InterMat Staff

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.

Robert Lee (Kaukauna, Wis.), a three-time state champion and four-time state finalist, verbally committed to Pittsburgh. The projected 133/141-pound wrestler is currently ranked No. 14 nationally at 138 pounds. He placed eighth in the Super 32 Challenge at 145 pounds this fall, and was runner-up at 132 pounds in the FloNationals one year ago. Lee will join Eli Seipel (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) as a nationally ranked wrestler to commit to the Panthers in their 2015 recruiting class.

Bruce Burnett after World Cup ... Jake Varner after winning against Iran ... Brent Metcalf after winning against Iran ... Jordan Burroughs after winning against Iran ... Tervel Dlganev after winning against Mongolia ... Tony Ramos after winning against Mongolia ... Brent Metcalf after winning against Mongolia ...

Related: Day 1 Interviews | Day 2 Interviews | Day 1 Recap Jordan Burroughs won by tech. fall over Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- For the second year in a row, Team USA fell to Iran in World Cup action by a score of 5-3. This year it was for the gold medal, while last year it happened in pool competition. The meet was filled with drama and wasn't decided until the final period of the heavyweight match. At 57 kilos, American Tony Ramos faced 2013 World champion Hassan Rahimi, an opponent who had defeated him 9-1 last November. Down 2-1 in the second period, Ramos countered a Rahimi shot which resulted in a wild scramble that was scored 2-2. USA protested the scoring sequence and lost the protest. The remainder of the period was filled with action and emotion and saw Rahimi win 6-5. At 61 kilos, Coleman Scott opened the match with fireworks against Behnam Ehsanpoor, hitting a four-point throw and then holding Ehsanpoor on his back to earn and extra point. He took a 7-2 lead into the second period, but Ehsanpoor's conditioning became a factor allowing him to rally for a 9-7 win. The match was eerily similar to the 61 kilos World Cup match between the same countries a year ago when Reece Humphrey lost a big lead against Masmoud Esmailpour. Esmailpour returned to the Iranian World Cup lineup again this year, only at 65 kilos. In the USA match, he faced Brent Metcalf, who got USA on the board with a solid 3-1 win. "I know I can score more points than that," Metcalf said. "Good. I won, but I've got to be able to get to their legs. I feel the high crotch I hit was a pretty darn good one." USA narrowed the gap to 3-2 with a dazzling 10-0 win by Jordan Burroughs over Peyman Yarahmadi. After the match, Burroughs elaborated on the ease of his victory. "He's a lefty. And anyone who has followed my career knows that our assistant coach at Nebraska, Bryan Snyder, is a lefty. I've wrestled with him a ton. I know how to finish on lefty high crotches, lefty singles. And I'm like 'Man, this is awesome.'" Filling in for an injured Ed Ruth at 86 kilos, Clayton Foster opened up the scoring on Meysam Jokar to take a 2-0 lead, but Jokar was able to find his groove and scored two four point moves and ultimately earn a technical fall. With the match score then at 4 for Iran and 2 for USA, the final two American athletes had to both win in order for any possibility of winning on criteria. While one of the more anticipated matchups of the weekend was 2012 Olympic Champ Jake Varner taking on 2013 World Champ Reza Yazdani, Yazdani suffered a 9-1 loss to Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan and looked very winded in the second period. The Iran coaching staff decided to go with Mohammad Hossei Askari Mohammadian, a 2013 bronze medalist at 86 kilos who had since moved up in weight. Mohammadian scored a takedown in the second period and held a 3-1 lead late in the match. However, Varner found a takedown and a turn late in the match to find a way to win and keep Team USA's hopes alive. "I don't feel like I wrestled to my best potential," Varner said. "But I left it all out there. I got taken down. That happens, but I know how to score." Despite two 10-0 technical fall wins in two matches this weekend, Tervel Dlagnev, who is still recovering from injury, was not given the nod to face his longtime rival Komeil Ghasemi in the gold-medal match. Zack Rey filled in admirably and held a 1-0 lead going into the final period, but Ghasemi tied the score and then earned a takedown with twenty second left to win the match and give Iran the victory. Results: 57 kilos: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) dec. Tony Ramos (USA), 6-5 61 kilos: Behnam Ehsanpoor (Iran) dec. Coleman Scott (USA), 9-7 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Masmoud Esmailpour (Iran), 3-1 70 kilos: Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran) dec. Nick Marable (USA), 3-1 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech. fall Morteza Rezaei Ghaleh (Iran) 10-0 86 kilos: Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran) tech. fall Clayton Foster (USA) 12-2 97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) dec. Mohammad Hossien Mohammadian (Iran) 3-3 125 kilos: Komeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Zack Rey (USA) 3-1 USA shuts out Mongolia in pool competition Team USA looked impressive in its first dual meet on the second day of the World Cup by shutting out a strong team from Mongolia to advance to the gold-medal match. The marquee bout came at 65 kilos where Brent Metcalf squared off against Mandakhnaran Ganzorig, a 2014 bronze medalist. Metcalf opened up the scoring by exposing Ganzorig off a front headlock and lead the entire match to win 7-2. "He's a really slimy wrestler in terms of the things he's good at. I feel like I left some points out there from my point of view, but I also feel like a wrestled smart." Two matches were tied on the scoreboard but won on criteria by U.S. athletes. Tony Ramos at 57 kilos and Clayton Foster at 86 kilos. Ramos's match featured many wild scrambles that resulted in no points. Although the scoreboard was tied 1-1, Ramos was declared the winner by virtue of scoring last. Ramos was a bit upset that his opponent was not Bekhbayar Erdenebat, who was listed on the roster but did not make the trip. Erdenebat and Ramos met in the 2014 World Championships, with Erdenbat winning 7-4. "Yeah, he didn't make the trip, but this guy was ranked 10thin the world and took fifth at Yarygin." Clayton Foster was given the nod to start against Mongolia as Ed Ruth incurred a minor shoulder injury. Ruth warmed up for the meet and the meet was sewn up by the time 86 kilos came up. Down 2-0, Foster scored a takedown in the second period to tie the match on the scoreboard, but go ahead on criteria. Coleman Scott appeared much sharper during the second day of World Cup action and picked up a 6-2 victory over Nemekhbayar Batsaikhan. Immediately following the USA's win over Mongolia, Iran dominated Azerbaijan to set up the gold-medal final match. Results: 57 kilos: Tony Ramos (USA) dec. Tsogtbaatar Damdinbazar (Mongolia), 1-1 61 kilos: Coleman Scott (USA) dec. Memekhbayar Batsaikhan (Mongolia), 8-5 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia), 8-2 70 kilos: Nick Marable (USA) dec. Ankhbayar Batchuluun (Mongolia), 4-1 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) dec. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia), 6-0 86 kilos: Clayton Foster (USA) dec. Usukhbaatar Purevee (Mongolia), 2-2 97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) dec. Khuderbulga Dorjkhand (Mongolia), 3-0 125 kilos: Tervel Dlagnev (USA) tech. fall Chuluunbat Jargal Saikhan (Mongolia), 10-0

Tervel Dlganev after winning against Russia ... Jordan Burroughs after winning against Russia ... Brent Metcalf after winning against Russia ... Tony Ramos after winning against Russia ... Brandon Slay after Day 1 ... Bruce Burnett after Day 1 ... Nick Marable after winning against Cuba ... Jake Varner after winning against Cuba ...

INDEPENDENCE, Iowa -- Despite two big upset wins in the evening's last two matches by home-state wrestlers over Pennsylvania natives ranked in the top two nationally, those from Team USA won eight of 15 matches in a 30-22 dual meet victory at the Dream Team Classic. Results: 170: No. 11 Jacob Holschlag (Union) dec. Luke Entzel (Missoula Big Sky, Mont.), 1-0 182: No. 6 Kollin Moore (Norwayne, Ohio) maj. dec. No. 18 Evan Hansen (Exira), 15-6 195: No. 9 Cash Wilcke (OA-BCIG) dec. Tyler Johnson (Lockport, Ill.), 3-2 195: No. 2 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) dec. No. 10 Steven Holloway (Mediapolis), 8-6 220: No. 5 Ryan Parmely (Maquoketa Valley) maj. dec. Jay Nino (Genoa, Ohio), 10-2 285: No. 6 Tate Orndorff (University, Wash.) dec. Mario Pena (Hampton Dumont), 6-3 113: Brennen Doebel (Clear Lake) dec. Arik Furseth (Janesville Craig, Wis.), 5-2 120: No. 20 Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf) dec. No. 7 (at 113) Garrett Pepple (East Noble, Ind.), 6-0 126: No. 14 Eli Seipel (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) dec. No. 17 Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk), 10-4 132: No. 1 Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla.) maj. dec. Paul Glynn (Bettendorf), 17-4 138: No. 2 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) dec. Josh Wenger (Cedar Rapids Prairie), 7-2 145: Tristan Moran (Stillwater, Okla.) tech. fall Aaron Meyer (Southeast Polk), 18-3 152: No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) tech. fall Chase Straw (Independence), 25-10 160: No. 4 Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) dec. No. 2 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional, Pa.), 4-2 145: No. 2 Max Thomsen (Union) dec. No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.), 6-4

Tervel Dlagnev defeated Russia's Arslanbek Aliev (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- Tervel Dlagnev knew that a tech fall was necessary in order for Team USA to win on criteria over Russia at the 2015 World Cup, but he only found out that his opponent, Arslanbek Aliev, had to also be shut out. Russia held a 4-3 individual match lead going into 125 kilos, and led 16-13 in classification points. A regular decision gives the winning wrestler three classification points. If the loser also scores in the match, he gets one classification point. A technical fall gives the winter four classification points, but the loser also gets a classification point if he scores during the match. Dlagnev's 10-0 technical fall gave USA four classification points and Russia no classification points and therefore a 17-16 criteria victory. Had Aliev scored, the classification points would have been tied 17-17 and then the winner would be determined by the next criteria, which is most number of falls. At 86 kilos, Dauren Kurugliev pinned USA's Ed Ruth and that would have made the difference. The seven matches leading up to 125 kilos were wild and filled with action. At 57 kilos, USA's Tony Ramos rebounded from a loss in Session 1 with an exciting 4-2 win over Omak Syuruun, scoring a takedown late in the second period to secure the win. At 65 kilos, Brent Metcalf gave up the opening takedown and then rallied to win 13-3 over Akhmed Chakaev. "When you feel a guy letting up, you take him to the house," Metcalf said in regards to scoring off of multiple gut wrenches. 70 kilos saw two USA challenges in Nick Marable's match with Israil Kasumov. USA won the first protest, but the final, match-deciding scramble was ruled in Kasumov's favor, giving him the 6-4 victory. Jordan Burrough's 12-0 technical fall over Iakubail Shikhdzhamalov seemed to put USA in the driver's seat, but after Ed Ruth got pinned and 2012 Olympic champ Jake Varner lost 4-0 at 97 kilos, Russia was in the driver's seat. But Dlagnev's dominance that has kept USA's World Cup championship hopes alive heading into Sunday. USA 4, Russia 4 (USA wins on criteria of 17 classification points to 16) 57 kilos: Tony Ramos (USA) dec. Omak Syuruun (Russia), 4-2 61 kilos: Murshid Mutalimov (Russia) dec. Coleman Scott (USA), 10-1 65 kilos Brent Metcalf (USA) tech. fall Akhmed Chakaev (Russia), 13-3 70 kilos Israil Kasumov (Russia) dec. Nick Marable (USA), 6-4 74 kilos Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech. fall Iakubali Shikhdzhamalov (Russia), 12-0 86 kilos Dauren Kurguliev (Russia) pinned Ed Ruth (USA) 97 kilos Yury Belonovskiy (Russia) dec. Jake Varner (USA), 4-0 125 kilos Tervel Dlagnev (USA) tech. fall Arslanbek Aliev (Russia), 10-0 Team USA overcomes slow start to defeat Cuba After dropping the first two bouts, victory seemed far from certain for Team USA in the opening meet of the Freestyle World Cup against a strong team from Cuba, which featured 6 world medalists. But USA rallied and won the next six weights to dominate 6-2. Both Tony Ramos at 57 kilos and Coleman Scott at 61 kilos held 1-0 leads after the first period. But 2014 bronze medalist Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez opened up the scoring and the second period and won by fall over Ramos. Moikel Aontonio Perez Gonzalez followed with an 9-1 win over Scott. In the third bout, the trend almost looked like it would continue as Brent Metcalf also held a 1-0 lead when Franklin Maren Castillo got in deep in what looked like it would be a scoring takedown. But Metcalf scrambled out of it, pressed the attack and secured a solid 7-2 win. After that moment, it was all Team USA. Nick Marable won at 70 kilos with a 10-0 technical fall win over Andy Yoan Moreno Gonzalez. One year ago at the 2014 World Cup, Marable made 70 kilos for the first time. After a year at the weight he said "I feel so much better now. I don't feel drained. My legs felt better in the second period than in the first." Without a doubt, the highlight of the meet was at 86 kilos, where former Penn State standout Ed Ruth met the 2013 and 2014 World Silver Medalist, Reineris Salas Perez. In a wild back and forth bout that saw three lead changes, Ruth wound up winning 22-13. Early in the second period, it was 13-8 Perez, but Ruth seemed to figure him out and went on a 14 point run. "Adapting during a match is something I'm working on right now every time I wrestle someone different. We don't see these guys all year long, so that's something every wrestler has to deal with." The win was cemented when California native and 2012 Olympic Champion Jake Varner won 3-0 over Javier Cortina Lacerra. Although Lacerra earned a bronze medal in 2014 while Varner did not place in the world championships, Varner was confident. "I've wrestled him before and won. In 2012 before the Olympics." USA 6, Cuba 2 57 kilos: Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (Cuba) pinned Tony Ramos (USA) 61 kilos: Moikel Antonio Perez Gonzalez (Cuba) dec. Coleman Scott (USA), 9-1 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Franklin Maren Castillo (Cuba), 7-2 70 kilos: Nick Marable (USA) tech. fall Andy Yoan Moreno Gonzalez (Cuba), 10-0 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) dec. Livan Lopez Azcuy (Cuba), 6-2 86 kilos: Ed Ruth (USA) dec. Reineris Salas Perez (Cuba), 22-13 97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) dec. Javier Cortina Lacerra (Cuba), 3-0 125 kilos: Zach Rey (USA) dec. Eduardo Mesa Rabi (Cuba), 3-0

With the NCAA Wrestling Championships done many wrestlers and fans are shifting their attention to the upcoming freestyle and Greco-Roman seasons. This weekend is almost a launch event for the upcoming season at home, with the World Cup for men's freestyle being hosted by USA Wrestling at The Forum in Los Angeles. Present at the World Cup will be perennial players Russia and Iran, countries where the Olympic styles are practiced en masse by the nation's top athletes. While there are traditional styles in both these countries, neither consumes anywhere close to the time and energy that collegiate style does in America. Most are relegated to summertime festivals held in the fields rather than large gymnasiums and year-round competitions. The World Cup will offer viewers (you can go to UnitedWorldWrestling.org for the free live stream) an incredible showcase of talent from these Olympic-focused nation's best wrestlers. The Iranians have brought what will likely become their world team, while Russia has sat their first (and second) teams in the hopes of giving more wrestlers a chance to compete against the best in foreign competition. But as was learned at the Women's World Cup in St. Petersburg when the Japanese third team took team gold, a dominant nation like Russia can win it all even with backups. Why the disparity? Well, consider that for fans of collegiate wrestling the talent level and athleticism of the freestyle wrestlers will seem other-worldly. There will be flips, splits, leaps and contortion on a circus-like scale. These athletes, their strategies and their coaching having always been focused at success in the art of freestyle wrestling and that focus had bred incredible success up and down the ranks. The Americans will likely be successful on the mat and earn bronze or better as a team, but be sure to take note of the body types, the match management, and the focus on aggression over technique and if/when it affects outcomes. The American style may never change, but when analyzing the long-term success of the USA program it's important to consider the impact a life of collegiate style wrestling has had on America's 20-something first-team athletes. Should collegiate wrestling be dropped in favor of freestyle? Maybe not, but this weekend does provide America's new freestyle fans a peek into what a life of year-round training in freestyle looks like. To your questions ... Q: This year we had four undefeated national champs (Logan Stieber, Isaiah Martinez, Alex Dieringer and Nick Gwiazdowski), with three returning next year. Last year there was only one (David Taylor). How does this number stack up against previous years? What is the highest number of undefeated champs in a season? Was it 2013 with six (Logan Stieber, Jordan Oliver, Kendric Maple, Kyle Dake, Ed Ruth, Quentin Wright)? Of the three returning, who has the best shot at repeating? -- Sean M. Foley: I looked back and didn't see any recent NCAAs with more undefeated wrestlers than the 2013 season. We've developed a nice number of readers who are incredible at statistics of this kind, and if our "research" is incorrect I'm sure they will correct our years and numbers. Should AD and Imar stay at separate weight classes they are the clear favorites to stay undefeated another year, as they are simply much better than their competition. Gwiz will likely repeat, but wrestling heavyweight is tricky business and with Adam Coon on his tail it's plausible that Gwiz may drop one or two on his way to the March championships. Remember he did lose to Mike McMullan at the NWCA All-Star Classic this past season. Kevin Jackson at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What do you make of Iowa State extending KJ through 2018? The Cyclones are coming off a 14th-place finish and haven't been in the top 10 in five seasons. Seems like the program could benefit from a new coach leading the program. Thoughts? -- Mike C. Foley: Kevin Jackson has a lot of loyal supporters among his former wrestlers, and having an NCAA champion in the parity-filled NCAA tournament of 2015 was no small task. While I can see that a top-10 finish is desirable, I don't think KJ has done anything but improve the Iowa State wrestling program over the past few seasons. I'd argue that a two-year extension is about the correct length. Should he keep improving the team's performance and creating individual champions then he can stay longer. If not, then maybe he doesn't continue. Overall, I think this was a fair and just extension for both coach and university. Q: Hey, do you have any idea why Campbell University did not wrestle in their conference tournament? Do you think Cary Kolat has any chance of improving this team? -- Joe C. Foley: Unfortunately, the Campbell program was ineligible to compete in the postseason due to a low APR rating by the NCAA. Buffalo also suffered the same fate in 2015 and was held out of the conference and NCAA championships. Both programs are looking to become eligible for the postseason in 2016. As for Campbell I find it difficult to believe that Kolat won't improve that program significantly over the next several seasons. There is talent in the program and talent on the way. Two-time NCAA qualifier Nathan Kraisser transferred from UNC to Campbell. Nathan's younger brother Austin (ranked No. 40 in the Class of 2016) also committed to Campbell. Q: Do you think wrestling, collegiate or international, is going down a slippery slope chasing mainstream acceptance and the elusive TV dollar? -- Matt C. Foley: Chasing might be an issue, but the profitability of a well-produced live sporting event is unquestionable. Men aged 18-35 tune in to watch live sports. Because they are forming lifelong brand loyalties, sponsors love to target them heavily. Wrestling, by getting on TV, adds itself to the offering and should get a small, but proportionally sizable, chunk of revenue. Also, the Olympics is launching a cable channel within the next year, which means even more exposure and competition for sports like wrestling. From a purity standpoint, however, I can agree that fans might be worried that the product will become too professionalized, though in the end I don't know if that fear will be realized. Olympic and NCAA wrestling will almost certainly remain a sport, not a spectacle. Q: I have heard Nico Megaludis might take an Olympic redshirt season in 2015-16, which would allow All-American Jordan Conaway to finish out his career in the PSU lineup. Have you heard anything about PSU's plans with Megaludis? -- Mike C. Foley: I have not. However, if we are assuming that Megaludis does sit out I don't think he is any less likely to make the team at 57 kilos than Ramos was to make it in 2014. There will be all sorts of characters in the lineup (new and old) and I think Megaludis' style is favorable to most in terms of international wrestling success. He's impossible to take down, savvy and well coached. I'd say go for it. From PSU's perspective it's also a nice move since you'd still have Jimmy Gulibon at 133 pounds and Zain Retherford at 141 pounds. But I'm certainly not paid to coach. I think we should leave this one to Cael ... MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Greatest image of all-time: Bobcat catches and eats a shark Q: I understand in principle why it's important that Mike Pucillo is out. But as a person who has been to the WCWA tournament and observed women's wrestling for years, many women have been out for a while and it doesn't seem to bother the women athletes at all or their coaches (which are mostly male and very conservative) at all. It's never bothered me as a coach. My question why is does appear to be a bigger story when male athletes come out vs. female? Athletes like Martina Navratilova, Brittney Grine, Sheryl Swoopes and Megan Rapinoe have been out for years, but not as much attention is given to their sexuality as men. There are plenty of women who currently wrestle or who have wrestled that are out and I haven't heard of an adverse reaction by the wrestling community. As member of the media please explain this to me because from an outsider it appears to be a display of sexism by both media and male members of the LGBT community. I totally understand if you don't answer the question in your mailbag, but it's a question I've asked for a while but it became more amplified when Michael Sam came out. Believe me I am not trying to be inflammatory at all. I just really want to know why there appears to be a double standard when it comes to covering male athletes who are openly gay? -- Marcus R. Foley: Media begets media. There is a cycle of coverage that surrounds male coverage that is not present for female athletes. Many, and this isn't to say it's correct, almost expect elite female athletes to be lesbians, whereas men are presumed to by hypermasculine. From a media perspective there is the adage that "dog bites man" is not as powerful a storyline as "man bites dog" and in the coverage of homosexual athletes that almost certainly seems to be the case. Whether that tendency is actual sexism, I'll leave up to individual assessment. For wrestling, Pucillo's story is powerful because the sport is very entrenched in conservative beliefs. Like women wrestling with men, the future of gay men in wrestling has yet to be written. Pucillo's courage will likely become the first chapter in the first draft of that book of change. Q: My friend Paul Diefenbach of Okemos, Michigan, did some research and found that this happened once before -- Slippery Rock in 1984 also scored -0.5 points. I'll bet Slippery Rock never thought their record would me matched. It is a very rough time to be a Michigan State wrestling enthusiast, but it is apparent that a successful wrestling program is not of any interest. Perhaps they should just drop the sport altogether. -- Jim C. Foley: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not go overboard. They can fire the coach well before they are forced to cut the program. Cancellation of the program is the nuclear option! GOOD IDEA OF THE WEEK By John K. As a long time wrestler, wrestling coach, and special ed teacher I have written this before, but not really gotten much headway from people. I don't understand why on a national level we do not use the federal law to protect wrestling as one the few sports that allows people with disabilities to compete at the NCAA level. We applaud and cheer Anthony Robles (and many others) for competing at the highest levels. But let's take it further and use anti-discrimination legislation to keep wrestling. As a sport, we have blind, deaf, and other disabilities competing where they cannot compete on almost any other sport. Title IX used it to make the gains women's sports did. Let's do the same. I am sure we have enough knowledgeable people to make this case. Just a thought.

Worst. UFC card. Ever. It may only be on Fight Pass, but combine a weak group of local prospects (apparently KSW and Bellator are better at scoping out the Eastern European fight scene) and a heavyweight main event between a middle tier former title challenger and a legend well into has been territory, and you have all the makings of a snoozer. So don't be surprised when Gonzaga beats Cro Cop again. Also don't be surprised into thinking the fight means much. Luckily, to keep things entertaining, Bellator and WSOF have solid main event offerings that Richard and John preview to avoid acknowledging the existence of a Sheldon Westcott main card bout. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

This weekend (Saturday and Sunday) will see eight of the top wrestling teams on the planet face off in dual meet competition at the World Cup held at The Forum in Los Angeles. The field will be divided up into two pools of four. Pool A: USA, Cuba, Russia, Mongolia Pool B: Iran, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkey Each team will compete in three dual meets against the other teams in their pool. The final team placement will be determined by teams with the same placement within their pool competing against each other. This is the second year that The Forum has hosted the World Cup. Iran won the event handily last year with the aid of not only two standing World champions but a huge and vocal crowd supporting them. Iran will again be the favorite, but many teams are loaded: both with established and newer talent. Iran has two World champions in its lineup: Hassan Rahimih (57 kilos) and Reza Yazdani (97 kilos), but two standing Junior World champions are also capable of making noise, Iman Sadeghikoukandeh (61 kilos) and Alireza Karimimachiani (86 kilos). Russia will continue its tradition of not sending its top wrestlers to this event. Given Russia's history of dominating at the World Championships, including an amazing performance in Tashkent, Uzbekistan this past year (with five gold medalists), it's difficult to question this strategy. Russia will most certainly have some of their stars of tomorrow in Los Angeles, even if they haven't fully developed yet. Last year at the World Cup, Russia's Khetag Tsabolov at 70 kilos didn't look like a world-beater, but cruised to the gold medal in Tashkent. This year, watch out for Israel Kasumov (also at 70 kilos), who won the 2014 Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix. Cuba, a team that didn't compete in the 2014 World Cup, is coming off a strong sixth-place finish at the 2014 World Championships. Shockingly, they did so competing in only four of the eight weight classes. All four athletes won medals in Tashkent but for the World Cup, Cuba will send a full lineup (though they are the only team with no alternates listed on their roster). USA will send a team with all eight of its No. 1-ranked athletes. This includes Olympic gold medalists Jordan Burroughs (74 kilos) and Jake Varner (97 kilos). Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott (61 kilos) has returned as the No. 1 wrestler at this weight and looks sharp. Two-time bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev (125 kilos) has been remarkably consistent and is capable of sweeping a talented field this weekend. There will be a high percentage of quality matches throughout all four sessions. The following are some to watch with special interest as the whistle blows: Session I 86 kilos: Ed Ruth (USA) vs. Reineris Salas Perez (Cuba) Three-time NCAA champ Ruth had moments of greatness in his first World Championships last year, but was unable to medal. He faces the two-time World silver medalist (2013, 2014) Perez in his opening match, which will be a considerable test for him. 97 kilos: Jake Varner (USA) vs. Javier Cortina Lacerra (Cuba) One would think that the standing Olympic Champ would be a clear favorite in this match, but Lacerra managed a bronze at the last World Championships, while Varner went 1-1 (although Lacerra lost the bronze-medal match, his opponent had his medal sstripped after failing a doping test.) 61 kilos: Iman Sadeghikoukandeh (Iran) vs. Georgi Kaliev (Belarus) Sadeghikoukandeh looked great in the finals of the 2014 Junior Worlds against American Joey McKenna in a dominating win. Sadeghikoukandeh is a real pushout artist and it will be interesting to see what he is able to do at the senior level this weekend. 125 kilos: Komeil Ghasemi (Iran) vs. Alexi Shemarov (Belarus) In a deep heavyweight field, a World champ and a two-time medalist will go at it in the opening session. Session II 70 kilos: Nick Marable (USA) vs. Israel Kasumov (Russia) Marable looked solid at the World Championships last year, making the quarterfinals. The young Kasumov should give him a good test this year. 57 kilos: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) vs. Sezer Akguel (Turkey) Rahimi was in the best match of the World Cup last year where he lost in the final seconds to Viktor Lebedev of Russia in a battle of World champions. Rahimi is slick and has amazing counter-offense. He will have his hands full with Akguel, a two-time World medalist. 57 kilos: Yowlys Bonne Rodrigues (Cuba) vs. Erdenebat Bekhbayar (Mongolia) Rodrigues was a World bronze medalist in 2014, but up a weight at 61 kilos. It will be interesting to see how successful he is making the cut down to 57 kilos. Erdenebat Bekhbayar of Mongolia defeated Tony Ramos at the 2014 World Championships (Photo/Larry Slater)Session III 57 kilos: Tony Ramos (USA) vs. Erdenebat Bekhbayar (Mongolia) This will be a rematch from the first round of the World Championships last year, won by Erdenbat 7-4. The bout had a number of exciting scrambles and it will be interesting to see what adjustments Ramos has made. 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) vs. Ganzorig Mandakhnaran (Mongolia) Metcalf has looked solid in the senior freestyle world circuit, but got injured in the second round of the World Championships last year. He finished undefeated in the World Cup last year, but beat no world medalists. The field at 65 kilos this year will give him a chance to change that. 65 kilos: Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan) or Magomed Muslimov vs. Masoud Esmailpourjouyzbari (Iran) or Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi Aliev beat Esmailpourjouybari for the gold medal of the 2014 World Championships, but down a weight class at at 61 kilos. However, it's no guarantee that either will be the starter this weekend. Mohammadi is also a World silver medalist, but at the same weight class. Muslimov won the Paris Grand Prix earlier this year, finishing ahead of Esmailpourjouybari, Aliev and Brent Metcalf. 70 kilos: Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan) vs. Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran) Considered one of the best, pound-for-pound wrestlers in the world after winning his Olympic gold medal over the late, great Besik Kudukhov, Togrul Asgarov has competed sporadically with varying success and shot up two weight classes. If he's truly grown into the weight and still fully motivated, he'll be tough to beat. Yarahmadi will punish him if he's not. Session IV Jordan Burroughs will certainly provide a lot of entertaining wrestling, but if he's close to one-hundred percent, it's tough to see him having close matches. It's impossible to predict any Session IV matchups, but if a USA-Iran dual meet were to occur, just about the entire dual meet would have bouts to get excited about.

ABERDEEN, S.D. -- After receiving an outpouring of support from wrestling fans across the country, Northern State University has decided to reinstate its wrestling program, effectively immediately, according to NSU Director of Athletics Josh Moon. "The commitments of financial support and efforts of (National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director) Mike Moyer and others has been overwhelming," said Moon. "We have received pledges for more than the targeted $70,000 per year for five years, which will go directly into the wrestling program to support scholarships, operating budget and the hiring of an assistant coach." In February, NSU Head Wrestling Coach Pat Timm announced his resignation. Two weeks later, in early March, NSU announced the suspension of the wrestling program and the start of a comprehensive review to fix what is described as a broken model. Faced with the prospect of attempting to attract a new wrestling coach and recruit a new batch of wrestlers to a program with questionable financial health that had floated at or near the bottom of the NSIC for seven years, Moon said the choice was made to suspend the program in order to leave open the option of reinstating it. "This has been a challenging time for all of us," said Moon, "especially for the athletes who have poured their heart into NSU wrestling. We realize how emotional this has been. We did not want to end the program, but we clearly needed to explore some new options in order to keep it going." Todd Jordre, president of the NSU Foundation, said the Foundation has received pledges for the next five years that will help elevate the program to a competitive level in the NSIC and NCAA Division II. "We want to thank everyone who stepped up to support NSU wrestling," Jordre said. "We feel confident that these pledges will be fulfilled, and based on those commitments, many of which are from new donors, we're able to move forward." The NSU Foundation is responsible for receiving and processing payments. Pledges for the first year of pledge commitments need to be received by May 1, 2015, and will help ensure that budget commitments can be met and efforts to relaunch NSU wrestling can begin immediately. Moon said Mike Moyer had several possible candidates in mind for the vacant head wrestling coach position. "We will start that search for a new head coach immediately," said Moon. "We hope to have a new leader of NSU wrestling in place by the end of April." In a letter to the NSU Athletic Department regarding NSU's decision to reinstate the program immediately, Mike Moyer wrote: "The NWCA wants to extend a heartfelt thanks to the Northern State University administration, its wrestling alumni, and the Aberdeen wrestling community for working together to develop a viable strategy that insures a bright and prosperous future for its intercollegiate wrestling program. "As a small token of appreciation, the NWCA is committed to providing full scholarships for NSU's newly hired head and assistant wrestling coaches to attend our comprehensive CEO Leadership Academy. Each scholarship is valued at $4,800 and the curriculum is designed to insure that all coaches have the necessary CEO and entrepreneurial skills to be solid stewards of the program going forward. This leadership program is also intended to make sure the intercollegiate wrestling program is closely aligned with NSU's educational values." Moon said he especially wanted to thank Northern's wrestling student-athletes for their patience during this very difficult time. "Wrestlers are known for their grit and toughness," Moon said. "They've demonstrated that through this time. And we believe that as a result of all that we're doing and the support they've received, that the quality of their experience will be elevated significantly." Moon added, "We expect big things from this program moving forward. We hope all of our returning wrestling student-athletes will remain at Northern and continue to pursue their academic and athletic goals." NSU will also be establishing a "Corporate Advisory Team" around the wrestling program to assist with continued development, accountability and growth of the program. According to Moyer, "This advisory team is uniquely designed to help the newly hired coaching staff develop a strategic plan and then assist with drawing of resources to execute the plan. This advisory team is typically comprised of community business leaders and university administrators who have expertise in fundraising, marketing/promotions, revenue generating event, eligibility/retention, business continuity plans, strategic planning, etc.," wrote Moyer. Moyer added, "It is our intention to position the NSU wrestling program to be "The New Gold Standard" in our sport and, undoubtedly, this will set the standard for many other collegiate teams to emulate." Jordre said that the NSU Foundation will begin working with the wrestling program to put in place efforts to build a wrestling endowment, which will enable a long-term, sustainable funding model. "A $1 million endowment would guarantee the long-term health of this program," Jordre said. "With that, we can increase the number of scholarships we're able to offer, recruit more competitively and provide our athletes with greater opportunities to succeed at what they love." "There are several more barriers for us to cross," Moon said. "But with the helpful support of the wrestling community, we feel we're in a much better position to cross those than we were six weeks ago." Fans, friends, and alumni of NSU who still wish to contribute to support NSU wrestling can do so at the NSU Foundation Giving Page (select wrestling in the "My funds should be designated for" menu) or contact the NSU Foundation at wolvesclub@northern.edu or (605) 626-2550.

The Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, set for the Forum in Los Angeles, Calif., April 11-12, is a team dual meet tournament. However, it is also one of the most impressive displays of individual talent within the sport. The field includes three Olympic champions, Jordan Burroughs of the USA at 74 kg, Jake Varner of the USA at 97 kg and Toghrul Asgarov of Azerbaijan at 70 kg) There are five World champions in the field, including two-time World champions Burroughs and Reza Yazdani of Iran at 97 kg. One-time World champions include Alexei Shemarov of Belarus at 125 kg, Hassan Rahimi of Iran at 57 kg and Haji Aliev of Azerbaijan at 65 kg This loaded field also includes three more Olympic medalists, 17 more World medalists, eight Junior World champions, six University World champions and two Military World champion. There are dozens of other medalists in the event on the continental and age-group levels. The other Olympic medalists are Coleman Scott of the USA at 61 kg, Komiel Ghasemi of Iran at 125 kg and Livan Lopez Azcuy of Cuba at 74 kg. The quality of the individual talents is impressive. However, at heart, this is a team dual meet event, and these individual stars are seeking to do their part in helping their nation win dual meets and take home the Freestyle World Cup trophy. Of the teams entered in the 2015 Freestyle World Cup, the United States has won 13 team titles, with Russia winning six, Iran claiming five and Cuba winning two. The nation with the most World Cup titles is the former Soviet Union with 15 titles. The World Cup has been held annually since 1973, when it was founded in Toledo, Ohio. All-Session tickets are available, as well as Single-Day tickets. Fans can purchase All-Session tickets for $60 for General Admission and $85 for Preferred Seating. Single-Day tickets, on either Saturday or Sunday, are $35 for General Admission and $55 for Preferred Seating. Fees apply for tickets purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com A group discount offer for clubs is also available. There is a 20% discount for all USA Wrestling members. Both offers can also be found at www.wrestlingworldcup.com There will be two sessions of wrestling action each day of the Freestyle World Cup. On Saturday, April 11, there will be sessions held at 3:00 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. On Sunday, April 12, the first session is at 11:00 a.m., with the First Place and Third Place Championship Duals set for 4:15 p.m. For more information on the Freestyle World Cup, visit www.wrestlingworldcup.com 2015 FREESTYLE WORLD CUP At Los Angeles, Calif., April 11-12 OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS (3) Jordan Burroughs (USA/74 kg) - 2012 Olympic champion Jake Varner (USA/97 kg) -- 2012 Olympic champion Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan/70 kg) -- 2012 Olympic champion OTHER OLYMPIC MEDALISTS (3) Coleman Scott (USA/61 kg) -- 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Komeil Ghasemi (Iran/125 kg) -- 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Livan López Azcuy (Cuba/74 kg) -- 2012 Olympic bronze medalist WORLD CHAMPIONS (5) Jordan Burroughs (USA/74 kg) - 2011 and 2013 World champion, 2014 World bronze medalist Reza Yazdani (Iran/97 kg) - 2011 and 2013 World champion, 2006 and 2007 World bronze medalist Hassan Rahimi (Iran/57 kg) - 2013 World champion, 2011 and 2014 World bronze medalist Alexei Shemarov (Belarus/125 kg) -- 2011 World champion Haji Aliev (Azerbaijan/65 kg) -- 2014 World champion OTHER WORLD MEDALISTS (17) Reineris Salas Perez (Cuba, 86 kg) -- 2013 and 2014 World silver medalist, 2010 World bronze medalist Livan López Azcuy (Cuba/74 kg) -- 2013 World silver medalist, 2011 and 2014 World bronze medalist Tervel Dlagnev (USA/125 kg) -- 2009 and 2014 World bronze medalist Ali Shabanov (Belarus/74 kg) -- 2013 and 2014 World bronze medalist Sezer Akguel (Turkey/57 kg) -- 2009 World silver medalist, 2013 World bronze medalist Jabrail Hasanov (Azerbaijan/74 kg) -- 2010 and 2011 World bronze medalist Ganzorig Mandakhnaran (Mongolia/65 kg) - 2013 and 2014 World bronze medalist Jake Varner (USA/97 kg) -- 2011 World bronze medalist Vladislav Andreev (Belarus/57 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan/70 kg) -- 2010 World silver medalist Ashraf Aliev (Azerbaijan/74 kg) -- 2011 World bronze medalist Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan/125 kg) -- 2011 World bronze medalist Nyam-Ochir Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia/61 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist Mohammad Hosein Mohammadian Askari (Iran/97 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist Sayed Ahmad Mohammadi (Iran/65 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (Cuba/57 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist Javier Cortina Lacerra (Cuba/97 kg) -- 2014 World bronze medalist JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONS (8) Hassan Rahimi (Iran/57 kg) - 2009 Junior World champion Togrul Asgarov (Azerbaijan/70 kg) -- 2011 Junior World champion Erdenebat Bekhbayar (Mongolia/57 kg) - 2012 Junior World champion Younes Sarmastdzaji (Iran/57 kg) -- 2013 Junior World champion Behnam Ehsanpoor (Iran/61 kg) -- 2012 Junior World champion Iman Sadeghikoukandeh (Iran/61 kg) -- 2014 Junior World champion Hassan Yazdani Charati (Iran/70 kg) -- 2014 Junior World champion Alireza Karimimachiani (Iran/86 kg) -- 2014 Junior World champion UNIVERSITY WORLD CHAMPIONS (6) Tervel Dlagnev (USA/125 kg) -- 2008 World University champion Mustafa Kaya (Turkey/70 kg) -- 2012 World University champion Batzorig Buyanjav (Mongolia/70 kg) -- 2006 World University champion Lkhagvadorj Dugarsuren (Mongolia/74 kg) -- 2006 World University champion Meisam Mostafa Joukar (Iran/86 kg) -- 2014 World University champion Yuri Belonovski (Russia/97 kg) -- 2010 World University champion WORLD MILITARY CHAMPIONS (2) Ganzorig Mandakhnaran (Mongolia/65 kg) -2014 World Military Champion Hassan Rahimi (Iran/57 kg) -- 2012 World Military Champion

Logan Storley celebrates after beating Oklahoma State's Kyle Crutchmer (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Logan Storley closed one chapter of his life last month when he finished his collegiate wrestling career as a four-time NCAA Division I All-American at the University of Minnesota. His next chapter: MMA. Storley announced his decision to enter MMA Wednesday on Twitter and Instagram. Storley, a native of Roslyn, South Dakota, compiled a record of 119-27 as a college competitor with four top six finishes. He placed sixth as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore, third as a junior and fourth as a senior. In high school he was a five-time state champion and Junior National freestyle titlist.

Michael Kemerer defeated Max Thomsen in the finals of the Super 32 Challenge (Photo/Rob Preston) The Wrestling USA/Cliff Keen Athletic Dream Team Classic will be hosted by Independence High School in Iowa this coming Saturday at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET). In the 19-year history of this event, the host team has won just once, when Oklahoma was able to win the event in 2009. The most recent time Iowa hosted the event, it was held at Iowa City West during the weekend of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Two notes related to originally slated matchups: At 120 pounds, No. 20 (at 126) Doyle Trout (Centennial, Neb.) was involved in a major car accident over the weekend, and is in the hospital facing a steep recovery from his injuries. He is obviously not going to wrestle on Saturday night, as he was slated to face No. 20 Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf). No replacement has been indicated publicly. At 145 pounds, No. 3 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf) was slated to face Tristan Moran (Stillwater, Okla.). The University of Minnesota signee Stroker suffered an injury in his match against Michael Kemerer at Agon V, which will keep him out of the event on Saturday, though no indication has been made as to who will replace him. One possible candidate would be state champion Blake Meyer (Sumner-Fredericksburg), though that is totally speculative. As for those matchups still on the docket, here is a breakdown. 113: Brennen Doebel (Clear Lake) vs. No. 4 Devin Brown (Franklin Regional, Pa.) Doebel was a state champion this past year, finishing 48-1, after placing fourth the previous year. He was fourth at 120 pounds in the Junior National folkstyle tournament this past weekend. Brown has committed to West Virginia, and is a three-time Pennsylvania state champion. Most recently, he beat two-time Illinois state champion Jabari Moody at the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Brown is the obvious favorite in this matchup. 126: No. 17 Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk) vs. No. 14 Eli Seipel (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) Hellickson was an undefeated state champion with a 43-0 record this past season, earning that elusive title after finishing third the previous two seasons. Seipel earned a second state title this year to add to the one from two years ago, and is a four-time state placer. The Pittsburgh commit was also champion at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this December. Though Seipel is ranked higher, Hellickson does have a head-on win over L.J. Bentley from early January, an opponent who beat Seipel two weekends later. 132: Paul Glynn (Bettendorf) vs. No. 1 Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla.) This matchup reflects a tall order for two-time state runner-up Glynn, who is headed to Iowa in the fall. Brock, a three-time state champion headed to Oklahoma State, won the Kansas City Wrestling Classic this past December, an event in which Glynn placed ninth. During that tournament, Brock beat the wrestler that beat Glynn in the quarterfinal by technical fall in the championship match. 138: Josh Wenger (Cedar Rapids Prairie) vs. No. 2 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) Having finished fourth his previous three high school seasons, Wenger finally ascended the top step of the state podium finishing 45-1 this season. This fall, Wenger will be headed to Grand View, the perennial NAIA champions. His opponent in this match is the Virginia-bound Krivus, a three-time champion at both the Super 32 Challenge and Flo Nationals, who has placed four times in Pennsylvania, including state titles during his sophomore and senior seasons. It’ll be a tall order for Wenger, who failed to make the second day (one round away from being among the 16 who did) in a Super 32 bracket that Krivus won. 145: No. 2 Max Thomsen (Union) vs. No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.) These two wrestlers have battled twice this scholastic season, with Kemerer winning on both occasions, the Super 32 Challenge final and the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. While neither match was a total blowout, the outcome of neither was truly in doubt. Thomsen, a four-time state champion, is headed to Northern Iowa; while the Iowa-bound Kemerer won an elusive state title this past year after placing second the previous three seasons. 152: Chase Straw (Independence) vs. No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) The Iowa State bound Straw finished 46-1 this season to win a state title after finishing third the previous two seasons. Just last weekend, he was a Junior National folkstyle runner-up, and last summer was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American. Facing Joseph will be a steep challenge, as the Penn State bound wrestler is a two-time state champion (four-time placer), and finished runner-up in Junior freestyle this summer (a second straight Junior freestyle All-American finish for him) 160: No. 4 Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) vs. No. 2 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional, Pa.) This should be one of the evening’s better matches, with both wrestlers being four-time state placers, and earning All-American honors in Junior freestyle this past summer. The Northern Iowa bound Steiert has won state titles in each of his last two campaigns, and was also a Preseason Nationals champion this fall; while the Arizona State bound Shields won his first state title last month. 170: No. 11 Jacob Holschlag (Union) vs. Luke Entzel (Missoula Big Sky, Mont.) This is one of few matches where the home state wrestler is favored, with the two-time state champion Holschlag facing an unranked opponent. The Northern Iowa commit was a Preseason Nationals champion this fall, while his opponent Entzel is also a multi-time state champion 182: No. 18 Evan Hansen (Exira) vs. No. 6 Kollin Moore (Norwayne, Ohio) Hansen, bound for NAIA power Grand View in the fall, went an undefeated 57-0 this season to win his second state title. However, it’s going to be a challenge against the Ohio State bound Moore, who was also undefeated this season on the way to his first state title, having finished runner-up in each of the last two years. Moore did not give up an offensive point this high school season, including a dominant win by fall over fellow top ten wrestler Ben Darmstadt – an opponent who beat Hansen at the Super 32 Challenge this fall. 195: No. 9 Cash Wilcke (OA-BCIG) vs. No. 2 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) Like Hansen, Wilcke went undefeated this past season for a second state title, his coming back-to-back go with a pair of fourth place finishes in the freshman and sophomore seasons. Wilcke was sixth in Junior freestyle this past summer at 182 pounds. Steveson counters with three consecutive state titles, and was a Junior National freestyle champion at 195 this past summer. This is a matchup between Iowa and Minnesota commits. 195: No. 10 Steven Holloway (Mediapolis) vs. Tyler Johnson (Lockport, Ill.) Holloway went 52-1 this past season to win a second straight title in what was a third straight state finals appearance, while Johnson earned his second state placement of his career finishing fourth. Johnson, a North Carolina State commit, was a FILA Cadet freestyle All-American last spring. 220: No. 5 Ryan Parmely (Maquoketa Valley) vs. Jay Nino (Genoa, Ohio) Both contestants in this match will be matriculating to Division II colleges, Parmely going to Upper Iowa for a football/wrestling combination opportunity, while Nino is headed to Notre Dame College. Each wrestler in this bout is also a two-time state champion; however, Parmely is also a four-time state placer (finishing third and fourth the two years prior) and went an undefeated 56-0 during his senior season with multiple wins over nationally ranked opponents. 285: No. 3 Jacob Marnin (Southeast Polk) vs. No. 6 Tate Orndorff (University, Wash.) This should be an excellent showdown between a pair of wrestlers that are more than familiar with each other. Orndorff won consolation finals matches against Marnin in both styles this past summer in Fargo at the Junior Nationals, and also won the FILA Cadet Greco-Roman final last spring. However, Marnin did taste victory over Orndorff in the Cadet freestyle final going back to the summer of 2013. Marnin, a state champion this year and two-time state finalist, is headed to Southern Illinois for FCS football; while two-time state champion Orndorff is headed to Oregon State for wrestling.