InterMat Staff

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va -- The 2015 NCAA Wrestling Super Region 1 Championships brought together the top wrestlers in the Division II East Region, and when all the dust had settled after two days of action, NDC was on top of the competition. The Falcons finished first at the Super Region 1 Championships with a combined team score of 133 points, beating Mercyhurst (126 points) and Kutztown (92.5) to take the East Region title. This marks the third straight year that the Falcons have been crowned East Region Champions. With their success at the Super Region 1 Championships, nine different Falcons earned berths to the upcoming NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in St. Louis, Missouri on March 13-14. In order to qualify for the National Tournament, you must finish in the top four of your region. The Falcons had eight wrestlers place in the top four of their bracket, thus earning eight automatic bids. However, Garrett Linton (197 pounds) also earned a berth to Nationals as an alternate, in case of sickness or injury to one of the qualifying wrestlers. Furthermore, Joey Davis, who won the 174 pound bracket by going 4-0, was named Most Valuable Wrestler of the entire tournament. "It was a really good day for us," said head coach Frank Romano. "Everyone fought as hard as they could, everyone battled, everyone contributed and scored team points. It was a total team effort. Now we have to prepare for the National Tournament."

The No. 2 ranked Maryville wrestling team defeated a loaded field to claim the team title at the NCAA Super Region 3 in Mankato, Minn. The Saints amassed 114 team points to edge top-ranked St. Cloud State's total of 109 points. Maryville had one champion, eight placers and advanced seven wrestlers to the national championship March 13-14 to be hosted by the Saints at Chaifetz Arena in St. Louis. "It was an outstanding performance by our team to win the toughest Super Regional in the nation," head coach Mike Denney said. "We are proud of our team because it was a total team effort and qualified seven of our guys for the national tournament in two weeks at Chaifetz Arena. We are pleased to be able to win an NCAA Regional championship for Maryville University." Zeb Wahle claimed Maryville's title at 174 as he posted an 8-2 decision in the semifinals, then recorded a 7-5 win in the title bout against Jacob Begin of Southwest Minnesota State. Dakota Bauer recorded a 3-2 win in the 133 semifinals before he was downed in the finals by Nate Rodriguez of Ouachita Baptist and finished in second place. At 141, James Krischke dropped his semifinal match but won the consolation semifinals match. However, he was narrowly defeated by a 2-0 score in the third-place contest. In the "true fourth" match, Alphonso Vruno edged Krischke by a 4-3 count to advance to the national finals. Keenan Hagerty recorded a fall at the 6:07 mark of his semifinal match to reach the 149 finals. Going against defending national champion Frank Cagnina of Central Missouri, Hagerty was outpointed by a 12-8 count to finish as runner-up. At 157, Greg Hegarty lost by the slimmest of margins 1-0 in the semifinals but rebounded for a 10-6 sudden victory in the consolation semis. He continued his run with a 10-1 major over Josh Ballard of McKendree to win the third-place contest. Dimitri Willis lost his 165 semifinal match 6-4 in sudden victory but rallied for a 4-3 win in the consolation semifinals. He was downed in the third-place contest and finished in fourth place and continued on to the national championship. Nick Burghardt was shaded 1-0 in the 184 semifinals but recovered with a big 11-1 major in the consolation semis. He then posted an 8-5 victory over John McArdle of Lindenwood to take the third-place bout. In the 197-weight class, Ryan Beltz romped in his semifinal contest by a 17-8 score over VJ Giulio of St. Cloud State but was toppled by Julian Smith of McKendree in the championship match. Jaret Singh had his day end at 125 when he was edged 5-2 in the third round of the consolation round. In the heavyweights, Morgan Denson dropped his final match 5-1 in the consolation second round. Reaching the national championship at Chaifetz Arena for the Saints are: Dakota Bauer (133), Keenan Hagerty (149), Greg Hegarty (157), Dimitri Willis (165), Zeb Wahle (174), Nick Burghardt (184), Ryan Beltz (197).

MINNEAPOLIS -- Qualifying individuals in all 10 weight classes to the national championships, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed an NCAA regional title for the 13th straight year, winning the NCAA Division III West Regional crown on Saturday at Si Melby Hall. HOW IT HAPPENED • Augsburg won the 11-team regional with 179 points, the fourth-most points Augsburg has scored in NCAA regional competition. Augsburg has won the team title in its NCAA regional every year since starting regional competition in the 2002-03 season. • It is the first time Augsburg has qualified wrestlers to the national tournament in all 10 weight classes since the 2006-07 season and fourth time the Auggies have had 10 qualifiers since the 2002-03 season (2002-03, 2004-05, 2006-07, 2014-15). Augsburg has had seven or more national tournament qualifiers in 12 of the last 13 seasons. • Augsburg, the No. 4-ranked team in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings, swept the post-tournament awards, as 125-pounder Mike Fuenffinger (SR, Hibbing, Minn.) was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler, head coach Jim Moulsoff was named the West Region Coach of the Year and assistant coach Tony Valek was named West Region Assistant Coach of the Year. • Augsburg had one of its best final rounds in its regional history, winning all 10 bouts -- six championship matches and four third-place matches. The six regional titlists are the most for the Auggies since winning seven crowns in the 2009-10 season. Augsburg has earned six or more individual titlists in seven of its 13 regional competitions. 9701• Fuenffinger, the defending national champion at 125 pounds, won all three of his matches by bonus-point margins, with two pins and a 15-4, major-decision win in the championship match, to improve to 29-1 on the season. The top-ranked wrestler at 125 in the NWCA Division III national rankings all season long, Fuenffinger has now won 26 straight matches. Of his 29 wins, 22 are bonus-point victories (eight pins, four technical falls, 10 major decisions). • A two-time All-American, Fuenffinger qualified for his fourth straight national tournament. In addition to his national title in 2014, he finished seventh nationally at 125 pounds in 2013. Fuenffinger is now 106-21 in his Auggie career. 9709• Donny Longendyke (SO, Vadnais Heights, Minn./White Bear Lake HS), the No. 3-ranked heavyweight nationally, won all four of his matches by first-period pin on Saturday, including a 1:47 pin in the title match, to qualify for the national tournament. • A transfer from Division I Nebraska, Longendyke has an NCAA record of 27-0 entering the national tournament and a 39-2 overall record, having won 31 straight matches. He has recorded six straight pins and 21 on the season. Of his 39 wins, 30 are bonus-point victories (21 pins, two technical falls, eight major decisions). He is now 79-23 in his collegiate career with 44 pins. 9705• Matt Hechsel (SR, Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 7 nationally at 197, claimed the regional title, winning all three of his matches on the day. He had two first-period pins to reach the finals, and in the championship match, he avenged an earlier loss to No. 9-ranked Ryan Michaelis of Saint John's with a 7-3 triumph in the championship match. • Hechsel qualified for his third straight national tournament, after finishing seventh nationally at 197 last season. He is now 27-9 on the season, with 17 bonus-point victories (10 pins, two technical falls, five major decisions), and 113-46 in his Auggie career. 9707• Will Keeter (SR, Twin Falls, Idaho) won all three of his matches by pin to claim the regional title at 149 pounds. He opened with a first-period pin, then claimed two third-period pins, including a 5:55 win in the championship match, to improve to 30-11 on the season. He now has eight pins on the season, part of his 15 bonus-point triumphs (eight pins, three technical falls, four major decisions). • Keeter has now qualified for three national tournaments, including a third-place finish at 141 pounds in the 2011-12 campaign. Keeter is 126-57 in his Auggie career. 9713• Tommy Teigen (SR, Ham Lake, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian HS) stormed through his 184-pound weight class, with three pins and a technical fall, to claim the regional crown. He recorded a 3:49 pin in the championship match to improve to 26-9 on the season. He now has 13 pins, to go along with a technical fall and three major decisions, on the year. • Teigen qualified for his third national tournament in his career, having previously qualified in 2014 (184) and 2012 (165). He is now 89-47 on his career with 28 pins. 9711• Tyrell Martin (SR, Eagan, Minn./Henry Sibley HS) qualified for his first NCAA national tournament with a sweep of his three matches to win the title at 174 pounds. In the championship match, Martin trailed 4-3 to Concordia-Moorhead's No. 3-ranked Sebastian Gardner late, but scored a takedown in the final seconds to secure a 5-4 victory. • A two-time NJCAA national tournament qualifier when he was at Ridgewater Community College (2012 and 2013), Martin is now 18-4 on the season and 69-45 in his collegiate career. • At 133, Augsburg's No. 10-ranked Chad Bartschenfeld (SR, Amery, Wis.) qualified for his second straight national tournament, finishing third. Bartschenfeld went 3-1 on the day, with two major decisions, to improve to 27-11 on the season and 72-45 in his career. • Marcus Hamer (SO, Kimball, Minn.) also qualified for his second straight national tournament at 141, ralling from an opening loss with four straight wins, including a pin and technical fall, to finish third. Hamer is now 28-18 on the season and 52-33 in his career. • Eric Hensel (JR, Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South HS) qualified for his first NCAA national tournament, rallying from an early deficit with three straight pins, including an 18-second pin in his second match, to finish third at 165. A transfer from Clackamas (Oregon) Community College, Hensel is now 18-12 on the season and 34-24 in his career. • Gable Frandsen (FY, Ellsworth, Wis.) earned his first trip to the national tournament with a third-place finish at 157, going 3-1 on the day with a pin. Frandsen is now 18-12 on the season with six pins. UP NEXT • Winners of 11 national championships since 1991, Augsburg will compete at the NCAA Division III National Championships, which will be held March 13-14 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

The No. 2 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater wrestling team won its third consecutive championship Saturday at the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind. The Warhawks will send seven wrestlers to the NCAA Division III Championship, which is scheduled for March 13-14 in Hershey, Pa. The top three placers in each weight class qualified for the national tournament. Senior Trevor Pruett (West Bend/West Bend East) and junior Matt Adcock (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park) claimed individual regional titles at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Senior Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon), juniors Tom Gerszewski (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South), Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) and sophomore Jordan Newman (Blaine, MN/St. John's Military Academy) posted runner-up finishes and will also compete against the nation's best. Senior Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) punched the final ticket to nationals at 149 pounds, overcoming a quarterfinal loss by winning four straight matches to place third. UW-Whitewater finished with 133.5 points to edge third-ranked Wabash, which totaled 116. Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-La Crosse, which entered the weekend ranked fifth, placed third with 113.5. Pruett, who finished third at the WIAC Championships, earned two straight major decisions to reach the final, including an 11-3 victory over WIAC champion Martino Balsiger of UW-La Crosse. Pruett edged Trine's Brandon Preston in the title bout by a 4-3 overtime decision. Adcock, ranked eighth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association and seventh by d3wrestle.com, was also dominant en route to the final, earning a technical fall and major decision to set up a rematch of the conference semifinals against UW-La Crosse's Cody See. In the fourth overtime of the final, Adcock avenged the loss and was crowned regional champion with a 4-2 triumph by sudden victory. He will make his second straight NCAA appearance. At 157, Gerszewski picked up two decisions to set up a showdown against the nation's consensus No. 2 wrestler, Reece Lefever of Wabash. The WIAC champion never led in the final, but earned his first trip to the national tournament. Newman, ranked fourth by the NWCA and third by d3wrestle.com at 174, sealed his NCAA bid with his second win of the season against No. 7/6 Jamie Jakes of Alma (Mich.). He was forced to default in the final due to injury, but will make his first national appearance. Siefert, slotted fourth by the NWCA and second by d3wrestle.com at 197, will make his third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seek his third All-America honor. He dropped a WIAC championship final rematch against UW-La Crosse's Cody See in Saturday's final by an 8-4 decision. At 285, Edgren, ranked No. 7/8 nationally, downed North Central's Dylan Mahler, ranked 10th by d3wrestle.com, in a 4-2 decision by sudden victory in the semifinals to earn his third trip to the national tournament. In the final, he was edged 2-0 by No. 2/3 Mack Green of Trine (Ind.). Perkin finished third for the second straight year, topping off his trip through the consolation side of the bracket with a 5-2 decision over No. 6/8 Kasey Einerson of UW-La Crosse. It was Perkin's third victory over Einerson in 2014-15. Sophomore Zac Denny (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) placed fourth for the second straight year at 125 pounds. Senior Ryan Aprahamian (Mukwonago/Mukwonago), ranked 10th by the NWCA, fell in the semifinals at 184 against No. 1/1 Riley Lefever of Wabash, and placed fifth with a 3-2 record for the day. At 165, freshman Connor Price (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) finished fifth.

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Jim Wilson and Nathan Butler won individual titles as the Stanford wrestling team finished third overall with 100.0 points, Sunday, at the Pac-12 Championships at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis, Oregon. The host Oregon State Beavers (139.5) won their fourth straight team title, while Arizona State (107.0) took second. Stanford secured four spots in the finals, including defending Pac-12 champions Evan Silver (125 pounds) and Wilson (165 pounds). Wrestling in their first conference tournament, redshirt freshmen Connor Schram (133 pounds) and Butler (285 pounds) also reached the finals. Wilson had a bye in the first round and advanced to the championship with a 9-3 decision against Arizona State’s Jacen Petersen in the semifinals. Wilson will take on Oregon State’s Seth Thomas, who upset third-seeded Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) and second-seed Chris Castillo (Boise State). Wilson became just the sixth two-time conference champion in program history after Thomas medically forfeited the finals. Wilson moves to 30-4 on the year and has also automatically qualified for the NCAA championships, March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Butler dominated Cal Poly’s Nick Johnson, 10-2, in the semifinals to meet Arizona State’s Chace Eskam in the finals. There, Butler took a 1-0 lead into the third period and managed a takedown with less than 30 seconds left while also tacking on riding time for a 4-1 decision over Eskam. Butler, who is just the fourth Cardinal freshman to win a conference title, moves to 28-7 on the year and automatically qualifies for the NCAA championships. Silver earned his spot in the finals with a 12-3 major decision over Yoshi Funakoshi of Cal Poly and an injury default by Boise State’s Carson Kuhn. The redshirt junior improves to 16-8 overall on the year and is looking to qualify for nationals for the third consecutive year. He will take on Oregon State’s Ronnie Bresser in the finals. Silver came up short at winning his second straight conference title. He dropped a 6-3 decision to Bresser in the championship. He then fell 6-3 to Arizona State's Ares Carpio in a true second place match, missing out on one of the conference's automatic qualifying spots for NCAAs. Schram, who earned a bye in the opening round, posted a 6-3 decision over CSU Bakersfield’s Ian Nickell at 133 pounds. The redshirt freshman, who is now 18-2 overall, will face Oregon State’s Jack Hathaway in the championship. In the finals, Schram fell to Hathaway 4-0. There was no score after the first and then Hathaway rode Schram out in the second. He registered an escape in the third and a late takedown to secure the win for the Beavers. Schram’s second-place finish secures him an automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships. Stanford's Garrett Schaner and Zach Nevills finished in third place at 149 and 184 pounds, respectively. After Schaner dropped a 4-2 decision to eventual champion Christian Pagdilao of Arizona State, he secured a 7-4 decision over Boise State's Jake Velarde and a 9-6 decision against Coleman Hammond of CSU Bakersfield to claim third. Schaner then found himself wrestling Oregon State's Abraham Rodriguez in a true second place match which went down to the wire, but Schaner pulled out the 8-7 decision and a spot in the NCAA finals. The fifth-year senior will be making his first appearance in the national tournament. Nevills fell 6-2 to Arizona State's Blake Stauffer, the eventual champion, in the semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, Nevills posted a 6-2 decision over Austin Dewey of Boise State. He then came out with a 3-2 overtime decision against CSU Bakerfield's Season Pollock to take third. Nevills also wrestled in a true second place against Oregon State's Taylor Meeks. Mekks came away with true second victory, 5-0, over Nevills. Redshirt freshman Keaton Subjeck (174 pounds) and true freshman Mason Pengilly (141 pounds) finished fifth for the Cardinal, while Maxwell Hvolbek (157 pounds) and Garet Krohn (197 pounds) took sixth. Hvolbek was injured in his semifinal match and medically forfeited the remiander of the tournament.

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Arizona State wrestling’s redshirt freshman Christian Pagdilao and redshirt junior Blake Stauffer won titles at 149 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively, propelling the Sun Devils to a second-place finish on Sunday at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships at Gill Coliseum. In the team race, the Sun Devils earned 107 points for second place behind defending champion Oregon State, who amassed 139.5 points. ASU improved on last year’s fourth-place finish, and this is the highest finish for the Sun Devils since they won the 2006 team title. “There are some mixed feelings, since you always want to see all your athletes win and all your athletes get bids to the NCAA meet,” head coach Zeke Jones said. “Some guys fell on the sword today, which is always tough, but there were definitely a lot of positives with a pair of Pac-12 titles and our best finish since 2006. It shows we’re moving in the right direction. We’re not where we want to be yet, but when you look at our future, you expect the freshmen to perform just as well as the veterans, and Christian Pagdilao met that expectation for us today. He wrestled tough in the finals and was really determined to win that bout. It was great for Blake Stauffer to win his first title, and now we have to keep him on track for NCAAs.” Pagdilao claimed ASU’s first individual title since Anthony Robles (125) and Jake Meredith (184) in 2011 as he defeated Oregon State’s Abraham Rodriguez in a 7-4 decision in the 149-pound final bout. Rodriguez was the only 149-pounder Pagdilao hadn’t wrestled against during the dual match season. In his first-round bout, the Redlands, Calif., native defeated Cal Poly’s Blake Kastl with the same score he used in the dual match on Feb. 16, 2-0, and then defeated Stanford’s Garrett Schaner, 4-2, in the semifinals. He is ASU’s first conference champion at 149 pounds since Erik Larkin won the title in 2003. Stauffer earned the second Pac-12 title of the night as he defeated Oregon State’s Taylor Meeks for the third time this season, this time with a 3-1 decision. As he extended his win streak to 24 straight bouts, Stauffer pinned CSUB’s Sean Pollock in 1:33 in the first round, and then took down Stanford’s Zach Nevills in a 6-3 decision in the semifinals. Both Pagdilao and Stauffer earned automatic bids to compete at the 2015 NCAA Wrestling Championships, March 19-21, in St. Louis, Mo. Three more Sun Devils earned automatic bids to the national meet, junior Ares Carpio (125), junior Matt Kraus (141), and sophomore Oliver Pierce (157). Carpio placed third before taking part in the bout for true second place, where he defeated Stanford’s Evan Silver in a 7-3 decision, good for the 40th win of his career. Carpio started the day dropping an 8-3 decision to eventual champion Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State, and then rebounded to defeat Cal Poly’s Yoshi Funakoshi in a 5-3 decision. Carpio then went on to pin CSUB’s Sergio Mendez in 1:29 in the third/fourth place bout. Kraus went 3-1 on the day, starting off with an 8-2 win over Mason Pengilly of Stanford, and then a 9-2 win over Cal Poly’s Colton Schilling. In the finals, Kraus dropped a 6-3 decision to Geo Martinez of Boise State, and then defeated Oregon State’s Devin Reynolds in a 5-2 decision to secure the qualification to the national meet. With three bids to NCAAs up for grabs at 157 pounds, Pierce rebounded from dropping a 5-4 decision to Oregon State’s Alex Elder by pinning CSUB’s Spencer Hill in 1:42. In the third/fourth place bout, Pierce secured a bid by defeating Cal Poly’s Colt Shorts, 2-1, in tiebreaker action. Redshirt senior Chace Eskam went 1-1 on the day, finishing as the runner-up at heavyweight, defeating Oregon State’s Nate Keeve, 3-2 in tiebreaker action in the semifinals, and then fell to Stanford’s Nathan Butler in the finals, 4-1. Also Sunday, Eskam was honored as the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Also for the Sun Devils, sophomore Judson Preskitt placed fourth at 133 pounds, as did junior Ray Waters at 174 pounds, and redshirt junior Josh DaSilveira at 197 pounds. Freshman Jacen Petersen also placed sixth at 165 pounds. “Overall we showed good effort, competed hard 95 percent of the time, and it’s a good move in the right direction for our program,” Jones said. “We’ve got five guys that we know for sure are going to St. Louis, and there’s a chance we’ll get a couple at-large bids, but we won’t know that until the second week of March. Now it’s time for us to head back to Tempe and get ready for what’s next.” The NCAA will announce the remaining 70 at-large qualifiers for the NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 11. Quotes: Redshirt junior Blake Stauffer – Pac-12 Champion, 184 Pounds “It was good to finally get the conference title under my belt after taking second the past two years. I didn’t try to let anything get into my head, I knew going out there what I had to do was what I’ve been doing all year, and today I was successful.” Redshirt freshman Christian Pagdilao – Pac-12 Champion, 149 Pounds “I’m feeling really good right now. I came into this weekend knowing I had to keep the pressure up, score more points, and dominate in every fashion, and I think I did a fairly decent job. I’ve got a couple things to work on these next couple weeks, but I’m just ready to compete at the NCAA Championships.” Junior Ares Carpio – Earned bid to NCAA Championships at 125 pounds “I’m feeling good, obviously, knowing that I’m going to the NCAA Championship. It’s been a while, but I’m finally punching my ticket, so I’m really excited. I didn’t know what the allocations were for bids, so I just went into today trying to do my best, and all my hard work paid off.” Junior Matt Kraus – Earned bid to NCAA Championships at 141 pounds “I’m feeling good, this is my first time going to the NCAA Championships, so that’s obviously a positive. Today was a good day, but there’s still a lot more work to be done these next couple weeks. Of course I’m going to enjoy tonight, but Monday morning is back to business.” Redshirt Senior Chace Eskam – Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year “It’s a great honor to get this award. A big part of being a student athlete is, of course, being a scholar, keeping your grades up. I felt like I wrestled hard, and I would have liked to win the final bout, but I left it all out on the mat.” Final Team Standings 1. Oregon State -- 139.5 2. Arizona State -- 107.0 3. Stanford -- 100.0 4. Boise State -- 85.5 5. CSU Bakersfield -- 81.0 6. Cal Poly -- 77.0

An inspired Oregon State wrestling team built an insurmountable lead heading into the championship round and cruised to its fourth consecutive Pacific-12 Conference wrestling crown on Sunday at Gill Coliseum. Oregon State (Photo/(Photo/Dave Nishitani, OSU Athletics)The Beavers led wire-to-wire and outscored runner-up Arizona State 139.5-107 for the sixth conference title in coach Jim Zalesky’s nine seasons as their coach. They also qualified seven individuals for the NCAA Championships, set for March 19-21 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. “We competed hard and we competed well,” Zalesky said. “We only had two guys who were at Pac-12’s last year, we had [eight] new guys and you never know how they are going to react to that situation. They did a great job.” Freshman Ronnie Bresser (125), redshirt freshman Jack Hathaway (133), seniors Alex Elder (157), senior Joe Latham (174) and redshirt freshman Cody Crawford (197) all captured their first conference titles, and the resulting NCAA berths. Latham was also named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the championships. Seeded fourth at 174, he won three straight matches to capture the title, defeating the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the process. “That’s great,” Zalesky said. “That’s the best he’s wrestled all year. He saved it for this tournament, and this is the time to do it. “He’s been close. Today he wrestled seven minutes hard the whole time,” and earned a repeat trip to NCAAs. Two others advanced by taking second, giving the Beavers seven NCAA qualifiers overall. Fifth-seeded Seth Thomas (165) placed second after withdrawing from the title bout with a knee injury after knocking off the second- and third-seeded opponents in his first two matches. His NCAA berth was safe because he defeated both third-place finalists en route to the finals. “We knew he was going to go to NCAAs, so we said, let’s not get it worse,” Zalesky said. Senior 184-pounder Taylor Meeks defeated Stanford’s Zach Nevills 5-0 in the true second-place match after losing the title match. They faced off because they did not meet during Meek’s path to the championship match. An All-American in 2013, Meeks has now qualified for four consecutive NCAAs. The Beavers went 16-2 in the first two rounds and wrestlebacks and took a commanding 122.5-97 lead over Arizona State heading into the championship round. They won 24 of 31 matches overall and 24 of 30 not counting Thomas’ medical forfeit. Several of the wins that advanced Beavers to the championship bouts were last-second thrillers. At 165 pounds, Thomas maintained control over No. 2-seeded Chris Castillo of Boise State to preserve a 4-3 semifinal victory. The fifth-seeded Thomas pinned No. 3 seed Adam Fierro of CSU Bakersfield in the first round. At 174 pounds, Latham got a takedown just before the buzzer to edge No. 1-seeded Ray Waters of Arizona State, 9-8, to earn a finals berth. At 197, Crawford took down Boise State’s Cody Dixon in the closing seconds for a 5-4 comeback win and a ticket to the finals, where he pinned his way to St. Louis. “Those matches gave us huge momentum,” Zalesky said. Total attendance was 4,229: 1,961 for the morning session and 2,268 for the championship round. Chase Eskom of ASU was named the Pac-12’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. No one had more than one pin so Boise State’s Dixon won the award for the quickest fall, 21 seconds. Stanford (100) took third, followed by Boise State (85.5), CSU Bakersfield (81) and Cal Poly (77).

The seeds have been released for the 2015 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships. The event takes place tomorrow (Sunday) at Gill Coliseum on the campus of Oregon State University. 125: 1.Ronnie Bresser, OSU. 2. Carson Kuhn, BSU. 3. Evan Silver, Stanford. 4. Ares Carpio, ASU. 5. Sergio Mendez, CSUB. 6. Yoshi Funakoshi, Cal Poly. 133: 1. Jack Hathaway, OSU. 2. Connor Schram, Stanford. 3. Ian Nickell, CSUB. 4. Jason De La Cruz, Cal Poly. 5. Michael Cook, BSU. 6. Judson Preskitt, ASU. 141: 1. Geo Martinez, BSU. 2. Matt Kraus, ASU. 3. Colt Schilling, Cal Poly. 4. Devin Reynolds. OSU. 5. Timmy Box, CSUB. 6. Mason Pengilly, Stanford. 149: 1. Christian Pagdilao, ASU. 2.Abraham Rodriguez, OSU. 3.Cole Hammond, CSUB. 4. Garrett Schaner, Stanford. 5. Blake Kastl, Cal Poly. 6. Jake Velarde, BSU. 157: 1. Alex Elder, OSU. 2. Steven Hernandez, BSU. 3. Max Hvolbek, Stanford. 4. Oliver Pierce, ASU. 5. Colt Shorts, Cal Poly. 6. Spencer Hill, CSUB. 165: 1. Jim Wilson, Stanford. 2. Chris Castillo, BSU. 3. Adam Fierro, CSUB. 4. Travis Berridge, Cal Poly. 5. Seth Thomas, OSU. 6. Jacen Peterson, ASU. 174: 1. Ray Waters, ASU. 2. Keaton Subject, Stanford. 3. Dom Kastl, Cal Poly. 4. Joe Latham, OSU. 5. Holden Packard, BSU. 6. Jesus Ambriz, CSUB. 184: 1. Blake Stauffer, ASU. 2. Taylor Meeks, OSU. 3. Nick Fiegener, Cal Poly. 4. Zach Nevills, Stanford. 5. Austin Dewey, BSU. 6. Sean Pollock, CSUB. 197: 1. Cody Crawford, OSU. 2. Josh DeSilveria, ASU. 3. Matt Williams, CSUB. 4. J.T. Goodwin, Cal Poly.5. Cody Dixon, BSU. 6. Garrett Krohn, Stanford. 285: 1. Nathan Butler, Stanford. 2. Chace Eskam, ASU. 3. Nate Keeve, OSU. 4. Nick Johnson, Cal Poly. 5. Galen Edmo, BSU.

Sympathies go out to the family and friends of Clarion wrestler Nick Gavazzi who died this week in a motor vehicle accident. Link Well, Missouri has made a liar out of this year's Iowa-heavy prognosticators. Winners of the 2015 NWCA National Duals, Missouri upset favorite Iowa 18-12 in Sunday's finals, and in doing so also challenged the popular perception that the Hawkeyes would walk away with the team title in St. Louis. Though Iowa is likely the favorite to win the NCAA tournament, it's obvious that teams like Missouri, Ohio State and Minnesota have the talent to challenge the Hawkeyes and nip at their heels throughout the three-day tournament. Though the upset matters as a stand-alone event, the big question coming out of a drama-filled weekend of pushing, flapping and shooshing is how anyone could mount a substantial argument against the National Duals and their impact on the future of college wrestling. I was in Tehran covering the Greco-Roman World Cup and despite the poor Internet and time difference, the buzz around the National Duals was so loud online that results and storylines were easy to follow even when flying back through timelines of other journalists. Upsets in the first round and a lineup packed with schools with broad name recognition to both wrestling fans and those outside the sport. That's media gold and a way to drive attention and viewership in your product. While there are years in which selling wrestling to major publications is easier than others (Kyle Dake vs. David Taylor), the stories wanted by the press tend to start with colleges -- something that every sports reader can know with ease. Cornell is Ivy League. Iowa is a dominant power. Penn State has Cael Sanderson as coach. These are pretty basic items that maybe half the sports world knows heading into March. That's why the Missouri-Iowa upset became a story with resonance in and out of the wrestling community. Because it was Missouri -- the school, the colors, the everything -- who performed this upset feat, not an individual with a more difficult back story. School successes and failures are easier to follow for fans and therefore are preferred by the media. Overall, the National Duals format has a ways to go before it can be the most meaningful competition of the NCAA season. Much of the discussion of duals will center on scheduling and how the competitions might impact the proven money-making NCAA tournament, but the writing is on the mats -- in a rapidly changing athletics environment money and interest are necessary for survival. To your questions ... Q: Missouri coach Brian Smith wrestled collegiately at Michigan State. Any chance we could ever see him replace Tom Minkel in East Lansing? -- Mike C. Foley: Absolutely. The Missouri wrestling team is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in the dual meet rankings, something that nobody would have predicted even with the Askren brothers in town. After 20-plus years of hard work Coach Smith has a contender. Brian Smith (Photo/Clayton Hotze)So why leave? Well, maybe he wouldn't (there is no opening as of now), but the argument for why he would is the same for why college basketball coaches love to take over dynasty programs that are in the dumps. First there is the challenge of the turnaround, which can be a confidence building exercise in and of itself, but also there is an institutional and professional admiration that is extended to coaches who perform such turnarounds. Next, there is the idea that Michigan State, competing in the Big Ten, has a better chance of winning the national title and that they'd have more institutional support at-the-ready. Finally, he may want a change and to take over at an alma mater he loves (if he does). Who knows if he'd apply, but taking Missouri to No.1 in the nation is a huge feather in his coaching cap and should he want another challenge, either in the Big Ten, Pac 12 or the ACC, there aren't many athletic directors who wouldn't give Coach Smith an interview. Q: What do you make of the debacle with the VHSL? -- John T. Foley: To clarify for those who don't know the back story: Last week during the Virginia state wrestling tournament the VHSL was facing pressure from schools to reduce risk during an impending snowstorm. The tournament was meant to run Friday and Saturday, but with the storm the VHSL chose to make it a one-day tournament with no first-round wrestlebacks. With everything squeezed into a single day of wrestling the finals were late at night and had no public awards ceremony. The wrestlers were given their medals behind the bleachers. Sooo ... Bing. Boom. Out. Wrestling started late and ended around 10 p.m. No pomp and very little time for celebration. The VHSL was embattled well before this decision. Last year the organization decided to create additional state tournaments and classifications (to help with football) and forced wrestling to an eight-man bracket. This was of course strange, not only that there were eight state champions in a state that used to have three, but also that half as may wrestlers qualified. The resulting chaos of last week's decision has been horrible publicity for the VHSL, and for good reason. Though there is always room for caution their actions seemed rushed and in part ruined the wrestling seasons of many young high school students. With no seeding at the state tournament the two best wrestlers might've met in the first round and left the loser out in the cold (literally) with no medal. With all the money being spent by individuals and families on the athletic careers of their sons and daughters, this type of slight could be perceived as irreparable. The VHSL, like many amateur athletic organizations, seems to operate outside the jurisdiction of any larger authority, which for parents causes even more heartache since there is nowhere to point their frustration. Wrestlers deserve the opportunity to compete in the fully bracketed tournament they were promised at the beginning of the season. Would they have played only three quarters of a football game? Of course not. The VHSL should make a public apology and look to make serious changes to the way they govern individual sports. Q: United World Wrestling is doing a lot better than FILA. Still a ways to go, though. How is Arena coming along? What are some of the features we can look forward to once it goes live? This has a lot of potential for our sport. -- Dan L. Foley: Arena is cruising right along! The major improvement is that we can now have up-to-the-minute results embedded on the site as the tournament is happening. The results will come in an easy-to-read format that is fan friendly and allows for better use by the media. The United World Wrestling site has been updated and is now filled with photos, videos, results and stories. The big events now have their own pages where users can find the live stream for the event, important matches and even same-day highlights. That multimedia can be a painful process when trying to navigate the troubles of hosting events in places like Iran or Cuba or Myanmar, but the structure is being created. Those are all kinks that can be ironed out over time, but it's important to understand that for wrestling to be grown worldwide, it's vital for a variety of countries to host tournaments. Of course not every tournament will be covered the same. There is a range of competitions on the calendar, but each of the United World Wrestling branded competitions (Continental Championships, World Cups, World Championships) will have the full available treatment. Video is also now being treated as a priority. Wrestling deserves to be in front of the fans. Though we started with 12k Facebook fans in February 2013, the growth has been immense. For example, more than 1.8 million people saw the United World Wrestling page last week during the Greco-Roman World Cup. Those are insane numbers for no Facebook advertising and only 220k Facebook fans. The content is perfect for sharing and the passion of the fans ignites a ton of outside interest over platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The media operation will continue to expand, but that will take time and money and of course demand patience from the wrestling community. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Best match of the 2015 Greco-Roman World Cup Ben Askren takes on the culture of the Iowa wrestling culture's love for "He's STALLING, ref." Post by Ben Askren. Link: What's bugging Andy, support Iowa wrestling Link: Wrestler invents fire extinguisher that uses sound Link: Utah gymnastics sets record attendance Link: Save Bishop Eustace wrestling Q: Which freshman has a better chance to finish this season as an undefeated NCAA champion, Isaiah Martinez or Bo Jordan? -- Mike C. Foley: Isaiah Martinez is just not being threatened and that makes me think that he's on the level of Cael Sanderson as a freshman. The tough part about being an undefeated four-time NCAA champion is winning every match, and that's especially true the first two years when hiccups are much more common. Given his desire to score a lot of points and wrestle to the pin, I think that Martinez will be the favorite heading into Big Tens, and if he makes it through THAT weekend unscathed then he can likely make it through the NCAA tournament without a blemish. Either way, it's exciting and special to have two undefeated freshmen near the top of the college rankings and heading into the NCAA tournament capable of joining recent greats in making history. Rant of the Week By Patrick S. What happened to respect in wrestling? Where did silent intensity go? Why does it seem like there are multiple incidents of disrespectful behavior in every dual that I watch? I'm so sick of people writing off childish post-whistle behavior by saying something to the effect of: "Well if you don't want any intensity go watch figure skating!" The extracurricular activity and constant showboating are simply embarrassing. You're representing your school, coaching staff, and teammates poorly. If you're not mature enough to compete without standing over your opponent and flexing after every win or without taunting the opposing crowd after a hard fought victory, then good luck getting along in life after sports. In my opinion, these kinds of shenanigans add nothing to the sport. They don't add entertainment value. I don't watch wrestling for the soap opera angle of who's mad at who or to see student-athletes play dirty. I want to see guys compete in the actual sport that they're supposed to be participating in and I want to see them do so in an intense and mutually respectful manner. Do you know what does add entertainment value? Takedowns. Throws. Pinning combinations. Exciting wrestling offers entertainment value. Do you want to put on a show for the crowd? Go after your opponent for seven minutes and quit it with the cheap "boxing weigh-in stare down" style dramatics. It's tired. It's played out. You're not a badass because you shushed a crowd or you cheap-shotted an opponent. You're a child. Your effort inside the circle should speak for itself every time. If you have to punctuate it with antics, you're doing something wrong.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has announced the qualifier allocations for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships as listed in the chart below. Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage at the weight class, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches ranking. For each wrestler that reached the threshold in at least two of the three categories, his qualifying tournament was awarded a qualifying spot in that weight class. Each qualifying tournament, with automatic qualifying status, was awarded a minimum of one wrestler per weight class, which will go to the tournament champion, even if they did not have any wrestlers reach at least two of the three thresholds. NCAA tournament spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at the tournament based solely on place-finish. After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 70 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 11. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. The at-large selections will be made based on the following criteria: head-to-head competition, qualifying event placement, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, RPI, coaches ranking and the number of matches contested at that weight class.

Every year the best in college wrestling seem to get younger, and in 2014-2015 that trend is once again on the rise. The NCAA postseason is filled with diaper dandies showing off the skills they've learned in the first year on the mat, but with this group, what they've achieved in the course of their first seasons is already impressive. From a pair of undefeated middleweights to a handful of little guys looking to make their first podium, here are InterMat's top 10 freshmen heading into the postseason. 1. Isaiah Martinez (Illinois, 157) The top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 157 pounds, the hype on Martinez is starting to sound a lot more like Cael Sanderson and Logan Stieber than many would have expected in November. Ranked No. 1 in the nation and undefeated, Martinez is a wrestler that many believe could be on par scoring-wise with Ben Askren and David Taylor. He has an attack-first style that means he often puts up a lot of points and wins matches by football scores. 2. Bo Jordan (Ohio State, 165) Also undefeated, Ohio State's Bo Jordan is getting the attention many believe he deserves. Ranked No. 5 in the country, Jordan has two wins over Michigan's Taylor Massa and put a beating on Iowa's Nick Moore 9-2. Though he hasn't faced any of the other top four there is no reason to believe that his foot will come off the pedal or that he couldn't handle Alex Dieringer, Michael Moreno or Nick Sulzer with his composure and talent. 3. Kyle Snyder (Ohio State, 197) Everyone's favorite freshman phenom heading into the season Snyder, almost surprisingly, took some losses this season. Ranked No. 3 in the nation, Snyder owns wins over returning All-Americans Morgan McIntosh of Penn State and Scott Schiller of Minnesota. For Snyder to meet his goal of winning a national title he'll need to find a way past Missouri's J'den Cox, a wrestler who beat him during his high school days and a wrestler as capable of stymying attacks as he is launching them. 4. Brandon Sorensen (Iowa, 149) Though he suffered a recent loss to Drake Houdashelt of Missouri, the season of Brandon Sorensen has been one of the most surprising storylines of the season. Ranked No. 5 in this week's InterMat rankings, Sorensen started the season as the expected backup to Grothus. Now the young grappler has a win over returning NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern and has only taken losses to No. 1 Dave Habat of Edinboro and teammate Grothus. 5. Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State, 125) At the center of any team championship run is a wrestler who can and will outperform expectations. While Ohio State has leaned on the mature styling of Kyle Snyder all season, their team title hopes may rest on Tomasello who at 24-4 has shown every inclination to beat some of the best wrestlers in the nation. Ranked No. 7 in the nation, Tomasello's only losses have come to the top guys, but with a motor that doesn't quit and an aggressive style he could very well work his way to a high position on the podium and help the Buckeyes make a run at the team title. 6. Willie Miklus (Missouri, 184) The No. 16 wrestler in the nation, Miklus is coming off a big win against high school teammate and training partner Alex Meyer of Iowa. That win helped propel Missouri to the National Duals title and improve the young Tiger's outlook for postseason hardware. Miklus is 26-6 and placed sixth at the Southern Scuffle. Though not rotten with notable victories, he has a nice notch in his belt with a victory over ODU's returning All-American Jack Dechow. 7. Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech, 174) Tough as a tank, Epperly has started his career for the Hokies by rattling off a 17-4 record with his only losses coming to Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State), Logan Storley (Minnesota) and Blaise Butler (Virginia). Ranked No. 7 in the nation Epperly crossed into big boy territory a few weeks ago when he upset Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) a wrestler he's sure to see again at the ACC tournament. 8. Geordan Martinez (Boise State, 141) Save an early season upset at the hands of Michael Ruiz (Great Falls (Mont.), Martinez is having a banner year in a stacked 141-pound weight class. Currently Ranked No. 6 in the nation, Martinez wasn't as publicized coming into college as many of the other wrestlers on the list. However, in his first season on the mats he has an impressive 25-4 record and every opportunity to find the podium in 2015. 9. Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers, 141) The pride of new Jersey's prep wrestling scene, the ascension of Anthony Ashnault to a position of acclaim in NCAA wrestling has been quick. Currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, the tough young wrestler has a win over Martinez and Iowa's Josh Dziewa. However tough he is on the mats Ashnault has still dropped close matches, losing to Steven Rodrigues of Illinois, 2-0. 10. Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State, 125) Repping an incredible 29 wins against only five losses, Bresser is having a statistically impressive year. Ranked No. 13 due to head-scratching losses, the young Oregon State wrestler will need a strong performance at the Pac-12 tournament to prove to himself and others that he can put together an impressive performance at the largest stage.

Related: Team Rankings | Individual Rankings KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the 22nd-straight edition, Grand View (Iowa) holds the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Vikings, who have 12 individual wrestlers ranked in the poll, accrued 172 total points. Grand View's ranked grapplers are highlighted by Ryak Finch (125), Brandon Wright (141) and Dallas Houchins (157). Finch and Wright have been listed atop their class in all five polls this season. The Vikings enter the national championships coming off their fifth-straight Central Qualifier team title, as all 12 wrestlers automatically qualified with top-four finishes. Jumping two places to No. 2 is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) with 108.5 points. The East Qualifier champion Blue Raiders boast nine ranked individuals. Freshman Michael Pixley leads the charge, ranking atop the 184-pound weight class for a second-consecutive week. The Blue Springs, Mo., native is 18-0 on the year. Rounding out the top five are No. 3 Great Falls (Mont.) (105.5 points), No. 4 Southern Oregon (99.5 points) and No. 5 Montana State-Northern (99.5 points). Great Falls and Southern Oregon each boast one top-ranked individual – Michael Ruiz (133) for the Argonauts and Brock Gutches (174) for the Raiders. Montana State-Northern is led by Ethan Hinebauch (165) and Toby Cheff (285). Hinebauch has listed atop the 165-pound weight class in seven of the last eight polls, while Cheff is No. 1 at 285 for a second-straight week. Both won titles at the West Qualifier. No. 9 Missouri Valley’s Jake Ekster is the only new No. 1 this week. The Houston, Texas, native pinned previously top-ranked Gustavo Martinez of Grand View (Iowa) in 6:52 in the 149-pound title match at the Central Qualifier. Ekster was last ranked No. 1 on Dec. 10. No. 20 Simpson (Calif.) is the only newcomer in this installment. The 2015 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by Blue Chip Wrestling, will take place March 6 – 7 at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka, Kan. Stretch Internet, the NAIA’s official video stream provider, will broadcast the championship bouts (session IV) Saturday night on www.NAIANetwork.com. Action for that session is scheduled to begin at approximately 7 p.m. CST. The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the four Qualifying Groups. For the complete look at the 2014-15 NAIA Wrestling Coaches’ Top 20 Poll calendar, click here. The postseason poll will be announced Feb. 12. Notes (all information dates back to 2000-01 season): Grand View’s (Iowa) No. 1 ranking is its 27th all-time, which ranks second of all programs since 2000-01 … The Vikings have held the top spot in 22-straight polls … Former member Lindenwood (Mo.) boasts the most all-time No. 1 rankings with 39, while Notre Dame (Ohio) is third with 14 … Nine programs have appeared in the Top 20 for at least 20-consecutive polls, led by No. 7 Campbellsville’s (Ky.) and No. 3 Great Falls’ (Mont.) current run of 77-straight polls, dating back to 2005-06 … No. 5 Montana State-Northern is the only other school with at least 60-straight appearances (68) … Grand View (2013-14), Notre Dame (2010-11) and Lindenwood (2006-07) are the only programs to spend an entire season ranked No. 1.

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. 1 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- competed in a Class 3A state dual meet play-in match vs. Evanston Township yesterday (2/24) at Niles West; with a win would advance to the state dual final eight at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday No. 2 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- compete in Division II sectional tournament at Tippecanoe on Friday and Saturday No. 3 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- compete in National Prep Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lehigh University No. 4 Blair Academy, N.J. -- compete in National Prep Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lehigh University No. 5 Clovis, Calif. -- compete in the Yosemite Divisional Valley Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lemoore No. 6 Buchanan, Calif. -- compete in the Yosemite Divisional Valley Championships on Friday and Saturday at Lemoore No. 7 Franklin Regional, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A WPIAL championships (i.e. Southwest Regional) tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday at Penn Hills No. 10 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A Northeast Regional on Friday and Saturday at Bethlehem Liberty No. 11 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- compete in Region 2 tournament at Bergen Community College tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 12 Poway, Calif. -- compete in San Diego Section masters tournament on Friday and Saturday at El Centro 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 sectional tournament on Friday and Saturday at Westlake No. 16 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- competed in a Class 2A state dual meet play-in match vs. Chicago St. Patrick yesterday (2/24) at Lake Villa; with a win would advance to the state dual final eight at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday No. 17 Apple Valley, Minn. -- compete in Class AAA state dual meet tournament tomorrow (2/26) and individual tournament on Friday and Saturday at X-Cel Energy Center in St. Paul No. 19 Carl Sandburg, Ill. -- competed in a Class 3A state dual meet play-in match vs. Mt. Carmel yesterday (2/24) at Shepard; with a win would advance to the state dual meet final eight at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday No. 21 Massillon Perry, Ohio -- host Division I sectional tournament on Friday and Saturday No. 22 Glenbard Noth, Ill. -- competed in a Class 3A state dual meet play-in match vs. Conant yesterday (2/24) at Niles West; with a win would advance to the state dual meet final eight at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday No. 23 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- compete in Class AAA state dual meet tournament tomorrow (2/26) and individual tournament on Friday and Saturday at X-Cel Energy Center in St. Paul No. 24 Tuttle, Okla. -- compete in Class 4A state tournament at State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Lowell, Mich. -- compete in team regional tournament tonight (2/18) at Thornapple-Kellogg, and the individual regional on Saturday at Byron Center No. 26 Brecksville, Ohio -- compete in SWC Tournament on Saturday at Amherst, Ohio No. 27 Crook County, Ore. -- compete in Class 4A state tournament at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland on Friday and Saturday No. 28 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- compete in Region 2 tournament at Bergen Community College tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 29 Delta, Ohio -- compete in Division III sectional tournament at Archbold on Friday and Saturday No. 31 Cumberland Valley, Pa. -- compete in South Central Regional (aka District 3) tournament on Friday and Saturday at HersheyPark Arena No. 32 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- competed in a Class 3A state dual meet play-in match vs. Lyons Township yesterday (2/24) at Shepard; with a win would advance to the state dual meet final eight at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington on Saturday No. 33 South Dade, Fla. -- compete in Class 3A district tournament at Miami Sunset tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday No. 34 Belle Vernon, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A WPIAL championships (i.e. Southwest Regional) tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday at Penn Hills No. 35 DePaul Catholic, N.J. -- compete in Region 1 tournament at Walkill Valley tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 36 Dayton Christian, Ohio -- compete in Division III sectional tournament at Milton Union on Friday and Saturday No. 37 St. Peter’s Prep, N.J. -- compete in Region 4 tournament tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 38 Greater Latrobe, Pa. -- compete in the Class 3A WPIAL championships (i.e. Southwest Regional) tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday at Penn Hills No. 39 Phillipsburg, N.J. -- compete in Region 1 tournament at Walkill Valley tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 40 Monroe Woodbury, N.Y. -- compete in state tournament at the Times-Union Center in Albany on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Bound Brook, N.J. -- compete in Region 5 tournament at Hunterdon Central tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 42 Elyria, Ohio -- compete in Division I sectional tournament at Westlake on Friday and Saturday No. 43 Kaukauna, Wis. -- compete in Division 1 state tournament tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison No. 44 Minisink Valey, N.Y. -- compete in state tournament at the Times-Union Center in Albany on Friday and Saturday No. 45 Brighton, Mich. -- compete in Division 1 dual meet state tournament on Friday and Saturday in Grand Rapids No. 47 Delbarton, N.J. -- compete in Region 3 tournament tonight (2/25) as well as on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Brandon, Fla. -- compete in Class 2A district tournament at Lake Gibson tomorrow (2/26) through Saturday Season completed: No. 8 Southeast Polk (Iowa), No. 9 Archer (Ga.), No. 18 Neosho (Mo.), No. 20 Bettendorf (Iowa), No. 31 Mesa Mountain View (Ga.), No. 46 Penn (Ind.), No. 48 Colonial Forge (Va.), and No. 49 Evansville Mater Dei (Ind.)

The last weekend of February is upon us. A big chunk of state tournaments have come to their conclusion, while a couple of states commence their state tournament series this weekend. Let's take a look at some of the highlights for the week that was, and the week that will be. What championships are being held this week? Individual bracket: West Virginia, Wisconsin (2/26-2/28): Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, National Preps, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming (2/27 & 2/28) Dual meet: Delaware (2/24), Minnesota (2/26); Michigan (2/27 & 2/28): Illinois, Nebraska (2/28) Which states have already concluded their championships? Individual bracket: Alaska, Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington Dual meet: Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee Four things to look forward to this week 1. Can Apple Valley hold off St. Michael-Albertville for the state (dual) title in Class AAA Apple Valley, this year ranked No. 18 nationally, has won (or shared) the state dual meet title for nine straight years, and 15 of the last 16 going back to 1999. This year, it is No. 23 St. Michael-Albertville nipping right on the Eagles' heels. Two years ago, the teams were declared co-champions after their state dual meet finals match ended in a 28-28 tie. Last year, St. Michael-Albertville finished third after losing 37-21 to Prior Lake in the dual meet semifinal. The Knights have won seven (dual meet) state titles over the years, including that joint title in 2013, with most coming while they competed in Class AA. St. Michael-Albertville, ranked second in Class AAA by The Guillotine, draws 12th-ranked Moorhead in the opening round; a likely semifinal against 3rd-ranked Willmar would follow. In the other half-bracket, Apple Valley opens with White Bear Lake, before a semifinal against either 5th-ranked Farmington or 6th-ranked Prior Lake. Based on rankings produced by The Guillotine, the following weight classes are likely to place matchups with ranked wrestlers competing against one another: 106: No. 5 Nate Larson (Apple Valley) vs. No. 8 Patrick McKee (STMA) 160: No. 9 Andrew Walock vs. No. 10 Mitchell Zachman 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (No. 1 national) vs. No. 3 Evan Ronsen 195: No. 1 Bobby Steveson (No. 2 national) vs. No. 5 Evan Foster 220: No. 1 Gable Steveson (No. 17 national) vs. No. 4 Jake Briggs The other nine weight classes have three Apple Valley ranked wrestlers and six STMA ranked wrestlers. This includes the three wrestlers for STMA who are ranked first in the state -- No. 6 Mitchell McKee (126), Jake Allar (138), and No. 18 Jordan Joseph (182). Based on the rankings produced by The Guillotine, Apple Valley is favored in eight weight classes; upsets, swing matchups, and lineup flexibility will play a role in the ultimate dual meet outcome. 2. Broken Arrow vs. Stillwater, chapter four Clearly the two best teams in Class 6A, as well as overall in the Sooner State, No. 13 Stillwater and No. 14 Broken Arrow look to be locked up in a tooth-and-nail battle for the state individual title. Two weekends ago, it took a 5-3 decision from Cyntrell Carden in the dual meet's last match to yield victory for Stillwater. On the strength of that mild upset at 285, the Pioneers won their eighth weight class of the dual meet and a 29-27 final score. Eighteen days before that one, it was a similarly close match, also won by Stillwater. The Pioneers scored a 27-26 victory as the teams split weight classes at seven apiece. However, it was not without controversy. In the evening's third to last bout, there was a mis-application of penalty points, which would have given Broken Arrow a major decision at 195; then based on how the last two matches went, there would have been a 27-27 tie, one in which the Tigers had criteria based on the match's lone pin. In their lone individual bracket event of the season, at the Geary Invitational -- which was 2-1/2 weeks before the dual meet -- Broken Arrow out-pointed Stillwater by a decent amount for second place. No. 4 Blair Academy took first in the standings. It should be noted that the team scoring at Geary is not commensurate to the scoring used at the state individual tournament. Headed into the festivities this Friday and Saturday at the State Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City, Broken Arrow has qualified ten wrestlers, while Stillwater will be working with ten. Also, with a high number of qualifiers in Class 6A is Sand Springs with 11. The eleven qualifiers for Broken Arrow and Sand Springs are joint most for any team across the four classifications, as No. 24 Tuttle also qualified 11 in Class 4A. 3. Rivalries throughout WPIAL Class 3A meet an undercard for Hershey No matter the pleading and begging of certain people, the individual power in Pennsylvania wrestling (Class 3A in specific) has shifted towards the west and middle parts of the state. It was no clearer than in last year's state tournament when 12 of 28 finalists -- including eight of 14 champions -- came from the WPIAL (i.e. southwest regional); five of the remaining six champions came from district 3 (i.e. south central regional). Next weekend at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pa. is the state tournament, and this weekend is the WPIAL tournament in Class 3A. The event, to be held at Penn Hills starting tomorrow and going through Saturday, features three nationally ranked teams as well as 13 nationally ranked individuals. Among those individuals are four ranked first in the country, and another pair holding down the No. 2 position. Eight wrestlers from this tournament hold the highest ranking position in the Pennsylvania big-school division. Franklin Regional is the very strong favorite to repeat at the state tournament next week, and the Panthers already repeated as dual meet state champions. They qualified ten wrestlers to this tournament. The other two ranked teams have more qualifiers, and could plausibly out-point Franklin Regional this week but have no chance to do so next week. No. 34 Belle Vernon brings 12 to the WPIAL Class 3A meet, while No. 38 Greater Latrobe qualified 13. The top four finishers from each weight class here advance to the 20-man state tournament brackets. Nationally ranked individuals are the following: 113: No. 6 Devin Brown (Franklin Regional) 120: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) 126: No. 12 Gus Solomon (Franklin Regional) 132: No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe), No. 6 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) 138: No. 1 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area), No. 5 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford) 145: No. 1 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional), No. 11 Jared Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) 152: No. 2 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic), No. 7 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional) 160: No. 2 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional) 182: No. 13 Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon) 4. Best state tournament weight of the weekend? New York, Division 1, 106 pounds Four nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the 106 pound weight class in New York, and all are in Division 1, which means the competition will be an excellent one. Furthering that spirit of competition is the fact each anchors one of the four quarter brackets. The upper half semifinal would be No. 7 Jacori Teemer (Long Beach) vs. No. 20 Tommy Cox (Deer Park), while the lower half bracket would place No. 19 Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge) vs. No. 12 Kellan McKenna (New Hartford). The freshman Teemer won state last year in eighth grade down at 99 pounds, while the junior Cox went 1-2 in the same state tournament weight class; Teemer beat Cox 12-10 in the quarterfinal, with Cox losing his next match as well. The junior McKenna finished third at 99 pounds last year, while the freshman Silverstein is in his state tournament debut this year. On the season, Teemer has not lost a match in which he has competed. He was champion at the Eastern States Classic, with 1-0 wins over Silverstein and McKenna during the semifinal and final rounds; Teemer did not wrestle would be semifinal opponent Cox this year. McKenna and Silverstein have also not wrestled one another this season (McKenna was runner-up at Eastern States to Silverstein's third). Cox and Silverstein have the most robust history here, as they have split four matches during the season, including the Section XI final two weekends ago that Silverstein won by 3-1 decision. Four thoughts from last week's state championship competitions 1. No. 1 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. performed well, but it was far from perfect As the nation's top-ranked teams, expectations are always high for Oak Park River Forest. That is even the case when they are absent a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers -- Anthony Madrigal (106) and Kamal Bey (170) -- along with another wrestler who would have been projected to place at state in Adam Lemke-Bell (285). Five wrestlers entered the state tournament ranked first in the state per Illinois Matmen, and all advanced to the state final. However, those wrestlers went a combined 2-3 in their championship matches. No. 1 Isaiah White (152) and No. 20 Matthew Rundell (160) won state titles, while Jason Renteria (113), Alex Madrigal (120), and Larry Early (145) all finished second. Renteria lost to Austin Gomez (Glenbard North) 4-3 on a Gomez takedown very late in the match, the wrestlers flip the No. 3 and No. 4 positions in the rankings; Madrigal lost 3-1 in overtime to the previously un-ranked Michael Cullen (Cary-Grove), Cullen is now No. 15 nationally while Madrigal drops four positions to No. 13; Early lost 3-2 to the previously un-ranked Eric Barone (Crystal Lake South), Barone is now No. 15 nationally while Early dropped three positons to No. 7 in the country. The other two Huskies placers were right on slot per their in-state ranking; Gabe Townsell (126) finished third, while Jamie Hernandez (132) finished in fourth. The other wrestler projected to place was Allen Stallings (220); however, he sustained an injury during the quarterfinal match and had to default out of the tournament. 2. Penn Kingsmen exorcise major demons in the Hoosier State As one of the biggest enrollment schools in the state of Indiana, and one with success throughout its sports program, the relative lack of success in wrestling has been baffling. Headed into the weekend, Penn had zero wrestlers win a state title since 1971, with just seven wrestlers even making the state championship match. In addition, the Kingsmen have never won state as a team, regardless of format (scored at the individual tournament or in a dual meet tournament). On the individual side, Penn had two wrestlers finish as runners-up last year, including Chase Osborn. They also had a runner-up in the 2013 state tournament, which was their first finalist in fourteen seasons. This Saturday night, the Kingsmen advanced three individuals to the state final. Drew Hildebrandt finished as runner-up at 113, before Osborn (182) and Kobe Woods (220) won their matches to end the long hiatus. In addition, two other wrestlers placed fifth for Penn -- Joey Mammolenti (170) and Cory Christman (285). That was enough to score 79 team points, which yielded a team championship trophy for the Kingsmen. As a result, they moved into the Fab50 this week at No. 46 overall. 3. Southeast Polk sweeps state titles in Iowa big-school for second time in three years This year's chapter of the Southeast Polk vs. Bettendorf rivalry in Iowa big-school wrestling was won by the No. 8 ranked Rams on all accounts. In Wednesday evening's state dual meet final, Southeast Polk won eight weight classes to defeat No. 20 Bettendorf 34-28. After five matches, the Rams faced a 19-3 deficit before winning six consecutive matches. The run started with a 5-4 decision victory by Mason Kerr at 170 pounds, then continued with a decision from Kameron Padavich (182) and a major decision from Deion Mikesell (195), before successive pins from No. 9 Ethan Andersen (220), No. 3 Jake Marnin (285), and Gauge Perrien (106) gave turned that deficit into a 31-19 advantange. Bettendorf would respond with a 6-4 decision by No. 16 Jack Wagner (113) before a pin by Jacob Schwarm (120) created a potential winner take all match. However, a 7-1 decision by No. 20 Nolan Hellickson over Jackson Gallagher at 126 pounds gave Southeast Polk the win. The individual tournament was a clear statement from Southeast Polk, as the Rams scored 193 points, which was the second most by any team in the history over the Iowa state tournament (Waverly-Shell Rock in 2007 has the record). Working with 13 state qualifiers, each individual won at least one match, with eleven earning a podium finish. The Rams were led by six state finalists, including the trio of titles won by No. 20 Hellickson (126), No. 9 Andersen (220), and No. 3 Marnin (285); finishing second were Aaron Meyer (145), Briar Dittmer (152), and Mikesell (195). Other placers were Nathan Lendt (113) in third, Keegan Shaw (138) in fourth, Gauge Perrien (106) in sixth, Brady Buchheit (160) in seventh, and Adam Brown (120) in eight. Bettendorf was an impressive runner-up, placing seven of their eleven state qualifiers, including five state finalists. Winning titles were No. 16 Wagner (113), Schwarm (120), and No. 2 Fredy Stroker (145); while runner-up finishes came from Paul Glynn (132) and No. 6 Dayton Racer (160). Additional placers were Jackson Gallagher (126) and Jacob Woodard (152) finishing fourth. The Bulldogs scored 154 points of their own to distance themselves from third place Fort Dodge by 49, the same amount of their deficit to first place Southeast Polk. 4. Lousy weather adversely impacted some state tournaments last weekend Unlike the post office, the lousy winter weather in certain parts of the country caused disruption to state tournament wrestling; whether it be snowstorm or just downright frigid conditions. The state tournament that was slated to be held in Kentucky this past weekend has been pushed back 2-1/2 weeks to March 10 and 11 (Tuesday and Wednesday). The event will still be held at Alltech Arena in Lexington. On the other hand, the Virginia High School League made a more unpopular decision to address the weather that was headed towards the Commonwealth this past weekend. The state tournaments were scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday (Class 6A & 5A at Robinson H.S., with Class 4A down through 1A at the Salem Civic Center). However, in response to the weather they shrunk each tournament down to just Friday. Each weight class was an eight-man bracket; to accommodate the drop to one day, all quarterfinal losers were eliminated from the tournament, with semifinalists guaranteed a top four medal.

Related: Team Rankings | Individual Rankings EDMOND, Okla. -- St. Cloud State (Minn.) maintained its perch atop the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings by the slimmest of margins Wednesday, according to the poll released by the Division II Wrestling Coaches Association. The Huskies received four first-place votes and finished with 152 points to trim Maryville (Mo.) by one point, with Ouachita Baptist (Ark.) just another point back in third place in balloting of head coaches from around the country. The Saints had the remaining four first-place votes in finishing with 151 points and the Tigers had 150 in moving up one spot to third. Defending national champion Notre Dame (Ohio) fell to fourth with 136 points and McKendree (Ill.) moved up three positions to No. 5. Rounding out the top 10 is Mercyhurst (Pa.), Nebraska-Kearney, Western State (Colo.), North Carolina-Pembroke and Colorado Mesa. Regional qualifying tournaments will be held at four sites this weekend, with West Liberty hosting the East Super Regional, UNC-Pembroke the Midwest Super Regional, MSU-Mankato the Central Super Regional and Colorado State-Pueblo the West Super Regional. The top four placers at each weight in all four regional tournaments advance to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which is set for March 13-14 in St. Louis, Mo.

It's been awhile, but UFC champion Ronda Rousey might have a legit challenge on her hands this weekend against Cat Zingano. And if Zingano isn't up to the task, newcomer Holly Holm -- an accomplished boxer -- might establish herself as next in line in the co main event. Richard and John break down the whole UFC 184 card and take a look at this weekend's Bellator and Invicta offerings. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Seven of the eight members of the 2014 U.S. Freestyle World Team have confirmed their participation in the 2015 Freestyle Wrestling World Cup, set for the Forum, presented by Chase, in Inglewood, Calif., April 11-12. USA Wrestling has named one athlete in each weight class for its team, and will add another athlete in each weight class to the roster in the upcoming days. This initial group of eight athletes has won a combined three Olympic medals, six World medals and 13 NCAA titles during their career. All are currently top-ranked in their weight class in the USA. "It is an important event for us. We have to get back into the top echelon of world wrestling. We have the top teams in the world here on our soil. This is an opportunity for us to perform better than we did at the World Championships. We have the best guys in our country from last year's World Team Trials on this team, and we will see how much we have improved since September 2014," said National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett. The U.S. team will feature 2012 Olympic champions Jordan Burroughs (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids/Nebraska RTC) at 74 kg/163 lbs. and Jake Varner (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC) at 97 kg/213 lbs. Also on the team is 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott (Chapel Hill, N.C./Titan Mercury WC) at 61 kg/134 lbs. Burroughs also boasts three World medals, including gold medals in 2011 and 2013, and a World bronze medal in 2014. Varner was a 2011 World bronze medalist. Tervel Dlagnev (Columbus, Ohio/Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC), who competes at 125 kg/275 lbs. is a two-time World bronze medalist, reaching the podium in 2009 and 2015. Burroughs, Varner, Scott and Dlagnev were all members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in London, England. Three-time World Team member Brent Metcalf (Iowa City, Iowa/New York AC/Hawkeye WC), who competed at the 2010, 2013 and 2014 Worlds, will wrestle at 65 kg/143 lbs. Metcalf and Burroughs were unbeaten in their matches at the 2014 Freestyle World Cup. Other members of the 2014 U.S. World Team on the roster include Tony Ramos (Iowa City, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) at 57 kg/125.5 lbs., Nick Marable (Morgantown, W.Va./Sunkist Kids/Mountaineer RTC) at 70 kg/154 lbs. and Ed Ruth (Tempe, Ariz./Sunkist Kids) at 86 kg/189 lbs. The NCAA titles from this group include three from Ruth at Penn State, two from Metcalf at Iowa, two from Burroughs at Nebraska, two from Varner at Iowa State, two from Dlagnev at Nebraska-Kearney, and one each from Ramos at Iowa and Scott at Oklahoma State. Scott was second at the 2014 Phase II World Team Trials at 61 kg/134 lbs. behind World Team member Jimmy Kennedy, who has moved up to 65 kg/143 lbs. this year. Scott is the highest ranked wrestler in the nation who is competing at this weight class this season. The other seven U.S. athletes were No. 1 in their weight classes in the USA last season. The World Cup is the international dual meet championships, one of the most important events of the year. The top eight teams in the world will compete in dual meets. This year's field includes Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cuba, Iran, Mongolia, Russia, Turkey and the United States. The U.S. placed third at the 2014 Freestyle World Cup, also held in Los Angeles, with Iran winning the team title and Russia placing second. All-Session tickets are available, as well as Single-Day tickets. Fans can purchase All-Session tickets for $60 for General Admission and $85 for Preferred Seating. Single-Day tickets, on either Saturday or Sunday, are $35 for General Admission and $55 for Preferred Seating. Fees apply for tickets purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com A group discount offer for clubs is also available. There is a 20% discount for all USA Wrestling members. Both offers can also be found at www.wrestlingworldcup.com The final U.S. World Cup lineup, which will feature two athletes in each weight class, plus additional coaches and staff, will be announced in the upcoming weeks. FREESTYLE WRESTLING WORLD CUP At Los Angeles, Calif., April 11-12 Tentative U.S. men's freestyle team 57 kg/125.5 lbs. -- Tony Ramos, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC/Hawkeye WC) 61 kg/134 lbs. -- Coleman Scott, Chapel Hill, N.C. (Titan Mercury WC) 65 kg/143 lbs. -- Brent Metcalf, Iowa City, Iowa (New York AC/Hawkeye WC) 70 kg/154 lbs. -- Nick Marable, Morgantown, W.Va. (Sunkist Kids/Mountaineer RTC) 74 kg/163 lbs. -- Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids/Nebraska WTC) 86 kg/189 lbs. -- Ed Ruth, Tempe, Ariz. (Sunkist Kids) 97 kg/213 lbs. -- Jake Varner, State College, Pa. (Nittany Lion WC) 125 kg/275 lbs. -- Tervel Dlagnev, Columbus, Ohio (Sunkist Kids/Ohio RTC) Freestyle Team Leader -- Andy Barth, San Marino, Calif. National Freestyle Coach Bruce Burnett, Colorado Springs, Colo. Assistant National Freestyle Coach Bill Zadick, Colorado Springs, Colo. Assistant National Freestyle Coach Brandon Slay, Colorado Springs, Colo. Note: USA Wrestling will add one additional athlete to each weight class for the Freestyle World Cup, which will be announced shortly. Colleges represented: Iowa (Ramos, Metcalf), Oklahoma State (Scott), Missouri (Marable), Nebraska (Burroughs), Penn State (Ruth), Iowa State (Varner), Nebraska-Kearney (Dlagnev) High School states represented: Pennsylvania (Scott, Ruth), Illinois (Ramos), Michigan (Metcalf), Tennessee (Marable), New Jersey (Burroughs), California (Varner), Texas (Dlagnev) FREESTYLE WRESTLING WORLD CUP SCHEDULE (all times Pacific Time) Saturday, April 11 3:00 p.m. -- Session I -- Pool Competition 6:15 p.m. -- Session II -- Opening Ceremonies and Pool Competition Sunday, April 12 11:00 a.m. -- Session III -- Pool Competition, Fifth and Seventh Place Dual Meets 4:15 p.m. -- Session IV -- First and Third Place Dual Meets

PITTSBURGH (February 22, 2015) – A pin by Jake A. Smith led the way for the West Virginia University wrestling team, who earned a 24-14 comeback win over rival No. 18 Pitt at Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday afternoon to close out the regular season. It marks the first time since 2007 the Mountaineers (9-9, 0-3) have topped the Panthers in the Backyard Brawl. The victory was also WVU’s second this season over a top-25 team, as they previously defeated No. 25 Bucknell on January 9 at the Virginia Duals. “I’m so proud of our family,” said first-year head coach Sammie Henson. “We out-battled a tough Pitt team today. It was a long time coming for this program – eight years in the making. We look to continue to grow as a team. It was nice to send out seniors out with a win over a rival they have never beaten.” Smith’s pin of Nick Bonaccorsi at 197 pounds was a turning point the match, as it pushed WVU in front 12-11 with four bouts remaining. Bonaccorsi got the initial takedown, but Smith escaped and got a takedown of his own before turning him for the pin at 1:45. West Virginia started the match down 7-0 after dropping a major decision at 149 and a tiebreaker decision at 157. Ross Renzi put the Mountaineers on the board in the third bout with a 5-2 decision over Cody Wiercioch at 165 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Renzi started on bottom in the second and registered an escape for a 1-0 lead. He sent Wiercioch to the mat for two soon after, but Wiercioch escaped. Renzi added another takedown to close out the second with a 5-1 lead. Wiercioch started the third period on the bottom and escaped to add another point to his tally. Neither Wiercioch nor Renzi scored again, giving Renzi the win as West Virginia trailed 11-3. The Panthers took a major decision at 174 before the Mountaineers were able to add three more to their team score as Bubba Scheffel recorded a 9-2 decision over Troy Reaghard at 184 pounds. Scheffel claimed a pair of first-period takedowns for a 4-1 after three minutes. Starting in the defensive position, he escaped to make it a 5-1 advantage before adding another takedown to pad his lead at 7-1. Reaghard escaped to start the third, but was called for stalling to give Scheffel a point and the 8-1 lead. He would add another for riding time in taking the 9-2 decision and cutting the WVU deficit to five, down 11-6. With Smith’s pin at 197 giving WVU a 12-11 lead, A.J. Vizcarrondo kept the momentum going by edging out Ryan Solomon with a 2-1 decision at heavyweight. The two battled through a scoreless first before Solomon chose to the start the second on bottom. He escaped, but not before Vizcarrondo accrued some riding time. With choice in the third, Vizcarrondo started on bottom but escaped quickly to keep the riding time point, which gave him the decision and stretched WVU’s lead to 15-11. Zeke Moisey claimed his seventh major decision of the season with a 14-5 win over Dom Forys at 125. Moisey used three first-period takedowns to take a 6-2 lead before adding three more points in the second on an escape and a takedown. Forys started on the bottom in the third and escaped, only to be taken down twice more. Moisey added the point for riding time to put the Mountaineers in front 19-11 with the major. The Panthers made up some ground with a decision at 133 to cut WVU’s lead to five at 19-14. However, No. 13/16 Michael Morales battled from the start, winning a 22-5 tech. fall against Ben Ross at 141 pounds. Morales came close to pinning Ross in the first period, but settled for a 7-2 lead on a takedown, a trio of nearfall points and a reversal. Starting on bottom in the second, Morales registered a reversal and two more back points to stretch the lead to 11-2. He nearly pinned Ross again in the third, but instead used three takedowns and four total nearfall points before adding another for riding time to take the tech. fall at the end of the third and secure the victory for the Mountaineers. West Virginia will travel to Ames, Iowa, on March 7 for the Big 12 Championships at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State. Results: 149 No. 20 Mike Racciato major dec. Roman Perryman, 13-4 0 4 157 Ronnie Garbinsky dec. Brutus Scheffel, 4-3 TB-2 0 7 165 Ross Renzi dec. Cody Wiercioch, 5-2 3 7 174 No. 8 Tyler Wilps major dec. Parker VonEgidy, 14-5 3 11 184 Bubba Scheffel dec. Troy Reaghard, 9-2 6 11 197 Jake A. Smith pinned Nick Bonaccorsi, 1:45 12 11 HWT A.J. Vizcarrondo dec. Ryan Solomon, 2-1 15 11 125 Zeke Moisey major dec. Dom Forys, 14-5 19 11 133 Nick Zanetta dec. Cory Stainbrook, 3-1 19 14 141 No. 13/16 Michael Morales tech. fall Ben Ross, 22-4 (7:00) 24 14

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- North Dakota State University won three of the final four matches to defeat host South Dakota State University 19-13 and claim its second Western Wrestling Conference regular season championship over the past three years on Sunday, Feb. 22, before 956 spectators at Frost Arena. NDSU finishes the regular season with a 9-4 overall dual record including an unblemished 5-0 mark in the WWC. The Bison are back in action Saturday, March 7, when North Dakota State hosts the NCAA West Regional in the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. "For us to be on the road, our guys came out and were up for the challenge," said NDSU head coach Roger Kish. "I'm really proud of our guys, how they performed and competed. At the end of the day, it's just a stepping stone on what we want to do in the long run and prepare for the conference tournament." South Dakota State (11-8, 3-2 WWC) had taken a 10-9 lead after winning back-to-back matches. Colin Holler posted a 16-7 major decision over NDSU redshirt freshman Mitchell Friedman at 157 pounds, while SDSU's No. 7-ranked Cody Pack struggled past Bison redshirt sophomore Steven Keogh by the score of 8-5 at 165. The Jackrabbits moved Pack up a weight class on Sunday. North Dakota State found itself in a simliar situation in mid-December and again 174-pound senior Kurtis Julson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) steadied the ship. Julson was tied with David Kocer 1-1, but landed a takedown with 1:35 left in the thrd period and used 1-minute, 22-seconds of riding time for a 4-1 decision to put the Bison on top for good at 12-10. Julson is 16-9 overall and ended 8-5 in duals. Then NDSU's 9th-ranked 184 Hayden Zillmer (Crosby, Minn.) came out and registered five takedowns to race out to a 10-4 first period lead. Zillmer kept the pressure on, building the advantage to 15-5 after two periods and posted a 21-7 major decision. Zillmer improved to 29-4 overall and finished the 13-0 in duals. While 197 redshirt freshman Tommy Petersen fell 8-2 to Nate Rotert, NDSU's other senior, 285-pound Evan Knutson (Wausau, Wis.) closed the door with a convincing 5-0 win over J.J. Everard. He broke a 0-0 early in the second with an escape and posted a takedown with 22-seconds left in that period to build a 3-0 lead. Stalling and riding time added to the lead. Knutson is now 23-7, finishing 11-2 in duals. North Dakota State won three of the dual's first four matches. No. 16-ranked Josh Rodriguez (Guadalupe, Calif.) posted a 7-2 decision at 125-pounds, while redshirt freshmen, 141 Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud, Minn.) and 149 Clay Ream (Wentzville, Mo.) grinded out two-point decisions in their respective weight classes. Results: 125: #16 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) over Isaac Andrade (SDSU), Dec 7-2 / NDSU 3-0 133: Brance Simms (SDSU) over Kyle Gliva (NDSU), Dec 7-4 / Tied 3-3 141: Mitch Bengtson (NDSU) over Lucas Zilverberg (SDSU), Dec 5-3 / NDSU 6-3 149: Clay Ream (NDSU) over Alex Kocer (SDSU), Dec 7-5 / NDSU 9-3 157: Colin Holler (SDSU) over Mitchell Friedman (NDSU), MD 16-7 / NDSU 9-7 165: #7 Cody Pack (SDSU) over Steven Keogh (NDSU), Dec 8-5 / SDSU 10-9 174: Kurtis Julson (NDSU) over David Kocer (SDSU), Dec 4-1 / NDSU 12-10 184: #9 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) over Brady Ayers (SDSU), MD 21-7 / NDSU 16-10 197: Nathan Rotert (SDS) over Tommy Petersen (NDSU), Dec 8-2 / NDSU 16-13 285: #12 Evan Knutson (NDSU) over J.J. Everard (SDSU), Dec 5-0 / NDSU 19-13

University Park, Pa. -- Nittany Lions Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.), Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) and Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) each claimed victory in their final home appearances in Penn State's 30-3 win over Rider in Rec Hall. Penn State thrilled over 6,500 fans, its 26th straight home sell out, by winning nine of ten bouts over the visiting Broncs on Senior Day in this season dual finale for the Nittany Lions. Frey, Brown and Lawson had to wait in the wings for their Rec Hall finales as the dual meet began at 125. Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 9, opened up the dual with a solid 8-4 win over Rider's J.R. Wert. Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, then put Penn State up 6-0 with a strong 4-1 win over Rider junior Robert Deutsch. Rider senior Chuck Zeisloft posted a 3-2 win over Lion red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) at 141 to cut Penn State's lead to 6-3. Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 149, overcame a slow start with a four-point move in the last five seconds to grab a 6-3 win over Rider's B.J. Clagon. Frey, a junior in terms of eligibility but graduating this May, made his final Happy Valley appearance at 157. The Montoursville native rolled to a 10-4 win over Rider's Chad Walsh to give Penn State a 12-3 lead at intermission. Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 165, turned a tight tie-breaker match with Conor Brennan into a 13-4 major with a final furious flurry. The dual's first bonus point win put Penn State up 16-3. With just one bout left in his Rec Hall career, two-time All-American Brown, ranked No. 2 at 174, put on a takedown exhibition, rolling to a 14-3 major over Rider's Ryan Wolfe (including 3:36 in riding time). Brown's win was the 111th of his career, putting him alone in 17th place on Penn State's all-time wins list. The victory put Penn State up 20-3 as well. Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 19 at 184, notched a hard-fought 6-4 win over Rider senior Clint Morrison and junior All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, posted a 12-5 win over Bronc senior Donald McNeil. The victories put the Nittany Lions up 26-3. With one bout remaining in his Rec Hall career, seventh-ranked Lawson closed out the dual meet season with a dominating 12-4 major over Rider's Greg Velasco, giving Penn State the 30-3 win. Penn State won the takedown ware 23-8 and picked up three majors in the win. The crowd of 6,509 was the 26th straight home sell-out for Penn State, including two sold out duals in the near 16K capacity Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State concludes its dual meet season with an 11-4 mark while Rider sits at 13-8. Penn State now readies itself for the 2015 Big Ten Wrestling Championships on March 7-8. Head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions will be riding a string of four straight Big Ten Championships into the two day event in Columbus, Ohio. Fans can call the Penn State ticket office at 1-800-NITTANY to purchase should they still be available. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: #9 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. J.R. Wert RID, 8-4 / 3-0 133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. Robert Deutsch RID, 4-1 / 6-0 141: Chuck Zeisloft RID dec. Kade Moss PSU, 3-2 / 6-3 149: #14 Zack Beitz PSU dec. B.J. Clagon RID, 6-3 / 9-3 157: Luke Frey PSU dec. Chad Walsh RID, 10-4 / 12-3 165: #18 Garett Hammond PSU maj. dec. (TB1) Conor Brennan RID, 13-4 / 16-3 174: #2 Matt Brown PSU maj. dec. Ryan Wolfe RID, 14-3 / 20-3 184: #19 Matt McCutcheon PSU dec. Clint Morrison RID, 6-4 / 23-3 197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Donald McNeil RID, 12-5 / 26-3 285: #7 Jimmy Lawson PSU maj. dec. Greg Velasco RID, 12-4 / 30-3 Attendance: 6,509 (26th straight home sell-out) Records: Penn State 11-4; Rider 13-8 Up Next for Penn State: at 2015 Big Ten Championships, March 7-8, Columbus, Ohio BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Nittany Lion junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 9 at 125, took on Rider's J.R. Wert. Wert and Conaway each shot at the same time at the 1:15 mark and Wert converted the bout's first takedown to lead 2-1. Conway used an underhook to work his way to a 3-2 lead off a takedown with :20 left and then rode Wert out to take that lead into the second period. Wert chose down to start the second stanza and Conaway quickly turned him for two back points and a 5-2 lead. Conaway continued to dominate Wert from the top position, building up 2:00 in riding time while working for another turning combination. Wert able to stay parallel but Conaway's full ride out gave the Lion a 5-2 lead with 2:17 in riding time after two periods. Conaway chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 6-2 lead. Wert added one final takedown but Conaway rolled to an 8-4 win with 2:05 in riding time. 133: Sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked no. 5 at 133, met Bronc junior Robert Deutsch. The duo battled evenly for the opening two minutes until Deutsch took a low single that Gulibon countered into a scoring opportunity. The Lion sophomore worked to force Deutsch's shoulders to the mat but Deutsch was able to get to his feet and force a reset with :15 left in the opening period. Gulibon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. He then turned a high single into a scramble in the middle of the mat and worked for a takedown for :30. But Deutsch was able to force a stalemate and action resumed in the middle of the mat with both wrestlers on their feet. Trailing by one, Deutsch chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Gulibon once again shot low on Deutsch's right leg and this time the Lion sophomore converted the move for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. Gulibon then controlled the Bronc for the remainder of the period and, with 1:30 in riding time after the ride out, posted the 4-1 victory. 141: Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah), took on Rider senior Chuck Zeisloft at 141. Zeisloft came out quick, looking to score on a low single off the whistle. But Moss pushed himself out of trouble and kept the bout scoreless after the early shot. Moss began working for control of Zeisloft's shoulders but the Bronc was able to work his way in on a single leg and force a scramble on the edge of the mat. Moss fought off the move for nearly a minute and forced a stalemate with :57 left in the period and the bout still scoreless. Moss chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. But Zeisloft continued to shoot low, working himself into a takedown and a 2-1 lead at the 1:15 mark. Moss quickly escaped to tie the bout at 2-2 and the clock moved below 1:00. Tied 2-2, Zeisloft chose down to start the third period. The Bronc escaped to a 3-2 lead with 1:48 left and action resumed in on the Nittany Lion logo. Moss worked for an opening but Zeisloft was able to counter each move and work the clock down below :40. Moss nearly turned the Bronc's shoulders to the mat with :12 left but Zeisloft was able to fight the move off. Zeisloft was able to escape with a 3-2 win. 149: Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 149, met B.J. Clagon. Clagon scored quickly, turning an early shot into a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Beitz escaped right away and immediately turned into Clagon, looking for a go-ahead takedown. Beitz took multiple shots, forcing Clagon back off the mat, forcing the Bronc into a first stall warning at the :20 mark. Beitz chose down and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. He then turned in and connected on a single leg but a quick stalemate sent the wrestlers back to the center of the mat for a reset. Beitz continued to try and connect on low singles with Clagon's defense was equal to the task. Tied 2-2, Clagon chose down to start the third period. Beitz was able to break the Bronc down flat to the mat, working riding time up. Clagon managed an escape with :45 left and Beitz with just :55 in riding time, taking a 3-2 lead. With just :08 left, Beitz turned a low single into a takedown and added two near fall points to take a 6-3 lead as time expired. Rider challenged the call but the call was upheld and Beitz posted the 6-3 win. 157: Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.), a junior in terms of eligibility but graduating in May and wrestling in his final home event, met Rider's Chad Walsh at 157. Frey turned a scrambling shot at the 2:20 mark into a chance to score. He finished off the takedown at the 1:50 mark and then began trying to turn Walsh for back points in the middle of the mat. He turned Walsh on the Lion logo for three back points, and finished off the period on top. The quick flurry gave Frey a 5-0 lead with 1:55 in riding time after one period. Frey chose down to start the second period and steadily turned his way into the Bronc, gaining control of his feet and reversing him for a 7-0 lead. Frey quickly added two near fall points before Walsh escaped to lead 9-1. Walsh added a late takedown in the period and Frey led 9-3 with 1:13 in time after two. Walsh chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 9-4 score with 1:30 on the clock. Frey worked to connect on a single leg but Walsh was able to counter the move and nearly took the Lion down. But Frey fought off the effort and forced a reset with :41 on the clock. Frey, with 1:41 in riding time, rolled to the 10-4 win. 165: Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 165, met Rider junior Conor Brennan. The duo battled evenly for the first minute with Hammond forcing the Bronc back with low singles and Brennan backing away. After a third time backing away, Hammond was called for pushing out of bounds as Brennan backed off and the penalty point gave Brennan a 1-0 lead with :20 left. Leading 1-0, Brennan chose down to start the second period. Hammond was able to keep control of the Bronc for :30 before Brennan escaped to a 2-0 lead. Hammond worked his way into a low single and finished off the takedown to tie the score at 2-2 with 1:00 left in the period. A short ride out sent the bout into the third period tied 2-2. Hammond chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. Brennan was able to work his way to a reversal on the edge of the mat to take a 4-3 lead with 1:18 on the clock. Hammond quickly escaped off a reset and the bout was tied 4-4 as the clock hit 1:00. Hammond countered a Brennan shot and tried to work his way around for a winning takedown at the buzzer but action moved out of bounds and into a sudden victory period. Brennan nearly grabbed the win with a solid single leg but Hammond fought off the effort. Each man nearly scored in the last five seconds but time ran out and action moved into a tiebreaker. Hammond chose down for his tie-breaker, quickly escaped and then took Brennan down. He added three back points and carried a 10-4 lead into the next tie-breaker session. Brennan took injury time so Hammond got the choice again and took down to lead 11-4. He added one more takedown and turned a tie-breaker match into a 13-4 major. 174: Senior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 2 at 174, battled Rider's Ryan Wolfe in his Rec Hall swan song. Brown was relentless out of the gates, forcing Wolfe backwards for over 2:00 and taking a 1-0 lead off two stall calls. Brown then blew through a low double to take a 3-0 lead with a takedown at the :59 mark. Brown then rode Wolfe out to carry that lead into the second period. Brown chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-0 lead. He then continued to dominate the action, taking Wolfe down for a 6-1 lead after cutting the Bronc loose at the :40 mark. Brown tacked on another quick takedown and cut him loose with :18 left and then blew through a high double with :10 on the clock to lead 10-2 with 1:50 in riding time after two periods. Wolfe chose down to start the third period and Brown's ride forced him into another stall, giving the Nittany Lion an 11-2 lead. Wolfe escaped only to have Brown take him down once again. Leading 13-3 with a clinched riding time point, Brown spent the final :30 in control and rode Wolfe out to a 14-3 major with 3:36 in riding time. 184: Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 19 at 184, met Rider senior Clint Morrison. McCutcheon used a fast high double and two quick back points to take a 4-0 lead midway through the opening period. The Lion freshman dominated the action from the top position, building up over 1:00 in riding time while trying to turn Morrison for back points. Morrison was able to escape off a reset and cut McCutcheon's lead to 4-1. Leading 4-1 with 1:06 in riding time, McCutcheon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-1 lead. McCutcheon began pressing the Rider senior but could not work his way for a takedown and led by four after two periods. Morrison escaped to a 5-2 score with McCutcheon owning just :58 in riding time. Morrison cut the lead to 5-4 with a takedown in front of the scorer's table with 1:21 to wrestle. McCutcheon escaped to a 6-4 lead and Morrison began to pick up the pace. But McCutcheon worked his way into a high single, looking for another takedown as time ran out. Morrison was able to fight the move off but McCutcheon's efforts allowed him to hold on for the 6-4 win. 197: Junior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, battled veteran Bronc Donald McNeil. McIntosh bolted out to an early 2-0 lead with a high double to takedown. He then controlled McNeil for 1:17 before the Bronc escaped to a 2-1 score. McIntosh continued to press McNeil and notched his second takedown as the clock wound down in the period. McNeil was also hit for a late stall as McIntosh rode him out to lead 4-1 with 1:27 in riding time after one period. McNeil chose down to start the third period but McIntosh was too strong for the Bronc to work his way free. The Nittany Lion junior spent over a minute in control before cutting McNeil loose to a 4-2 score with :33 on the clock. McIntosh quickly blew through another him double to up his lead to 6-3. McIntosh added another takedown and picked a point on stalling to lead 9-3 after two. McIntosh chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 10-3 lead. McNeil posted his first takedown and took McIntosh to his back for just a second at the 1:00 mark but McIntosh rolled through the move to hold a 10-5 lead. McNeil was hit for stalling a third time and McIntosh, with 2:07 in riding time, posted the 12-5 win. 285: Senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), ranked No .7 at 285, wrestled Rider's Greg Velasco in his final action in Rec Hall. Lawson scored quickly, taking Velasco down to a 2-1 lead in the opening :30. The Lion senior then locked Velasco's shoulders up and forced the Bronc to the mat for a quick 4-2 lead with 1:47 on the clock. Lawson used a quick trip for a takedown and a 6-2 lead as the period ended. Trailing by four, Velasco chose down to start the second stanza. Lawson broke Velasco down, building up a sizeable riding time edge while trying to turn the Bronc to his back. Velasco was able to stay parallel but Lawson's strong ride gave the Lion senior a 6-2 lead with 2:57 in riding time after two periods. Lawson chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 7-2 lead. He added another takedown and led 9-2 with 1:30 on the clock. Lawson cut Velasco loose with 1:00 on the clock with a clinched riding time point. He bulled his way through another takedown, cut him loose to an 11-4 score and, with 3:44 in riding time, posted the 12-4 major decision.

AMES, Iowa -- On the strength of a season-high four pins, No. 8 Iowa State (11-2, 2-1 Big 12) defeated No. 14 Wisconsin (9-4, 7-2 Big Ten), 30-16 Sunday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum. ISU senior All-Americans Michael Moreno (165) and Kyven Gadson (197) closed out their final dual matches with a pair of pins on Senior Day. Tanner Weatherman (174) and Dante Rodriguez (141) also recorded pins to give the Cyclones their 14th-straight victory over Wisconsin. Gabe Moreno recorded the first Cyclone points with a 6-0 victory over Rylan Lubeck at 149 pounds. Moreno used takedowns in the first and third periods en route to his 25th win of the season. One of the marquee matchups was at 165 pounds, as ISU’s third-ranked Moreno took on UW’s No. 2 Isaac Jordan. Jordan picked up the first-period takedown and began the second period with a 2-1 lead after a Moreno escape. Jordan chose down to open the period and it appeared Moreno was going to ride him out for the two minutes. However, after a stalemate and restart, Moreno turned Jordan and got him on his back where he kept him there to pick up the fall at 4:26. It was great way for the senior to end his dual career as a Cyclone. Weatherman made it back-to-back pins for the Cyclones by registering the fall at the 4:05 mark in the 174-pound bout. Weatherman gave up an early takedown to Frank Cousins, but then took a 4-2 lead early in the second period with a takedown and a pair of escapes. Weatherman then put Cousins on his back with a double-leg takedown late in the second period to notch the pin. ISU’s Lelund Weatherspoon narrowly lost to Ricky Robertson at 184 pounds, 5-4. Weatherspoon tied the match at 4-4 in the third period with a reversal, but couldn’t tack on a final-minute takedown to get the victory. No. 2 Gadson (197 pounds) went out on top in his final dual match as a Cyclone. Holding a 7-3 lead in the third period, Gadson threw Timmy McCall with a double underhook and registered the fall at the 6:12 mark. It was Gadson’s 43rd-straight dual victory and his 10th pin of the season. Kyle Larson tallied a 5-2 victory at 125 pounds over Johnny Jimenez. Larson went ahead 5-2 with a takedown with 0:33 seconds left in the second period. He then rode Jimenez out the final two minutes to notch the win. The other match featuring highly-ranked opponents was at 133 pounds with No. 3 Earl Hall (ISU) vs. No. 7 Ryan Taylor (UW). After a scoreless first period, Hall recorded the reversal after choosing down to open the second period. An escape by Taylor tied the match at 2-2 and then Taylor got the only takedown with 1:05 left in the match to grab the 4-3 victory over Hall. Dante Rodriguez secured ISU’s fourth pin of the afternoon by sticking Jesse Thielke at 2:11. Thielke took an early lead, but Rodriguez threw Thielke and kept him there to notch the fall. Iowa State will play host to the 2015 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, March 7 in Hilton Coliseum. Results: 149: Gabe Moreno (ISU) dec. Rylan Lubeck (UW), 6-0: ISU 3, UW 0 157: T.J. Ruschell (UW) maj. dec. Luke Goettl (ISU), 14-6: ISU 3, UW 4 165: Michael Moreno (ISU) wbf Isaac Jordan (UW), 4:26: ISU 9, UW 4 174: Tanner Weatherman (ISU) wbf Frank Cousins (UW), 4:05: ISU 15, UW 4 184: Ricky Robertson (UW) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU), 5-4: ISU 15, UW 7 197: Kyven Gadson (ISU) wbf Timmy McCall (UW), 6:12: ISU 21, UW 7 HWT: Connor Medbery (UW) wbf Joe Scanlan (ISU), 2:42: ISU 21, UW 13 125: Kyle Larson (ISU) dec. Johnny Jimenez (UW), 5-2: ISU 24, UW 13 133: Ryan Taylor (UW) dec. Earl Hall (ISU), 4-3: ISU 24, UW 16 141: Dante Rodriguez (ISU) wbf Jesse Thielke (UW), 2:11: ISU 30-16

NORFOLK, Va. -- No. 16 Old Dominion closed out the regular season with a 27-6 victory over Northern Illinois on Sunday afternoon. The Monarchs conclude the season 13-5 and 6-2 in the Mid-American Conference, while the Huskies end 10-12 and 2-6 in the conference. “We are proud of the way our guys have responded to being on the road eight of the last 11 days,” noted Head Coach Steve Martin. “This was our second road trip and it was an experience! The different environments, officiating and hostile crowds all toughened our team up. We wrestled very well today and continue to make strides for the MAC and NCAA tournaments.” TC Warner beat a returning NCAA qualifier in Morse and Michael Hayes wrestled very well against Northrup,” added Martin. “Brandon Jeske wrestled very well against his opponent and continues to get ready for March. Chris Mecate and Tristan Warner were solid today and initiated their styles against their opponents. Matt Tourdot looked great at heavyweight, while Kevin Beazley and Jack Dechow put a lot of points on the board which was great to see. Kevin Johnson and Austin Coburn both had opportunities to win their matches and wrestled hard.” “We finished our dual meet season strong and we look forward to the MAC tournament. Our goal is to qualify all 10 guys for the NCAA championships. We are excited to have fun at the end of the year and chase down our dreams in March!” The Monarchs began the afternoon on the right note, winning the first two matches to take an early 6-0 lead over the Huskies. Michael Hayes began the run with a 7-5 decision over Jordan Northrup, earning three team points for ODU. No. 9 Chris Mecate followed suit, posting a 7-0 decision over Tyler Argue. NIU answered by winning the 149-pound bout when Austin Culton won an overtime match (3-1) over Kevin Johnson. The Warner brothers got ODU back on track (12-3) after they both won their respective matches. TC took a 3-0 decision over NCAA qualifier Andrew Morse, while No. 13 Tristan notched his 17th-consectuive dual with a 7-5 decision over Shaun’Qae McMurtry. Warner finished the regular season 17-0 in dual action and 8-0 in the MAC. The Huskies tallied their only other win of the afternoon (12-6) in the 174-pound match after Trace Engelkes defeated Austin Coburn by a 4-3 decision. ODU closed out the day winning the last four bouts. No. 2 Jack Dechow sparked the Monarchs with a 20-8 major decision over Quinton Rosser at 184 pounds, while No. 23 Kevin Beazley recorded a 17-1 tech fall over Alec Brown at 197. With the Monarchs leading 21-6, Matt Tourdot and No. 25 Brandon Jeske finished the match for ODU. Tourdot defeated Arthur Bunce by a 12-7 decision and Jeske took down Derek Elmore by a 4-1 decision to reach the final 27-6 margin. The Wrestling Monarchs will be back in action next weekend for the Mid-American Conference tournament hosted by the University of Missouri. More information regarding the tournament will be posted at a later date. For an in depth look to everything Monarchs Wrestling, make sure to follow the team on Facebook, Twitter (@ODUWrestling) and YouTube and on ODUsports.com. Fans can join in on the conversation by using the hashtag #ODUWREST. Results: 133 - Michael Hayes (ODU) over Jordan Northrup (NIU) (Dec 7-5) 141 - Chris Mecate (ODU) over Tyler Argue (NIU) (Dec 7-0) 149 - Austin Culton (NIU) over Kevin Johnson (ODU) (SV-1 3-1) 157 - TC Warner (ODU) over Andrew Morse (NIU) (Dec 3-0) 165 - Tristan Warner (ODU) over Shaun`Qae McMurtry (NIU) (Dec 7-5) 174 - Trace Engelkes (NIU) over Austin Coburn (ODU) (Dec 4-3) 184 - Jack Dechow (ODU) over Quinton Rosser (NIU) (MD 20-8) 197 - Kevin Beazley (ODU) over Alec Brown (NIU) (TF 17-1 6:39) 285 - Matt Tourdot (ODU) over Arthur Bunce (NIU) (Dec 12-7) 125 - Brandon Jeske (ODU) over Derek Elmore (NIU) (Dec 4-1)

In a fitting finale to the regular season, the last two unbeaten teams in the country would square off for a national dual meet championship. Missouri won its first National Duals title (Photo/Sara Levin)In the end, the University of Missouri would stand alone as the 24-0 Tigers topped previously undefeated and top-ranked Iowa 18-12 at the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA National Duals presented by Hibiclens and the United States Marine Corps in honor of Cliff Keen at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa on Sunday. The championship is the first in the school's history and the Tigers become just the seventh program to claim a National Duals title, joining Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Iowa, Penn State, Cornell and Iowa State as event winners. "That was fun," said Missouri head coach Brian Smith. "I told the kids before the match it was going to be a battle and the atmosphere and all that, but enjoy it and embrace it. They showed up and wrestled." For Smith, he can finally check off the National Duals as a tournament his program was looking to finally win. It was also a long journey to get to this point when he took over a Missouri program that was regularly finishing in the bottom of the Big 12 at the time. "One of my first calls was with a kid who signed with the previous coaching staff and the mother was asking are we Division I? I was like, wow, we have a ways to go here. It's been a long journey, it's been a fun journey. Missouri has been unbelievable to me and my family. I can't say enough about how much they really believe in our program. I looked at my phone and the first one was a huge letter from my AD about how pumped up he was." Missouri's Alan Waters topped Thomas Gilman 5-4 in a wild 125-pound opening match between two of the nation's top wrestlers at the weight. The two wrestled even through regulation and headed into overtime tied at one. After no scoring in sudden victory, Waters started on bottom and earned a penalty point for locked hands. He immediately reversed Gilman for a 4-1 lead heading into the second half of the tiebreaker period. Gilman and Waters then got into a bit of a tussle, with penalty points exchanged on both sides. Gilman reversed Waters to his back at the buzzer, but didn't have enough time to score nearfall points. Iowa tied the dual up as Cory Clark defeated Missouri's Zach Synon 7-2 at 133 pounds. Synon scored first to take an early 2-0 lead, but Clark tied the score with two escapes and then went ahead for good with a takedown 29 seconds into the second period. Clark went to work on top, drawing two stall points and earning a riding time point. Fifth-ranked Lavion Mayes scored six takedowns en route to a 13-6 decision over sixth-ranked Josh Dziewa at 141 pounds. Mayes hit three double legs in the first period and picked up over two minutes of riding time, controlling the bout from start to finish. Mayes was nearing a major decision late, but a Dziewa escape with 12 seconds to go saved the team point for Iowa. Fifth-ranked Drake Houdashelt upended second-ranked Brandon Sorensen 2-1 at 149 pounds. Houdashelt earned an escape point in the third but accumulated over a minute and a half of riding time for an additional point. Sorensen's lone point was a stall point in the final minute of the bout. Missouri picked up a huge swing match victory at 157 pounds as ninth-ranked Joey LaVallee beat 13th-ranked Mike Kelly 6-1. Kelly took a 1-0 lead in the second period with an escape, but LaVallee took the lead for good with a takedown with 35 seconds left in the second. LaVallee went up 3-1 after an escape and iced the match with a takedown with five seconds remaining. "We won four of the first five in battles," said Smith. "They didn't let anything faze. We stuck with game plans. It was like the seventh or eighth match and I looked over to my assistant and said, 'Gosh, everything I'm yelling out to the kids, they're trying and doing'. Even the matches we lost, battling our butts off. I just couldn't be more proud of the team." Iowa got one back at 165 pounds as Nick Moore used a second-period takedown to defeat Iowa native Mikey England of Missouri 3-2. Third-ranked Mike Evans of Iowa converted a single leg takedown with 35 seconds to go to break a 1-1 tie and earn a 4-1 win over sixth-ranked Johnny Eblen. Evans tacked on the fourth point with riding time. The win would draw the Hawkeyes within 12-9 going into 184. At 184 pounds, it was an intriguing matchup between two former high school teammates as Missouri's Willie Miklus and Iowa's Alex Meyer took to the mat. Meyer, filling in for Sam Brooks, who didn't weigh in, is a 174-pounder who bumped up for the match. Both wrestled for Southeast Polk High School in Pleasant Hill, just outside of Des Moines. Miklus went up 3-0 with a second-period escape and then a takedown, but Meyer picked up a point for locking hands and an escape to bring it to 3-2. Meyer went up 4-3 with a takedown as time expired in the second period. Meyer, starting on bottom, got out to extend his lead to 5-3 before Miklus scored a takedown with 47 seconds left to the the score. Miklus rode out Meyer to get the riding time point and an exciting 6-5 win. "I had a pretty good idea that I was wrestling Alex," said Miklus. "We've wrestled hundreds of times. He was my drill partner my senior year every day pretty much. We've gone countless hours, countless gos. We still stay in touch, we're still buddies. We know each other in and out and through and through." Defending NCAA champion J'Den Cox sealed the championship for Missouri with a 4-3 win over returning All-American Nathan Burak. Cox fell behind in the third period after he was hit for his second stalling call, but moments later, he'd score the decisive takedown and add a riding time point to end it. With the dual decided, two-time All-American Bobby Telford of Iowa was steady in a 6-3 win over Devon Mellon. "They rode tough on top and the control-tied us to death. They weren't rides where they got tricks, they were hard, driving forward type of rides. They came in to beat us and they did at six weights," said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. Fifth-ranked Cornell defeated EIWA rival Lehigh 22-15 for third place.

Championship Missouri 18, Iowa 12 125: No. 2 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 5-4 TB1 133: No. 6 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Zach Synon (Missouri), 7-2 141: No. 5 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 13-6 149: No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 2-1 157: No. 12 Joey LaVallee (Missouri) dec. No. 15 Mike Kelly (Iowa), 6-1 165: No. 9 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. Mike England (Missouri), 3-2 174: No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 5 John Eblen (Missouri), 4-1 184: No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) dec. Alex Meyer (Iowa), 6-5 197: No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 4-3 285: No. 4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Devin Mellon (Missouri), 6-3 Third Place Cornell 22, Lehigh 15 125: No. 3 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) wins by forfeit 133: No. 12 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 16 Mark Grey (Cornell), 6-2 141: No. 20 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) dec. Dylan Realbuto (Cornell), 8-6 149: No. 5 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) maj. dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh), 11-2 157: No. 6 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. No. 17 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh), 5-3 165: No. 11 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh), 6-4 174: Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) dec. No. 18 Duke Pickett (Cornell), 2-1 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 3 Nathan iel Brown (Lehigh), 7-2 197: No. 9 Jace Bennett (Cornell) dec. No. 10 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 4-1 285: Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) wins by forfeit Semifinals Iowa 24, Cornell 8 125: No. 5 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. No. 3 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 3-1 133: No. 6 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Mark Grey (Cornell), 6-2 141: No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) dec. Dylan Realbuto (Cornell), 5-3 149: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Chris Villalonga (Cornell), 4-1 157: No. 6 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. No. 15 Mike Kelly (Iowa), 10-7 165: No. 11 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) dec. No. 9 Nick Moore (Iowa), 5-4 174: No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 18 Duke Pickett (Cornell), 3-0 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 6-2 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Jace Bennett (Cornell), 3-2 285: No. 4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) wins by forfeit Missouri 23, Lehigh 9 125: No. 2 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh), 6-3 133: No. 12 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. Zach Synon (Missouri), 9-4 141: No. 5 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 20 Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 11-3 149: No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) maj. dec. Drew Longo (Lehigh), 10-2 157: No. 17 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Joey LaVallee (Missouri), 2-0 165: Mike England (Missouri) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh), 6-1 174: No. 5 John Eblen (Missouri) dec. Santiago Martinez (Lehigh), 4-2 184: No. 3 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 7-3 197: No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 10 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 4-0 285: No. 16 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec. Doug Vollaro (Lehigh), 5-3 Quarterfinals Iowa 44, Chattanooga 3 125: No. 10 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) dec. No. 5 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 3-1 SV 133: No. 6 Cory Clark (Iowa) pinned No. 13 Nick Soto (Chattanooga), 4:16 141: No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) dec. Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga), 4-2 149: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) tech. fall Jacob Murphy (Chattanooga), 20-4 157: No. 15 Mike Kelly (Iowa) pinned Austin Sams (Chattanooga), 4:32 165: No. 9 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. Justin Lampe (Chattanooga), 11-6 174: No. 3 Mike Evans (Iowa) pinned Sean Mappes (Chattanooga), 4:44 184: No. 8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) pinned McCoy Newberg (Chattanooga), 1:53 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga), 7-4 285: No. 4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) pinned Jared Johnson (Chattanooga), 2:50 Cornell 19, Minnesota 17 125: No. 3 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) tech. fall Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 18-2 133: No. 1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. No. 16 Mark Grey (Cornell), 7-4 141: No. 4 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. David Logan (Cornell), 19-10 149: No. 5 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Jake Short (Minnesota), 2-1 157: No. 6 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) dec. No. 1 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), 9-3 165: No. 11 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) tech. fall No. 17 Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 18-2 174: No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. No. 18 Duke Pickett (Cornell), 7-5 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 13 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 10-4 197: No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. No. 9 Jace Bennett (Cornell), 7-1 285: No. 14 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) maj. dec. Jacob Aiken-Phillips (Cornell), 10-1 Lehigh 21, Ohio State 18 125: No. 7 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh), 10-3 133: No. 12 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 1-0 141: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) pinned No. 20 Randy Cruz (Lehigh), 4:52 149: Drew Longo (Lehigh) dec. Randy Languis (Ohio State), 2-1 TB 157: No. 17 Mitch Minotti (Lehigh) dec. No. 11 Josh Demas (Ohio State), 3-1 165: No. 5 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) tech. fall Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh), 22-6 174: Santiago Martinez (Lehigh) dec. No. 13 Mark Martin (Ohio State), 4-2 184: No. 3 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) pinned No. 12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State), 3:30 197: No. 3 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 10 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 9-1 285: Doug Vollaro (Lehigh) dec. No. 9 Nick Tavanello (Ohio State), 4-2 SV Missouri 23, Illinois 13 125: No. 2 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois), 6-2 133: No. 8 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. Zach Synon (Missouri), 9-2 141: No. 5 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 12 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 11-3 149: No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois), 6-3 157: No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. No. 12 Joey LaVallee (Missouri), 17-6 165: No. 8 Jackson Morse (Illinois) dec. Mike England (Missouri), 4-3 174: No. 5 John Eblen (Missouri) pinned No. 10 Zach Brunson (Illinois), 0:50 184: Nikko Reyes (Illinois) dec. No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 3-1 SV 197: No. 1 J'den Cox (Missouri) maj. dec. Jeffrey Koepke (Illinois), 15-3 285: No. 16 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec. Brooks Black (Illinois), 5-1 TB

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Freshman Jordan Ellingwood recorded his second consecutive pin as the Central Michigan wrestling team defeated Michigan State, 21-12, Saturday at the Spartans' Jenison Fieldhouse. The win came 24 hours after CMU defeated Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti to finish 6-2 in Mid-American Conference duals. The Chippewas are 9-6 overall in duals after a 1-4 start. Saturday's victory was CMU's first this season over a Big Ten opponent. The Chippewas fell in early season duals to No. 17 Michigan and to No. 25 Northwestern. The meet began at the 174-pound weight class where Ellingwood pinned Nick Proctor just 36 seconds into the first period. Ellingwood, who is 15-10 on the season, recorded his first pin in Friday's victory at Eastern Michigan. "He is just starting to be more aggressive," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said of Ellingwood. "I have seen a change in him, wanting to go out and take it to the guy instead of waiting around for something to happen." CMU also received wins from Zach Horan (141), Colin Heffernan (149), Cody LeCount (157), Jordan Wohlfert (165) and Austin Severn (184). Severn defeated MSU senior John Rizqallah in sudden victory, 4-2. Rizqallah is a two-time NCAA qualifier and was 16-7 on the season. "I'm happy that we got the win," Borrelli said. "Michigan State really wrestled us hard tonight. I think we looked a little tired tonight and a little bit flat in some of our matches." The Chippewas will have an off week before the MAC Championships on March 7-8 in Columbia, Mo. "We are going to have a real good week of training next week," Borrelli said. "We will probably take some time off on Monday and then really get after it Tuesday through Friday." Results: 125: Mitch Rogaliner (MSU) dec. Brent Fleetwood (CMU), 3-1 133: Garth Yenter (MSU) dec. Carter Ballinger (CMU), 10-3 141: Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Hermilo Esquivel (MSU), 3-1 149: Colin Heffernan (CMU) dec. Nick Trimble (MSU), 1-0 157: Cody LeCount (CMU) dec. Travis Curley (MSU), 5-1 165: Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) dec. Matt Pasqualini (MSU), 7-2 174: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) fall Nick Proctor (MSU), 36 seconds 184: Austin Severn (CMU) dec. John Rizqallah (MSU), SV 4-2 197: Nick McDiarmid (MSU) dec. Jackson Lewis (CMU), SV 3-2 HWT: Chris Nash (MSU) dec. Newton Smerchek (CMU), 3-2