InterMat Staff

The brackets have been released for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York. The event takes place March 17-19. Link: NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Brackets

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA has released the updated standings for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Awards that will be awarded in March at the Division I Wrestling Championships. The inaugural NCAA Wrestling Awards were presented at the 2012 wrestling championships. The three awards, given in each division, honor the Most Dominant Wrestler as well as the student-athletes that have accumulated the most falls and the most technical falls throughout the course of the regular and postseasons. For falls and tech falls to be counted towards a student-athletes total they must come against opponents in the same division. Ties in the two categories are broken based on the aggregate time. In the Division I Most Dominant Wrestler standings, Penn State teammates Zain Retherford and Jason Nolf are in a statistical tie with 4.93 average team points per match. The Most Dominant Wrestler standings are calculated by adding the total number of points awarded through match results and dividing that number by the total number of matches wrestled. Points per match are awarded as follows and based on a minimum of 17 matches in the division. * Fall, forfeit, injury default or DQ = 6 points (-6 points for a loss) * Tech falls = 5 points (-5 points for a loss) * Major decision = 4 points (-4 points for a loss) * Decision = 3 points (-3 points for a loss) Navy teammates Michael Woulfe and Mathew Miller lead Division I with 15 falls this season. Miller holds the tiebreaker in aggregate time (43:01-59:52). Nolf is also in position for the award with 14 falls this season. Isaiah Martinez of Illinois has surpassed his winning total from last season with 13 tech falls this season at 157 pounds to hold the Division I lead with five more than the next closest competitor. The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

In a press statement that weighed in at less than 100 words, Grand Canyon University announced Monday that it was discontinuing its varsity wrestling program, effective at the end of the 2015-16 school year. "As Grand Canyon University continues to assess its overall sports offerings, it has made the decision to discontinue its varsity wrestling program, effective after the 2015-16 academic year. GCU will honor the athletic scholarships of all wrestling student-athletes through their graduations. After evaluating the program, it was determined a programmatic change was necessary to allow the institution to remain successful in a constantly changing collegiate athletics landscape." That terse statement left many more questions than answers ... and, right now, no one from the private, for-profit, four-year Christian university located in Phoenix is saying much. The school's official wrestling website has nothing about the announcement, nor does the program's Facebook page, which seems to be frozen in time -- before the bombshell announcement, touting summer wrestling camps. Seeking additional information, InterMat reached out to Charles Hampton, Associate Athletics Director, Strategic Communications/PR for Grand Canyon University. When asked if there was any significance in the use of the word "varsity" in the above announcement, Hampton responded that the school would continue to offer wrestling as a club sport. Hampton continued, "As for additional information, unfortunately I do not have the ability to elaborate on our statement from the website. While we would love the opportunity for clarification and to refute inaccurate statements as you stated, we are unable to do so at this time." The axing of the Antelope wrestling program at GCU doesn't seem to be generating much media attention in Arizona, either. A brief story at AZCentral.com -- website for the Arizona Republic, the major newspaper of the state -- included the text of the announcement, then added, "This is the third year of the four-year transition period from NCAA Division II to I for GCU, a for-profit school. It attempted to become a non-profit school, but the Higher Learning Commission recently denied its request." The East Valley Tribune provided much more in the way of perspective, starting with the fact that GCU wrestlers and coaches were ushered into a meeting with the compliance department Monday to learn their fate. "They were simply told the program was being cut but their scholarships would be honored," Tom Monty, whose son Blake was a freshman wrestler at GCU, told the Tribune's Jason P. Skoda. "No real discussion of a reason." Skoda went on to report, "A source close to the program said the news surprised just about everyone within the university and not just those involved with the programs directly with results and financial losses being the main reasons." Incoming freshman Danny Vega, who committed to the program as a three-time champion from Ironwood Ridge, told the Tribune, "I'm just a little confused on how this just popped up out of nowhere." (Vega said he's already been contacted by other schools.) Some in the wrestling community -- especially those in the southwest U.S. -- have a strange sense of déjà vu, in that Grand Canyon's announcement that it was eliminating its varsity wrestling program is reminiscent of one made by Arizona State in 2008. However, the Sun Devil mat program was spared, thanks to the fundraising efforts of local boosters and wrestling supporters from throughout the country. While this week's announcement out of Grand Canyon University was startling, there are some historical elements that, in hindsight, may have foretold the fate of the 'lopes wrestling program. The program was established in 2007 as an NCAA Division II program, with R.C. LaHaye serving as head coach from the start before he was abruptly dismissed in the summer of 2014. In the final four years with LaHaye at the helm, Grand Canyon compiled a 62-23 overall record. During that time, LaHaye coached his wrestlers to four individual national titles, with 13 Antelopes earning NCAA All-American honors. One of the program's brightest stars, heavyweight Tyrell Fortune, named NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year in 2013. (Fortune, who competes in freestyle, has announced plans to enter mixed martial arts competition after the 2016 Olympics.) The program's trajectory seemed to be headed in the right direction as it was in the process of moving from NCAA Division II to Division I. However, in July 2014, Grand Canyon University issued a pithy, 50-word statement, stating that LaHaye and Larry Wilbanks, assistant coach for five seasons, "had been dismissed for violation of institutional policy" without further explanation. The story was posted at the official Grand Canyon wrestling website with the headline "GCU Announces Wrestling Program Changes." One month later, Grand Canyon announced that Jon Sioredas, former assistant wrestling coach at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and Old Dominion, had been hired as head coach. In September 2014, Sioredas hired two assistant coaches: Mark Ellis, 2009 NCAA heavyweight champ for University of Missouri, and Brian Stith, a two-time NCAA All-American at Arizona State. (For the 2015-16 season, the GCU coaching staff consisted of Sioredas, Stith and graduate assistant Jerome Robinson.) During the past two seasons, the Antelopes had struggled, compiling a 5-19 dual-meet record in 2015-16, albeit against upgraded competition, including University of Iowa, Virginia, Minnesota, and North Carolina State. Just last weekend, Grand Canyon had participated in the National Collegiate Open held in northeast Ohio, where the Lopes had a national champion (Uzo Owuama) and two All-Americans (Austin Gaun, Trayton Libolt). Wrestling isn't the only varsity program to be eliminated in recent years at Grand Canyon. As the Tribune reported, while GCU has grown tremendously in recent years, the school made a similar decision for the men's lacrosse team in 2011 after four seasons at the Division II level. Speculation aside, the real reasons why Grand Canyon University administrators made the decision to eliminate their varsity wrestling program may never be known.

A New Jersey state trooper who was struck and killed by a motorist Monday night was a star high school and NCAA All-American wrestler. Sean CullenSean Cullen, 31, who wrestled at Cinnaminson High School in New Jersey and then at Pennsylvania's Lycoming College, was helping to direct traffic at a car fire on southbound I-295 in Deptford when the incident occurred. He was flown to a hospital in Camden, N.J. where he died early Tuesday morning. The 22-year-old driver who struck Cullen stopped immediately and cooperated with police. She has not been charged, nor is she being identified. "From the day he stepped on campus, he wanted to be a New Jersey state trooper," Roger Crebs, Cullen's wrestling coach at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pa told the Courier-Post. "He knew what he wanted to do and he went through the different levels to accomplish it." "That's kind of how he operated in the wrestling room." Cullen was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1985, and came to the United States three years later. He grew up in Cinnaminson, where, as a high school wrestler, he was captain of the wrestling team and the first wrestler in school history to reach 100 wins. It was at Cinnaminson High School where Cullen caught the eye of Lycoming's Crebs. "He's the type of kid, that he had a goal in mind, and he knew what he needed to do to get to those goals," Crebs said. Cullen lived up to expectations. A three-time NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships qualifier for the Lycoming Warriors, Cullen earned All-American honors by placing sixth in the 133-pound bracket at the 2005 NCAAs as a sophomore. He was also a three-time placer at the Middle Atlantic Conference championships. Cullen served as team captain his junior and senior years. Four years ago, Cullen was welcomed into the Lycoming Athletics Hall of Fame. Lycoming Athletics posted this message on its Facebook page Tuesday: "Sean Cullen is one of the great ones. A 2005 All-American at 133 pounds, he finished his career 94-30 and was inducted into the Lycoming Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this incredibly painful time." Beyond wrestling, Cullen graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice from Lycoming in 2007. Immediately after college, Cullen launched his police career by serving in three New Jersey communities from April 2007 to February 2012, he worked as a police officer in two communities before graduating from the State Police training academy in August 2014. Cullen leaves behind a fiancee and a 9-month-old son. He is also survived by his father and mother, two brothers (one is a state police detective), and a sister. Cullen was the third New Jersey state trooper to die in the line of duty in 10 months. Update March 10: Funeral arrangements have been announced. Visitation will take place at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 2500 Branch Pike, Cinnaminson, NJ on Sunday from 2-7 p.m. and Monday 8-11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at noon.

The 49 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were announced on Tuesday. Here is a look at 10 wrestlers -- one per weight class -- who entered Tuesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over. 125: Shakur Laney (Ohio) Laney, a freshman, needed a top-four finish at the MAC Championships to earn an automatic qualification. He entered the tournament seeded No. 4 and seemed to be on his way to qualifying after beating Old Dominion's Brandon Jeske in the quarterfinals. It was Laney's second win over Jeske this season. However, the Bobcat freshman dropped his next two matches to land in the fifth-place match, which he won. Meanwhile, Jeske claimed fourth place and earned an automatic qualification. Sam Brancale went 0-2 at the Big Tens and was eliminated by Purdue's Luke Welch (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)133: Sam Brancale (Minnesota) Brancale picked up some very impressive wins this season, but struggled mightily down the stretch, losing his last 10 matches of the season. He was winless in the conference and went 0-2 at the Big Ten Championships. So why is he even in the conversation for best staying home? Because of his wins prior to the start of the Big Ten dual meet season. In November, Brancale beat two-time All-American Mason Beckman of Lehigh and NCAA qualifier Gary Wayne Harding of Oklahoma State. In December, he pinned All-American Rossi Bruno of Michigan at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Then at the Southern Scuffle he dominated eventual SoCon champion Nathan Kraisser of Campbell. Brancale learned that it's not how you start the season that matters, but how you finish it. 141: Trevor Jauch (Northern Iowa) Jauch shared starting duties in the UNI lineup this season with Jake Koethe. Both battled knee injuries. Koethe was lost for the season in January, and Jauch battled through injuries. He had some notable wins this season, none more notable than his victory over Old Dominion All-American Chris Mecate on Jan. 17. He also notched wins over NCAA qualifiers Jamel Hudson of Hofstra and Danny Sabatello of Purdue. Jauch wrestled to his seed at the MAC Championships, placing fifth, finishing one spot below automatic qualification. 149: Luke Blanton (Indiana) Blanton never won a state title in Indiana, but has had a productive start to his college wrestling career while competing in the nation's toughest college wrestling conference. His most notable wins during the regular season came over a couple four-time state champions, Minnesota's Jake Short and Ohio State's Hunter Stieber. Blanton entered the Big Ten Championships unseeded, but took out sixth-seeded Alex Griffin of Purdue in the opening round. He then ran into Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn and lost 11-2, and then was knocked out of the tournament when he was crushed 19-4 by Tyson Dippery of Rutgers. Two wrestlers he beat this season, Short and Griffin, earned at-large selections on Tuesday. Blanton ended his season with a record of 18-13. Lehigh's Ian Brown won 26 matches this season as a freshman (Photo/Lehigh Athletics)157: Ian Brown (Lehigh) Brown, a freshman, split time in the Lehigh lineup this season with two-time All-American Mitch Minotti, who battled an injury. He had a strong showing at the Southern Scuffle, placing third behind Penn State's Jason Nolf and Oklahoma State's Joe Smith. This season Brown had two wins over NCAA qualifier Russell Parsons of Army West Point, and also beat NCAA qualifiers Luke Smith of Central Michigan and May Bethea of Penn. Brown was given the call to compete for Lehigh at the EIWA Championships and entered the event as the No. 6 seed. He dropped a 3-2 match in tiebreaker in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Justin Staudenmayer of Brown. He was then hammered by the aforementioned Parsons 17-4. He concluded his tournament by beating Adam Krop of Princeton 9-4. Brown finished his season with a record of 26-10, but surprisingly his name was not announced on Tuesday afternoon as an at-large selection. 165: Paul Duggan (Campbell) Duggan had a solid season, compiling a 23-12 record and placing third at the SoCon Championships. His lone loss at the SoCon Championships came to Appalachian State's Forrest Przybysz in sudden victory, 3-1. It was the rubber match between the two wrestlers this season, and Przybysz was one of the names announced as an at-large selection on Tuesday. Duggan also had a win this season over American's Mitchell Wightman, who earned an at-large selection over Duggan. 174: Trace Engelkes (Northern Illinois) Engelkes missed earning an automatic qualification by two spots, placing fifth at the MAC Championships and needing to finish in the top three. It marked the second straight year Engelkes finished fifth in the conference tournament. He lost a tight 5-4 match to Central Michigan's Mike Ottinger in the MAC semifinals. In the consolation semifinals (and a chance to wrestle for third place) he met Kent State's Jairod James and lost 11-4. Engelkes finished his tournament with a bang, hammering Eastern Michigan's Jacob Davis 9-1, but it wouldn't be enough to get him an at-large selection. 184: Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) Romanchik was an NCAA qualifier last season as a junior, but won't be competing in the big show in his senior campaign. He entered the MAC Championships seeded No. 3 and needing a top-four finish to earn an automatic qualification, but finished a disappointing sixth. It may have been his final defeat in the fifth-place match to Northern Iowa's Drew Foster -- a wrestler with a losing record -- that cost him an at-large selection. Two months ago Romanchik defeated eventual MAC champion Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan. He also had a 4-1 win over Chattanooga's John Lampe, who earned an at-large selection over Romanchik. 197: Derek Thomas (Utah Valley) For the second straight season Thomas has come up short of an NCAA tournament berth. Last season he lost his true second match at the conference tournament, and this year he finished one win shy of an automatic berth before being passed over for an at-large selection. Thomas went 2-2 at the Big 12 Championships, and actually beat one of the at-large selections, Jake Smith of West Virginia, in the fifth-place match. He finished his senior season with a 12-5 record. Interestingly, for the second straight season it was the same wrestler, Trent Noon of Northern Colorado, who defeated Thomas at the conference tournament and finished one spot ahead of him. Brock Horwath won two matches at the Big Tens to place seventh at heavyweight (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)285: Brock Horwath (Wisconsin) Horwath was given the opportunity to start for the Badgers in his final season after Connor Medbery elected to take an Olympic redshirt season. He entered the Big Ten Championships unseeded, but outperformed his seed, winning two matches and finishing seventh. One of his two wins came over Penn State's Nick Nevills, who entered the tournament ranked No. 17. Earlier in the season Horwath had a 5-0 win over Princeton's Ray O'Donnell, who qualified for the NCAAs by placing fourth in the EIWA Championships.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa wrestlers Patrick Rhoads and Sam Stoll picked up at-large bids to the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships when the NCAA announced the 330-person tournament field Tuesday. Stoll and Rhoads were on the outside looking in after missing the cut at their respective weight classes at the NCAA qualifying tournament last weekend in Iowa City. Rhoads placed seventh at 165 pounds and Stoll placed eighth at 285 at the Big Ten Championships. The top six at each of their respective weight classes earned automatic berths. Rhoads, a senior who is 13-11 overall and ranked No. 27 in RPI, was one of five wrestlers at his weight class to earn an at-large bid. Stoll grabbed one of six at-large selections at 285. The redshirt freshman is 22-5 overall with a team-high 10 falls. He is ranked fourth in RPI, and sixth in the Coaches Poll. Both wrestlers are making the NCAA tournament debuts. The Hawkeyes enter the NCAA Championships March 17-19 in New York City with nine tournament qualifiers. Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), Brandon Sorensen (149), Edwin Cooper, Jr. (157), Alex Meyer (174), Sammy Brooks (184), and Nathan Burak (197) earned automatic berths at the Big Ten Championships. The NCAA Championships selection show will release tournament seeds and brackets Wednesday at 5 p.m. (CT) at NCAA.com.

STANFORD, Calif. -- Stanford redshirt sophomore Garet Krohn was one of 49 wrestlers to receive an at-large berth into the 2016 NCAA Tournament, the NCAA announced today. Stanford now has set a program record with six individual NCAA qualifiers in 2015-16. "I am really excited for Garet! He had a very solid regular season and has consistently improved throughout the year," stated eighth-year head coach Jason Borrelli. "We certainly felt that he earned the opportunity to wrestle at the NCAA championships, and it's refreshing to learn that the NCAA selection committee felt the same way." Krohn, who is 20-8 at 184 pounds this season, placed third at the Pac-12 Championships on Feb. 27. He will be making his first postseason appearance, competing in the NCAA Championships in New York City's Madison Square Garden, March 17-19. Joining Krohn in New York City next week are redshirt junior Jim Wilson, redshirt sophomores Nathan Butler, Connor Schram and Keaton Subjeck, and freshman Joey McKenna. Wilson (165 pounds), Schram (125 pounds) and McKenna (141 pounds) all won Pac-12 titles, while Butler (285 pounds) finished second and Subjeck (174 pounds) won a true second-place match at the conference tournament to receive automatic bids into the championships. "Any time you are part of history it's a good feeling and qualifying six wrestlers to the NCAA championships is a big step for our program," said an excited Borrelli. "It validates that those involved (the student-athletes, coaches, and support staff) are doing the right things and that we are moving in the right direction as a program. "We still have a lot of work ahead, as the end goal is to have all six wrestlers competing on the final day of the NCAA tournament next week." The at-large selections were made by the Division I Wrestling Committee using the following selection criteria: head-to-head competition, quality wins, results against common opponents, winning percentage, rating percentage index, coaches ranking, qualifying event placement, and number of matches contested at that weight class.

The NCAA announced the 49 at-large selections for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships today. 125: Dalton Macri (Cornell) Sean McCabe (Rutgers) Zeke Moisey (West Virginia) David Terao (American) Chasen Tolbert (Utah Valley) 133: Josh Alber (Northern Iowa) Rossi Bruno (Michigan) Josh Martinez (Air Force) Joey Palmer (Oregon State) Caleb Richardson (Penn) Zach Synon (Missouri) 141: Logan Everett (Army West Point) Jameson Oster (Northwestern) Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga) Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 149: Steven Galiardo (Brown) Alex Griffin (Purdue) Coleman Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) Alex Kocer (South Dakota State) Jake Short (Minnesota) Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb) 157: Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) Ian Miller (Kent State) Aaron Walker (The Citadel) 165: Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State) Geno Morelli (Penn State) Forrest Przybysz Appalachian State) Patrick Rhoads (Iowa) Mitchell Wightman (American) 174: Te'Shan Campbell (Pittsburgh) Casey Kent (Pennsylvania) Sean Mappes (Chattanooga) Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton) 184: Abram Ayala (Princeton) Kenny Courts (Ohio State) Garet Krohn (Stanford) John Lampe (Chattanooga) Dane Pestano (Iowa State) 197: Reuben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) Chip Ness (North Carolina) Jake Smith (West Virginia) Michael Woulfe (Navy) 285: Mauro Correnti (Rider) Patrick Gillen (Virginia) Joseph Goodhart (Drexel) Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) Garrett Ryan (Columbia) Sam Stoll (Iowa)

Pablo OgataCountless wrestlers who spend years on the mat never win a state title. Pablo Ogata, 16, born and raised in Japan until age 15, won a Massachusetts Division I state wrestling championship after completing his first full year in the sport, according to a feature story in the Boston Globe this weekend. Ogata defeated Matt Cabezas of Methuen High, 7-2, in the 132-pound state finals in Brockton, Mass. in late February to win the state title, becoming his high school's 24th state champ. On the way to the title match, Ogata upset top-seeded Griffin Murray of Chelmsford in the semifinals 12-7, the Framingham Patch reported. How did Ogata get to the state championships seemingly so quickly? He had come to the U.S. with his Brazilian-born parents just in time to enroll for the 2014-15 school year at Framingham High School. It was there that sophomore Pablo Ogata was first introduced to wrestling. While Ogata was new to wrestling, he wasn't new to martial arts. While growing up in Japan, Ogata discovered judo. "I fell in love with the sport when I was in seventh grade. It was competitive, and I liked the discipline and self-control it took," he told the Boston Globe. His talent for judo made it possible for him to participate in national competitions. Ogata was disappointed to learn there wasn't a judo program at Framingham High… but there is a wrestling team. So he met with the school's wrestling coach. "He came into my room and asked about wrestling," said varsity wrestling coach Jon Kanavich. "He said he had a judo background, and competed nationally. I got excited. I said 'show me some of your judo moves,' so he wouldn't hurt the wrestlers (in case he joined the team). The way he was asking about it I could tell he'd have success right away. "He picked up things unbelievably quick, like he was a senior." Despite seeing Ogata's ability to learn a new sport quickly, coach Kanavich was careful in how he used the newest member of his squad. In his first year on the mats - the 2014-15 season -- Ogata compiled a 7-2 record. "Pablo's a happy kid, smiles a lot. Very outgoing," said Kanavich. "But on the mat he turns into something else. A monster! He finds the switch." This season, Ogata -- now a junior -- built a 37-5 record, culminating with the state title. Ogata achieved all this in wrestling while learning English, a completely new language for him. In his first year at Framingham High, Ogata was enrolled in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. He employed his quick-to-learn ability demonstrated in wrestling in the classroom as well, and now is a mainstream student with aspirations to attend college on a scholarship. Perhaps a wrestling scholarship. Update: Pablo Ogata placed fifth in the All-States tournament last weekend, which earned him the right to wrestle at this weekend's New England Championships, where he did not place.

The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling championships concluded on Sunday afternoon at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Etching his name clearly into the legend of Garden State wrestling was Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic), who won his fourth state title, finishing off his career with a record of 159-0. Suriano, ranked No. 1 nationally at 126 pounds, upended No. 9 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) 3-1 in the state final; it was a second straight state finals victory for Suriano over 2014 state champion Agaisse. Nick Suriano was one of four Bergen Catholic wrestlers to win a state title this past weekend in Atlantic CityIn addition to Suriano, three additional Crusaders repeated as state champions on Sunday. No. 4 Shane Griffith, just a sophomore, rallied to earn a 4-2 overtime victory over No. 18 Michael Van Brill (Clearview) at 138 pounds. In another showdown of ranked wrestlers, No. 6 Kevin Mulligan knocked off No. 16 Dean Drugac (Morris Knolls) 5-1 in the 195 pound final. Also winning his second title was No. 10 Joe Grello at 170 pounds. The fifth repeat champion of the tournament was No. 10 Brandon Cray (Steinert), who beat No. 3 Nick Raimo (Hanover Park) 5-2 in the final. It should be noted that Raimo had the much tougher path to the final, having to beat both No. 17 Gianni Ghione (Brick Memorial) and returning state champion No. 16 Gerard Angelo (Bergen Catholic) in order to make the final; it was 9-3 in the quarterfinal over Ghione, and 3-1 in the semifinal over Angelo, who had won his title at Hanover Park last year. The other wrestler seeking to defend his title was No. 5 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep) at 160 pounds, who was also runner-up at state as both a freshman and sophomore. However, Bierdumpfel was upset 3-2 in the final by Kyle Cochran (Paramus), an opponent he had beaten in both the regular season and in the district final. In addition to the trio of champions from Bergen Catholic, and also Brandon Cray, who beat fellow nationally ranked opponents to earn their title, the final at 113 pounds pitted ranked wrestlers against one another. No. 3 Sebastian Rivera (Christian Brothers Academy) recovered from a third period deficit to pin No. 5 Patrick Glory (Delbarton) at the 5:59 mark in the championship match, which was a rematch of the pre-season Super 32 Challenge final; said result condemned the sophomore Glory to a second straight runner-up finish. Rivera also had to beat No. 10 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale) 6-3 in the semifinal round. Other nationally ranked wrestlers to win titles at Boardwalk Hall on Sunday were No. 15 Mekhi Lewis (Bound Brook) at 145 pounds, No. 9 Stephan Glasgow (Bound Brook) at 152, and No. 3 Matt Correnti (Holy Cross) at 220. Capping off an undefeated season to win their state titles were Joe Manchio (Seneca) at 106 pounds and Zack Firestone (Clearview) at 132. Manchio upset No. 2 JoJo Aragona (Pope John) 3-0 in the semifinal round. Rounding out the state champions were Brandon Kui (DePaul Catholic) and Eric Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep), the pair of juniors ascending to the top of the podium at 182 and 285 respectively.

A couple types of history were made this past weekend in the Ohio state wrestling tournament held at "The Schott" on the Ohio State campus. In all 27 previous occasions that a three-time state champion made it to the state tournament with a chance to win their fourth title, said wrestler would win the state title. However, this weekend Seth Beard (Napoleon) took out No. 7 Tyler Warner (Claymont) 6-4 in the Division II 120-pound semifinal. The Kent State bound senior would go on to win the state title over returning state runner-up Justin Stickley (St. Paris Graham) by a 6-3 score, a championship that was also the first ever for his school. Beard opened the tournament with a 15-0 technical fall and a 9-0 major decision in the quarterfinals against a returning state medalist. Said performance earned him Outstanding Wrestler honors in Division II for the state tournament. Alex Marinelli won his fourth state titleAll that being said, the real Outstanding Wrestler in Division II -- at least in my opinion -- was Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham). The No. 2 ranked 170 pound wrestler in the country dominated this tournament with three pins and then a 15-7 major decision in the championship match. Marinelli's victories in the semifinal and final came against returning state medalists. The Iowa-bound wrestler finishes his career as Ohio's 28th four-time state champion, with a career record of 200-4, and a 137 bout winning streak that goes back to midway through is sophomore campaign. Furthering his case as Outstanding Wrestler was the 160 and 182 pound finals in the division. Both contestants in each final were competing at 170 pounds during various points of the season. At 160 it was Garrett Jordan (St. Paris Graham), who flipped weight classes with Marinelli in late December; and Eric Fasnacht (Padua), who dropped right before the state series. Then at 182, Tyler Wiederholt (Bellbrook) and Robbie Bowers (Defiance) each moved up a weight class right after finding out about the Marinelli/Jordan weight class switch. St. Paris Graham, ranked No. 3 nationally, was the story of the tournament from a team standpoint. The Falcons won their 16th straight Division II state title, qualifying (and placing within the top five) 13 wrestlers. The 253 team points eclipsed last year's 250 point total as the second-most in the history of the state tournament for any team/division (St. Paris Graham in 2009 scored 282 points). Marinelli was joined by four other Graham wrestlers as state champions: No. 12 Mitch Moore (126), No. 8 Brent Moore (138), No. 13 Rocky Jordan (145), and Garrett Jordan (160). Moore won the most anticipated Division II final, besting No. 10 Tariq Wilson (Steubenville) by 5-3 decision, propelled by a reversal and three-point near fall in the third period. Stickley was joined as runner-up by Jeff Thomas (113); placing third were Jordan Crace (106), Ryan Thomas (113), and Kanan Sarver (195); while Joey Sanchez (152), Gage Braun (182) and Johnny Shafer (220) placed fifth. Other highlights in Division II included a state title for No. 20 Georgio Poullas (Canfield) at 152 pounds, as he anchored their team runner-up finish; No. 8 Jack Harris (Urbana) and Matt Adams (New Lexington) were the first individuals from their program to win state titles, doing so at 195 and 285 pounds respectively; Ana Abduljelil (Whitehall) won his program's second state title, the other one coming in 1960; while Josh Venia (Toledo Central Catholic) repeated as state champion at 106 pounds. St. Edward ranked No. 7 nationally won its 30th (individual) state tournament title, its 18th in the last 20 years, as they cleared through a field featuring two other nationally ranked teams. Led by state champions in Bryce Andonian (106) and No. 9 Hunter Ladnier (138), the Eagles placed nine wrestlers in amassing 152 points. Other medalists were runner-up No. 9 Jared Campbell (220), Matt Kazimir (113) and Allan Hart (126) finishing third, Jack Conway (152) finishing fourth, Sam Dover (132) finishing fifth, with Mike Carpenter (160) and Tyler Stepic (182) placing sixth. Team runner-up honors went to No. 20 Elyria with 105 points, their highest total in program history. The Pioneers overcame major adversity in the last month of the season: losing returning state medalist Nico O'Dor (152) and returning state qualifier Josh Breeding (120) in go-to-state bouts at the district tournament, along with multiple injury issues. None the less, two of their seven individual state qualifiers brought home state titles: Brandon Fenton (113) and a repeat title for No. 4 Ben Darmstadt (195). Other medalists were No. 3 Kevin Vough (285) finishing as runner-up, J.T. Brown (182) earning fourth, and Mikah Price (160) placing fifth. No. 38 Olentangy Liberty scored 95 points, also placing five wrestlers, led by now three-time state champion No. 12 Kyle Lawson (160). Other placers for the Patriots were state runner-up Trevor Lawson (170), third place medalists Brakan Mead (106) and Trey Grenier (145), along with Connor Brady (132) finishing fourth. Leading the individual highlights were the first two state titles in program history for Central Crossing, coming from No. 7 Jaden Mattox (132) and No. 12 Kameron Teacher (285). Teacher led No. 3 Vough by a 7-2 score midway through the third period when Vough had to default from the match due to injury. The most anticipated match of the whole state tournament was the 145 pound final, one in which No. 2 David Carr (Massillon Perry) dominated No. 8 Dominick Demas (Dublin Coffman), the final score of 8-4 was arguably not fully reflective of the dominance shown by Carr. Joining Darmstadt as two-time state champions were No. 12 Noah Baughman (Wadsworth) at 120 pounds and No. 4 Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay) at 220. Stencel pinned No. 9 Campbell in the second period to avenge last week's district final loss, and win the season's rubber match. Other notable finals bouts saw Mario Guillen (Perrysburg) upset No. 18 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit) 7-5 in overtime, as well as Austin Hiles (Brecksville) avenge a regular season loss to upend Nick Kiussis (Brunswick) 11-9, a result that made the junior Kiussis a three-time state runner-up. In Division III, the story of the tournament was the overall dominance of No. 25 Delta, which won four state titles on the way to 159 pounds. Winning gold for the Panthers were Drew Mattin (120), Jake Spiess (132), Dustin Marteney (138), and Jesse Beverly (152); it was a second title for Mattin and a third in four years for Spiess. Three of their four additional state qualifiers also placed on the podium: Devin Richard (220) and returning state champion Chance Veller (285) took third, while Cole Mattin (106) finished fourth. Tournament runner-up Dayton Christian placed four wrestlers on the podium, three of them in the state final, on the way to 92.5 points. No. 10 Logan Lacure (145) won his third state title, it was a second state title for No. 16 Tommy Hoskins (113), while Nick Vestal (152) placed second and Ronnie Pietro (106) finished third. Dual team runners-up Mechanicsburg placed third with 86.5 points, placing six of their eight state qualifiers; however, only Kaleb Romero (160) finished as state champion. Romero, ranked No. 11 nationally, won all four of his bouts by technical fall and has the potential to become a four-time state champion next year; he was named Oustanding Wrestler in Division III. Other highlights in the division included freshman Dylan D'Emilio (106), ranked No. 5 nationally, winning his first of a possible four state titles; the first individual state title in school history for Wayne Trace coming from George Clemens (126), who finished his season undefeated; along with junior James Handwerk (Lutheran West) becoming a two-time state champion.

Buchanan won the state title and had three champions and 10 state medalists (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)The wrestling season in the Golden State had been a two-team show throughout the season, with No. 5 Buchanan and No. 9 Clovis dominating the narrative. Buchanan had out-pointed Clovis in four tournaments and won the dual meet, prior to Clovis upending the Bears at the Masters tournament last weekend. However, state week saw Buchanan regain their standing atop arch-rival Clovis and overall on top of California wrestling for the 2015-16 season. Ten years prior to this one was the only other state title for Buchanan, they won in 2006 amassing 134 points on the strength of one champion and three other medalists. This past weekend they scored 274.5 points, which is just short of the state tournament record, on the back of three state champions (a program record) and ten overall medalists (also a program record). Those titles were won by Matthew Olguin (106), Ethan Leake (113), and Zach Levatino (220), none of whom were favored to win state titles; Olguin was ranked second, Leake third, and Levatino came from total left field in eleventh. In a bit of irony, their lone state favorite failed to win; No. 11 Durbin Lloren (132) was upset in the state final, 3-2 by Trence Gillem (Helix). The two other runner-up finishers were Abner Romero (160) and Anthony Montalvo (182). Additional medalists were Joel Romero (138) placing third, Brett Villarreal (126) and Greg Gaxiola (145) placing fourth, along with Cade Belshay (170) placing fifth. From their ten placers, six finished above their ranking (three significantly), one was at his ranking exactly, while three were below ranking (though within one or two spots). Three wrestlers that placed were not projected to place, while one wrestler projected to place failed to do so. In all, the story of the tournament weekend for Buchanan was rising to the occasion, and it ultimately showed in a team gold finish. Despite four state champions, Clovis was unable to win its sixth consecutive state championship. The Cougars placed just eight wrestlers (at least "just" in relation to Buchanan) to amass 232.5 points in its runner-up finish. Winning state gold were No. 2 Justin Mejia (120), No. 7 Josh Hokit (182), No. 12 A.J. Nevills (195), and No. 7 Seth Nevills (285); the junior Mejia won his third title, the sophomore Seth Nevills earned a second straight title, while seniors Hokit and A.J. Nevills improved upon last year's runner-up finishes. Other wrestlers placing on the podium for Clovis were Tyler Collier (220) in third, Brandon Betancourt (106) in fourth, Brandon Martino (152) in fifth, and Wyatt Cornelison (113) in eighth. Third in the standings went to No. 13 Poway, which had five medalists - third most in the tournament - in totaling 113 points. The Titans were led by a runner-up finish from Chris Bailey (195), Chase Zollmann (113) placing third, Scott Kiyono (132) and Luis Enloe (145) placing seventh, along with an eighth place finish from Hampton Boyd (160). A look at California's 14 individual state champions from this past weekend (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)On the individual side of things, upsets were the lead narrative of the tournament. In the 106 pound final, it was No. 19 Matthew Olguin upending No. 3 Nico Aguilar (Gilroy) 11-4 to avenge two losses from earlier in the season. Then at 132 pounds, it was the previously mentioned 3-2 win for Gillem over returning champion No. 11 Lloren, which reversed an ealier in the season loss; furthermore No. 17 Alex Felix (Gilroy) placed fourth losing 2-1 to Curtis Booth (Folsom) in the quarterfinal before falling 5-4 to Kalani Tonge (Elk Grove) in the consolation final. Returning state champion Julian Flores (San Marino), ranked No. 12 nationally at 138 pounds, placed fourth; losses came 3-2 to Jacob Wright (Dinuba) in the semifinal and then 10-2 to Joel Romero in the consolation final. Luke Troy (Martin Luther King), ranked No. 5 nationally at 152 pounds, was condemned to just a third place finish after losing 5-4 to eventual runner-up Jett Moy (San Marcos) in the round of 16. Finally, No. 18 Jesus Madrigal (Oak Hills) finished fourth at 220 pounds lost 2-1 to Kyle Jennings (Ponderosa) in the semifinal and then 5-4 to Tyler Collier in the consolation final. Other notable champions included No. 13 Navonte Demison (Bakersfield) at 138 pounds, No. 5 Zander Wick (San Marino) at 145, No. 4 Evan Wick (San Marino) at 152, No. 8 Justin Thomas (Calvary Chapel) at 160, and No. 15 Jeremy Thomas (Calvary Chapel) at 170. Justin Thomas beat No. 17 Abner Romero 5-3 in his championship match, while Jeremy Thomas pinned No. 14 Anthony Mantanona (Palm Desert) to avenge a loss from last week's Masters final.

The brackets have been released for the 2016 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The event takes place Friday and Saturday. There are 180 NCAA qualifiers. Eight wrestlers are seeded in each weight class. Link: NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships Brackets

As Grand Canyon University continues to assess its overall sports offerings, it has made the decision to discontinue its varsity wrestling program, effective after the 2015-16 academic year. GCU will honor the athletic scholarships of all wrestling student-athletes through their graduations. After evaluating the program, it was determined a programmatic change was necessary to allow the institution to remain successful in a constantly changing collegiate athletics landscape.

Related: Results CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Led by individual titles by Kevin Jack, Thomas Gantt, Max Rohdskopf and Nick Gwiazdowski second-ranked NC State claimed its first Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship since 2007 and 15th overall, as the Wolfpack totaled 90 points in winning the 2016 ACC Wrestling Championship at Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena Sunday night. Virginia Tech finished second with 81.5 points, followed by North Carolina (56.5), Virginia (44), Duke (33) and Pitt (31). "An ACC Championship means a lot to this program," said NC State head coach Pat Popolizio. "From coming in last place a year ago, to winning the title this year, its been a long time coming. "For all of the work that we put in each day, we are seeing the results and looking forward to the NCAAs. We're extremely happy with today's result. It was a total team effort. Guys stepped up to the plate and we won a lot of matches we knew we would have to win to have a chance at the team title today. We were able to do that at 133 and 149 today. Those head-to-head matchups are key and we were able to win them today." "You forget how good this is because you have two teams who are doing really well right now, but all the teams are so competitive. It's a special day for NC State wrestling." "We have eight guys, which is big. I think we rival any team in the country with the numbers. I don't know how the other conferences played out, but we can't be far off in that aspect. If we want to make a run at the NCAA Tournament we have to have another total team effort. I'm excited about where we're at coming off the last few dual meets and this tournament." Gwiazdowski, a senior from Delanson, N.Y., was named the Most Valuable Wrestler of the Championship, continuing his nation's-best unbeaten streak to 84 consecutive matches. He is the No. 1 rated wrestler at 285 and and a two-time national champion. The title for Gwiazdowski was his third straight "Being recognized by all of the coaches from one of the premier wrestling conferences is really special," said Gwiazdowski. "It is an award for the team, the hard work and the fight we gave out there in bringing home the title." Jack, a sophomore from Danbury, Conn., defeated Virginia Tech's Solomon Chishko, 3-2, to take the ACC title at 141 pounds. Gannt, a redshirt senior from Cahokia, Ill, claimed the title at 157 pounds, downing Tech's Nick Brascetta, 3-1. Rohskopf, a junior from Kilbuck, Ohio, defeated North Carolina's John Michael Staudenmeyer, 1-0, to capture the 165-pound crown. Rohskopf's win was his second of the year by a 1-0 score over Staudenmeyer. Virginia's George DiCamillo also captured his third ACC wrestling title at 133 pounds. DiCamillo, a redshirt junior from highland Heights, Ohio, won ACC crowns at 133 in 2013 and 2015, in addition to his win this year. Virginia Tech's Joey Dance, a redshirt junior from Christiansburg, Virginia, wrestling at 125 pounds, was one of three wrestlers who won their second ACC wrestling title. He was joined by North Carolina's Evan Henderson (149), a junior from New Florence, Pennsylvania, and Duke's Conner Hartmann (197), a senior from Orchard Park, Washington. North Carolina, which finished third in the team competition, had two ACC titlists with sophomore Ethan Ramos, Joining Henderson. Ramos captured the individual championship at 174 pounds. Virginia Tech led all ACC teams with seven wrestlers named to the All-ACC Wrestling team, which was composed of all wrestlers who earned a berth in the finals. NC State was second with six All-ACC honorees, followed by North Carolina (3), Duke (2) and Pitt and Virginia with one each. A total of 34 ACC wrestlers earned automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, which will be held March 17-19 in Madison Square Garden in New York City. Earning automatic NCAA bids were: 125: Joey Dance, Virginia Tech, Sean Fausz, NC State; LJ Bentley, Pitt; Nick Herrmann, Virginia. 133: George DiCamillo, Virginia; Dom Forys, Pitt; Jamal Morris, NC State. 141: Kevin Jack, NC State; Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech, Joey Ward, North Carolina; Zach Finesilver, Duke. 149--Evan Henderson, North Carolina; Mitch Finesilver, Duke 157: Thomas Gantt, NC State; Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech; Robert Henderson, North Carolina. 165: Max Rohskopf, NC State; john Michael Staudenmeyer, North Carolina; David McFadden, Virginia Tech; Cody Wiercioch, Pitt; Jake Faust, Duke. 174: Ethan Ramos, North Carolina; Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech. 184: Zach Zavatsky, Virginia tech; Pete Renda, NC State; Alex Utley, North Carolina. 197: Conner Hartmann, Duke; Jared Haught, Virginia Tech; Michael Boylkin, NC State; Zach Nye, Virginia; Nick Bonaccorsi, Pitt. 285: Nick Gwiazdowski, NC State; Ty Walz, Virginia Tech; Ryan Solomon, Pitt. Standings: NC State 90 Virginia Tech 81.5 North Carolina 56.5 Virginia 44 Duke 33 Pitt 31 Most Valuable Wrestler: Nick Gwiazdwoski, NC State Finals Results: 125: Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. Sean Fausz (NC State), 5-1 133: George DiCamillo (Virginia) dec. Dom Forys (Pitt), 8-4 141: Kevin Jack (NC State) dec. Solomon Chishko (Virginia Tech), 3-2 149: Evan Henderson (North Carolina) dec. Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 8-3 157--Thomas Gantt (NC State) dec. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech), 3-1 165: Max Rohskopf (NC State) dec. John Michael Staudenmeyer (North Carolina), 1-0 174: Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Zach Epperly (Virginia Tech), 3-2 184: Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech) dec. Pete Renda (NC State), 5-2 197: Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. Jared Haught (Virginia Tech), 4-2 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) dec. Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 5-2 2016 All-ACC Wrestling Team: Joey Dance, Virginia Tech (125) Sean Fausz, NC State (125) George DiCamillo, Virginia (133) Dom Forys, Pitt (133) Kevin Jack, NC State (141) Solomon Chishko, Virginia Tech (141) Mitch Finesilver, Duke (149) Evan Henderson, North Carolina (149) Nick Brascetta, Virginia Tech (157) Thomas Gantt, NC State (157) Max Rohskopf, NC State (165) John Michael Staudenmeyer, North Carolina (165) Ethan Ramos, North Carolina (174) Zach Epperly, Virginia Tech (174) Zack Zavatsky, Virginia Tech (184) Pete Renda, NC State (184) Jared Haught, Virginia Tech (197) Conner Hartmann, Duke (197) Nick Gwiazdowksi, NC State (285) Ty Walz, Virginia Tech (285)

Related: Results IOWA CITY, Iowa -- No. 1 Penn State (16-0, 9-0 B1G) entered enemy territory and won the 2016 Big Ten Wrestling Championship in Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Penn State crowned three champions as head coach Cael Sanderson led Penn State to its fifth Big Ten title in the last six years. The Nittany Lions were led by senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif), sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) and red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), each earning Big Ten titles as Penn State out-ran second place Iowa by over 20 points. Penn State won the team race with 150.5 points, well ahead of second place Iowa's 127.0. Ohio State was third with 122.0, Nebraska fourth with 117.0 and Rutgers fifth with 106.5. Retherford, ranked No. 1 at 149, took on No. 2 Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the 2016 Big Ten finals. The Nittany Lion continued his impressive season with a resounding 4-0 win to claim his first Big Ten title. Retherford took a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the :43 mark in front of the Iowa bench and then rode Sorensen out. Retherford chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Sorensen chose down to start the third period and Retherford controlled the action from the top, building his riding time up over 1:00 first, and the completed the dominating performance with a ride-out to finish with 2:37 in riding time. Retherford is the 22nd Penn Stater to win a Big Ten crown, claiming the school's 36th title. The top-ranked sophomore, a 2014 All-American at 149, heads to NCAAs with 29-0 overall record after a 4-0 run through this year's Big Ten tournament. Nickal, ranked No. 1 at 174, took on No. 3 Zach Brunson of Illinois. Nickal became the 23rd person to win Penn State's 37th Big Ten Championship with a lop-sided 18-9 major over Brunson. Nickal scored quickly, taking Brunson down just seconds into the bout and added a second shortly thereafter. The second takedown was challenged by Illinois but the call stood and Nickal led 4-1. He added a third takedown but was called for a potentially dangerous hold, giving Brunson a point. Nickal appeared to turn Brunson for back points but the official could not see from his position and the Lion freshman led 6-3 with nearly two minutes in riding time after one. Nickal picked up a fourth takedown to lead 8-5 after two periods with 2:24 in time. Nickal controlled the third period as well, rolling up two more takedowns and four back points. Nickal's dominance from start to finish gave the Lion freshman an 18-9 major with 3:12 in riding time and the Big Ten title as a freshman. Nickal, the only freshman Big Ten Champion at this year's event, heads to nationals with a 29-1 record. His 3-0 run through the conference tournament all came with bonus points (two majors and a pin). McIntosh, the defending Big Ten Champion and ranked No. 1 at 197, met No. 4 Nathan Burak of Iowa in Penn State's final championship match. The Lion senior defended his Big Ten title with a 3-2 win and won Penn State's third individual title of the day. McIntosh took an early 2-1 lead with a takedown at the 1:11 mark and carried that margin into the second period. Burak chose neutral to start the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie. Neither wrestler scored again in the second and McIntosh chose down to start the third period. The Lion senior picked up a quick escape to lead 3-2 and made that point stand up to become Penn State's ninth two-time Big Ten Champion. McIntosh, already a two-time All-American, went 4-0 over the weekend and will head to his final NCAA Championship with a 28-0 record. Senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 nationally at 125, took on Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello, ranked No. 1, in the championship finals. Tomasello notched a takedown in extra time to post a 3-1 (SV) victory and hand Megaludis second place. After a scoreless first period, Megaludis chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Tomasello looked to take Megaludis down at the 1:40 mark but Megaludis scrambled out of trouble to stay neutral. Ohio State challenged the call but the call was upheld. Trailing 1-0, Tomasello chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Tied 1-1, the bout moved to sudden victory where Tomasello notched a scrambling takedown to get the win. Megaludis, 3-1 and runner-up at this year's tournament, is already a three-time All-American and will head to the 2016 NCAA Championships with a 27-3 record. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, met No. 2 Isaiah Martinez of Illinois in the title bout. In a rematch of January's meeting where Nolf pinned Martinez, handing him his first loss as a collegian, Nolf dropped a 3-3 (TB2; criteria-:22 RT) loss. The setback was the first of Nolf's career. The bout began with Nolf as the aggressor as he nearly connected on two shots late in the first period but Martinez fought the moves off and send the match to the second period tied 0-0. Each wrestler picked up escapes as the bout moved into its final seconds and Nolf nearly connected on two shots early in the third. Martinez, however, was able to scramble out of trouble twice and send the bout to sudden victory. After a scoreless minute, the bout moved to a tie-breaker. Martinez chose down to start his period and escaped quickly to a 2-1 lead. Nolf then chose down for his period and escaped with :08 left to tie the bout at 2-2. Martinez, however, had :21 riding time as the match moved to a second sudden victory period. Another scoreless minute ensued, sending the bout to a second tie-breaker. Nolf escaped quickly to a 3-2 lead but Martinez scrambled his way to an apparent takedown on the edge of the mat to take a 4-3 lead with :09. Penn State challenged the takedown and the takedown was reversed. Nolf led 3-2 and needed to keep Martinez down to secure the win. Martinez, however, escaped and with a :22 riding time edge won the Big Ten title on criteria (:22 riding time). Nolf went 3-1 in his first Big Ten tournament. The Lion heads to NCAAs with a 29-1 overall record as the 2016 Big Ten Runner-Up. Junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 21 at 141, took on No. 5 Anthony Ashnault of Rutgers in the title bout. Gulibon was the victim to two turns in the second period on the way to a 9-0 loss to the Scarlet Knight. After a scoreless first period, Gulibon chose down to start the second but was turned for four near fall points by Ashnault and fell behind 4-0 midway through the middle stanza. Another two-point turn before the period ended and Gulibon trailed 6-0 heading into the final period. Ashnault would go on to post the 9-0 victory and Gulibon, the eighth seed, finished as the Big Ten Runner-Up. Gulibon, a 2015 All-American at 133, went 2-1 and heads to the NCAA Championships with a 12-9 overall record. Senior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 nationally and the tournament's third-seed at 133, took fourth place with a 1-1 showing in consolation action. Conaway battled No. 9 Eric Montoya of Nebraska in the consolation semifinals. The Lion sophomore fell behind 2-1 early but dominated the final two periods, picking up takedowns in both the second and third to roll to a 6-4 win and move into the third place bout. Conaway got a rematch with No. 14 Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin in the third place match and came up just short, dropping a 5-4 decision in a frenetic match. The loss sets Conaway, a 2015 All-American a 125, as the fourth-place finisher at 133 with a 4-2 mark and he will head to NCAAs with a 26-5 overall record. Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 11 nationally, placed fifth after a 1-1 showing in consolation action today. In his first match, McCutcheon gave up a quick first period takedown and dropped a 4-1 decision to Gravina. The loss sent the Lion sophomore to the fifth place match. He met No. 22 Jeff Koepke of Illinois in the fifth place bout, a rematch of a second round meeting won by McCutcheon 6-2. McCutcheon used a late takedown in the third period to take a 3-1 lead and used a short ride out to grab the 3-1 win and fifth place. McCutcheon went 2-2 at the tournament and heads to the NCAA Championships with a 16-6 overall record. Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) competed in the seventh place match where he took on Iowa's Patrick Rhoads. The bout was an even match over three periods before Rhoads notched a takedown late in the sudden victory stanza to post a 4-2 (SV) win, handing Morelli eighth place. Morelli ends his first Big Ten Championship with a 2-3 record. Morelli, 19-10 overall, meets the standards set by the NCAA to be considered for an at-large bid at 165. The full field, including brackets, will be announced Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on NCAA.com. The Nittany Lions went 28-12 overall, picking up 29 bonus points off six pins, two tech falls and eight majors. Showcasing dominance start to finish, the Nittany Lions notched an outstanding 71-22 takedown advantage over the course of the tournament. The Nittany Lions have eight guaranteed NCAA qualifiers and will await word on Morelli's status Wednesday night. Red-shirt freshman Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) did not compete today after a 1-2 showing on day one at 285. After receiving the team trophy, Penn State then collected all three of the conference's post-season awards. Head coach Cael Sanderson was named Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his seven years as Penn State's head coach. It is the seventh time Penn State has had the conference's coach of the year (John Fritz '98; Troy Sunderland '03). Retherford was honored as the 2016 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, becoming the seventh Nittany Lion to be honored as such. Nolf was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Nittany Lion to win the award since David Taylor in 2011 and the fifth overall. Penn State has now claimed five Big Ten Championships, all under Sanderson. The veteran mentor has now won five conference titles in seven years, crowned 18 Big Ten individual champions and qualified 58 wrestlers (before Wednesday's at-large bids) for the NCAA Championships in his seven years at the helm of the Nittany Lion program. The Nittany Lions will now trek to New York City's Madison Square Garden for the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 17-19, 2016. The three-day event begins on Thursday, March 17, at 11 a.m. The tournament's six sessions are as follows: Thursday, March 17, 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.; Friday, March 18, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturday, March 19, 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at @pennstateWREST, on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/pennstatewrest. The 2015-16 Penn State wrestling season is presented by The Standings: 1: PENN STATE - 150.5 2: Iowa - 127.0 3: Ohio State - 126.0 4: Nebraska - 118.0 5: Rutgers - 106.5 7: Michigan - 89.5 6: Illinois - 88.0 8: Wisconsin - 67.5 9: Minnesota - 51.5 10: Purdue - 34.0 11: Indiana - 30.5 12: Northwestern - 11.5 13: Michigan State - 10.5 14: Maryland - 7.5 Attendance (all session): 45,306

Related: Results YPSILANTI, Mi. -- No. 6 Mizzou Wrestling captured its fourth straight Mid-American Conference Championship and fifth straight overall conference title at the 2016 MAC Championships, finishing with 127.5 points. Five Mizzou wrestlers; redshirt sophomore 125-pounder Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), redshirt senior 157-pounder Le'Roy Barnes (Belton, Mo.), redshirt freshman 165-pounder Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.), redshirt senior 174-pounder Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.), and junior 197-pounder J'den Cox (Columbia, Mo.) all captured individual championships at their respective weight classes. Cox was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament after winning his Championship match against Ohio's Phil Wellington by way of major decision, 9-1. Cox scored a takedown within the first twenty seconds of the match, and grew his lead to 5-0 by the end of the second. The Tiger junior scored four more points in the third period to secure the major decision. Cox is now a three-time MAC champion, while McGhee, Barnes, Lewis, and Butler all captured their first MAC titles. Butler is now a two-time conference champion, after winning an ACC title at Virginia in 2014. Mizzou finished with 127.5 team points, 34 points ahead of second place Central Michigan, with 93.5 points. Ohio finished in third place with 76 team points, while Kent State finished fourth with 75.5 points, and Northern Iowa rounded out the top-five with 73.5 points. McGhee captured the first individual championship of the day, defeating Northern Iowa's Dylan Peters, 9-5. The Tiger sophomore scored quickly in the match, picking up four points in each of the first two periods to gain his lead. Barnes jumped out to a 3-0 in his championship match against Northern Iowa's Bryce Steiert. Barnes added a four-point near-fall in the third period, and a riding time points secured the major decision, 10-2. Lewis followed with an 8-3 win over Eastern Michigan's Dakota Juarez. In three matches over the weekend, Lewis outscored his opponents, 30-3. In arguably the most exciting match of the day, Butler outlasted Central Michigan's Mike Ottinger, 4-3, in TB-2. The two each scored a point off escapes in the first three periods, then each escaped again in the first tiebreaker overtime. Following the second tiebreaker overtime, Butler had riding time over Ottinger, giving him the riding time point for the win, 4-3. All five first place finishers earned All-MAC First Team Honors, while redshirt junior 141-pounder Matt Manley (Perry, Okla.) earned All-MAC Honorable Mention after finishing in second place. Manley did not compete in the championship match after injuring his knee the previous day. Redshirt sophomore 184-pounder Willie Miklus (Altoona, Iowa) finished in third place after defeating Buffalo's Joe Ariola, 10-3. Redshirt junior 149-pounder Lavion Mayes (Mascoutah, Ill.) and redshirt heavyweight Cody Johnston (Warrensburg, Mo.) also placed for the Tigers, finishing in fourth and sixth, respectively. #TigerStyle will now head to New York City for the 2016 NCAA Championships, March 17-19, at the Madison Square Garden. The brackets for the tournament will be announced on Wednesday, March 9. NCAA.com will stream the selection show. Eight Tigers; McGhee, Manley, Mayes, Barnes, Lewis, Butler, and Cox all have secured their spots in the Nationals. For all the latest on Mizzou Wrestling, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (MizzouWrestling). Standings: Mizzou- 127.5 Central Michigan- 93.5 Ohio- 76.0 Kent State- 75.5 Northern Iowa- 73.5 Northern Illinois- 65.0 Buffalo- 56.0 Eastern Michigan- 54.5 Old Dominion- 36.5

PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Cornell wrestling team clinched its 10th consecutive EIWA team title, winning four individual crowns and qualifying eight for the NCAA championships as day two of the 2016 EIWA championship meet concluded on Sunday afternoon at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium. The Big Red posted 170.5 team points to squeak by runner-up Lehigh (160) - the sixth time in the last eight years the Mountain Hawks finished right behind Cornell. Senior Nahshon Garrett became the 10th wrestler in the history of the EIWAs to win four individual titles, joining fellow Cornellians Travis Lee '05, Mack Lewnes '11 and Cam Simaz '12 in reaching that milestone. He also moved into third place on the school's career wins list with 184, surpassing two-time national champion Lee. Garrett was given the Coaches Award as the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler and the Fletcher Award for the second straight year for posting the most career team points at the EIWA championships after improving to 32-0 on the year. Junior Gabe Dean held to form as well, becoming the 58th wrestler to claim three Eastern titles with an electric tournament that concluded with the Sheridan Award (most pins in the shortest period) and a pin in the finals in less than a minute. Cornell had a dominant first session on Sunday, winning six of its seven semifinal matches and earning six more NCAA bids on top of the two that qualified on Saturday. It was the eighth consecutive year Big Red wrestlers captured at least three individual EIWA titles. It was also the sixth straight year the Big Red had all 10 wrestlers place and the second straight year it left the tournament with eight NCAA qualifiers. Garrett was the story of the Big Red's tournament, and more than likely the entire tournament. All four of his tournament wins came with bonus points attached, including his 12-1 major decisio over Lehigh's Mason Beckman in the finals. After a quiet first minute in the championship match, Garrett earned a takedown with a little more than a minute left in the first, earned a pair of nearfall points and rode out Beckman to take a 4-0 lead into the second. He quickly escaped to start the second as the lead grew to 5-0 before a late takedown pushed the contest into bonus point territory. Garrett cruised to the 12-1 major decision win to extend the Big Red's lead in the team race. He advanced into the championship match with a completely dominant 18-2 technical fall over Penn's Caleb Richardson in the semifinals. If Garrett wasn't the story, Dean was. The defending national champion at 184 pounds brought fireworks to the mat in the finals, sticking Navy's Mat Miller with a takedown to his back and squaring his shoulders off for the pin less than a minute into the match, his third win by fall in four tournament matches. That came after a tough 5-3 semifinal win over fellow Ivy Leaguer Lorenzo Thomas of Penn, who topped defending national runner-up Nathaniel Brown of Lehigh in the third place match. Dylan Palacio earned the team's second EIWA title of the night and his first after defaulting out of last season's championship match. His takedown halfway through the period and John Boyle's escape accounted for the only scoring of the first, and an escape and a win on a long scramble for two more extended the junior's lead to 5-1. An escape by American's second-seeded wrestler in the third after choosing bottom got him back within 5-2, but a last-second takedown and riding time gave Palacio the title with an 8-3 victory. He got there earlier in the day by surviving a scare from fifth-seeded May Bethea in the semifinals before escaping with a 5-4 triumph. Top-seeded Brian Realbuto got himself in trouble early in the first period of the 174-pound final, being taken down and nearly giving up nearfall points, but escaped and got the points back with a takedown to go up 3-2 after one. An escape to start the second for Realbuto, a takedown by Harvey and an almost immediate reversal made it 6-4, and Realbuto rode out the Army grappler to push his time over a minute. Not wanting to go underneath Realbuto, Harvey chose neutral to start the third and the Big Red junior took him down, only to see Army reverse him before cutting him, trying to get back into the match. A late Realbuto takedown and a riding point made the final 12-6 for the junior's second career EIWA title. Freshman Joey Galasso earned a trip to the finals in his first EIWA meet after a 5-3 win over Tom Page of American in the semifinals, only to nearly pull one of the greatest late upsets in EIWA history. Trailing 3-0 with 25 seconds remaining, Galasso earned a quick takedown, cut Drexel's 10th-ranked Matt Cimato and took him down again with a headlock to his back for two points. No nearfall points were awarded and Cimato was able to slip out for an escape at the buzzer to capture the crown. The officials reviewd and the Cornell coaches challenged the call saying nearfall points should be awarded, but no change was made. After No. 1 seed Duke Pickett advanced to the finals at 165 pounds with a strong 6-1 win over Columbia's Tyrel White in the semis, Pickett got a chance for an Ivy sweep when he met No. 3 seed Devon Gobbo of Harvard in the finals. There was no scoring in the first, and Pickett chose bottom to begin the second. He eventually scored his escape, but not before Gobbo racked up 1:21 of riding time. Pickett was able to ride him under a minute to erase the bonus point, but an official put the second back on the clock to give him exactly a minute to go along with Gobbo's escape point. That would prove to be the difference, with Gobbo taking the 2-1 win for first place. Senior Owen Scott clinched his first NCAA tournament berth with a gutsy tournament, winning twice earlier in the day to get back to the third place match, including topping a pair of seeded wrestlers in Bucknell's Tyler Greene (No. 8) and American's Jeric Kasunic (No. 7) before defeating a third, No. 17 John Bolich of Lehigh. He picked up a takedown 17 seconds into the match against Bolich, using a leg attack for the quick two points, then after an escape, re-defended a shot and earned a second takedown on the edge to extend the lead to 4-1. That set the tone for the entire match, as Scott cruised to a 12-6 win, with only a late reversal by Bolich spoiling what would have been a major decision victory. Freshman Dalton Macri won a pair of matches in the morning session at 125, including a 4-0 triumph over No. 15 David Terao in the consolation semifinals to advance to the third-place match. Wrestling for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, Macri overcame a second period reversal with a pair of escapes to send his match with Drexel's fifth-seeded Zach Fuentes into sudden victory overtime. Fuentes persevered however, taking down Macri 25 seconds into the extra session to win 4-2 and end the rookie's first EIWA tournament in fourth place. Sophomore Dylan Realbuto placed for the second straight season, finishing eighth after dropping a pair of narrow decisions on Sunday to finish the year with a 17-10 record. He lost a 7-4 contest to seventh-seeded Nic Gill of Navy, then fell 3-1 in the seventh place match to American's Tyler Scotton. Freshman heavyweight Jeramy Sweany found himself in the fifth-place match against Franklin & Marshall's Antonio Pelusi after falling in the semifinals to top-seeded and ninth-ranked Joe Stolfi, 17-2, and by fall to sixth-seeded Ray O'Donnell in front of his home Princeton crowd in the wrestlebacks. He nearly recovered from a 7-2 deficit in the place match against Pelusi before falling 9-7 to end the tournament in sixth. PRINCETON, N.J. -- The Cornell wrestling team advanced seven to the semifinals, qualified two for NCAAs, has all nine alive and leads the team race after day one of the 2016 EIWA Championships at Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium. The Big Red enter day two with a 91.5-82.5 lead over Lehigh, the only other team to keep all 10 alive through day one. With the results of day one, advancing to the semifinals guaranteed that freshman heavyweight Jeramy Sweany will make his first NCAA tournament appearance and junior 157-pounder Dylan Palacio will make his third straight. They will be joined in Sunday's semifinals by seniors Nahshon Garrett (133) and Duke Pickett (165), juniors Gabe Dean (184) and Brian Realbuto (174) and freshman Joey Galasso (149) in the quest for Eastern titles. Also still alive for third place are senior Owen Scott (197), sophomore Dylan Realbuto (141) and freshman Dalton Macri (125), each of whom won at least one wrestleback after losing a bout in the championship flight. Realbuto won a pair of matches by fall after dropping a nip-and-tuck 3-2 contest to third-seeded Randy Cruz of Lehigh in the first round, including pinning Bucknell's 20th-ranked Tyler Smith in the consolation second round. Cornell's five top-seeded wrestlers all advanced through day one unscathed, winning eight of their 10 matches by bonus points. Defending national champion Dean pinned both of his foes, earning second period falls over Jason Grimes of American and Elliot Antler of Sacred Heart. Three-time All-American Garrett won by fall and major decision to reach the semis and Brian Realbuto, the older brother of Dylan, earned a major decision and tech fall to cruise through Saturday.In all, the Big Red won 14 bonus point matches, including nine by fall.

Related: Results Kansas City, Mo. -- Following a dominant performance, in which nine Cowboys advanced to the finals, Oklahoma State earned the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship title. This marks OSU's fourth consecutive team title and 13th overall since the inception of the league. Seven Cowboys took individual conference titles, along with two Sooners and a Cyclone. OSU ran away from the field with 161 points. Oklahoma followed up with 100 points even, while Iowa State took third with 87 points. South Dakota State, Wyoming and West Virginia placed fourth, fifth and sixth in the rankings with 77, 71.5 and 65.5 points respectively. North Dakota State (62.5) ended in seventh, while Utah Valley wound up in eighth with 60.5 points. Air Force and Northern Colorado rounded out the standings with 39.5 points and 30.5 points. The championship session started with an outstanding match up as top-seeded Ryan Millhof (Oklahoma) took the 125 pound title from OSU's Eddie Klimara in a 5-4 decision. The next match, between Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) and Earl Hall (Iowa State), did not disappoint, as the defending NCAA Champion Brewer earned his second straight Big 12 title with a 12-7 decision. Cowboy Dean Heil toppled SDSU's Seth Gross, 5-3 for the 141 pound accolade, while Anthony Collica (OSU) dominated Sooner Davion Jeffries with an 11-3 major decision en route to the 149 pound title. At 157 pounds, Joseph Smith (Oklahoma State) defeated Jackrabbit Cody Pack, 8-4, to take the crown, as Cowboy teammate Alex Dieringer took a hard-fought 4-2 decision over ISU's Tanner Weatherman for the 165 title. Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon won the Cyclone's only individual title of the day at the 174 pound bracket with an 8-5 victory over OSU's Chandler Rogers. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) battled Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) to an 8-7 triumph in the 184 pound weight class. The Cowboys rounded out the evening with a sweep of the 197 pound and heavyweight bracket. Preston Weigel topped Nate Rotert, 4-3, and Austin Marsden defeated Tanner Harms of Wyoming, 6-3, respectively. Oklahoma's Cody Brewer was voted Most Outstanding Performer by the Big 12 wrestling coaches at the conclusion of the championship. Brewer tallied a major decision and technical fall en route to the conference title. Next up, qualifying wrestlers will descend upon Madison Square Garden in New York City, March 17-19 for the NCAA Championships. The conference automatically sends 36 wrestlers to the championships, while many others have the opportunity to be selected for an at-large bid. Standings: 1. Oklahoma State - 161 2. Oklahoma - 100 3. Iowa State - 87 4. South Dakota State - 77 5. Wyoming - 71.5 6. West Virginia - 65.5 7. North Dakota State - 62.5 8. Utah Valley - 60.5 9. Air Force - 39.5 10. Northern Colorado - 30.5

Gregor Gillespie, NCAA champion wrestler at Edinboro University, added to his perfect pro mixed martial arts record with a first-round technical knockout at Ring of Combat's ROC 54 event at Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. Friday night. The former Fighting Scot wrestler posted a photo on Facebook of his arm raised in victory by the ring official, with the following caption: "aaaaaaaaand STILL! Gregor wins by unanswered strikes in the first round." Gregor Gillespie Gillespie scored a TKO by punches over Jose Mariscal at 4:09 of the first round of their lightweight (155-pound) bout. It was the first loss for the Chicagoan, a 2012 NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) National Wrestling Championships qualifier for Triton College in River Grove, Ill. Mariscal launched his pro MMA career in October 2014. Gillespie, who started competing in MMA as a pro in January 2014, has now compiled a flawless 6-0 record. None of his matches has gone beyond the first round. A native of Webster, N.Y., Gillespie was a four-time NCAA All-American at Pennsylvania-based Edinboro, winning the 149-pound title at the 2007 NCAAs with a 3-1 overtime win over Josh Churella of the University of Michigan in the finals. He was also a three-time champ in both the EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) and PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference). Gillespie completed his mat career at Edinboro having compiled a 152-13 record, for an impressive .921 winning percentage. In his last season at the Pennsylvania-based school, Gillespie served as a coach and administrator for the Edinboro Scotsman Wrestling Club. He later served as an assistant coach at Hofstra University.

Two former NCAA Division I wrestling champions, Darrion Caldwell and Bubba Jenkins, came out as winners at the Bellator 151 event at Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla., on Friday night. Darrion Caldwell choked out Joe Warren (Photo/Bellator)Caldwell, 2009 NCAA champ for North Carolina State, choked out former University of Michigan wrestler and Greco-Roman star Joe Warren in the first round, while Jenkins, who won an NCAA title for Arizona State in 2011, earned a unanimous decision in a three-round mixed martial arts match with Goiti Yamauchi. The former Wolfpack mat champ earned a technical submission by rear-naked choke of Warren at 3:23 of the first round of their bantamweight (135-pound) main-event bout. "A former two-division Bellator champion, Warren was a non-factor," according to Brian Knapp of Sherdog.com. "Caldwell executed a pair of takedowns and a spectacular belly-to-back suplex, sandwiching ground-and-pound between the techniques. The 28-year-old advanced to Warren's back with little resistance, slipped in the choke and waited for referee Dan Miragliotta to intervene." "Darrion Caldwell wanted to make a statement Friday at Bellator 151, and boy, he did exactly that," wrote Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAfighting.com. "The former NCAA champion put on a flawless performance against the toughest test of his career, manhandling Joe Warren before putting the former two-division beltholder to sleep with an early rear-naked choke." With the win, Caldwell remains undefeated, with a 6-0 record in Bellator, and 9-0 overall. In the meantime, Warren drops to 11-4 in Bellator, and 13-5 in his MMA career. Earlier in the evening, Bubba Jenkins, the former Penn State wrestler who completed his collegiate mat career with the Sun Devils, was awarded the win over Yamauchi, with judges' scores of 29-28, 30-27 and 29-27 in their 145-pound bout. "Fellow former NCAA champion Bubba Jenkins fell back on his bread-and-butter wrestling to survive the submission attack of Goiti Yamauchi and win a battle between two of Bellator's brightest featherweight prospects via unanimous decision," MMAfighting.com reported. "Yamauchi had his counterpart under duress throughout the first round, as he climbed to the decorated American wrestler's back in a standing position and hunted rear-naked chokes," according to Sherdog.com. "Jenkins survived the exchanges and pushed the fight deeper, finding more favorable conditions as the minutes passed. He struck for takedowns in the second and third rounds, paired a suffocating top game with ground-and-pound and avoided Yamauchi's armbar and triangle attempts from the bottom." With his third straight win, Bubba Jenkins is now 8-2 in Bellator bouts, and 11-2 overall, while Yamauchi, who had a three-match win streak snapped by Jenkins, falls to 5-2 in Bellator, and 19-3 in his MMA career.

It lasted about as long as a TV commercial. Logan StorleyLogan Storley, four-time NCAA All-American for the University of Minnesota, scored a technical knockout in just over a half-minute of his third professional mixed martial arts bout at Resurrection Fighting Alliance's RFA 36 event at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minn. just outside Minneapolis-St. Paul Friday night. The former Golden Gopher got a TKO over Lemetra Griffin in 33 seconds of the first round of their middleweight (170-pound) bout. Storley posted this message on Facebook Friday night: "Thank you to all my friends, family and fans for the support! Getting better every time I step in the cage. Got to put those paws on him tonight. ‪#‎RFA36‬‬ ‪#‎mma‬‬ ‪#‎wrestling‬‬ ‪#‎boxing‬‬" The victorious 25-year-old South Dakotan was originally slated to face Rode "Chunk" Vocu, 19, a former North Dakota high school wrestler and Golden Gloves boxer who is 1-0 in his professional MMA career. Griffin, a native of Milwaukee described by MMAweekly.com as "a late replacement," brought a record of 1-4 to his bout with Storley. After making quick work of Griffin at RFA 36, Storley won't have much time to rest. Just two weeks ago, he was added to the card for RFA 37 at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota on April 10. His opponent has yet to be named. Storley announced his plans for a pro MMA career last spring, after winning three amateur bouts. The former Minnesota mat star won his first two pro matches in short order, scoring a first-round TKO via punches over Bill Mees at RFA 29 in Sioux Falls, S.D. in August. In January, Storley earned another TKO victory in the opening round, this time vs. Marc "the Pummel" Hummel at RFA 32 at Prior Lake. Much has been made of the fact that Logan Storley shares the same hometown high school and college alma matter -- and most of the same career path, minus pro wrestling -- as Brock Lesnar. 2000 NCAA heavyweight champ for Minnesota. "I was a senior in high school and I got to be around Brock for some of his (UFC) camps." Storley told MMAweekly.com this week. "When (UFC fighter) Tony Ferguson was training up there, I got to spar and get in there and wrestle with Tony Ferguson as a 17, 18-year-old with little to no MMA background." While Storley has long had an interest in entering MMA, he did not have the same feelings for a career in the pro wrestling ring. "I've never really been a big WWE fan. We always watched Brock, but I wanted to go to college and wrestle for a top university and then I wanted to fight. It's been my plan for the last 8 or 9 years." MMAweekly.com's Ken Pishna sees a bright future for "Stormin'" Logan Storley in MMA. "If he keeps building upon what he's already achieved, it won't be long before the UFC, which likely already has an eye on him, is ringing his manager's phone."

University of North Carolina crowned six All-Americans, while Old Dominion University claimed five at the 2016 National Collegiate Open wrestling championships held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio in northeast Ohio Saturday. The annual event, hosted by Case Western Reserve University in nearby Cleveland, was open to all post-high school wrestlers. Wrestlers from all parts of the country, from University at Buffalo to Cal State Bakersfield, participated in the one-day championship. Competition was held in all ten traditional collegiate weight classes, with the top six placers in each bracket earning All-American honors. At this year's National Collegiate Open, North Carolina had the most wrestlers earn All-American honors, with six. The Tar Heels' performance put them in a four-way tie for the third-most-ever All-American honors earned by a program at the National Collegiate Open championships. Virginia's Old Dominion came in second in terms of the most All-Americans at the 2016 NCO, with five. Kent State University of Ohio holds the all-time record for most All-American placers at a National Collegiate Open championship, with eight in 2009. As an indicator of the depth and diversity of the competitive field, no one school could claim more than one individual champion. Programs with a champ crowned at the 2016 National Collegiate Open included American, Army, Buffalo, Cleveland State, Edinboro, Grand Canyon, Kent State, Maryland, and Utah Valley University. (One champ - Danny Chaid - was not affiliated with a school.) 125: Champion: Justin Patrick (Buffalo) Second: Steven Simpson (Old Dominion) Third: Trayton Libolt (Grand Canyon) Fourth: Mitch Brown (Utah Valley) Fifth: Ezekiel Beatty, (Pitt-Johnstown) Sixth: Sean Nickell, (CSU Bakersfield) : 133: Champion: Josua Terao (American) Second: Korbin Myers (Edinboro) Third: Carter Ballinger (Central Michigan) Fourth: Kyle Lukowish (Kent State) Fifth: Alex Madrigal (Old Dominion) Sixth: Sonny Simonetti (North Carolina) : 141:: Champion: Uzo Owuama (Grand Canyon) Second: Michael Hayes (Old Dominion) Third: Peter Lipari (Rutgers) Fourth: Chance Driscoll (Kent State) Fifth: Joshua Parrett (Ohio) Sixth: Michael Sprague (American) : 149 Champion: Shyheim Brown (Maryland) Second: Troy Heilmann (North Carolina) Third: Joey Moon (North Carolina) Fourth: Maason Smith (Central Michigan) Fifth: Grant LaMont (Utah Valley) Sixth: William Povalac (Rutgers) : 157:: Champion: Casey Sparkman (Kent State) Second: Jack Clark (North Carolina) Third: Jake Trujillo Fourth: Nigel Ruiz (UMAPS) Fifth: Taleb Rahmani (Pittsburgh) Sixth: Danny Boychuck (Maryland) : 165: Champion: Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro) Second: Lucas Wyoming (Wyoming) Third: Kimball Bastian (Utah Valley) Fourth: Bryant Halsch (North Carolina) Fifth: Dakota Green (Drexel) Sixth: Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) : 174: Champion: Jacob Armstrong (Utah Valley) Second: Ben Harvey (USMAPS) Third: Andrew Morgan (Cal Poly) Fourth: Milik Dawkins Fifth: Hank Swalla (Iowa State) Sixth: Fritz Hoehn (Edinboro) : 184:: Champion: Jack Wedholm (Army West Point) Second: Carson Powell (Iowa State) Third: Austin Gaun (Grand Canyon) Fourth: Wesley Maskill (Michigan State) Fifth: Gavin Berkley, (Army West Point) Sixth: Jesse Palser, (Lake Erie) : 197: Champion: Nick Corba (Cleveland State) Second: Jacob Seely (Northern Colorado) Third: Brett Dempsey (American) Fourth: Scott Marmoll (North Carolina) Fifth: Tanner Orndorff (Utah Valley) Sixth: Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) : 285: Champion: Danny Chaid Second: Caleb Gossett (Northern Illinois) Third: John Rizzo (Pittsburgh) Fourth: Devin King (Ohio) Fifth: Stephen Suglio (Kent State) Sixth: Zack Parker (Ohio)

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The 2016 Southern Conference Championship came down to the final period of the final championship match. Denzel Dejournette (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) delivered in the final moments of the heavyweight match to claim Appalachian State University wrestling's first SoCon Tournament title since 2003. The Mountaineers (12-4, 6-1 SoCon) trailed 77-73.5 to five-time defending champion Chattanooga going into the championship matches. 2016 SoCon Champions Michael Longo (Corona, Calif./Santiago) at 141 pounds, Nick Kee (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland) at 174 pounds, and Dejournette all secured wins to snap the Mocs run as champions. “I'm so proud of this team, and how they battled today,” said 2015-16 SoCon Coach of the Year JohnMark Bentley. “This Championship took a team effort! Our focus now on getting some All-Americans.” Longo used a first round pin of Billy McClelland of Davidson to advance to the semi-final match at 141 pounds. Longo was down early but fought back to pin John Muldoon of SIUE in the second round to secure his spot in the finals. Longo defeated Mike Pongracz of Chattanooga in a low-scoring contest for the second-straight year. With the win, Longo is headed to New York for his second trip the NCAA Championship in as many seasons. Kee dominated his opening match against Nathaniel Powers of Davidson, winning by 17-0 technical fall. Kee marched on the 174-pound final with a 13-4 major decision over Conner McMahon. Like Longo, Kee completed his unblemished SoCon season in the championship match, winning by 14-6 major decision over Sean Mappes. Kee will head to the NCAA Championship for the first time in his career. Dejournette cruised to an opening round technical fall over Will Cooley of Davidson, winning 17-2. Dejournette continued to roll with a 12-2 major decision in the semifinal to set up a rematch of the 2015 heavyweight championship with Jared Johnson of Chattanooga. A late takedown gave Dejournette a 4-2 decision win, his third win of the year over Johnson App State had two wrestlers finish as runner-ups for the second-consecutive year. Vito Pasone (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./E.L. Meyers) placed second at 125 pounds while Forrest Przybysz (Jefferson, Ga./Jefferson) placed second at 165 pounds. Pasone needed just over a minute to rack up a 16-0 technical fall victory over Zamir Ode of Davidson. In the semi-final, Pasone notched his second technical fall of the afternoon over Alonzo Allen of Chattanooga to punch his ticket into the 125-pound final. Pasone lead for most of the first two periods, but came up just short of a trip to nationals and had to settle for runner-up. Alfredo Rodriguez took control in the third period and went on to win 17-10. Przybysz shut out Davidson's Adam Flatt 12-0 in his opening round match to advance to the semi-final of the 165-pound bracket. Przybysz won a nail-biting semifinal match with a takedown in the overtime period to advance to a SoCon final for the second consecutive season. Przybysz competed hard all match and used a late flurry to tie the match in the third period against Austin Trott of Gardner-Webb. Trott's riding time proved to be the difference as he used the extra point to win, 5-4. Along with the five wrestlers that were in the finals, the Apps had another four third-place matches. Irvin Enriquez (Aberdeen, N.C./Pinecrest) placed 3rd at 133 pounds and Matt Zovistoski (Paramus, N.J./St. Joseph Regional), Taylor Jackson (Lady Lake, Fla./The Villages) (Rutgers), and Randall Diabe (Greensboro, N.C./James B. Dudley) all placed fourth. App State's three conference champions will be headed to New York Ciy for the NCAA Championship held at Madison Square Garden on starting on Mar. 17.

Related: Brackets TOPEKA, Kan. -- Collegiate wrestling history was made Saturday night in the final session of the 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, as Grand View (Iowa) won an unprecedented fifth straight team national title. The 59th annual event took place at the Kansas Expocentre for the third-straight season. With the win, the Vikings are the first team in NAIA history to win five-consecutive national titles. Additionally, Grand View is only the fifth program in collegiate wrestling history (NAIA, NJCAA, NCAA) to win five-or-more consecutive championships. The other programs to do so are NCAA Division I Iowa (six-straight (1995-2000) and nine-straight (1978-1986), NCAA Division I Oklahoma State (seven-straight (1937-1949), NCAA Division II Cal State-Bakersfield (five-straight (1979-1983) and NCAA Division II Cal Poly (seven-straight (1968-1974). "It's awesome," said Grand View head coach Nick Mitchell. "Some of the teams that are on that list (five-or-more straight winners) it's just awesome to be associated with some programs like that. I never would have thought that we were going to end up in a place like we are now. We lost six All-Americans last year and had a lot of new faces in the room. We had a bunch of guys that didn't have national championship experience. To see these guys put in the work, live the championship lifestyle and believe in the system, and have it pay off for them makes me so proud." Grand View set a new standard for team scoring at the NAIA national championships with 210 points. The point total shattered the previous scoring record of 193 points, which was originally set by former member Dana (Neb.) in 2006 and later tied by Grand View in 2014. The Vikings had seven grapplers in the finals, however only three walked away as national champions - Jacob Colon (133 pounds), Michael Pixley (184 pounds) and Dean Broghammer (285 pounds). Pixley, who finished runner-up last season, ended the year with a perfect 28-0 record en route to the NWCA-NAIA National Wrestler of the Year Award. Broghammer was also honored for his individual efforts, claiming the Gorriaran Award after pinning his way to his first national title. The sophomore stuck Montana State-Northern's Taylor Kornoely in 56 seconds in the title bout. In total, the three title winners give Grand View 18 national champions in the club's eight-year history. Baker (Kan.), which finished tied for sixth overall with 57.5 points, finished the night with two national champions - the only club outside of Grand View to accomplish that feat. Victor Hughes - the No. 8 seed at 149 pounds - outlasted No. 2 Tyler Cowger of Southern Oregon, 4-3. Hughes is a two-time All-American after finishing in eighth-place in 2015. One weight class later, the Wildcats made it two-for-two when four-time All-American Colby Crank upended Grant Henderson of Grand View (Iowa), 4-3, at 157 pounds. Crank was appearing in the finals for the second time in his career. Four of the other five weight classes were won by an individual that claimed the banner for the first time in program history - Mitch Pawlak of Indiana Tech (125 pounds), Andrew Schulte of Concordia (Neb.) (141 pounds), Blake Cooper of Warner Pacific (Ore.) (165 pounds) and Cody Linton of Doane (Neb.) (197 pounds). Cooper was named the championships' Most Outstanding Wrestler. Riley Boomer continued the strong tradition of Missouri Valley wrestling, winning the 174-pound weight class with an 8-3 decision of Lawton Benna of Grand View. Boomer, who ended the season with a 31-2 record, is the 17th individual champion in Missouri Valley history - third most among active NAIA programs. The top five schools in the team race were Montana State-Northern (104 points), Indiana Tech (75.5 points), Missouri Valley (75.5 points) and Campbellsville (Ky.) (66.5 points). For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championships, click here.