InterMat Staff

Big Ten 125 (6): No. 2 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 7 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) No. 10 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) No. 11 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) No. 20 Conor Youtsey (Michigan) 133 (11): No. 1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) No. 3 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) No. 6 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) No. 7 Cory Clark (Iowa) No. 8 Zane Richards (Illinois) No. 9 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) No. 11 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) No. 12 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) No. 15 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) No. 17 Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) No. 19 Dominick Malone (Northwestern) 141 (6): No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) No. 4 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) No. 7 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) No. 8 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) No. 9 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) No. 12 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) 149 (6): No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) No. 4 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) No. 7 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) No. 14 Zack Beitz (Penn State) No. 15 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) No. 18 Ken Theobold (Rutgers) 157 (8): No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) No. 3 James Green (Nebraska) No. 8 Brian Murphy (Michigan) No. 9 Doug Welch (Purdue) No. 10 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers) No. 13 Josh Demas (Ohio State) No. 15 Mike Kelly (Iowa) 165 (8): No. 3 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) No. 5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) No. 6 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) No. 7 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) No. 8 Jackson Morse (Illinois) No. 10 Nick Moore (Iowa) No. 16 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota) No. 17 Garrett Hammond (Penn State) 174 (9): No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn State) No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa) No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) No. 10 Zac Brunson (Illinois) No. 13 Taylor Massa (Michigan) No. 15 Mark Martin (Ohio State) No. 18 Chad Welch (Purdue) No. 19 Nate Jackson (Indiana) 184 (7): No. 8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) No. 11 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) No. 12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) No. 13 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) No. 14 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) No. 17 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) No. 19 Nikko Reyes (Illinois) 197 (9): No. 3 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) No. 8 Max Huntley (Michigan) No. 13 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue) No. 18 Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) 285 (10): No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 3 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) No. 4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) No. 6 Adam Coon (Michigan) No. 7 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) No. 10 Spencer Myers (Maryland) No. 12 Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) No. 14 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) No. 15 Billy Smith (Rutgers) No. 17 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) Big 12 125 (1): No. 9 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 133 (2): No. 4 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 5 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) 141 (2): No. 17 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) No. 18 Mike Morales (West Virginia) 149 (2): No. 6 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) No. 12 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State) 157 (2): No. 16 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) No. 18 Justin DeAngelis (Oklahoma) 165 (2): No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) 174 (3): No. 11 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) No. 12 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) No. 16 Matt Reed (Oklahoma) 184: No. 18 Lelund Weatherspoon (Iowa State) No. 20 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) 197 (1): No. 2 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) 285 (2): No. 5 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) No. 13 Ross Larson (Oklahoma) SoCon 125 (1): No. 8 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) 133 (1): No. 13 Nick Soto (Chattanooga) 157 (1): No. 11 Aaron Walker (The Citadel) 285 (1): No. 19 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) ACC 125 (1): No. 3 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) 133 (1): No. 14 George DiCamillo (Virginia) 141 (4): No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) No. 15 Kevin Jack (North Carolina State) No. 16 Joe Spisak (Virginia) No. 19 Joey Ward (North Carolina) 149 (3): No. 11 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech) No. 19 Mike Racciato (Pitt) No. 20 Beau Donahue (North Carolina State) 157 (1): No. 6 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) 165 (2): No. 4 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) No. 12 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) 174 (3): No. 6 Blaise Butler (Virginia) No. 7 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 184 (1): No. 2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) 197 (2): No. 7 Conner Hartmann (Duke) No. 19 Zach Nye (Virginia) 285 (2): No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) No. 8 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) EIWA 125 (2): No. 5 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 17 David Terao (American) 133 (4): No. 10 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) No. 16 Kevin Devoy (Drexel) No. 18 Mark Grey (Cornell) No. 20 Caleb Richardson (Penn) 141 (3): No. 13 Todd Preston (Harvard) No. 14 Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) No. 20 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 149 (3): No. 5 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) No. 8 C.J. Cobb (Penn) No. 17 Cody Ruggirello (Hofstra) 157 (4): No. 4 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) No. 17 Russell Parsons (Army) No. 19 John Boyle (American) 165 (2): No. 9 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) 174 (1): No. 17 Brian Harvey (Army) 184 (3): No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) No. 3 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) No. 7 Lorenzo Brown (Penn) 197 (4): No. 9 Jace Bennett (Cornell) No. 10 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) No. 12 Abraham Ayala (Princeton) 285 (1): No. 20 Tyler Deuel (Binghamton) MAC 125 (2): No. 1 Alan Waters (Missouri) No. 6 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) 141 (3): No. 5 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) No. 11 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 149 (4): No. 3 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) No. 9 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) No. 10 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) No. 16 Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan) 157 (2): No. 5 Ian Miller (Kent State) No. 14 Joey Lavallee (Missouri) 165 (2): No. 11 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) No. 13 Cooper Moore (Northern Iowa) 174 (2): No. 5 John Eblen (Missouri) No. 9 Cody Walters (Ohio) 184 (2): No. 5 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) No. 16 Willie Miklus (Missouri) 197 (2): No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) No. 16 Phil Wellington (Ohio) 285 (2): No. 9 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa) No. 16 Devin Mellon (Missouri) EWL 125 (2): No. 18 Kory Mines (Edinboro) No. 19 Ben Willeford (Cleveland State) 133 (1): No. 2 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 141 (1): No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) 149 (1): No. 1 Dave Habat (Edinboro) 174 (1): No. 20 Patrick Jennings (Edinboro) 184 (1): No. 10 Vic Avery (Edinboro) 285 (1): No. 18 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State) West Regional/WWC 125 (4): No. 12 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) No. 14 Josh Martinez (Air Force) No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley) No. 16 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) 157 (1): No. 7 Cody Pack 165 (3): No. 18 Dakota Friesth (Wyoming) No. 19 Jesse Stafford (Air Force) No. 20 Mitchell Polkowske (Northern Colorado) 174 (1): No. 14 Andy McCulley (Wyoming) 184 (2): No. 9 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) No. 15 Ben Stroh (Wyoming) 197 (1): No. 17 Shane Woods (Wyoming) 285 (1): No. 11 Evan Knutson (North Dakota State) Pac-12 125 (1): No. 13 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) 141 (1): No. 6 Geordan Martinez (Boise State) 149 (1): No. 13 Christian Pagdilao (Arizona State) 157 (1): No. 20 Alex Elder (Oregon State) 165 (1): No. 14 Jim Wilson (Stanford) 184 (2): No. 5 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 6 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 197: No. 20 Cody Crawford (Oregon State)

The NCAA Division I conference tournaments came to a close on Sunday. View the results from the eight conference that took place this past weekend. Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 7 - Sunday, March, 8 Venue: St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 7 Venue: Hilton Coliseum (Ames, Iowa) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 7 Venue: Kimmel Arena (Asheville, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, March 8 Venue: Petersen Events Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Friday, March 6 - Saturday, March 7 Venue: Stabler Arena (Bethlehem, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 7 - Sunday, March 8 Venue: Hearnes Center (Columbia, Mo.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 8 Venue: Alumni Gymnasium (Lawrenceville, N.J.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates West Regional/WWC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 7 Venue: Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (Fargo, N.D.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, March 1 Venue: Gill Coliseum (Corvallis, Ore.) Event Website | Results

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Nine-of-10 top-ranked grapplers advanced to the quarterfinals, while three-time defending champion Grand View (Iowa) ended the first session of the 2015 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by Blue Chip Wrestling, leading the team competition with 29 points. Session II is slated to begin tonight at 6 p.m. CST inside the Kansas Expocentre. The Vikings had nine of their 12 qualifiers advance to the quarterfinals. Great Falls (Mont.) is second in the team standings with 25 points, while Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Southern Oregon are third with 22.5 each, respectively. The Blue Raiders have eight wrestlers in the quarterfinals, while Southern Oregon has seven and Great Falls six. Lindsey Wilson and Southern Oregon both had seven individuals reach the quarterfinals, while Great Falls had six advance. Missouri Valley’s 285 pounder Dan Mueller, who finished fourth at the Central Qualifier, claimed one of the largest upsets of the tournament so far, downing top-ranked Toby Cheff of Montana State-Northern, 6-3. The loss is Cheff’s first of the season, as the junior was 14-0 coming into the championships. Cheff was the only top-ranked grappler not to advance. With an 18-2 technical fall against Joseph Murillo of Jamestown (N.D.) and a pin of Sage Ornelas of Embry-Riddle (Ariz.), Ryak Finch of Grand View continued his dominance. The defending national title winner improved to 52-0 in two seasons with the Vikings. In addition to Finch, four of the remaining five defending national champions kept their hopes for another title alive. Most notable out of the quartet is three-time national champion Brock Gutches. Gutches, who with a banner this year will be the first individual to win four in-a-row since Turk Lords of Montana State-Northern (1998-2001), pinned his only opening session opponent in 4:27. The senior from Central Point, Ore., now owns eight career pins at the championships. Baker’s (Kan.) Bryce Shoemaker was the lone defending champion to lose, as he was upended by fellow All-American Mitch Pawlak of Indiana Tech, 5-3. The two split two regular season meetings with Pawlak winning 1-0 on Dec. 13, before Shoemaker avenged the loss at the Missouri Valley College Invite on Jan. 17, 2-0. Five unranked wrestlers kept their national title hopes alive by advancing to the quarterfinals. Two schools in their inaugural season – Ottawa (Kan.) and Williams Baptist (Ark.) – earned its first-ever championship win today. The Eagles – Jonathan Drendel (157) and Isaiah Johnson (125) – have two grapplers one win away from All-America status, while the Braves have one – Kasey Crump (197).

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Cornell wrestling team had a fantastic first day at the 2015 EIWA Championships at Lehigh on Friday afternoon, advancing all 10 wrestlers to day two, including eight in the championship semifinals. Despite six falls and 12 bonus wins, the Big Red still finds itself in a dogfight with the host school entering the final day while looking for an unprecedented ninth consecutive crown. Cornell enters day two with a slim five-point lead in Lehigh (93-88), with third-place Columbia more than 30 points in the rearview mirror. The Big Red advanced top-seeded wrestlers Nahshon Garrett (125), Chris Villalonga (149), Brian Realbuto (157), Duke Pickett (174) and Gabe Dean (184) in the championship bracket, as well as second-seeded Dylan Palacio (165) and Jace Bennett (197) and fourth-seeded Mark Grey (133). Freshman Dylan Realbuto (141) and senior Jacob Aiken-Phillips (285) remain alive in the wrestlebacks and could still place as high as third. Sophomore Dylan Palacio had an exciting first day, winning his first round match over Franklin & Marshall's Andy Francos in less than a minute before overcoming a 10-4 first period deficit in the quarterfinals to Harvard's Devon Gobbo, scoring 12 straight points before getting him in a cradle for the fall with just 18 seconds left in the match. He will look to avenge one of his two losses this season when he meets third-seeded Coleman Gracey of Army in the semifinals on Saturday morning. Junior Nahshon Garreett, looking for his third straight EIWA title, earned a first period fall over Princeton's Ryan Cash in the opening round and a tech fall over eighth-seeded Zach Fuentes of Drexel. Garrett and Palacio weren't alone in the perfect first days. Mark Grey earned a first period fall over Sacred Heart's Timothy Johnson before scratching out a 4-3 triumph over No. 5 seed Josh Terao in the quarters. His reward? A matchup with top-seeded Mason Beckman of Lehigh in tomorrow's semifinals. Villalonga grinded out a pair of victories in typical fashion, besting Lehigh's Drew Longo 8-2 in the opener and moving onto the semifinals with a 3-1 triumph over Drexel's Matthew Cimato. Brian Realbuto also won a pair to advance in the championship bracket, topping Bucknell's Rustin Barrick 6-3 in the first round and eighth-seeded Brooks Martin of Penn by major decision in his second match of the day. Pickett won a major decision over Jason Grimes of American after an exciting first period, then grinded out a 5-4 victory over Brown's Richard McDonald in the quarters. Dean was his usual dominant self, earning a first period fall over Hofstra's Jermaine John for the second time this year before taking a 20-7 major over Navy's eighth-seeded Mike Woulfe to reach the semis. Rounding out the eight wrestlers guaranteed a spot on the podium was Bennett, who pinned Hofstra's Mike Oxley in the second period and then dominated seventh-seeded Matt Idelson of Columbia 8-0 in the quarters. Dylan Realbuto, a late add to the championship lineup, lost in the first round to second-seeded Jamel Hudson of Hofstra, but won an 8-2 decision over Franklin & Marshall's Robert Ruiz before advancing to Saturday with a medical forfeit in the consolation second round. Aiken-Phillips won his first match of the day before falling to second-seeded Joe Stolfi of Bucknell. He stayed alive with a 10-0 major decision over Navy's Colynn Cook in the consolation bracket. Regardless of tomorrow's results, Brian Realbuto at 157 and Jace Bennett at 197 have already qualified for the 2015 NCAA championship as they can finish no lower than sixth. The 157-pound allocation from the NCAA is seven places deep and the 197-pound allocation is six athletes deep. A win tomorrow by Dylan Realbuto and Jacob Aiken-Phillips in the wrestlebacks would give Cornell 10 placewinners for the second consecutive season. Advancing to the finals in every weight class guarantees an NCAA bid, so each of the eight semifinalists can punch their ticket to the big dance by winning their first matchup. All but 174 can advance to the NCAAs through the wrestlebacks. All 10 wrestlers have the opportunity to qualify for NCAAs on Saturday.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Lehigh wrestling team placed seven men in the semifinals and advanced all ten entrants to the second day of competition as the 111th EIWA Championships kicked off Friday at Stabler Arena. The Mountain Hawks posted 12 bonus point victories on the day including seven pins and five major decisions. Nine of Lehigh’s ten entrants recorded at least one bonus point victory on Friday. Juniors Mason Beckman and Nathaniel Brown led the way with two pins apiece for the Mountain Hawks, who sit in second place after day one with 88 points, seven behind front-running Cornell. “We’ve seen the NCAA Tournament won on bonus points the last three or four years,” Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. “Bonus points are big in tournaments. If we can continue to do that tomorrow that would be great. “They’ve been doing it all year,” Santoro added about Beckman and Brown. “They’ve been consistent all year. They’re starting to wrestle their best this time of year and that’s what we’re looking for. That’s what we always look for.” Beckman opened the day with a quick 14 second fall over Joe Nelson of Binghamton, the fourth fastest fall in school history. In the quarterfinals, Beckman built a 13-0 lead before locking up a cradle and pinning Travis Passaro of Hofstra in 6:22. The top seed at 133, Beckman will face No. 4 seed Mark Grey of Cornell in one of three Lehigh-Cornell battles in the semifinals. Brown was equally impressive, pinning Alex DeCiantis of Drexel in 2:32 and then scoring an early third period pin against Columbia’s Zack Hernandez at 184. In the semifinals, the second seeded Brown will face No. 6 seed Thomas Sleigh of Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks started the day with a bang as freshman Scott Parker and Beckman opened with first period pins before sophomore Randy Cruz posted a 13-0 major decision over Anthony Finocchiaro of Brown. Parker advanced to the semifinals with a fall in 1:09 against Penn’s Jeremy Schwartz at 125. The No. 4 seed then beat No. 5 Billy Watterson of Brown to set up a semifinal match with top seed Nahshon Garrett of Cornell. After his major decision win over Finocchiaro, Cruz reached the semis at 141 scoring a late takedown to knock off the No. 6 seed Logan Everett of Army 3-1. Cruz, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 2 seed Jamel Hudson of Hofstra. Lehigh’s four other semifinalists came at the final four weight classes. At 174, senior Santiago Martinez survived a battle against Drexel’s Stephen Loiseau with a late takedown to win 5-3 before dominating sixth-seeded Shane Hughes of Columbia, using two big throws to score seven second period points in a 13-3 major decision. Next up for Martinez is the No. 2 seed Brian Harvey of Army. Third-seeded sophomores Elliot Riddick and Doug Vollaro reached the semifinals at 197 and heavyweight, respectively. At 197, Riddick’s day began with an 8-3 win over Gus Marker of Brown before posting a 12-2 major decision over Tyler Lyster of Bucknell. Riddick will next face Cornell’s Jace Bennett in the semifinals, hoping the third meeting this season will be the charm. Vollaro started fast, pinning Chris McDermand of American in just 50 seconds in the opening round. Hofstra’s Mike Hughes pushed Vollaro into overtime in the quarterfinals, but Vollaro rode out the first half of the first tiebreaker period then escaped and added a late takedown to win 4-1. Vollaro will face No. 2 seed and defending EIWA Champion Joe Stolfi of Bucknell in the semifinals. Lehigh went 9-1 in the first round with freshman Drew Longo suffering the only defeat, an 8-2 loss to top seed Chris Villalonga of Cornell at 149. Longo battled back through the consolations, beating the No. 8 and No. 7 seeds by major decision to stay alive. Sophomore Mitch Minotti suffered the biggest upset loss for the Mountain Hawks, as the No. 2 seed at 157 was edged 3-2 by seventh-seeded Noel Blanco of Drexel in the quarterfinals at 157. Blanco scored the decisive takedown late in the third period. Minotti won his first consolation bout 4-1 over Binghamton’s Vincent Deprez. At 165, senior Marshall Peppelman won a wild 13-10 match over Rob Schlitt of Bucknell but dropped a 12-2 major decision to Coleman Gracey of Army in the quarterfinals. The sixth-seeded Peppelman remained alive after pinning Sacred Heart’s Matt Fischer in just 17 seconds. “Placing ten is big but we have a long way to go,” Santoro said. “Tomorrow is a big round. There will be a lot of points scored in the semis, a lot of points scored in the wrestlebacks. Tomorrow we’re going to find out if we can win this thing. We need to wrestle well in the semifinals. We need to get a good night’s sleep tonight and come back ready to go tomorrow.” The 111th EIWA Championships continue Saturday at 10 a.m. from Stabler Arena with the championship semifinals, third round of consolations, consolation semifinals and seventh place matches. The final session, featuring matches for first, third and fifth, will begin at 5:30 p.m. and will be preceded by the EIWA Hall of Fame induction at 5 p.m. Audio coverage of the finals session will be available on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 while video coverage for all of Saturday’s bouts will be available via Flowrestling.

Related: Event Website | Results Live Blog West Regional/WWC Wrestling Championships

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With the conference tournaments coming this weekend there isn't much to do but embrace the spectacle and enjoy the storylines as they unfold. Wrestling fans who align with schools will feel jubilation and disappointment throughout the weekend as the underdogs find upsets and the favorites tumble. The media attention given to the sport has increased significantly over the past few years. Where I was watching bootlegged Iowa Public Television dual meets on VHS in 2000, the wrestling fan today can watch on their computer, iPad and even phone. So sign up for some premium services, join the online discussions and have a tremendous weekend filled with watching the world's best athletes compete in the oldest and greatest sport. Q: Cousins Bo Jordan and Isaac Jordan could meet in the Big Ten finals on Sunday. If they do meet, who are you picking? -- Mike C. Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan has a 19-2 record this season Foley: I choose the Jordans. I choose the Jordan family gene pool. Goodness can that little slice of Ohio scrap, or what. How much of their talent is learned and how much just exists in their DNA? The Gracie family may claim jiu-jitsu dominance, but anyone familiar with the sport knows that theirs is now mostly just a marketing scheme (and plenty of willingness to assume maternal naming structure when beneficial). Increasingly, it seems like the Jordans are becoming a defensible first family of wrestling. Not only did the last generation get it done on the mat, but they have raised children who love to compete and do a damn fine job of winning. But in the end I think I'll choose Isaac. Not sure why, don't know that there is a defensible reason to choosing either. I just dig on the name! Q: What's your take on Nike investing more in wrestling with the sponsorship of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club? -- Mike C. Foley: Massive move. This mimics what we see in other international sports, where the club is the driving force behind athletics around the world. Those clubs are supported by sponsors (many of them local), which is how they travel and host events. Nike coming back to the wrestling scene should push more competitiveness among the brands to provide services and cash to clubs. What does Nike see in the sport? I'd imagine they see a chance to tap their loyal fan base within wrestling -- the same business model that has helped Flips Wrestling and other wrestling-centric brands (no pun intended) turn a profit. With a major brand on board with the sport, arguably the most influential, the funding of all clubs may soon experience an upturn. Overall, I'm happy for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and hopeful for the sport at large. Q: What do u think about the Tennessee state tourney being wrestled at a venue with a dirt floor, uneven mats, no showers and no warm-up area? -- @codylcleveland Foley: The American South is struggling to get their wrestling act together in 2015. First the VHSL shortens an already ridiculous Virginia state wrestling tournament, and next Tennessee apparently held their state tournament in a poorly lit, exceptionally dirty barn. I looked for the photos that I'd glanced past on Twitter this week, but was unable to find them. Needless to say the tournament was hosted in conditions not on par with how athletes in 2015 should be treated. Maybe the worst offense is that the tournament was dirty AND there was nowhere for athletes to shower. In the age of pernicious skin diseases and 1-800-LAWYERS, not maintaining a health-conscience facility is a large financial liability to the state high school association. Another issue is that there was no place for the athletes to warm up before their matches. How this is allowed to happen defies description. The Tennessee athletic association should be held accountable. Unfortunately if they are anything like that in Virginia that will act, and almost certainly be, above the law. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME New deal for the Hawkeyes Trailer for the Women's Wrestling World Cup Big Move of the Week Q: With Logan Stieber graduating, who do you think will be the biggest star in college wrestling next season? -- Mike C. Foley: That will depend on who wins the NCAA championship this season. Right now J'den Cox of Missouri and Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern would be heading into their junior seasons as two-time NCAA champions. Should that happen it would be tough to argue with other wrestlers gaining more attention. However, no matter how he does in 2015 the nation is ready to embrace Kyle Snyder, much like they did David Taylor. Snyder has received more than six years of hype and in a media age his friendliness off the mat and success on the mat have made him a highly marketable star. If Isaiah Martinez completes his freshman season undefeated and hoisting the NCAA trophy ... then he very well could become the toast of 2016 in Madison Square Garden. Q: When will we see the new freestyle and Greco-Roman uniforms? -- Luca M. from Italy Foley: I suspect we could see them as early as the end of 2015. There will be plenty of testing both in tournaments and with audiences. There is no particular rush and given the importance of the change nobody wishes to speed up the process for false deadlines. Q: Any chance the NCAA adds a light heavyweight weight class that would reflect what high school wrestling did by adding a 220-pound weight class? It seems there is no easy transition weight class for top 220-pounders in high school to go to in college. They're either a very small heavyweight or they have to cut 23 pounds to get to 197. Something like a 210 or 225-pound weight class in college would be interesting. -- Ryan P. Foley: Absolutely zero chance. College wrestling would benefit from fewer weight classes, not more. More concentration of talent would help shorten dual meets, bolster competitiveness and provide teams ample opportunity to fill out their lineups. No more forfeits and a better chance (not worse) for Johnny High School to earn a college scholarship. Think of Olympic wrestling, which has argued for more men's weight classes. Until a country sends a wrestler in all 18 weight classes to the Olympics there is no over-concentration of talent. Yes, we all know about 74 kilos in men's freestyle with Burroughs, Howe, Dake and Taylor, but one weight class in one country doesn't support the argument for adding two more Olympic weight classes worldwide. College wrestling is in a battle for resources. Better to prune the fat than to lose all the meat. Q: In your opinion, what are some of the greatest mismatches that we have seen in the NCAA finals in the last 15 years? Criteria would be the skill level differential, not necessarily the score or a pin. For example, I wouldn't consider Bubba Jenkins vs. David Taylor or Dustin Kilgore vs. Clayton Foster mismatches even though both of those matches ended in pins. An example of the type of mismatch I'm thinking of is David Taylor vs. Brandon Hatchett. -- Gil S. Foley: Mitch Clark vs. Vertus Jones didn't read on paper like a mismatch, but within a minute it was obvious that Jones had no answer for Clark's top game. That was the first time, though not the last, where I felt a cringe of embarrassment for the opponent. Readers: What are some of your favorites? Comment below. Q: Would you have disqualified Thomas Gilman for the slam on Alan Waters? The match was chippy (Waters got his shots in too), but that slam was blatant with intent to injure, even though waters was OK. Maybe at the least they should have lost a team point. There is no need for that behavior. -- Nick D. Foley: Gone. In jiu-jitsu you are tossed without a moment's hesitation. If you pulled that bullshit in the room you'd have your arms ripped off and be kicked out, possibly for good. Wrestling does a TERRIBLE job of self-policing. Yes, we complain with the best, but when kids act out they need to be put in their place. That it's an institute for learning and coaches aren't able to discipline like they could in a private club is noted, but there should have been a much more significant punishment for that type of action. I like Gilman and don't mind some chippyness, but all the energy poured into displaying that type of bravado would be better spent learning how to get out of legs. Q: Did you see Mark Schultz is selling a bunch of stuff on eBay? What are your thoughts? -- Mike C. Foley: I don't know why he would want to sell his belongings, but I can imagine that he either wants psychological separation from the events of Foxcatcher (post-movie and post-book). He may also be hard up for cash and wants to cash out on the popularity of the film and his book. If so, I think that can be a sad reminder of how much wrestling can take from some individuals. Regardless of your personal thoughts on Mark, it would be troubling to see someone with so much talent be left without a safety net deserving of the inspiration he provided millions of wrestlers. RANT OF THE WEEK By Nick D. For those people that don't like freestyle, you need to embrace it. I never wrestled past high school, my brother wrestled in the Big Ten. We went to London for the Olympics in 2012. It was one of the all-time experiences I have ever had, and that was under the old "3 separate matches" rules (Jake Herbert got screwed -- just saying). If you think that Iowa and Minnesota fans are intense, go to an international wrestling match and listen to the Iranians, Azerbaijanis, Russians, etc. They are crazy. It's not even political. Iranians actually cheered for Americans when we wrestled the Russians because it affected the mythical team title and overall medal count. Seriously, everyone should do themselves a favor and either go to the World Championships or the World Cup in 2015. They are both in the States.

Many premier matchups between highly ranked wrestlers will take place at the eight NCAA Division I conference tournaments this weekend. The Big Ten has by far the most ranked wrestlers with 80, followed by the EIWA with 27. Let's examine five intriguing weight classes in the Big Ten Championships and five intriguing weight classes from conferences outside of the Big Ten. Big Ten Championships 174 at Big Ten Championships Penn State's Matt Brown and Iowa's Mike Evans met last month and could meet again in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday night (Photo/Bill Ennis)Ranked wrestlers (9): No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska), No. 2 Matt Brown (Penn State), No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa), No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota), No. 10 Zac Brunson (Illinois), No. 13 Taylor Massa (Michigan), No. 15 Mark Martin (Ohio State), No. 18 Chad Welch (Purdue) and No. 19 Nate Jackson (Indiana) Commentary: We might as well call the 174-pound weight class at the Big Tens a mini NCAA tournament since it includes the top four wrestlers in the country and nine of the top 20. The top four -- Kokesh, Brown, Evans and Storley -- know each other inside and out. These four multiple-time All-Americans are about as evenly matched as you can get and have traded wins over the past three seasons. Kokesh is the lone wrestler in the weight class without a blemish on his record this season, but has not faced Evans or Storley this season. He did edge Brown 3-2 at the Southern Scuffle. 157 at Big Ten Championships Ranked wrestlers (8): No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois), No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), No. 3 James Green (Nebraska), No. 8 Brian Murphy (Michigan), No. 9 Doug Welch (Purdue), No. 10 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), No. 13 Josh Demas (Ohio State) and No. 15 Mike Kelly (Iowa) Commentary: Like 174 pounds, 157 pounds is very top-heavy in the Big Ten. It includes the nation's top three wrestlers: Martinez, Ness and Green. Coming into this season most expected Ness and Green to meet in the Big Ten finals and possibly the NCAA finals. However, the freshman Martinez had other ideas. He comes into his first postseason undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. Martinez has been crushing his competition all season. Against Big Ten competition, Martinez won eight of his matches by major decision or greater, including five technical falls and two pins. He already notched a win over Green, but has not yet faced Ness. If the seeds hold, Ness and Green will meet in the Big Ten semifinals for the second straight year. Green beat Ness last year at the Big Tens, but Ness has won the last two meetings. 285 at Big Ten Championships Ranked wrestlers (10): No. 2 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), No. 3 Mike McMullan (Northwestern), No. 4 Bobby Telford (Iowa), No. 6 Adam Coon (Michigan), No. 7 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), No. 10 Spencer Myers (Maryland), No. 12 Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), No. 14 Michael Kroells (Minnesota), No. 15 Billy Smith (Rutgers) and No. 17 Collin Jensen (Nebraska) Northwestern's Mike McMullan and Iowa's Bobby Telford have split two matches this season (Photo/Mark Lundy)Commentary: The Big Ten heavyweight division may not have the nation's top-ranked heavyweight (Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State), but it's certainly one of the deepest and toughest weight classes this weekend. Of the nation's top 20 heavyweights, 10 are Big Ten heavyweights. Another sign that it's a deep weight class: Maryland's Spencer Myers, a past All-American, was pre-seeded seventh. Four of the nation's top six heavyweights will be in Columbus this weekend. Both McMullan and Telford have been ranked No. 1 this season, and Coon was the top-ranked heavyweight for a time last season. However, it's Wisconsin's Medbery who earned the top seed by entering the postseason with a 25-1 record and wins over McMullan and Coon. 197 at Big Ten Championships Ranked wrestlers (9): No. 3 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa), No. 8 Max Huntley (Michigan), No. 13 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin), No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue) and No. 18 Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) Commentary: Four of the nation's top six 197-pounders are in the Big Ten. Three of those wrestlers, McIntosh, Schiller, and Burak, are returning All-Americans, and the other is the top-seeded Snyder. The Buckeye freshman dropped a match to Kyven Gadson of Iowa State at the Southern Scuffle and took a loss to Burak, but otherwise has been perfect this season. McIntosh comes in with a 24-2 record, with his losses coming to No. 1 J'den Cox of Missouri and Snyder. Schiller has lost to both Snyder and McIntosh, but notched a win over Burak. Michigan's Huntley has been competitive with the top four and will be looking to play the role of spoiler. 133 at Big Ten Championships Ranked wrestlers (11): No. 1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), No. 3 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), No. 6 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), No. 7 Cory Clark (Iowa), No. 8 Zane Richards (Illinois), No. 9 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), No. 11 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), No. 12 Danny Sabatello (Purdue), No. 15 Eric Montoya (Nebraska), No. 17 Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) and No. 19 Dominick Malone (Northwestern) Commentary: No conference tournament weight class has more ranked wrestlers (11) than 133 pounds in the Big Ten. Undefeated Chris Dardanes of Minnesota enters as the favorite, but he's far from a sure thing to finish on top of the heap in this deep weight class. Wisconsin's Taylor might be the hottest wrestler in the Big Ten, and arguably the country. His last loss came to Edinboro's A.J. Schopp at the Midlands. Taylor went 9-0 in Big Ten competition, with all nine of those wins being bonus-point victories. Gulibon, Clark, Richards, Bruno, DiJulius and Sabatello have all registered big wins this season, but have not shown the consistency of Dardanes and Taylor. Other Championships Virginia's Blaise Butler defeated Minnesota's Logan Storley (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)174 at ACC Championships Ranked wrestlers (3): No. 6 Blaise Butler (Virginia), No. 7 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) and No. 8 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) Commentary: While many of the elite 174-pounders come from the Big Ten, the ACC has three strong All-American candidates in Butler, Epperly and Wilps. Butler defeated Minnesota's Storley at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and Epperly topped Penn State's Brown in a dual meet. Wilps, a returning All-American, is pre-seeded No. 1 and has a win over Butler, but took a loss to Epperly. Butler and Epperly will likely battle in the ACC semifinals, with the winner getting Wilps in the finals. Butler is 2-0 against Epperly this season, with both meetings ending with a 3-2 score. 184 at EIWA Championships Ranked wrestlers (3): No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell), No. 3 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) and No. 7 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) Commentary: This weight class includes three of the nation's top 184-pounders, including No. 1-ranked Dean. The Cornell sophomore had a disappointing performance this season in Las Vegas, where he dropped two matches, but otherwise has looked like the man to beat all season long. Brown, who will be wrestling at home this weekend, has only lost this season to the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked wrestlers in the nation, Dean (twice) and Pitt's Max Thomusseit (twice). Thomas, a returning All-American, enters this weekend with a 22-4 record, but recently took a surprise loss to Princeton's Brett Harner, which dropped the Penn All-American to the fourth seed and places him one same side of the EIWA bracket as Dean. This weight class also includes returning All-American Ophir Bernstein, who comes into this weekend's competition with a 25-12 record. 133 at Big 12 Championships Ranked wrestlers (2): No. 4 Earl Hall (Iowa State) and No. 5 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) Commentary: Hall and Brewer are both All-Americans and are expected to meet for the second time this season this weekend. Hall pinned Brewer in the first period in a dual meet held in Norman earlier this season. It was Brewer's second match back from injury and remains his only loss on the season. Hall, a 125-pounder last season, enters this weekend with a 24-5 record, while Brewer is 15-1. Alex Dieringer is undefeated and looking for his second straight NCAA title (Photo/Jim Bowen)165 at Big 12 Championships Ranked wrestlers (2): No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) and No. 2 Michael Moreno (Iowa State) Commentary: While the Big 12 brackets are small (four wrestlers), the 165-pound bracket will likely feature a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown. The top-ranked Dieringer is a perfect 26-0 this season and in the discussion for InterMat Wrestler of the Year. Of his 26 wins, 23 have been bonus-point victories, including the last 11. Dieringer earned a 13-3 major decision over the two-time All-American Moreno on Jan. 25 in a dual meet in Ames. Moreno will be on his home mat again this weekend at the Big 12 Championships. 125 at West Regional/WWC Ranked wrestlers (4): No. 12 Tyler Cox (Wyoming), No. 14 Josh Martinez (Air Force), No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley) and No. 16 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) Commentary: This weight class earned five NCAA tournament allocations. It's conceivable that the WWC could have four seeded wrestlers at 125 pounds in St. Louis later this month. Cox, Martinez, Tolbert and Rodriguez have put together similar productive seasons and all four will be in the hunt to win the conference title this weekend in Fargo. Rodriguez was pre-seeded No. 1, but has lost two of his last three matches. However, Rodriguez does have wins this season over both Cox and Martinez. Cox, an All-American, has beaten Tolbert and Nebraska's Tim Lambert twice. Martinez, a sixth seed at the NCAAs last season, is 19-3 this season, with losses to Cornell's Nahshon Garrett, Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello and Rodriguez. Tolbert has a recent win over Rodriguez, but has lost to both Martinez and Cox. Another wrestler to keep an eye on in this weight class is Northern Colorado's Trey Andrews. Andrews has a record of 18-9 and was ranked earlier this season.

The 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships are set for this Saturday and Sunday, March 7-8, at St. John Arena on the campus of Ohio State University. The event gets underway at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, with the preliminary, quarterfinal, semifinal and wrestleback matches taking place in Session I and II. Consolation semifinals and seventh-place matches get underway at 1 p.m. on Sunday, while first-, third- and fifth-place matches begin at 3 p.m. BTN will provide live streaming coverage of Sessions I, II and III, while the championship rounds will be carried live on the network. Penn State enters the championships looking for its fifth-straight Big Ten title, after earning crowns in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Last season, Penn State earned 140.5 team points, followed by Iowa and Minnesota with 135 and 118.5 points, respectively. Iowa leads all Big Ten schools with 34 team titles and 195 individual crowns. Five wrestlers that took home Big Ten titles last season return to this year’s championships, with Illinois’ Jesse Delgado (125), Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141), Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis (149) and Nebraska’s James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each earning crowns at last year’s event. Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Iowa and Ohio State leading the way with three each. For Iowa, 125-pounder Thomas Gilman, 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen and 184-pounder Sam Brooks earned top billing in their weight classes, while Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (141), Bo Jordan (165) and Kyle Snyder (197) enter the championships as the top seed. The Illini’s Isaiah Martinez (157), Gophers’ Chris Dardanes (133), Huskers’ Robert Kokesh (174) and Badgers’ Connor Medbery (285) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers. Ten Big Ten teams enter the championships ranked in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll, with conference squads claiming three of the top five spots. Iowa leads the way at No. 2, followed by No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Illinois, No. 14 Michigan, No. 15 Wisconsin, No. 21 Rutgers and No. 23 Purdue. CHAMPIONSHIPS INFORMATION Date: March 7-8, 2015 Site: Ohio State University St. John Arena SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (ET) Saturday, March 7 9 a.m. - Doors open to the public 10 a.m. - Session I begins (first round, quarterfinals) Fans clear arena at conclusion of Session I 5 p.m. - Doors open to the public 6 p.m. - Session II begins (semifinals, wrestlebacks) Sunday, March 8 Noon - Doors open to the public 1 p.m. - Session III begins (consolation semifinals, seventh-place matches) 3 p.m. - Session IV begins (first-, third-, fifth-place matches) TELEVISION COVERAGE All four sessions will be broadcast live on BTN or streamed online. Sessions I, II and III wil be streamed on BTN Plus, while the championship, third-, and fifth-place matches will air live on BTN at 3 p.m. on Sunday. TICKET INFORMATION Ticket Information: All-Session Tickets - Reserved Seating, $40 All-Session Tickets - Adult General Admission, $36 All-Session Tickets - Youth General Admission, $24 Sessions 1 & 2 - Reserved Seating, $18 Sessions 1 & 2 - Adult General Admission, $15 Sessions 1 & 2 - Student General Admission, $12 Sessions 3 & 4 - Reserved Seating, $22 Sessions 3 & 4 - Adult General Admission, $18 Sessions 3 & 4 - Student General Admission, $15

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The 58th annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by Blue Chip Wrestling, open action Friday at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan. The two-day, four-session event brings 211 wrestlers to the Sunflower state. Championship bouts are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. CST on Saturday. Official brackets for the 10 weight classes will be announced Thursday by 9 p.m. Saturday's championship bouts will be video-streamed live on www.NAIANetwork.com, the NAIA's official video-streaming platform, powered by Stretch Internet. For more information, including registration information, click here. Automatic individual qualification for the 2015 NAIA Wrestling National Championships was achieved by a top four finish at one of the Qualifying Group Tournaments. At-large selections were determined by the total number of participants entered into all qualifying groups. A percentage of the total participants per qualifying group was established by dividing the number of entries per grouping by the overall total to ensure that the 50 at-large places were allocated appropriately across the four groups. At the conclusion of the national qualifiers, there was a selection committee meeting to determine the at-large bids for each group. The NAIA's National Administrative Council Executive Committee voted to expand the field by one individual, for one-year, following an appeal from the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association. Grand View enters the championship searching for a fourth-straight national title. If the Vikings claim the banner, they will join former member Central State (Okla.) (1984 – 1987) as the only programs in NAIA history to win four in-a-row. Grand View won the Central Qualifier for the fifth-consecutive season with 218 points -- 93 points more than second-place Missouri Valley. The Vikings bring one of the largest teams to Topeka with 12 individuals, including three ranked atop their respective weight class in the final regular season edition of the NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll – Ryak Finch (125), Brandon Wright (141) and Dallas Houchins (157). In addition to Grand View, four other programs had double-digit individuals qualify -- Concordia (Neb.) (10), Great Falls (Mont.) (12), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (10) and Southern Oregon (11). Individually, six grapplers among the 40 returning All-Americans come to the capital city looking to defend their 2014 title – Finch, Bryce Shoemaker (133) of Baker (Kan.), Wright, Jake Williams (149) of Cumberland (Tenn.), Joe Cozart (157) of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and Brock Gutches (174) of Southern Oregon. Gutches (27-3) is looking to become one of the most successful wrestlers in NAIA history. The 174 pounder is a three-time defending national champion and with a title this season will earn four championships, which has only been done six times previously. The most recent individual to win fourth-straight was Turk Lords of Montana State-Northern (1998-2001). Outside of Gutches, one could argue that Finch (19-0) at 125 pounds has been one of the most dominant grapplers among all 10 weight classes. The senior from Reading, Ariz., has not lost a match since joining the Grand View wrestling program at the start of the 2013-14 season – a run of 48-straight. In the event's 58-year history, 110 institutions have had an individual finish atop the podium. Former NAIA member Simon Fraser (B.C.) boasts the most individual champions with 40, while Southern Oregon is second with 33, followed by Montana State-Northern with 30. There have been 19 programs to previously take home the team title. Former NAIA members Adams State (Colo.) and Central State (Okla.) each took home eight, the most in 58 years. Of the current NAIA programs, Montana State-Northern leads the way with six national championships, with the last coming in 2004. Twenty-three of the 44 teams in the 2015 national championships have never had an individual earn an individual championship. Topeka is hosting the national championships for the second-consecutive year. Overall, the event has traveled to 19 states and 35 different host sites. Tickets to the NAIA Wrestling National Championships can be purchased at the Kansas Expocentre box office or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Rider University’s Alumni Gymnasium will be the site of the 40th Annual Eastern Wrestling League Championship Tournament Saturday, March 7. The EWL Tournament gets underway at 10am Saturday with the Quarterfinals. The First Round of Consolations are 1pm. The Semifinals at 3pm. The Second Round of Consolations are 5pm. The Finals are 7:30pm. The doors to Alumni Gym open at 9am. Tickets can be purchased at the door or through TicketLeap using the link here: https://riderathletics.ticketleap.com/ewl-championship-tournament/dates/Mar-07-2015_at_0900AM Below are the pre-seeds for the EWL Championships at Rider Univerity as determined by the pre seed committee. We will finalize the seeds Friday night at the coaches meeting.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Host Pitt and regular season ACC Champion Virginia Tech both garnered three of the No. 1 seeds for the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Tournament, which will be held this Sunday at the Petersen Events Center on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pa. The seeds were determined by a vote of the six ACC head coaches. The brackets and seedings are subject to change until 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Pitt Panthers who earned top seeds included sophomore Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl, Pa.) at 149 pounds, and senior Tyler Wilps (Oakdale, Pa.) at 174 pounds and Max Thomusseit (St. Paris, Ohio) at 184 pounds. Virginia Tech, also the defending ACC Wrestling Champion, saw sophomore Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.) at 125 pounds, senior Devin Carter (Christiansburg, Va.) at 141 pounds and junior Nick Brascetta (St. Paris, Ohio) at 157 pounds earn No. 1 seeds. Also earning top seeds in their weight classes were Virginia sophomore George DiCamillo (Highland Heights, Ohio) at 133 pounds, North Carolina freshman Ethan Ramos (Hawthorne, N.J.) at 165, Duke junior Conner Hartmann (Port Orchard, Wash.) at 197 and NC State junior Nick Gwiazdowski (Delanson, N.Y.) at 285 pounds. Carter, Wilps, Hartmann and Gwiazdowski are looking to defend their ACC titles they won last year when the Championship was held in Blacksburg, Va. Gwiazdowski, who is also the defending national champion, enters this year’s Championship having won 48 consecutive matches. The 2015 ACC Wrestling Championship Seeds: 125: 1. Joey Dance, Virginia Tech 2. Joe DeAngelo, NC State 3. Nick Herrman, Virginia 4. Dom Forys, Pitt 5. Thayer Atkins, Duke 6. Cody Karns, North Carolina 133: 1. George DiCamillo, Virginia 2. Trey Heilmann, North Carolina 3. Kevin Norstrem, Virginia Tech 4. Bryce Meredith, NC State 5. Nick Zanetta, Pitt 6. Mitch Finesilver, Duke 141: 1. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech 2. Joey Ward, North Carolina 3. Kevin Jack, NC State 4. Joe Spisak, Virginia 5. Evan Botwin, Duke 6. Ben Ross, Pitt 149: 1. Mikey Racciato, Pitt 2. Sal Mastriani, Virginia Tech 3. Christian Barber, North Carolina 4. Marcus Cain, Duke 5. Beau Donahue, NC State 6. T.J. Miller, Virginia 157: 1. Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech 2. Immanuel Kerr-Brown, Duke 3. Andrew Atkinson, Virginia 4. Ronnie Garbinsky, Pitt 5. Chris Mears, North Carolina 6. Chad Pyke, NC State 165: 1. Ethan Ramos, North Carolina 2. Nick Sulver, Virginia 3. Chad Strube, Virginia Tech 4. Jake Faust, Duke 5. Max Rohskopf, NC State 6. Troy Reaghard, Pitt 174: 1. Tyler Wilps, Pitt 2. Blaise Butler, Virginia 3. Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech 4. John Michael Staudenmayer, North Carolina 5. Pete Renda, NC State 6. Trey Adamson, Duke 184: 1. Max Thomusseit, Pitt 2. Jacob Kasper, Duke 3. Nicky Hall, NC State 4. Tyler Askey, Virginia 5. Scott Marmoll, North Carolina 6. Tae Leary, Virginia Tech 197: 1. Conner Hartmann, Duke 2. Zach Nye, Virginia 3. Jared Haught, Virginia Tech 4. Michael Boykin, NC State 5. Chip Ness, North Carolina 6. Nick Bonaccorsi, Pitt 285: 1. Nick Gwaizdowski, NC State 2. Ty Walz, Virginia Tech 3. Ryan Solomon, Pitt 4. Patrick Gillen, Virginia 5. Frank Abbondanza, North Carolina 6. Brendan Walsh, Duke Tickets for the one day championship are on sale now. Admission to the Petersen Events Center is $10 for adults and $5 for both youth 12-and-under and senior citizens. All tickets are general admission and can be purchased online, calling 800-643-PITT (7488), or visiting the Panthers Ticket Office located in the lobby of the Petersen Events Center. Tickets will also be available at the door on the day of the event. The ACC Wrestling Championship begins at 11 a.m. and the gates will open at 10 a.m.

This coming weekend and the past weekend are going to be the heaviest in terms of quality and quantity of state tournaments during the 2014-15 wrestling season. Thirteen "states" held their tournaments last weekend, with seven slated to be completed this weekend. Those on the docket for this weekend include: Michigan and Pennsylvania (Thursday through Saturday) California, Hawaii, Maryland, and New England Regional (Friday and Saturday) New Jersey (Friday through Sunday) Also on the schedule this weekend is the Wisconsin dual meet tournament on Friday and Saturday. The highlights of last weekend start in the upper reaches of the Fab 50 national team rankings. Oak Park River Forest makes last statement for No. 1 position Current holders of the top ranking, Oak Park River Forest closed out their season with the Class 3A state dual meet title to cement an undefeated dual meet season. They beat another pair of nationally ranked teams on Saturday, 46-18 over No. 32 Marmion Academy in the quarterfinal and 39-16 over No. 19 Carl Sandburg in the final. In between the Huskies upended Lockport by a score of 51-21. On the day, they went 29-13 over the individual matchups, while wrestling some reserves over the course of the dual meets. The other dual meet involving ranked teams came in the semifinal round, when Carl Sandburg beat No. 22 Glenbard North 34-24. Carl Sandburg won nine of the first 12 weight classes, before taking indifference forfeits with the match out of reach. The Eagles won all five matches decided by two points or less, which was the difference in the dual meet. Over the course of the 2014-15 season, Oak Park River Forest went 8-0 in dual meets against teams presently in the Fab50 rankings. Blair Academy regains National Prep title, avenges dual meet defeat After being unseated as National Prep champions last seasons, Blair Academy (N.J.) outlasted Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) to regain the crown this past weekend at Lehigh University. Led by eight finalists, including four champions, the Buccaneers scored 283 points to the 269.5 earned by the Blue Knights. Winning National Prep titles for Blair Academy were No. 12 Chaz Tucker (132), No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik (138), No. 3 Jordan Kutler (152), and No. 8 David Showunmi (220); runners-up included No. 18 Zach Sherman (113), Requir van der Merwe (120), No. 9 Brandon Dallavia (160), and No. 14 Chase Singletary (182). Despite not winning the tournament, the Blue Knights had a tournament-high five champions: Will Moss (106), No. 6 Jack Mueller (120), No. 8 Chris Weiler (160), No. 7 Nick Reenan (170), and Mike Rogers (285). However, they just had one other finalist, that being Trent Olson (126). Each team had 12 overall placers. As a result, the two teams flip positions in the Fab50 national rankings; Blair Academy is now ranked No. 3, while Wyoming Seminary drops back to No. 4 in the country. Nation's best state tournament features multiple ranked wrestler showdowns Tomorrow afternoon in Hershey, the Pennsylvania Class 3A state tournament will commence. It is unequivocally the single best state tournament classification in the nation, both in terms of top end talent and quality depth. The finals in this event will be held Saturday evening. Six weight classes feature two or more nationally ranked wrestlers, including four of the top eleven at 152 pounds, and three of the top nine at 152 pounds. All but one weight class (106 pounds) will feature at least one nationally ranked wrestler in the field, while four of the nation's top ranked wrestlers in their respective weight class are present in this field. The following is an overview of the brackets with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers 113: Returning state champion Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) is ranked No. 6 nationally; however, he has drawn into the "champ-champ" quarterfinal against No. 20 Austin DeSanto (Exeter). Since there are five regionals that qualify four wrestlers each in Class 3A, one quarter of the draw has two regional champions present. Whomever wins that quarterfinal most likely will face returning state runner-up Dan Moran (Northampton) in the semifinal. 132: No. 3 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) and No. 5 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) are looking at a likely rematch of this past weekend's WPIAL final on Saturday night. The junior Pletcher has already won a pair of state titles, and saw his close to 110 match winning streak come to an end this past weekend, losing 1-1 to Headlee in an ultimate tiebreaker rideout; prior to that, Pletcher's last losses came in the second weekend of high school career (he was competing at 113, when he would go onto win the 106 pound state title that year). Headlee's lone loss this season is to Class 2A favorite George Phillippi, an opponent that Pletcher has beaten twice this season. 138: Another pair of WPIAL wrestlers, No. 1 Sam Krivus (Hempfield) and No. 5 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) are looking at a Saturday night collision. Krivus won state two years ago, and is 5-0 vs. returning state champion Coy this season (6-0 for his career). The last four meets between the future University of Virginia teammates -- Krivus has signed with the Cavaliers, while the sophomore Coy has already given them a verbal commit -- have been decided by a single point (including 2-1 and 4-3 meetings the last two weeks). 145: Four nationally ranked wrestlers are present here, but are confined to the upper and lower quarter-brackets of the draw. Three-time state runner-up Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional) is ranked No. 1 in the nation, but is in the "champ-champ" quarter drawn with No. 5 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County); the wrestlers met in the Powerade final, a match that Kemerer won by 5-2 decision. In the bottom quarter, it is No. 4 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) in quest of his first state finals berth and No. 11 Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon); Verkleeren was pinned in the WPIAL final this past weekend by Kemerer. 152: Returning state champion Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) is ranked No. 2 in the nation, and has drawn the "champ-champ" quarter, with a fellow nationally ranked wrestler -- No. 9 Kaleb Young (Punxsatawney) -- in the other quarter bracket of the upper half. No. 7 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional), who lost by 15-5 major decision to Joseph in the WPIAL final, should be theoretically clear in the lower half bracket -- though Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic) is a possible semifinal opponent. 285: No. 17 Bo Spiller (Solanco) drew the "champ-champ" quarter, with fellow returning state placer Ryan Monk (Dallas) awaiting as a potential semifinal match. In the other half of the draw, it is No. 7 Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic) by his relative lonesome. New Jersey with some pretty robust competition of its own The single class New Jersey state tournament, to be held Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, has half of the weight classes with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers. In all, there are 10 weight classes with at least one nationally ranked wrestler, for a total of 18 competitors in all. The following is an analysis of the weight classes with multiple ranked wrestlers: 106: Returning state placer Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) is ranked No. 7 in the nation. However, his draw is not exactly kind, as a quarterfinal bout against Patrick Glory (Delbarton) -- ranked No. 16 nationally -- is looming. The third ranked wrestler in this weight class is undefeated freshman Quinn Kinner (Kingsway Regional), ranked No. 11 nationally, and he is looking at a possible semifinal against Super 32 placer Shane Metzler (West Morris Central). 113: Both nationally ranked wrestlers are in the lower half bracket, with a likely semifinal meeting looming; No. 12 Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers) placed fifth at state, while No. 13 Brandon Cray (Hamilton East) placed fourth. The upper half-bracket features a likely semifinal between returning state placers Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep) and Garrett O'Shea (Morris Knolls). 120: Two defending state champions are present in this weight class. However, one is the freak of nature Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic), ranked second nationally and undefeated for his career headed into his junior year state tournament. The other is No. 17 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton), who is pretty good in his own right, but the fellow junior is a level below Suriano. 126: Two-time state champion Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park) is ranked No. 5 in the nation, while two-time state placer Ryan Pomrinca (North Hunterdon) is No. 13. Those two wrestlers occupy opposite half brackets of the draw. Cefolo got a rather unkind draw for a returning champ with two-time state placer, and a fellow Junior freestyle All-American, Peter Lipari (Bergen Catholic) as a likely quarterfinal opponent. This upper-half of the draw also features two-time state placer Michael Russo (Jackson Liberty) and past state placer A.J. Vindici (Randolph). The lower half-bracket has Pomrinca slated for a likely quarterfinal against past state placer Matthew Noble (DePaul Catholic), with returning state runner-up Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit) as a possible semifinal opponent. 132: Two-time state champion Craig de la Cruz (Summit) and the undefeated Sal Profaci (Monroe) are ranked No. 16 and No. 17 in the country respectively, but both are in the top half-bracket of this state tournament weight class. Returning state placer Nick Farro (Delbarton) is in the lower half-bracket. 170: One of the tournament's more anticipated individual matchups comes in this weight class, with the likely Sunday afternoon state final showdown between No. 9 Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook) and No. 11 Brett Donner (Wall Township). Ugalde was a state runner-up last year, and placed third in the Super 32 at 160 this fall; while Donner placed third at state, and was a Super 32 runner-up in this weight class. Ugalde's road is littered with traps, including a potential second round bout with returning state placer Kyle Wojtaszek (Brick Township); and then a possible semifinal match against two-time state placer Zach Hertling (Ocean Township). Donner is in the bottom half of the draw, where the likely semifinal is against returning state placer Joe Grello (Bergen Catholic). 195: Two undefeated wrestlers are the clear anchors in this weight class, No. 4 Matthew Correnti (Holy Cross) and No. 16 Tyree Sutton (Keansburg). Correnti placed third at state last year in this weight class, and is a two-time state placer, while Sutton was sixth in this weight class. The wrestlers met in last year's consolation semifinal, which was a 3-2 win for Correnti. Broken Arrow reverses dual meet final, wins individual title over Stillwater The four events that this pair of teams competed in together this year ended up split at two-apiece. Broken Arrow won both individual bracket events, the Geary Invitational and this past weekend's Class 6A state tournament; while Stillwater earned victories in both dual meets, one in late January and the state final two weekends ago. Broken Arrow scored 146 points on the strength of nine placers, including six finalists and four state champions: No. 11 Markus Simmons (126), Paden Bailey (152), Christian Kaser (160), and Steven Allen (195). Runner-up finishes came from No. 6 Davion Jeffries (138) and Skyler Haynes (182), Isaiah Page (170) placed third, while Tyler Lawley (106) and Trenton Lieurance (285) earned fourth. Stillwater was runner-up with 125 points, led by seven placers, five finalists, and three state champions. Winning titles for the Pioneers were No. 1 Kaid Brock (132), No. 5 Joe Smith (170), and Jordan Dieringer (182); runner-up finishes came from Andrew Nieman (113) and Tristan Moran (145), with Christian Bahl (160) placing third and Mason Mefford (152) finishing in fourth place. As a result, the teams flip positions in this week's Fab 50 team rankings; Broken Arrow is No. 13, while Stillwater is No. 14. Apple Valley pins their way to a perfect 10 Gable Steveson bumped up to heavyweight and earned a pin in under a minute to propel Apple Valley to its 10th straight state championship (Photo/The Guillotine)In a dual meet where half the matches ended in a pin, it was a last match pin from nationally ranked freshman Gable Steveson that won the state championship for No. 17 Apple Valley this past Thursday over No. 21 St. Michael-Albertville. Steveson bumped up to heavyweight and scored a pin in under a minute to clinch the Eagles 10th straight state title -- this one coming by a 36-30 final score. The dual meet featured six lead changes and two tie scores after the opening match. All the lead changes and one of the ties came at the end of the matches from 138-220 pounds. Halfway through the dual meet, it was 16-15 in favor of Apple Valley, after a 17-7 major decision by Brock Morgan at 145 pounds. Morgan's victory turned around the first of just two leads for St. Michael-Albertville on the evening, which came after a third period pin from Jake Allar at 138 pounds. After Morgan's victory, it was a pin from Lucas Jeske to provide the Knights with their biggest lead of the evening at 21-16. However, Andrew Walock responded with a 4-3 decision victory for Apple Valley at 160 pounds to cut the deficit down to two points. Then, it was No. 1 in the nation Mark Hall scoring a pin in 1:02 to give Apple Valley a 25-21 lead. Fellow nationally ranked wrestler Jordan Joseph countered with a pin in 2:30 to regain the lead for St. Michael-Albertville at 27-25. No. 2 in the nation Bobby Steveson countered with a technical fall midway through the third period to regain the lead for the Eagles at 30-27. A 5-2 decision victory from Jake Briggs at 220 for St. Michael-Albertville set up the winner-take-all bout at 285 pounds. Golden accomplishments in California No. 5 Clovis enters the state tournament this Friday and Saturday in Bakersfield as favorites to make it a California state tournament record fifth consecutive state title. The Cougars have qualified their full team of 14 wrestlers into the 40-man weight class brackets this weekend. Primary challengers will include No. 6 Buchanan and No. 12 Poway. The sixth-ranked Bears join the Cougars in having their full lineup present, while the Titans have 13 qualified to the state tournament. In addition to the team showdown, some of the nation's best individuals will be favored to take home weight class gold, most notably the trio of stars from St. John Bosco. Cade Olivas is rated as the nation's top overall freshman, and is No. 1 in the nation at 106 pounds; Anthony Valencia is the nation's top overall senior, and is No. 2 at 170; while Zahid Valencia is ranked No. 1 at 182. Three weight classes feature multiple nationally ranked wrestlers. The opening weight class has both Olivas and No. 4 Randon Miranda (Quartz Hill). Another pair is present at 138 pounds with No. 9 McCoy Kent (Enochs) and No. 17 Wyatt Wyckoff (Paradise); while three are present at 145 in No. 17 Ralphy Tovar (Poway), No. 19 Zander Wick (San Marino), and No. 20 Jeremy Thomas (Santiago Corona). Five other nationally ranked wrestlers populate the weight class brackets: No. 2 Justin Mejia (Clovis) at 113, No. 9 Durbin Lloren (Buchanan) at 120, No. 2 Israel Saavedra (Modesto) at 132, No. 17 Colt Doyle (Poway) at 160, and No. 17 Ritchie Brandt (Liberty-Madera).

Postseason activity, whether it is in the dual meet or individual format, has concluded in some parts of the country and continues in other parts. The following is the schedule of competition for Fab 50 teams during the upcoming week. No. 2 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- compete in Division II district tournament at Chillicothe Southeastern on Friday and Saturday No. 5 Clovis, Calif. -- compete in state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield No. 6 Buchanan, Calif. -- compete in state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Baksersfield No. 7 Franklin Regional, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday at the GIANT Center in Hershey No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday at the GIANT Center in Hershey No. 11 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 12 Poway, Calif. -- compete in state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Rabobank Arena in Baksersfield No. 13 Stillwater, Okla. -- compete in Class 6A state tournament at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday No. 14 Broken Arrow, Okla. -- compete in Class 6A state tournament at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday No. 15 St. Edward, Ohio -- compete in Division I district tournament on Friday and Saturday at Cleveland State No. 24 Massillon Perry, Ohio -- compete in Division I district tournament on Friday and Saturday at Mentor No. 25 Lowell, Mich. -- compete in Division 2 state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday in the Palace at Auburn Hills No. 26 Brecksville, Ohio -- compete in Division I district tournament on Friday and Saturday at Mentor No. 28 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 29 Delta, Ohio -- compete in Division III district tournament at Fostoria on Friday and Saturday No. 30 Cumberland Valley, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday at the GIANT Center in Hershey No. 33 South Dade, Fla. -- compete in Class 3A regional tournament at Miami Reagan on Friday and Saturday No. 34 DePaul Catholic, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 35 Dayton Christian, Ohio -- compete in Division III district tournament at Hobart Arena in Troy on Friday and Saturday No. 36 Greater Latrobe, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday at the GIANT Center in Hershey No. 37 Belle Vernon, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A state tournament tomorrow (3/5) through Saturday at the GIANT Center in Hershey No. 38 St. Peter’s Prep, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 40 Phillipsburg, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 41 Elyria, Ohio -- compete in Division I district tournament at Cleveland State on Friday and Saturday No. 42 Bound Brook, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 43 Kaukauna, Wis. -- compete in Division 1 state dual meet tournament on Friday and Saturday at the University of Wisconsin No. 45 Brighton, Mich. -- compete in Division 1 state tournament tomorrow (2/5) through Saturday in the Palace at Auburn Hills No. 47 Delbarton, N.J. -- compete in state tournament on Friday through Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City No. 50 Brandon, Fla. -- host Class 2A regional tournament on Friday and Saturday Season completed: No. 1 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 4 Wyoming Seminary (Pa.), No. 8 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 9 Archer (Ga.), No. 13 Broken Arrow (Okla.), No. 14 Stillwater (Okla.), No. 16 Montini Catholic (Ill.), No. 17 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 18 Neosho (Mo.), No. 19 Carl Sandburg (Ill.), No. 20 Bettendorf (Iowa), No. 21 St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), No. 22 Glenbard North (Ill.), No. 23 Tuttle (Okla.), No. 27 Crook County (Ore.), No. 31 Mesa Mountain View (Ga.), No. 32 Marmion Academy (Ill.), No. 39 Minisink Valley (N.Y.), No. 44 Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.), No. 46 Penn (Ind.), No. 48 Colonial Forge (Va.), and No. 49 Evansville Mater Dei (Ind.)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The 2015 MAC Wrestling Championships will be held March 7-8 and hosted by the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. Listed below is the pre-seeding for this weekend's Championships following today's conference call with all head wrestling coaches. 125: 1. Alan Waters, Missouri 2. Dylan Peters, Northern Iowa 3. Brandon Jeske, Old Dominion 4. Derek Elmore, Northern Illinois 5. Brent Fleetwood, Central Michigan 6. Del Vinas, Kent State 7. Zak Hassan, Ohio 8. Shayne Wireman, Eastern Michigan 133: 1. Zach Synon, Missouri 2. Tyler Keselring, Central Michigan 3. Vincent Pizzuto, Eastern Michigan 4. Mack McGuire, Kent State 5. Kagan Squire, Ohio 6. Leighton Gaul, Northern Iowa 7. Michael Hayes, Old Dominion 8. Jordan Northrup, Northern Illinois 141: 1. Zach Horan, Central Michigan 2. Lavion Mayes, Missouri 3. Chris Mecate, Old Dominion 4. Tyler Small, Kent State 5. Jake Hodges, Northern Iowa 6. Tyler Argue, Northern Illinois 7. Mike Shaw, Eastern Michigan 8. Joel Shump, Ohio 149: 1. Drake Houdashelt, Missouri 2. Alexander Richardson, Old Dominion 3. Colin Heffernan, Central Michigan 4. Tywan Claxton, Ohio 5. Nick Barber, Eastern Michigan 6. Mike Depalma, Kent State 7. Gunnar Wolfensperger, Northern Iowa 8. Austin Culton, Northern Illinois 157: 1. Ian Miller, Kent State 2. Joey Lavallee, Missouri 3. Jarrett Jensen, Northern Iowa 4. Cody LeCount, Central Michigan 5. Brandon Zeerip, Eastern Michigan 6. Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois 7. Sparty Chino, Ohio 8. TC Warner, Old Dominion 165: 1. Tristan Warner, Old Dominion 2. Cooper Moore, Northern Iowa 3. Harrison Hightower, Ohio 4. Jordan Wohlfert, Central Michigan 5. Mikey England, Missouri 6. Tyler Buckwalter, Kent State 7. Shaun'Qae McMurtry, Northern Illinois 8. Devan Marry, Eastern Michigan 174: 1. Johnny Eblen, Missouri 2. Cody Walters, Ohio 3. Jordan Ellingwood, Central Michigan 4. Caleb Marsh, Kent State 5. Trace Engelkes, Northern Illinois 6. Austin Coburn, Old Dominion 7. Curt Maas, Northern Iowa 8. Kayne MacCallum, Eastern Michigan 184: 1. Willie Miklus, Missouri 2. Jack Dechow, Old Dominion 3. Jerald Spohn, Kent State 4. Andrew Romanchik, Ohio 5. Austin Severn, Central Michigan 6. Cody Caldwell, Northern Iowa 7. Quinton Rosser, Northern Illinois 8. Mike Curby, Eastern Michigan 197: 1. J'Den Cox, Missouri 2. Phil Wellington, Ohio 3. Anthony Abro, Eastern Michigan 4. Basil Minto, Northern Iowa 5. Shawn Scott, Northern Illinois 6. Kevin Beazley, Old Dominion 7. Cole Baxter, Kent State 8. Jackson Lewis, Central Michigan 285: 1. Blaize Cabell, Northern Iowa 2. Devin Mellon, Missouri 3. Mimmo Lytle, Kent State 4. Jake Henderson, Old Dominion 5. Gage Hutchison, Eastern Michigan 6. Adam Robinson, Central Michigan 7. Jesse Webb, Ohio 8. Arthur Bunce, Northern Illinois

Ten weight classes has been a fixture of NCAA college wrestling for more than 60 years, starting with the NCAA wrestling championships in 1952 ... then expanded beyond the NCAAs in 1970 to include dual meets and tournaments. In other words, ten weight classes is what most of us have always known. However, some fans have argued that it would be smart to expand to eleven weight classes ... with a number of these proponents pushing for a new weight somewhere between today's 197 and 285 pound classes -- say, 220-230 pounds -- for a number of reasons, most notably, to expand opportunities for today's larger athletes, especially football players. Conversely, other wrestling fans argue that now is not the time to add a weight class ... but, rather, slim down to nine weights at the college level. These fans say that with a number of forfeits at dual meets at 125, perhaps that lightest weight class could be eliminated, with other weight classes reconfigured to accommodate heftier wrestlers. Then again, others might argue: today's ten weight classes have been a staple of every NCAA college wrestling event for 45 years -- and for NCAA championships for nearly 65 years -- so why change now. InterMat thought now might be time to grapple with this weighty issue ... by presenting arguments for and against expanding from ten to eleven weight classes in college, as well as exploring the contrary idea of reducing to nine weights. These seemingly conflicting ideas have been a point of discussion in online wrestling forums and wherever college mat fans gather. First, let's provide some perspective, by taking a look at some historical issues that might have some implications in any discussion in reconfiguring college wrestling weight classes. Weight Class History 101 The National Collegiate Athletic Association hosted its first national college wrestling championship at Iowa State in 1928. For the first two years, the NCAA wrestling championships had just seven weight classes: 115, 125, 135, 145, 158, 175 pounds, and heavyweight (which, until the 1980s, was actually called "unlimited" with no top weight limit). In the years from 1930 to World War II, the number of weight classes at NCAA championships fluctuated between seven and eight. In the years that had eight weight classes, the rejiggering was in the middle weights, changing the 158-pound weight class down to 155, and inserting a new weight, 165, while maintaining the previous range from 115 to unlimited through the 1942 NCAAs. There were no NCAA wrestling championships from 1943 through 1945 because most college-age men were serving in the military or support functions during World War II. In the years immediately after the conclusion of the war, the NCAA continued to have eight weight classes, but made adjustments in the lower weights. The new weight-class structure: 121, 128, 136, 145, 155, 155, 165, 175 and heavyweight. In 1952, the NCAA adopted a ten-weight class structure for its national mat championships, expanding to include brackets at 115, 123, 130, 137, 147, 157, 167, 177, 191 and heavyweight. (For most other college wrestling events such as dual meets, tournaments and conference championships, there was no competition at 115 or 191 pounds.) In 1970, the NCAA tinkered with its ten weight classes to make them 118, 126, 134, 142, 150, 158, 167, 177, 190 and heavyweight ... with these now being incorporated at all college wrestling events, not just at the NCAA championships. In the past 45 years, the NCAA weight-class structure has remained fairly consistent, with two notable changes. In 1987, the NCAA changed what had been the unlimited weight class -- better known as heavyweight -- to impose a 275-pound upper limit, which was increased to 285 a decade later. In 1999, today's weight class structure was implemented, with competition at 125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165, 177, 184, 197, and 285 pounds. Another old-school element: "Weight-shifting" These days, most college wrestling programs have a designated starter in each of the ten weight classes. Barring injury, once you've earned your role as the 141-pound starter, for example, you pretty much wrestle all your matches at that weight. However, in decades past, there wasn't that degree of stability or certainty for even the best wrestlers. Frequent wrestle-offs and coach strategizing meant that wrestlers at many programs were expected to be flexible in terms of what weight class they competed in for a given event. Weekly wrestle-offs -- called "ranking matches" at some schools -- were used to determine who would have the honor of, say, wrestling at 141 that weekend. The wrestler who lost the 141 wrestle-off then might challenge for the next weight class up or down. For schools blessed with an abundance of mat talent, this could cause its own set of problems. For instance, during the 1961 season, Oklahoma State -- arguably the pre-eminent program of that era -- had four great upper-middleweights in Bruce Campbell, Ronnie Clinton, Bob Johnson and Phil Kinyon. This quartet of Cowboys would battle it out in frequent ranking matches to determine who would be the starters during the regular season at 157, 167 and 177 pounds. Things had a way of sorting themselves out; all four earned All-American honors at the 1961 NCAAs, with Kinyon and Johnson winning titles at 157 and 177 pounds, respectively, while Campbell was runner-up at 167, and Clinton placing third at 191 (back then, a weight class only wrestled at the NCAAs). Gary KurdelmeierWhat's more, years ago, coaches were known to shake up their lineups, depending on specific needs for a particular dual meet or tournament. It was not uncommon for college wrestlers of the past to compete at various weights during the season. Here's a specific example I uncovered in researching the mat career of Gary Kurdelmeier for an InterMat profile. Kurdelmeier, 177-pound Big Ten and NCAA champ for the University of Iowa in the late 1950s who went on to become the successful head coach of the Hawkeyes in the 1970s, had only a handful of losses in college. Two of those were to Oklahoma's Dan Hodge, who was undefeated as a Sooner, pinning 80% of his opponents ... but two other losses for Kurdelmeier were to two NCAA heavyweight champs of the era -- Gordon Roesler of Oklahoma, and Illinois' Bob Norman. In those two matches, the muscular Kurdelmeier was essentially "thrown to the wolves," presumably with the thought that he would be less likely to be pinned than his upper-weight teammates who usually wrestled heavyweight ... thus possibly helping Iowa win those dual meets. Let's be clear: Kurdelmeier taking on fellow 177-pounders one week, then tussling with guys who were 40-50 pounds heavier (Roesler and Norman were "lighter" heavyweights in the 218-230-pound range) was not a situation unique to Kurdelmeier or the Iowa Hawkeyes in the late 1950s. Having wrestlers compete at various weight classes throughout the season -- or consistently wrestling in one weight class for dual meets, then competing in a completely different weight class at the NCAAs -- was fairly common at most schools for much of college wrestling history ... and it wasn't always the coach's doing. There are reports of wrestlers at tournament weigh-ins waiting to see which weight class a feared opponent would be wrestling ... then choosing a different bracket to avoid the possibility to having to meet that man on the mat. At the opposite extreme, there's the case of Larry Owings at the 1970 NCAAs. The University of Washington sophomore dropped two weight classes from what he had wrestled during the regular season, telling Chicago reporters -- and a sportscaster for ABC Wide World of Sports, which would be showing the finals on a tape-delay basis -- that he had made the move with the expectation of defeating then unbeaten Dan Gable of Iowa State. In that case, Owings' extreme weight-class change was his own decision which earned him a place in the history books for his role in what most mat historians consider to be the greatest upset in college wrestling. These issues of wrestlers changing weights during the season -- sometimes, week to week, whether because of wrestle-offs, or coach's strategy, or a wrestler's own decision to avoid or seek out a particular opponent -- have largely gone away. Rules and attitudes were upended nearly two decades ago after the deaths of three college wrestlers while taking extreme measures to make weight. Can college use high school weight classes as a model? Some individuals who are seeking an additional weight class in college cite the present weight-class structure used in high school competition as a possible model in terms of an increase in the number of weight classes ... and an increase in the actual weights which make up weight classes used in most states for wrestling in secondary schools. A quick survey of historical records in a number of states that would be considered "wrestling hotbeds" indicate a progression in number of weight classes, as well as the actual "poundage" in each weight class since most states launched state wrestling championships in the 1930s and 40s. Back then, the lightest weight class in most of the states surveyed was 95 pounds ... with a few states having an 85-pound weight class 70-80 years ago. At the top end of the scale, so to speak, the two heftiest weight classes of that era in most states were 175 pounds and what was called heavyweight ... though, for a time in Ohio, the top weight class was 186 pounds. In the era around World War II, most of the states surveyed had nine or ten weight classes contested at their state wrestling championships. In more recent times, the National Federation of State High School Associations has made some adjustments to its weight classes, presumably with the idea of providing more opportunities for student-athletes to compete in wrestling ... and to accommodate students who have grown heftier over the years. In 2002, the NFHS expanded the number of classes from 13 to today's 14 by making the 215-pound weight class mandatory. In addition, to accommodate the increasing size/weight of young people over the years, the NFHS has reconfigured its weight-class structure. For instance, in 2011, the NFHS bumped up the lightest weight class from 103 pounds to 106. The official weight classes for high school competition are now 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285. According to the organization's announcement of the new weight-class structure for high schools, "Three middle weight classes -- 145, 152 and 160 -- were retained, although they are 7-8-9 in order now rather than 8-9-10. The largest weight class (285 pounds) remains unchanged as well." These changes weren't made on a whim, or gut instinct, but careful analysis, according to the 2011 NFHS announcement. "The change in weight classes resulted from a three-to-four year process utilizing data from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Optimal Performance Calculator," said Dale Pleimann, chair of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee and former assistant executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. "The rules committee was able to analyze data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country, with the goal to create weight classes that have approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class." In other words, as close as an equal number of wrestlers in each weight class. Despite analysis of the data, there appears to be plenty of anecdotal evidence that, for some high schools, there may be too many weight classes ... or, perhaps, one too many at the lighter end of the scale. Hardly a week goes by that there are reports of forfeits at high school dual meets, especially in lighter weight classes. That may be because young athletes are bigger than their fathers and grandfathers, thanks to more weight training, more effective workouts, and better nutritional guidance ... an idea borne out from weight classes being revised upwards at both the high school and collegiate level over a number of decades. How big were the big men of college wrestling? It's probably safe to say that most fans in favor of adding an eleventh weight class to college wrestling seek to add an upper weight -- somewhere between the present 197 pounds and heavyweight (285), perhaps at 220 or 230 pounds. Is there any historical evidence to back up this thinking? When the NCAA put an upper weight limit on what had been the unlimited weight class nearly thirty years ago, it would be easy to imagine that today's younger fans would assume that the heavyweight class of years past was overpopulated with mammoth-sized men. Looking at the actual weights of NCAA Division I heavyweight champs in the pre-1987 era, this does not appear to be the case. Prior to the 275/285 top weight limit, only a handful of NCAA heavyweight champs tipped the scales at more than 300 pounds; two titlewinners -- Iowa State's Chris Taylor in the early 1970s, and North Carolina State's Tab Thacker in the mid-1980s -- weighed in at more than 400 pounds. That said, there were some matches where one opponent was half the weight of his rival ... which seemed contrary to the notion of the inherit fairness of amateur wrestling in that it pits athletes of similar size and weight. In past research, this writer has uncovered the actual reported weights for NCAA D1 heavyweight champs from two different eras: 1928-1960, and those crowned since 2000. In the era prior to 1960, most titlewinners in what was then called "unlimited" were, by today's standards, not all that heavy. Actual weights of the best big men of college wrestling from 55-85 years ago ranged from 190 pounds (Indiana's Charles McDaniel, two-time heavyweight champ in the 1930s) on up to four champs who tipped the scales at 240-245 pounds. The one exception was Ohio State's George Bollas, 1946 NCAA heavyweight champ, who dwarfed most other old-school heavyweight champs. As the first supersized heavyweight, the big Buckeye Bollas, known as "The Dreadnaught" (as in "giant ship") and "The Zebra Kid" (for the stretch marks on his body), weighed 325 pounds. Fast forward to the 21st century. The heavyweight champs crowned since 2000 would appear to fall into two distinct categories. There are those who tipped the scales in the upper range of the weight class -- between 260 and 285 pounds -- including Brock Lesnar, John Lockhart, Steve Mocco, Cole Konrad, Dustin Fox, and Zach Rey ... and those who weighed in somewhat lighter, in the 220-245 pound range, including Tommy Rowlands, Mark Ellis, David Zabriskie, Tony Nelson, and Nick Gwiazdowski. Those who argue for an additional weight class between 197 and 285 could make their case by citing these names as an indicator that there's plenty of championship-quality talent at both 220 (or so) and at 285. Reasons for adding a weight class in college Fans who are in favor of increasing the number of weight classes in NCAA college wrestling from today's ten up to eleven cite various reasons. Here are some of them. Opening opportunities for more student-athletes to compete There may well be student-athletes of a certain size -- those just north of 200 pounds, but well shy of the top limit of 285 pounds -- who would want to wrestle in college, but feel they might be at a distinct disadvantage to take to the mat against opponents who may outweigh them by 50-85 pounds. This may be especially true for wrestlers who have competed at 220 in high school, and may not want to cut weight down to 197, or bulk up to be more evenly matched against the biggest of the big boys of college wrestling. Some proponents of inserting a new weight class between today's 197 and 285 cite a specific group of student-athletes who may find new opportunities for participating in college wrestling if there were a weight class at 220 pounds (or similar): football players. There may be hundreds or thousands of agile gridiron stars who would love to participate in a winter sport once football season is over ... but again feel that they can't cut down or bulk up to today's existing two top weight classes in collegiate wrestling. It's interesting to note that at least three participants at Super Bowl XLIX -- Josh Kline of the New England Patriots, and R.J. Sweezy and Justin Britt of the Seattle Seahawks -- each won a state wrestling title as heavyweights in high school, in addition to playing football. Despite their prep on-the-mat accomplishments, when they went off to college, all three hung up their headgear but held onto their football helmets, choosing not to wrestle beyond high school. Realize that each of these three high school grapplers/gridiron heroes chose colleges that offer Division I wrestling in addition to football: Kline, a graduate of Mason High School in Ohio, went to Kent State ... Britt, a Missouri state mat champ from Lebanon High, played football for the Mizzou Tigers ... and Sweezy, who wrestled at Mooresville High in North Carolina, was a member of the North Carolina State Wolfpack football team. In researching these three Super Bowl athletes for a photo-feature for the news service College Wrestling Examiner, I was not able to find out their actual high school weights ... other than a reference that Sweezy typically gave up 50 pounds on his high school mat rivals. (Today, each of these NFL stars weighs in between 295-325 pounds.) Continuing the football-and-wrestling discussion ... some who have recommended adding a new weight class in the 220-235-pound range would also seek to bump up the top weight limit for heavyweights up to 300 pounds ... opening the door for some of the truly big men of college football to consider bringing that size, athletic talent -- not to mention celebrity and name recognition as football stars -- to the wrestling mat. A matter of fairness Tab ThackerThe present situation where it's possible to have an 80-plus pound difference in weight between two wrestlers in the heavyweight class would seem to go against one of the basic tenets of wrestling: pitting two similarly-sized athletes who must rely on skill and strategy to win, not a distinct weight advantage. The days of one heavyweight tipping the scales at twice the weight of an opponent in the same weight class -- as shown in the classic early 1980s photo of 218-pound Lou Banach of Iowa tangling with 450-pound Tab Thacker of North Carolina State -- are history, thanks to installing a top weight limit. That said, it's still possible to have a sizable weight difference. (By the way, Banach pinned Thacker in the quarterfinals of the 1982 NCAAs.) This was borne out in 2010, when the NCAA did something unusual at the time: it made available the actual initial weigh-in weights for the 33 wrestlers competing in the 285-pound weight class. The NCAA reported that the actual weights ranged from 223.6 pounds for Nathan Everhart of Indiana University, all the way up to 270.4 pounds for Christian Brantley of University of Northern Iowa. That's a nearly 48-pound differential between Everhart and Brantley. (Three other wrestlers weighed in within two pounds of Brantley ... yet all weighed 15 pounds or less than the top limit of 285.) While the range between lightest and heftiest of the heavyweights at the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships was nearly 50 pounds, the difference in weight between the two heavyweight finalists in 2010 was hardly worth noting. According to the NCAA, the 2010 heavyweight champ, David Zabriskie of Iowa State, tipped the scales at 228.2 pounds, while his finals rival, Oklahoma State's Jared Rosholt, weighed in at 229.8... a mere 1 1/2-pound differential. So, in this case, the two Big 12 big men vying for the 2010 heavyweight crown were very evenly matched, weight-wise. And ... 55 pounds lighter than the top limit. Others have already added a lower-upper weight class We already mentioned that the National Federation of State High School Associations had mandated the addition of a 220-pound weight class for high school wrestling. At least one non-NCAA collegiate athletic association -- the NCWA (National Collegiate Wrestling Association) -- has added a 235-pound weight class for its member wrestling programs. One could argue that if adding a weight class at 220 or 235 has worked in high school and at least one college wrestling organization, why wouldn't it work in the three NCAA divisions? Eleven weight classes = a tidier tiebreaker These days, with ten weight classes, it's all too easy for a typical college dual meet to end with the team scores all knotted up after each team has won five matches ... thus having to rely on criteria to determine the winning team, a point of frustration for many wrestlers, coaches and fans. Some who argue for adding an eleventh weight class point out that it would be nearly impossible for a dual meet to end in a tie ... thus eliminating the need for determining a winner based on some seemingly obscure criteria. On a similar note ... some proponents of an eleventh weight class have said that, assuming there would be no change in the number of wrestlers eligible to compete at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships -- 330 -- that, with a revision, each of the eleven weight classes would have a neat-and-tidy 30 wrestlers, not 33 as today, which then requires pigtail matches and byes to even things out, so to speak. Arguments for reducing to nine weight classes Others within the wrestling community argue that some of the benefits of adding a weight class could be achieved by eliminating a weight class ... and moving from ten down to nine. For example, the tiebreaker argument would work here (though it's more of a challenge to divide 330 wrestlers at the NCAA Division I championships into nine weight classes and not come up with a remainder). One could argue that nine weight classes is a bit closer to the six weight classes in each wrestling group (Greco-Roman, men's freestyle, women's freestyle) in international competition. And, more than one person has pointed out that, in today's environment with shrinking budgets and uncertainty generated by NCAA autonomy, if anything, college wrestling programs should be looking at solutions to reduce costs and preserve their place on college sports rosters, rather than propose potentially costly expansions such as adding an eleventh weight class. At bare minimum, nine weight classes might be a more prudent use of limited resources. Or ... reconfigure today's ten weight classes Perhaps another solution might be to stick with the present ten weight-class system, but reconfigure it so that it can answer some of the issues raised by those proposing an increase to eleven weight classes. A trio of options was proposed at TheMat.com college forum. One would be to rejigger today's weight classes to add a light-heavyweight weight -- for example, 125 pounds, 133, 141, 150, 160, 172, 184, 197, 220 and heavyweight. Or, consider eliminating the 125-pound weight class, transferring it to 220 or 230. Yet another: Keep the existing weight classes, but increase the light-heavyweight weight class from 197 up to 220. A weighty matter, worth careful consideration Any proposal to take a new look at the existing weight-class structure in NCAA college wrestling -- whether to add an eleventh weight class, reduce to nine, or reconfigure the existing ten weight classes -- is worth considering ... and should not be immediately dismissed with a "we've done it this way for decades, why change now?" That said, any decision to make revisions must be thoroughly researched and based on analytical analysis (as it appears to have been done when the NFHS added a fourteenth weight class earlier this decade), and that all segments of the wrestling community -- athletes, coaches, fans and officials -- be involved in the discussion.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 7-8 at Ohio State. Six schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Iowa and Ohio State leading the way with three each. Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin each boast a seeded grappler in nine classes. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in two weight classes, along with all 14 starters in eight weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving eight or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Iowa holds three No. 1 seeds, with 125-pounder Thomas Gilman, 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen and 184-pounder Sam Brooks earning top billing in their weight classes. Ohio State boasts three top-seeded grapplers in Logan Stieber (141), Bo Jordan (165) and Kyle Snyder (197). The Illini’s Isaiah Martinez (157), Gophers’ Chris Dardanes (133), Huskers’ Robert Kokesh (174) and Badgers’ Connor Medbery (285) round out the group of top-ranked grapplers. Two of this year’s top seeds claimed titles at last year’s Big Ten Championships, with Kokesh (174) and Stieber (141) earning conference crowns last season. This season, four freshmen earned No. 1 seeds entering the championships, including Martinez, Sorensen, Jordan and Snyder. For more information on the 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Ohio State’s website HERE. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below. 125: 1. Thomas Gilman, IOWA 2. Jesse Delgado, ILL 3. Nathan Tomasello, OSU 4. Tim Lambert, NEB 5. Jordan Conaway, PSU 6. Conor Youtsey, MICH 7. Garrison White, NU 8. Luke Welch, PUR 133: 1. Chris Dardanes, MINN 2. Ryan Taylor, WIS 3. Jimmy Gulibon, PSU 4. Johnni DiJulius, OSU 5. Cory Clark, IOWA 6. Zane Richards, ILL 7. Danny Sabatello, PUR 8. Rossi Bruno, MICH 9. Eric Montoya, NEB 10. Scott Delvecchio, RU 11. Geoff Alexander, MD 12. Dom Malone, NU 13. Garth Yenter, MSU 14. Alonzo Shepherd, IND 141: 1. Logan Stieber, OSU 2. Nick Dardanes, MINN 3. Anthony Abidin, NEB 4. Steven Rodrigues, ILL 5. Anthony Ashnault, RU 6. Josh Dziewa, IOWA 7. Jameson Oster, NU 8. Nick Lawrence, PUR 9. Kade Moss, PSU 10. George Fisher, MICH 11. Javier Gasca III, MSU 12. Shyhiem Brown, MD 13. Jessie Thielke, WIS 14. Sean Brown, IND 149: 1. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA 2. Jason Tsirtsis, NU 3. Hunter Stieber, OSU 4. Ken Theobold, RU 5. Alec Pantaleo, MICH 6. Zack Beitz, PSU 7. Justin Arthur, NEB 8. Rylan Lubeck, WIS 157: 1. Isaiah Martinez, ILL 2. Dylan Ness, MINN 3. James Green, NEB 4. Brian Murphy, MICH 5. Doug Welch, PUR 6. Josh Demas, OSU 7. Mike Kelly, IOWA 8. Anthony Perrotti, RU 9. Luke Frey, PSU 10. Louis Mascola, MD 11. Luke Blanton, IND 12. TJ Ruschell, WIS 13. Ben Sullivan, NU 14. Travis Curley, MSU 165: 1. Bo Jordan, OSU 2. Isaac Jordan, WIS 3. Taylor Walsh, IND 4. Pierce Harger, NU 5. Jackson Morse, ILL 6. Garett Hammond, PSU 7. Nick Moore, IOWA 8. Nick Wanzek, MINN 9. Austin Wilson, NEB 10. Pat Robinson, PUR 11. Nick Visicaro, RU 12. Garrett Sutton, MICH 13. Roger Wildmo, MSU 14. Justin Alexander, MD 174: 1. Robert Kokesh, NEB 2. Matt Brown, PSU 3. Mike Evans, IOWA 4. Logan Storley, MINN 5. Zach Brunson, ILL 6. Mark Martin, OSU 7. Chad Welch, PUR 8. Frank Cousins, WIS 9. Taylor Massa, MICH 10. Nathan Jackson, IND 11. Josh Snook, MD 12.Phil Bakuckas, RU 13. Nick Proctor, MSU 184: 1. Sam Brooks, IOWA 2. Dom Abounader, MICH 3. Ricky Robertson, WIS 4. Brett Pfarr, MINN 5. Kenny Courts, OSU 6. TJ Dudley, NEB 7. Nikko Reyes, ILL 8. Matt McCutcheon, PSU 9. John Rizqallah, MSU 10. Patrick Kissel, PUR 11. Anthony Pafumi, RU 12. Mitch Sliga, NU 13. Matt Irick, IND 14. Tony Gardner, MD 197: 1. Kyle Snyder, OSU 2. Morgan McIntosh, PSU 3. Scott Schiller, MINN 4. Nathan Burak, IOWA 5. Aaron Studebaker, NEB 6. Max Huntley, MICH 7. Alex Polizzi, NU 8. Timmy McCall, WIS 9. Braden Atwood, PUR 10. Nick McDiarmid, MSU 11. Jeff Koepke, ILL 12. Hayden Hrymack, RU 13. Rob Fitzgerald, MD 14. Luke Sheridan, IND 285: 1. Connor Medbery, WIS 2. Adam Coon, MICH 3. Mike McMullan, NU 4. Bobby Telford, IOWA 5. Jimmy Lawson, PSU 6. Michael Kroells, MINN 7. Spencer Myers, MD 8. Billy Smith, RU 9. Nick Tavanello, OSU 10. Brooks Black, ILL 11. Collin Jensen, NEB 12. Chris Nash, MSU 13. Garret Goldman, IND 14. Gelen Robinson, PUR

DES MOINES -- NIACC's Nosomy Pozo and Yoanse Mejias made history Saturday night. Pozo and Mejias both claimed their second NJCAA national titles to become the second and third two-time national champions in school history. Pozo (31-6) and Mejias (34-4) join Joe Hatchett, who won 190-pound titles in 1970 and 1971. Mejias accumulated a record of 69-6 at NIACC and Pozo was 56-9. NIACC placed third in the team standings with 113 points. Iowa Central was the national champion with 158.5 points and Clackamas was second with 131.5 points. It is the highest finish for the Trojans since they won the national title in 1973. NIACC coach Steve Kelly's previous highest finish was a 10th place finish a year ago. Pozo pinned Iowa Western's Oscar Ramirez in 6 minutes, 44 seconds to claim the 149-pound national title. It was the second win this season for Pozo over Ramirez. Pozo gained a 17-1 technical fall over Ramirez in a dual meet in Mason City on Jan. 17. Mejias edged Clackamas' Eleazor DeLuca 4-3 in the 157-pound final. Mejias trailed 3-2 and recorded a takedown with eight seconds left in the match. The Clackamas coaches challenged the call and after looking at the video the takedown was given to Mejias. Mejias rode out DeLuca for the final eight seconds to claim his second straight title. Mejias and DeLuca split two matches in the 2013-14 season. DeLuca beat Mejias 4-1 at the 2014 national duals and Mejias stopped DeLuca 7-4 in the 2014 national semifinals. In the 141-pound final, NIACC's Jake Marlin (25-6) dropped a 5-3 decision to Iowa Central's Jason Alfau. Marlin and Alfau split their first two matches this season. Alfau topped Marlin 11-9 in a dual meet on Jan. 30 and Marlin beat Alfau 10-5 in the North Central district title match.