InterMat Staff

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State coach Pat Popolizio has announced the hiring of Adam Hall as an assistant coach for the NC State wrestling team. Hall, a former two-time NCAA All-American and Pac-10 champion, joins the Wolfpack after spending the last four seasons as an assistant coach at Columbia. "Adam brings a wealth of experience and knowledge both as a competitor and as a coach to NC State as he has competed at the highest level, collegially and internationally," said Popolizio. "He will play a vital role in the development of our student athletes on and off the mat. "He will also be a great resource as he continues to compete internationally and trains alongside our middle weights. His strong sports management background will help us in various aspects of our program and bring a lot of new insight and creative ideas which will help us in continuing to brand NC State Wrestling." In his four seasons at Columbia, Hall coached 15 NCAA Qualifiers and one NCAA All-American (3rd place finish). He also completed an internship under the head coach of the National Wrestling Team at the USA Wrestling National Office before he got into coaching. Hall had an outstanding athletic career at Boise State from 2007-11, posting a 122-18 career record (87.1 win percentage). His 122 career victories rank second in Boise State wrestling history. He won two Pac-10 titles in the 157-pound class and qualified for the NCAA National Championships all four years he competed. Hall also earned All-America honors as a redshirt junior in 2009-10. As redshirt junior in 2009-10, Hall posted a 32-3 record while competing in the 157-pound class. He took third at the 2010 NCAA Championships and earned All-America status after going 5-1 in six bouts as the No. 2 overall seed. Hall also won his first Pac-10 Conference title in 2010. Hall finished the year with a team-high 32 overall wins and 16 major decisions and tied for the lead in dual wins (16) and dual win percentage (16-0). Competing at 157 pounds as a redshirt senior in 2010-11, Hall went 30-2, capturing his second Pac-10 Championship and finishing fifth at the 2011 NCAA National Championships. Hall entered the NCAA National Championships at a perfect 25-0 and earned the top overall seed. He led the Broncos in overall wins (30), dual wins (12) and dual win percentage (12-0). Hall placed fifth at the 2012 Olympic Trials and was a U.S. Open Placewinner in both 2013 and 2014. Hall earned a B.S. degree in health science studies from Boise State in 2011. Named the 2010-11 Pac-10 Wrestling Scholar-Athlete of the Year, he posted a 3.52 GPA during his five years at Boise State, graduated Cum Laude and was named to the Dean's List three times. He earned an NCAA postgraduate scholarship, and is expected to receive his master's degree in sports management from Columbia this spring.

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame recently lost one of its most legendary members. Verne Gagne passed away on Monday, April 27, 2015. Vern GagneGagne is a member of two halls of fame within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1999, and he was given the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award by the Minnesota State Chapter in 2003. A standout athlete at Robbinsdale High School in Minnesota, Gagne was a state high school wrestling champion in 1942 and 1943. His football and wrestling career was interrupted by a tour of duty with the United States Marine Corps in 1943. Verne returned to the University of Minnesota where he won four Big 10 titles and Division I NCAA wrestling championships in 1948 and 1949. He also earned All-American Honorable Mention in football at the University of Minnesota. Gagne became a successful professional wrestler and AWA promoter from 1949 to 1986. Gagne was a key financial contributor to amateur wrestling and a great ambassador for the sport.

Last week, InterMat posted its final grade rankings for the Class of 2015 prospects. The journey through college wrestling, especially on the Division I level, can take many twists and turns. There is so much that goes into determining which wrestlers thrive at the college level, and to what extent. Talent and ability are just at the beginning of the "tool box." Two other factors, sometimes they seem obvious but can be derailing ones, are eligibility and health. The rest of the puzzle is that amorphous mix of development, improvement, connecting with coaching, work ethic, etc. In most cases, a college careers lasts five seasons -- one as a redshirt, with four on the mat. Last year around this time, InterMat looked back at the Class of 2009 in terms of their performance on the college mats. It provided a "re-rank" for wrestlers that graduated high school in 2009 based on their collegiate careers, with their Class of 2009 recruiting rank present. This year's feature takes a look at the Class of 2010. The anchor of college wrestlers graduating in 2015 is also the wrestler that topped the Class of 2010 recruiting rankings, four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber (Ohio State). Two other wrestlers in this graduating class were four-time All-Americans, two-time finalist Dylan Ness (Minnesota) and four-time top-three finisher Mike McMullan (Northwestern). Jesse Delgado was not ranked in the top 100 out of high school, but finished as a two-time NCAA champion and three-time All-American (Photos/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Neither of those wrestlers were NCAA champions, as just three other wrestlers that graduated high school in 2010 won Division I championships: 2013 and 2014 champion Jesse Delgado (Illinois), along with Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) and Kyven Gadson (Iowa State), who won titles this past year. This trio was among the twelve wrestlers to earn three All-American medals at the Division I level during their college careers. Also of interest is that three wrestlers outside the top 100 in the final Class of 2010 prospect rankings were multiple-time All-Americans: Jesse Delgado, David Habat (Edinboro), and Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh); with a fourth, Pierce Harger (Northwestern), in the revised top 25. In the case of Delgado, Habat, and Harger -- they were top 100 recruits prior to the senior season, with certain factors of their senior season shifting them to the outside of the rankings; Wilps on the other hand was totally unheralded, entering college with a pair of mid-to-low state placements, seventh and fifth. Re-Ranking Class of 2010 Top 100 recruits in Class of 2010 No. 1 Logan Stieber No. 2 Andrew Alton No. 3 Chris Villalonga No. 4 Marshall Peppelman No. 5 Mike Evans No. 6 Derek Garcia No. 7 Jackson Morse No. 8 Dylan Alton No. 9 Josh Kindig No. 10 Lee Munster No. 11 Tyler Beckwith No. 12 Nick Moore No. 13 Nick Sulzer No. 14 Mike McMullan No. 15 Ryak Finch No. 16 Josh Dziewa No. 17 Jimmy Lawson No. 18 Bobby Telford No. 19 Keith Surber No. 20 Frank Cagnina No. 21 Nick Schenk No. 22 Sam Sherlock No. 23 Devin Carter No. 24 Kyle Cowan No. 25 Ryen Nieman No. 26 Dylan Ness No. 27 Jacob Ballweg No. 28 Mitchell Port No. 29 Max Thomusseit No. 30 Nick Arujau No. 31 Joey Cozart No. 32 Nick Dardanes No. 33 Ravaughn Perkins No. 34 Joel Smith No. 35 Jerome Robinson No. 36 Brandon Wright No. 37 Colin Shober No. 38 Ty Mitch No. 39 Robert Kokesh No. 40 Kyven Gadson No. 41 Spencer Myers No. 42 Josh Demas No. 43 Ben Dorsay No. 44 Eric Hess No. 45 Ryan Callahan No. 46 Frank Goodwin No. 47 Evan Craig No. 48 Louis Trujillo No. 49 Alan Waters No. 50 Jamie Clark No. 51 Michael Moreno No. 52 Trevor Rupp No. 53 Nazar Kulchytsky No. 54 Dirk Cowburn No. 55 Levi Wolfensperger No. 56 Nick Visicaro No. 57 Steven Hernandez No. 58 Ronald Coleman No. 59 Brad Squire No. 60 Drake Houdashelt No. 61 Justin DeAngelis No. 62 Stephen Dutton No. 63 Tyler Lehmann No. 64 Brandon Wilbourn No. 65 Andrew Lenzi No. 66 Kaleb Friedley No. 67 A.J. Schopp No. 68 Sean McMurray No. 69 Chris Dardanes No. 70 Hank Stinson No. 71 Scott Schiller No. 72 Mark Hartenstine No. 73 Taylor Walsh No. 74 Nathan Hoffer No. 75 Ronnie Balfour No. 76 Josh Keszler No. 77 Michael Kelly No. 78 Jesse Shanaman No. 79 Parker Madl No. 80 Jamie Callender No. 81 Alex Polizzi No. 82 Joe Latham No. 83 Matt Nereim No. 84 Cody Ruggirello No. 85 Jake Snider No. 86 Carson Kuhn No. 87 Greg Amos No. 88 Mike Morales No. 89 Simon Kitzis No. 90 Billy George No. 91 Isaiah Williams No. 92 Joe Duca No. 93 Quincy Mondaine No. 94 Mike Rhone No. 95 Jordan Beverly No. 96 Taylor Meeks No. 97 Tucker Armstrong No. 98 Henry Chirino No. 99 Justis Flamio No. 100 Preston Keiffer No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) Rank in 2010: No. 1 Four-time NCAA champion, 2015 Hodge Trophy recipient No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) Rank in 2010: No. 26 Four-time NCAA All-American, 2012 and 2014 NCAA runner-up No. 3 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) Rank in 2010: No. 14 Four-time NCAA All-American, 2013 NCAA runner-up No. 4 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) Rank in 2010: Not in top 100 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American, 2013 and 2014 NCAA champion No. 5 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) Rank in 2010: No. 28 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American, 2013 and 2015 NCAA runner-up, additional round of 12 finish No. 6 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) Rank in 2010: No. 60 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American, 2015 NCAA champion No. 7 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) Rank in 2010: No. 40 Three-time NCAA All-American, 2015 NCAA champion No. 8 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) Rank in 2010: No. 23 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American; 2014 NCAA runner-up, additional round of 12 finish No. 9 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) Rank in 2010: No. 67 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 finish No. 10 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) Rank in 2010: No. 39 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 finish No. 11 Bobby Telford (Iowa) Rank in 2010: No. 18 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American No. 12 Mike Evans (Iowa) Rank in 2010: No. 5 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American No. 13 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) Rank in 2010: No. 69 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American No. 14 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) Rank in 2010: No. 13 Four-time NCAA qualifier, three-time NCAA All-American No. 15 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) Rank in 2010: No. 71 Three-time NCAA All-American No. 16 Alan Waters (Missouri) Rank in 2010: No. 49 Four-time NCAA qualifier, two-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 appearance (qualified as true freshman in 2011) No. 17 David Habat (Edinboro) Rank in 2010: Not in top 100 Four-time NCAA qualifier, two-time NCAA All-American; 2015 NCAA runner-up, additional round of 12 appearance No. 18 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) Rank in 2010: No. 51 Three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time NCAA All-American, additional round of 12 appearance No. 19 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) Rank in 2010: Not in top 100 Three-time NCAA qualifier, two-time NCAA All-American, 2015 NCAA runner-up No. 20 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) Rank in 2010: No. 9 Four-time NCAA qualifier, 2014 NCAA runner-up No. 21 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) Rank in 2010: No. 73 Four-time NCAA qualifier, 2015 NCAA runner-up No. 22 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) Rank in 2010: No. 3 Four-time NCAA qualifier, 6th in this year's NCAA tournament, additional round of 12 appearance No. 23 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) Rank in 2010: Not in top 100 Four-time NCAA qualifier, 8th in the 2014 NCAA tournament, additional round of 12 appearance No. 24 Spencer Myers (Maryland) Rank in 2010: No. 41 Three-time NCAA qualifier, 6th in the 2011 NCAA tournament as true freshman, additional round of 12 appearance No. 25 Nick Dardanes (Northwestern) Rank in 2010: No. 32 Four-time NCAA qualifier, 7th in the 2013 NCAA tournament Honorable Mention Dylan Alton (Penn State) Rank in 2010: No. 8 Three-time NCAA qualifier, 3rd in the 2012 NCAA tournament, additional round of 12 appearance Stephen Dutton (Lehigh & Michigan) Rank in 2010: No. 62 Three-time NCAA qualifier, 7th in the 2014 NCAA tournament, additional round of 12 appearance (as a true freshman) Jackson Morse (Illinois) Rank in 2010: No. 7 Three-time NCAA qualifier, 4th in this year's NCAA tournament Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) Rank in 2010: No. 29 Four-time NCAA qualifier (as true frosh in 2011, then 2013-2015), Three-time round of 12 participant (2013-2015) Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) Rank in 2010: Not in top 100 Three-time NCAA qualifier, Two-time Elite 89 Award recipient (highest GPA for a qualifier to the NCAA tournament)

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum has announced its winners of the Dave Schultz and Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Awards for 2015. Originally created in honor of Schultz, an Olympic and World champion, the High School Excellence Award is based on excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service. State winners for both the Schultz and Saunders Awards have been selected in each of the states that sponsor high school state championships. For the boys, there are 49 state winners. For the girls, there are seven from the states of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. "We are very excited to announce these high school senior winners of the Dave Schultz and Tricia Saunders High School Excellence awards for 2015," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Schultz award and the second anniversary of the Saunders award. "These student-athletes are role models who influence young people in a very meaningful way," Smith said. "We are not surprised to find that these winners represent diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds; reinforcing why the sport of wrestling is by nature and design a sport for all." A national winner of the Saunders Award will be named from the seven winners in the states that sponsor an all-female state championship. For the Schultz Award, five regional winners have been announced. The national winners of both High School Excellence Awards will be revealed on May 4, 2015, and presented at Honors Weekend in Stillwater on June 5-6. Dave Schultz's widow, Nancy Schultz, will attend Honors Weekend festivities this June to present the Schultz and Saunders awards to each national recipient. "We are grateful that Nancy will attend this year's Honors Weekend ceremonies as an award presenter and has also agreed to speak about a soon-to-be released documentary on the life of Dave Schultz," Smith said. The five male regional winners for 2015 are: Central Region: Joe Smith, Stillwater High School, Stillwater, Okla. High school record was 154-1, winning three individual state titles. His overall grade point average is 3.2. Smith will attend Oklahoma State University this fall as a projected 157-pounder. Midwest Region: Logan Massa, St. Johns High School, St. Johns, Mich. High school record was 182-4, winning three individual state titles. His overall grade point average is 3.2. Massa will attend the University of Michigan this fall as a projected 174 pounder. Northeast Region: Matthew Kolodzik, Blair Academy, Blairstown, New Jersey. High school record was 144-8, winning three National Prep Championships. His overall grade point average is 4.0. Kolodzik will attend Princeton University this fall as a projected 141-149 pounder. Southeast Region: Fox Baldwin, Osceola High School, Osceola, Flor. High school record was 395-17, winning five individual state championships. His overall grade point average is 3.98. Baldwin will attend the University of Virginia this fall as a projected 165-174 pounder. West Region: Zahid Valencia, St. John Bosco High School, Bellflower, CA. High school record was 164-1, winning three individual state championships. His overall grade point average is 3.71. Valencia will attend Arizona State University this fall as a projected 174-184 pounder. The 2015 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award winners by state, name and school are: Alabama, Arick Shankles, Muscle Shoals High School Alaska, Josh Roetman, Kotzebue High School Arizona, Josh Kramer, Desert Edge High School Arkansas, Braden Zini, Central Arkansas Christian California, Zahid Valencia, St. John Bosco High School Colorado, Jacob Trujillo, Grand Junction High School Connecticut, Zack Murillo, Southington High School Delaware, Clint Ferrazzo, Caravel Academy Florida, Fox Baldwin, Osceola High School Georgia, Taylor Lujan, Carrollton High School Hawaii, Boman Tokioka, Kamehameha High School Idaho, Seth McLeod, Post Falls High School Illinois, Michael Johnson, Montini Catholic High School Indiana, Garrett Pepple, East Noble High School Iowa, Max Thomsen, Union High School Kansas, Sean DeShazer, Wichita Heights High School Kentucky, Austin Myers, Campbell County High School Louisiana, Paul Klein, Brother Martin High School Maine, Cody Hughes, Marshwood High School Maryland, Myles Martin, McDonogh High School Massachusetts, Jonathan Viruet, Springfield Central High School Michigan, Logan Massa, St. Johns High School Minnesota, Lance Benick, Totino-Grace High School Missouri, Ke-Shawn Hayes, Park Hill High School Montana, Luke Entzel, Big Sky High School Nebraska, Doyle Trout, Centennial High School Nevada, Beau Billingsley, Lowry High School New Hampshire, Jean-Luc Lemieux, Londonderry High School New Jersey, Matthew Kolodzik, Blair Academy New Mexico, Rico Montoya, Robertson High School New York, Nick Piccininni, Ward Melville High School North Carolina, Will Clark, Cary High School North Dakota, Jordan Shearer, West Fargo High School Ohio, Cameron Kelly, Bellbrook High School Oklahoma, Joe Smith, Stillwater High School Oregon, Alex Rich, Crescent Valley High School Pennsylvania, Michael Kemerer, Franklin Regional High School Rhode Island, Ebed Jarrell, East Greenwich High School South Carolina, Matt Rudy, Cane Bay High School South Dakota, Brett Bye, Vermillion High School Tennessee, Chris DeBien, Cleveland High School Texas, Garrett Miller, Allen High School Utah, Jacob Armstrong, Salem Hills High School Vermont, Troy Gassaway, Mount Anthony Union High School Virginia, Neal Richards, Matoaca High School Washington, Tate Orndorff, University High School West Virginia, Bryce Humphreys, Winfield High School Wisconsin, Robert Lee, Kaukauna High School Wyoming, Tevis Bartlett, Cheyenne East High School The 2015 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award winners by state, name and school are: Alaska, Brittany Woods-Orrison, Mt. Edgecumbe High School California, Alyssa LaFrancis, Rancho Buena Vista High School Hawaii, Carly Jaramillo, Lahainaluna High School Oregon, Jessica DeHart, Hood River Valley High School Tennessee, Alexandria Knowles, Science Hill High School Texas, Daniela Flores, Hanks High School Washington, Marizza Birrueta, Grandview High School

INDIANAPOLIS -- A more standardized pre-match procedure requiring referees to perform skin checks or verify that skin checks had been completed on-site by an appropriate health-care professional was approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee at its April 8-10 meeting in Indianapolis. This clarification of the skin-check rule for dual meets and tournaments, along with one other change recommended by the committee for the 2015-16 season, were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors. Under Rule 3-1-4a, the new pre-match procedure further clarifies the duties of wrestling referees before a dual meet begins. A new rule (3-1-5) will add the same inspection requirements before tournaments. The actual requirements were not changed, only written in clearer, more specific language. "The skin-check rule has always been in the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book, but the committee felt it needed to be clarified and specified that this needed to be done," said Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and liaison to the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee. Alan Beste, executive director of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and chair of the Wrestling Rules Committee, said there continues to be national concern about communicable skin conditions in wrestling. Some of those conditions can pose significant health risks that may have lifelong effects. "The two major rules changes reflect the committee's feeling that it is important to emphasize this concern and give referees, who are the impartial parties at every competition, more responsibility in determining a wrestler's readiness to compete safely," Beste said. The other rule change was to Rule 10-2-9, regarding a situation where two wrestlers in the championship bracket simultaneously cannot continue a match and the score is tied. A new criterion was added to the rule. The new criteria states, "the wrestler whose opponent has received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at any time during the match will continue in the consolation round." If neither wrestler received an unsportsmanlike penalty, then the previously set criteria will be used to determine advancement to the consolation bracket. The committee added this new criterion to emphasize sportsmanship during competition. "I think it's a good change," Colgate said. "It puts more emphasis on sportsmanship in wrestling, which the committee feels is very important." A complete listing of the wrestling rules changes is available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on "Activities & Sports" at the top of the home page, and select "Wrestling." According to the 2013-14 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, wrestling is the sixth-most popular boys sport nationwide with 269,514 participants. There were 9,904 girls who participated in the sport as well. ### This press release was written by Ben Sieck, a spring semester intern in the NFHS Publications and Communications Department and a junior at Butler University. About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 16 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 11 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.7 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches, officials, speech and debate coaches, and music adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities. For more information, visit the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.

Tyler Caldwell won a gold medal at 74 kilos (Photo/T.R. Foley) SANTIAGO, Chile -- The United States dominated the men's freestyle competition at the Pan American Championships on Sunday, with six champions and two runners-up. The United States went an amazing 27-2 in the competition, with 17 of the bouts by either pin or technical fall. In the morning session, the USA went a perfect 22-0. Team USA won the team title with 78 of a possible 80 points, a full 20 points ahead of runner-up Canada with 58 points. Cuba, which had the other two individual champions, was third with 54 points. "The entire team came not just to compete and win, but they wanted to dominate. That was what we talked about and expected. We lost two close matches in tournament that we could have won. We have to continue to build our skills, but the team did a great job of controlling their matches and continuing to score. Coaches Jeff Buxton, Kerry McCoy and Mark Perry were great for the team with their knowledge and intensity," said National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett. Read full story ... Men's Freestyle Results 57 kilos: Gold: Alfredo Cisnero (Cuba) Silver: Zach Sanders (USA) Bronze: Jefferson Maya Figueroa (Ecuador) Bronze: Steven Takahashi (Canada) 5th: Yersor Hernandez (Colombia) 5th: Pablo Benitez (Peru) 61 kilos: Gold: Andrew Hochstrasser (USA) Silver: Wilmar Hernandez (Colombia) Bronze: Vincent DeMarinis (Canada) Bronze: Cesar Osorio (Venezuela) 5th: Danny Naranjo (Ecuador) 6th: Felipe Esteves (Brazil) 65 kilos: Gold: Jason Chamberlain (USA) Silver: Abel Herrera (Peru) Bronze: Lazaro Carbonell (Cuba) Bronze: Wilfredo Henriquez Hernandez (Venezuela) 5th: Luis Portillo (El Salvador) 5th: Martin Miranda (Guatamala) 70 kilos: Gold: Dustin Schlatter (USA) Silver: Ahmed Shamiya (Canada) Bronze: Esteban Sanchez (Colombia) 4th: Lincoln Messias (Brazil) 5th: Juan Pablo Peralta (Chile) 74 kilos: Gold: Tyler Caldwell (USA) Silver: Jevon Balfour (Canada) Bronze: Luis Quintana (Cuba) Bronze: Eduardo Gajardo (Chile) 5th: Yoan Blanco Reinoso (Ecuador) 5th: Pedro Rocha (Brazil) 86 kilos: Gold: Yurieski Torreblanca (Cuba) Silver: Chris Perry (USA) Bronze: Pool Ambrosio (Peru) Bronze: Matthew Miller (Canada) 5th: Luis Perez Sosa (Dominican Republic) 5th: Pedro Ceballos Fuentes (Venezuela) 97 kilos: Gold: Dustin Kilgore (USA) Silver: Abraham Conyedo (Cuba) Bronze: Juan Bittencourt (Brazil) Bronze: Arujun Singh Gill (Canada) 5th: Nathanael Rose (Trinidad and Tobago) 5th: Yuri Maier (Argentina) 125 kilos: Gold: Zack Rey (USA) Silver: Andres Ramos (Cuba) Bronze: Korey Jarvis (Canada) Bronze: Luis Vivenes Urbaneja (Venezuela) 5th: Hugo Cunha (Brazil) 5th: Edgardo Lopez Morell (Puerto Rico) USA Performances 57 kilos: Zach Sanders, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 2nd WIN Hecjomar Cruz Encarnacion (Puerto Rico), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Yersor Hernandez (Colombia), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Steven Takahashi (Canada), 10-3 LOSS Alfredo Cisnero (Cuba), 2-8 61 kilos: Andrew Hochstrasser, Boise, Idaho (Titan Mercury WC), 1st WIN Cesar Osorio (Venezuela), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Wilmar Hernandez (Colombia), tech fall 10-0 65 kilos: Jason Chamberlain, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC), 1st WIN Wandeci Silva (Brazil), pin WIN Lazaro Carbonell (Cuba), 11-5 WIN Luis Portillo (El Salvador), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Abel Herrera (Peru), 6-0 70 kilos: Dustin Schlatter, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm), 1st WIN Esteban Sanchez (Colombia), tech. fall, 10-0 WIN Ahmed Shamiya (Canada), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Juan Pablo Peralto (Chile), tech. fall 11-0 WIN Lincoln Messias (Brazil), tech. fall 10-0 74 kilos: Tyler Caldwell, Stillwater, Okla. (Sunkist Kids), 1st WIN Edison Hurtado (Colombia), tech. fall 11-0 WIN Yoan Blanco Reinoso (Ecuador), tech. fall 10-0 WIN Luis Quintana (Cuba), 9-0 WIN Jevon Balfour (Canada), 9-0 86 kilos: Chris Perry, Stillwater, Okla. (Titan Mercury WC), 2nd WIN Jose Mercado Estacio (Ecuador), pin WIN Matthew Miller (Canada), 7-0 WIN Pedro Ceballos Fuentes (Venezuela), 7-2 LOSS Yurieski Torreblanca (Cuba), 1-3 97 kilos: Dustin Kilgore, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids), 1st WIN Moises Friddrick (Nicaragua), pin WIN Juan Bittencourt (Brazil) pin WIN Yuri Maier (Argentina), pin WIN Abraham Conyedo (Cuba), 6-2 125 kilos: Zach Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley AC), 1st WIN Edgardo Lopez Morell (Puerto Rico), tech. fall 11-0 WIN Korey Jarvis (Canada), 2-1 WIN Andres Ramos (Cuba), 4-0 Team Standings: 1. United States, 78 pts. 2. Canada, 58 3. Cuba, 54 4. Venezuela, 36 5. Brazil, 34 6. Colombia, 27 7. Peru, 23 8. Ecuador, 22 9. Argentina, 18 10. Chile, 17 11. Puerto Rico, 10 12. Mexico, 8 13. Dominican Republic, 7 14. Nicaragua, 7 15. El Salvador, 6 16. Guatemala, 6 17. Panama, 6 18. Trinidad and Tobago, 6 19. Honduras, 3 20. Bahamas, 2

The news of Rampage Jackson's return to the UFC and end of legal troubles with Bellator is hot off the presses. Oddly, at this point in his career it is tough to argue that he re-addition to the card improves this pay-per-view offering, headlined by an extremely talented Demetrius Johnson who has cleared out his division so thoroughly, the UFC is running out of opponents. Anyway, enjoy the breakdown. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Cliff Keen Athletic has entered into a marketing and athlete endorsement deal with women's 48-kilo freestyle wrestler Victoria Anthony. Victoria Anthony is currently ranked No. 2 in the world (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Victoria Anthony joins Cliff Keen with an outstanding resume in women's freestyle wrestling. A Dave Schultz Memorial International, and Pan American Championships gold medalist from California, Victoria was also hailed as the 2009 Women's Junior World champion, and is currently ranked No. 2 in the world at 48 kilos. "Victoria is a tough competitor with a graceful wrestling style. Off the mat, Victoria is a terrific young woman, with an infectious personality. She is certainly a great role model for young girls and a wonderful ambassador of our sport. We are very excited to have her on our Cliff Keen team," said Tom Keen of Cliff Keen Athletic. Victoria is a 2015 World Team hopeful and is aspiring for her first U.S. Olympic Team spot for the 2016 Summer Games. Training under coach Valentin Kalika (Huntington Beach, CA), Victoria competes for Titan-Mercury Wrestling Club and will wear Cliff Keen Athletic singlets and training apparel. Victoria will be a prominent fixture in Cliff Keen's brand marketing and advertising to the growing women's wrestling market. A long-time supporter of women's wrestling, Cliff Keen Athletic is the world's leader in wrestling uniforms, equipment, and training apparel.

Have you seen Horrible Bosses 2? I recently saw the first half, which included very suggestive comments about little boys wrestling in singlets. Never mind the details, the entire setup was about the outfits and the message wasn't about the sport, but about some other qualities comedians wanted to attach to the sport because of the outfits. Shiny lycra is no longer the only or best outfit choice for our sport. Time to make the change. Waiting costs our sport participants, fans and dollars. #KilltheSinglet To your questions ... Q: Will Isaiah Martinez compete on the senior level in freestyle this year and be a factor at the U.S. Open and/or U.S. World Team Trials? Or he is still too young and inexperienced to make an impact? -- Mike C. Isaiah Martinez defeated Nebraska's James Green in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Foley: I don't think Imar can be called anything except "incredible." He's an enormous talent with every chance to make the U.S. World Team at 20 years old ... were he not to wrestle at 74 kilos. That might signal a problem. Imar will likely miss the U.S. Open because he's taking exams. However, if he does compete I think he's your third-place finisher. I know that means one of the Big Four (Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor, Kyle Dake and Andrew Howe) would have to lose, and that's what I'm predicting, Imar earns an upset over one of these guys. Should Imar make 70 kilos I think he challenges Nick Marable for the spot on the World Team. He's dynamic and strong and though I like Marable to win any best-of-three series, I think it's close. Also, with fewer entries as everyone flees the non-Olympic weight (sans 61 kilos and 70 kilos) he will have a considerably easier path than he would at 74 kilos. Q: We ascribe much hoopla to the national rankings of high school wrestlers. But what we never know is how well they do/did in college. Has anyone done an analysis of the success of ranked wrestlers? Going back eight years this would be an interesting guide to recruiting. -- John A. Foley: We do it every year! I agree that this is a great guide to understanding who are the effective coaches and just how much the HIGH SCHOOL HYPE MACHINE plays into our perception of real talent. Q: Could you explain those new NCAA rules? A guy gets called for stalling if he pushed opponent out? Did I read that wrong? -- @German663 Proposed rules here. In shorthand (with my snarky comments in parenthesis) ... Back points are now 2 for a two-count and 4 for a four-count. (This won't promote anything except more points on the board and a much-reduced chance that the kid that gets caught early can mount a comeback. Throwing someone to their back should never be for SIX POINTS! That's ONE technique!) No more four-point technical fall in dual meets. (OK, sure. Not a huge impact since dual meets don't mean anything to the final outcome of the season and this effects 1/100 dual meets. Might as well make pins count 6.5 points) Interlocking fingers will be stopped (You're welcome) Pushout rule from neutral. Both feet go out and you get hit with stalling. (FINALLY) Three-point takedown (Why does this make ANY sense? If you don't want to reward escapes then don't reward escapes. If you want to quicken the return to the feet then eliminate riding time) Q: What, if any, rules-scholarship-structural-cultural differences vs. today in NCAA wrestling do you see that allowed for Iowa to be so dominant during the Gable era vs. the programs/situations that are currently present? -- Jimmie D. Foley: Big question, but you have to assume that these things are at the center of wrestling's recent parity, and the "downturn" in Iowa wrestling: The first is that there is significantly more money in the sport in 2015 than there was in the mid-80s. The fundraising at major college athletic programs is highly sophisticated and generates hundreds of thousands of extra dollars in spending cash annually for teams across the top forty. Also, more schools have more scholarships. The second is that a reduction in the number of programs has allowed for more talented wrestlers to concentrate at a variety of programs, making the culture of any one program less effective since it's not backed up by all-stars. The rising number of teams loaded with talent also means there is a larger chance for upsets since guys who might've once ridden pine for Iowa get time to wrestle at (insert your school's name here). The third is social media and the unwillingness of modern kids to take gruff from superiors, especially if they can get praise from their online friends and family. Iowa wrestling is a strong culture and you either fell in and succeeded or you left. Social media and having friends to comfort the afflicted makes it difficult to enforce an all-or-nothing mentality. The fourth is a change in the rules to avoid harmful or injurious situations and a re-focus on top wrestling. This benefits more technical wrestling, which has traditionally favored teams like Oklahoma State and now Penn State. Q: How long until Zeke Jones has Arizona State in the hunt for team trophies? With the Valencia bros. coming in and other top recruits, it doesn't seem like it will be long. -- Mike C. Foley: With arguably the best recruiting class in the history of college wrestling you'd have to assume that he could get them into the top four in three years and title hunting in four. He knows how to coach champions, has all the resources he needs and now has the most talented class of athletes in the sport. They're making a title run. Q: I watched the World Cup last weekend and to me the wrestling sucked, especially among the bigger guys who just hang on to each other and do push outs. It's almost sumo-like to a degree. Overall, it's pushouts, takedowns and if a guy's back is exposed in any way, they reward backpoints and the refs are too involved (who by the way all look like they'd be gassed if they ran a mile). I don't have a proposal but seems these rules need to change to make it better and more exciting. And didn't they just change the rules last year and do a reorg to get with the times and stay in the Olympics? -- Paul E. Foley: Not too many people complain about the freestyle rules (save the lack of overtime)! This is a good mixture. I disagree about the rules overall, as I think they produce a lot of action. However, if you aren't used to the out-of-bounds rule I guess it would seem kind of funny. As you may know, I work in the media department for the federation -- the numbers of viewers have never been better. Also, the IOC seems to enjoy the improvement of the sport's watchability, while Greco-Roman is still in question!

FERRUM, Va. -- Ferrum College has announced that it will build on the success of its current men's wrestling program with the addition of women's wrestling and men's club wrestling. Both will begin immediately, with the Panther coaching staff already recruiting for the programs. Under the leadership of Head Coach Nate Yetzer, men's wrestling has produced place-winners at the NCAA Div. III East Regional in the first two seasons as a varsity program, including the College's first-ever NCAA national championship qualifier. President Jennifer Braaten, noted that Ferrum will be one of the first institutions on the east coast to provide collegiate wrestling as an option for women. "We have a long tradition of strong, award-winning athletic programs," said Braaten. "Through the additional opportunities provided to our student-athletes through these new offerings, Ferrum will continue to distinguish itself in athletics." Ferrum's women will compete under the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA), while the men's club program will compete under the National Collegiate Wrestling Association as a sanctioned club program. The WCWA holds a national championship tournament, contested annually in February with over 200 competitors. Both programs will have strong competition nearby. The King University (Bristol, Va.) women won their second straight WCWA national championship this year, while Liberty University (Lynchburg, Va.) won the 2015 NWCA club program national title. Ferrum announced that it would begin a wrestling program for men in the summer of 2012. Yetzer was hired to begin recruiting and in a span of six weeks, brought 15 wrestlers to campus before the beginning of the school year. The Panthers competed as a club program during the 2012-13 school year, then made the jump to a varsity, NCAA Division III program. The 2013-14 inaugural varsity season produced three place-winners at the NCAA East Regional, including the College's first-ever NCAA national championship qualifier. Yetzer's team placed third at the prestigious Virginia Duals, one of the oldest collegiate wrestling tournaments in the country. Ferrum finished with a 9-6 dual meet record. Ferrum was selected to host the 2015 NCAA East Regional, held at the Berglund Center in nearby Roanoke, an event which included 19 schools from along the east coast. The Panthers placed seventh in a field of 18 teams that competed in the regional, and once again had three place-winners. Yetzer beefed up Ferrum's schedule this, competing against four nationally-ranked NCAA Div. III programs, and NCWA national champion Liberty. "The addition of these two new programs will help to elevate our wrestling program here at Ferrum," said Yetzer. "I'm excited to continue to bring quality student-athletes that want to continue to wrestle at the next level. Our goal is to build all three of our programs into championship teams." Mike Moyer, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, expressed his appreciation to Ferrum for establishing a women's wrestling program. "On behalf of the NWCA Board of Directors and our President, Coach Mark Cody at University of Oklahoma, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Ferrum College President Jennifer Braaten for her extraordinary leadership in establishing an intercollegiate women's wrestling team," said Moyer. "This is a region where our sport is so underserved at the college level. Wrestling prides itself on the fact that virtually anyone can participate regardless of size, weight, gender and even most disabilities. This will undoubtedly inspire many other college administrations in the region to establish intercollegiate women's wrestling teams in an effort to accommodate the exploding number of aspiring young female wrestlers in our sport." There are currently 24 college women's wrestling programs that hold WCWA membership. Women's collegiate wrestling follows International Freestyle Rules, as used in the Olympic Games. Women's wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004. Since 1994, the number of women who wrestle in high school in the United States has grown from 804 to over 9904. States that sponsor a high school wrestling championship include California, Oregon, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Anyone interested in wrestling at Ferrum should contact Coach Yetzer at nyetzer@ferrum.edu

Last year, Team USA shined at the Cadet and Junior World Championships in freestyle, winning a combined 10 medals, including three gold medals. Many of those same teenagers who competed at the Cadet and Junior Worlds in 2014 will be looking to get back on Team USA's Cadet and Junior teams and win medals in 2015. Others will look to make their mark on the senior level. Here is a look at the top 10 teenage wrestlers in the United States ... Aaron Pico, Age: 18 It's scary to think Aaron Pico could still be wrestling high school competition had he chosen the more conventional route. Since focusing strictly on freestyle and turning professional, Pico has established himself as one of the nation's top 65-kilo wrestlers on the senior level and become a contender on the world stage. The 2013 Cadet World champion and 2014 Junior World silver medalist won a gold medal at the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba earlier this year where he defeated two-time U.S. World Team member Reece Humphrey in the finals. Pico's signature win to date, though, is his victory over 2013 World champion David Safaryan of Armenia in the gold-medal match at the Henri Deglane Challenge in France. Kyle Snyder defeated J'den Cox in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Rob Preston)Kyle Snyder, Age: 19 Kyle Snyder, a Maryland native, was the nation's No. 1 recruit from the Class of 2014. As a prep wrestler, Snyder compiled a perfect record of 179-0 and won virtually every major event for a high school wrestler. He became a Junior World champion in 2013, and last year earned a bronze medal at the Junior Worlds, losing only to Russia's Georgii Gogaev. He became the youngest two-time Junior World medalist in American history. This year as a true freshman at Ohio State he reached the NCAA finals before losing by pin to Iowa State's Kyven Gadson. Mark Hall, Age: 18 Mark Hall has been a household name in wrestling circles for several years. The Apple Valley (Minnesota) High School junior was recently named the 2015 InterMat High School Wrestler of the Year. Hall won a Cadet World title in freestyle last summer. He has claimed five Minnesota state high school titles, and next year will look to become Minnesota's first-ever six-time state champion. This past fall Hall dominated the nation's No. 1 recruit high school wrestling recruit Anthony Valenica, 10-2, at FloWrestling's Who's Number One event. He will enter his senior season as the nation's No. 1 recruit. Hall recently said he expects to make his college decision by the start of next wrestling season, and has official visits planned to Minnesota, Oklahoma State, Ohio State and Wisconsin. He hasn't ruled out spending next season at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Anthony Valencia won his third state championship (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Anthony Valencia, Age: 18 Anthony Valencia, the nation's top recruit, has had a meteoric rise since his freshman season at St. John Bosco High School in California. Early in his high school career he showed flashes of his potential, but lacked the consistency of the nation's elite prep wrestlers. Victories over top wrestlers were mixed in with head-scratching losses. As he grew, he became more consistent and dominant. This year, Anthony and brother Zahid captured their third state championships in California. Anthony beat Mark Hall at the Southwest Kickoff in the fall of 2013, but Hall avenged the loss a year later. Last spring Anthony dominated Isaiah Martinez in two straight matches, 10-0, 10-0, in the best-of-three finals of the FILA (now UWW) Junior World Team Trials. Jason Nolf, Age: 19 Jason Nolf helped put Penn State on top of the recruiting class rankings a year ago, and will now look to put the Nittany Lions back on top of the college wrestling world. As a high school wrestler, Nolf went 176-1 and claimed three PIAA titles. He put together a tremendous redshirt season in Happy Valley, going 15-1, with his only loss coming to four-time All-American James Green of Nebraska in the finals of the Southern Scuffle. Nolf's impressive run to the Scuffle finals included a victory over Cornell's Brian Realbuto, who would go on to reach the NCAA finals at 157 pounds. Joey McKenna, Age: 19 Joey McKenna, a Junior World silver medalist last year, deferred enrollment at Stanford this year. In late December, McKenna placed third at the Midlands competing unattached. In February, McKenna, a Blair Academy product, won a gold medal at the Cerro Pelado International, which was his first gold medal on the senior level. He is currently ranked No. 20 in the world at 65 kilos. Spencer Lee dominated his competition at the Walsh Ironman (Photo/Rob Preston)Spencer Lee, 16 Lee, a high school sophomore from Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania, is light years ahead of his competition at the high school level. In two years of high school wrestling, Lee has amassed a perfect record of 97-0. In addition to his two PIAA titles, he has won both the Super 32 Challenge and Walsh Ironman two times. Like Mark Hall, Lee won a Cadet World title in freestyle last summer. His mother Cathy was a Pan-American silver medalist in judo and Olympic alternate; his father Larry is former judo national team coach and served as the head coach for the visually impaired judo team for both the 1992 and 1996 Paralympic Games. Lee has drawn comparisons to four-time NCAA champion Logan Stieber, who recently tweeted about Lee: "Great workout this morning with @LeeSpencerlee36 wow he's a beast!!" Zain Retherford, Age: 19 Zain Retherford redshirted this past season at Penn State after earning All-American honors as a true freshman in 2014. He won a Cadet World title in freestyle in 2012. Last year he sent shockwaves through the wrestling world when he beat Logan Stieber in a dual meet. He came up short of making the Junior World Team in 2014, losing to Aaron Pico in the best-of-three finals of the World Team Trials. Chance Marsteller, Age: 19 Marsteller has been under a watchful eye ever since his eighth grade year when he competed in a college open and won a match. Amazingly, he lived up to the lofty expectations in high school, finishing his career as a four-time undefeated state champion in wrestling-rich Pennsylvania. Marsteller started his redshirt season at 157 pounds, and after a bit of a slow start moved up a weight class to 165 pounds and showed great promise, placing fourth at the Southern Scuffle. His future looks bright in Stillwater, but with two-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer returning to the Cowboy lineup next season, and 174-pound All-American Kyle Crutchmer back, it remains to be seen where Marsteller fits into OSU's plans next year. Zahid Valencia, Age: 18 At one point Zahid Valencia was the nation's No. 1 wrestler in the Class of 2015. He has hovered in the top five in the Class of 2015 for much of his career and finished ranked No. 3 overall, two spots below brother Anthony. The three-time California state champion went through a major growth spurt between his junior and senior years, moving up six weight classes from 132 pounds to 182 pounds. The weight jump didn't seem to hinder his performance, though. In fact, Zahid might be even more dominant now as an upperweight because of his ability to wrestle like a lightweight. This past season he become only the second wrestler ever to win four Walsh Ironman titles, joining David Taylor in that elite club. Zahid and his brother Anthony signed with Arizona State.

FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. -- Emmanuel College is pleased to announce the hiring of Link Davis as its new women's wrestling coach. The women's wrestling program will begin in the Fall of 2015 as EC's newest intercollegiate sport. This is very exciting news for Emmanuel as Davis is a very well respected coach within the collegiate and Olympic wrestling community. Davis' previous college coaching experience is well documented as he served as assistant wrestling coach for Oklahoma City University, where he has helped build its women's wrestling program into a national powerhouse. Under Davis' guidance, OCU won two consecutive WCWA Women's national team titles and they finished second at the national tournament the following season. In three seasons, OCU women's wrestlers won eight individual WCWA national titles and four OCU women's wrestlers qualified for the 2008 Olympic Trials. Nate Moorman, Athletic Director at Emmanuel, is very familiar with Davis' coaching successes. Nate and his brother Jason were instrumental in founding the women's wrestling program at King University while Davis was at OCU. "I am excited to bring Link to Franklin Springs, Georgia because his vision is to create a program that will compete at the national level year after year, and I know that Link will succeed. Women's college wrestling is a rapidly growing sport and Emmanuel is excited to be a part of it." Davis, about his coming to Emmanuel, says "I am coming into Emmanuel looking for student-athletes that are not only searching for a great education but who are also looking to wrestle at the highest level possible, to showcase their wrestling abilities beyond a college environment." Davis has also been an integral part in coaching the U.S. Senior women's team, which competed at the 2010 Canada Cup and the 2010 Junior World team, competing in Hungary. He also helped coach a WCWA college team which competed at the Spanish Grand Prix. Davis has coached a number of other teams that have competed in Canadian tournaments. As a college wrestler, Davis was a member of Central Oklahoma's 1996 NCAA Division II runner-up squad. He is married to Kristie Davis, a two-time World champion and nine-time World medalist in women's freestyle wrestling, and a member of the 2010 U.S. World Team. They have three children - Bryleigh, Kayla, and Lilly. "I want to thank Nate, President White, and the search committee for giving me this opportunity. God has had a hand in this process and I look forward to creating something good here in Georgia."

The NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee recommended that two experimental rules to decrease stalling become permanent starting with the 2015-16 season. The committee, which met April 13-15 in Indianapolis, endorsed a drop-down rule and the neutral position stalling rule with some tweaks so referees will have a clearer understanding of how both should be applied. All rules proposals made by the committee must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which will discuss the wrestling recommendations via conference call June 24. In the recommendation for the drop-down rule, the referee should immediately begin a five-second count for stalling once the offensive wrestler positions himself with one or both hands below the buttocks of the defensive wrestler. The referee will stop his count when the offensive wrestler improves his position, moves his hold above the buttocks of the defensive wrestler or releases the hold. If the referee reaches the fifth count before the offensive wrestler improves his position, moves his hold above the buttocks or releases the hold, the offensive wrestler will be called for stalling. Additionally, if the offensive wrestler lifts the defensive wrestler’s leg off the mat and both wrestlers reach the standing position, the referee will stop his five-second count. But if the offensive wrestler does not continue to attempt to return the defensive wrestler to the mat, the referee can call stalling as in the past without the five-second count. Another stalling call, in regards to the drop-down rule, can be made by the referee if the offensive wrestler applies a hold with his hand or arm around the defensive wrestler’s waist while applying the other arm/hand below the buttocks. In that scenario, the five-second count will start and continue until the hold below the buttocks has been released. The experimental rule involving the standing neutral position was used only in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic in November. After watching it being called in that event, the committee recommended that when wrestling is stopped in the neutral standing position for going out of bounds, the referee can make one of the three following calls: • Stalling on one or both wrestlers for leaving the wrestling area. • Stalling for pushing or pulling the opponent out of bounds. • Wrestling action is taking place. (It should be noted that a tie-up, including an under hook with no attempt to initiate an offensive move, is not considered an offensive or defensive attack.) “The experimental rules moving forward indicate that they were received well by the membership,” said Jeff Swenson, the committee chair and the director of athletics at Augsburg College. “We certainly have cleaned up the verbiage in the drop-down rule to help ensure that it is called properly.” Other rules recommendations made by the committee include: • Awarding two points for a near fall if the referee reaches a two count. Four points would be awarded if the referee reaches a four count. Referees can now award two points when their count reaches two, and they can award three points if the count reaches five. • Experimenting with a rule in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic that would award three points for a takedown. • Separating the “control of mat area” and “questioning the referee” penalties in the penalty chart. If a coach leaves the restricted area, the penalty structure would be: a warning on the first offense; loss of a team point in the event standings/score on the second offense; and loss of two team points and ejection on the third offense. • When wrestlers interlock fingers in the neutral position, the referee would stop the action and call it potentially dangerous, and any subsequent offenses would require the referee to call stalling on the wrestler who initiates the fingers interlocking. • Eliminating the four team points awarded for a technical fall if the winning wrestler fails to score a near fall. • When the offensive wrestler gets set in the referee’s position, the referee would wait a minimum of one second after saying, “set,” before sounding the whistle for wrestling to begin. • The committee had a thorough dialogue about using dual meet scoring in individual tournaments instead of tournament scoring. Committee members feel a move to dual scoring would be fan-friendly and easier to follow. The committee will study the issue further to make sure there are no unintended consequences, if a change is made in the future.

The scholastic wrestling season of 2014-15 has reached its conclusion. Last week at this time, InterMat released the final national weight class rankings and awarded its high school Wrestler of the Year. Today, InterMat recognizes the top prospects at each of the grade levels; the 100 best Class of 2015 (senior) wrestlers regardless of weight, the 50 best from the Class of 2016 (juniors) and Class of 2017 (sophomores), the 25 best from the Class of 2018 (freshmen), and the 15 best junior high wrestlers. There are no changes in the top wrestler at each grade level from the previous update that was done in late January. The following wrestlers remain top-ranked in the final ranking for each class in their present grade: Seniors (Class of 2015): Anthony Valencia (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 170 pounds, signed with Arizona State Juniors (Class of 2016): Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), 170 pounds Sophomores (Class of 2017): Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional, Pa.), 120 pounds Freshmen (Class of 2018): Cade Olivas (St. John Bosco, Calif.), 106 pounds Junior High (Class of 2019/2020): Josh McKenzie (New Jersey) The next grade rankings will come in mid-to-late June, and reflect the initial prospect rankings of the 2015-16 wrestling cycle; top 100 wrestlers for the new senior group (Class of 2016), top 50 for the Class of 2017 and 2018 respectively, top 25 for the Class of 2019 (incoming freshmen), and top 15 for junior high wrestlers. Among the biggest upward movers in the final senior class rankings were Keegan Moore (Putman City, Okla.), up 11 spots to No. 18 after winning a FloNationals title; Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), up 14 spots to No. 27 after his victory over Josh Shields in the Dream Team Classic; Mason Reinhardt (Merrill, Wis.), making a debut appearance in the rankings at No. 37 after a state finals upset win over Beau Breske; and Bryce Parson (Lewiston, Idaho), up 31 spots to No. 41 after a dominant run to a NHSCA Senior Nationals title. Chad Red ((New Palestine, Ind.), a Cadet National freestyle champion last summer in Fargo, goes to No. 6 in the junior rankings after a FloNationals finals victory over Luke Pletcher (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Within the junior group, it's a debut appearance in the top 10 for Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind.), who goes to No. 6 overall after a FloNationals finals victory over Luke Pletcher, while Rudy Yates (Carl Sandburg, Ill.) moved up 26 spots to No. 15 overall after winning a state title. Notable among the group of sophomores are a pair of wrestlers making debut appearances in the graderankings, and doing so in the upper half. State champion Trent Hillger (Lake Fenton, Mich.) appears at No. 19, while Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) enters at No. 22 after an excellent second half of the scholastic season. Newcomers to the rankings for the Class of 2018 include single-class state champions Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) and Shane Griffith (Bergen Catholic, N.J.); they enter in at No. 11 and No. 17 respectively, while for the junior high group, it's Julian Chlebove (Pennsylvania), who comes in at No. 6 after placing third in the high school division of the FloNationals and winning age group titles at PJW state and Reno Worlds. InterMat Platinum is required to view all the rankings. InterMat ranks the top 100 seniors, top 50 juniors, top 50 sophomores, top 25 freshmen, and top 15 junior high wrestlers.

PHILADELPHIA -- After six years as an assistant coach with the University of Pennsylvania wrestling program, Matt Valenti has been named Assistant Athletic Director for Recruiting as announced by the University’s Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics. He will transition from the coaching staff and begin his new duties immediately. Matt Valenti“First and foremost I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Grace Calhoun and Alanna Shanahan for this opportunity. I am humbled to be in this position and am tremendously excited to work with our senior leadership as an Assistant Athletic Director,” Valenti said. “I look forward to working with our DRIA staff to help mold the future experiences of Penn student-athletes. At the same time this is a bittersweet moment for me. The Penn Wrestling program has been a major part of my life for the past 13 years and has provided me with the resources to accomplish so many goals on and off the mat. As I transition to this new chapter of my career I know that the lessons I have learned as a coach and as a student-athlete within the Penn Wrestling program have provided a strong foundation for the future. It is an exciting time to be a fan of Penn Wrestling as the future of the program is very bright and I look forward to supporting the program from a slightly different vantage point.” Valenti began his work in administration in 2012 when he added Assistant to the Deputy Director of Athletics duties to his coaching work. In that role, he served as a liaison to Penn’s Admissions and Financial Aid Offices for 32 sports while also assisting in training and orientation of new coaches and serving as an intermediary between coaches and academic administration on campus. “This is a tremendous opportunity, not only for Matt but the entire Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics,” Deputy Director of Athletics Alanna Shanahan said. “Few embody the ideals of success in competition, in the classroom, and after graduation like Matt Valenti. He has represented the University at the highest levels of his sport and has been a vital part of our wrestling program for over the last decade. For the last three years, he has been working towards this moment as he began assisting me with recruiting coordination and he is ready for this next step in his professional career.” Alex Tirapelle, head wrestling coach at Penn, congratulated Valenti on his new role and thanked him for his career both on and off the mat for the Quakers. “I want to congratulate Matt on his recent promotion,” Tirapelle said. “Matt has long aspired to get into athletic administration, so we are excited for him and his future role. Matt's Penn tenure already includes time as both a student-athlete and a coach, during which he has made significant contributions to the wrestling program. Matt is extremely hardworking, so we're looking forward to his influence extending beyond Penn Wrestling to the broader Penn Athletics community” A two-time national champion at 133 pounds for the Quakers (2006-07), Valenti still holds Penn’s all-time wins record with 137 victories during his standout career in a Penn singlet. A three-time EIWA champion, Valenti was twice named EIWA Wrestler of the Year and was the 2007 Ivy League Wrestler of the Year to cap off three first-team All-Ivy selections. Upon graduation, Valenti competed in freestyle where he advanced to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials semifinals and reached the U.S. World Team Trials semifinals on three occasions. He was the 2010 Sunkist Kids International champion and claimed the bronze medal at the 2009 Pan-American Championships. While competing and coaching, Valenti continued his studies at Drexel University where he earned a Masters in Sport Management in 2014. A national search will begin immediately for Valenti’s successor.

Cameron Skyora shoots on Austin Anderly in the state finals (Photo/The Guillotine) State wrestling tournaments are personal. No accomplished wrestler wants to finish a career without winning at least one. Winning a national tournament like the Ironman or Fargo is much more prestigious. After all, the college recruiters and rankers are all over these events. State titles are nice, but those national titles are what puts a wrestler on the map. But to the wrestler, he has to win a state championship. It's the one event that's guaranteed every passionate fan in his state will be planted in the seat. All his peers are in the tunnel. His family and most of the town takes up a section of the arena. It's a must-win event. Sadly we have entered an era where wrestlers are able to dodge one another. With the three classes in Minnesota, it makes it unusual to have a big showdown. Usually during the finals, one can hear the fans wonder out loud how the champion from Class A would do against the champion from Class AAA. Furthermore, with 14 weight classes it's somewhat easy to either move up or down to avoid an opponent. This year Minnesota had only one weight class in the entire individual tournament that featured returning state champions. Here's where the road takes a different twist. These two guys wanted to wrestle one another! Austin Anderly vs. Cameron Sykora Anderly entered the 2014-15 season as a two-time defending champion in class A. He has won every match he has wrestled at the Xcel Center in St. Paul. The first time he arrived as a sophomore, his head coach Scott Wilson would not let him even look at the eight mats on the floor before he wrestled that weekend. He was a nervous young kid at the time and Wilson didn't want to take any chances. Later, after cruising to his first title, Austin had some trouble wondering what would motivate him. Winning a state title at an early age can do funny things to an athlete. We've seen plenty walk away from the sport. Anderly was inspired to get better and worked with the long tradition of wrestlers from LeSueur-Henderson. The Pfarr family is the most well-known wrestling family from the area and there have been seven state titles awarded in the last seven years from this tiny school. A funny thing happened during that first championship. Mr. Pfarr somehow misplaced a pair of jeans the morning he was to watch his son wrestle in the finals. Without giving it much thought, he reached into his wife's belongings and slipped on a pair of her jeans. His son won and for the next six years, some father from LH has worn those same lucky pants. Mr. Anderly would wear those pants on championship Saturday. Some stories are just fun to tell. Cameron Sykora (Photo/The Guillotine)Cameron Sykora seems to have been around for a decade. His first state title came as an eighth-grader and to this day, many people think it's his biggest win. It prevented Mitch McKee from winning as an eighth-grader at 106 pounds. Since then, Cameron has cruised to an additional three state titles. This year he is entering some rarefied air. He is going after title number five. The only person who realistically could stop Sykora is Anderly. Fortunately with a bit of luck, they were placed on opposite sides of the 16-man brackets. It would turn out to be the most anticipated and best match of the finals. Both of these guys love the same things. Like most kids in rural Minnesota, they can't get enough time in a boat or the woods with a rifle. Sykora loves walleye fishing, while Anderly loves hooking bass. They are both good students and both have wrestling aspirations beyond high school. Sykora is staying close to home and will wrestle for Coach Bono at South Dakota State. This caused quite a bit of noise late last summer as he changed his mind from North Dakota State. Anderly had several good looks but decided to settle at Division III wrestling power UW-La Crosse. After talking to several alumni, including national champion Matt Mauseth, Austin knew it would be a good place get a degree and become the college wrestler he thinks he can be. Here's the part no one really wants me to write. These two guys are far from friends and one of the reasons they are at the same weight class is both want to end the streak of the other. They want to beat the other ... and badly. Anderly or Sykora could have easily moved to another weight and likely breezed to another trip to the top of the podium. It's great they chose to get it on. Sykora kicked off his first match with a 15-0 technical fall and the next two matches weren't much closer. He would put up an additional 22 points and was full of confidence. Anderly didn't have as easy a time, but still won three matches (pin, 9-4, 9-2) to reach the finals. The showdown was set. The first three weight classes were over and it was time for the 126-pound weight class. In AA, Paul Fitterer of Cannon Falls, was finally able to secure his first state championship as a senior finishing 39-2. In AAA, Mitch McKee was finishing off a difficult, but rewarding season with his second state title. As the big match was about to kick off in class A, the announcer screamed into his microphone, "Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn't get any better than this!" Every once in a while, the wrestling lives up to the hype. It would tonight. Austin Anderly used an ankle pick to get the first takedown of the match (Photo/The Guillotine)Period 1: Both guys meet in the center and immediately start hand fighting. In the first full minute, both wrestlers take a few leg shots but they are only moves to keep the opponent honest. At the :50 mark, Anderly reaches down with his hand and catches Sykora leaning. Anderly picks us the first takedown on an ankle pick he never uses. The look on his face is a combination of surprise and deep satisfaction. The crowd gasps at this. Ten seconds later, Sykora is out. The last half a minute of the first period is a fun barrage of takedown attempts with neither able to score. Period 2: Austin Anderly wins the coin toss and defers. Sykora chooses bottom needing points. 20 seconds into the period Sykora manages to escape and we are all tied at 2-2. By now these guys are warmed up and can hardly wait to get at the other. Sykora is done being tentative and knows he has to get this takedown. He figures Anderly will choose bottom for the third period and he has to score points in this period. He comes at Anderly with a front headlock and leans to his left, then to his right. Cameron throws Anderly aside and manages to sneak around the back. Just like that it's 4-2 Sykora. Anderly wastes no time and gets to his feet and slips away for the escape. The period comes to a close with Sykora leading 4-3. Cameron Sykora (Photo/The Guillotine)Period 3: Anderly has the choice here. Every casual wrestling mind is thinking "down" ... and when he picks neutral, the crowd gasps. Anderly knows he needs a point to tie and a takedown to win. Earlier he mentioned he has no intention of getting under Sykora's famous tilts. He will take his chances on his feet. Anderly comes at Sykora without fear. It's clear by now there is little separation in talent between these guys. Sykora is able to fight off every charge and tries another front headlock. The ref breaks the action after a minute and Anderly comes in on a leg attack with nothing but air. Sykora is backing up with 40 seconds to go and the ref calls out his only stalling warning. Anderly keeps coming and Cameron does a beautiful job of blocking. The whistle blows and it's over. Sykora will win and join Mark Hall as a five-time state champion. (Hall has one more season remaining.) Anderly is not angry or upset and he meets Sykora in the middle. They exchange a courtesy hug and both run off the mat. The crowd cheers for the great effort. Later, both wrestlers will pay respect to the other, each stating it was the best opponent they saw this year. I argue it's the best they ran into in several years. If you're wondering if these two young men are going to be friends, forget it. They likely will never hook up again, but we were there to see two of the best choose to risk everything. Both needed to know if they had what it takes. Every once in a while something happens in wrestling that makes us proud to be a fan. Austin Anderly and Cameron Sykora made that happen for us. This story was originally published by The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- Former West Liberty University wrestling All-American and assistant coach Mitch Smith is coming home. Hilltopper athletic director Jim Watson announced today that Smith has been handed the reins as head wrestling coach at West Liberty. Smith replaces Brian Davis, who announced his retirement from coaching following the 2014-15 season in order to pursue other interests. "First of all, I want to express our appreciation to Brian Davis for all of his hard work and commitment to our student-athletes during his eight years with the wrestling program," Watson said. "We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. "We're very pleased to welcome Mitch back to campus. As a former All-American and assistant with the program, Mitch is well-versed on our 50-plus years of wrestling tradition at West Liberty and he's excited about the opportunity to help build on that foundation." Smith returns to WLU after spending the past three seasons as the founding head wrestling coach at Alderson-Broaddus. Starting the program from scratch, Smith's Battlers made their intercollegiate debut with an all-freshman squad in the 2013-14 season and just concluded their second full year of varsity competition. Among the highlights of Smith's tenure at A-B were a team championship in the 2015 Southern Virginia Invitational, a fourth-place finish in the 2015 West Virginia Intercollegiate Championships and a Top 20 ranking in the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association's All-Academic Team rankings. Four A-B wrestlers earned national All-Academic Team honors last month. "I want to thank Athletic Director Jim Watson and President Dr. John McCullough for this opportunity," Smith said. "It's a dream come true for a college wrestler to come back to his alma mater as the head coach. I'm looking forward to the process of getting our program back to where it belongs, ranked among the top teams in the country. My staff and I will hit the ground running to get that accomplished." Smith was a West Virginia high school mat legend at Ripley High School, winning three state championships and putting together a dazzling 195-3 record for the Vikings. He also won a pair of USA Wrestling national freestyle titles before heading off to NCAA Division I Hofstra (N.Y.) University to begin his collegiate wrestling career. After two seasons at Hofstra, Smith transferred to West Liberty for his final two years and earned NCAA Division II All-America honors in 2009 and 2010. He was ranked No. 1 in the nation at his weight at some point in each of his two years with the Hilltoppers and finished his West Liberty career with an impressive 58-9 record. He stayed on for two seasons with the Hilltoppers as an assistant wrestling coach under Davis before accepting the head coaching position at Alderson-Broaddus in May 2012. Davis, a West Liberty Hall of Famer and former national champion, produced five Top 20 finishes at the NCAA Division II National Tournament in his eight seasons at the WLU helm. He coached nine All-Americans, including Doug Surra, the 2009 national champion at 141 pounds, along with national runners-up Mitch Knapp (2011, 197 pounds) and Jarrod Shaw (2010, 157 pounds). His teams also succeeded in the classroom. West Liberty finished in the Top 20 of the NWCA National Academic team standings four times and 38 of his wrestlers were selected for the NWCA All-Academic Team during his eight seasons. "I am grateful to West Liberty for giving me the opportunity to impact the lives of so many outstanding student-athletes over the past eight years," Davis said. "I'm also grateful to have worked alongside some great coaches. This experience has enriched my life and allowed me to enrich the lives of others. I only hope I did these young men justice and served them well."

Coach Steve Costanzo has built the St. Cloud State wrestling program into a Division II wrestling power. After finishing in the top eight at the NCAAs for six consecutive seasons (2009-2014), with three straight runner-up finishes (2011-2013), St. Cloud State finally broke through this year and won the school's first national championship in any sport. It was Costanzo's second national championship as a coach. He guided Dana College to a national championship at the NAIA level in 2006 before taking over as head wrestling coach at St. Cloud State. InterMat caught up with Costanzo and talked to him about his team and the season, whether he has aspirations of coaching at the Division I level, what the reinstatement of Northern State's wrestling program means to the sport, Joey Davis' greatness, Mike Denney's success and more. Steve Costanzo (Photo/Tom Nelson)Your program had been knocking on the door for several years and this past season you were finally able to come through and win the NCAA Division II title. What made this year's team special? Costanzo: Team chemistry was huge. We've had better teams in the past. That's one of the things that we pinpointed from the very beginning of the season ... We needed to be closer. We needed to be more accountable to each other. We needed to have more of a family-type atmosphere. That was the biggest difference. We started the season with 44 guys. We ended the season with 46 guys. I think that's the first time in 20 years I've ever had a group of athletes start the season together and end the season together. That's a testament to how close these guys were to each other. That chemistry went a long way. You finished runner-up at the Super 3 Regional and entered the national tournament ranked fourth. Did your team and coaching staff relish the underdog role? Costanzo: We didn't really talk about that too much. I still felt like we had a chance to win the national championship with six guys. If you qualify out of our region, there's a good chance you're going to be an All-American. I was obviously concerned because we left a couple good guys home that I felt like we really needed to make a run for a national championship. But the way these guys wrestled and stuck by each other through those two days in St. Louis is something I'll never forget. Tim Prescott defeated Augustana College's T.J. North to win the NCAA title at 125 (Photo/Simon Jimenez)On paper, going into the tournament, it looked like Tim Prescott was maybe a fringe All-American, yet he stormed through the tournament and won the NCAA title. How did that happen? Costanzo: He was just gritty, a lot of fight. He always had a lot of talent. He works really hard. He's been able to wrestle with the best guys in the country. He's beaten a lot of them. He has been able to take down T.J. North in matches they previously wrestled. But the difference was the way he kept position. He wasn't taken down the entire tournament. He wasn't turned the entire tournament. He just did a great job of staying in good position and keeping good head position and hand fighting. He capitalized on mistakes and just wrestled really smart. Austin Goergen was an NCAA runner-up at heavyweight and earned his second All-American honor in two seasons. Is he the type of athlete who won't be satisfied unless he wins national titles the next two seasons? Costanzo: He's not very happy with the outcome of the national tournament, even though he lost to a really good wrestler in the finals. He was pretty heartbroken, devastated. He's a very emotional wrestler. He puts a lot of emotions into his wrestling. I think that's healthy to an extent. Whether he's going to be satisfied or not winning one or two championships, that's for him to decide, obviously. I know it's definitely a goal of his to win a championship. It's definitely a very realistic goal as well. There is not a heavyweight in the country that is more exciting to watch than Austin Goergen. He wrestles for seven minutes. He's fun to watch. He's entertaining. He scores a lot of points. That's what people want to see. When you wrestle a style of wrestling like that you know good things are going to happen for that kid over the next couple years. How did the feeling of winning the NCAA Division II title this year compare to how you felt when you led Dana College to an NAIA title in 2006? Costanzo: Both championships were really special. Very similar feelings. I cherish both the same. Obviously, it's been a long time since I felt that way ... 2006 to 2015, that's nine years. So it was nice to get that feeling back again. The NCAA championship eluded us the previous eight years. We accomplished some really good things in those eight years. We won the National Duals a couple years. We had a 54-match win streak in duals. We won the regional tournament several years. We won the conference for a fourth year in a row. This team has accomplished some great things. It's just that one tournament that has eluded us. To finally accomplish it was a really great feeling. Steve Costanzo (Photo/Tom Nelson)You have coached teams to national titles in two different divisions. Do you have aspirations of making it three divisions and coaching at the Division I level? Costanzo: I don't have any aspirations of coaching at the Division I level. I'm just fortunate that I have the opportunity to coach wrestling in general. I don't think it has anything to do with divisions. I have no aspirations to leave St. Cloud State and go Division I or anything like that. I'm happy and content here. I love the kids and the program. We have excellent alumni support and administrative support. No aspirations to leave. I'm just happy that they give me the opportunity to fulfil my passion, give back to the sport and help young men succeed. That's what I'm most fortunate for. Have you ever been contacted by a Division I program looking for a head coach? Costanzo: No, I haven't been contacted by anyone. Again, I have no aspirations of coaching at another level or anything like that. I'm content with just coaching the sport in general, and that's the most important thing to me. Two Minnesota collegiate programs, St. Cloud State and Augsburg, won national titles in wrestling this year. Both programs were underdogs coming into the national tournament. Do you take pride in the fact that two Minnesota programs won national titles in wrestling in the same season? Costanzo: Yeah, I do. Minnesota is a special place in terms of wrestling. The Gophers had a great season as well, but came up a little bit short. We have an excellent Division I program here in Minnesota. St. Cloud State had a good year. Augsburg College had a good year. Rochester Community and Technical College did really well. There's just great wrestling in general here. I have a lot of pride in telling people across the country that I coach a team in Minnesota. Great wrestling here. Again, I'm really fortunate that I have the opportunity to be a coach in this state. It was announced this week that Northern State, a team in your conference, has been reinstated as a wrestling program. How important was that decision? Costanzo: It's very important. You asked me about what kind of feeling it was to win the national championship ... well, when they announced that they were going to reinstate the program at Northern State, I think I felt some of the same feelings that I felt when we won the title. I was just filled with so much emotion, so happy and proud of that administration for stepping up the way they did and reinstating that program. It's really important to the future of our sport that programs like Northern State aren't just pushed aside and eliminated. That just creates a domino effect for other universities, specifically in this area of the country, to say, 'Northern State did it, so it's OK for us to do it too.' It's pivotal that we continue to keep these programs strong and moving forward. That's what happened. I'm extremely proud and happy that Northern State has reinstated its wrestling program. Your former coach Mike Denney has turned Maryville into a Division II contender in short order. What do you make of the success he's having at Maryville? Costanzo: I'm not surprised. He's one of the best coaches in the country, if not the best. There are a lot of unique characteristics with Coach Denney's coaching philosophies. I'm not surprised by what they have accomplished in a short period of time, and I'm not going to be surprised next year either. They're going to be right in the hunt for a championship, and in my opinion they will probably be the favorite next year heading into the season. They have the right team and right coaches to lead them to the top. Another Division II program, Notre Dame College, has a student-athlete named Joey Davis who has a perfect record of 110-0 and three NCAA titles heading into his senior season. Is he the best Division II wrestler you have ever seen? Costanzo: I would definitely say he's one of the best I've ever seen. He's extremely special, not just for our division. I think he could compete in any division and do well in Division I. I think he can compete with the best of them. I'm a big fan of Joey Davis. I love watching him wrestle. He's doing great things for our sport. He has done great things for Division II wrestling. Joey Davis is definitely one of the best I've ever seen. Steve Costanzo (Photo/Tom Nelson)Based on what you have returning next season and the recruits you signed, what do you see in the coming years for the St. Cloud State wrestling program? Costanzo: Next year we have all of our national tournament qualifiers back. We have a couple other guys with national tournament experience back as well. I think we're going to have a really good team next year barring any injuries and things like that. Is it going to be any easier? No. Maryville University has everybody back. University of Nebraska-Kearney has everybody back. Mercyhurst University has everybody back. Notre Dame College is definitely not happy with their sixth-place finish, and you know they are going to come back strong. It's going to be another dogfight. Division II just continues to get tougher year after year. It doesn't get any easier. This story also appears in the April 17 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Cleveland State this week announced the reinstatement and continued funding of its Division I wrestling program. Less than a month after being nixed in favor of a new lacrosse team and women's program, the university hosted a referendum asking if students would increase their fees $1 per credit hour in order to support the wrestling team. That's about $15 per student a semester. The reinstatement of the program should be celebrated. The wrestling community mobilized, made headlines, stayed respectful and pointed to the flawed logic AD John Parry used in asking for the removal of a sport endemic to the greater Cleveland community in favor of one not sanctioned by the high school state athletic association. Jason Bryant's interview also proved to be helpful in helping the wrestling community understand Parry's thinking, and it seemed to help him understand that counter argument to the elimination of the program. One negative note to consider is that wrestling is being hijacked on college campuses and held for ransom, with few guarantees of long-term stability. Programs, both healthy and those that have been reinstated (Bucknell, Arizona State, Cleveland State) are doing so under conditions similar to a hostage-taking. Pay and you can have back your life, don't and you are no longer viable. Wrestling should continue to fundraise ahead of these incidents, but something needs to be done to curb this behavior by athletic directors. This is no longer a matter of discussion of if they are holding the sport for ransom, but how many programs will be dealt with before something is done to stop the behavior. The concerning part is that if wrestling were free of the university system there would be guarantees that the monies raised by each program's fundraising base would have direct oversight by the program. In places like Arizona State where large sums of cash were raised, the athletic directors have first dibs on the whole kit and caboodle. How the money is spent will never be something left solely to Coach Jones, or any of his counterparts. The concern of course is that as the NCAA is pressured to pay players, sports like wrestling will face more of these ransom situations, be asked to pay up, but eventually be cut anyway. In the circumstance that schools begin axing large numbers of "non-profit" teams the club model seems much more effective in preserving the tradition and competition of traditional American wrestling. For now the option of moving to a club system is only a thought, but with powerful alumni groups, media in place and traditions secured the move to an independent model might not be far off. To your questions ... Q: What moves in the other martial arts translate well to wrestling? Best moves from judo, BJJ, karate, etc.? -- @alliseeis_ Foley: This question had me a little stumped when it came to karate, but I'm going to give this my best. The first thing to recognize is the separation of sports styles between striking and non-striking. In your example are judo and jiu-jitsu, both of which are non-striking grappling arts that have been extended over time from traditional wrestling, mostly out of eastern and Central Asia. As such, there are a myriad moves seen across all three styles. The move most frequently being transitioned (back) into freestyle wrestling is a simple kimura, or key lock. The move, which was just used by Henry Cejudo against Tony Ramos at Agon, and Reineris Salas versus Ed Ruth at the World Cup, is not illegal unless taken far outside the shoulder and exerted for pressure. Last year at the Golden Grand Prix Jake Varner used the same defense (unsuccessfully) against Azerbaijan's Khetag Gazyumov. No penalty was called because there was not intent to harm. From judo the upper-body clinches and attacks from overhooks are brilliant. Though there is a loss from not having the gi to hold wrestlers have seen some great crossover at even the highest levels. Karate is a striking sport so the crossover won't exist, though I suppose the speed and agility with which athletes strike and avoid strikes could be helpful to wrestlers from neutral. Q: Why in the world did the finals between Iran-USA start before the TV broadcast? -- @Rob_SwagginU Foley: I was all dolled up for a wedding this weekend and therefore wasn't on site for the World Cup. My guess is that there was only room for seven live matches and they wanted to ensure that they captured the final action in case it had team implications. I know that is was annoying, though there was live stream available at the United World Wrestling site. Logan Storley celebrates after defeating Kyle Crutchmer (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What are your thoughts on Logan Storley announcing he will train and fight MMA instead of wrestle on the international scene? -- Gregg Y. Foley: I could see Logan being a very good grappler and with a frame like his and maybe even a powerful striker. I wish him the best of luck in choosing his path, and I tend to think that it was the best one for him given the concentration of talent at 74 kilos in men's freestyle. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Jordan Burroughs looking sharp in win No. 101 Excellent comeback by Haji Aliyev Q: Why the cheap shot at Duke? Do you have data to substantiate this claim (of grade inflation)? -- @stollio3 Foley: There was nothing meant in the comment, but I appreciate that Duke feels attacked. Apologies to the wrestlers who work hard on the mat and in the classroom, and to the staff who comes to their defense. No harm meant in pointing it out, but I can see that it was misinterpreted. I'll do better next time. Q: Do you think MMA will ever be a college sport like wrestling? -- Gregg Y. Foley: No. Absolutely not. And it will never be an Olympic sport. Q: Did you see this? Wyoming will honor scholarship to Trout, who lost left leg -- Jared H. Foley: Total class move by Wyoming! THOUGHT OF THE WEEK By Chuck P. I would like to see collegiate wrestling adopt the Olympic-style mat with a one-meter "zone" provided immediately adjacent to the out-of-bounds line. The reason for this will become apparent shortly. I would also repeal the current out-of-bounds rule and restore the previous rule. Again, why even have boundaries if we can wrestle outside of them and even utilize them as a protection against getting taken down. Too any wrestlers just run away to the out-of-bounds area rather than actually compete in the center of the mat. Additionally, I would eliminate riding time. As currently utilized by most wrestlers, this activity simply awards competitors with an extra point for being able to hold your opponent in your control for one minute. In current usage, it has nothing to do whatsoever with the offensive wrestler trying to turn his opponent for back points and/or a fall. Let's get real. The sport is not called "holding" or "riding." It's called "wrestling." Too many matches are determined by one wrestler just being more adept at holding onto his opponent. There has been much talk in recent years about collegiate style wrestling adopting the pushout rule from Olympic-style wrestling. I would oppose this too. Way too many international matches are determined by one wrestler being more adept at pushing than the other wrestler. I'd hate to lose a match 1-0 just because my opponent was a better pusher. Again, the sport is not called "pushing," it's called "wrestling." So where does that leave us? We need to make just one more simple adjustment. We need to reinterpret stalling! With the new mat, as defined above, any time either wrestler in the neutral position wanders into the "zone," the mat official would point at the wrestler, call out his color (red or green) and say, loudly, "ZONE." If the wrestler so identified works back to the middle and begins wrestling offensively again, no problem. If he does not leave the zone and move back to the middle, he immediately gets a stall warning. When we see, below, how stall warnings are penalized, I daresay, wrestlers will not wander into the zone. How do we score stalling in my new interpretation of the rule? Simple. The first warning is just that . . . a warning. The second warning provides one point to the aggressive wrestler. The third warning provides two points to the aggressive wrestler. The fourth warning results in disqualification of the passive wrestler. And here's an added proviso that will change everything. If you are disqualified from any match in a tournament, you are also disqualified from the tournament. No further bouts for you and no further points from you for your team. This is pretty simple stuff. Change the mat to include the zone. Eliminate riding time. Repeal the current out-of-bounds rule and replace it with the former rule, actively call stalling in all positions, as defined above, and change the point awards and disqualification for stalling. I'm betting that within no time at all collegiate wrestling will graduate from its current state as a "yawner" for fans and return to a vital, exciting, thrilling sport replete with major decisions, technical falls, falls, and very very few bouts that proceed to one or more overtimes with 1-1 scores and no stalling calls. Let's get on with it.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State wrestling team and head coach Zeke Jones announced on Thursday that six more wrestlers will join the Sun Devil program, including NLI signee Tanner Hall (Meridian, Idaho/Meridian HS). Hall, who will compete for the Sun Devils at heavyweight, is a three-time high school state champion and a two-time member of the Junior World Team. In 2012, Hall participated at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Hall wrestled for ASU All-American and member of the 1988 NCAA Championship team, Mike Davies prior to training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for 18 months. Hall also spent 18 months living in Uganda for his Mormon mission. Also joining the Sun Devil program in the fall are Jake Deutschlander (Bath, Me./Hyde School/160 pounds), Chance Eskam (Carlsbad, Calif./Carlsbad HS/Heavyweight), Tyler Sage (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay HS/138 pounds), Kirk Wilson (Baton Rouge, La./Dunham HS/Heavyweight), and Kerrigan Kohnen (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Wakeland HS/Heavyweight). A 2014 Greco National runner-up at 160 pounds, Deutschlander is a three-time Greco All-American and two-time freestyle state champion. In 2015, Deutschlander placed fifth and was named a National Preps All-American, and is also a two-time USA Wrestling Folkstyle All-American. In his senior season at Carlsbad HS, Eskam was ranked at No. 18 by FloWrestling, and placed at the California State Championships twice. Eskam is a three-time CIF Champion, a three-time Masters Champion, and three-time State qualifier. Eskam earned high school All-America honors, and was the Temecula Valley �Battle for the Belt Champion'. His older brother Chace Eskam was a two-year starting heavyweight for the Sun Devils, and was named the 2015 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Sage finished his career at Cypress Bay High School with a record of 186-35, including a 60-6 mark in his senior season. Sage is a two time district champion and a two time regional champion, qualifying for the Florida State Championships three times. In 2015, Sage finished fourth at the FHSAA Championships, and is also a two-time Disney Duals All-American. A Louisiana State Champion and NHSCA All-American, Wilson wrestled for Dunham High School in Baton Rouge. Wilson, who intends to major in business at Arizona State was a Louisiana Classic Champion, and will likely wrestle at heavyweight. A member of the USA Wrestling national team, Kohnen, a heavyweight out of Frisco, Texas, is a two-time regional champion and two-time state finalist. He has amassed more than 150 wins with 100 pins, breaking the single-season school record for wins with 64, including 57 by fall. Kohnen was a THWCA Most Outstanding Wrestler and four-time team captain for Frisco Wakeland HS. These six wrestlers will join ASU's No. 1-ranked signing class as announced in fall of 2014, which includes Lance Benick (Fridley, Minn./Totino-Grace), Josh Maruca (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), Anthony Valencia (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco), Zahid Valencia (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco), Josh Shields (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional), Connor Small (Issaquah Wash./Liberty Senior HS), Josh Kramer (Buckeye, Ariz./Desert Edge HS), Paul Klein (Brother Martin HS/New Orleans, La.), and Ted Rico (Combs HS/Queen Creek, Ariz.).

By Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland State saved its wrestling team Wednesday. The university announced it will restore and fund wrestling, reversing an earlier decision to defund the program. The school still plans to add men's lacrosse in 2016. CSU is to raise student fees $1 per credit hour, or about $15 a semester, to assure wrestling's future. "I can't overstate how excited we are," junior co-captain Riley Shaw said. "This obviously was pretty stressful. Me and my teammates, there was a lot of, 'What are we going to do?' This weight has been lifted off a lot of guys' shoulders." CSU chief marketing officer Rob Spademan said the decision to restore wrestling was reached at a senior staff meeting Wednesday afternoon. He said university took note of reaction to the March 30 announcement the team was to be defunded following the 2015-16 season to make room for men's lacrosse. Read full story ...

State tournaments across the country came to an end just over one month ago, and in some cases close to two months ago. Even so the last few weeks were pretty stock full of high-level competition with all-star matches and the various postseason national tournaments. With all of that in the books, the 2014-15 season/cycle has come to an end, and it's time to wrap things up with a pretty little bow. InterMat does so by naming its All-American Team, a listing of the top-ranked wrestler at each weight class, along with the selection of the Wrestler of the Year. It marks the fifth such year of this end of season presentation format for InterMat. Wrestler of the Year Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), 170, Junior Mark Hall defeated Luke Norland to win the Minnesota Christmas Tournament (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)This marks the second time in five years that the InterMat Wrestler of the Year distinction has gone to a non-senior, as Kyle Snyder won the award two years ago. Mark Hall's name has been on the national wrestling radar for a long time, going back to 2009-10 when he finished as a state runner-up at 119 pounds while competing for Ryle, Kentucky, in the seventh grade. The next year, he would transfer to Apple Valley, winning the first of his to-date five state titles at 130 pounds. That included a state semifinal victory over Ben Morgan in the ultimate tiebreaker, a defending state champion who he had also beaten earlier that season. The following 8-1 decision victory over Brady Johnshoy in the 2011 state final would be the last time Hall did not win by bonus points in a Minnesota state tournament bout (nine of his subsequent 16 state tournament victories have come by pin). His last four seasons of wrestling are the stuff of legend. It includes the present 123-match winning streak, which was immediately preceded by another lengthy winning streak. The lone loss in that stretch came in the Cheesehead Invitational semifinal of his ninth grade year, an ultimate tiebreaker defeat against Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill./University of Michigan). Hall's five-year high school record is a staggering 230-4, and a state title next season would make him the first-ever six-time state champion in the Gopher State. InterMat Wrestler of the Year Winners 2015: Mark Hall (Minnesota) 2014: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania) 2013: Kyle Snyder (Maryland) 2012: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana) 2011: Morgan McIntosh (California)During this current wrestling cycle, Hall was one of three Americans to win a FILA Cadet World freestyle championship, doing so at 76 kilos (167.5 pounds). His domestic title came in impressive fashion, two pins and three technical falls to reach the final, including a shutout technical fall over fellow top ten junior Nick Reenan; the championship victory came against another top ten junior in Beau Breske. The preseason period was also impressive for Hall, as he had arguably the signature high school wrestling moment of the whole cycle at the Who's Number One event. Hall earned a 10-2 major decision victory over Anthony Valencia, who is the No. 1 overall wrestler in this year's senior class. It additionally yielded an InterMat JJ Classic title, where he beat nationally ranked Jacob Holschlag (Union, Iowa) in the championship match. Hall went an undefeated 45-0 during this regular season, with all wins coming by bonus points, including three against nationally ranked opponents: an 11-2 major decision over Luke Norland (Jackson County, Minn.) in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, a 20-5 technical fall over Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook, N.J.) on day one of the Clash, and then a 16-8 major decision over Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) on day two of The Clash. Rounding out the All-American Team 106: Cade Olivas, St. John Bosco (Calif.), Freshman Olivas is the nation's top-ranked overall freshman. He represented the United States at 46 kilos (101.25 pounds) at the FILA Cadet World Championships in freestyle, after being the representative at 42 kilos (92.5 pounds) the previous year in Greco-Roman. Olivas was also champion of the preseason Super 32 Challenge. During the scholastic season, he was undefeated state champion, and also won the Walsh Jesuit Ironman. 113: Austin Gomez, Glenbard North (Ill.), Sophomore The last two major competitions of the year for Gomez earned him the No. 1 ranking in this weight class. At the state tournament, he beat Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 4-3 on a last-second takedown to avenge an 8-6 tiebreaker loss from the previous weekend. Then in the Agon: Iowa vs. the World event, Gomez beat two-time California state champion Justin Mejia (Clovis). Those wrestlers are ranked second and third nationally. During the past summer, Gomez was a Cadet National champion in both Greco-Roman and freestyle. 120: Spencer Lee, Franklin Regional (Pa.), Sophomore Two-time state champion, 97-0 career record, two-time Ironman champion, two-time Super 32 Challenge champion. I could bore you with more credentials for Spencer Lee, but to boil it down, the young man is very good. Lee is also the nation's No. 1 overall wrestler in the Class of 2016. He joined Mark Hall as being among the three Americans to win a FILA Cadet World freestyle championship, his coming at 50 kilos (110 pounds) in a second appearance at the competition. That resume, and a whole bunch more, makes Lee the runner-up for the InterMat Wrestler of the Year, the second straight year he has been in that position (last year it was joint with Bo Nickal, Chance Marsteller winning the award). During his sophomore year, just five of 48 matches did not end in a pin or technical fall; and five regular season victories over nationally ranked opponents. 126: Chad Red, New Palestine (Ind.), Junior The junior from Indiana won his third state title, and extended his career undefeated high school record to 139-0. Twelve state tournament matches for Red have included seven wins by fall. During this season, he won both the major preseason tournament(Super 32 Challenge) and postseason tournament (FloNationals). In addition, Red was a Cadet National freestyle champion this past summer at 126 pounds. 132: Kaid Brock Stillwater (Okla.), Senior Brock, an Oklahoma State signee, went an undefeated 46-0 during his senior season to earn a third straight state title. Notable tournament titles this season included those at the Kansas City Stampede and the Geary Invitational. Last summer, he earned a fourth straight freestyle All-American finish in Fargo; the last two coming at the Junior level, after he was twice a Cadet All-American. 138: Matthew Kolodzik, Blair Academy (N.J.), Senior Despite losing in overtime in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman final, Kolodzik had a superlative senior season in winning a fourth straight state-level title (the last three coming at the National Prep Championships, after winning an Ohio state title his freshman year at the Miami Valley School in Dayton). After the Ironman loss, Kolodzik went on to win titles at the Beast of the East and the Geary Invitational, where he avenged the Ironman loss to Davion Jeffries (Broken Arrow, Okla.) in the semifinal round. Prior to the season, the Princeton signee beat Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo.) in the Who's Number One event. 145: Michael Kemerer, Franklin Regional (Pa.), Senior Despite losing a 6-4 decision to national No. 2 Max Thomsen (Union, Iowa) on a late takedown Saturday night, Kemerer ends the season in the top spot on the strength of a more robust resume this season; one that includes two previous wins over Thomsen, those coming in the Super 32 Challenge final in early November and last month's Dapper Dan Wresting Classic. Kemerer's last calendar year includes a second Junior National freestyle All-American finish, a second Super 32 Challenge title (in a fourth finals appearance), a Walsh Jesuit Ironman title, a third Powerade championship (fourth finals appearance), and an undefeated state championship season (fourth finals appearance). The Iowa signee's regular season proper included eight wins over nationally ranked opponents. 152: Isaiah White, Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), Junior White is the fifth of eight underclass wrestlers that are ranked first nationally in their respective weight classes. He was undefeated (36-0) during the past season, including a 3-1 overtime decision victory in the Walsh Jesuit Ironman over national No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.). The state title this year his second in a row, while compliments the back-to-back Fargo freestyle titles that White has earned (2014 as a Junior, 2013 as a Cadet). 160: Alex Marinelli, St. Paris Graham (Ohio), Junior It was during a third straight Ironman finals match against a Blair Academy wrestler when Marinelli made the jump from elite to super elite, the 3-1 overtime decision victory against FILA Cadet World freestyle champion Mason Manville. It was the anchor match of a third straight state championship season, this one an undefeated one, for the Iowa commit. 182: Zahid Valencia, St. John Bosco (Calif.), Senior The Walsh Jesuit Ironman also served as the defining moment of this young man's season. He became just the second wrestler in the approximately 20-year history of the event to win four titles at the tournament, joining David Taylor (St. Paris Graham, Ohio/Penn State) in that distinguished club. Valencia scored a 2-2 ultimate tiebreaker rideout victory over national No. 2 Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) in that bout. The Arizona State signee also won a Super 32 Challenge title in the preseason, and went undefeated the rest of the regular season on the way to a third California state title. 195: Lance Benick, Totino-Grace (Minn.), Senior This is the second straight year for Benick to occupy the No. 1 ranking in this weight class. The Arizona State signee went undefeated for a second straight season on the way to his fourth state title. His anchor moment of the high school season came in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament when he beat national No. 2 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) by a 3-2 decision, which served to avenge his loss in last summer's Junior National freestyle final. 220: Jordan Wood, Boyertown (Pa.), Junior The Lehigh verbal commit was a fourth American to make the FILA Cadet World freestyle finals last summer, earning runner-up honors at 100 kilos (220.25 pounds). After finishing second at state in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns, Wood went undefeated in a truncated (due to injury) junior season to earn an elusive state gold medal. His career record is 107-4. 285: Michael Johnson, Jr., Montini Catholic (Ill.), Senior After three straight runner-up finishes at state-level tournaments (National Preps as a freshman and sophomore at Wyoming Seminary, and last year in Illinois Class 2A), Johnson earned an elusive state title in a truncated season after recovery from a state championship football run. He went 17-0 during his senior season, and will matriculate at Yale University to play along the interior line in football.

Dayton Racer (Bettendorf, Iowa), runner-up at this past fall's Super 32 Challenge and champion at the NHSCA Senior Nationals earlier this month, verbally committed to Virginia Tech earlier on Tuesday afternoon. Racer is currently ranked No. 6 nationally at 160 pounds, and No. 56 overall in the Class of 2015. He joins two other top 100 recruits in this year's Virginia Tech recruiting class, No. 14 David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J.) and No. 70 Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.). The runner-up finish at 152 pounds in the Super 32 was Racer's second placement in that tournament, finishing eighth the previous year. This fall, he also placed third at the Preseason Nationals at 160. Racer was a state runner-up this past year at Bettendorf, having placed second and then first when competing for Apple Valley as a freshman and sophomore in Minnesota. He projects as a 157/165 in college.

Over the years, InterMat Reads has written about a wide range of novels aimed at young adult readers that incorporate the sport of wrestling, from light-hearted tales with heaping helpings of humor, to gritty fiction with large doses of truly serious drama. Nancy May's new young-adult novel, "Dogs Don't Talk" -- just published by iUniverse -- is something of a hybrid ... or as she described it in an interview with InterMat, "It's a crossover book. You could give it to your mother who's not a wrestling fan and she would understand and enjoy it." At the heart of "Dogs Don't Talk" is a high school wrestler, Benjamin McDowell, a 16-year-old who is also an honor student and an avid reader. All he wants is "a reasonably hot-looking girlfriend" (to quote the book) which he thinks will help him fit in with his wrestling teammates, and the overall student body. "Fitting in" is also an issue at home, living with an older brother who is autistic, a younger sister who has challenges of her own as she tries to find her place in the world, a demanding father who expects him to maintain his grades and win a state title to help him land a scholarship at a good college, and a mother who converses with the family dog Rosie -- the genesis for the book's title. Nancy May brings an interesting background to her first novel. She earned a degree in journalism from the University of South Carolina. Her career took her to New York City, where she sold advertising, and worked in the publishing industry. Despite writing a novel in which the main character is a high school wrestler, May readily admits her roots are not in wrestling country. "I'm from South Carolina. I didn't grow up with it. I've tried to make the sport approachable for people like me ... I've been going to wrestling matches since my son was in second grade, and there are still things I don't understand." Son Daniel just won the 138-pound title at the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association wrestling tournament in Richmond last weekend, along with Wrestler of the Year honors. He will continue his education and mat career at the Merchant Marine Academy. Her husband Larry had a long wrestling career himself. With two wrestlers in the house, May made it clear during the InterMat interview that Daniel is NOT Benjamin, saying, "Benjamin is a composite, a fictional character." May sees the sport of wrestling as a metaphor for life itself, and a universal element that all can relate to, even if they've never actually stepped onto the mat. "Wrestling is so personal. It's something we all do. We wrestle with demons, with personal issues." Daniel May"Dogs Don't Talk" is written in first-person, with Benjamin the wrestler telling his story, in his own words. When asked why she wrote her first novel using the "I" perspective, May said, "It came organically. It started from writing the opening sentence of the book: 'I think my mother likes the dog better than me, even though I've never pooped on her Oriental carpet, dragged her facedown on a leash because I couldn't resist sniffing the dog's butt that just went by, or even left bales of dog hair all over the house for her to vacuum up.'" As May pointed out, using first-person voice of Benjamin "has him talk like a 16-year-old, tells the reader what he's thinking. He's there to fit in with the team, get a hot girlfriend. In other words, a typical teen-aged boy. It helps us get into the mind of a teenager and a wrestler ... It takes us into Ben's psyche. For example, how Ben wishes he could touch his autistic brother, or the other dynamics within his family ... I could not have written it any other way." As an author, Nancy May made other choices as she wrote "Dogs Don't Talk" ... for example, making Benjamin a scholar-athlete. "I wanted to make Ben cerebral, with his reading, playing chess. Wrestling is very much like a chess match -- move, counter-move. I liked the idea of having the main character be a boy who likes to read." Even the choice of sport was carefully considered. "Ben is introduced to wrestling by his wrestler dad to help fend off those who bully his autistic older brother. Wrestling is a good sport for a boy growing up. It gives him confidence. It reinforces independence and individual growth because it's an individual sport." Nancy May"I wanted to get rid of some people's misconceptions about wrestling. There's the scene where Benjamin invites his new girlfriend Emily to one of his wrestling events. She's reluctant, saying she doesn't like violence. Ben has to convince her that what he does has nothing to do with pro wrestling." Even with Nancy May's love of wrestling, she has been careful to craft a book with appeal beyond wrestlers and their parents. "'Dogs Don't Talk' doesn't hit the reader over the head with wrestling. The main character thinks about other things, like girls, his grades, his family." "I get feedback from girls who enjoyed the book because of the dog," May continued. "'Dogs Don't Talk' will have a lot of girls reading it. I think the dog angle gets the girls." "I think there are also elements to appeal to older readers, too, not just the traditional YA (Young Adult) reader. For instance, when the autistic brother sings Beatles song lyrics, that's for more mature readers." "I intended 'Dogs Don't Talk' as a crossover book, to appeal to both boys and girls, and to readers of all ages," said May. "People who don't know wrestling will enjoy it. A good read for those who are familiar with that sport ... Besides, everybody loves a dog book." May has crafted a book that provides a positive portrayal of high school wrestling, that doesn't require the reader to be knowledgeable about the intricacies of the sport to enjoy it. Although written specifically for young adults, "Dogs Don't Talk" addresses universal issues beyond wrestling that readers of all ages can appreciate and understand. "Dogs Don't Talk" is available for purchase at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and iUniverse.com websites.