InterMat Staff

While the 2015 edition of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals kick off from Fargo, N.D. today with the Cadet women's freestyle competition, competition for the males kicks off tomorrow with the opening day of Cadet Greco-Roman. Sessions at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. CT on Sunday will whittle the field down to the semifinals of the championship bracket. That semifinal round takes place during a Monday session starting at 9 a.m. -- with the medal matches slated for 2 p.m. The Cadet level of competition this year features wrestlers born in either 1999 or 2000. As always, it will prove to be an excellent proving ground for some of the already established young stars of scholastic wrestling, and a platform for emerging and unknown athletes to become more known to the wrestling community. The following is a weight-by-weight analysis of the Cadet Greco-Roman field based on entrants registered as of Friday evening. 88: Incoming freshman Mosha Schwartz (Colorado) won the first leg of the Cadet Triple Crown when he took home the folkstyle title in this weight class this past April in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Coming off of a double All-American finish at the UWW Cadet Nationals at 42 kilos in late May, Schwartz enters this event as favorite to take home leg two of the Triple Crown. Others to watch here include Lucas Byrd (Ohio), Logan Ashton (Georgia), Ernest del Rio (Arizona), Christian Goin (Illinois), and Daniel Kimball (Iowa); Byrd and Ashton were double champions at Cadet regional tournaments, while Byrd went undefeated across both styles at the Cadet Duals last month. 94: Steele Dias (Nevada) seeks the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown in this weight class after winning the Cadet folkstyle title in April. Dias was a double All-American at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron at 42 kilos. However, the likely favorite in this weight class is Cody Phippen (Kansas), an All-American in Greco-Roman last summer in Fargo and runner-up in Cadet folkstyle at 100 pounds this spring. Others to watch include UWW Cadet Greco-Roman champion Eric Barnett (Wisconsin), runner-up Cevion Severado (Missouri), Connor Kievman (Pennsylvania), and Conrad Braswell (Iowa). 100: Returning Cadet National double All-American Peter Ogunsanya (Illinois), who placed third in both styles last year at 94 pounds, enters this weight class as the pre-tournament favorite. Others to watch include state placer Gable Fox (Iowa), Patrick McKee (Minnesota), Joey Melendez (Illinois), and Benji Peak (Wisconsin); McKee and Melendez were both double All-Americans last year in Fargo, with McKee placing second in Greco-Roman at 88 pounds. 106: Things seem rather open in this weight class, though a primary contender is going to be Charles Faber (Illinois); he was undefeated at the Cadet Duals in Greco-Roman and had just one loss in the freestyle competition at this weight class. Others to watch include a pair of Missouri state champions in Malik Johnson and Clayton Singh; state champions Antonio Saldate (Nevada), Bjorn Schroder (Montana), and Dallas Wilson (Kansas); state runner-up Riley Gurr (Washington); returning double All-American Izzak Olejnik (California); and Curtis Lemair (Minnesota). 113: The favorite in this weight class is Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona), who last year was a Cadet double champion at 100 pounds, and is currently ranked No. 17 overall in the Class of 2018. Seven state champions are among the other contenders in this weight -- Brock Bergelin (Wisconsin), who also was runner-up at 50 kilos at the UWW Cadet Nationals in Greco-Roman; Michael Millage (Iowa); Peyton Robb (Minnesota), runner-up in Cadet folkstyle; Brian Stuart (Maryland); Jet Taylor (Oklahoma); Logan Treaster (Kansas); and Trent Baun (Washington), a returning All-American in Cadet Greco-Roman. Others to watch include two-time UWW Cadet All-American P.J. Gohn (New Jersey) and Preseason Nationals champion Chase Zollmann (California). 120: The most talented wrestler in this weight class is two-time state runner-up Jason Renteria (Illinois), who is ranked No. 21 in the Class of 2017 and seeking the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown in this event after winning the folkstyle title in April. Three other grade level ranked wrestlers are present in this field -- Nick Raimo (New Jersey), who is ranked No. 3 in the Class of 2019, along with a pair of nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers in No. 45 Alex Thomsen (Iowa) and No. 48 Jarrett Trombley (Michigan). Two other contenders are state placers and returning All-Americans in Cadet Greco-Roman, Parker Huss (Minnesota) and Brandon Lucas (Ohio). Others to note include state runner-up Tyler Eischens (Minnesota), state champion and UWW Cadet runner-up Alston Nutter (Wisconsin), state champion Clay Quintanilla (Washington), and two-time state placer Cameron Valdvidez (Missouri). 126: Leading the way in what looks to be an open weight class are state champion Kyran Hagan (Missouri) and New England third place finisher Timmy Kane (Conncticut). Others to watch include two-time state champion Danny Bertoni (Maryland), UWW Cadet All-American Taylor Brown (Missouri), former state champion Hunter Dusold (New York), Cadet folkstyle runner-up Lawrence Saenz (California), along with state placers Keaton Geerts (Iowa) and Zach Villarreal (Illinois). 132: Two nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers stand at the head of this field, No. 19 Brock Hardy (Utah) and No. 21 Alex Lloyd (Minnesota). Hardy was a state champ this past year and placed third in Cadet folkstyle, while Lloyd is a returning Cadet double All-American and was runner-up in Junior folkstyle this spring. Others to watch here include state champion Brevin Balmeceda (Florida), two-time state champion Sam Eckhart (Idaho) and Dakota Galt (South Dakota), two-time state runner-up Alec Hagan (Missouri), and state runner-up Cal Hansen (Wisconsin). 138: Two nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers lead the notables in this field, No. 22 Joe Lee (Indiana) and No. 39 Aaron Brooks (Maryland); Lee was a state runner-up this past season in high school, while Brooks was a state champion. Others to watch here include Kansas state champions and Cadet folkstyle finalists in this weight class, Kameron and Kendall Frame, returning Cadet All-American Jose Acosta (Wisconsin), 2014 state champion Ryan Hansen (Utah), Andrew Merola (New Jersey), and state placer Tyler Shilson (Minnesota). 145: Leading the way in this weight class is two-time state champion Anthony Artalona (Florida), who earned All-American honors in both styles at the UWW Cadet Nationals; he is also ranked No. 44 in the Class of 2017, though he is actually in the Class of 2018. Primary challengers include Jaryn Curry (Oklahoma), ranked No. 29 in the Class of 2018; two-time state champion Eli King (Tennessee); state champion and returning Cadet All-American Braeden Redlin (Texas); state champion Hunter Richard (New York); and Preseason Nationals champion Emille Shannon (Illinois). Others to watch include returning All-American Aidan Monteverdi (New Jersey), along with state placers Sammy Cokeley (Kansas) and Logan McKoy (Maryland). 152: Jake Allar (Minnesota) won a Cadet National title last year in Greco-Roman at 132 pounds, and was the UWW Cadet champion in this weight class almost two months ago. He is favored in this weight class, as he seeks the second leg of the Cadet Triple Crown after winning the 145 pound weight class at the folkstyle nationals in early April. Others to watch include state placers Michael O'Malley (New Jersey) and Kenny O'Neil (Minnesota), 2014 state champion Max Wohlabaugh (Florida), and returning Cadet All-American Andrew Johnson (Kansas). 160: Three nationally ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers headline this weight class, No. 13 Travis Wittlake (Oregon), No. 25 Ryan Karoly (New Jersey), and No. 47 Anthony Sherry (Iowa). Wittlake, the favorite in this weight class, won the Cadet folkstyle title down at 152 pounds in early April and was a state champion this high school season; Karoly was a NHSCA Freshman Nationals champion after being closed out of the Blair Academy lineup; while Sherry was fourth at state after being a Cadet double All-American last summer, including runner-up in Greco-Roman. Others to watch include state champion Clay Lautt (Kansas) along with state placer Kyle Cochran (New Jersey). 170: A pair of elite wrestlers from Illinois leads the way in this weight class, Jacob Warner and Jack Jessen. Warner is ranked No. 25 overall in the Class of 2017, a state champion, and was fifth in both styles at Cadet Nationals last summer; while Jessen is No. 12 in the Class of 2018, a Cadet folkstyle champion, and placed third in both styles at Cadet Nationals last summer. Primary challengers include New England runner-up Anthony Falbo (Connecticut), returning Cadet All-Americans in Richard Gonzalez (California) and Dylan Servis (Kansas), along with Cadet folkstyle runner-up Jacob Gray (Indiana). Others to watch include state placers David Crawford (Ohio) and Mason Rutt (Minnesota). 182: Cadet folkstyle champion Andrew Davison (Indiana) seeks the second leg of the Triple Crown, and is the favorite in this weight class; he also placed fifth at state this past year, and was a UWW Cadet All-American in freestyle at 85 kilos. Others to watch include state placer and returning Cadet All-American Jared Florell (Minnesota), along with another trio of state placers in Riley Vanik (Illinois), Tage McNutt (Missouri), and Anthony Walters (Pennsylvania). 195: The top five finishers from Cadet folkstyle in this weight class all are in this Fargo Greco-Roman field at present. The weight class champion in folkstyle was Bryce Esmoil (Iowa), who placed seventh at state as a freshman; finishing second was Lucius Rinehart (Wisconsin), state fifth as a sophomore; third went to Dylan Prince (Kansas), state third as a sophomore and a returning All-American in Cadet Greco-Roman. Others who could contend for the title in this weight class include Dan Baker (Oklahoma), who went undefeated in both styles at Cadet Duals and is ranked No. 46 in the Class of 2018; state champion Brady Daniel (Maryland), a Cadet freestyle All-American last year; and state placer Danny Salas (California). 220: Two absurdly talented wrestlers for their grade level anchor this weight class, Gable Steveson (Minnesota) and Cohlton Schultz (Colorado). Steveson is the nation's top-ranked Class of 2018 wrestlers, and the prohibitive favorite in this weight class after winning the UWW Cadet freestyle title with a victory over the returning World silver medalist. The other star is Schultz, ranked second in the Class of 2019, and already placing third in the high school division of the Flo Nationals at this weight class. Others to watch include state placers Max Darrah (Missouri) and Kayne Hutchison (Kansas), along with Preseason Nationals champion Blake Zalapi (Illinois), a returning Cadet All-American. 285: Leading the way in this weight class is Cadet folkstyle champion Zach Muller (Illinois), who was also undefeated across both styles at the Cadet Duals last month. Others to watch include state champion Nicholas Boykin (Tennessee) and state placer Gavin Nye (California).

BUFFALO, NY -- University at Buffalo, The State University of New York wrestling head coach John Stutzman filled out his coaching staff for the 2015-16 season, announcing the addition of Craig "Boomer" Fechko as assistant coach on Friday afternoon. Fechko's main responsibilities will be working with the Bulls' lightweight grapplers. "I am extremely excited to add coach Fechko to the UB wrestling family," stated head coach John Stutzman. "As we continue to build our program, it began clear to me that his experiences and his ability to train with our lightweights is exactly what we needed. He is one of the hardest working coaches I have been around in the sport of Wrestling." Fechko joins Stutzman's staff after one season as head coach at Dakota Wesleyan. He guided the Tigers through an injury-filled 2014-15 season, which saw the team finish 1-15 (0-7 GPAC) in duals. The Tigers did qualify two senior wrestlers, Kyle Gerlach and Dusty Paulsen, for the NAIA National Championships in March. Before taking over at Dakota Wesleyan, he served as an assistant wrestling coach for the Brunswick High School wrestling team and worked as a corrective learning center monitor at Willetts Middle School. Fechko served as a volunteer assistant coach at Bloomsburg University during the 2012-13 season under head coach John Stutzman. Prior to serving as volunteer assistant coach at Bloomsburg, the Broadview Heights, Ohio, native served as a graduate assistant wrestling coach at DWU from 2010-2012 under Matt Sedivy and played a key role in both recruiting and day-to-day operations with the program. He wrestled at Heidelberg, but earned NCAA Division II All-American honors at the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, prior to transferring to Heidelberg. While at Heidelberg he qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament. After graduating, he was the head wrestling coach at Quincy High School in Quincy, Calif., and the assistant coach for the Legends of Gold club team in Quincy. Fechko graduated in 2009 with a degree in business administration from Heidelberg University, an NCAA Division III school in Tiffin, Ohio. He then earned his master's degree in educational policy and administration from Dakota Wesleyan in 2012.

The Clash National High School Duals is excited to announce an exclusive webcast partnership with Trackwrestling's Trackcast to deliver The Clash XIV live webcast on January 1-2, 2016. The Clash is a premier national high school wrestling tournament held annually in Rochester, Minnesota. 32 of the best high school wrestling programs from around the country will gather at Rochester Community & Technical College January 1-2, 2016 for this unique two-day, dual-format wrestling tournament. "We are excited to be able to know how many people view this year's Clash and sell sponsorship for our webcast," said Lance Hughes, board member of The Clash. "Our previous provider did not offer the ability to do either. Tournament directors cannot grow their events and we as a wrestling community cannot grow our sport if we do not know how many people are watching our tournaments online. The first thing potential sponsors want to know is how many people are viewing your event. Because of the explosion in popularity of webcasting the sport of wrestling, the wrestling community now has the ability to sell sponsorship in a very creative way that was not possible a few years ago," added Hughes. Trackcast is a game-changing video streaming solution completely integrated into the Trackwrestling event management platform. It allows users to easily incorporate video overlays with current match and tournament information into their broadcasts creating a professional looking stream for the wrestling community. Justin Tritz, Owner of Trackwrestling, shares Hughes' enthusiasm. "We are honored to provide The Clash with the only streaming service on the market that empowers them to control their own content and return the revenue generated by their event back to them and the wrestling community. We give events the tools they need with our easy-to-use system while also providing a superior viewer experience." Because Trackcast gives events a streaming option that allows them to recognize the revenue generated by their viewership, event administrators are able to reinvest funds to strengthen the wrestling community. Last year The Clash of Minnesota, the Minnesota non-profit that produces The Clash, gave over $45,000 to wrestlers, college students, teams, and wrestling programs from Southeast Minnesota. In addition to streaming revenue, the partnership is giving the Clash the ability to create an additional revenue stream by partnering with event sponsors on the events webcast. Two new revenue streams are going to create a lot more funds that The Clash can give to Southeast Minnesota wrestling. When using Trackcast, events are able to reduce costs to viewers as well. Other web streaming services require memberships. This year the Clash will be able to offer streams to the wrestling community for only $10 for the entire weekend instead of the $20 that was charged last season. "We are excited about many new features we are adding to our system for the upcoming season," Justin explains. "We have challenged ourselves to produce a product that has an even better viewer experience while also reducing costs for viewers and tournament directors. During our first season with Trackcast we delivered streams for some incredible events including the Midlands, the Big Tens, Division I National Duals, the NCAA Championships, and many more. We are looking forward to another great season and the Clash is going to be a great addition to our lineup." "Our partnership will allow us to present The Clash in a way that no wrestling tournament has ever been presented," Hughes adds. "We are trying to do our part in the effort to move wrestling forward!" For more information about the Clash visit clashmn.com. For more information on Trackcast visit http://www.trackwrestling.com/AboutTrackcast.jsp. If you would like to use Trackcast for your next event, please contact Trackwrestling at trackwrestling.com/tickets.

This week last summer I wrote an entry about the failure of youth wrestling culture and the overabundance (and unrealistic expectations) of tournaments for wrestlers aged 5-14. In response I was sent a photo from John Smith on the floor of the FARGODOME with my surname written on a white piece of paper accompanied by a large circle and X through the letters. Everyone had a good laugh. This year I'll choose to be optimistic and wish the young scrappers a successful and healthy tournament. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are challenging, but fun and for many the dream of an Olympic gold medal starts on those mats. Compete hard, play fair and always be a good sport. Otherwise, kick ass and have fun. On a personal note, this past Wednesday I tricked my girlfriend into getting engaged. She's not familiar with the wrestling world, but has been a quick study and allows me to wear my Abdulrashid Sadulaev T-shirt on lunch dates with her friends. That's pretty cool, and sufficient enough a reason to lock her down for the rest of my life, but she's also intelligent, generous and kind. Anyway, we will be celebrating the union over vacation, which means I won't be filing a mailbag next week. However, I'll be certain to get an impressive tan whilst holding a fruity cocktail and post plenty of European themed photos to my Instagram. To your questions … The FARGODOME in Fargo, North Dakota serves as the venue for the Cadet & Junior National Championships every summer (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Q: When you were Division I assistant wrestling coach, how much stock did you put in Fargo when recruiting? It seems like for a lot of young wrestlers it defines their year. -- Mike C. Foley: Some, but no one tournament defined how we viewed an athlete. I was at Columbia University in Manhattan so there were a number of considerations to make including if they qualified for financial aid, how they performed in school and how their coach felt about their contribution to the team. Fargo is a big deal and success there is indicative of talent and/or hard work. Still, as a coach you wouldn't throw too many resources at an athlete based on one week of wrestling in the summer. State tournaments and national events (Ironman, Beast of the East) are more indicative of folkstyle success. Q: Other than the official World Wrestling Championships ticket exchange is there another place to look for tickets? Also, if you had to choose between attending Day 5 or Day 6, which would you choose? -- Jeff M. Foley: I'd choose the day with Jordan Burroughs. Pay to see greatness. You won't be telling your grandkids about how you saw a bronze medalist in Las Vegas, but you will tell them about how you saw one of the world's greatest wrestlers ever win a World title. The ticket exchange really is your best option, but I'd still cruise Stubhub to see what's available, and maybe even see if there are scalpers outside. Could be a thing. Q: Please bring up the FloWrestling bro culture attacking the high school kid who posted their video. They do the same thing yet call out a single high school kid. Are they worried at Flo that membership is down? Not living up to their funders? What gives? -- Peter W. Foley: Well … I don't want to get into a "thing" with Flo right now, but because you brought it up and I have something nice to say, I will capitulate to your demands. Flo has seen a big turnaround over the past few years in terms of production value and quality of coverage. Their social media operation is fully evolved and they tend to allow more people, not fewer, watch the sport that they love. Flo Radio Live is pretty entertaining, taking from a model of First Take and other morning shows that have ramped-up ratings on sports channels around cable. The incident you mentioned is actually really interesting to consider. A high school wrestler took an iPhone video of Flo's impressive trailer for Fargo. He then posted that video on his Twitter and thus sparked a debate about stealing content (The wrestler failed to air the end cap of "Flo" and wasn't promoting their service.) Flo employees barked at the student and claimed he was continually taking their content without permission. In a black and white world they are correct -- creative content (music, movies, books) shouldn't be taken for free. However, the issue is thornier with Flo because Flo started their business with little to no regard for ownership rights. That culture is what attracted many to the sport, since most of the time the tournaments they chose to cover would not have been seen otherwise. Flo began to rub organizations the wrong way when coverage was secured and they came through to film and post anyways. The developing tension with the wrestling community comes from Flo's ideological shift from scrappy startup to a multimillion million dollar company with 50-plus employees. The changes have included an increase in fees to users, and the aforementioned pushback when their content is ripped. The "bro" culture isn't as much to blame here as the culture of corporations looking to protect their assets. Flo (2015) acquires much of their content through purchasing access. That's good for wrestling. As for fighting back against illegal pirating? I'm sure that they will start to realize there are some battles worth waging, and others that are better to ignore. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME The Stache goes big! OMG -- Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Q: What happened to Chad Mendes against Conor McGregor at UFC 189? I realize he fought on two weeks' notice, but he was absolutely spent in the second round. Did he take a hit in the first round that affected him? Or was it just the short training camp that hurt him? -- Mike C. Foley: Man, I should NOT make prognostications. There is an article on Fightland (mind you a publication funded by the UFC) that makes the argument for McGregor's opening round of body shots contributing to Mendes' lack of gas. I'd tentatively agree, though I think a 10-day "camp" was much more responsible for his lack of gas. The reason everyone thought Mendes was in shape was that he was in shape, but "shape" is more indicative of how many abs he can flare and less about his ability to stand in a cage and pummel another human for 25 minutes. And still, he kinda-probably-almost definitely should have won the fight! Conor McGregor is absolutely atrocious on the mat. Terrible is not a strong enough word to describe the utter incompetence he showed on the mat. The UFC knows they have a PPV homerun with McGregor and will juice up any fight he takes with Aldo. I'd expect north of 800k PPV buys. But also be warned that whoever does win that fight will likely meet Frankie Edgar shortly thereafter. If McGregor is that winner he'll be put away fast by someone who is a both a better pure boxer and jiu-jitsu fighter than McGregor. Also, a guy known to never give up. Q: This marks the third year in a row that a wrestler has received an ESPY nomination for Male College Athlete of the Year (Kyle Dake '13, David Taylor '14, Logan Stieber '15). What are the chances that Logan Stieber wins this year? -- Shohei T. Foley: Unfortunately Stieber lost to Marcus Mariotta, which is a completely legit place to go with that award. Wrestling is all type of awesome, but give credit where it's due. I heard about this guy all season and 1) I don't know much about football and 2) he plays football in Oregon, which is a 6.5 hour flight from NYC. Congratulations to Logan Stieber on being nominated. Quite the honor. Q: Obe Blanc just returned from a two-year suspension for testing positive for a prohibited substance. Do you see him as a frontrunner to make the U.S. Olympic Team in 2016 at 57 kilos? -- Mike C. Foley: No. The 57-kilo weight class is Tony Ramos' spot for as long as he wants to wrestle. He's becoming world class and I believe that on his current trajectory he could be a threat to medal in Rio. Blanc's time off will affect almost everything about his career, though I do hope that he finds success on the mats and as a coach. I've heard great things about the latter.

TORONTO, Canada -- Gold-medal celebrations never get old. Whitney Conder celebrates after winning the gold medal (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Just ask American Whitney Conder. A smiling Conder ran around the mat with a U.S. flag raised over her head after she captured a Pan American Games gold medal Thursday night at the Hershey Centre. Conder downed a tough opponent in Mexico's Alma Valencia 3-2 in the women's freestyle finals at 53 kilos/116.5 pounds. "It felt so amazing to run around with that flag and be able to support the U.S. and I know that I won a gold medal," Conder said. "Winning this is definitely a springboard for me going into Worlds." Conder scored a first-period takedown and added a second-period passivity point to build a 3-0 lead. Valencia scored a double-leg takedown with 10 seconds left, but was unable to turn Conder and time ran out. Valencia placed seventh at the 2014 World Championships. This was their first meeting. Read complete story ... Team USA Results (Thursday) Greco-Roman 98 kilos: Caylor Williams, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) LOSS Luilys Perez (Venezuela), 11-4 130 kilos: Robby Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC) -- BRONZE WIN Edgardo Lopez (Puerto Rico), 0:40 LOSS Mijain Lopez (Cuba), WIN Moises Perez (Venezuela), injury default U.S. women's freestyle 48 kilos: Alyssa Lampe, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids) -- BRONZE LOSS Genevieve Morrison (Canada), 12-8 WIN Yusneylis Guzman (Cuba), tech fall 12-2 53 kilos: Whitney Conder, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) -- GOLD WIN Yamilka Alvarez (Cuba), fall 3:22 WIN Alma Valencia (Mexico), 3-2

Chris Diaz (Archer, Ga.) verbally committed to North Carolina State on Thursday morning. The three-time state finalist won his first state title this past year at 132 pounds after placing second at 132 and 126 as a freshman and sophomore at the state tournament. Diaz will join high school teammates, as well as fellow top 100 recruits, Thomas and Daniel Bullard in the 2016 recruiting class for the Wolfpack. This spring, Diaz finished runner-up in the 132-pound weight class at the NHSCA Junior Nationals. He is presently ranked the No. 99 overall prospect in the rising senior class. Also joining the three Archer stars as verbal commits to N.C. State are No. 20 Hayden Hidlay (Miffin County, Pa.) and No. 92 Kellen Devlin (Amherst, N.Y.)

A pair of very talented California natives will be competing for different collegiate programs in the 2015-16 season. Nick Fiegener, a Division I NCAA tournament qualifier this past year at 184 pounds for Cal Poly, has transferred to Cal Baptist. The 2014 California high school state champion moves to the NCAA Division II Lancers, where he projects to compete at either 184 or 197 pounds. Ali Naser, a two-time high school state tournament placer in 2011 and 2013, will be matriculating at Arizona State. He was a California state community college champion during the fall of 2013 at Fresno City College in the 141 pound weight class. Most recently, he placed fifth in the 61 kilogram weight class at the UWW University freestyle nationals. That came three weekends after a DNP at the U.S. Senior Open in that same weight class, despite an early tournament upset victory over 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott.

Stevan Micic defeated Daton Fix to make the Junior World Team (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)EVANSTON, Ill. -- Redshirt freshman Stevan Micic has withdrawn from Northwestern University and intends to transfer, head wrestling coach Drew Pariano announced today. "It was a privilege to have the opportunity to coach Stevan and witness his growth as both a student and athlete over the last year," said Pariano. "He's a gifted wrestler and has a bright future. We support his decision and wish him nothing but the best going forward personally, academically and athletically." The 125-pounder posted a 19-3 record while wrestling unattached during the 2014-15 campaign.

Four former wrestlers -- Frank Mir, Kevin Lee, Tony Ferguson and Sam Sicilia -- came out winners, while a trio of other matmen -- including three-time Pac-10 mat champ Scott Jorgensen -- lost on decision at the UFC Fight Night "Mir vs. Duffee" event at Valley View Casino Center in San Diego on Wednesday night. Mir, a 1998 Nevada high school state wrestling champ, knocked Todd Duffee unconscious at 1:11 of the first round of their heavyweight headline bout. Frank Mir"A comically wide right hook from Duffee gave Mir all the opening he needed," is how Tristan Critchfield described the fight for Sherdog.com. "The Las Vegas resident easily avoided the offering and caught his foe flush on the chin with a counter left hook. Duffee was rendered unconscious upon impact and tumbled face first to the mat, giving Mir his 13th finish in UFC competition." "I went out there and beat a young stud at what he does best, which is throw leather -- throw explosive, throw hard," said the 36-year-old Mir, a former Ultimate Fighting Championships titlist, referring to his 29-year-old opponent Duffee. "I fought a little emotional. I usually don't do that. I try to be crafty. But I bit down on my mouthpiece, and I was just swinging for the fences." It was Mir's second consecutive knockout, elevating his overall MMA record to 18-9, and 16-9 in UFC competition, while Duffee falls to 9-3, and 3-2 in UFC. Lee, who wrestled at Grand View State University in Michigan, won his fourth straight fight with a first-round submission of James Moontasi in their lightweight match. "The Motown Phenom" applied a rear-naked choke to get Moontasi to tap out at 2:57 of the opening round. "Once I get that squeeze on it it's all over," the 22-year-old Lee said, who is now 11-1 in his MMA career, and 4-1 in UFC. Moontasi falls to 8-3 overall, and 1-2 in UFC. In a lightweight battle, Tony Ferguson -- who was a National Collegiate Wrestling Association national champ at 165 pounds while a student at Grand Valley State in Michigan -- earned a unanimous decision over Josh Thomson, who once wrestled at North Idaho Community College, 30-27, 30-27, 30-26. Ferguson is now 19-3 overall, while Thomson drops to 20-7, 1-2 in UFC. In a featherweight match-up featuring two former high school wrestlers, Sam Sicilia got a unanimous decision over Yaotzin Meza, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28. Sicilia -- who is now 15-5 overall in MMA, and 5-4 in UFC -- had wrestled at Mt. Spokane High School in Washington State (and is now an assistant coach there), while Meza -- 21-10 in MMA, 2-3 in UFC -- placed third at the Arizona state championships as a senior at Flagstaff High. Jorgensen, who won three conference crowns during his time as a Boise State wrestler from 2001-06, came out on the losing end of a unanimous decision in his bantamweight bout with Manvel Gamburyan, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27. "The Anvil" scored multiple takedowns on the former college mat champ, and landed heavy punches to win the match. With the win, Gamburyan is now 15-8 overall, and 6-6 in UFC; Jorgensen is now 15-11 in his MMA career, and 4-7 in UFC.

Remember wrestling outside in the yard as a kid? California Baptist University is hoping to revisit that memory by having its second "Take It Outside" dual meet, this time welcoming Cal State Bakersfield to wrestle on its front lawn, the "Press-Enterprise" reported Wednesday. Cal Baptist hosted Stanford in an inaugural outdoor dual meet Last Nov. 1, NCAA Division II Cal Baptist hosted its inaugural outdoor dual meet vs. Division I Stanford. Despite a threat of rain, a standing-room-only crowd filled the lawn. The official attendance of 2,620 fans set a record for an outdoor collegiate wrestling dual, according to the school's official wrestling website. The curiosity factor may have been a factor in generating those impressive attendance numbers, as outdoor collegiate wrestling is still a fairly rare event, pretty much limited to schools in California and Arizona, with accounts of al fresco duals at Arizona State going back to the mid 1960s. Last year's Cal Baptist "Take It Outside" event had the added elements of food trucks, and an appearance by Urijah Faber, mixed-martial arts star and former wrestler at the now-defunct UC-Davis program, who signed autographs and posed for photos for fans. Cal Baptist, located in Riverside, Calif. seeks to repeat that record level of interest Nov. 14, when the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners arrive on campus for "Take It Outside II". This time, Cal Baptist will be ready to welcome an even bigger crowd, by planning to set up bleachers to accommodate additional fans, and by offering free parking. The CBU-CSUB outdoor dual meet is scheduled to begin at noon Pacific. Cal Baptist won a program-best 13 dual matches last season, advancing two wrestlers to the NCAA Division II championships and producing its fourth NCAA All-American in Jacob Waste. Bakersfield was 7-5 and put two individual wrestlers in last season's Division I championships, and has nine top 10 finishes and nine individual champions in 28 seasons in Division I. "We are excited to put on another great event for our wrestling program," CBU athletic director Micah Parker said in a statement released by the school. "Last year was a tremendous success. We hope the wrestling community will continue to come support the only collegiate team in the Inland Empire."

Cael Sanderson, legendary college and Olympic wrestler who is now head coach at Penn State, is one of five individuals selected for induction into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in September, the Provo, Utah Herald reported Wednesday. Cael Sanderson with brother Cody Sanderson at the NCAAs (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Born in Provo on June 20, 1979, Cael Norman Sanderson was a four-time Utah state champ at Wasatch High School. He then headed to Iowa State, where he became only the second four-time NCAA Division I wrestling champ (1999-2002). As a Cyclone, Sanderson compiled a perfect 159-0 record over four years, a feat considered one of the greatest achievements in college sports history. He won a gold medal in men's freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Sanderson launched his coaching career at Iowa State, then became head wrestling coach at Penn State in 2009, leading the Nittany Lions to four consecutive NCAA wrestling titles from 2011-14. Sanderson joins fellow Class of 2015 honorees Kelly Downs, Ed Eyestone, Scott Mitchell, and the late Wayne Estes for induction in the Utah Sports Hall of Fame. The annual dinner and ceremony will be held Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Little America Hotel in Provo. Founded in 1970, the Utah Sports Hall of Fame recognizes and honors athletes, coaches, administrators and others who have had a great influence, who have merited recognition and distinction and who, by their exploits, accomplishments and activities in regard to sports events, have brought fame and honor to the state of Utah, according to the Hall's website. Honorees must be a Utah native or resident of the state for at least ten years (with some exceptions granted). Sanderson is only the second wrestler to be inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in the facility's 45-year history, joining Karl Schleckman, a heavyweight wrestler for the now-defunct mat program at University of Utah in the 1930s, who was welcomed into the Hall in 1997.

STANFORD, Calif. -- Olympic hopeful Ryan Mango '13, one of the greatest wrestlers in Stanford history, has joined the Army. Mango left Tuesday for basic training in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, after a collegiate career in which he was a two-time All-America and a two-time Pac-12 champion on some of the Cardinal's best teams. Nicknamed "Air Mango" for his spectacular throws, Mango will settle into full-time training in the Greco-Roman style as part of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program in Fort Carson, Colorado. The team includes some of the best in the country in Mango's 59-kilo (130-pound) weight class, including top-ranked Spenser Mango, a two-time Olympian and Ryan's older brother. Despite the cutthroat competition for national-team spots, family ties run deep. Deborah Mango raised three children after their father was fatally shot in a St. Louis drive-by when Ryan was a toddler. In 2016 and 2020, it seems doubtful there will be an Olympic Games without a Mango in it. Before leaving for basic training, Mango was interviewed by GoStanford.com. "I don't get down on myself if I have a poor tournament because I know there are bigger things in life. Perspective: wrestling for Stanford builds that." How did you come to this decision? Mango: For the past eight months, I was at the Minnesota Training Center (a Greco training club in Minneapolis). That was the first club I explored after I left Stanford, but it wasn't working out as a well as I hoped. I started talking to my brother and his coach, Shon Lewis. They suggested I should join the Army. The benefits in wrestling and for a future career make up for any time lost off the mat in basic training. He told me I should have done it coming out of Stanford. But I listened to him this time. After 10 weeks of basic training, there is advanced individual training for five weeks, where you learn skills for the job you perform for the Army, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After that, I'll be assigned to the wrestling company and that will be my responsibility for the Army. How long of a commitment is it? Mango: I signed a six-year contract. That's pretty much the duration of my wrestling career. I don't want to wrestle too much past 2020. The way my body's feeling now … I'm still young (23), but I want to do other things, use my degree and pursue a more professional career. I want to wrestle through 2020 and my contract's up in 2021. It was a good fit. I know most of the guys on the team, and they know me. What was the biggest draw? Mango: Seven of the top 10 guys in the country, including myself, are at my weight. So, for training partners, it's the best place around. Plus, it's next to the Olympic Training Center. We actually join practices with them sometimes and the national team coaches are right there. Also, I'm comfortable with Coach Lewis. He knows what it takes to get on the podium. Off the mat, if you're a post-collegiate wrestler in training, money's an issue. But the Army really takes care of its athletes. I'll have no problems financially supporting my training. Also, I'll gain a lot of experiences that I could put on my resume. Plus, I'll have a chance to continue my education for free. It's the total package - wrestling, career development, and also just being around my family. My brother, his wife, and his son are all there in Colorado Springs. Is this the first time you and Spenser will be teammates? Mango: Yes, he was getting out of high school when I was getting in and we went our separate ways. This is the first time we've been on the same team outside of a national team and really training day in and day out in the same environment. How do you feel about competing in the same weight class? Mango: It's not really feasible for either of us to move up. I'm the bigger of the two. Even for me to move up, it would be out of my range (to 66 kilos/145.5 lbs.). We will compete, but it really doesn't bother me and I don't think it bothers him. We've almost had to wrestle a couple of times. If it happens, it happens. It's not like I'm going to be mad if my brother beats me out for a spot, and I don't think he'd be mad if the reverse happened. It's actually a great opportunity because he's coming toward the end of his career - he's planning to retire in 2016 -- and I'll be able to watch him every day and learn. That's going to help me in the long run. If this Olympics doesn't happen, there's another one, and there are World Championships in off-years. It's not something that bothers me. It's just the nature of the sport. What do you admire most about Spenser? Mango: He's found a way to be consistent after all these years. He's been No. 1 since 2007 and never lost in the U.S. in his weight. He's made every World and Olympic team. The past two years he made it to the bronze-medal match at the World Championships only to lose by one point each time on referees' decisions. Even after that, he still comes back and finds ways to get better. It fuels him. If that happened to me, I don't know if I'd react as well as he does. How does the Greco-Roman style fit your strengths? Mango: The basic difference between folkstyle, or freestyle, and Greco-Roman is Greco's all upper body. You can't touch or attack their legs or anything below the waist. It's mostly throws. Those moves are harder to hit in freestyle because someone can hook your leg. For me, Greco fits me because ever since I was a kid, I loved to throw. I like hitting the big flashy moves. When I got to the end at Stanford, I knew that if I was going to keep wrestling, it was going to be Greco, because that was the style I liked the most. At this level of your career, you quickly find out whether you wrestle because you love it. You don't do it to please others anymore. If you love the sport, you're willing to accept some hard things that come along with wrestling full-time. What did you get most out of wrestling at Stanford? Mango: Stanford helped me see the bigger picture. Sure, wrestling was high on my list of importance, but there are people around you doing great things in so many different facets in life that it really opens your eyes. That's changed my approach to wrestling. I don't get down on myself if I have a poor tournament because I know there are bigger things in life. It helps keep things in perspective. At a lot of other places, guys see wrestling as the No. 1 thing and if they have a disappointing performance, it's over. They don't know what to do from there. Perspective: wrestling for Stanford builds that. You graduated with a human biology degree. How do you think you might use it? Mango: The Army has a two-year physician's assistant program, which they pay for. It's flexible enough where I can do it while wrestling and meet those requirements. That would be a good way to jumpstart my career after wrestling and get a secure job. After that, I actually might try my hand at corporate health. That's the rough plan. We'll see how it goes. Did your mother, a nurse, inspire a career in health care? Mango: I used to go to work with her and bug her, and she'd let me walk around the floor and sit in on some stuff. She saw that I was interested. It was a way for me to see all the opportunities out there, and not to settle for less, but to really try to be what I wanted to be. How did your mother raise a successful family by herself in the inner city? Mango: To this day, I still wonder how she did it. How did she hold it together after your father was killed? Mango: She used us as motivation. Instead of seeing it as a burden -- having me, my brother and my sister -- she saw it as a challenge and opportunity to be something greater, and to leave her stamp on us. She was able to push through and do that. I think that rubbed off on us, because we see life in the same light - you've got to do what you need to do to make it and provide for your family. Have you ever thanked her? Mango: A lot.

Spencer Myers, former heavyweight All-American wrestler at the University of Maryland who also played football for the Terps, has signed a professional football contract with the Los Angeles Kiss of the Arena Football League. Spencer Myers battles Michael Kroells of Minnesota"I took a big step in the right direction today towards my goal of playing in the NFL. I signed my first Professional football contract with an AFL team, the LA Kiss!" Myers wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday. "With the first game being the Las Vegas Outlaws this Saturday, the Arizona Rattlers next weekend July 26, followed by the Tampa Bay Storm on August 1st, and the San Jose Sabercats August 8th." "Myers is expected to play defensive line and offensive line for the Los Angeles-based AFL team," the Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday. "Represented by former Maryland football player Chad Wiestling, Myers is hoping to eventually play in the NFL." Myers went undrafted after working out for 30 NFL teams at the Terps' campus pro day workout this spring, where he bench-pressed 225 pounds 29 times. The 6-foot-3, 270-pounder performed offensive and defensive line drills this spring. Myers came to University of Maryland as a wrestler in 2010, and joined the school's football team in 2014. As a Terp heavyweight, Myers earned All-American honors at the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as a freshman, and was a three-time ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) championships finalist, winning back-to-back conference crowns in 2011 and 2012. He also won titles at the Wilkes and Franklin & Marshall Open tournaments. At Selinsgrove High School, Myers won the 215-pound title at the 2010 Pennsylvania state championships, and was named Pennsylvania High School Wrestler of the Year. He was also on the school's track-and-field and football squads, earning Pennsylvania Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2010.

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ivan Lopouchanski has been named The Citadel's assistant wrestling coach, head coach Rob Hjerling announced Thursday. Lopouchanski joins the Bulldogs' staff following a five-month tenure at Clarion University, where he served as the volunteer assistant coach. While working with the Golden Eagles, Lopouchanski was also a judo coach at Budokan Judo Club. Following his time at Clarion, Lopouchanski was named the assistant wrestling coach at Cardinal Gibbons High School. "I'm excited to bring Ivan on board," head coach Rob Hjerling said. "He brings a great combination of experience and youth to our staff. His background in the Southern Conference and the Big Ten will provide immeasurable contributions to the success of our program." Lopouchanski began his college career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he competed from 2008 to 2011 prior to the cancelation of their program. He claimed Southern Conference individual titles and bids to the NCAA National Championships in 2010 and 2011 and earned the UNCG record for most wins in a single season with 41. Lopouchanski then transferred to Purdue University, where he qualified for the NCAA National Championships in 2012 and 2013. He held an overall record of 122-32 and earned his spot as an All-American in 2013. Lopouchanski also earned Academic All-America status in 2013, becoming just the third grappler in Purdue history to earn both All-America honors in a single season. Following his graduation in 2013, he served as the graduate assistant coach for the Boilermakers prior to coaching at Clarion. A native of Hollywood, Florida, Lopouchanski claimed the high school state champion title in 2008.

WATERLOO, Iowa -- The most influential name in international wrestling will be recognized alongside several of the biggest names in U.S. Greco-Roman history during the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum will induct Dremiel Byers into the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions. Nenad Lalovic will receive the Alan Rice Leadership Award and the 2007 U.S. team that won the Greco-Roman World Championships will receive the Legacy Award. Lalovic is known worldwide as the man who successfully led the campaign to keep wrestling in the Olympics after the International Olympic Committee recommended its removal from the Games on Feb. 12, 2013. Lalovic took over as president of FILA (now United World Wrestling), the international governing body for the sport of wrestling, on Feb. 15, 2013. His leadership led to the reinstatement of wrestling during the IOC's meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Sept. 10, 2013. Lalovic was unanimously re-elected to a six-year term as UWW president on Sept. 7, 2014. “President Lalovic has done an incredible job of strengthening wrestling within the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Games,” said Lee Roy Smith, executive director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “We are excited to recognize his extraordinary leadership of United World Wrestling during the World Championships this September in Las Vegas.” A reception for all award winners will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, at the club level of the Orleans Arena after the first session (approximately 4:30 p.m.) of the second day of the Greco-Roman World Championships. This is the sixth induction class. Alan and Gloria Rice, namesakes of the hall of champions, have been instrumental to the success of Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. Alan Rice was a Big Ten champion and an All-American for the University of Minnesota. In 1956 he won double national titles in Greco-Roman and freestyle. He also placed fifth at the 1956 Olympics and was coach of the 1972 Greco-Roman Olympic team. He and his wife, Gloria, founded the Minnesota Wrestling Club. Minnesota enjoys the unique distinction of placing a wrestler on every World and Olympic team since 1964, a record unequaled in American wrestling history. The Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions is located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo. “I'm excited that we get to honor this year's induction class during the 2015 World Championship,” said Rice. “Greco-Roman wrestling continues to have an important place in our sport. I'm excited that we get to honor this group in such a significant way and during such a significant event. We want the United States to stay strong in this style of the sport.” Dremiel Byers is considered the most decorated American Greco-Roman wrestler. He is the only U.S. wrestler to win three medals at the Greco-Roman World Championships. He won a gold medal at the 2002 World Championships, a bronze medal at the 2007 World championships, and a silver medal at the 2009 World Championships, all in the super heavyweight division. Byers made eight World teams (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011) and two Olympics teams (2008 and 2012) during his career. The 2007 U.S. Greco-Roman wrestling team will receive the Legacy Award for its historic achievement of becoming the first U.S. team to win a team title at the Greco-Roman World Championships. The United States scored 32 points followed by Russia (31) and the Republic of Georgia (28). The win was clinched when Byers won his bronze medal match and Khassen Baroev of Russia lost in 264.5-pound finals to Cuba's Mijain Lopez Nunez. The 2007 Greco-Roman World Championships were held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from Sept. 17-19. The line-up for the 2007 team included Lindsey Durlacher (5th at 121 pounds), Joe Betterman (132 pounds), Justin Lester (3rd at 145.5 pounds), T.C. Danztler (163 pounds), Brad Vering (2nd at 185 pounds), Justin Ruiz (211.5 pounds), and Dremiel Byers (3rd at 264.5 pounds). Training partners included Willie Madison, Spenser Mango, Jake Fisher, Peter Hicks, Adam Wheeler, and Phil Johnston. Coaches for the team were Jay Antonelli, Rich Estrella, Steve Fraser, Momir Petkovic, Anatoly Petrosyan, Ivan Ivanov, and Shon Lewis. Rod Rodriguez was the medical representative and John Bardis was the team leader. Rich Bender served as executive director of USA Wrestling. Contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org for more information on the Alan & Gloria Rice Greco-Roman Hall of Champions.

Case Western Reserve University Director of Athletics Amy Backus has announced the hiring of Danny Song as the Head Coach of the Spartans' Wrestling team. "The wrestling program at CWRU has a long and storied history of success. I am thrilled to announce that Danny Song will be our next head coach of the Spartans," said Backus. "Danny's experience at the University of Iowa and the United States Naval Academy has provided him with the skills and knowledge to create an exciting and successful program for our young men. His mentors have been some of the best on the national wrestling scene and we are looking forward to building on our fine tradition here at Case Western Reserve University." Song, who becomes the fourth head coach of the CWRU program since the Federation of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University in 1967, comes to Cleveland following a two-year stint as an assistant coach with the United States Naval Academy. During his time on the staff, Song helped coach the Midshipmen to an 8-6 record, while also serving as team's recruiting co-coordinator, bringing in a unanimous top-15 NCAA Division I class in 2015. While at Navy, Song worked under current USA Wrestling Olympic Head Coach Bruce Burnett. Prior to his time at Navy, Song served as an assistant coach at Bloomsburg University for the 2012-13 season, helping the team to a 17-3 record and qualifying six wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, before assuming the role of interim head coach in the spring of 2013. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, the University of Iowa, working as the team's assistant coach and strength coordinator from 2009-12, aiding the squad to three top-three finishes at the NCAA Tournament, including the Team Championship in 2010. Song, a Hauppauge, New York native graduated from Iowa in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in psychology. "First, I would like thank Amy Backus and the athletic staff at Case Western Reserve University for believing in me. This is a great fit for me and my wife," said Song. "I also want to thank all those who have mentored me for the incredible ongoing education, preparing me to become the head wrestling coach at Case Western Reserve. I look forward to developing relationships with each of the individuals that make up the program and engaging them to build on the rich history of success of the wrestling team at Case Western Reserve University." CWRU's wrestling program has a long history of excellence both on the mat and in the classroom. Overall, Case Western Reserve has produced 19 All-Americans, four NCAA National Champions and 38 NWCA Scholar All-Americans. The program has also ranked in the top-10 in the nation for team grade point average five times with the No. 1 ranking in Division III in 2007.

TORONTO, Canada -- Team USA turned in a superb performance with two gold medals, one silver and a bronze as the Pan American Games wrestling competition kicked off at the Hershey Centre. Andy Bisek executes a throw on his way to a Pan American Games gold medal on Wednesday in Toronto, Canada (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Andy Bisek and Jon Anderson won gold medals, Bryce Saddoris a silver medal and Spenser Mango a bronze medal in Greco-Roman wrestling on Wednesday night. The U.S. compiled an impressive 10-2 record on one of the best days in American Greco in recent history. Bisek, a 2014 World bronze medalist, steamrolled to a 8-0 technical fall over Panama's Alvis Almendra in the gold-medal match at 75 kilos/165 pounds. Bisek hit a gut wrench, a four-point lift and another gut wrench to prevail. Bisek had beaten Almendra in the 2012 Pan American Championships in Colorado Springs. Read full story Team USA Results (Wednesday): 59 kilos: Spenser Mango, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) -- BRONZE WIN Ismael Borrero (Cuba), 3-3 LOSS Andres Montano (Ecuador), 9-1 WIN Jansel Ramirez (Dominican Republic), 6-3 66 kilos: Bryce Saddoris, Sneads Ferry, N.C. (U.S. Marines) -- SILVER WIN Mario Molina (Peru), 3-0 WIN Jefrin Mejia (Honduras), tech fall 8-0 LOSS Wuileixis Rivas (Venezuala), tech fall 13-1 75 kilos: Andy Bisek, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm) -- GOLD WIN Luis Avendano (Venezuela), tech fall 8-0 WIN Juan Escobar (Mexico), tech fall 9-0 WIN Alvis Almendra (Panama), 8-0 85 kilos: Jon Anderson, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army) -- GOLD WIN Oscar Martinez (Honduras), tech fall 8-0 WIN Alan Vera (Cuba), tech fall 8-0 WIN Querys Perez (Venezuela), tech fall 9-0

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- UNI added an NCAA qualifier to its roster today with the transfer of J.J. Everard. The South Dakota State heavyweight will compete as a Panther this winter. Everard pulled off an upset and avenged two losses at the Western Wrestling Conference Championships to earn an automatic bid for the NCAA national tournament. Everard opened WWC with a 3-2 overtime win against Utah Valley's Jordan Karst. Then he won back-to-back 5-3 decisions over Tanner Harms (Wyoming) and Evan Knutson (North Dakota State) – both of whom had previously defeated Everard last season. He finished the season 20-14 overall. The senior is from Etiwanda, California. He will be among a strong class of newcomers that earned a No. 4 national ranking from Intermat. UNI kicks off its home season against MAC opponent Missouri Nov. 28. The Panthers will travel to Albany, New York, for their first competition. The Journeymen Duals pits UNI against Oregon State, Rutgers and Hofstra Nov. 15.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Mike Evans, a three-time NCAA Division I All-American wrestler at the University of Iowa, has been hired as an assistant coach with the Cal Poly wrestling program. Iowa's Mike Evans battles Penn State's Matt Brown in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Evans joins fifth-year head coach Brendan Buckley and third-year assistant coach Scotti Sentes on the Mustang coaching staff. Brandon Hatchett remains on the staff as a volunteer coach. Evans, who placed second three times and third once in the Big 10 Conference Championship from 2012-15, compiled a 107-27 career mark with the Hawkeyes in addition to a 22-2 mark during his redshirt season (2010-11) while wrestling unattached. "I am very excited to welcome Mike Evans to the Cal Poly wrestling program," said Buckley. "Mike hails from the legendary University of Iowa Hawkeye program and understands the type of commitment required to compete for an NCAA title. "Mike was always an exciting wrestler to watch at the NCAAs and, as a three-time NCAA All-American, our team will have an accomplished wrestler to work closely with and learn from," Buckley added. "Mike impressed me on his interview and has the type of mindset that will benefit our entire program. We can't wait to begin working with him." Evans was sixth at the NCAAs as a sophomore, junior and senior and claimed a pair of titles at the Midlands Championships. He posted 16 pins, 15 technical falls and 24 major decisions in his four varsity seasons at Iowa and Evans was 58-11 in dual meets. At Blair Academy in New Jersey, Evans was 165-8, including a 52-0 mark as a senior, and claimed prep state and national titles at 189 pounds in his senior year. He is a three-time Pennsylvania freestyle and Greco-Roman state champion and also played football in high school. Blair, who earned his bachelor's degree in recreation and sport business last May at Iowa, has worked as a wrestling camp clinician, coordinator and counselor for youth and prep wrestlers throughout the country while wrestling at Iowa.

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- University of Wyoming head wrestling coach Mark Branch announced the addition of two-time NCAA Champion and four-time All-American Teyon (Tee-on) Ware to the Cowboy coaching staff. Ware joins the Pokes after serving as an assistant coach at Binghamton University for three seasons. He officially begins his duties at UW on August 1. Teyon Ware"It will be nice to have a person here with a different perspective and he will bring new and fresh ideas to the program," Branch said. "I have known Teyon since he was in high school and he has great moral standards that will fit well in this program. He is a tremendous athlete that has a great background and we look forward to developing him as a coach." Ware has been coaching the last three seasons at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. During his time with the Bearcats he helped send eight wrestlers to the NCAA Championship. Prior to his time at Binghamton he was a club coach for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club in State College, Penn. He also made stops as a club coach with the Prodigy Wrestling Club in Dayton, Ohio and the Oklahoma Underdog Wrestling Club in Norman, Okla. A native of Edmond, Okla., Ware wrestled at the University of Oklahoma winning two NCAA Individual championships at 141 pounds and earned a spot in the final three times. He won NCAA Championships during his freshman and junior seasons. In 2003 he was a Big XII conference champion and also earned Big XII Outstanding Wrestler award. In 2006 he was named to the Big XII 10th Anniversary Team. Ware also excelled on the international stage earning a bronze medal finish at the 2011 Pan-Am Games. He was also the United States National Champion and most outstanding wrestler of the tournament. He earned a spot on the United States team at the World Championships and was also a Wolrd Cup team member. "This is a great opportunity to continue to help build a program here at Wyoming," Ware said. "I feel that I have helped every program I have been at reach the peak and look forward to working with the staff and student-athletes here at UW." He is 2007 graduate of the University of Oklahoma majoring in mass communications.

NCAA Division II wrestling champs Mark and Kip Kristoff are among the eight individuals and two teams to be inducted into the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Athletics Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2015. Kip Kristoff and Mark KristoffKip Kristoff was an NCAA Division II champ for SIU-Edwardsville at 142 pounds in 1987. (SIUE wrestling now competes in Division I.) The Bethalto, Ill. native was a four-time NCAA All-American for the Cougars; in addition to his title, he placed seventh in 1986, and was national runner-up at 142 in 1988 and 1990. Kip Kristoff wrestled under his coach and father Larry Kristoff, himself a SIUE Hall of Fame honoree who was twice an NCAA College Division heavyweight champ at SIU-Carbondale in the early 1960s, and was a five-time World medalist and two-time Olympian. Mark Kristoff, Kip's older brother, was the NCAA Division II national champion at 167 pounds in 1988. Mark was a four-time All-American at SIUE, placing third at 150 in 1983, and national runner-up at 150 in 1984 and at 167 in 1986, again for his father and coach Larry Kristoff. Mark Kristoff finished his SIUE career with an overall record of 91-28. In addition to Kip and Mark Kristoff and their father/coach Larry Kristoff, other individual wrestlers who have been welcomed into the SIUE Athletic Hall of Fame include Maurice Brown, Alan Grammer, Tom Reed, August (Gus) Schalkham, Don Stevens, and Tim Wright. In addition, Cougar wrestling teams from 1974-75, 1984, 1985 and 1986 have been welcomed into the Hall as complete teams. Other members of the Class of 2015 include baseball coach Gary Collins; Terri Evans (women's basketball); Valerie McCoy (softball); Erin Newman (softball); Joe Reiniger (men's soccer), and Tim Tighe (friend of the program). The teams inducted this year are the 1975 men's soccer team and the 1991 baseball team. The induction ceremony will take place Saturday, Sept. 19 at SIUE's Meridian Ballroom located in the Morris University Center on the school's Edwardsville campus located outside St. Louis. Reservations for the event can be made by contacting SIUE Athletics at 618-650-2428. Tickets are $30 and include a social for the inductees to be held at 5:30 p.m. followed by the induction ceremony at 6:30 p.m. This is the 11th class to be inducted since the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame started in 2005. The Hall of Fame seeks to recognize the achievements of former student-athletes, coaches, administrators and teams that have participated in the intercollegiate athletics programs at SIUE as well as to celebrate the history of the institution. A complete listing of Hall of Fame members is available here.

Fargo. One word that means so much within the scholastic-age wrestling community. The ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet Nationals return yet again to Fargo, N.D., starting this coming weekend. Competing in Greco-Roman and freestyle will be the nation's top high school aged wrestlers, both boys and girls. The event starts on Saturday with the Cadet Women's freestyle tournament. The first session will commence at 2 p.m. CT, while the medal matches are slated for a second session starting at 7 p.m. Male wrestlers make their debut in the FARGODOME on Sunday with the Cadet Greco-Roman tournament. Two sessions of wrestling will take place, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 3 p.m. By then, there will be semifinal matches set up on the front side of the bracket, which will take place in a Monday morning session starting at 9 a.m. The Cadet Greco-Roman medal matches are slated for 2 p.m. Cadet level wrestlers have birth dates in either 1999 or 2000. Also competing on Monday will be Junior level wrestlers. Males will be competing in the opening day of Greco-Roman, with two sessions, one at 9 a.m. and the other at 6 p.m. Female wrestlers will compete in freestyle, their opening session at 6 p.m. Junior level wrestlers were in 9th through 12th grade during the 2014-15 school year. Quarterfinal and semifinal matches, along with consolation matches to determine All-American honors will take place on Tuesday starting at 9 a.m. with medal matches in Greco-Roman at 2:15 p.m., and the Women's freestyle at 5:45 p.m. One week from today starts the rather high profile Cadet (male) freestyle event, along with the complete contesting of the Junior Women's Duals. Both events will have two sessions on July 22 starting at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. CT. Cadet freestyle will continue with rounds including the quarterfinals starting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 23. It is at that time, one week from Thursday morning when the Junior freestyle event commences. This three-day event is as important a trio of days as any on the scholastic wrestling calendar. The assemblage of talent that is present in this field is impressive, as are the matchups of high-end talent that happen throughout the tournament. Day one in Junior freestyle sets up the round of 16 on the front side of the draw, with wrestling on Thursday taking place in sessions at 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. As previously mentioned, the quarterfinals in Cadet freestyle take place on Thursday morning. The semifinals and consolation up to the medal matches take place in the 3:30 p.m. session on July 23. Medal matches will take place on week from Friday starting at 2 p.m. With the Cadet medal matches in the afternoon, and the cores round of the Junior freestyle event sandwiching it, Fargo Friday is arguably the biggest single day on the scholastic wrestling calendar in a given year. Junior freestyle sessions on Friday start at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Round of sixteen and quarterfinals take place in the morning, while semifinals take place in the evening. The final session of the Fargo extravaganza is one week from Saturday, July 25, starting at 10 a.m. CT. Now that we all know the chronology of the upcoming competition, let's take a look at what will actually happen during the course of the events. Line bracketing For the second straight year, traditional double-elimination brackets will be used in Fargo, after many years of vertical pairing. Last year's analysis of the match progression between the two formats still remains in tact. UWW Cadet and Junior World Championships Last year's Cadet World Championships were held the week before Fargo, while this year the Cadet World event is going to be held in the end of August. The Junior World event remains in a middle of August date. There are many Fargo eligible wrestlers slated to participate on those teams. By virtue of the calendar, it is reasonable and plausible to see those wrestlers participate next week in Fargo. However, those decisions will have to be made in context of considering the upcoming World Championships -- relative training cycles, etc. The following UWW Cadet World Championships participants are Cadet eligible for Fargo: Malik Heinselman (Colorado) -- freestyle at 42 kilos Eric Barnett (Wisconsin) -- Greco-Roman at 42 kilos Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio) -- freestyle at 46 kilos Jake Allar (Minnesota) -- Greco-Roman at 69 kilos Gable Steveson (Minnesota) -- freestyle at 100 kilos The following UWW Cadet World Championships participants are Junior eligible for Fargo: Brady Koontz (Wisconsin) -- Greco-Roman at 46 kilos Gavin Teasdale (Pennsylvania) -- freestyle at 50 kilos Dack Punke (Illinois) -- Greco-Roman at 50 kilos Daton Fix (Oklahoma) -- freestyle at 54 kilos Paul Bianchi (Wisconsin) -- Greco-Roman at 54 kilos Taylor LaMont (Utah) -- Greco-Roman at 58 kilos Jared Verkleeren (Pennsylvania) -- freestyle at 63 kilos Dominick Demas (Ohio) -- Greco-Roman at 63 kilos Brady Berge (Minnesota) -- freestyle at 69 kilos Joe Grello (New Jersey) -- freestyle at 76 kilos Logan Gruszka (Illinois) -- Greco-Roman at 76 kilos Owen Webster (Minnesota) -- freestyle at 85 kilos Wyatt Koelling (Utah) -- Greco-Roman at 85 kilos Jordan Wood (Pennsylvania) -- Greco-Roman at 100 kilos **Yianni Diakomihalis (New York) -- freestyle at 58 kilos The following UWW Junior World Championships participants are Junior eligible for Fargo: Spencer Lee (Pennsylvania) -- freestyle at 50 kilos Mark Hall (Minnesota) -- freestyle at 74 kilos Zahid Valencia (California) -- freestyle at 84 kilos G'Angelo Hancock (Colorado) -- Greco-Roman at 96 kilos Tate Orndorff (Washington) -- Greco-Roman at 120 kilos Returning Fargo champions Many wrestlers that won weight class titles in last year's Junior and Cadet Nationals can return for this year's event, though the vast majority of the Cadet champions will be moving up to the Junior level in next week's competitions. As a result, the Cadet National tournaments become a breeding ground for emerging stars and names to watch for in the upcoming seasons of scholastic wrestling. Cadet champions who can repeat at the Cadet level this coming year (listed by weight class in which they won their title last year): Malik Heinselman (Colorado) -- freestyle 88 pounds Nicolas Aguilar (California) -- double (freestyle and Greco-Roman) 94 pounds Roman Bravo-Young (Arizona) -- double 100 pounds Jake Allar (Minnesota) -- Greco-Roman 132 pounds Cadet champions that move up to the Junior level: Trey Keeley (Illinois) -- Greco-Roman 88 pounds Paul Konrath (Indiana) -- freestyle 106 pounds Ian Timmins (Nevada) -- Greco-Roman 106 pounds Austin Gomez (Illinois) -- double 113 pounds Dylan Duncan (Illinois) -- freestyle 120 pounds Coltan Williams (Texas) -- Greco-Roman 120 pounds Chad Red (Indiana) -- freestyle 126 pounds Jaden Enriquez (California) -- Greco-Roman 126 pounds Nick Lee (Indiana) -- freestyle 132 pounds Ethan Karsten (Missouri) -- double 138 pounds Jared Verkleeren (Pennsylvania) -- freestyle 145 pounds Matthew Park (Idaho) -- Greco-Roman 145 pounds Trey Meyer (Washington) -- freestyle 152 pounds Riley Jaramillo (Oregon) -- Greco-Roman 152 pounds Brandon Dallavia (New Jersey) -- freestyle 160 pounds Owen Webster (Minnesota) -- Greco-Roman 160 pounds Beau Breske (Wisconsin) -- double 170 pounds Keegan Moore (Minnesota) -- double 182 pounds Matt Stencel (Ohio) -- double 195 pounds Gannon Gremmel (Iowa) -- freestyle 220 pounds Brandon Metz (North Dakota) -- Greco-Roman 220 pounds Osawaru Odighizuwa (Oregon) -- freestyle 285 pounds Kevin Vough (Ohio) -- Greco-Roman 285 pounds Junior champions eligible to compete again: Randon Miranda (California) -- double 100 pounds Danny Vega (Arizona) -- double 106 pounds Jack Mueller (Texas) -- freestyle 113 pounds Dorian Sapien (Idaho) -- Greco-Roman 113 pounds Austin Assad (Ohio) -- freestyle 120 pounds Mitch McKee (Minnesota) -- freestyle 126 pounds Taylor LaMont (Utah) -- Greco-Roman 126 pounds Isaiah White (Illinois) -- freestyle 145 pounds Mason Manville (Virginia) -- freestyle 152 pounds Myles Martin (New Jersey) -- freestyle 182 pounds Justan Rivera (Georgia) -- Greco-Roman 195 pounds Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) -- freestyle 195 pounds Samuel Colbray (Oregon) -- Greco-Roman 195 pounds Rising freshmen to watch in Cadet Nationals As mentioned earlier in this article, the Cadet Nationals serve as proving ground for many an emerging star. Yes, that does include incoming ninth graders. Last summer, three wrestlers combined to win five "stop signs" at the Cadet Nationals before stepping on the high school mats. Among the top Class of 2019 wrestlers, some of the more likely to capture a stop sign include: No. 2 Cohlton Schultz (Colorado) -- will be right in the hunt at 220 pounds; though if Gable Steveson (Minnesota), who is ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2018 does not wrestle up to the Junior level, title aspirations become unrealistic. No. 3 Nick Raimo (New Jersey) -- already made a name for himself by advancing deep into the bracket at the UWW Cadet freestyle nationals, and by doing well as an eighth grader in the high school level of the Super 32 Challenge and FloNationals. He'll compete at most likely 120 or 126 in Fargo. While those are tough weights for a first-year Cadet, Raimo has the talent to contend. No. 5 Dylan D'Emilio (Ohio) -- finished runner-up last year at 94 pounds in Cadet freestyle last summer, and was the UWW Cadet freestyle champion at 46 kilograms in late May. If he competes in Fargo, he has to be a favorite at 106 pounds, where he went undefeated at the Cadet Duals. Keep in mind that the nation's top incoming freshman is Josh McKenzie (New Jersey), whose focus right now is on his initial high school football season at Bergen Catholic. He is also a star athlete in that sport. Fargo coverage Keep your eye glued onto InterMat for Fargo coverage throughout the coming week including some event-specific previews and recaps, as well as a broad recap of the whole group of tournaments after the festivities are complete.

Several members of the St. Cloud State University wrestling team recently competed in an Athletes in Action tournament in Moldova during the summer of 2015. The tournament is part of a camp that Stephen Barrett (Oklahoma State national champion in 1977) has organized for the past 12 years. SCSU wrestlers at tournament in MoldovaThis camp and tournament started in southern Russia, moved to Ukraine in 2007 and has been in Moldova the last four years. The group of SCSU athletes wrestled in the small town of Gaidar in the southern region of Gagauz in the country of Moldova. SCSU Wrestlers Tim Prescott, Jarred Oftedahl, Jay Hildreth, Travis Holt, and Clayton Jenissen won three first place medals and two second place medals in the tournament. "The thing that was most impressive about these young men was their interaction with the young wrestlers at the camp," said John Peterson, who accompanied the group overseas and also serves as an assistant coach for the national champion Huskies. "They had fun trading wrestling gear and finished the week with several tough matches the last day of camp with both wrestlers and coaches. They displayed their soccer skills in a match in the prison the first day and were soundly defeated by some very good players." Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Athletes in Action have worked in partnership in the last 4 years to keep this camp running. It provides an opportunity for wrestlers from some of the poorer clubs in the area to train together. The goal is to provide good wrestling and recreational activities and teaching life changing principles from the Bible. St. Cloud State won its first-ever NCAA Division II championship in 2015 and also gained its fourth consecutive NSIC championship with a 17-2, 8-0 NSIC record. A total of six SCSU wrestlers were named NCAA All-Americans in 2015, while Tim Prescott won first place NCAA championships honors at 125-pounds.