InterMat Staff

With the Pennsylvania State Wrestling Championships concluding this past Saturday, organizers for the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic (formerly the Dapper Dan) established the lineups for the Pennsylvania and WPIAL (Pittsburgh area) all-star teams. Lineups for Team USA and Team Indiana were already released. The event will be held on Saturday, March 26th at the Fitzgerald Field House on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The undercard bout involving senior all-stars from Indiana and the WPIAL will take place at 4:00 p.m. The format for that event involves two periods, each 2:30 in length. The main event involving senior all-stars from across the United States and Pennsylvania takes place at 6:00 p.m. with the standard match format in place. There is a one-time weigh-in at scratch-plus-seven. Below are the matches for each event, rankings are from the March 9th update. Team USA vs. Team Pennsylvania 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) vs. No. 9 Gage Curry (North Hills) 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. No. 8 (at 126) Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin) 126: No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) vs. No. 4 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) 132: No. 1 Chad Red (New Palestine, Ind.) vs. No. 2 (at 138) Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) 138: No. 5 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) vs. No. 3 George Phillippi (Derry Area) 145: No. 7 (at 138) Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.) vs. No. 10 Mike Carr (South Fayette) 152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.) vs. No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County) 160: No. 3 (at 170) Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.) vs. No. 4 Jake Wentzel (South Park) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) vs. No. 10 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon) 182: No. 3 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.) vs. No. 17 Greg Bulsak (South Park) 195: No. 3 Samuel Colbray (Hermiston, Ore.) vs. No. 14 John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg) 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. No. 9 Jacob Robb (Armstrong) 285: No. 2 Shawn Streck (Merrillville, Ind.) vs. No. 11 Jake Beistel (Southmoreland) Team Indiana vs. Team WPIAL 113: Geoffrey Davis (Fort Wayne Wayne) vs. Aaron Burkett (Chestnut Ridge) **2x state 4th vs. 3x state placer (6th/2nd/3rd); Burkett at 106 this year 120: Drew Hildebrandt (Penn) vs. Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) **4x state placer, 2x finalist (8th/6th/2nd/1st) vs. 3x medalist (NP 2nd/INJ/3rd/7th); McCoy at 126 this year 126: Gaige Torres (Portage) vs. Chris Eddins (Greensburg Salem) **3x state placer, 2x finalist (7th/DNQ/2nd/2nd) vs. state 6th 132: Owen Doster (New Haven) vs. Mike Heinl (Shaler) **state 5th vs. 2015 state qualifier 138: Evan Eldred (Westfield) vs. Shaun Wilson (Waynesburg) **2x state placer (6th/3rd) vs. state 5th 145: Jordan Vaughn (Franklin Central) vs. Damon Greenwald (Burrell) **2x state placer, 2015 finalist (2nd/4th) vs. 2x state placer, state champ (7th/1st); Greenwald at 152 this year 152: Steven Lawrence (Portage) vs. Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon) **3x state placer, 2x finalist (7th/2nd/2nd) vs. state 4th 160: Cayden Whitaker (Martinsville) vs. Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon) **2x state placer (7th/3rd) vs. state qualifier 170: No. 6 Drew Hughes (Lowell) vs. Anthony Welsh (Beth-Center) **4x state placer, 3x finalist (2nd/5th/1st/1st) vs. 2x state placer (5th/3rd) 182: No. 4 Blake Rypel (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon) **4x state placer, 3x finalist (7th/2nd/1st/1st) vs. state runner-up 195: Jake Kleimola (Lake Central) vs. No. 10 Drew Phipps (Norwin) **state champion vs. 3x state placer, state finalist (4th/3rd/2nd) 220: Sam Hipple (Carmel) vs. Mike McAleavey (Peters Township) **2x state placer (4th/6th) vs. state runner-up 285: Sean Galligar (Columbus East) vs. Hayden Rice (Norwin) **state 3rd vs. state qualifier

ST. LOUIS -- Beginning tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 a.m. Central, fans can order tickets for next year's NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis. Tickets can be purchased online at ncaa.com/tickets or by phone at 800-745-3000. The 87th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place at Scottrade Center on March 16-18, 2017. The University of Missouri and the St. Louis Sports Commission serve as hosts for the event, which returns to St. Louis for the eighth time since 2000. The 2015 Championships in St. Louis set the event's all-time total attendance record of 113,013. More than 19,000 out-of-town fans, student-athletes, coaches, media and officials visited St. Louis for the 2015 Championships. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have had six consecutive sellouts: 2010 in Omaha, 2011 in Philadelphia, 2012 in St. Louis, 2013 in Des Moines, 2014 in Oklahoma City and 2015 in St. Louis. The 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships take place this week at Madison Square Garden in New York. For more information on the 2017 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, visit stlsports.org/wrestling.

The first-ever NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships to be held at New York City's Madison Square Garden will now have another new first-time event: the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Finals Preview Show on Saturday, March 19. All of the finalists for the 2016 NCAA title matches will be on stage at the MSG Theater, a 4,000-seat facility located inside the Garden, for a special weigh-in event and Finals Preview Show at 3 p.m. Eastern Saturday, between Sessions 5 and 6 (the finals). In an interview with Scott Casber for Takedown Wrestling Tuesday, Dylan Wanagiel, Director of Sports Events for the Madison Square Garden Company, described the pre-finals event as "two hours of entertainment" complete with videos and an MSG deejay. In describing how the inaugural Finals Preview Show came about, MSG's Wanagiel told Takedown Wrestling, "We approached the NCAA and they were receptive to the concept, as well as some coaches we talked to." The show will begin with an on-stage weigh-in ceremony, much like those before a mixed martial arts event or pro boxing match. The two wrestlers in each of the ten collegiate weight classes will step onto the iconic scale used by Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier for their weigh-ins for their "Fight of the Century" heavyweight boxing title bout at Madison Square Garden in 1971. (Official weigh-ins for the championship round, closed to the public and press, will take place earlier Saturday, as they have for a number of years.) There will be preview videos for each of the ten finals matches. What's more, each of the twenty student-athletes will be interviewed by Casber, Shane Sparks of the Big Ten Network, and A.L. Haizlip, play-by-play announcer for Oklahoma State wrestling, for their thoughts on their lifelong wrestling journey to the NCAA Finals. In addition, there will be a 30-minute autograph session allowing fans in attendance to get the signatures of the top Division I college wrestlers of 2016. Current college wrestling stars and their coaches won't be the only individuals in the spotlight at the Finals Preview Show. Wanagiel told Takedown Wrestling that he has been working with USA Wrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame to also include past mat legends at this first-ever event for interviews, autographs and photo opportunities. Among the names Wanagiel mentioned as possible guests: Jordan Burroughs, two-time NCAA champ for University of Nebraska and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, and Kyle Dake, four-time titlewinner at Cornell University. Tickets for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Finals Preview Show will be available Wednesday, March 16 at noon ET. Tickets cost $10 and $15 each, and may be purchased online, or at the Madison Square Garden box office.

Every year there are bracket busters -- lower seeded or unseeded wrestlers -- who wreak havoc on the brackets by pulling upsets. Here is a look at 10 potential bracket busters -- one in each weight class -- to keep an eye on in New York City. 125: Nick Herrmann (Virginia) The fiery mat wrestler in the mold of head coach Steve Garland, Nick Hermann came within a questionable call of beating No. 3 seed Joey Dance at the ACC tournament. He'll face No. 15 David Terao (American) in the first round, a matchup of squirrelly wrestlers that could find Hermann in the driver's seat. Next would be No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia), who he knows well and may be able to navigate a win from an underdog role. From there it's No. 7 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) and No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State), both of who would likely give Hermann difficulties, but not before he changed the bracket. 133: No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) I like the Buckeye as a favorite against No. 7 Eric Montoya (NEB). From there he'll need to find his way past No. 2 Cory Clark (IOWA), who bested him 7-3 at Big Tens, but in the NCAA's the gap could close, and quickly. Should the Buckeye make it this far, he'll be staring down a formidable No. 3 in Zane Richards. 141: No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) Facing the winner of the wrestle-in match, Mecate should cruise in the first round. In the second, he's likely to face Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), who I have beating No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri). From there he could face No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) who looks at a second-round rematch with Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) who he beat late in the season. To the finals Mecate, a returning All-American, would need to beat No. 3 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers), a wrestler he lost 4-3 to at the Midlands. Remember that Mecate also has a win this season over No. 3 seed Kevin Jack (NC State). 149: Davion Jeffries (Oklahoma) Without Cody Brewer in great form this year, the Sooners will look up their lineup for a burst of inspiration in MSG. For them it could be Davion Jeffries who will face off in a favorable first-round matchup against No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri). After stealing the seed, Jeffries will see No.14 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) and then a fairly stale No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern). Unfortunately, no matter how well he's wrestling he'll be unlikely to make it past semifinal opponent, No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa). Edwin Cooper battles Tommy Gantt at the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)157: No. 13 Edwin Cooper (Iowa) If history is any indication, the Hawkeyes will be primed for the NCAA tournament and that means outperforming seeds and expectations. Look for Cooper to once against blow past Tyler Berger (Nebraska) before making a major upset against slightly hampered No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State). After the upset he'll face No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan), a wrestler he lost to in tiebreaker at the Big Tens two weeks ago. Make it through to the semifinals and Cooper will face an uphill slog against No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois). 165: No. 11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) After a winnable first round match against Geno Morelli (Penn State), look for the ACC hot hand to beat No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) before making a valiant effort against No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State). Assuming he makes it out in one piece, it'll be No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) in the semifinals. Tall order, but also a very tough weight class! 174: No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) Maybe the only reason Meyer isn't a higher seed is because he had a disappointing Big Ten tournament, taking two losses in quick fashion. Prior to that his only losses had been to Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) and Cody Walters (Ohio). Meyer will take on, and beat, Gordon Wolf (Lehigh) in the first round, before using solid finishes and punishing pressure to make it past 2015 bracket buster nominee Ethan Ramos (North Carolina). Meyer will then need to overcome a Big Ten fall loss to Zac Brunson (Illinois) before trying his semifinal luck against Bo Nickal (Penn State). 184: No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) Returning to the list in 2016, Willie Miklus can, and will, cause serious issues with the 184-pound bracket. First on the Mizzou wrestler's hit list will be Corey Griego (Oregon State). After breezing past the Beaver, he'll face No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro), who is in the midst of an up-and-down, injury-riddled season and does not match up well against Miklus. Next he'll probably face No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) before meeting a mulleted No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) in the semifinals. 197: Patrick Downey (Iowa State) Hell … why not?! Takes out No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) in the first round before steamrolling a sometimes-stiff Jared Haught (VT) in the second. Quarterfinals may be a challenge with Downey facing No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), who handled him in February, but with so much unknown in Downey's comeback anything and everything feels possible! 285: No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) After a winnable first-round match against a wrestle-in winner, Stolfi will need to get right to work facing formidable Canadian and No. 7 seed Amarveer Dhesi of Oregon State. He won't make it past No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), but wouldn't that be the best bracket buster ever if he did?

Cain Velasquez battles with Cole Konrad in the semifinals of the 2006 NCAAs (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)After one last clubbing forearm to the head, a familiar buzzer sounded. Cain Velasquez rose out of his wrestling stance and began to circle away. As his opponent pumped his right fist in the sky, the Arizona State wrestler completed his circle walk and returned to the center. He toed the line and performed the ceremonial match-ending handshake. The season was over. Velasquez finished his collegiate wrestling career with a fourth-place finish at the 2006 NCAA tournament. As he stood there on the mat, in his sweat soaked maroon singlet, he might have thought his athletic career was over. That could not have been further from the truth. A little over four years later, he would be the one getting his hand raised after defeating another former heavyweight wrestler for the UFC heavyweight title. This weekend Madison Square Garden hosts the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. 330 wrestlers will compete for 10 weight class championships. The top eight finishers in each weight class will earn All-American status. If history holds, the tournament will produce at least one All-American who will embark on an MMA career. Since 1979 every All-America team has produced at least one MMA competitor. Over the past 20 seasons, around six All-Americans from each tournament have entered MMA. This number will most likely rise as it usually takes a few years for wrestlers to trickle into the fighting ranks. However, one year in particular sticks out. 15 members, nearly 18 percent, of the 2006 All-American class have transitioned into MMA. Some of the members of this class have already earned legendary status, some have decided that it is simply not for them and some are still trying to make it in the combat sport. Chad Mendes (Cal Poly), sixth place, 125 pounds Mendes entered the tournament as the ninth seed. He fell in the championship bracket to future World Team regular Nick Simmons. He rebounded nicely in the consolation bracket to earn All-American status but dropped his last two matches to future Olympian Sam Hazewinkel and 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott. Two years later, Mendes would return to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed. He dominated his way to the finals before being upset by J Jaggers in a controversial final. Mendes made his professional MMA debut in 2008. He has built himself into a perennial contender in the featherweight division. He has fought for that division's UFC title three times but has never been able to capture the belt. Shawn Bunch (Edinboro), third place, 133 pounds As the returning NCAA runner-up and No. 1 seed, Bunch was considered a strong favorite to win the 133-pound tournament. He dropped a 9-2 match to Chris Fleeger in the semifinals and ended up finishing third. After college, Bunch became a regular on the international freestyle circuit. He won a gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Championships and was a member of the 2009 U.S. World Team. Bunch signed with Bellator in 2012 after coming up one match short of qualifying for the Olympics. In his last fight for the promotion, he was submitted by Darrion Caldwell. The defeat dropped his Bellator record to 4-2. Bunch currently trains at American Kickboxing Academy. Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro), seventh place, 149 pounds Gillespie's seventh-place finish marked the first time a true freshman had become an All-American in Edinboro history. He would go on to finish his career in 2009 as a four-time All-American and one-time NCAA champion. The New York native did not transition into MMA right away. His struggles with addiction and injuries are well documented in a Sherdog Prospect Watch article. Since finally making his debut in 2014, Gillespie has gone 6-0 under the Ring of Combat banner. He recently scored a first-round knockout over Jose Mariscal at ROC 54. Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State), first place, 165 pounds Hendricks entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed. In the finals, he defeated Michigan's Ryan Churella but not without controversy. Churella turned Hendricks with an inside cradle late in the second period. Many fans still claim that Hendricks was pinned, but the referee did not call the fall. Hendricks won the match 9-8. After winning a pair of fights in the WEC, Hendricks moved to the UFC in 2009. He won nine of his first 10 fights in the promotion to earn a title shot against then-champion Georges St. Pierre. Hendricks fell via dubious decision. He returned in his next fight and defeated Robbie Lawler for the vacant title. Since then, he has lost the belt and gone 1-2. Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov (American), third place, 165 pounds Abdurakhmanov is a three-time Uzbekistan national champion and a Junior World silver medalist. After a pair of junior college national titles, he joined the American University squad. He quickly became one of the most highly decorated wrestlers in the program's history highlighted by this third-place finish. His only defeat in the tournament was a 4-3 loss to Hendricks in the semifinals. After college, he became a training partner for Kenny Florian. In 2009, he split a pair of fights on regional shows in the Northeast. After falling via submission to Rene Nazare at FFP-Untamed 29, he never fought again. Abdurakhmanov has been an assistant coach for the Harvard wrestling team since 2008. Ben Askren celebrates after winning the NCAA title in 2006 (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Ben Askren (Missouri), first place, 174 pounds At this tournament, Askren won his first of two NCAA titles. In the finals, he defeated future World silver medalist and Olympian Jake Herbert. After college, Askren continued to wrestle for a few years. He represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics but failed to medal. About 20 months after making his MMA debut, Askren defeated Lyman Good for the Bellator welterweight title He currently holds an undefeated 14-0 record and the One Championship welterweight title. C.B. Dollaway (Arizona State), fifth place, 184 pounds Dollaway entered the tournament as the 10th seed. He was knocked out in the quarterfinals by the eventual runner-up Roger Kish. Dollaway then eliminated current Bellator fighter Paul Bradley in the consolation bracket and eventually finished fifth. "The Doberman" would launch his UFC career on the seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter." He reached the season title match but submitted to Amir Sadollah on the finale card. Over the course of his UFC career he has picked up victories over the likes of Joe Doerksen, Daniel Sarafian and Jason "Mayhem" Miller. Eric Bradley (Penn State), eighth place, 184 pounds Early in his college career, Bradley suffered a rather serious back injury that threatened to end his time in the sport. During his time away, he took up boxing and won a National Collegiate Boxing championship in 2003. For most of his senior season, Bradley was ranked No. 1 at 184 pounds. However, a series of late season losses pushed him down to the eighth seed. After defeating Paul Bradley, he fell to the No. 1 seed Josh Glenn in the quarterfinals.The Penn State wrestler managed to earn All-American status in the wrestlebacks. In 2007, Bradley became one of the first fighters to sign with management group Team Takedown, which also represented Hendricks, Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller. He began his career with a 2-1 record including a victory over Mikey Gomez on the undercard of EliteXC "Street Certified." Bradley was then arrested alongside collegiate teammate Patrick Cummins for theft and burglary. Bradley's last fight on his record came in 2012. The following year he was a cast member of "Fight Master: Bellator MMA." He defeated A.J. Matthews and Joe Williams to reach the semifinals of the reality show competition but ultimately fell to Mike Bronzoulis and was eliminated. Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State), first place, 197 pounds; Phil Davis (Penn State), second place, 197 pounds; Chris Weidman (Hofstra), sixth place, 197 pounds; Ryan Bader (Arizona State), seventh place, 197 pounds Four of the eight All-Americans at 197-pounds went on to become MMA fighters. Weidman, who was unseeded, knocked off the No. 1 seed Wynn Michalak. He then defeated Bader in the quarterfinals. Rosholt, Davis and Weidman all reached the semifinals. There, Rosholt defeated Weidman and moved onto the finals. Davis advanced in his side of the bracket but fell to Rosholt via a 10-3 score. Weidman ended up finishing sixth, while Bader finished seventh. Rosholt began fighting in 2007. He made his UFC debut after only five professional fights. The former Cowboy wrestler went 1-2 with his lone victory coming over Chris Leben before the UFC released him. He continued to fight on the smaller shows but ultimately retired after falling via knockout to Anthony Johnson in 2012. Davis won his first five fights in the UFC before running into former champion Rashad Evans. He left the promotion last year after going 9-3 in the promotion. In Bellator, Davis won the promotion's one-night light heavyweight grand prix. He will face Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal in a bout which will determine a No. 1 contender at Bellator 154 in May. Weidman shocked the world when he scored a second-round knockout of Anderson Silva and took home the middleweight title. He defended the belt twice over former champions Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort. In his last outing, Weidman fell for the first time to Luke Rockhold. The two are scheduled for a rematch at UFC 199 in June. Bader won the eighth season of "The Ultimate Fighter" in 2008 and has been fighting in the UFC ever since. He had recently won five fights in a row to put himself into title contention. However, his momentum was stopped when he was finished in the first round by Anthony Johnson at UFC on Fox 18. Cole Konrad (Minnesota), first place, 285 pounds; Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State), second place, 285 pounds Mocco vs. Konrad is one of the best rivalries in the history of college wrestling. In 2005, Mocco went undefeated and picked up an overtime win over Konrad in the NCAA finals. The following year, Konrad stopped Mocco's 85 match unbeaten streak with a pin in the finals of the National Duals. The two rematched in the 2006 NCAA final with Konrad taking the overtime victory. After Mocco's graduation, the Minnesota wrestler won another NCAA title in 2007. Konrad began his MMA training as a partner for fellow Minnesota alumnus Brock Lesnar. He made his professional debut in 2010. Later that year, he won Bellator's Season 3 heavyweight tournament to claim the promotion's inaugural heavyweight championship. He fought two more times against Paul Buentello and Eric Prindle before retiring with an undefeated record to become a full-time commodities broker. Mocco would go on to compete on the international freestyle circuit. He represented the U.S. at the 2008 Olympics. In 2009, he won a pair of prestigious international tournaments: the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix and Alexander Medved Tournament. After failing to make the 2012 Olympic team, Mocco began training with American Top Team. He has gone 5-1 with his last two bouts coming under the World Series of Fighting banner. Cain Velasquez (Arizona State), fourth place, 285 pounds Velasquez was unlucky that his career coincided with great heavyweights Mocco and Konrad. In his two years at Arizona State, he was knocked out of the championship bracket in the semifinals by Konrad both years. Their 2006 match was about as close as it gets. Konrad won a 2-2 match on tie breaker. Velasquez made his MMA debut later in 2006. He joined the UFC two years later after only two fights. He won first six fights in the promotion to earn a title shot against Lesnar, which he won. After dropping the belt to Junior dos Santos on the first FOX show, Velasquez won it back in 2012. He defended it twice before submitting to Fabricio Werdum last summer. Other notes from 2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships: Former Bellator champion Michael Chandler (Missouri), Scott Jorgensen (Boise State), Paul Bradley (Iowa) and Kenny Robertson (Eastern Illinois) all came up one match short of All-American status. UFC veteran Dave Herman (Indiana) went 1-2 in the heavyweight bracket. Current WWE wrestler Jake Hager (Oklahoma), who wrestles under the name Jack Swagger, finished seventh at heavyweight. Richard Mann currently runs the data-driven MMA blog StrikeScoreMMA.com.

Four individuals with roots deep in wrestling in the state of Iowa -- Rick Caldwell, Jim Duschen, Mark Reiland, and Tim Johnson -- have been announced as members of the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2016. The ceremony will take place Monday, April 11 at the Cresco Country Club, south of the northeast Iowa community where the Iowa Wrestling Hall is located. Rick Caldwell was a two-time All-American at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. Following his graduation, Caldwell launched his coaching career that included BGM-Brooklyn, Iowa Falls and Ames high schools before becoming an assistant coach at Wartburg College from 1988-1999. He stayed in Waverly, Iowa, taking the helm at Waverly-Shell Rock High School. In twelve years, Caldwell's teams won 14 state team trophies, including nine state championships (five traditional, four dual-meet championships), coached 20 Go-Hawk state champions, an twice had four Iowa state champs in one year. Jim Duschen wrestled at East Waterloo High School, then headed west to Iowa State. As a Cyclone, Duschen racked up two Big 8 titles, a Midlands championship, NCAA All-American honors ... and was captain of the 1969 Iowa State national championship team. After graduating from ISU, Duschen won two National Greco-Roman titles, was a 1972 Olympic alternate, and earned a place on the 1973 World team. After hanging up his singlet, Duschen started a successful coaching career that spanned 30 years, from Iowa to Nevada. Mark Reiland was a four-time medalist -- and two-time Iowa state champ -- for his father, Marv Reiland, at Eagle Grove High School. The younger Reiland added to his mat laurels as a University of Iowa mat star for coach Dan Gable, becoming a two-time NCAA All-American, winning the 167-pound title at the 1991 NCAAs. As coach at Iowa City West High, Mark Reiland has built a perennial prep powerhouse. Tim JohnsonTim Johnson is a familiar face -- and voice -- in wrestling broadcasting within the state of Iowa and well beyond. He has covered wrestling for Iowa Public TV, ESPN, Real Pro Wrestling, and the BIG 10 Network. For the past dozen years, he has been part of the broadcast team for ESPN's coverage of the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Before launching his broadcast career, Johnson wrestled at Morning Sun High, then at Coe College ... then served as coach at Mount Vernon High, guiding future Boise State coach Greg Randall to four Iowa state championships. Banquet tickets for the 2016 induction are available at the Cresco Chamber of Commerce (563-547-3434) and CIA Insurance in Cresco (563-547-2382). Tickets are $25, and advance registration is required. The Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame, located in downtown Cresco at the Cresco Welcome Center at Highway 9 and Elm Street, honors wrestlers and coaches who were born in the state of Iowa. The Hall of Fame will be open until 6 p.m. the day of the banquet. Information about the hall and its inductees is available at their website.

"The sight I adore on a basketball floor is wrestling mats from door to door." That slogan dotted more than a few T-shirts during my youth wrestling days and is perhaps more relevant for this year's tournament than ever. Wrestling now has a chance to prove its worth at the home of the Knicks in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden. On Thursday, collegiate wrestlers and coaches from around the nation will gather in the Big Apple to put individual and team titles on the line. In turn, fans will flock to arena seats and couches to take in all the action. Viewers will also have the opportunity to join their basketball counterparts by putting their money where their mouth is to make legitimate wagers on their sport. 2015 proved to be yet another winning opportunity for wrestling fans who knew where to look. An abnormal amount of low seeds found their way to the finals last year, including an unseeded Zeke Moisey of West Virginia. That type of outcome is the norm, not the exception, for our sport's culminating event and can in turn mean big pay days for those willing to lay some money down. Each year the NCAA tournament gains more visibility and coverage and New York City will help push that envelope even further. Oddsmakers have responded by tightening the lines they offer, making it tougher to gain an advantage in the wagering world. However, we have a few wide open weights this year, including 141 pounds where roughly ten young men have a realistic opportunity to walk away with gold. That could make for some very big lines and prosperous bets! I'm here to help you identify some of those winning plays, but remember, I'm in no way responsible for what you bet, or if you bet. Think twice before going all-in on the field versus Alex Dieringer at 165 pounds. This is for fun, so if you can't afford to pay, don't play. For the newcomers, here's how it usually works: Each weight class is broken down with a money line on the top two or three individuals (usually by seed). Then the remaining wrestlers, or the Field, are given a collective money line to win. For clarity purposes each line uses a base amount of $100. So if the line is +150, that means you risk $100 to win $150. Likewise, if the line is -150, you risk $150 to win $100. A few numbers for thought before we break down the weight classes (all data is since the 2003 NCAA tournament): The top seed at the NCAA tournament has won almost exactly 50% of the time. A wrestler seeded third or lower has won approximately 30%. A wrestler seeded fourth or lower has won approximately 20%. The Field comes in on average two to three times a year. All champs in 2013 came from either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. That hadn't happened previously since John Smith was hitting low singles in an orange singlet. On to the breakdown of this year's weight classes and my personal (pre-official) lines: 125: Nathan Tomasello enters as the top seed and will look to defend the title he obtained last year as a No. 4 seed. He currently holds the narrowest of advantages over Nico Megaludis, Joey Dance and Thomas Gilman. Each are capable of sending Nato back to Columbus in a cranky mood. Zeke Moisey will miss the tournament due to injury and will not have the chance to repeat last year's impressive Cinderella run. The Lines: Tomasello +110, Dance +300, Field +200 The Play: Nato has controlled the weight with two walk-off wins over Megaludis as well as a slim victory over Dance by way of a confusing stall call. He has not faced Gilman yet this season, who has given him problems in the past. I don't see a Moisey-type bracket buster so we shouldn't expect any surprise matchups in the semifinals. I like Gilman to earn a slight upset over Tomasello for a rematch with Megaludis on the elevated mat. It would be Megaludis' third time in the finals. Third time a charm? I take the Field over Nato. 133: Top-seeded Nahshon Garrett made the healthy choice to go up in weight for his last year of competition. That decision has paid dividends as he has consistently obliterated this field, including a shootout win over last year's champ Cody Brewer. The top two Big Ten entrees, Cory Clark and Zane Richards, headline the lower half of the bracket. The Lines: Garrett -200, Brewer +200, Field +350 The Play: I had doubts about Garrett's ability to handle what is likely the toughest draw of any top seed. I then went back and watched his last few matches … I no longer have doubts. There is a chance that Brewer re-enacts that alien-like performance from a year ago and slices through the bracket. However, I believe it's more likely that Garrett keeps the form he's had all season and goes out with a big title for the Big Red. I like him at -200 or better. Watch out for sixth-seeded George Dicamillo to make some noise for the Cavaliers in the lower half. 141: Dean Heil enters as the top seed and held an unblemished record until late in the season. Newcomer Joey McKenna of Stanford has taken Heil to deep waters twice this season while Anthony Ashnault earned Rutgers' first Big Ten title in dominant fashion. Kevin Jack has come on strong after an improbable run at last year's tournament. The Lines: Heil +225, McKenna +300, Field even The Play: You could wrestle this weight ten different times and see ten different champs. For the sake of putting a prediction on the line I'll take an Ashnault-McKenna all-Garden State matchup in the Garden. One for the bridge and tunnel crowd. Let's take the Field with confidence. 149: Top-seeded Zain Retherford may be the most improved wrestler in the nation. A scary proposition considering he held a win over Logan Stieber his true freshman year. His lone "scare" came at the hands of All-American B.J. Clagon of Rider, a match in which he only allowed an escape point. Former NCAA champ Jason Tsirtsis will battle with Brandon Sorensen, Lavion Mayes and Jake Sueflohn for the right to wrestle Retherford under the bright lights. The Lines: Retherford -400, Sorensen +320, Field +300 The Play: The Zain Train has been rolling all season and hasn't shown any signs of coming to a stop. The potential rematch with Clagon in the quarterfinals is one to watch and may very well pose his biggest challenge. However, nobody has been able to match Zain's all-around abilities and I don't think that will change by Saturday. You may however have to pay a high price for the lock of the tournament. 157: Isaiah Martinez nabs the top seed after avenging the lone loss of his career in the Big Ten finals with third-seeded spark plug Jason Nolf. Thomas Gantt has done his part to propel NC State to their dream season by compiling a perfect record. Two-time All American Ian Miller will be looking to go out on top after a controversial loss last year in St. Louis. Dylan Palacio and Joe Smith add some serious pedigree and depth to the field of contenders. The Lines: Martinez even, Nolf +120, Field +425 The Play: Fans are getting their popcorn ready for the third installment of this epic Big Ten trilogy between Imar and Nolf. They should also be hoping the stars align for a Miller-Palacio quarterfinal matchup. Let's keep an eye on the scoring in that one. Either wrestler will give Martinez an interesting look in the semifinal. On the flip side, Nolf certainly can't overlook Smith or Gantt. In the end, these things seem to have a way of working out and we'll be granted our third meeting between these two talents. Flip a coin. I'm going with the PSU buzz saw via devastating pace. 165: Alex Dieringer heads to New York looking to extend his lengthy win streak and gain his third title in as many years. He may be hoping to avoid a semifinal matchup with Missouri's Daniel (middle name not Day) Lewis, who found a way to ride the Oklahoma State Cowboy for a good portion of their dual meet matchup. We have the Jordan Bowl to look forward to on the bottom side of the bracket between Isaac and Bo. The Lines: AD -400, Isaac +250, Field +375 The Play: Lewis is an absolute hammer on top, but Dieringer will be ready and prepped for the rematch. Bo Jordan has not looked nearly as dominant since making the drop in weight and sadly we'll have to wait another year for his return to 174 pounds and the impending Bo Bowl. I still like him to turn the corner against his cousin and give Dieringer a lot to handle under the spotlight. A bet against AD would be foolish and a bet on him would be too expensive. Let's stay away from this one and enjoy the ending to a great career as he makes the leap to the next level. 174: Penn State's high-flying phenom Bo Nickal lets it all hang out and is your top seed. Nickal enjoyed a coming out party at this year's Southern Scuffle with wins over second-seeded Brian Realbuto of Cornell as well as UNC's fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos. Blaise Butler of Missouri joins Realbuto down low. The Lines: Nickal -175, Realbuto +250, Field +275 The Play: I picked Realbuto over a highly touted freshman last year and came up a bit short. Bo knows things .. Wrestling things .. namely scrambling and double over hooks. Realbuto knows scrambling and position. I'll take another shot on Realbuto to win a much-anticipated rematch. 184: Defending champ Gabe Dean returns as the No. 1 seed in a barn burner of a weight class. Sammy Brooks earned himself a Big Ten title and the second seed simply by focusing on developing the right postseason hairstyle. Vic Avery and Domenic Abounader have only three losses between them and slot in at the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds respectively. The field is deep and scrappy. The Lines: Dean even, Brooks +350, Field +225 The Play: Dean looked like he would run away with this one before suffering his only loss of the season to Nolan Boyd, who he will see early if seeds hold. You either believe that match was a fluke or you don't. I'm in the second camp and I'm going with Brooks here because upsets happen every year and sometimes you just need to take a chance on a mullet. 197: Top seed and undefeated Morgan McIntosh is yet another entry by the seemingly unstoppable force that is PSU. Former NCAA champ J'den Cox will look to regain his title from the second seed. Brett Pfarr and Nathan Burak will try to disrupt what appears to be a collision course as part of the field. The Lines: McIntosh +165, Cox +115 Field +700 The Play: PSU fans cannot be happy to see Conner Hartmann on their side of the bracket here. The Blue Devil ended McIntosh's momentum in last year's tournament and will look to repeat that feat. Meanwhile, Cox shouldn't be tested until the finals. He holds a 2-1 advantage in the series with McIntosh and already owns a title. I like him with a late takedown for the win. 285: Two time champ and top-seeded Nick Gwiazdowski will try to conquer a tough bracket in his home state. WORLD CHAMPION and 2 seed Kyle Snyder decided to spend his free time taking on the collegiate big boys. Ty Walz, Austin Marsden and Adam Coon will look to play spoiler to the most anticipated match of the weekend. The Lines: Gwiazdowski even, Snyder even, Field +1000 The Play: Any concerns over Snyder's ability to handle the weight were alleviated in his Big Ten final with Coon. This is the most anticipated 285-pound match since Stephen Neal-Brock Lesnar and we can only hope a team title is on the line when they meet. Did I mention Kyle Snyder is a WORLD CHAMPION? Gwiazdowski will hold the weight advantage but world gold gives Snyder the better trophy case and perhaps a slight mental edge. I'll go with the guy who challenges Russians overseas in his spare time. Snyder by one. Official lines should be available at your online sportsbook midweek (Wednesday) and individual lines are posted before the semifinals and finals in case you would like to hedge your bets ... or double down. Good luck and enjoy the winnings!

Tyler Gilmore, former wrestling team captain at Vigo North High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, died this weekend after falling from a parking garage in Panama City Beach, Florida during Spring Break. He was 20. Tyler GilmorePanama City Beach police said Gilmore was found by a passerby after midnight Sunday morning at the parking garage for the Shores of Panama residential building where he was staying with friends. Police said it's unclear at what height Gilmore was when he fell. Gilmore's death is under investigation, but authorities don't suspect foul play. As a wrestler at North, Gilmore went on to become a 2014 regional champion and two-time semi-state qualifier. He was also a two-time Amateur Athletic Union All-American on North's Disney Duals wrestling team. "He had a magnetic personality," North head wrestling coach Mark Frisz told the Terre Haute Tribune-Star by email. "When he first came out for wrestling as a freshman, he immediately challenged me to a match (one that never took place)." After learning about this death, friends posted messages on Gilmore's Facebook page . One said that Gilmore "helped build a family in the Terre Haute wrestling room." Gilmore's Facebook page listed "Orderly at Terre Haute Regional Hospital" as one of his jobs, along with Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Terre Haute. His Facebook page includes a coupon for guests to have 10 percent of their dinner check donated to help pay for funeral expenses. Gilmore had studied nursing at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Terre Haute, becoming among the first men admitted to the on-campus undergraduate program at what had been a women's school. "I had the opportunity to be first at something, and it got me excited to do it," Gilmore said in an interview with the Tribune-Star back in August. He left Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in December, according to the school's executive director of college relations. "Tyler had a lasting impact on me and our wrestling family," said coach Frisz, who noted that Gilmore would continue to visit the North wrestling room from time to time. "His passing hurts, and I feel for all of Tyler's family and friends. The great memories we all share will help us as time goes on."

Tyler Brown, a senior wrestler at Salesianum Catholic High School in Wilmington, Del. was killed in a traffic accident this weekend that left four others seriously injured. Brown was 17. Tyler BrownA resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey, Brown was a passenger in a Dodge Dakota pickup that was crossing U.S. 301 when it was struck on the right side by a semi tractor-trailer at 11:30 p.m. Friday in Middletown, Del. The driver of the pickup as well as a passenger in the back seat sustained serious injuries. The semi was knocked onto its side, and the driver and passenger were both seriously injured, according to Delaware State Police. Brown was a multi-sport athlete at Salesianum. In addition to being a wrestler, Brown played rugby and lacrosse. He was also a participant in the school's Model United Nations program. Brown was planning to go to Syracuse University in the fall to study architectural design. His art teacher, Brian Magargal, said Brown had worked hard to get into Syracuse, his number one choice. "He had never picked up a paintbrush before last fall, but he wanted to go in for architecture," Magargal told DelawareOnline.com . "The good architecture schools ask for an art portfolio, so he came to me and asked for help." Magargal soon found Brown had a natural talent. Brown was working on a very large painting, a streetscape he was painting from a photo he took of a town in New Jersey, which is about three-quarters of the way finished, Magargal said. Brown's artwork was on display at a Saturday evening Mass held at the gym at Salesianum. More than 600 people offered prayers for Brown and for the recovery of his Salesianum classmate John W. Kirsch (the driver of the Dakota) and Kelley Muschiatti, a student at Padua High School, who was in the back seat. The school also had its chapel open Sunday afternoon for prayers. "On Monday, we will mark this sad occasion with a special schedule at school, and provide opportunities for students and staff to grieve and receive support," said Salesianum principal The Rev. Chris Beretta in a letter posted at the school's website. "This will be a difficult week for our school community. All of us will deal with it in different ways; many will struggle. Every Salesian needs to arrive Monday knowing that we are grieving the loss of one of our own."

Mark Hall defeated Alex Marinelli by major decision, 14-5 (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)NEW PRAGUE, Minn. -- Held about a month earlier than normal, the Wrestling USA Magazine Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic took place last night in New Prague, Minn. This year's event featured some of the nation's top seniors facing many of the top seniors from the Gopher State. To be expected, a group of seniors from across the United States was clearly favored; and in mostly unsurprising fashion, Minnesota seniors won just three of the thirteen bouts. However, one of those wins was the evening's biggest story. Coming in the last match, No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) used a third period barrage to upend No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) by a 14-5 major decision at 170 pounds. Hall is the nation's overall top senior, bound for Penn State; while Marinelli, an Iowa commit, is third overall in the senior class regardless of weight class. One of the other two wins for a Minnesota wrestler came against Marinelli's St. Paris Graham teammate Brent Moore. Earning the 10-2 major decision victory was No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) at 138 pounds. The third and final Gopher State victory came at 126 pounds, as Adam Hedin (Rosemount) rallied from a 5-0 deficit to earn a 6-5 upset victory over No. 3 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) at 126 pounds; Hedin was a state runner-up at 132 in Minnesota's big-school Class AAA this year. Nick Reenan celebrates after defeating Taylor Venz at 182 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)That first Minnesota win came in the evening's seventh bout, which meant that Team USA amassed wins in the evening's first six bouts. It started off with a victory at 182 pounds coming from Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), who is ranked No. 2 nationally at 195; Reenan earned a 13-10 victory over two-time state champion Taylor Venz (Farmington) in an absolute barn-burner. Next on the mat was the 195 pound bout, where No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) pinned No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) in the first period. The 220 pound match had zero surprise with No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) earning a 9-1 major decision victory over Kevin Kniesl (Delano). It was somewhat an unexpectedly close bout at 285 pounds, where No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) beat No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers) 3-1 in overtime. Turning back to the lower weights, No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) earned a 12-3 major decision over 2015 state champion Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo) at 113. Last in the six match winning streak to open the dual meet, it was a 21-6 technical fall for for No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) over 113 pound state champion Victor Gliva (Farmington). Sandwiching the first two Minnesota victories, which came over future Virginia Tech wrestlers, it was No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) earning an 11-5 victory over two-time state runner-up Jamie LeDuc (Farmington) at 132. After the loss at 138, it was three straight United States victories before the last bout of the evening. Winning at 145 was No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa), who beat state runner-up Brock Morgan (Apple Valley) 7-4. Then at 152 pounds, it was No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) scoring a 4-1 victory in the tiebreaker over No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) in a battle of future Big Ten wrestlers; Manville bound for Penn State along with Hall, and Parriott the Purdue commit. Lastly it was a pair of nationally ranked 182 pound wrestlers taking to the mats at 160, where No. 8 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) beat No. 16 Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville) 3-1. Results: 182: No. 2 (at 195) Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. Taylor Venz (Farmington), 13-10 195: No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) pinned No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central), 1:43 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) maj. dec. Kevin Kneisl (Delano), 9-1 285: No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) dec. No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers), 3-1 OT 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) maj. dec. Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo), 12-3 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) tech. fall Victor Gliva (Farmington), 21-6 4:10 126: Adam Hedin (Rosemount) dec. No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.), 6-5 132: No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) dec. Jamin Le Duc (Farmington), 11-5 138: No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) maj. dec. No. 8 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 10-2 145: No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) dec. Brock Morgan (Apple Valley), 7-4 *152: No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) won by forfeit Exh 152: No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) dec. No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague), 4-1 OT 160: No. 8 (at 182) Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) dec. No. 16 (at 182) Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville), 3-1 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) maj. dec. No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), 14-5 * Manville did not make weight

Winning a high school state title in wrestling in any state is a worthy accomplishment. Brian Courtney (Photo/Bill Ennis)Achieving that by defeating three past state champs is even more impressive. Doing it in a wrestling-rich state like Pennsylvania -- and making history in the process? That's priceless. Brian Courtney of Athens High School won the 2016 PIAA (Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association) Class AA 126-pound championship at Giant Center in Hershey Saturday did all that -- and made history, becoming the first Pennsylvania wrestler to beat three past PIAA champs on his way to the state title in the 79-year history of high school state wrestling championships in the Keystone State. In fact, it was the first time that three former titlewinners were in the same bracket in the PIAA tournament. If all that weren't enough, Courtney was named Class AA Outstanding Wrestler. The first former champ to fall to Courtney was Jonathan Gabriel of Bedford, defending 126-pound titleholder, who the Athens junior defeated 8-3. That victory put Courtney into the 126-pound semifinals where he defeated Reynolds sophomore Cole Matthews, last year's champion at 120, by a 9-3 score. In the finals, Courtney faced Central Cambia's Max Murin, last year's Class AA 113-pound champion. There was no scoring in the first period; Courtney earned an escape at the start the second period. Murin attempted a single-leg takedown, but Courtney used his flexibility gained in gymnastics training in fifth and sixth grade to break his opponent's grip and score a reversal, taking a 3-0 lead. Murin managed to score an escape in each of the two remaining periods but was unsuccessful in another takedown attempt, and could not overcome the deficit. Final score: 3-2 for Courtney. "All four wrestlers I wrestled this weekend were great," Courtney told PennLive.com. "Everyone on the podium was a great wrestler, so it was really cool to stand on the top of it." "They were all super tough," Courtney continued. "Gabriel was a five-point move, but it was 3-3 before that. I was 4-2 with Matthews before the last period, and Murin was 3-2 at the end." "I can't say one was tougher than the other. It hasn't sunk in yet, but I feel pretty good about it."

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Notre Dame College wrestling's Joey Davis won his fourth straight NCAA Championship on Saturday night at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, defeating Pitt-Johnstown's Travis McKillop via 3-1 Decision in the 184 lb Finals to finish his career with a perfect 131-0 career record. Davis becomes the first wrestler in NCAA Division II history to win four NCAA Championships while also going undefeated in the process. "I was so stressed out this whole process. I'm really at a loss for words," said Davis. "I worked tremendously hard. The coaches worked me so hard, but it has all been worth it." Furthermore, Davis (20-0 this season) is one of just three wrestlers in NCAA history to finish his career undefeated as a four-time national champion, joining Iowa State's Cael Sanderson (159-0) and Augsburg-Minn.'s Marcus LeVesseur (155-0). "I never thought about something like this, going undefeated in college," said Davis. "To be able to have my name mentioned with some of the greats, it's an amazing accomplishment for me. I have some options, but for me it's about graduating first." As a team, the Falcons placed second overall at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships with 82.0 team points. Additionally, seven different Falcons earned All-American status with Top-8 finishes at Nationals. Isaac Dulgarian also had a strong showing for the Falcons, placing second at 149 lbs to highlight a stellar freshman campaign. At 125 lbs, Jacob Goodwin placed third with a 7-3 Decision over Wisconsin-Parkside's Ronzel Darling in the 3rd Place Match. Former national champions Jonatan Rivera (157 lbs) and Garrett Lineberger (197 lbs) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, for NDC. Rivera (22-5) went 4-2 at Nationals while Lineberger defeated Tiffin's Jake Cramer via 6-2 Decision in the 197 lb 5th Place Match. Cobey Fehr (20-3 overall) placed seventh at 141 lbs while Justan Rivera placed eighth at 174 lbs in his freshman season. Team Scores (Top 5): 1. St. Cloud St. 90.0 2. Notre Dame (OH) 82.0 3. Neb.-Kearney 78.5 4. Pitt.-Johnstown 71.5 5. Maryville (MO) 65.5

The St. Cloud State University wrestling team captured the 2016 NCAA Division II national championship for the second consecutive season on Saturday, March 12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Huskies tallied 90 points to bring home the national team title and they were led by redshirt freshman Brett Velasquez, who captured first place in the 125-pound bracket with a 5-0 win over Willy Bohince of Mercyhurtst. Velasquez finished the tournament with a 4-0 record. Velasqez is the sixth SCSU wrestler to win an NCAA Division II individual national crown and he is the 16th Husky to win an individual national title (NCAA and NAIA combined). For his work this season, SCSU's Steve Costanzo was named the 2016 NWCA Coach of the Year. This is SCSU's second consecutive national team title and the second NCAA championship for any sport in the history of the University. SCSU saw all seven of its athletes in competition at the tournament gain All-America honors. Clint Poster placed third at 165-pounds to earn his fourth consecutive All-America award, while Austin Goergen placed third at 285-pound to gain his third consecutive All-America award. At 149-pounds, Jay Hildreth placed fourth to earn his second All-America award, while Matt Nelson placed fifth at 141-pounds to bring back his second All-America award as a Husky. First time All-America award winners for SCSU were Clayton Jennissen, who placed seventh at 174-pounds and Uthman Rabiu, who placed eighth at 184-pounds. SCSU's finish at the NCAA Division II championships today marks another milestone in the program. The Huskies have finished among the NCAA's top 10 eight times since 2009. SCSU won the NCAA title in 2015 and placed second in 2011, 2012 and 2013 under the direction of head coach Steve Costanzo. The tournament finishes the 2015-16 season for SCSU. The Huskies charted a 16-1 dual match record this winter and also claimed their fifth consecutive NSIC championship with an 8-0 record. SCSU placed second at the 2016 NCAA Division II Super 3 Regional and saw four of its athletes gain championships at the Regional meet. In the final Division II national poll of the season, the Huskies gained a No. 2 ranking.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Top-ranked Wartburg won its twelfth National Championship with 129.5 points Saturday.Finals Results: 149: Kenny Martin (WB) win by 7-5 dec vs. Trevor Engle (Cornell) 157: Robert Dierna (SUNY-Cortland) won by 7-5 dec vs. Drew Wagenhoffer (WB) 165: Logan Hermsen (UW-Stevens Point) win by 5-3 dec OT vs. Nick Michael (WB) 174: Ben Swarr (Messiah) win by 3-1 dec vs. Eric DeVos (WB) 197: David Welch (Roger Williams) win by 5-4 dec vs. Gerard Roman (WB) Notes: -Wartburg wins 12th NCAA National Championship with 129.5 pts. -The total ties the record of 12 that Augsburg also holds. -Martin moves winning streak to 15. -Martin wins his second straight and second overall National Championship. -Martin also earns second career All-American honor. -Wagenhoffer finished as the National Runner-Up. -Wagenhoffer earned his third career All-American honor. -Wagenhoffer's winning streak halted at seven. -Michael finished as the National Runner-Up. -Michael earned his first career All-American honor. -DeVos earns first career All-American honor. -DeVos' winning streak halted at 23. -Roman finished as the National Runner-Up. -Roman earned his second career All-American honor. -Roman's winning streak halted at 11. -Wagenhoffer, Michael, DeVos and Roman made their first appearances in the National Finals. Complete Results: 125: Lucas Malmberg (Messiah) won by 8-1 dec vs. Arnulfo Olea (WB) 125: Zac Denny (UW-Whitewater) win by 8-5 dec vs. Arnulfo Olea (WB) 125: Arnulfo Olea (WB) won by fall at 5:26 vs Jakob Stageberg (Concordia-Moorehead) 133: Dustin Weinmann (UW-LaCrosse) win by fall at 3:36 vs. Connor Campo (WB) 133: Connor Campo won by medical forfeit vs. Romeo Riley (Alma) 149: Kenny Martin win by 3-2 dec vs. Dan Mirman (John Carroll) 157: Drew Wagenhoffer (WB) won by 7-5 dec OT vs. Jorge Lopez (Williams) 165: Nick Michael (WB) win by 5-3 dec vs. Colin Navickas (Stevens Instituite) 174: Eric DeVos (WB) win by 6-4 dec OT vs. Ryan Harrington (Coe) 197: Gerard Roman (WB) win by 10-3 dec vs. Joe Giaramita (SUNY-Cortland) 285: Zachery Roseberry (DelValley) win by 8-6 dec vs. Lance Evans (WB) 285: Lance Evans (WB) win by 4-2 dec vs. Trevor Maresh (Alma) Notes: -Olea winning streak halted at seven. -Olea takes fifth for All-American status, first career All-American award. -Campo finishes seventh for All-American status, for second career All-American honor. -Martin moves winning streak to 14. -Martin makes second straight appearance in National Finals. -Wagenhoffer moved his winning streak to seven. -Wagenhoffer, Michael, DeVos and Roman make their first appearances in the National Finals. -DeVos moved winning streak to 23. -Roman moved winning streak to 11. -Evans winning streak halted 32. -Evans takes third for All-American honors, first career All-American honors.

The defending NCAA Division II national champion St. Cloud State University wrestling team finished the first day of competition at the 2016 NCAA Division II championships with a first place team total of 52.5 points. Notre Dame College of Ohio is in second place with 50.5 points, while Nebraska Kearney is in third place with 43.5 points. The Huskies will see all seven of its national meet participants wrestling on Saturday, March 12. The tournament will wrap up with the final day of action at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. on March 12. In the first round of action on March 11, Brett Velasquez (125), Matt Nelson (141), Jay Hildreth (149), Clint Poster (165), Uthman Rabiu (184) and Austin Goergen (285) all gained victories. In the evening session, Velasquez continued his run with a big 8-4 win over Lawson Ludwin of Fort Hays State to advance to the semifinals. In one of the biggest comebacks of the tournament, Nelson rallied from a 12-0 deficit to bring home a 19-15 victory over Sam Hanau of Pitt-Johnstown in the quarterfinals at 141-pounds. In the quarterfinals at 149-pounds, Jay Hidreth gained a 2-1 victory in sudden death OT against Drew Schumann of Colorado Mesa. SCSU also gained an impressive pin at 1:12 by Austin Goergen at 285-pounds against Mike Kennedy of Newberry. Velasquez, Nelson, Hildreth and Goergen will now advance to the NCAA semifinals on March 12. In the wrestlebacks, Clint Poster stayed alive with a 10-5 win over Maryville's Dimitri Willis at 165-pounds, while Rabiu charted a 6-4 victory over Scott VanDeLoo of Minnesota State Manakto. Jennissen gained a pair of wins in the consolation brackets, including a 5-2 win over No. 3 ranked August Mizia of Mercyhurst at 174-pounds. The action at the NCAA tournament will resume on March 12 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Fans can listen to the opening round of action on the KVSC Sports Stream. with John O. Peterson on the call. The championship matches will all be called by Peterson on the NCAA live video stream. Fans can watch the action live on http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule . Fans can follow the live stats at http://on.ncaa.com/W2016D2.

The death of a Spencer, Iowa wrestler who collapsed on the mat at a pre-Christmas tournament was most likely caused by a congenital heart defect, according to the state medical examiner's office. The office released its final autopsy report on Thursday, March 10, revealing that Austin Roberts' death will be listed as natural. The report stated: "An autopsy was performed at the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner on the body of Austin Roberts on December 22, 2015, by Dr. Michele Catellier, who determined the cause of death to be sudden cardiac death due to (probable congenital) cardiac valve deformities in the setting of acute cortisol deficiency due to benign hypothalamic lipoma. Of other significance was probable dehydration. The manner of death will be certified as natural." In explaining the State Medical Examiner Office autopsy report on Austin Roberts, Clay County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Robison said, "This was an extremely rare sequence of events that had to happen all at once to happen. No one thing triggered this, it was the total combination." "In very simple terms Austin died from an improbable series of events due to a combination of congenital birth defects of his heart -- abnormal valves -- plus a common benign, non-cancer tumor - lipoma -- a small ball of fat, in a very unusual place: the hypothalamus in the brain," Robison told the Spencer Daily Reporter. "This caused an imbalance in his hormone systems -- your stress hormone, fight or flight hormone -- being the most important. The combination of extreme mental and physical demands placed on Austin while participating in the state qualifier wrestling tournament caused all his cortisol to be used up, causing acute vasodilator collapse -- a severe fall in blood pressure." "His heart could not compensate for the fall in blood pressure resulting in his heart to fail," Robison continued. "This was an extremely rare sequence of events that had to happen all at once to happen. No one thing triggered this, it was the total combination." Robison made clear that all other blood testing -- including tests for anabolic steroids, drugs and alcohol -- came back negative. Roberts, 18, was wrestling in the 220-pound championship match at the Spencer Invitational Wrestling Tournament on December 19 when the senior took injury time late in the third period of a match tied 2-2 after he couldn't catch his breath. Unable to continue to wrestle after the injury time expired, he came onto the mat to shake his opponent's hand after losing by injury default. He then collapsed on the mat. After being treated by emergency responders in the gymnasium, he was taken to Spencer Hospital around 9 p.m. and later pronounced dead. Back in December, Austin Roberts' father said he had never seen his son collapse before. "That's the hard part. He has never had any warning signs. We don't understand what happened," Travis Roberts told NBC News not long after his son's passing. "One minute he was competing for the championship and was doing fine. The third period started and he just went down and never got back up." Austin Roberts was a two-sport athlete at Spencer High School, playing football as well as wrestling. The 6'4" senior had placed eighth in the 220-pound bracket in Class 2A competition at the 2015 Iowa high school state wrestling championships in Des Moines, his first trip to the tournament, after compiling a 47-12 record as a junior. As a senior, Roberts had won 14 straight matches. Roberts had been described as a "gentle giant" and a "physical specimen." A photo of Roberts in his Spencer singlet, showcasing his massive chest and biceps, had been featured in a poster produced for the Tiger wrestling team last fall to promote their 2015-16 season. Roberts' teammates, friends, family and the Spencer community paid tribute to the fallen athlete with a memorial service at the Spencer High School gym. A GoFundMe Page, established to help the Roberts family with expenses, generated over $50,000.

The Wrestling USA Magazine/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic takes place on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT. This year's event places an all-star team of seniors from across the country against those from the state of Minnesota. The dual meet will start at 182 pounds, wheeling around to its conclusion at 170 pounds; there will be an intermission after the 126-pound match (the seventh bout of the evening). Below is a preview of the matchups … 182: No. 2 (at 195) Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. Taylor Venz (Farmington) Reenan was runner-up at the National Prep Championships competing at 195 pounds, his second National Prep runner-up finish in three years, after winning National Preps last year at 170 pounds; he was a Texas state champion as a freshman. This past off-season, he was a Junior National double champion at 182 pounds and a Super 32 Challenge champion in that weight class. Venz bookended his career with state titles, including one at the end of February, with third place finishes in the middle; he was also runner-up at Preseason Nationals in October. 195: No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (Elyria, Ohio) vs. No. 3 (at 182) Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central) Darmstadt just won his second state title last weekend to go with a runner-up finish his sophomore season. This past off-season, he was a Junior National freestyle All-American and fourth at the Super 32 Challenge; while having split matches with the nation's top ranked wrestler at 195 pounds during this regular season. Moore won a third state title down at 182 pounds at the end of last month, to go with a third place finish his freshman season. His robust resume also includes a Junior National folkstyle title last spring and winning a Cadet National Triple Crown in 2014. The two wrestlers met in Fargo this past summer, Darmstadt winning by technical fall in the quarterfinals in a perceived upset. 220: No. 2 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay, Ohio) vs. Kevin Kneisl (Delano) Stencel won his second his second state title last weekend to go with a runner-up finish his sophomore season. This past off-season, Stencel was a Junior National All-American in both styles, and runner-up in the Super 32 Challenge at 220 pounds. He had a consecutive pin streak that lasted from the season opener to the district final, where he lost 4-1, a result that was avenged in the state final. Kneisl is a two-time state finalist, winning state at the end of last month. 285: No. 1 Osawaru Odighizuwa (David Douglas, Ore.) vs. No. 20 Andrew Piehl (Rogers) Odighizuwa is a three-time state champion and two-time Fargo freestyle champion (last summer as a Junior, 2014 as a Cadet). He was also All-American both years in Greco-Roman (third as a Junior, second as a Cadet in 2015), and will be playing college football as a defensive lineman at UCLA. Piehl won state this past year, placing third the year before; he was also fourth in the Junior freestyle weight class that Odighizuwa won, and placed seventh in both styles as a Cadet in the summer of 2014. 113: No. 4 Danny Vega (Ironwood Ridge, Ariz.) vs. Ethan Cota (Kenyon-Wanamingo) Vega, a three-time state champion, is a two-time Junior National folkstyle champion. He placed sixth in both Greco-Roman and freestyle in Fargo this past summer, after winning the Junior Triple Crown in 2014. Cota placed fourth at state at the end of last month after winning state gold the year before. 120: No. 5 (at 126) Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Texas) vs. Victor Gliva (Farmington) Mueller is a four-time National Prep champion and three-time Fargo finalist, including a Junior National title in 2014 and Cadet National crown in 2013. He was the Walsh Ironman champion in this weight class during the season, though he competed at National Preps up one weight class. Gliva won a state title at 113 this season, after finishing as runner-up at 106 the year before; he also is a two-time Preseason Nationals placer in the Junior/Senior division. 126: No. 3 Kyle Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) vs. Adam Hedin (Rosemount) Norstrem, a Virginia Tech signee, is a five-time state champion and placer in the 2013 and 2014 editions of the Super 32 Challenge. Hedin was runner-up at 132 pounds this season after placing first and fourth in the same weight class the previous two seasons. 132: No. 6 (at 138) Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) vs. Jamin Le Duc (Farmington) LaMont is a four-time state champion, who won a Preseason Nationals crown this fall. In addition, his Fargo resume could fill up a book; this summer it was double finals at the Junior level against McKee (Greco runner-up and freestyle champion). LaMont is also a three-time UWW Cadet world team member in Greco-Roman. Le Duc was a state medalist this season after finishing runner-up the year before. 138: No. 8 Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 5 Mitchell McKee (St. Michael-Albertville) Moore is a four-time state placer, winning state titles the last two seasons. In addition, he is a two-time placer at the Super 32 Challenge (runner-up this fall) and a two-time placer at the FloNationals (champion in 2014). McKee is a three-time state champion and five-time state placer, whose Fargo resume could also take a book; this year it was double finalist against LaMont (champion in Greco and runner-up in freestyle. He also is a two-time Super 32 Challenge placer. Both wrestlers lost overtime matches to Shane Griffith at the Super 32 Challenge. 145: No. 4 Carter Happel (Lisbon, Iowa) vs. Brock Morgan (Apple Valley) Happel is a four-time state champion, whose high school record reflects over 200 wins against just one loss. His Fargo resume includes a fifth in Junior freestyle this past summer and a 2013 Cadet freestyle title. Morgan was runner-up at 152 this season after placing third as a sophomore. 152: No. 1 Mason Manville (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) vs. No. 3 Griffin Parriott (New Prague) Manville is a two-time National Prep champion, who won a Super 32 Challenge title this fall to go along with a plethora of international styles accomplishments. Those include double All-American honors this summer at the Junior Nationals and a Cadet World freestyle title in the summer of 2014. Parriott counters with three state titles, two Super 32 Challenge placements, and All-American honors at both the Junior Nationals and UWW Junior Nationals this past off-season. Manville beat Parriott 3-1 in the semifinals of the Super 32 Challenge this fall. 160: No. 8 (at 182) Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) vs. No. 16 (at 182) Lucas Jeske (St. Michael-Albertville) Bullard is a four-time state champion and two-time Super 32 Challenge placer, including the runner-up finish at 160 pounds this fall. He also was champion at the NHSCA Freshman and Sophomore Nationals before placing third as a Junior. Jeske is a two-time state finalist, winning as a junior, and was a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer. 170: No. 2 Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) vs. No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) These are two of the top three wrestlers in the Class of 2016, Marinelli ranked third and Hall ranked first. They have ten state titles between them at the high school level, Marinelli with four and Hall with six. Each ended their high school career on an absurdly long winning streak, Marinelli's goes back to his sophomore year, while Hall's goes back to his freshman season. Marinelli is a two-time Ironman champion, while Hall is a 2014 Cadet World freestyle champion. Their most recent competitive meeting came in the fall of 2014 when Hall won at the Grappler Fall Classic.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be live from Madison Square Garden for the first time ever and ESPN will televise every session and cover every mat, every match for the entire three days of the sport's premier event (March 17-19). This is the third year of every session, mat and match coverage. The NCAA announced the full 2016 Division I Wrestling brackets Wednesday night. Third consecutive year with every session televised, every mat, every match on ESPN3 Olympic Trials qualifiers will participate ESPN: Semifinals and finals in prime time ESPNU: 13 hours of coverage; complete first, second, third and medal rounds ESPN3: Multi-mat viewing throughout preliminary rounds; Off the Mat programming during finals Actor Billy Baldwin joins ESPN's accomplished list of analysts To learn more, click here.

The first coaching change of the season went down this week with Brendan Buckley leaving the Cal Poly program to become the new executive director of Beat the Streets. There are myriad benefits to the change. First, BTS now has the leadership of a prolific fundraiser who knows the sport of wrestling and is able to manage a large staff and budget. The biggest non-profit wrestling organization in America's largest city gives Buckley the opportunity to help an incredible number of youth wrestlers, but also continue to push the growth of the sport. This year, under Ken Bigley, BTS launched a coed league, has been wearing modified competition outfits and is ever expanding. With Buckley in place this is certain to continue and possibly expand in new and exciting ways. For Cal Poly the change means they can pursue a new direction. The program didn't have a qualifier in 2016, but even as the Mustangs haven't seen a lot of success on the mats, they did re-energize their donor base and excel in the classroom -- factors that can mean more to long-term sustainability on the West Coast as titles. The Cal Poly athletic director will be in NYC to recruit head coaches. It's unclear who will apply, but along with Fresno State and the simultaneous rise of Stanford and Arizona State the West Coast and Pac-12 could be in for a renaissance on par with that of the ACC. With NYC on the mind, we also turn our attention this week to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships being held next week at Madison Square Garden. The event will feature all the same pomp of previous wrestling championships, but in the country's most famous arena and in the media capital of the world. Let's hope that these factor into a successful and well-covered event. To your questions ... Q: Which No. 1 seed do you see losing first at the NCAAs? -- Mike C. Foley: As with any year, there is little chance that any of the top seeds are losing in the first round. As much as we like to romanticize the first-round upset it rarely happens to the nation's top wrestler. Despite the unlikelihood of a loss, Gabe Dean has the worst first-round matchup of any top seed, potentially having to face unseeded All-American Jack Dechow of Old Dominion (should Dechow he makes it out of the pigtail). Dean is a heads up favorite, but Dechow has the horsepower and skill to test Dean early. Add in the panic of potentially getting behind early at the tournament along with a warmed up Dechow and it could be dangerous for Dean. Dean Heil is in the awkward position of having to look down the bracket and face North Carolina's Joey Ward in the quarterfinals. Ward recently beat Heil in Stillwater with an inside trip in overtime. Q: What do you feel like was the biggest surprise coming out of the conference championships? Any predictions for surprises to come at nationals? -- Ryan P. Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky battles Michigan's Domenic Abounader at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: I was able to watch the ACC Championships in person, which definitely skews my perspective of what is and is not a surprise. However, I was blown away by Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Having spent much of the last three years watching the international guys battle it out, I was shocked to see similar fluidity with ZZ. Like Bo Nickal, the Virginia Tech freshman is less concerned with head-banging and more focused on wrestling through to dominant positions. ZZ does many things well, but what struck me is that he never looked to stop the action. There was always another smart option for him to pursue, and he possessed the athleticism and conditioning to carry through. Prediction: ZZ wins the NCAA tournament Q: Is ESPN going to televise the early rounds of the NCAAs this year? I have blocked off my calendar to stay home and watch, but I haven't seen anything published regarding coverage. -- Tom G. Foley: ESPN will cover every match of the NCAA tournament, meaning your stay-cation isn't for naught. I haven't seen this year's broadcast schedule, but I can imagine it will mimic that of last year's with much of the early action on ESPN3 (you can catch every match there), but with some other rounds dispersed across platforms such as ESPNU and ESPN full-calorie. Here is last year's schedule. I will be doing the Off the Mat show during finals, where I sit next to a bunch of men who have won a variety of very impressive medals and compete for who can act most-crotchety about refereeing and funk wrestling. In this competition I believe I can steal the gold. Q: Any tips on where to suck a few beers between sessions in NYC? I would prefer a place that is close to MSG and not a zoo, if possible. -- Mike C. Foley: The wonderful thing about this year's NYC-based NCAA Championships is that spectators have an abundance of choices when choosing their local watering hole. I live very close to the Garden and have a selection of favorites, but if I post it here there is a good chance that the #FaceMush brigade may be trolling these spots in an effort to collect my head as tribute to Brands & co. There really are no bad choices, except Brother Jimmy's, which is directly across the street and sure to be mobbed by fans interested in wrestling and March Madness. If you want something a little more laid back you should head south on 6th or 7th Avenue and find a pub on any of the streets between 34th and 14th. Heading over further to 8th and 9th and deep into Chelsea is also an option, though the neighborhood might not be most wrestling fans' pace. Stay away from anything north of 34th and into Times Square as you'll be asking for even more crowds and frustration. The other option is to head directly across town and into Murray Hill. My guess is that most wrestling fans won't make the trek across five avenues, but for those that do there is a very relaxed strip of bars that, at night, caters to the 20-something's of NYC. The real treat of being in NYC is the food selection. Chelsea has an incredible selection, but there is also K-Town (Korean) 32nd between 5th and Broadway which has the absolute best chicken wings in NYC. If you're looking for a nice tapas plate dinner I've heard Lupolo, a Portuguese-inspired menu, is better than average. The best way to search for places in NYC is Yelp. I still use it daily. Q: I think it would be interesting if you wrote about NCAA weigh-ins/times and the impact they have on the tournament. I've heard some finalists are 20-25 pounds over the weight by their finals match. -- Dave A. Foley: I don't think that's very true. There is a one-pound allowance given each day, meaning the third day of wrestling finalists are scratch plus two. Though finalists don't wrestle until the evening I think it's a stretch to think that anyone who is in the finals and wrestled all year would be ballooned up another 18 pounds in only 12 hours. Are they maybe 10 pounds heavier? Sure, but I think that would be true across the board. The NCAA weight cutting rules are actually really advanced for combat sports worldwide. Every major international combat sport has night before weigh-ins, whereas the college wrestlers on the mat are getting a TWO HOUR weigh-in. While I'd like to see other restrictions on weight cutting in-place, the current system is not broken. I suppose that if you really wanted to regulate match-time weight you could simply add a weigh-in for finalists, but I don't think that emaciated, weakened finalists is what the American viewing public wants to see. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Sofia Mattsson! Q: Why does it appear like Bruce Baumgartner's career seems to get overshadowed by wrestlers like Dan Gable, John Smith, and Jordan Burroughs? His freestyle stats are amazing, which include four Olympic medals and several world medals. With that all being said, do you think there will ever be another United States wrestler like him? -- Seth S. Foley: The best explanation I can give you between national and international perceptions of Bruce Baumgartner comes from a waiter in Tehran. Bruce BaumgartnerI was there in 2014 to report from the Greco-Roman World Cup. The USA had qualified for the event and on the night before the competition I'd gone to dinner at a famous seafood restaurant. There was beautiful bistro lighting, fish swimming in outdoor aquariums and very pleasant conversation. Our waiter comes over to take our order and through a combination of cauliflower ears and insignia realizes that we are wrestlers from the United States. He's thrilled. Like me going for a sprint workout with Tom Cruise kind of thrilled. "You're American!" he exclaimed. "My wife is a physical therapist!" This, for me, was a non sequitur and as the waiter's words hung in the air we all tried on our most-polite grins. The waiter, whose eyebrows were now in his hairline in anticipation of our responses, finally relented. "Bruce Baumgartner! His wife is a physical therapist, too! Of course, how could I have been so incomplete in my knowledge of our wrestling great's wives?! But think of it: this man, a humble waiter in downtown Tehran, had been carrying this morsel of knowledge and wacky coincidence in his mind for decades and with flawless timing and pride he delivers it only to get back ... crickets. Some of those at dinner actually considered Bruce a dear friend and even they had sat stunned. They'd known of his wife and her occupation, but were stunned at the inquiry and cheerfulness with which it was offered. The truth was that Baumgartner lost in the 1989 World finals to Alireza Soleimani, who to this day remains Iran's only World freestyle wrestling gold medalist at heavyweight. When you're talking up your guy there is no better way to advance his victory than to build up the resume of his opponents, and Bruce's is incredible. (Sadly, Soleimani died shortly after we had this conversation in Tehran.) There are many who think that John Smith was the best American wrestler, and much of that has to do with his athleticism, creativity and overall win-loss record. But when it comes to overall Olympic and world medal haul nobody in the nation and only a few in the world can compete with Bruce's resume. Knowing that, I'd think that we can assume that Bruce's accomplishments and length of career were once-in-a-century. Q: With the recent push toward more aggressive stalling rules and the general outcry about the boring nature of stall riding at the college level, why when a match is tied after 2 full overtime and tiebreaker periods do we reward the wrestler who has several more seconds of riding time with a victory? To me, that's like a soccer game being tied at the end of regulation, staying tied through overtime, and then the winner being declared based on time of possession. Do you think that the rules committee would consider an alternative criteria or a totally different overtime format? -- Pat S. Foley: Let's be clear. The NCAA wrestling rules, as they stand, leave every wrestling match up to the possibility of criteria. The NCAA overtime is no different in theory than that of international wrestling, save the fact international wrestling doesn't add a point on at the end -- something they should adjust for simplicity if nothing else. From what I saw last weekend in Charlottesville there were still several matches in which wrestler chose early in the second period to aim for overtime, or at least to attack in the last 15 seconds. The problem wasn't the wrestler's tolerance for risk as much as it was the referee's lack of enforcement on stalling calls. No action means stalling. Just because you both aren't doing anything doesn't somehow make it less of a stall. The stall calls should come early and often in college wrestling. Once that power dynamic has been set we will see fewer overtime matches and fewer of the four most boring minutes in sports. I want the referee to help promote action as much as I want him to monitor point scoring. The NCAA rules committee could (and should) review the rules for the year after next, but I sincerely doubt that they'd move away from what they believe is an elegant solution to both having overtime and hiding the much maligned "criteria" in plain sight. Q: What is USA Wrestling and NCWA doing to save Grand Canyon. It is absolutely their responsibility to help this sport. Don't tell me how they do this or that, if we don't have post-high school opportunities at the collegiate level the sport will die. I know there are NAIA and Division III opportunities, they do not have nearly the same level of visibility and typically, not always, but typically they are much smaller schools with limited academic program variety. We need to start growing Division I and Division II opportunities. USA Wrestling should have learned by almost losing the Olympics! Let's help ignite a movement or at least get USA and NCWA to respond -- Michael S. Foley: You have the passion that is required to get this movement headed in the right direction. Unfortunately I don't have a lot to add to your comment since you took away all my good talking points about other divisions and the fact that this falls somewhat outside the realm of USA Wrestling's jurisdiction. What I think hurts about Grand Canyon is that the program was being groomed to be added and that attracted a lot of attention over the last couple of years. To lose that opportunity to lose promise and hope, something that wrestlers liked and could enjoy once more. I wish I knew more about why they cut the program, but the only thing I can tell you is that this is not the first time a school has turned back on a Division I commitment at the last moment. Several years ago Southern Illinois at Edwardsville was prepared to go Division I when suddenly in their leap year the school cut the program. We will learn more in the coming weeks and I hope we can gain some context for the decision. Rant(s) of the Week By Pat S. This past weekend, I watched the Big Ten finals with several non-wrestling fans with the hope that they would be intrigued by some top-level action and maybe even consider tuning in for other events down the road. Unfortunately, the response I got from them was one of fairly extreme boredom. The lack of offensive output was fairly alarming especially from the neutral position (with the exception of Bo Nickal). It seemed like most wrestlers were content with one takedown or to wait out the match until overtime. Surprisingly, I haven't seen a lot of condemnation from the wrestling fan base about the snorefest that was the finals of America's toughest conference tournament (but maybe I'm not looking very hard). I feel like dedicated wrestling fans are sometimes entertained purely by the context of a match and tend to excuse the lack of action because of the nature of the matchup or because they can really appreciate the nuance of technique, etc. The casual fan or possible convert to wrestling fandom does not share in this same excitement and instead simply sees the scoreboard reading 1-1 late in the third period for the fourth consecutive match. And they shut it off. I hope that the upcoming NCAA tournament, the crown jewel of our domestic wrestling schedule, does not fall victim to the same fate of scoreless neutral periods and dull, action-less matches that befell the finals in Iowa City. At such a critical time in our sport's development we can't afford displays like that if we are truly hoping to attract outsiders to our community. I don't know whether the blame in these situations rests with the rules, the officials, the wrestlers themselves, or some other factor. What I do know is that when several non-regulars begin watching a wrestling event with an open mind and their only comment after the first 30 minutes is, "Are either of them going to do anything? … that's a problem. By Jay A. For at least the second year in a row, the NCAA wrestling committee has made a joke of the seeding process for the NCAA Division I Championships. I'm particularly drawn to the committee's habit of wrestling conference foes against each other in the first round. I realize that a change was made that eliminated the conference exception to this, but I don't believe that it has improved the seeding process or the event experience. To wit: the MAC conference has conference foes wrestling against one another in the first round, the winner likely wrestles another MAC foe in the second round at 125 and 157. (Shame on Mizzou coach Brian Smith of the MAC for allowing this to happen.) No other conference was required to share this burden. Why would I want to watch a mini version of the conference tournament at the NCAAs? I have attended the championships in Iowa City, St. Louis (twice), Omaha, and Oklahoma City. After my disappointment with the championship "product" and the inherent unfairness of the seeding process, I decided not to attend the event in NYC this year and likely will not return to St. Louis or Cleveland. I understand that it is difficult to have several strong-willed individuals, many of whom have a stake in the outcome of those decisions, make seeding decisions. In the end, my complaint is this: the process is flawed and there has to be another way that improves the process. It's time to hold the committee accountable before they alienate more of the core of wrestling's fan base.

Getting to the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships next week in New York City may be more of a challenge than usual for visitors from New Jersey, as NJ Transit faces a possible system-wide shutdown if union workers opt to participate in a work stoppage on Sunday. A strike, which would be effective Sunday, March 13 at 12:01 a.m. Eastern, would make it difficult for wrestling fans who live or are staying in New Jersey or flying into Newark Liberty International Airport to make the trip to Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, site for this year's collegiate wrestling championships from Thursday, March 17 through Saturday, March 19. If the union and management fail to reach an agreement before this weekend, a work stoppage "would result in the complete suspension of NJ Transit rail service, affecting more than 160,000 customers who ride the system on a typical weekday," according to the official website of the New Jersey Transit Company. However, NJ Transit buses and light rail services would continue. What's more, a work stoppage would not involve private carrier buses, Amtrak Northeast Corridor service, PATH (Port Authority Trans Hudson) trains linking New Jersey and Manhattan, nor MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) subway trains and buses in New York City. What's more, ferry service across the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York would still be operational. NJ Transit has announced contingency plans; however, according to NJ.com -- website for a number of New Jersey newspapers, including the Newark Star-Ledger -- the transit company will be able to accommodate 38 percent of the 105,000 daily commuters who use NJ Transit to get to New York. That means 65,000 users will have to find another way to work ... which could translate to an additional 10,000 vehicles per hour on roads during rush hour. "Officials forecast congestion on highways as far as 9 to 25 miles away from the New York region, which means longer delays, especially at Hudson River crossings and known bottlenecks." Update Friday, March 11: New Jersey Transit and its rail workers have reached a deal to avert a strike.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Brendan Buckley has resigned his position as head wrestling coach at Cal Poly in order to accept a position as executive director of Beat the Streets Wrestling, New York City. Brendan BuckleyCal Poly director of athletics Don Oberhelman made the announcement Thursday. "We wish Brendan the best in his future endeavors," said Oberhelman. "During his five years at Cal Poly, he has changed the culture of the program for the better and the academic side of the program is as good as anyone else in the country." During his five seasons with the Mustangs, Buckley guided eight wrestlers to the NCAA Division I National Championships. Boris Novachkov placed third at 141 pounds while Ryan DesRoches was eighth at 174 pounds, both in the 2012 national meet. Buckley also mentored a pair of Pac-12 champions -- Dominic Kastl at 165 pounds in 2012 and Devon Lotito at 133 pounds in 2013 -- and four runners-up. In addition, both Kastl and Lotito were named Pac-12 freshmen of the year. "I want to thank Don Oberhelman for the opportunity coach the Cal Poly wrestling program and to President Armstrong for the opportunity to work at this remarkable university," said Buckley. "Both of these men were terrific allies and incredibly supportive. "In addition, I want to thank our alumni that I was fortunate to work with and build relationships with over the last five seasons," Buckley added. "While I am indeed going to miss the many great young men on this team as well as Coaches (Scotti) Sentes and (Mike) Evans, I look forward to being an ardent supporter of the Mustangs and will enjoy watching them taking many teams by surprise next year when we return the entire roster (including many stellar freshmen). "Lastly, I fully intend to continue working on finishing this recruiting class and working with my team until I depart for New York in five weeks," Buckley said. Buckley's first recruiting class at Cal Poly was ranked in the top 25 by two publications. In addition, the Mustang wrestling program raised over $100,000 in private donations each year Buckley was head coach. Oberhelman said a national search for Buckley's successor will begin immediately, adding that he will attend the NCAA Division I National Championships next week at Madison Square Garden in New York. "I will be meeting with members of the wrestling community and to meet candidates and identify our next leader while in New York," Oberhelman said. It was Buckley who brought outdoor wrestling to Cal Poly. Three highly successful dual meets were held in the University Union plaza over the last three years, capped by a 23-15 victory over Boise State in February. Buckley was head wrestling coach at Ivy League member Columbia University in New York for 11 seasons before he was named Cal Poly's head wrestling coach on June 21, 2011. Buckley's accomplishments at Columbia include five years of nationally ranked recruiting classes, 20 NCAA qualifiers and a school-record eight EIWA placewinners in the 2006-07 season. He was named EIWA Coach of the Year in 2005 and received the Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award for NCAA Division I in 2011. In the last six years under Buckley's guidance, Columbia earned 26 All-Ivy League selections, 16 NCAA qualifiers and the program's first All-American in 23 years. Matt Palmer finished eighth in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Championships at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, and the Lions were ranked in the top 25 in 2007. In the 2008-09 season, Buckley coached Columbia's first EIWA champion in 13 years. Off the mat, Columbia shined in the classroom as well, ranking third nationally with a 3.2917 team cumulative grade-point average. The Lions were named to the National Wrestling Coaches Association Academic Team each year under Buckley's guidance and ranked in the top 10 in five of those 11 years. While at Columbia, Buckley raised funds to create three endowments totaling $3.25 million. Buckley was the top assistant coach at Virginia from 1998 to 2000 and was the chief assistant coach at UC Davis as well as at Sacramento City College in the late 1990s. Buckley coached three all-Americans, one an NCAA finalist, at Virginia and the Cavaliers twice finished in the top 25 at the NCAA Championships. Originally from Long Island, Buckley was a high school All-American and Florida state champion at 135 pounds for Lake Howell High and then starred at Clemson, where he made the freshman All-American team his first year and reached the NCAA Round of 16 as a 142-pound sophomore. When Clemson dropped wrestling after the 1994-95 season, Buckley transferred to Fresno State, where he was a Western Athletic Conference champion and earned All-America status with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championship at 142 pounds in 1997. Buckley graduated from Fresno State in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in speech communication and completed his master's degree in sports management at Columbia. Beat the Streets is a non-profit program whose mission is to expand wrestling in America's urban centers, helping at-risk kids through discipline and structure while developing wrestling from youth through the Olympic level. Goal of the program is to provide opportunities for boys and girls in the activity of wrestling, building lifelong skills. Over 200 programs have been developed in 18 major cities across America, beginning in New York. Los Angeles and San Francisco are recent additions to the list of cities currently offering Beat the Streets program.

The 2015 NCAA Division II title-winning wrestling program at St. Cloud State University will remain one of the varsity sports offered by the Minnesota-based school, but is one of four men's sports programs forced to make roster reductions. St. Cloud State will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic Skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field -- directly affecting 80 student-athletes out of a total of approximately 530 -- effective at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. However, wrestling -- along with baseball, football, and swimming & diving -- will take part in what the school described as "an extensive roster management program will be implemented to achieve Title IX compliance." The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program will lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots in 2016-17. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems. "The decision to eliminate programs better aligns St. Cloud State's sport portfolio with the athletics department's mission and vision while addressing budget shortfalls," according to a statement posted on the school's athletics website . The statement went on to say that SCSU considered a number of criteria in its athletics review process, including the history and tradition of the programs, facilities availability and conditions, recent competitive success, investment needs, alumni engagement and financial support, regional participation/interest, and Title IX compliance. "It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," said SCSU President Earl H. Potter III. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do." "This has been a very difficult process and decision," said Weems. "This decision impacts the lives of our students and coaches, and their connection with our community. That said, athletics expenses continue to increase across all sports each year, and we are not able to meet the financial and support expectations of our programs. These reductions will focus our long-term investments into the remaining programs to provide a stronger and more sustainable experience to our student-athletes as part of the university cost-containment requirement." In explaining why some programs survived direct elimination but will still face roster cuts, Weems said, "Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure." (Weems became the school's AD in 2012.) The school expects to save approximately $250,000 in fiscal year 2017, which amounts to about five percent of the athletics general fund allocation. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year. "St. Cloud State, like other public universities across the state, is dealing with falling enrollment and nagging deficits," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. "SCSU enrollment stands at 15,461, down from 18,650 in the fall of 2010, a more dramatic drop than at many of its sister schools. It is currently battling a $6 million budget gap." News of the athletic department cuts was presented to St. Cloud State coaches at a meeting with administrators at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday; 200 to 300 student-athletes learned their fates barely 15 minutes later. Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo. SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen, who qualified to compete at this weekend's NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, said he's trying to stay focused on the national meet, but greeted the news with a glass-half-full attitude. "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams," he said. The St. Cloud State Huskies will attempt to defend their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships to be held this weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. Check out the inspirational story of Devon Berry, a multi-sport high school athlete in Georgia who has cerebral palsy, who has accepted a scholarship to wrestle at St. Cloud State this fall.

125: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) No. 2 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) No. 5 Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma) No. 6 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) No. 8 Barlow McGhee (Missouri) No. 9 Dylan Peters (Northern Iowa) No. 10 Connor Schram (Stanford) No. 11 Ronnie Bresser (Oregon State) No. 12 Paul Petrov (Bucknell) No. 13 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) No. 15 David Terao (American) No. 16 Elijah Oliver (Indiana) 133: No. 1 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 2 Cory Clark (Iowa) No. 3 Zane Richards (Illinois) No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) No. 6 George DiCamillo (Virginia) No. 7 Eric Montoya (Nebraska) No. 8 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 9 Mack McGuire (Kent State) No. 10 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) No. 11 Dom Forys (Pittsburgh) No. 12 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) No. 13 Cameron Kelly (Ohio) No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) No. 15 Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) No. 16 Anthony Giraldo (Rutgers) 141: No. 1 Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Joey McKenna (Stanford) No. 3 Kevin Jack (NC State) No. 4 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) No. 5 Matt Manley (Missouri) No. 6 Micah Jordan (Ohio State) No. 7 Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech) No. 8 Joey Ward (North Carolina) No. 9 Rick Durso (Franklin & Marshall) No. 10 Todd Preston (Harvard) No. 11 Tommy Thorn (Minnesota) No. 12 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) No. 13 Steve Bleise (Northern Illinois) No. 14 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) No. 15 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) No. 16 Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 149: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Penn State) No. 2 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) No. 3 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) No. 4 Matt Cimato (Drexel) No. 5 Alex Pantaleo (Michigan) No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 8 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) No. 9 Justin Oliver (Central Michigan) No. 10 Michael DePalma (Kent State) No. 11 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) No. 12 Geordan Martinez (Boise State) No. 13 Matt Kraus (Arizona State) No. 14 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) No. 15 Dan Neff (Lock Haven) No. 16 Pat Lugo (Edinboro) 157: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) No. 2 Tommy Gantt (NC State) No. 3 Jason Nolf (Penn State) No. 4 Ian Miller (Kent State) No. 5 Dylan Palacio (Cornell) No. 6 Joe Smith (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) No. 9 Richie Lewis (Rutgers) No. 10 John Boyle (American) No. 11 Lucas Smith (Central Michigan) No. 12 Brian Murphy (Michigan) No. 13 Edwin Cooper (Iowa) No. 14 Austin Matthews (Edinboro) No. 15 Chad Walsh (Rider) No. 16 Markus Schiedel (Columbia) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) No. 3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) No. 4 Daniel Lewis (Missouri) No. 5 Max Rohskopf (NC State) No. 6 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) No. 7 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers) No. 8 Chad Welch (Purdue) No. 9 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) No. 10 Austin Wilson (Nebraska) No. 11 John Staudenmayer (North Carolina) No. 12 Conor Brennan (Rider) No. 13 Jim Wilson (Stanford) No. 14 David McFadden (Virginia Tech) No. 15 Clark Glass (Oklahoma) No. 16 Devon Gobbo (Harvard) 174: No. 1 Bo Nickal (Penn State) No. 2 Brian Realbuto (Cornell) No. 3 Blaise Butler (Missouri) No. 4 Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) No. 5 Zac Brunson (Illinois) No. 6 Bryce Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) No. 7 Cody Walters (Ohio) No. 8 Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech) No. 9 Chandler Rogers (Oklahoma State) No. 10 Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) No. 11 Myles Martin (Ohio State) No. 12 Nate Jackson (Indiana) No. 13 Alex Meyer (Iowa) No. 14 Nick Kee (Applachian State) No. 15 Brian Harvey (Army West Point) No. 16 Micah Barnes (Nebraska) 184: No. 1 Gabe Dean (Cornell) No. 2 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) No. 3 Vic Avery (Edinboro) No. 4 Dominic Abounader (Michigan) No. 5 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) No. 6 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 7 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) No. 8 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) No. 9 Mathew Miller (Navy) No. 10 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) No. 11 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) No. 12 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) No. 13 Pete Renda (NC State) No. 14 Willie Miklus (Missouri) No. 15 Nicholas Gravina (Rutgers) No. 16 Matt McCutcheon (Penn State) 197: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) No. 2 J'den Cox (Missouri) No. 3 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota) No. 4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) No. 6 Jared Haught (Virginia Tech) No. 7 Brett Harner (Princeton) No. 8 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) No. 9 Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) No. 10 Max Huntley (Michigan) No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) No. 12 Michael Boykin (NC State) No. 13 Jake Smith (West Virginia) No. 14 Zach Nye (Virginia) No. 15 Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State) No. 16 Kyle Conel (Kent State) 285: No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) No. 2 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) No. 3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech) No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) No. 5 Adam Coon (Michigan) No. 6 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) No. 7 Amarveer Dhesi (Oregon State) No. 8 Max Wessell (Lehigh) No. 9 Michael Kroells (Minnesota) No. 10 Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) No. 11 Sam Stoll (Iowa) No. 12 Billy Smith (Rutgers) No. 13 Jared Johnson (Chattanooga) No. 14 Blaize Cabell (Northern Iowa) No. 15 Tanner Harms (Wyoming) No. 16 Nathan Butler (Stanford)

The brackets for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were released on Wednesday. As is the case every year, there are some head-scratching seeds. 184 pounds Let's begin at 184 pounds where InterMat's No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 are all on the top side of the bracket. Cornell's Gabe Dean is the clear No. 1. The committee got that right. The No. 2 seed was given to Big Ten champion Sammy Brooks of Iowa. While Brooks did have an impressive run to a Big Ten title, he had losses this season to the No. 7, No. 12 and No. 13 seeds. The loss to the No. 13 seed, Pete Renda of NC State, came just a few weeks ago in his final regular season match. Virginia Tech's Zack Zavatsky defeated Edinboro's Vick Avery in a dual meet on Feb. 7 (Photo/Rylie Steiner)Michigan's Domenic Aboundader, on the other hand, enters with a 23-2 record, with his only losses coming to the top-seeded Dean and Nebraska's T.J. Dudley, a wrestler who pinned Brooks this season. Abounader has several quality wins as well, including two over fifth-seeded Zack Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. Speaking of Zavatsky, he was somehow seeded below Edinboro's Vic Avery, a wrestler he defeated on Feb. 7. While Avery is a returning All-American and accomplished wrestler, the committee uses only current season data. Avery has missed most of this season. He made his season debut on Jan. 16. He has only 13 wins, with only one win over a seeded wrestler, No. 6 Blake Stauffer of Arizona State. Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State has not lost since Jan. 2 (before Avery made his season debut) and is seeded five spots below Avery, but has wins over four seeded wrestlers, and is the only wrestler to defeat No. 1 Dean this season. There's no denying the fact that Avery is really good and has the potential to be an NCAA champion, but it's hard to justify his No. 3 seed when he lacks quality wins this season. Matt Cimato at 149 pounds Drexel's Matt Cimato is having a solid season. He is coming off an EIWA title and enters the NCAAs with a 34-5 record. However, his No. 4 seed is baffling considering his season resume. My opinion is that Cimato should be seeded anywhere from No. 9 to No. 12. He's currently ranked No. 10 by InterMat. During the regular season Cimato competed in three tournaments, Roadrunner Open, Keystone Classic and Southern Scuffle, and failed to reach the finals in any of them. His losses during those events came to Stanford's Paul Fox, Penn's C.J. Cobb and Central Michigan's Justin Oliver. Cimato also has a loss this season to Binghamton's Frank Garcia less than two months ago. Garcia had a season record of 6-5 and a career record of 12-13. Cimato's most notable win this season came over Northwestern's Jason Tsirtsis, a 2014 NCAA champion and two-time All-American, but that win came back in November. Michigan's Alec Pantaleo is seeded below Cimato, but has two wins over Tsirtsis this past weekend, and owns more victories over seeded wrestlers. Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn is seeded two spots below Cimato, but has been much more consistent this season. His only questionable loss came to Princeton's Chris Perez, and he has a victory over third-seeded Lavion Mayes of Missouri, who enters the tournament with a record of 26-2. Iowa's Nathan Burak defeated Minnesota's Brett Pfarr at the Big Ten Championships (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Brett Pfarr vs. Nathan Burak at 197 pounds At 197 pounds, Minnesota's Brett Pfarr is seeded No. 3, one spot ahead of Iowa's Nathan Burak. The two wrestlers met this past weekend at the Big Ten Championships, with Burak coming out on top. It was the second meeting between the two wrestlers this season, with Pfarr winning the first meeting on Jan. 29. The committee needs to account for when wins and losses occur during the season. Burak's only other losses besides Pfarr (which he avenged) came to No. 1 Morgan McIntosh of Penn State in the Big Ten finals. Burak not only has less losses than Pfarr this season, but also won the most recent meeting. Burak dropping to No. 4 puts him on the same side of the bracket as McIntosh, a wrestler he is 0-5 against. Isaiah Martinez, Tommy Gantt and Jason Nolf at 157 pounds There are countless examples of the committee favoring undefeated wrestlers over wrestlers with one less, even if the undefeated wrestler has less impressive wins than the one-loss wrestler(s). In 2013, Arizona State's Anthony Robles was given the No. 1 seed over one-loss Matt McDonough of Iowa. In 2014, undefeated Mitchell Port of Edinboro was seeded ahead of Ohio State's Logan Stieber, who split with Penn State's Zain Retherford that season. That same season, Maryland's Jimmy Sheptock entered the NCAAs undefeated and earned the No. 1 seed over Penn State's Ed Ruth, who split with Cornell's Gabe Dean that season. Penn State's Jason Nolf is 29-1 with bonus points in 27 of his 29 wins (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)Most assumed the committee would seed NC State's Tommy Gantt No. 1 at 157 pounds based on the fact that he's the lone undefeated wrestler in the weight class. Fans feared that the consensus top two wrestlers in the weight class, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Jason Nolf of Penn State, would be placed on the same side of the bracket as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds because they split matches. As turns out, the two wrestlers are on opposite sides of the bracket, but the seeding order of the three leaves a lot of question marks. Martinez was given the No. 1 seed. So does that mean the committee is more forgiving to one-loss wrestlers? Apparently not … because Gantt is seeded No. 2, one spot ahead of one-loss Nolf. Gantt's best wins this season are over eighth-seeded Nick Brascetta of Virginia Tech and 10th-seeded John Boyle of American. Nolf has beaten the No. 1 and No. 6 seeds, and has been much more dominant than Gantt. In fact, according to the NCAA Awards Standings, no wrestler in Division I has been more dominant than Nolf this season. So the obvious question is, if one-loss Martinez is seeded ahead of Gantt, shouldn't one-loss Nolf also be seeded ahead of Gantt? Debatable seeds … At 125, Ronnie Bresser of Oregon State is seeded No. 11, four spots below Darian Cruz of Lehigh. Bresser has more wins against seeded wrestlers than Cruz. In addition, Bresser has gone 2-0 against Tim Lambert of Nebraska, while Cruz is 0-1 against Lambert this season. Wisconsin All-American Ryan Taylor is not seeded in the top 10 at 133 pounds despite beating fifth-seeded Jordan Conaway twice at the Big Ten Championships. Taylor missed most of this season due to injury, but is riding a lot of momentum heading into the NCAAs. Interestingly, if the seeds hold, Taylor and Conaway will meet again in the second round in NYC. At 174, Oklahoma State's Chandler Rogers earned a top 10 seed (No. 9) despite losing in his conference tournament this past weekend to a wrestler not seeded at the NCAAs, Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon. While Rogers does have two wins over the No. 10 seed Mike Ottinger of Central Michigan and a win over fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos of North Carolina, he also has losses to Jacobe Smith of Northeast Oklahoma, Ben Stroh of Wyoming and Casey Kent of Penn.

Saving the best for last, it's the Pennsylvania state wrestling tournaments this Thursday through Saturday in Hershey. Five teams in the Fab 50 national team rankings, along with 27 nationally ranked wrestlers anchor the Class AAA (big-school) tournament field. A pair of wrestlers is ranked No. 1 nationally in their weight class are present, as are three others ranked No. 2 in the country. Prohibitively favored in the team race is No. 6 Bethlehem Catholic, which won team titles their last three years in AA (2012-2014) before finishing runners-up last year in their debut Class AAA season. The Hawks won the dual team title last month, and qualified a joint-most nine wrestlers to the individual state tournament. They are anchored by a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 4 Luke Karam (126), a returning state champion, and No. 5 Michael Labriola (170). Also qualifying nine wrestlers to the state tournament was No. 21 Boyertown, runners-up in the dual team tournament; however, they are adversely impacted by the absence of returning state champion and three-time state finalist Jordan Wood (220). He was scratched from last week's district tournament due to injury, which means the Bears will be led by No. 14 Jakob Campbell (113). No. 22 Nazareth qualified the next most with seven, as did Erie Cathedral Prep. The Blue Eagles are led by No. 10 Sammy Sasso (138), a returning state runner-up, and No. 20 Tyson Klump (106), a returning state champion. Among the teams to qualify six was No. 10 Belle Vernon Area; however, the Leopards are missing Jarod Verkleeren (145) due to the weight management mishap from the dual meet state tournament and the abject circus which followed. From those competing, No. 10 Austin Bell (170) is the featured wrestler. Others with six in the tournament are Central Dauphin, Council Rock South, Cumberland Valley, Mifflin County, and North Allegheny. Rounding out the nationally ranked teams is No. 34 Kiski Area, which qualified just three to the state tournament. The Cavaliers are much more a dual meet and smaller-sized tournament team, but have to be slightly disappointed with their WPIAL tournament result, even considering the absence of returning state medalist Tyler Worthing (182) from the postseason lineup. The following represents a weight-by-weight overview of the field, as every single weight class features at least one nationally ranked wrestler, with eight featuring multiple ranked wrestlers in the bracket. 106: Much like last year, this is an absolutely wide open weight class, and one that is devoid of true star power. The lone ranked wrestler here is No. 20 Tyson Klump (Nazareth), the returning state champion, who made his season debut in this weight class at the district tournament. The path will be far from easy starting with a round of 16 bout against Walsh Ironman placer Jacob Dunlop (Belle Vernon Area); next would be a likely champ-champ quarterfinal against returning state medalist Geo Barzona (Central Mountain). Most likely awaiting that wrestler in the semifinal will be Powerade champion Jobe Chishko (Penn Trafford), who was upset in the southwest regional (aka WPIAL) final this past weekend. The lower half-bracket is anchored by freshman Patrick Gould (East Stroudsburg South) and WPIAL champion Louis Newell (Seneca Valley); Gould had two wins over Klump on the season prior to the northeast regional final loss. 113: There are four nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, and in its infinite wisdom, the PIAA bracket gods have placed two of them in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. Those being No. 8 Matthew Parker (Pennridge) and No. 9 Gage Curry (North Hills); Curry, the returning runner-up in this weight class, is undefeated on the season. Even before that quarterfinal, Parker is likely to face 2014 state medalist Luke Werner (Bethlehem Liberty) in the round of 16. Returning state medalist Jake Cherry (Central Dauphin) is the best bet for a semifinal opponent for either Parker or Curry. The lower half bracket is led by regional champions in No. 7 Julian Chlebove (Northampton) and returning state medalist Devin Schupp (Warwick); No. 14 Jakob Campbell (Boyertown) is positioned to face Schnupp in the quarterfinal round, while returning state medalist Aidan Burke (Council Rock North) could draw Chlebove in the round of 16. 120: No. 1 Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) is undefeated for his career, and prohibitively favored to win his third state title, even with the presence of No. 4 Austin DeSanto (Exeter Township) in the weight class. DeSanto was Super 32 Challenge runner-up this fall after placing fifth at state last year, even though he took eventual state champion Devin Brown to the brink of defeat. He is featured in the champ-champ quarter of the draw with returning state medalist K.J. Fenstermacher (Bethlehem Liberty), who has wins over 2014 state runner-up Dan Moran (Northampton) the last two weeks. Their most likely semifinal opponent is returning state medalist Hunter Baxter (Pine Richland), runner-up to Lee at the WPIAL meet. Within Lee's half of the draw, Moran is the most notable challenger (in name only), and that would be a semifinal bout. 126: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, and in its infinite wisdom, the PIAA bracket gods have paired two of them together in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. No. 8 Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin) and No. 14 Wade Cummings (Downington East) are the victims of the PIAA's "magic". The third champion in the top half-bracket is the very dangerous Luke Eddins (Greensburg-Salem), who has wins over returning third place medalist Ethan McCoy (Greater Latrobe) each of the last two weeks. Regional champions in the lower half bracket are Cole Manley (Altoona), last year's runner-up at 106 pounds, and No. 4 Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic). McCoy is in the quarter bracket with Manley, but has a tough round of 16 bout against fellow returning medalist Lucas Miller (Boyertown). In the Karam quarter of the draw, there is a round of 16 match between two-time medalist Chandler Olson (Shippensburg) and 2014 medalist Kordell Rush (Pennridge) feeding into Karam. 132: When Cummings moved down to 126 for the postseason, breathing a big sigh of relief was No. 10 Zach Trampe (Council Rock South); the returning runner-up has just one loss on the season, and that was to Cummings during the district duals. Trampe is in the champ-champ quarter of the draw with 2014 medalist Jacob Lizak (Parkland), but Lizak could have a very tough round of 16 match against returning state medalist Joe Blumer (Kiski Area). Two-time state placer Brett Kulp (Exeter Township) is the third regional champion in the top half-bracket. The third quarter of the draw is a very dangerous one, anchored by WPIAL champion Zach Hartman (Belle Vernon Area), a returning state medalist; however, he could see returning medalist Lucas Schaf (Emmaus) in the round of 16 as well as returning medalist and Super 32 placer Andrew Wert (Central Dauphin) in the quarterfinal. Favorite in a relatively tame lower quarter of the draw is 2014 state medalist Joey Gould (Bethlehem Catholic). 138: Two ranked wrestlers in this weight class, both are returning state runners-up, let's guess where the PIAA bracket gods have placed them … without saying, No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) and No. 10 Sammy Sasso (Nazareth) are in the champ-champ quarter. Instead of meeting on Saturday evening, they'll meet on Friday afternoon; Pletcher, state champion in 2013 and 2014, gave Sasso his lone loss of the season in a tight King of the Mountain finals bout. The second quarter of the draw features returning medalist Jake Hinkson (North Allegheny), who finished fourth at the WPIAL tournament for a second straight season. Returning state medalist and Super 32 placer Evan Fidelibus (Easton) is the anchor figure in the bracket's third quarter, though he was regional runner-up to Sasso last week; while 2014 state medalist Riley Palmer (Council Rock South) is the regional champion in the bottom quarter, but two-time state medalist Stephen Maloney (Bethlehem Catholic) looms in the round of 16. 145: The second top-ranked wrestler in the nation of the classification is here, Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford). State champion as a freshman, he finished second last year, but is the strong favorite to take home a second gold in this his junior season; especially with the removal over Jarod Verkleeren from the pool of competitors. Coy is in the champ-champ quarter with a familiar last name, freshman Edmund Ruth (Susquehana Township). The bottom half of the draw is anchored by regional champions in returning state medalist Brock Port (Bellefonte) and Beast of the East placer Brock Wilson (Nazareth); 2013 state medalist Dylan Chatterton (Northern York) could face Port in the round of 16. 152: Three nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class, led by No. 2 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County), who is seeking a first state final; his first three years at state include a 1-2 performance then sixth and third place medals. Surprise, surprise -- Hidlay finds himself in the champ-champ quarter, with state tournament debutant Derek Verkleeren (Belle Vernon Area). The third regional champion in the top half of the draw is nationally ranked Travis Stefanik (Nazareth), ranked No. 17 nationally. The third quarter of the draw is anchored by No. 9 Jonathan Ross (Northern York), a regional champion, where he is joined by fellow state medalist Jimmy Saylor (Easton); these two wrestlers are likely to meet in the quarters for a second straight year, Ross knocked off Saylor 4-2 in that round last year. Returning state qualifier Dylan Schwartz (Council Rock South) is the regional champion in the bottom quarter. 160: No. 2 Kaleb Young (Punxsutawney) also seeks a first state final after placing fifth and fourth the previous two seasons. The Iowa commit and Super 32 champion finds himself in the champ-champ quarter, where state tournament debutant Josh Stillings (Pennridge) is the other regional champion; Tm Wallace (Albert Gallatin) is the regional champion in the second quarter after winning the WPIAL this past week. The other ranked wrestler in this weight is No. 18 Trent Hidlay (Mifflin County), who lost 2-1 to Young in the regional final. He is in the third quarter of the draw, likely round of 16 match against Mitch Hartman (Belle Vernon) and then quarterfinal with regional champion Cade Moisey (Northampton), both of whom are state tournament debutants. Returning state medalist Bailey Shutt (Lower Dauphin) is the likely semifinal opponent for Hidlay down low. 170: Michael Labriola (Bethlehem Catholic), ranked No. 5 nationally, is a two-time state placer and the favorite in this weight class. He finds himself in the bottom most quarter of the draw, and likely to see two-time state medalist Jake Shaffer (Greater Latrobe) in the round of 16. The quarter directly above him features No. 10 Austin Bell (Belle Vernon), runner-up in the WPIAL meet last week, along with returning state medalist Noah Stewart (Mifflin County). The third nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 9 Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park), who beat Bell for a second straight week in reverse of a loss from the Powerade final. Bonaccorsi is in the second quarter of the draw and most likely to face undefeated returning state medalist Jared Siegrist (Manheim Central) in the semifinal round. 182: The lone ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 19 Kyle Gentile (Pennridge), who finds himself in the champ-champ quarter bracket with Jake Woodley (North Allegheny); though Woodley is a state tournament debutant, he is a very talented and dangerous opponent. Their most likely semifinal opponent is Drew Peck (Chambersburg), who placed in the Super 32 Challenge this fall. The two best wrestlers of the lower half bracket are both in the bottom quarter, returning medalists Gregg Harvey (Boyertown) and Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff); Harvey finishing runner-up to Gentile at the regional level, while Colello could face returning state medalist Jayden Reyes (Dieruff) in the round of 16. The other lower half-bracket regional champion is two-time state qualifier Adam Soldridge (Bethlehem Catholic), but his likely quarterfinal is against Milton Kobaly (Belle Vernon Area), whom he lost to at state duals. 195: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this weight class, No. 10 Drew Phipps (Norwin) and No. 14 Jakobsen (Stroudsburg). Returning state finalist Jakobsen finds himself in the champ-champ quarter of the draw. Furthermore, his likely round of 16 opponent is returning state medalist Francis Duggan (North Allegheny); the other round of 16 match in that quarter places the undefeated Jesse Kann (Penn Manor) against Cadet freestyle runner-up Ian Malesiewski (Erie Cathedral Prep). The likely semifinal opponent for that group would be returning state medalist Eli Grape (Upper St. Clair), the WPIAL runner-up who has multiple wins over Duggan this year and his only two losses are by narrow margins to Phipps. Down in the lower half, two-time state placer Phipps is undefeated this season and is looking at a likely semifinal with fellow regional champion Trey Hartsock (Mifflin County), a returning state medalist and Super 32 Challenge placer. 220: With Jordan Wood vacating this weight class, No. 9 Jacob Robb (Armstrong), last year's Class AA runner-up in this weight class, is the lone ranked wrestler present. In what has to be a rarity in the Keystone State, Robb is the only returning state placer in this weight class. However, he is in the champ-champ quarter, which means he could have to beat three regional champions on the way to the title. The regional champion in his quarter is Andrew Boob (Selinsgrove), with Trent Thomas (Pleasant Valley) in the second quarter bracket. The lower bracket regional champions are the undefeated Cameron Tinner (Shippensburg) and Gavin Caroff (Quakertown), though WPIAL runner-up and Powerade placer Michael McAleavy (Peters Township) could knock off Caroff in the quarterfinal. 285:The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 17 Andrew Gunning (Bethlehem Liberty), a returning medalist and Super 32 Challenge champion this fall. He is also undefeated for the season, and is not surprisingly in the champ-champ quarter, with yet another undefeated wrestler in Josh Fye (Bald Eagle Area). The other regional champion in the top half-bracket is Blaine Yinger (Northeastern), though it is likely that either returning state medalist Bruce Graeber (Neshaminy) or Isaac Reid (Kiski Area) will clear to the semifinal round. The lower half is anchored by returning state medalist Tommy Killoran (Boyertown), who beat Graeber in the regional final; while the other quarter of said half includes WPIAL champion Hayden Rice (Norwin) and Niko Camacho (Bethlehem Catholic). Link: Brackets