No. 20 Grant Aronoff (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) 5-3. 5:40 p.m. St. Edward, Ohio wrestling supremely well, got another freshman into the quarterfinals, Sam Dover, at 132 pounds. He beat a pair of multi-time state placers from Ohio this afternoon. The other big match had Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) rally with a late takedown to upend Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) by 4-3 score. 5:20 p.m. It's all Ohio in the lower half of the quarterfinals at 126 pounds tomorrow morning, including a state finals rematch between No. 20 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio) and No. 8 (at 120) Tyler Warner (Claymont, Ohio); Warner won at state, Wilson won the district match. In the round of 16, battle of state champions saw Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) beat Allan Hart (St. Edward, Ohio) 4-2. 5:10 p.m. No. 11 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio) had a tighter than expected round of 16 match, winning 6-4 in overtime against Jairod James (Bedford, Ohio) at 120 pounds. No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) had a tight win over freshman sensation Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.) 1-0. 4:50 p.m. Freshman Julian Sanchez (Genoa, Ohio) an unexpected quarterfinalist, but he got there by beating two multi-time state/National Prep placers. Most notable of the matches was Chris Cannon (Blair Academy, N.J.) beating Matt Kazimir (St. Edward, Ohio) 8-6 in overtime. 4:40 p.m. It was an entertaining set of round of 16 matches at 106 pounds. Bryce Andonian (St. Edward, Ohio) beat state champion Josh Venia (Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio) in overtime, 14-13. Andonian led midway through the match, Venia rallied back to an 11-9 lead late, and then Andonian got the reversal to tie at the buzzer. Second stall on Venia in overtime. Also that round, Melendez beat Colaiocco 2-1. 4:20 p.m. And the round of 32 has reached its conclusion, round of 16 matches are set at 285 pounds. Most notable among those matches is Trenton Lieurance (Broken Arrow, Okla.) against Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing, Ohio). 4:15 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 220 pounds. Most notable match on the docket places state runner-up Jared Campbell (St. Edward, Ohio) against state champion Nick Mosco (Blair Academy, N.J.) 4:10 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 195 pounds. There was a massive round of 32 upset with Cody Howard (St. Edward, Ohio) scoring a third period pin over No. 13 Wyatt Koelling (Davis, Utah). Notable match in the round of 16 places No. 11 Christian Dietrich (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) against Kanan Sarver (St. Paris Graham, Ohio). 4:02 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 182 pounds. All key wrestlers won in the opening round, except for National Prep placer Brian Hennessey (St. John's College, D.C.) losing by 4-3 decision to sophomore Dominic Cooper (Canfield, Ohio). 4:00 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 170 pounds, no matches placing ranked wrestlers against one another. Some notable round of 32 results though: No. 2 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.) by 3-1 decision over notable sophomore Nate Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.), along with Cody Mulligan (Saegertown, Pa.) over state placer Garrett Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) by 8-7 decision in the tiebreaker. A notable round of 16 match places state runners-up Robbie Bowers (Defiance, Ohio) and Brian Buser (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) against one 3:55 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 160 pounds, no matches placing nationally ranked wrestlers against one another. Most notable on the docket is No. 19 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. Will Verallis (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.). 3:50 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 152 pounds, two nationally ranked wrestlers lost in the round of 32. No. 19 Max Wohlabaugh (Winter Springs, Fla.) fell by 3-2 decision in the ultimate tiebreaker against Emil Soehnlen (Massillon Perry, Ohio), while No. 16 Georgio Poullas (Canfield, Ohio) fell by 1-0 decision against Nico O'Dor (Elyria, Ohio). Notable round of 16 matches include Jacoby Ward (Moeller, Ohio) vs. Jack Conway (St. Edward, Ohio). 3:30 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 145 pounds, none have nationally ranked wrestlers against one another. A couple of interesting matches involve Cadet double All-American Andrew Merola (Blair Academy, N.J.) against No. 12 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), Kevin Budock (Good Counsel, Md.) against Greg Brusco (Delaware Hayes, Ohio), and Adam Lewis (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.) against Justin Demicco (Brecksville, Ohio). 3:20 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 132 pounds. None will place nationally ranked wrestlers against one another. Most notable of them are No. 11 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional, Pa.) vs. Corey Shie (LaSalle, Ohio) and Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 17 Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.). Big first round upset had freshman Sam Dover (St. Edward, Ohio) beat three-time state placer Hunter Bray (Franklin, Ohio) in overtime. 2:45 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 120 pounds. None is a battle between nationally ranked wrestlers, the most notable match though places No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.) against high impact freshman Theorius Robison (Pomona, Colo.) 2:40 p.m. Round of 16 matches are set at 138 pounds. One showdown of nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 20 Grant Aronoff (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) vs. No. 11 Ryan Deakin (Legacy, Colo.). Other notable matches include Seth Hogue (Reynolds, Pa.) vs. Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) and No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. Jacob Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.) 2:25 p.m.: Round of 16 matches are set at 126 pounds. None involve nationally ranked wrestlers against one another. Most notable is a battle between unranked returning state champions in Allan Hart (St. Edward, Ohio) and Cole Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) 2:20 p.m.: Round of 16 matches are set at 113 pounds. None involve ranked wrestlers against one another. The most notable may be top seed Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio), ranked No. 2 nationally, facing Robert Campos (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 2:15 p.m.: Round of 16 matches at 106 pounds are set. One match will feature a pair of ranked wrestlers, No. 17 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 11 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic, Ill.) 2:00 p.m.: About an hour into the tournament, and we've already had one nationally ranked wrestler lose. No. 12 Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel, Calif.) lost to Colton Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.) by 2-0 decision in the round of 32 at 106 pounds.

Gelen Robinson, Purdue University heavyweight wrestler during the 2014-15 season, had been scheduled to go on trial Thursday, Dec. 10 after being arrested this summer for driving while intoxicated. Instead, it was revealed that the Boilermaker athlete already pled guilty on Oct. 9, the Purdue Exponent reported Thursday. Robinson had been arrested in June for operating while intoxicated with a BAC of .15 or more and illegal possession of an alcoholic beverage. As part of his plea agreement, Robinson must not enter any bar or liquor stores or possess any firearms, and he must attend alcohol and drug counseling and complete 40 hours of supervised community service. It was the second such offense for the athlete who played linebacker for the Boilermakers. In August 2014, the 20-year-old Robinson entered a diversion agreement after being cited for minor consumption by Purdue University Police Department in June 2014. A diversion agreement allows a defendant to have the charges dismissed if he or she abides by formal terms and conditions over a set period of time. According to the terms of that agreement, Robinson made a commitment to, among other things, not to "consume alcohol or alcoholic beverages" and not to "enter any bar, tavern or liquor store" for the duration of the agreement, which lasts until Aug. 3, 2015. A two-time Indiana state wrestling champ from Lake Central High School, Robinson compiled a 3-4 overall record during the 2014-15 season for Purdue. He is not currently listed on the wrestling team roster.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The United States Olympic Committee today announced the 2014-15 winners for the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year, recognizing the outstanding achievements of Team USA athletes and teams in six categories: Jordan Burroughs celebrates after his semifinal win at the World Championships (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The Male Olympic Athlete of the Year is 2015 World champion freestyle wrestler Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC). Burroughs becomes just the third wrestler to win a USOC Athlete of the Year award, joining Olympic and World champions John Smith in 1990 and Rulon Gardner in 2000. "This is fun. Wrestlers don't get a lot of notoriety, especially when we go up against some of the more publically-aware sports like swimming and track and others, all which have some amazing athletes who are very well known. Winning this award has been a long process. I think to when I came out in 2011 after college, all of the many challenges, going into the London Games relatively unknown. Having all this recognition poured my way as we head into Rio is very exciting," said Burroughs. The six awards were presented during a live taping of the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year ceremony, held tonight at the University of Pennsylvania's Houston Hall in Philadelphia. The awards show -- which featured NBC's Natalie Morales as host and retro pop/soul artist Andra Day as the musical guest -- will be televised Dec. 27 on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) from 3-4 p.m. ET. The six athlete and team award winners were determined by online fan voting at TeamUSA.org/Awards, where nearly 200,000 fan votes determined 50 percent of the final tally. Members of the Olympic and Paralympic family -- including an esteemed panel of Olympic and Paralympic journalists -- accounted for the other 50 percent. The other finalists for the Male Olympic Athlete of the Year were Ashton Eaton (Track and Field), Vincent Hancock (Shooting), Ted Ligety (Skiing) and Auston Matthews (Ice Hockey). USOC Male Olympic Athlete of the Year biography, Jordan Burroughs, Wrestling Jordan Burroughs went undefeated to claim his third world championship title in the men's freestyle 74 kg. division at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, becoming the third-most winningest wrestler in U.S. history. He won all six matches en route to the world title - surrendering only five points to his 45 scored - to improve his overall record to 114-2 and claim his fourth world crown in five years. The reigning Olympic champion also added gold medals at both the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 World Cup. Burroughs was a 2012 Olympic champion, and boasts three World titles (2011, 2013, 2015). He was also a 2014 World bronze medalist. Only John Smith (6) and Bruce Baumgartner (5) has won more World and Olympic gold medals than Burroughs in a career. He has also won two Pan American Games gold medals and three World Cup titles. He was a two-time NCAA champion for the University of Nebraska and the Hodge Trophy winner as the nation's best college wrestler his senior year in 2011. Burroughs was a New Jersey state high school champion for Winslow Township High School in Sicklerville, N.J. The other awards being presented this evening are: Female Olympic Athlete of the Year, presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Male Olympic Athlete of the Year Olympic Team of the Year, presented by Dow Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year, presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods Male Paralympic Athlete of the Year Paralympic Team of the Year, presented by Dow Building Dream Award, presented by USG The winners of these awards will be announced by the USOC, and this story will be updated at the conclusion of the presentation program in Philadelphia on TheMat.com and on TeamUSA.org In addition to presenting sponsor Dow, five USOC partners -- Coca-Cola, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Kellogg's, Samsung and USG -- are associate sponsors of the Team USA Awards program. About the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Year Formerly known as the USOC SportsMan, SportsWoman and Team of the Year awards, the honors began in 1974. The impressive and diverse collection of past winners represent nearly 30 sports on the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic programs. Their collective accomplishments tell the inspiring story of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic movements throughout history. Athletes and teams considered for the Best of the Year were finalists for Best of the Month honors, dating back to the fall of the previous year and coinciding with the sport calendar. A USOC nominating committee then selected the top-five finalists in the individual categories and top three in the team categories to advance to the voting round. For more information on the Team USA Awards, including the full list of 2014-15 finalists, visit TeamUSA.org.

When the NC State Wolfpack bested Oklahoma State in a dual meet last week, they didn't just jump in the team rankings and make a front page splash in Raleigh, they made the strongest case yet for implementing an NCAA dual meet championship. NC State head wrestling coach Pat Popolizio coaching Kevin Jack in the NCAA semifinals against Logan Stieber at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The Wolfpack, led by head coach Pat Popolizio could, in a dual meet tournament, win the NCAA championship. Maybe that's not the likeliest outcome, but they certainly could achieve it without much in the way of help. The current NCAA season is just not fashioned to the wants of the television audience. Tournaments don't sell on television because the early rounds can feel meaningless. If the championships are converted to something more modern and television friendly the sport could receive a much-needed bump in televised interest. Cinderella sells, and unfortunately, for lazy sportswriters around the world, that means a team, not an individual. NC. State, in a position where more was at stake, could have grabbed much bigger headlines. But also the speed at which Popolizio led this turnaround could tell other athletic directors that an NCAA championship in the sport of wrestling is within reach. The X's and O's on how to change the schedule of the season is difficult and political, but change is needed to keep up with funding needs of the sport and to generate interest among fans. We've seen the ceiling for the individual tournament system, now it's time to explore how much further the sport can rise under a team-base NCAA championship. To your questions … Q: The word is Myles Martin is out of redshirt and will wrestle 174 for Ohio State, with Bo Jordan going 165. Nathan Tomasello is a returning NCAA champion, Micah Jordan looked fantastic in Las Vegas and Hunter Stieber could be returning next semester. Thoughts on Ohio State as a title contender? Too many question marks? -- Mike C. Foley: There are certainly way too many question marks to predict that Ohio State will win the NCAA title. Myles Martin, despite early season redshirt success, would be chief among those concerns. While winning in the background isn't easy, there is certainly an added pressure in wrestling as the starter. Martin likely won't be rattled, but we wouldn't know until his first match in a Buckeye singlet. There are a lot of questions left to answer in the Buckeyes' year, but it's safe to say that after an NCAA team title and a World champion in 2015 you shouldn't underestimate head coach Tom Ryan or any of his wrestlers in 2016. Q: How highly can a Cornell team with three national championship contenders, (Gabe Dean, Brian Realbuto, and Nahshon Garrett) but possibly zero other All-American candidates (other than Dylan Palacio if he can get healthy) place at the NCAA tournament? -- Pat S. Foley: Wow. I can't think of any team that has won three individual NCAA titles but not also taken home another individual All-American honor. Rob Koll, much like Tom Ryan, is apt to get things done at the end of the year. His programs churn out four All-Americans a season, on average, for the past decade. That's really, really impressive. Playing the law of averages, he may slide in with three, but to think all three win the tournament would be statistically improbable. Everything considered, Cornell would need a lot of bonus points from their winning wrestlers, a fourth and fifth All-American and probably a sixth and seventh wrestler to score wins in the early rounds. Q: Is NC State a stepping stone job for Pat Popolizio? Clearly he has taken that program to new heights in short order, but do you see him becoming a head coach at a traditional wrestling power -- or Big Ten program -- when a head coaching position opens up? -- Mike C. Foley: I'm not sure. College athletics are strange in that NC State could offer him as much money as Michigan State or Oklahoma State or Iowa. After a big win against Oklahoma State he's proven that you really don't need that tradition to be successful. There is no competitive disadvantage to wrestling in the ACC, and looking at it in three years, or four, I don't see why Virginia Tech or NC State wouldn't be in the title hunt. They are already within reach of a trophy in 2016. The only premier jobs in the country are Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Penn State and Iowa. The rest, even places like Michigan and Arizona State, are probably not marquee enough for a coach to start over. However, if one of these jobs opens up and they offer Popolizio gobs more money, then of course he'd need to consider his family and his future. After success at Binghamton and N C State the wrestling world knows that success will follow Poplizio -- just how much that is worth to another school has to be determined. Q: Henry Cejudo recently tweeted that he's spending time at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Currently he has no fight lined up. Following his match with Tony Ramos he said that he may try out for the 2016 Olympic team. Do you think it's likely we will see him at Gallagher-Iba in April or is USA Wrestling spending resources to advance the career of a UFC fighter? -- Scott M. Foley: I don't think it's "likely" -- but from what I've heard (and seen) he does seem to have a little more substance to grand plans he proffers to the Interwebs. If he makes an announcement to wrestle off for the team, I'd take him very seriously. If instead they find him a title fight, I could see him taking that opportunity. Cejudo isn't too old, but he'll be 29 by the Trials and that, in wrestling years, can prove to be a little too long in the tooth for major success. All that said, I think that his involvement in the event would be a very big positive for USA Wrestling and the media profile of the sport in general. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Fight preview Weidman interview Q: Let's hear your UFC 194 predictions on the final three fights … Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold Ronaldo Souza vs. Yoel Romero -- Mike C. Foley: Yoel Romero is my guy, but Jacare is scary with his submission game. Pretty sure we'll see a late first-round submission by Jacare off a takedown attempt from Yoel. Leg lock possible, arm bar likely. Weidman will beat Rockhold in a unanimous decision, four rounds to one. I like Luke, but Weidman is much too crafty on the ground and has one of the sport's best coaches in John Danaher. I think that I want Jose Aldo to win -- and I'm pretty certain that he can submit Conor McGregor -- but there is something about his behavior this week that reminds me of Anderson Silva when he started losing his touch and going batty. He sat down on stage yesterday with his legs crossed and answered questions. I know that he's not as outgoing as McGregor, but it still seemed odd. I also think at times that I want McGregor to win. He's a watchable human and a big draw for the sport, but I just don't see that complete skillset for him to be a long-serving champion, like Weidman could be. He has zero ground game and in a sport where things go wrong all the time, I don't like his chances. Aldo by second-round TKO. Q: I heard Adam Coon is focusing on Greco-Roman this year in an attempt to make the U.S. Olympic team. Do you give him any shot at beating out Robby Smith for the spot? -- Mike C. Foley: Any chance? Sure. I'll give him a five percent chance, but I really couldn't ever see him beating Robby. Oddly, like McGregor, I may have doubted Smith's abilities in the past, but each time he takes the mat I'm more impressed. He has an incredible front head lock, but as he's diversified his attacks, improved conditioning, and tightened up his defense he's won some big matches. I haven't seen that from Coon at the international level, though I'd be interested to see how he develops for 2020 in Tokyo. By the way, though I disagree that he "won" the match against Makhov, I did hear a story -- through way of rumor -- that Makhov was telling people that he thought Smith was much more talented than he expected. Coming from a Dagestani wrestler, that's a large compliment. THOUGHT OF THE WEEK By Justin L. When it comes to generating interest in the sport, especially from outside the wrestling circle, it's been apparent we have some work to do, but after streaming the finals from the Cliff Keen Las Vegas tourney I can really see an issue. As a former college wrestler and now high school coach, there is nothing I look forward to more than Saturday and Sunday streaming the college matches and tourneys to tune into the big matchups, but honestly even after being hyped about the Cliff Keen Las Vegas tourney it was hard to continue watching, not because of the matchups, they were fantastic but the way it was presented. Part of what made the "Grapple on the Gridiron" so successful, in my opinion, was seeing and hearing the crowd and the energy of the stadium. I definitely appreciate the coverage and what Flo does for the sport, but having an overhead view, and only hearing commentary with no other sound during matches honestly turned even exciting matches into snooze fests, and I'm a huge fan. We are trying to attract outside interest, so what does it do for them? I understand that the mainstream won't have a Flo account anyway most likely, but what are we doing in terms of promotion? Even tennis matches, you hear the crowd and feel the energy from the stadium when just viewing on TV. Shouldn't we feel that as we watch? Just a thought, not so much a criticism.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team scored a 31-6 win at VMI tonight. The Mocs tallied bonus points in five matches, and won three close bouts to improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in Southern Conference action. VMI dropped to 1-3 on the year and 0-3 in league matches. After falling behind with a loss at 125, freshman Cody Hill put the Mocs on the board with an impressive major decision over Dominic Gallo at 133. He scored a takedown and four back points in the first period to get started on the right track. He gave up a takedown in the third, but finished with a 13-2 win. Junior Michael Pongracz followed with a 10-0 major at 141, but VMI struck back with a win at 149. Leading 8-6 UTC won three consecutive tight bouts to build a big lead. Freshman Kamaal Shakur scored a takedown in overtime to beat Neal Richards 4-2. Freshman Dominic Lampe won 4-3 over Shabaka Johns at 165, while sophomore Justin Lampe scored a 7-6 win over Mark Darr at 174. The oldest of the three Lampes, John, slammed the door on the Keydets with his 22-9 major over Derek Thurman at 184. 18th-ranked junior Scottie Boykin posted a major at 197 and 12th-ranked junior Jared Johnson ended the night with a pin at heavyweight. UTC stays on the road for a Saturday match at Campbell. Action begins at 2:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) with links for live scoring and live video on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. Results: 125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) – Dec. 11-9 - Alonzo Allen (UTC) – VMI 3-0 133: Cody Hill (UTC) – MD 13-2 - Dominick Gallo (VMI) – UTC 4-3 141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – MD 10-0 - Hunter Starner (VMI) – UTC 8-3 149: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) – Dec. 7-4 - Austin Sams (UTC) – UTC 8-6 157: Kamaal Shakur (UTC) – Dec. 4-2 (SV1) - Neal Richards (VMI) – UTC 11-6 165: Dominic Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 4-3 - Shabaka Johns (VMI) – UTC 14-6 174: Justin Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 7-6 - Mark Darr (VMI) – UTC 17-6 184: John Lampe (UTC) – MD 22-9 - Derek Thurman (VMI) – UTC 21-6 197: No. 18 Scottie Boykin (UTC) – MD 17-4 - Taylor Thomas (VMI) – UTC 25-6 285: No. 12 Jared Johnson (UTC) – Fall 2:35 - Sivaatasi Mathias (VMI) – UTC 31-6

PITTSBURGH -- The University of Pittsburgh wrestling team improved its overall dual record to 4-1 after a dominating 24-9 performance over Edinboro (4-3, 2-0 EWL) Thursday night at the Fitzgerald Field House. "It was a good performance," head coach Jason Peters said. "We got it started with LJ Bentley and followed that with Dom Forys. We had a lot of tight matches through the middle. They took a couple from us that we thought we could get, but we finished strong with Ryan Solomon. It was a good win for the Panthers." The night started off with 125 pound freshman LJ Bentley collecting his eighth career victory as a Panther over Sean Russell. Bentley tallied one takedown and two escapes in the match and secured his win with riding time. At 133 pounds, sophomore Dom Forys did not disappoint as he pinned Tony Recco in 2:21. Forys recorded five takedowns in the only period, giving Pitt a 6-0 lead in the dual. Junior Mikey Racciato followed that with a close battle with Nate Hagan at 141 pounds. Racciato had two takedowns, while Hagan escaped once, giving Racciato a 4-1 lead entering the second period. The two fought back and forth as Racciato escaped and Hagan had a takedown and repeated that once more. Racciato ended the second period with an escape to secure the 7-5 decision. The Panthers dropped the following matches at 149, 157 and 165 pounds. The Fighting Scots were attempting to make their way back as they trailed 12-9 entering 174 pounds. Freshman TeShan Campbell put Edinboro's efforts to a screeching halt as he fought his way to a 14-12 decision over Patrick Jennings. Campbell trailed the majority of the match, but a takedown with 32 seconds in the third tied the score at 11-11. Jennings escaped and Campbell followed that with a takedown, taking the lead 13-12 with the clock winding down. Campbell secured the win with riding time and a final score of 14-12, extending the Panthers lead to 15-9. At 184 pounds, redshirt freshman Zach Bruce tallied two takedowns and two nearfall points en route to a 6-2 win over Chris Laird. Redshirt senior Nick Bonaccorsi followed with a 4-0 win over Vincent Pickett. Although scoreless until the halfway point of the second period, Bonaccorsi escaped and had a takedown late in the second period to take the lead. He secured his win with riding time. In the final bout of the night, redshirt sophomore Ryan Solomon scored the first point of his match late in the second period as he escaped from William Miller. Miller escaped in the third period to tie it 1-1, but two stalling calls against Miller handed Solomon a 2-1 victory and the finalizing the Panthers' winning score to 24-9. Pitt returns to the Fitzgerald Field House Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. to take on No. 15 Wisconsin. For all things Pitt wrestling, follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Results: 125: LJ Bentley (P) dec. Sean Russell (E), 6-5 - Pitt leads 3-0 133: #19 Dom Forys (P) pins Tony Recco (E), 2:21 - Pitt leads 9-0 141: #9 Mikey Racciato (P) dec. Natae Hagan (E), 7-5 - Pitt leads 12-0 149: Patricio Lugo (E) dec. Robert Lee (P), 12-6 - Pitt leads 12-3 157: Spencer Nagy (E) dec. Ronnie Garbinsky (P), 4-3 - Pitt leads 12-6 165: Casey Fuller (E) dec. Cody Wiercioch (P), 4-2 - Pitt leads 12-9 174: TeShan Campbell (P) dec. Patrick Jennings (E), 14-12 - Pitt leads 15-9 184: Zach Bruce (P) dec. Chris Laird (E), 6-2 - Pitt leads 18-9 197: Nick Bonaccorsi (P) dec. Vincent Pickett (E), 4-0 - Pitt leads 21-9 285: #19 Ryan Solomon (P) dec. William Miller (E), 2-1 - Pitt wins 24-9

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan team shook off a slow start to dominate in-state rival Michigan, 39-6, in its Big Ten Conference opener on Thursday evening (Dec. 10) in front of 1,452 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines claimed eight individual matches, earning bonus points in seven. Michigan closed out the dual with big points at the upperweights as junior Domenic Abounader earned a fall at 184 pounds and graduate student Max Huntley and junior Adam Coon registered back-to-back technical falls at 197 pounds and heavyweight. The Wolverines earned four total tech falls in the contest. Abounader, ranked 12th nationally and named a Wolverine team captain earlier this week, stuck the Spartans' Wesley Maskill late in the second period, at 4:42, off a leg turk -- just moments after earning four near-fall points on another turk in the period. He was up 10-0 at the time, scoring on a first-period single leg and two reversals in the second. It was his third pin of the season. Huntley, ranked seventh nationally at 197 pounds, scored on 10 takedowns -- a variety of singles, doubles and go-behind -- en route to his 16-1 tech fall against Jacob Cooper. He converted on four leg attacks in the third period, ending the bout with a single leg at the 6:27 mark. Coon, ranked third nationally, also settled for a 17-1 tech fall in the heavyweight bout after twice having MSU's Dimitrus Renfroe on his back. He posted four takedowns and eight near-fall points, ending the bout on a double-leg takedowns at 5:20. Coon, who sat out last week's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, improved to 5-0 on the season. The Wolverines didn't fare as well as the lowerweights, with MSU claiming two of the opening three bouts, but earned big bonus points senior Rossi Bruno's 16-1 technical fall against Patrick Blommel at 133 pounds. Bruno, ranked 12th nationally at 133 pounds, hit two early double-leg takedowns before repeatedly tilting Blommel for 10 back points before the end of the first period. He added a single-leg takedown early in the second to end the match at the 3:26 mark. Sophomore Alec Pantaleo, ranked 12th at 149 pounds, also earned a technical fall -- his second of the season -- with a 19-4 victory over Mark Bozzo. Pantaleo scored on two takedowns and a four-point suck back in the first before adding two more takedowns each in the second and third frames. He rode out the match on the last one, earning 2:18 in time advantage to secure the extra point for the tech fall. Junior Brian Murphy, ranked fifth nationally at 157 pounds, was victorious in his return to the lineup from injury, using a big third period to claim a 14-2 major decision against Joe Johnson. After fending off a high single in the air for several seconds early in the third, Murphy instead scored on the position himself before adding another double leg and four-point leg turn in the waning moments of the bout. He also points a takedown and two-point tilt in the opening frame. It was just his second match of the season. Sophomore Garrett Sutton earned a six-point injury default at 165 pounds when the Spartans' Travis Curley could not continue after the second period. Sutton led 9-0 at the time after posting two takedowns apiece in the first and second periods. Curley appeared to hit his head in the second frame and after a break for a concussion test, the MSU coaches ended the match at 5:00. Sophomore/freshman Davonte Mahomes rounded out the Wolverines' winners with an 11-4 decision over Shane Shadaia at 174 pounds. Mahomes, ranked 20th, scored on three takedowns in the first period, added another in the third and was looking for more but ran out of time. He earned a late stall point and secured 1:36 in riding-time advantage. Tweet of the Game Michigan vs Michigan State. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/SwH3nMzqmA -- UMich Club Wrestling (@UMClubWrestling) December 11, 2015 The Wolverines will take a break for final exams and the holiday season before returning to action at the annual Southern Scuffle, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Jan. 1-2, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Results: 125 -- Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) dec. #16 Conor Youtsey, 8-5 MSU, 3-0 133 -- #12 Rossi Bruno (U-M) tech. fall Patrick Blommel, 16-1 (3:26) U-M, 5-3 141 -- Javier Gasca (MSU) dec. George Fisher, 5-3 MSU, 6-5 149 -- #12 Alec Pantaleo (U-M) tech. fall Mark Bozzo, 19-4 (7:00) U-M, 10-6 157 -- #5 Brian Murphy (U-M) major dec. Joe Johnson, 14-2 U-M, 14-6 165 -- Garrett Sutton (U-M) injury def. Travis Curley, 5:00 U-M, 20-6 174 -- #20 Davonte Mahomes (U-M) dec. Shane Shadaia, 11-4 U-M, 23-6 184 -- #10 Domenic Abounader (U-M) pinned Wesley Maskill, 4:42 U-M, 29-6 197 -- #7 Max Huntley(U-M) tech. fall Jacob Cooper, 22-7 (6:27) U-M, 34-6 Hwt -- #3 Adam Coon (U-M) tech. fall Dimitrus Renfroe, 17-1 (5:20) U-M, 39-6

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won eight of 10 bouts to defeat 11th-ranked Rutgers, 29-6, on Thursday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes (8-0, 2-0) recorded three wins by bonus points and scored a pair of upsets at 157 and 285. Edwin Cooper, Jr. scored a takedown off the opening whistle and built up 1:27 riding time to defeat No. 17 Richie Lewis, 6-4, and Sam Stoll scored on a counter 20 seconds into overtime to defeat No. 6 Billy Smith, 3-1. "I've had a couple of tough loses against some other ranked opponents," said Cooper, who won for the first time in four nationally-ranked matches. "Getting this one and getting it done right will help in the future." Stoll has won seven straight matches since dropping the season opener to No. 4 Austin Marsden. He's pinned four opponents during that stretch, and he now has a top 10 win under his belt. "It's good because it's my first ranked win, but I know there is more I could have done in that match," said Stoll. "Brands talks all the time that just because he's a ranked opponent, it doesn't have to be close. I have to believe that and I think I did some good things, but there is definitely more to improve." Stoll's win put the lid on a dual that saw Iowa hold a 31-7 advantage in takedowns and a 98-44 lead in match points. The Hawkeyes scored 56 points in the third period. "We had two wins over ranked opponents, but we are still finding some things out," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "As long as they get better every time out we have a chance. And we have to compete. We still have a lot of work to do." The Hawkeyes opened the dual with a technical fall by Thomas Gilman at 125 and a major decision from Cory Clark at 133. Both wins were against ranked opponents. "The results are what (other) guys see, and it's going to scare them," said Gilman. "He may have had close matches with tough opponents or other ranked guys, but when I go out and tech fall him it sends a message. I'm out here on a mission." Gilman's win was his second of the season against a ranked opponent, and his eighth win overall -- all by bonus points. Rutgers got on the board at 141 when third-ranked Anthony Ashnault used a four-point tilt in the opening period for the difference in an 8-4 win against Topher Carton. "It was a missed opportunity," said Carton, who was making his first dual appearance of the season. "I told coach I wanted to go and he gave me a shot. I had a chance to make a statement for the Carver crowd and I didn't. There are no moral victories. I know I can beat that guy and any other guy in the country. But I have to go out and do it." Brandon Sorensen used nine takedowns to earn a 21-6 technical fall at 149, and after No. 12 Anthony Perrotti won 8-7 at 165 against Patrick Rhoads, the Hawkeyes closed the dual with four consecutive wins. Alex Meyer won 8-3 at 174, Sammy Brooks scored eight of the final nine points to rally for an 11-5 win at 184, and Nathan Burak won 6-1 with 2:20 riding time at 197. Stoll closed the dual with the overtime decision. The Hawkeyes return to the mat Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The next home dual is Jan. 22 against Purdue at 7 p.m. (CT). NOTES: Attendance was 6,791... Gilman improved to 8-0 with all eight wins by bonus points... Carton lost for the first time in five Carver-Hawkeye Arena appearances... Edwin Cooper, Jr., and Sam Stoll earned their first career wins over ranked opponent... Alex Meyer improved to 11-0 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Results: 125 - #2 Thomas Gilman (IA) tech. fall #18 Sean McCabe (R), 21-6; 5-0 133 - #2 Cory Clark (IA) major dec. #17 Anthony Giraldo (R), 11-2; 9-0 141 - #3 Anthony Ashnault (R) dec. Topher Carton (IA), 8-4; 9-3 149 - #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) tech. fall Tyson Dippery (R), 21-6; 14-3 157 - Edwin Cooper, Jr. (IA) dec. #17 Richie Lewis (R), 6-4; 17-3 165 - #12 Anthony Perrotti (R) dec. Patrick Rhoads (IA), 8-7; 17-6 174 - #3 Alex Meyer (IA) dec. Phil Bakuckas (R), 8-3; 20-6 184 - #8 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. Nichalas Gravina (R), 11-5; 23-6 197 - #4 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. Hayden Hrymack (R), 6-1; 26-6 285 - Sam Stoll (IA) dec. #6 Billy Smith (R), 3-1 (OT); 29-6

This weekend marks the 22nd edition of the Walsh Ironman, an event that has been rated as the best regular season scholastic wrestling tournament in the nation by multiple outlets (including InterMat) over recent years. The field for this year's event reflects that distinction. Wrestling starts on Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET with competitors coming from approximately 90 schools, which have sent either full or partial squads to just southeast of Cleveland for the tournament. Wrestling on Friday will pare the field down to 16 wrestlers per weight class, with the quarterfinals as the first championship round to be wrestled on Saturday. The morning session on Saturday starts at 10 a.m. with the quarterfinals to be immediately followed by the semifinals, consolation matches will be wrestled concurrently, through the consolation semifinals and matches for seventh place. The finals matches for first, third, and fifth place will be wrestled on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Only four teams have ever won an Ironman championship. The host school, Walsh Jesuit, won the first edition; Blair Academy (N.J.) has won the event 12 times; St. Edward (Ohio) has won it five times, none since the 2006-07 season; with St. Paris Graham (Ohio) taking home three titles, including the one last year. This year's event features just three wrestlers seeking to win a second Walsh Ironman title actually on the brackets: Tyler Warner (Claymont), Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham), and Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham); two-time champion Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.), Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), and Kevin Vough (Elyria, Ohio) are all not competing in the event due to various injuries. In fact, for many of the 15 nationally ranked teams, missing key contributors is part of the narrative. The following is a summary of "impact wrestlers" not competing for Fab 50 teams. No. 1 Blair Academy -- No. 10 Requir van der Merwe (132) No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- Chris Weiler (170), a top 20 in the nation senior No. 7 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- No. 10 Jason Renteria (120), No. 1 Isaiah White (152), and state qualifier Allen Stallings (220) No. 17 Elyria, Ohio -- No. 3 Kevin Vough (285) and state placer Mikah Price (160) No. 22 Washington, Ill. -- two-time state champion Randy Meneweather (170) No. 24 Delta, Ohio -- three-time state placer Dustin Marteney (138/145) No. 28 Bakersfield, Calif. -- with only bringing four wrestlers, five other state qualifiers are staying home; that includes two-time participant Antonio Gutierrez (182), who was one match short of the podium at last year's state tournament No. 48 San Marino, Calif. -- state placer Zander Silva (126) With all of that being said, the team race remains wide open between Blair Academy, Wyoming Seminary, and No. 4 St. Paris Graham (the defending national champions); while No. 10 St. Edward and No. 11 Marmion Academy (Ill.) seek to make a charge from the outside rail. The stars will for sure shine with four national No. 1 ranked wrestlers slated to compete: Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) at 120, Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area, Pa.) at 145, Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) at 160, and Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) at 182. In addition, four more wrestlers ranked No. 2 in the country are in the field: Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa, Ohio) at 106, Drew Mattin (Delta, Ohio) at 113, Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) at 152, and Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 170. Nationally ranked teams and wrestlers slated to compete Teams: No. 1 Blair Academy, No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, No. 4 St. Paris Graham, No. 7 Oak Park River Forest, No. 10 St. Edward, No. 11 Marmion Academy, No. 17 Elyria, No. 18 Belle Vernon, No. 22 Washington, No. 24 Delta, No. 26 Malvern Prep, No. 28 Bakersfield, No. 40 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 47 Brecksville (Ohio), and No. 48 San Marino 106 (6 total): No. 2 Dylan D'Emilio (Genoa), No. 11 Joey Melendez (Montini Catholic), No. 12 Elijah Palacio (Calvary Chapel, Calif.), No. 14 Christian Nunez (St. John Bosco), No. 16 Peter Ogunsanya (Oak Park River Forest), and No. 17 Michael Colaiocco (Blair Academy) 113 (4): No. 2 Drew Mattin (Delta), No. 4 Real Woods (Montini Catholic), No. 12 Jordan Decatur (CVCA), and No. 17 Tommy Hoskins (Dayton Christian, Ohio) 120 (4): No. 1 Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy), No. 8 Tyler Warner (Claymont), No. 11 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth, Ohio), and No. 18 Zach Sherman (Blair Academy) 126 (4): No. 8 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit), No. 14 Mitch Moore (St. Paris Graham), No. 20 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville, Ohio), and No. 17 (at 120) Mario Guillen (Perrysburg, Ohio) 132 (5): No. 6 Dylan Duncan (Montini Catholic), No. 11 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional), No. 12 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield), No. 17 Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest), and No. 18 Trent Olson (Wyoming Seminary) 138 (6): No. 4 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham), No. 5 Hunter Ladnier (St. Edward), No. 6 Julian Flores (San Marino), No. 11 Ryan Deakin (Legacy, Colo.), No. 18 A.J. Jaffe (Marmion Academy), and No. 20 Grant Aronoff (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) 145 (5): No. 1 Jarod Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area), No. 3 David Carr (Massillon Perry, Ohio), No. 6 Zander Wick (San Marino, Calif.), No. 12 Rocky Jordan (St. Paris Graham), and No. 16 Josiah Rider (Grand Junction, Colo.) 152 (7): No. 2 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary), No. 5 Eric Hong (Kiski Prep, Pa.), No. 6 Luke Troy (Martin Luther King, Calif.), No. 7 Evan Wick (San Marino), No. 12 Trace Carello (Marmion Academy), No. 16 Georgio Poullas (Canfield), and No. 19 Max Wohlabaugh (Winter Springs, Fla.) 160 (5): No. 1 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham), No. 10 Wyatt Sheets (Stilwell, Okla.), No. 13 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 14 Riley DeMoss (Marmion Academy), and No. 19 Ryan Karoly (Blair Academy) 170 (4): No. 2 Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy), No. 7 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel), No. 9 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon Area), and No. 18 James Handwerk (Lutheran West, Ohio) 182 (5): No. 1 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary), No. 4 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy) No. 6 Jacob Warner (Washington), No. 12 Michael Beard (Malvern Prep), and No. 20 Chasen Blair (Rancho Bernardo, Calif.) 195 (7): No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria), No. 5 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy), No. 10 Jack Harris (Urbana, Ohio), No. 11 Christian Dietrich (Wyoming Seminary), No. 13 Wyatt Koelling (Davis, Utah), No. 17 Kevin Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), and No. 19 Tyler Frankrone (Trinity, Ky.) 220 (4): No. 3 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio), No. 10 Seth Janney (Malvern Prep), No. 13 Zane Black (The Phelps School, Pa.), and No. 17 Cohlton Schultz (Ponderosa, Colo.) 285 (2): No. 9 (at 220) Will Hilliard (Wyoming Seminary) and No. 15 Hunter Mullins (Orting, Wash.) In all, the field features 68 nationally ranked wrestlers. The most being the seven at 152 and 195, the least being just a pair at 285 (all other weights have four-plus). Weight class breakdowns Please note that every weight class will most likely have some sort of change between now and first whistle on Friday afternoon, whether it be due to a weight change or a scratch of a core wrestler. Given that premise, to sit here and dissect the seeds for potential key matchups and the like is silly. The analysis presented here is based on participants in the field and in weight classes through Wednesday evening. 106: The opening weight class is always one in which non-seeded wrestlers make a dent on the proceedings, as the structure for seeding is based on a points criteria for accomplishments such as state placement, Ironman placement, and Fargo freestyle placement. Fitting this description are freshman Shane Hanson-Ashworth (Malvern Prep), Beau Bayless (Reynolds, Pa.), Bryce Andonian (St. Edward), Josh Decatur (CVCA), and Coltan Yapoujian (Pomona, Colo.); as well as NHSCA Sophomore Nationals runner-up Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon). Among the non-ranked wrestlers, a couple to keep an eye on are freshman Jordan Crace (St. Paris Graham), Cadet freestyle All-American Gabriel Tagg (Brecksville), state champion Josh Venia (Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio), and Cadet Triple Crown winner Mosha Schwartz (Ponderosa, Colo.) The overall dynamic of this weight class is such that Dylan D'Emilio is a slight favorite over what is a wide open field between the nationally ranked wrestlers, and those just outside of the rankings. Top eight seeds at present (14 total): D'Emilio, Ogunsanya, Crace, Palacio, Colaiocco, Nunez, Lucas Byrd (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), and Tagg Predicted placers: D'Emilio, Nunez, Melendez, Palacio, Ogunsanya, Colaiocco, Crace, Schwartz 113: Even though this is not the opening weight, there's always talk about younger impact wrestlers. There are some here outside the seeds in freshmen Logan Heil (Brunswick, Ohio), Justin Pacheco (Pomona), and Colton Camacho (Franklin Regional). While these wrestlers may or may not place, they will pose a nuisance along the way. Speaking of high impact freshman, watch for Chris Cannon (Blair Academy), who is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2019 at present, to make a real presence. This is one of the softer weights overall in the tournament. Outside of the four weight class ranked wrestlers, keep an eye on Cannon as well as Roberto Campos (Oak Park River Forest), who has been stuck behind Renteria the last two seasons. General perception in this weight class would be that it is Mattin's to lose, as the highest ranked wrestler, a UWW Cadet and Junior National freestyle runner-up, and Ironman runner-up. However, the three other ranked wrestlers in this weight class could all knock off Mattin; on an Ohio note, Hoskins and Mattin are in the same division, so this match could provide a "hint" for one or the other to move up a weight class. Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Mattin, Hoskins, Woods, Tyler Lawley (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Jarrod Bronstrup (Brecksville), Decatur, Caleb Yates (Anthony Wayne, Ohio), and Alex Cruz (Orting) Predicted placers: Mattin, Woods, Decatur, Hoskins, Cannon, Campos, Camacho, and Lawley. 120: With just the four ranked wrestlers, and a few others on the fringe of a ranking, this is not one of the mega-weights of the Ironman this year. Most will view this weight as Mueller, and then the field; Muller being a three-time National Prep champion and two-time Fargo champion (2014 Junior, 2013 Cadet). Warner and Baughman, both of whom are past Super 32 Challenge runners-up, would seem to be next in line to contend; Warner is a 2013 Walsh Ironman champion and a three-time state champion, while Baughman is a 2014 state champion and a Junior freestyle All-American this summer. Sherman would seem to align more with the wrestlers outside of the rankings. Those include two-time National Prep champion Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.), NHSCA Junior runner-up Justin Stickley (St. Paris Graham), three-time state placer Seth Beard (Napoleon, Ohio), and No. 13 overall freshman Theorius Robinson (Pomona). Outside of the seeded group, the wrestler to watch is Malcom Robinson (St. John's College, D.C.), a National Prep placer and NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion. Top eight seeds at present (15 total): Mueller, Warner, Prata, Sherman, Baughman, Stickley, Beard, and Tony Decesare (Padua, Ohio) Predicted placers: Mueller, Warner, Baughman, Sherman, Prata, Beard, M. Robinson, and Stickley 126: The sophomore Moore burst onto the scene last year with his assault through Saturday at the Walsh Ironman, dominating Devin Brown and Jason Renteria in the semifinal and final, having upended Prata in the round of 16 on Friday. He is one of four nationally ranked wresters in this weight, all from Ohio, the highest of which is Mackall from the host school. Mackall is a three-time placer in the tournament, finishing fourth as a freshman before taking sixth and seventh the last two years; not only is he obviously seeking a first title at the Ironman, but Mackall has lost at the quarterfinal stage each of the last three years. These two wrestlers would be characterized as joint favorites. However, there is a solid challenge pack featuring the other two weight class ranked wrestlers in this field, along with multiple others. Those would include NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Devan Turner (Dixon, Calif.), state champion Allan Hart (St. Edward), Cadet National freestyle runner-up Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest), and Preseason Nationals champion Jimmy Pawleski (Montini Catholic). Outside the top eight seeds -- at present -- a name to watch is state champion Cole Matthews (Reynolds); while outside the overall seeds, two names to watch are state placer Jake Donahue (Massillon, Ohio) and 2014 state placer Zack Donathan (Mason, Ohio). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Mackall, Moore, Turner, Hart, Guillen, Madrigal, Wilson, and Pawleski Predicted placers: Mackall, Moore, Wilson, Turner, Guillen, Hart, Madrigal, and Pawleski 132: Overall this is a rather deep weight class with five nationally ranked wrestlers, and other very solid wrestlers just outside the rankings. Junior National freestyle All-Americans in Duncan and Demison, along with returning Walsh Ironman placer Solomon, stand a slight bit above the rest of the field. Nationally ranked wrestlers Townsell and Olson are part of a next tier of wrestlers that all outside the rankings: multi-time Fargo All-American Corey Shie (Cincinnati LaSalle, Ohio), nationally ranked sophomore Ryan Thomas (St. Paris Graham), and returning Ironman placer and state runner-up Jaden Mattox (Central Crossing, Ohio) being most notable. Five other multi-time state medalists are worth keeping an eye on as well: Jake Spiess (Delta), Lane Peters (Claymont), Hunter Bray (Franklin, Ohio), Keegan Duncan (Trinity), and Dylan Thurston (Washington). Also to note is returning state runner-up Anthony Cheloni (Marmion Academy). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Demison, D. Dunan, Mattox, Townsell, Spiess, Olson, Bray, and Shie Predicted placers: D. Duncan, Solomon, Demison, Mattox, Thomas, Shie, Olson, and Townsell 138: Four of the nation's top eleven wrestlers in this weight class are at present the top four seeds, and encompass the upper tier of this weight class. Moore, Flores, and Ladnier all placed in last year's edition of the Walsh Ironman, while it is a tournament debut for Deakin, who placed at the Super32 Challenge last month and is a multi-time Fargo All-American. The other two ranked wrestlers in this weight class, Jaffe and Aronoff, headline a solid second tier of wrestlers that will fight for placement positions. That group includes returning Ironman placer Ryan Ford (Covington, Ohio), as well as returning state placers J.J. Figueroa (Bakersfield) and Jamie Hernandez (Oak Park River Forest) among the top eight seeds. Lower seeds in this challenge group include two-time state placers Seth Hogue (Reynolds) and Moises Lewan (Perrysburg), Cadet freestyle All-American Will Lewan (Montini Catholic), and state champion Job Greenwood (Poudre, Colo.). Notable non-seeds include three-time National Prep placer Matt Lattanze (Malvern Prep), two-time National Prep placer Quinn Devaney (McDonogh, Md.), and state placer James Wimer (Central Crossing), who was one match short of placement at the Super 32 Challenge. Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Moore, Flores, Ladnier, Deakin, Ford, Figueroa, Jaffe, and Hernandez Predicted placers: Moore, Ladnier, Flores, Deakin, Jaffe, Aronoff, Greenwood, and Hernandez 145: One of the deeper weight classes overall nationally is also a rather deep weight class in this tournament, which is anchored by five nationally ranked wrestlers; this includes the top ranked wrestler in Verkleeren, along with the third and sixth ranked wrestlers in Carr and Zander Wick. Also among the nationally ranked wrestlers is returning Ironman runner-up Jordan. Outside the nationally ranked wrestlers, it is a large second tier that will battle for lower-half placement positions. Among the seeded wrestlers in this group is three-time National Prep runner-up Kevin Budock (Good Counsel), three-time state champion Ben Anderson (Pleasant Grove, Utah), state champion Adam Lewis (Tampa Jesuit, Fla.), two-time state placers Justin Demicco (Brecksville) and Greg Brusco (Delaware Hayes, Ohio), three-time state placer Josh Heil (Brunswick), and two-time National Prep placer Tyler Megonigal (James Madison, Va.). A couple of non-seeded wrestlers in this tier would be two-time National Prep placer Sam Martino (McDonogh) and Cadet double All-American Andrew Merola (Blair Academy). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Verkleeren, Wick, Carr, Jordan, Budock, Anderson, Lewis, and Heil Predicted placers: Verkleeren, Carr, Wick, Jordan, Rider, Budock, Demicco, and Heil 152: With five nationally ranked wrestlers, including four of the top seven, this weight could shape up to be the tournament's strongest overall. Leading the way here is three-time Walsh Ironman runner-up Manville, who somewhat ironically is the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the country. Evan Wick, Troy, and Hong join Manville in what is the first tier of this weight class. The other three nationally ranked wrestlers anchor a deep second tier. Outside the nationally ranked wrestlers, those to watch include three-time state placers Nick Vestal (Dayton Christian), Nick Monico (Saegertown, Pa.), and Jacoby Ward (Cincinnati Moeller); two-time state placer Jason Romero (Pomona); state champions John Manning (Blair Academy) and Julian Ramirez (Tampa Jesuit); along with state third place finisher Jack Conway (St. Edward). One non-seed to watch would be Flo Nationals placer Dakotah Goff (Steubenville). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Manville, Wick, Troy, Hong, Carello, Vestal, Monico, and Conway Predicted placers: Manville, Troy, Hong, Wick, Carello, Poullas, Wohlabaugh, and Ward 160: Like Manville, Marinelli is seeking a fourth straight finals appearance at the Ironman; however, Marinelli beat Manville last year in the final to win that elusive championship, and is the No. 1 ranked wrestler nationally in this weight class. The Iowa bound wrestler is a strong favorite to repeat as champion. The second tier in this weight class is the other four ranked wrestlers, which are led by top 100 seniors in Sheets and Justin Thomas. Kind of blending into this second group, and vying for mid-to-low placement are the following seeded wrestlers: two-time state placers Nick Kiussis (Brunswick), Austin Hiles (Brecksville), and Jesse Beverly (Delta); three-time state placer Hudson Heidorf (Trinity); and three-time National Prep placer Will Verallis (Wyoming Seminary). One wrestler to watch outside the seeded group is Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon), who missed the state tournament by one match last year. Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Marinelli, Sheets, Thomas, Beverly, Kiussis, Hiles, DeMoss, and Verallis. Predicted placers: Marinelli, Sheets, Thomas, DeMoss, Karoly, Kiussis, Hiles, and Verallis 170: The loss of Chris Weiler from the field in this weight class is going to be felt in terms of the overall quality here, as well as on Wyoming Seminary in the team standings. He was the clear favorite in this weight class that now features just four ranked wrestlers, tied for the least of any weight class other than 285 pounds. The tier of wrestlers behind those ranked is also not as robust as in some other weight classes in the Walsh Ironman. Two-time Ironman placer and this summer a Junior freestyle All-American, Dallavia is the favorite in this weight class. The other weight class ranked wrestlers are pretty even, top 100 seniors Thomas and Bell, as well as top 50 junior Handwerk. Seeded wrestlers to watch outside the weight class rankings include state runners-up Tyler Wiederholt (Bellbrook, Ohio), Robbie Bowers (Defiance, Ohio), and Brian Buser (Tampa Jesuit); state champion Koy Wilkinson (Pleasant Grove); along with state placers Garrett Jordan (St. Paris Graham) and Sam Loera (Bakersfield). A couple of unseeded sophomores to watch are Nate Jimenez (Marmion Academy) and Cody Mulligan (Saegertown); also to note is returning National Prep placer Cole Williams (Trinity Christian Academy). Top eight seeds at present (15 total): Dallavia, Handwerk, Thomas, Bell, Jordan, Wiederholt, Bowers, and Wilkinson Predicted placers: Dallavia, Thomas, Bell, Handwerk, Wiederholt, Jimenez, Jordan, and Wilkinson 182: Even with four of the nation's top 12 wrestlers in this weight class present, along with a fifth in the national rankings, this is an overall shallow weight in terms of depth and quantity (just 27 wrestlers registered). Leading the way here is the nation's top ranked wrestler Reenan, a Junior National double champion this summer. The pair of Illinois wrestlers, Traxler and Warner, have robust folkstyle and freestyle resumes; while the sophomore Beard wrestled Reenan to a 3-2 loss this past weekend. Outside of the nationally ranked five, the field here is not overly robust. Those to watch from the seeded group include two-time state placer Tre Campbell (Wauseon, Ohio), state placers Isaiah Page (Broken Arrow) and J.T. Brown (Elyria), National Prep placer Brian Hennessey (St. John's College), and state qualifier Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon). Outside the seeds, some names to eye are juniors Kaden Russell (St. Ignatius, Ohio) and Tyler Stepic (St. Edward), as well as sophomores Sam Wyche (Cincinnati Moeller) and Dominic Cooper (Canfield). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Reenan, Traxler, Warner, Beard, Campbell, Blair, Brown, and Page Predicted placers: Reenan, Traxler, Warner, Beard, Blair, Page, Brown, and Hennessey 195: Seven nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, and it also happens to be a weight class that is very strong nationally in terms of quality through the ranked group, so the battle for the title and through the mid-placement level should be fierce. The joint favorites here would be Darmstadt and Singletary, both of whom rank in the top five nationally, placing last year in the Ironman at 182 pounds. Joining Darmstadt as a Junior freestyle All-American are Koelling and Harris; joining Darmstadt as a placer at the Super 32 Challenge are Harris, Dietrich, and Snyder. The other nationally ranked wrestler is NHSCA Junior Nationals champion Frankrone. Outside the nationally ranked wrestlers, and among the seeds, the following wrestlers should be worth a follow for this tournament: Danny Salas (St. John Bosco), state placer and Cadet double All-American; National Prep placer Rashon Lusane (Malvern Prep); state placer Gary Traub (Sycamore, Ohio), who was undefeated prior to the state tournament last season; as well as state qualifiers Kanan Sarver (Graham), one match away from placement at the Super 32 Challenge, and Aaron Naples (Brunswick). A notable name among the non-seeds, especially in years to come, is freshman Jameel Coles (The Phelps School). Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Darmstadt, Harris, Koelling, Dietrich, Singletary, Frankrone, Snyder, and Salas Predicted placers: Darmstadt, Harris, Singletary, Dietrich, Koelling, Snyder, Frankrone, and Sarver 220: Four nationally ranked wrestlers are the clear anchors in this weight class, with the senior Stencel as the favorite; last year he was runner-up in the Ironman at 195, and since then has won a state title, been a Junior National double All-American, and earned runner-up honors at the Super 32 Challenge. The other three ranked wrestlers are underclassmen: state runner-up Janney, National Prep placer Janney, and freshman phenom Schultz. Outside the ranked wrestlers, other underclass seeded wrestlers to watch include: state champions Nick Mosco (Blair Academy) and Brady Daniel (Good Counsel), state runners-up Brandon Closson (Pleasant Grove) and Jared Campbell (St. Edward), along with state placers Jack Meyer (Moeller) and Cole Rickert (Reynolds). Along with the above underclassmen, these senior seeded wrestlers are in the hunt for an Ironman placement: state placers Jacob Esarco (Canfield) and Jerek Cropper (Manchester, Ohio) as well as two-time state placers Kordell Cheney (Sandusky Perkins, Ohio) and Devon Richard (Delta). An unseeded wrestler to watch, especially in future years, is freshman Johnny Shafer (St. Paris Graham) Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Stencel, Meyer, Black, Mosco, Daniel, Janney, Schultz, Cheney Predicted placers: Stencel, Janney, Black, Schultz, Daniel, Campbell, Mosco, and Esarco 285: The absence of defending champion Kevin Vough (Elyria), ranked No. 3 nationally, is going to be felt for Elyria in the team race as well as making this weight class rather open in terms of projected champion. Only two nationally ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class, including Hilliard, who is a bumped up 220-pound wrestler; Wyoming Seminary seeking to maximize team points. Notable contenders among those outside the national rankings include Ironman placers in Chance Veller (Delta), Trenton Lieurance (Broken Arrow), and Gene Ringer (Reynolds); Veller a state champion last season, the other two state medalists. In addition, it is two-time National Prep placer Neil Putnam (Blair Academy), Super 32 Challenge placer Mansur Abdul-Malik (St. Vincent Pallotti, Md.), state placer Jonathan Floyd (Springboro, Ohio), and state qualifier Kameron Teacher (Central Crossing); of note is that Teacher was undefeated headed into his DNP at the state tournament. Top eight seeds at present (14 total): Veller, Mullins, Putnam, Lieurance, Ringer, Hilliard, Abdul-Malik, and Floyd Predicted placers: Hilliard, Lieurance, Mullins, Abdul-Malik, Teacher, Veller, Putnam, and Floyd

The first weekend of December is gone, the second weekend is here, and with that brings more wrestling events to the landscape. National team rankings Before previewing the upcoming weekend, let's look at how the national rankings evolved this week. Dropping down three spots after a tighter than the rankings would suggest victory at the Gardner Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational is Southeast Polk, Iowa; the Rams move from No. 9 to No. 12 nationally Mt. Carmel, Ill., moves up six spots from No. 36 to No. 30 after a 38-22 dual meet victory over Montini Catholic, Ill; the Broncos drop six spots from No. 34 to No. 40 A runner-up finish to Southeast Polk at the Gardner Edgerton (Kansas) Invitational earns Platte County, Mo. a debut appearance into the rankings at No. 41 Kiski Area, Pa., makes their debut into the rankings at No. 43 after winning the Eastern Area Tournament. The Cavaliers out-pointed North Allegheny (Pa.), who dropped out of the rankings after being positioned at No. 44 last week. Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., makes a debut appearance in the rankings at No. 45 after a narrow runner-up finish to No. 35 Apple Valley, Minn., at the Winona (Minn.) Invitational. The Komets won six weight classes, while the tournament champion Eagles won seven; the Eagles moved up four spots in the rankings from No. 39 Colonial Forge, Va. drops down to No. 49 from No. 30 after a pair of ties last week. In dual meet action on Wednesday, the Eagles lost on criteria against Battlefield, Va. with the score tied at 32-32; while they shared the championship on Saturday at the Skyline (Va.) Elite Opener. It should be noted they were without state placer Jared Lough (152/160). Also making their rankings debut is Post Falls (Idaho), who comes in at No. 50 after winning a tournament in Sidney, Montana. The team returns four state finalists, including two state champions. Additional teams to move out of the rankings were Evansville Mater Dei (Ind.), Dakota (Ill.), and Stratford (Wis.) Walsh Ironman The major event this coming weekend is the Walsh Ironman in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. A comprehensive preview for that tournament will be posted on Thursday. However, it should be noted that six of the nation's top eleven teams are in the field, and either full or partial entries from nine other Fab 50 teams. Many of those squads will be short-handed for the event this weekend, but the field is still loaded with a capital L. King of the Mountain The next biggest tournament on the docket for this weekend is the King of the Mountain, which is hosted by Central Mountain, Pa. The field features a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. and No. 34 Boyertown, Pa. Additional notable teams in the 30-plus team field include include Council Rock South (Pa.), Greater Latrobe (Pa.), Nazareth (Pa.), North Allegheny (Pa.), and Parkersburg South (W.Va.) Sixteen nationally ranked wrestlers from eight weight class feature in the field, including four whom are ranked No. 2 nationally. Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe), ranked second at 132 pounds, anchors what is the tournament's feature weight class, as he is potentially joined by three other ranked wrestlers: No. 9 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth), No. 16 Zach Trampe (Council Rock South), and No. 19 Wade Cummings (Downington East, Pa.). Also present are two-time state placer Brett Kulp (Exeter Township, Pa.), 2014 state placer Joey Gould (Bethlehem Catholic), and returning state placer Lucas Miller (Boyertown). Also ranked second nationally is Jordan Wood (Boyertown), who competes at 220 pounds, a weight class in this tournament that features three other nationally ranked competitors. Those would be No. 15 Cole Nye (Bishop McDevitt, Pa.), No. 18 Jacob Robb (Armstrong, Pa.), and No. 20 Francis Duggan (North Allegheny). Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) is ranked No. 2 at 126 pounds, a weight class that in this tournament also features No. 9 Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe), along with another pair of returning state placers in John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt) and Derek Wilson (South-Western). Rounding out the No. 2 ranked wrestlers is Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford, Pa.) at 145 pounds. His weight classes features two other state placers, Stephen Maloney (Bethlehem Catholic) and Colin Edsell (Wyalusing, Pa.) The other weight class in this tournament to feature multiple ranked wrestlers is 152 pounds, with No. 4 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.) and No. 10 Jonathan Ross (Northern York, Pa.). Also in that field is state chamion Branden Lamey (Sanford Del.). Rounding out the ranked wrestlers are No. 9 Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township), No. 9 Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), and No. 20 Jacob Oliver (Huntingdon, Pa.) Additional state champions in this tournament field are Tyson Klump (Nazareth) at 113 pounds and Justin Allman (Parkersburg South, W.Va.) at 195. Despite no nationally ranked wrestlers projected to be present, the tournament's most robust weight class may be at 138 pounds, where there are seven returning and/or previous state placers in the field. That group is led (in terms of credentials) by a pair of two-time state runners-up in Cole Wetzel (Boiling Springs, Pa.) and Luke McDonogh (Sanford). Also present are 2013/2014 state placer Colin Glorioso (Huntingdon), 2014 state placer Riley Palmer (Council Rock South), Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny, Pa.), Brock Port (Bellefonte), and Matt Schmall (Northern Lehigh). Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic Another event this weekend that features a pair of nationally ranked teams is the Council Bluffs Wrestling Classic, which is being held at the Mid-American Center in Iowa. Anchoring the field are No. 27 Fort Dodge, Iowa and No. 35 Apple Valley, Minn. Other notable teams include three of the top five teams from last year's Nebraska big-school state tournament (Grand Island, Kearney, and Creighton Prep), state runners-up from the two biggest divisions in the Kansas state tournament (Olathe North and St. James Academy), three other teams ranked in the preseason top ten for their state classification in Iowa (Waukee, Glenwood, and Underwood), along with a team ranked in the top ten for their state classification in Minnesota (Totino-Grace). The field features a 34-team field and uses a pool-to-bracket format. The first day of the tournament involves pools of either four or five wrestlers, the top two of which will advance to an upper bracket on day two; it is a 16-man bracket in which losers in the first two rounds can compete for fifth. Seven nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the field, including a pair of grapplers at 170 pounds, No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and No. 19 Marcus Coleman (Ames, Iowa). It could become a showcase weight, as the field also may feature state champion Clay Lautt (St. James Academy, Kansas) and two-time Cadet double All-American Anthony Sherry (Glenwood, Iowa). Also among the ranked wrestlers is national No. 1 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) at 220 pounds. At 113 pounds, it is No. 19 Brody Teske (Fort Dodge, Iowa); also in his weight class could be state champion Jake Stogdill (Millard North, Neb.) and Super 32 placer Kyle Biscgolia (Waukee, Iowa). At 120 pounds, it is No. 13 Alex Thomsen (Underwood, Iowa); while also in his weight class could be two-time state runner-up Jakob Allison (Waukee, Iowa). At 152 pounds, it is No. 11 Colton Clingenpeel (Council Bluffs Jefferson, Iowa); while state placer Matt Malcolm (Glenwood, Iowa) could also be in the weight class. Lastly at 195 pounds, it is No. 12 Sam Cook (Fort Dodge, Iowa); while state placer Jared Florell (Totino-Grace, Minn.) could appear. Two other potential juicy weight classes are 106 and 126 pounds. At 106, it is Drew Bennett (Fort Dodge, Iowa), Cade Devos (Waukee, Iowa), and Jace Koelzer (Olathe South, Kansas); while the 126 pound weight class features four returning state runners-up, two of whom were state champions in 2014; the former state champions are Corbin Nirschl (Basehor-Linwood, Kansas) and Kaleb Poppelwell (Maysville, Mo.), and the others are two-time state placer Bryden Curry (Sgt. Bluff-Luton, Iowa) along with Triston Lara (Fort Dodge, Iowa). Jim Graves Invitational Nationally ranked Lake Highland Prep, Fla. (No. 16 overall) anchors a solid multi-state field of teams coming to Brandon, Fla. for the Jim Graves Invitational this Friday and Saturday. Other teams to watch include the host school, Camden County (Ga.), and South Dade (Fla.). Six nationally ranked wrestlers are present in the field, including a pair at 126 pounds in No. 5 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon) and No. 10 Joey Silva (Lake Highland Prep). Also in this weight class is a third state champion in Brevin Balmaceda (South Dade). Mason Wohltman (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 20 at 113 pounds, will be competing in a weight class that also features state champion Alex Victor (Braddock, Fla.) and state placer Abe Guariello (Fort LeBoeuf, Pa.). Jake Brindley (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 19 at 138 pounds is likely to be at 145 this weekend, with his drop down coming in the next tournament; his likely challengers include two-time state champion Ozzy Lugo (South Dade) and state champion John Hayden Hill (Vestavia Hills, Ala.). Also up a weight this weekend is Elijah Cleary (Lake Highland Prep), ranked No. 12 at 160 pounds, but expected to be at 170. Last among the ranked wrestlers is No. 14 Dante Jiovanetta (Coral Shores, Fla.), who competes at 285 pounds; that weight class is also expected to feature returning state runner-up Kyron Taylor (South Dade). Arguably the deepest weight of this event is going to be at 138 pounds, which features four notable wrestlers: 2014 state champion Frankie Bruno (Brandon), Super 32 placer and state runner-up Denton Spencer (Camden County), state champion Matthew Pugh (Vestavia Hills), and state placer Jarrette Carter (Fort LeBoeuf).

Most states have seen their first weekend of competition pass by, and we move onto the next week, one in which there are more major events across the country. The following are schedules of competition for Fab 50 teams from Dec. 9 through Dec. 15. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 4 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 5 Clovis, Calif. -- travel to Madera South, Calif. for the Chuckchansi Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- travel to Pocono Mountain West, Pa. for a dual meet tonight, travel to Central Mountain, Pa. for the King of the Mountain Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 7 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- host Proviso West, Ill. in a dual meet tonight, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 8 Buchanan, Calif. -- split squad between the Chuckchansi Tournament at Madera South, Calif. on Friday and Saturday, along with the Curt Mettler Invitational at Elk Grove, Calif. on Saturday No. 9 Carl Sandburg, Ill. -- host Lincoln-Way Central, Ill. tomorrow night in a dual meet; travel to Joliet West, Ill. for a dual meet on Friday; travel to the Wheeling (Ill.) Quad on Saturday No. 10 St. Edward, Ohio -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 11 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- host Dowling Catholic, Iowa and Marshalltown, Iowa in dual meets tomorrow night No. 13 Archer, Ga. -- travel to Kingsport, Tenn. For the Dobbins Bennett Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 14 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- host Montiecello, Minn. in a dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Prior Lake (Minn.) Duals on Saturday No. 15 Tuttle, Okla. -- host Piedmont, Okla. in a dual meet tomorrow, travel to Perry, Okla. for a dual meet on Tuesday 12/15 No. 16 Lake Highland Prep, Fla. -- travel to Brandon, Fla. for the Graves Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 17 Elyria, Ohio -- travel to Milan Edison, Ohio for a double dual tonight, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 18 Belle Vernon, Pa. -- travel to Connellsville, Pa. for a dual meet tonight, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 19 Neosho, Mo. -- travel to Jefferson City for the Missouri Duals on Friday and Saturday No. 20 Lowell, Mich. -- compete in the Allegan (Mich.) Southwest Classic on Saturday No. 21 Poway, Calif. -- travel to the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday No. 22 Washington, Ill. -- compete in tri-meet at Canton, Ill. with Limestone, Ill.; travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 23 Allen, Texas -- compete in the Barstow (Okla.) Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 24 Delta, Ohio -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Warren Central, Ill. -- travel to Greenfield Central, Ind. for a dual meet tonight No. 26 Malvern Prep, Pa. -- host St. Joseph's Prep, Pa. in a dual meet tonight, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 27 Fort Dodge, Iowa -- travel to Ankeny, Iowa for a double dual tomorrow; compete in the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 28 Bakersfield, Calif. -- split of varsity squad for the Clovis West (Calif.) Shootout on Saturday, and a trip to the Walsh Jesuit Ironman in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on Friday and Saturday No. 29 Monroe Woodbury, N.Y. -- host Valley Central, N.Y. in a dual meet tonight, travel to North Rockland, N.Y. for the Jerry McGuire duals on Saturday, and compete in the Section IX duals on 12/15 and 12/16 No. 30 Mt. Carmel, Ill. -- host St. Rita, Ill. in a dual meet on Friday, compete in the Downers Grove North (Ill.) Invitational on Saturday No. 32 Dundee, Mich. -- travel to Oxford, Mich. for a dual meet tonight, compete in tournament at Howell, Mich. on Saturday No. 34 Boyertown, Pa. -- travel to Central Mountain, Pa. for the King of the Mountain Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 35 Apple Valley, Minn. -- host Eastview, Minn. in a dual meet tomorrow, compete in the Council Bluffs (Iowa) Classic on Friday and Saturday No. 36 Sand Springs, Okla. -- host Owosso, Okla. in a dual meet tomorrow, travel to the Perry (Okla.) Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 37 Mesa Mountain View, Ariz. -- compete in tri-meet at Hamilton, Ariz. tonight No. 38 Hartland, Mich. -- travel to Rochester, Mich. for a tri-meet tonight, host tournament on Saturday No. 39 Olentangy Liberty, Ohio -- host the Liberty Classic on Saturday No. 40 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Platte County, Mo. -- travel to Polo, Mo. for a tournament on Saturday No. 42 Crook County, Ore. -- travel to North Bend, Ore. for the Coast Classic Tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Kiski Area, Pa. -- travel to North Hills, Pa. for multi-team dual meet event on Saturday, travel to Gateway, Pa. for dual meet on Tuesday (12/15) No. 45 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. -- host Triton, Minn. for a dual meet on Friday, host K-M Invitational on Saturday No. 46 Father Ryan, Tenn. -- travel to Cleveland, Tenn. for a dual meet on Friday, compete in the Cleveland (Tenn.) Duals on Saturday No. 47 Brecksville, Ohio -- travel to North Royalton, Ohio for double dual tomorrow, travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 48 San Marino, Calif. -- travel to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for the Walsh Jesuit Ironman on Friday and Saturday No. 49 Colonial Forge, Va. -- travel to Hermitage, Va. for the Richmond Invitational on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Post Falls, Idaho -- host Lakeland, Idaho for dual meet tomorrow, travel to Hermiston (Ore.) Duals on Saturday

Four-year-old Hines Rotriga has some strong allies in his corner as he battles cancer ... including the Wheeling Jesuit wrestling team and their fans. The WJU Cardinals lent their support for the Wheeling, W.Va. youngster first diagnosed with stage four Neuroblastoma in 2013 by raising funds for the Hope for Hines charity at their dual meet vs. Ohio Valley University early Sunday afternoon ... then, later that day, at the university's annual Christmas Concert. In addition, all money collected in admissions to the dual -- as well as profits from the concession stand, and sales from donated t-shirts -- will be shared with the charity for Hines Rotriga as well. Fans attending the first home dual of the season undoubtedly left the gym with a warm feeling, seeing their Cardinals shut out Ohio Valley, 44-0 ... and knowing their attendance helped a family in need. "Our team believes in the university's mission to be men in service to others, and we make that a part of our culture," said WJU head wrestling coach Sean Doyle, who has been at the helm since the school launched its NCAA Division II mat program in 2013. "We thought our home opener was a perfect time to undertake a service project that would make an impact in our community. Supporting Hope for Hines is a way to help a local family during the Christmas season." "One of the things within our Cardinal Culture which is kind of our mantra as a program is that we're going to be really involved with the community and always be willing to go out and give back," Doyle told WTRF-TV . "It's just a part of our program where we like to give back and charity work is a big thing for us," said team captain Dominick Nania. "It's honestly great that we have the chance to do that when there's somebody in our area as well." "I encourage our guys to follow his story and maybe at some time second semester when he's home he can be an honorary captain and sit on the bench with the guys," said Doyle, a Wheeling area native who wrestled at Cornell University. Hines David Rotriga was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma the day after Christmas 2013. The son of Kevin and Debbie Rotriga of Wheeling was named for Hines Ward, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The youngster's cancer returned in August; according to the Hope for Hines Facebook page, Hines Rotriga is currently in New York City for treatment at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Wheeling Jesuit University announced it was adding an intercollegiate wrestling program just before Christmas 2012. The school is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic university located in the city of Wheeling in the West Virginia panhandle, between Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio. Founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Jesuits, the school now has approximately 1,300 undergraduate students.

Funeral services have been announced for Cullen Porter, Virginia high school wrestler who died during practice last week. Cullen PorterVisitation will take place Monday, Dec. 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Wright Funeral Home, 206 W 4th Ave, Franklin, VA 23851. The funeral will take place Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 11 a.m. at the funeral home, with Pastor Danny Dillon officiating. The family suggests that in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made in Cullen's name to the Ruth Camp Campbell Memorial Branch of the Blackwater Regional Library, 280 N. College Drive, Franklin, VA 23851. Porter died Thursday, Dec. 3. There are conflicting reports as to the circumstances surrounding his death. WAVY-TV reported Friday that the 17-year-old senior died during team physicals. However, according to the Tidewater News, Porter hit his head during wrestling practice, was transported to Southampton Memorial Hospital where he was soon pronounced dead, according to Capt. Tim Whitt of the Franklin Police Department. Franklin City Public Schools issued this statement: "The Franklin High School Family learned Thursday evening that one of the 12th grade students died at the local hospital. Our deepest sympathy goes out to the student's family. The student leaves behind a host of friends and classmates who will miss him dearly. As the Franklin High School family mourns the loss, the campus and Franklin City Public Schools are doing everything we can to provide comfort and assistance to the family and to our students and staff in this time of grief. Franklin City Public Schools has counselors available on the campus to address concerns from students and will provide continuing support for students and staff needing additional assistance." Cullen Joseph Porter, 17, a senior at Franklin High School, had been active in many school activities, according to his obituary. In addition to being a member of the Franklin wrestling team, Porter also participated in tennis, boys' soccer, and cross country, as well as the robotics team and drama club. Porter was a part-time employee at The Village at Woods Edge, working with the facility's elderly residents. He had joined the Navy this past summer, with plans to report for active duty this coming July after graduation. Porter is survived by his mother and stepfather, his father and his wife, a sister, a brother, two stepsisters, a stepbrother, and numerous other relatives.

ANDERSON, S.C. -- After 15 seasons at the helm of the Anderson University wrestling program, head coach Dock Kelly has stepped down to the become to the first-ever wrestling coach at Lourdes University in Sylvania, Ohio, announced by Director of Athletics Bill D'Andrea on Monday. “This has been an incredible 15 and a half year experience,” Kelly said. “We achieved every goal that we set out to accomplish. I am grateful to every student-athlete that I was blessed to coach along this journey. I am especially grateful to (former athletic director) Mr. Bobby Beville, who granted me the chance of a lifetime to launch my collegiate coaching career by hiring me. He not only hired me, but he provided me with the necessary resources to be successful that allowed me to compete annually for national championships. My time here at Anderson University has prepared me for the next challenge that awaits me in Ohio. I look forward to this next chapter in my coaching career.” Named the AU wrestling coach in June 2000, Kelly has led two Trojans to individual national titles, capped off by JJ Jackson's 2010 national title at 157 pounds. Before Jackson, Careef Roberson won a national title at 174 pounds in 2005 to bring home AU's first NCAA National Championship in any sport. Most recently, Kelly saw former standout Sean Turner place second at 157 pounds at the 2015 NCAA Championships, as Turner became the fourth All-American in program history. In addition to the All-Americans, Kelly guided 17 Trojans to the NCAA Championships, including current senior Zak Hale a season ago. Away from the mat, Kelly placed 12 wrestlers on the Division II Wrestling Coaches Academic All-America list during his tenure, as Turner and Daniel Telhada headlined the list a season ago. Both Turner and Telhada are currently on the coaching staff at Anderson. In 2009, Kelly's Anthony DiCarlo was the recipient of the NCAA, NCAA Division II and Conference Carolinas Sportsmanship Award. During his time at AU, Kelly has been active with the local school districts giving motivational speeches to students across the Upstate. Most recently, Kelly spent time at Pendleton Elementary where Kelly spoke on preventing bullying in schools. Also during the offseason, Kelly and his team volunteer at the third annual Father and Son Day at the Anderson Recreation Center. Kelly also spent some time as an adjunct professor within the Kinesiology program. Prior to coming to Electric City, Kelly was the Assistant Coach at his alma mater, UNC Greensboro, from 1996 to 2000. At UNCG, Kelly sent 15 Spartans to the NCAA Division I Championships and claimed a Southern Conference title in 1998. Kelly is a member of the Chowan College Hall of Fame (2008), UNCG Hall of Fame (2006), Pinecrest High School Hall of Fame (1999), NCAA Hall of Champions (2000) and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (1997). As a collegiate wrestler, Kelly earned a spot in the Division I National Championships in 1996. Currently, Kelly is a member of the National Wrestling Coaches Association and served at the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in 2008. “Dock has been a staple and leader in this athletic department,” D'Andrea said. “I am extremely grateful for Dock and his contributions and commitment to the Anderson wrestling program. He will be missed on campus and I wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors.” With Kelly's departure, D'Andrea has promoted Assistant Coach JJ Jackson as the team's head coach for the remainder of the season. Jackson joined Kelly's coaching in December of 2010. “Coach Jackson is the perfect person to lead the Anderson University wrestling program,” Kelly said. “He is not only an accomplished wrestler, but he has developed into one of the best up-and-coming coaches in collegiate wrestling.” Lourdes announced the addition of the wrestling program on Oct. 19, 2015 and will begin its first season next November. With the addition of wrestling, Lourdes, a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), will boast 21 varsity sports.