InterMat Staff

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. MORE INFO TO COME

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Since Biblical times it has been a common belief that three is the number of perfection, or completion. In marketing, ads, stump speeches and other messages understood to have manipulative intent, three claims will persuade best. The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are funnier, more satisfying, or more effective. It seems the brain finds it relatively easy to grasp threes. So do grapplers. The Rider University wrestling team, with three champions, three runners-up and three third place finishers, won the Eastern Wrestling League Championship Tournament, hosted by Lock Haven University. "It was a total team effort," said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. The conference championship was Rider's first EWL Title in three years in the conference. Overall, it was Rider's 14th conference title in the last 32 years and the first since 2000. "All of the conference championships we've won are special in their own way," said Taylor, who ranks fourth all-time in NCAA Division I dual meet victories, "but I'm really proud of this team because they really grew into this. This is special because it has been a long time coming." Senior Conor Brennan (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.) won at 165, senior Rob Deutsch (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional) won at 133 and junior sophomore Ryan Wolfe (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) won at 197. "Brennan and Deutsch are now three-time champions and Wolfe a two-timer in a tough weight class this year," Taylor said. Sophomore Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic) placed runner-up at 157, sophomore B.J. Clagon (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), placed runner-up at 149 and sophomore Michale Fagg-Daves (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) placed runner-up at 184. Walsh and Clagon will join the three Rider conference champions at the NCAA Championship Tournament. Hwt sophomore Mauro Correnti (Delran, NJ/Holy Cross) placed third, senior 141 Paul Kirchner (Somerville, NJ/Somerville) placed third and sophomore 125 Zach Valcarce (Villas, NJ/Lower Cape May) placed third. "Wrestling back to get third is not easy to do," Taylor said, "but they did it.' Brennan, the top seed, won a major decision over the No. 2 seed, Casey Fuller of Edinboro, 11-3 in the finals. Brennan defeated the fourth seed from Lock Haven, Cody Cordes 3-2 in the semis after receiving a first round bye. "Conor got a major for us at the end," Taylor said. "He really wrestled well in the finals." Deutsch, the top seed, defeated Robert Rehm of Lock Haven, the third seed, 3-2 in the finals. Deutsch defeated Anthony Rivera of Edinboro 7-4 and the fourth seed, Andy Schutz of Bloomsburg 6-3 in the semis. "Deutsch and Brennan have been mainstays for us and you need that to win championships," Taylor said. "Hats off to them for winning three championships. That's a hard thing to do in this league." Wolfe, the top seed, defeated the No. 2 seed, Sam Wheeler of Cleveland State 5-2 in the finals. Wolfe defeated the fourth seed, Vincent Pickett of Edinboro 5-0 in the semifinals. "Wolfe really wrestled well today," Taylor said. "In the semis he beat last year's champ (Wolfe won EWL title at 174 last year) and in the finals beat a tough kid. Wolfe did good." Clagon, the third seed who was an All-American last year, lost 9-7 in overtime to the No. 1 seed, All-American Daniel Neff of Lock Haven, in the finals. Neff was named the EWL Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. Clagon defeated the No. 2 seed, Patricio Lugo of Edinboro 9-6 in the semis. Lugo defeated Clagon 8-6 in a dual meet in January. Clagon pinned Ryan Snow of Bloomsburg in just 28 seconds in his first match. Walsh, the top seed, lost 17-6 to the No. 2 seed, Austin Matthews of Edinboro, in the finals. Walsh won a 10-1 major decision in the semis over the fifth seed, Brendon Colbert of Bloomsburg, after receiving a first round bye. "Walsh and BJ are going out to Nationals hungry," Taylor said. Fagg-Daves, the third seed, lost 2-0 to the No. 1 seed, Victor Avery of Edinboro in the finals. Fagg-Daves defeated the second seed, Tristan Sponseller of Lock Haven in the semis. Correnti, the third seed, defeated the No. 4 seed, Matt Voss of Mason 7-3 in the battle for third place. In the consolations Correnti defeated Evan Daley of Clarion 7-1. Correnti defeated Brad Emerick of Lock Haven 3-2 before being pinned in the semifinals by the No. 2 seed, Riley Shaw of Cleveland State. In the battle for third place at 141, Kirchner defeated the No. 2 seed, Mike Carlone of Cleveland State, 14-6 in a major decision. In consolations Kirchner won twice by tech fall, including a 22-7 decision over the No. 4 seed, Tejon Anthony of George Mason. "He wrestled very well," Taylor said. "He picked up some bonus points for us. He's beaten some really good wrestlers this year so he will receive some consideration for NCAAs." In the battle for third place at 125, Valcarce defeated the No. 2 seed, Ibrahim Bunduka of Mason 5-0. In consolations, Valcarce defeated Patrick Dewitt of Clarion 11-5. Senior Curt Delia (Mullica Hill, NJ/Delsea) went 1-2 at 174. Delia won a major decision in the first round of consolations before losing 6-0 to the second seed, Patrick Jennings of Edinboro. The NCAA Championships are March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden. Three days to seek perfection, completion, and All-Americans.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Four University of Iowa wrestlers won semifinal matches Saturday to advance to the finals of the Big Ten Championships on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Cory Clark (133), Brandon Sorensen (149), Sammy Brooks (184), and Nathan Burak (197) wrestle for conference titles beginning at 3:10 p.m. (CT) live on BTN. Sorensen is competing in the finals for the second year in a row. Clark, Brooks, and Burak are making their first career Big Ten finals appearance. Iowa has five wrestlers competing on the back side of the bracket. Thomas Gilman (125), Edwin Cooper, Jr. (157), and Alex Meyer (174) fell into the consolation bracket with semifinal defeats. Patrick Rhoads (165) and Sam Stoll (285) wrestle for seventh place in their respective brackets. Both wrestlers were 2-2 on the day. "There's a lot to digest right now, we're getting ready to go tomorrow," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "We have some guys in seventh-place matches, we have Gilman, Meyer, and Cooper for third, and then we have four in the finals. Brooks and Sorensen had solid wins. We have another day of wrestling, that's how we're looking right now." Clark, Sorensen, and Burak all face top seeds in the finals. Clark, the No. 2 seed, faces Illinois' Zane Richards, who handed Clark his only defeat of the season, 5-3 in sudden victory, on Jan. 8 in Champaign, Illinois. He is 2-2 all-time against Richards. Sorensen, the No. 2 seed, draws top-seeded Zain Retherford of Penn State. The two have never met and are a combined 53-0 this season, splitting the top two spots in a number of national rankings. Third-seeded Burak faces Penn State's Morgan McIntosh, who is 27-0 this season and undefeated in four career meeting against Burak. Brooks, the No. 3 seed, has a chance to redeem a loss from earlier this year against Nebraska's T.J. Dudley. Dudley pinned Brooks at Nebraska on Jan. 24. The wrestlers are 1-1 all-time in their college careers. The Hawkeyes are in second place after Session II with 106 points. Penn State leads the team race with 133 points. Ohio State (100), Nebraska (97.5), and Rutgers (90.5) round out the top five. Session III begins at 12 p.m. (CT) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. BTN2GO will stream the consolation rounds.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- No. 1 Penn State (16-0, 9-0 B1G) holds a huge lead after day one of the 2016 Big Ten Championships. Head coach Cael Sanderson's crew dominated the action in Iowa's Carver-Hawkeye Arena and is nearly 30 points in front of the second-place Hawkeyes. With a sizzling quarterfinal round in which it went 6-1, Penn State leads the team race with 133.0 points while Iowa is second with 106.0. Nebraska sits in third place with 98.5. The Nittany Lions will have six wrestlers in the championship finals tomorrow, which air live on the Big Ten Network and are assured of at least eight NCAA qualifiers. Tomorrow's session begins at 1 p.m. Eastern with the finals set for 4 p.m. Eastern. Senior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 125, met No. 2 Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the first of Penn State's seven semifinals. The duo battled evenly through three periods, moving to sudden victory tied 1-1. After a scoreless SV period, Megaludis escaped quickly in his tie-breaker period. He controlled Gilman in the next :30 period for just over ten seconds before the Hawkeye escaped on the edge of the mat. But Megaludis moved in quickly after the escape and notched a takedown with just :10 on the clock and posted a 4-3 (TB) win. The win earned Megaludis a trip to the title bout tomorrow as Penn State's first finalist. Junior Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 21 at 141, met No. 20 Javier Gasca of Michigan State in the semifinals. Gulibon came back from an early 5-2 deficit with a furious third period to post a 6-5 win and advance to the Big Ten championship match. Gulibon used an escape to cut into the lead and then notched a quick takedown to tie the bout. Gulibon then rode Gasca out and his 1:33 in riding time proved the decisive point. Sophomore Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 149, took on No. 5 Alex Pantaleo of Michigan in the semifinals. Retherford continued his dominating run, picking up his second first-period pin of the tournament with a fall at the 2:45 mark over Pantaleo. Retherford took the Wolverine down early in the first then controlled the action from the top, steadily working the fifth-ranked Pantaleo to his back and getting the pin to move into the championship finals. Red-shirt freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 157, tangled with No. 15 Edwin Cooper of Iowa in the semifinals. Nolf opened up a 10-2 lead after one period with three takedowns and a four-point turn. Nolf added three more takedowns and a final four-point tilt to post the lopsided win and move into the championship finals. Red-shirt freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), ranked No. 1 at 174, took on No. 14 Myles Martin of Ohio State in the semifinals. Nickal made short work of the Buckeye grappler in a furious first period. The Lion freshman took Martin down twice and, after the second takedown, wrapped up a cradle in front of the Ohio State bench and pinned Martin at the 2:28 mark in the first period. The victory sends Nickal into the championship finals. Sophomore Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 184, met No. 12 Sammy Brooks of Iowa in the semifinals. Brooks came out fast, using a late takedown to lead 3-0 after one period. The Hawkeye added a takedown in each of the following periods and posted the strong 6-1 win over McCutcheon. The loss sends McCutcheon into tomorrow's consolation semifinals. Senior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 1 at 197, took on No. 9 Aaron Studebaker of Nebraska in the semifinals. McIntosh bulled his way through the tough Cornhusker grappler, notching a first period takedown and two near fall points in the second period to open up a 4-2 lead. The Lion senior picked up an escape, another takedown and 1:12 in riding time in the third period and posted a strong 8-2 decision (McIntosh downed Studebaker 2-1 (TB) during the regular season. The win moves McIntosh into the championship finals. Senior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, took on Indiana's Alonzo Shepherd in the second round of consolation action. Conaway rolled through four third period takedowns to post an important 11-3 major decision, punching his ticket to NCAAs, and picked up another bonus point for the Nittany Lions. He then took on No. 11 Johnni DiJulius of Ohio State in the next conso round. After falling behind 2-1 in the first period, the Lion senior used a reversal and two back points to break away from the Buckeye and post an 8-2 win, moving into the consolation semifinals. Junior Geno Morelli (DuBois, Pa.) met Indiana's Bryce Martin in the second round of consolations. Morelli burst out to a 4-0 lead early in the first period and never looked back on his way to a 9-3 decision over Martin. The victory moved him into the third round of consolations, with a trip to NCAAs on the line, to face No. 9 Austin Wilson of Nebraska. Wilson caught Morelli quickly with a throw and picked up a pin at the 0:37 mark. Morelli's loss moves him to the seventh place match. A seventh-place finish would increase Morelli's case for a possible at-large bid (announced on Wednesday). Red-shirt freshman Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) battled No. 24 Brooks Black of Illinois in the second round of consolations. Black used takedowns in the first and third periods to post a 5-3 win and end Nevills' tournament. Nevills went 1-2 in his first Big Ten Championship and posted a 6-3 record after returning from an injury in mid-February. He did not earn an automatic bid to NCAAs. Penn State knows it has eight NCAA qualifiers with Morelli still alive for seventh place and a potential at-large bid (announced on Wednesday). The Nittany Lions went 9-3 in session two and an outstanding 23-6 overall on day one of the championship. Penn State picked up 28 bonus points on six pins, two tech falls and seven majors. The championship concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. session (Eastern) with consolation action. The Big Ten finals begin at 4 p.m. Eastern and air live on the Big Ten Network. 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 Family Clothesline. This is PENN STATE. WRESTLING lives here. Team Standings: 1: PENN STATE – 133.0 2: Iowa – 106.0 3: Ohio State – 100.0 4: Nebraska – 98.5 5: Rutgers – 90.5 6: Illinois – 78.5 7: Michigan – 70.0 8: Wisconsin – 53.0 9: Minnesota – 38.0 10: Purdue – 30.0 11: Indiana – 26.0 12: Michigan State – 10.5 13: Northwestern – 8.0 14: Maryland – 7.5

KANSAS CITY -- Oklahoma State clinched the team title on the first day of the Big 12 Wrestling Championships and nine of its 10 wrestlers will compete for individual crowns tomorrow. The title marks the 50th conference championship and the 16th Big 12 championship for Cowboy wrestling, as well as the seventh-consecutive year that the Cowboys have won a Big 12 wrestling championship. It also marks the 300th conference team title for Oklahoma State athletics across all sports. The Cowboys have already broken the Big 12 record for team points with 140.5, surpassing their previous mark of 118.5 points set in 2013. In total, the Cowboys finished the first day of the event with a 19-1 record that included 12 bonus-point wins with five falls, six major decisions and one technical fall. "For the most part, I feel like most of them were on spot today," coach John Smith said. "With each round now, it gets a lot tougher. Tomorrow's round, we will have nine in the finals, and obviously whoever has made it to the finals is a pretty good athlete. We just have to make sure that we embrace it and we understand that it takes tough people to win tough matches, and it's about to get real tough." Saturday's second session began with No. 2-seed Eddie Klimara winning with a 6-2 decision over Utah Valley's Chasen Tolbert. He tallied two takedowns in the first period and added another in second to reach Sunday's final round. Top-seeded Dean Heil continued his winning ways next with a 4-1 win over No. 4 Mitch Bengston in the 141-pound semifinal. Heil secured a takedown in the first period and battled to end of the bout to secure his place in the finals. No. 1 seed Anthony Collica continued his tear with another fall at 149 pounds, marking his sixth win by fall in his last seven matches and his second pin of the day. He jumped on fourth-seeded Timmy Box early and often and pushed his lead to 16-9 before he locked up a cradle secured the fall in 6:10. In the 157-pound match, Joe Smith also picked up his second bonus-point win of the event with a 13-2 major decision over No. 6 Eleazer DeLuca. Smith used a pair of first period takedowns to set the tone for the bout and stayed consistent to secure the win and improve his record to 29-3 on the year. The 165-pound bout went as expected, with Alex Dieringer winning with bonus points. Facing fourth-seeded Connor Flynn of West Virginia, Dieringer stormed out to a 10-1 lead in the opening period. He added a quick takedown and more nearfall points to end the match with a 17-1 technical fall midway through the second period. It was Dieringer's 76th consecutive victory. Chandler Rogers punched his ticket to the 174-pound final in one of the most exciting matches of the day. After building a 6-4 lead in the first two periods, Rogers found himself tied with South Dakota State's David Kocer, 8-8, with 30 seconds remaining. As the clock wound down and the match almost certainly appeared headed to overtime, Rogers pushed Kocer to the edge of the mat and leapt over the top of Kocer's shoulders as he spun and secured two points with a highlight-reel move as the final buzzer sounded. At 184 pounds, Nolan Boyd picked up his second major decision of the day with a 10-1 win over No. 3 Jacob Scheffel of West Virginia. Preston Weigel and Austin Marsden followed suit, each picking up a 6-2 decision at 197 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, to reach the finals. Weigel's wins were some of the most important, as he secured a spot at the NCAA Championships after starting the year on the OSU bench. "One thing he knows is he earned his spot," Smith said. "Back in December, it was looking pretty ugly for him. I'm really proud of him, the effort to fight back and help this team." Those nine Cowboys in the finals will try for their individual titles at 1 p.m. Sunday. Dieringer will be going for his fourth Big 12 title, while Collica, Klimara and Marsden will try for their third; Heil and Boyd try for their second; and Smith, Rogers and Weigel try for their first. Gary Wayne Harding will get things going for the Cowboys Sunday, as he competes in the 133-pound consolation semifinals at 9 a.m. Team Standings After Session 2: 1. Oklahoma State - 140.5 2. Iowa State - 72 3. Oklahoma - 70.5 4. South Dakota State - 68.5 5. Wyoming - 51 6. West Virginia - 49 7. North Dakota State - 45.5 8. Utah Valley - 33.5 9. Air Force - 24.5 9. Northern Colorado - 24.5

Follow the action at the seven NCAA Division I conference tournaments taking place this weekend. . Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 - Sunday, March, 6 Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates | Pick 'Em Contest Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 - Sunday, March 6 Venue: Sprint Center (Kansas City, Mo.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 - Sunday, March 6 Venue: Hearnes Center (Ypsilanti, Mich.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 - Sunday, March 6 Venue: Jadwin Gym (Princeton, N.J.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 Venue: Kimmel Arena (Asheville, N.C.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 5 Venue: Thomas Fieldhouse (Lock Haven, Pa.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, March 6 Venue: John Paul Jones Arena (Charlottesville, Va.) Event Website | Results | Twitter Updates Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, February 27 Venue: Wells Fargo Arena (Tempe, Ariz.) Event Website | Results

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

A Twitter List by InterMat

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets) Four-time defending national team champion Grand View (Iowa) pushed its team total to 117.5 points in session II action of the 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas. The 59th annual event is taking place at the Kansas Expocentre for the third-straight year. The Vikings are searching for an unprecedented fifth-straight national title. If Grand View can claim the banner tomorrow night, it will become the only program in NAIA history to accomplish the feat and 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)). Ten of the 11 qualifiers for Grand View have clinched All-America status. Montana State-Northern, which is in second-place in the team race with 74 points, is next with six All-Americans. Looking specifically at the championship bracket, 20 different programs have at least one wrestler in the semifinals, including eight from Grand View. Montana State-Northern boasts the second-most semifinalist with four, while Campbellsville (Ky.) and Indiana Tech are tied for third-most with three each. Three weight classes – 133 pounds, 165 pounds and 197 pounds – fell true to seeds where Nos. 1 – 4 reached the semifinals. The other seven feature at least one grappler not seeded in the top four. Possibly the most exciting weight class on the evening was at 141 pounds, as Tyler Hinton of Ottawa (Kan.) and Matt Weber Montana State-Northern – both unseeded –upended top-four wrestlers to reach the semifinals for the first time in their careers. Hinton, a senior from Baltimore, Md., appeared to be on the ropes against Steele Escobedo of Menlo (Calif.). However a defensive fall call against Escobedo ended the match in favor of Hinton. Hinton was Ottawa's first-ever All-American last year after finishing eighth at 141 pounds. Weber, who downed No. 8 Tyler Dickman of Baker (Kan.), 3-1 in the second round, knocked off top-seeded Jake Ekster of Missouri Valley, 7-3. The freshman from Forsyth, Mont., was one of 30 national wildcard selections in the field. Ekster, who can still finish as high as third-place, clinched his fourth All-America honor with a dominant 14-4 win in the consolation bracket. The senior has never finished worse than third in three previous trips to the national championship, including a runner-up finish in 2015. No. 3 seed Tyler Fraley of Williams Baptist (Ark.) and No. 2 seed Andrew Schulte of Concordia (Neb.) round out the semifinals at 141. Fraley (18-0) has not lost on the year, while Schulte (38-6) has won 24-straight matches. History was made at 157 pounds, as Colby Crank of Baker (Kan.) advanced to the semifinals for his second-straight appearance en route to a fourth All-America honor, while Nathen Pristavec of Brewton-Parker (Ga.) became the program's first-ever All-American with a 5-3 win over Oklahoma City's Zach Skates. Similar to Pristavec, Blake Cooper of Warner Pacific (Ore.) sealed the institution's first All-America award since the program was restarted a few years ago. The Knights only other All-American was David Storey, who finished sixth in 1973. Cooper – the top-seeded wrestler at 165 pounds – will face-off against Taylor Hodel of Dickinson State (N.D.) tomorrow with a title shot on the line. Cooper was later joined by teammate Steven Wilbert, who advanced past Justin Smith of Missouri Valley in the second tiebreaker on riding time to guarantee a place at 285 pounds. Back-to-back championship dreams are still alive for defending national champions Davion Caston of Campbellsville (133 pounds), Ricky McCarty of Oklahoma City (165 pounds) and Gabi Musallam of Missouri Valley (285), as all three are in the semifinals. Other notable performances came from Grand View's Michael Pixley at 184 pounds and Garrett DeMers of Montana State-Northern at 197 pounds. Pixley – a national runner-up a year ago – pinned his quarterfinal opponent in 22 seconds. DeMers, who was also a national runner-up in 2015, has won by fall in both of his matches thus far. DeMers is now a three-time All-American, while Pixley locked up his second award. Session III action is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 10 a.m. CST.

The Big 12 Conference finalized the seeding for the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, which is set for March 5-6 at Sprint Center in Kansas City. Oklahoma State leads the way with five top-seeded wrestlers, while Oklahoma tallies behind with two. North Dakota State, South Dakota State and West Virginia all have one wrestler in the top spot. All ten schools will place a wrestler in each weight class. The seeds, as voted by the conference coaches, will compete over two days for 36 automatic qualifying bids to the NCAA Championships, as well as the 2016 Big 12 Championship team title. Oklahoma State's Dean Heil (141 pounds), Anthony Collica (149 pounds), Alex Dieringer (165 pounds), Chandler Rogers (174 pounds) and Austin Marsden (heavyweight) lead the way as the No. 1 seeds for the Cowboys. Ryan Millhof (125 pounds) and defending NCAA Champion Cody Brewer (133 pounds) slot in as the top seeds for the Sooners. SDSU's Cody Pack (157 pounds), NDSU's Hayden Zillmer (184 pounds) and WVU's Jake Smith (197 pounds) round out the top of the brackets for the conference. For more information on the Big 12 Wrestling Championship, visit Big12Sports.com. The first three sessions will be streamed exclusively on FloSports and FloWrestling, with FSN will broadcast the championship rounds live. FloArena will house the live stats for the event. 125: 1. Ryan Millhof (OU) 2. Eddie Kilmara (OSU) 3. Zeke Moisey (WVU) 4. Drew Templeman (WYO) 5. Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) 6. Chasen Tolbert (UVU) 7. Ben Gillette (SDSU) 8. Kyle Larson (ISU) 9. Drew Romero (AF) 10. Jesse Reed (UNC) 133: 1. Cody Brewer (OU) 2. Earl Hall (ISU) 3. Josh Martinez (AF) 4. Jade Rauser (UVU) 5. Brance Simms (SDSU) 6. Gary Wayne Harding (OSU) 7. Rico Montoya (UNC) 8. Keegan Moore (WVU) 9. Drake Foster (WYO) 10. Nico Collunga (NDSU) 141: 1. Dean Heil (OSU) 2. Bryce Meredith (WYO) 3. Seth Gross (SDSU) 4. Mitch Bengston (NDSU) 5. Jarod Maynes (UVU) 6. Trae Blackwell (OU) 7. Nathan Boston (ISU) 8. Tony DeAngelo (WVU) 9. Ben Polkowske (UNC) 10. Dylan Hyder (AF) 149: 1. Anthony Collica (OSU) 2. Alex Kocer (SDSU) 3. Davion Jeffries (OU) 4. Timmy Box (UNC) 5. Cole Mendenhall (WYO) 6. Clay Ream (NDSU) 7. Jerry McGinty (AF) 8. Trevor Wilson (UVU) 9. Zachary Moore (WVU) 10. John Meeks (ISU) 157: 1. Cody Pack (SDSU) 2. Joseph Smith (OSU) 3. Dylan Cottrell (WVU) 4. Archie Colgan (WYO) 5. Logan Breitenbach (ISU) 6. Eleazar De Luca (UNC) 7. Zach Stepan (AF) 8. Raider Lofthouse (UVU) 9. Kyle Gliva (NDSU) 10. Brock Wingbermuehle (OU) 165: 1. Alex Dieringer (OSU) 2. Tanner Weatherman (ISU) 3. Clark Glass (OU) 4. Connor Flynn (WVU) 5. Luke Zilverberg (SDSU) 6. Keilan Torres (UNC) 7. Chaz Polson (WYO) 8. Grant Nehring (NDSU) 9. Michael Billingsley (AF) 10. Brayden Humprheys (UVU) 174: 1. Chandler Rogers (OSU) 2. Matt Reed (OU) 3. Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) 4. David Kocer (SDSU) 5. Ross Taylor (UVU) 6. Ross Renzi (WVU) 7. Adam Jackson (AF) 8. Jace Jensen (WYO) 9. Blake Thompson (NDSU) 10. Tanner Davis (UNC) 184: 1. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) 2. Nolan Boyd (OSU) 3. Jacob Scheffel (WVU) 4. Dane Pestano (ISU) 5. Anthony McLaughlin (AF) 8. Andrew Dixon (OU) 7. Brady Ayers (SDSU) 8. Ben Stroh (WYO) 9. Will Sumner (UVU) 10. Horacio Vialpando (UNC) 197: 1. Jake Smith (WVU) 2. Nate Rotert (SDSU) 3. Trent Noon (UNC) 4. Parker Hines (AF) 5. Preston Weigel (OSU) 6. Derek Thomas (UVU) 7. Brandon Tribble (WYO) 8. Brad Johnson (OU) 9. Pat Downey (ISU) 10. Logan Paxton (NDSU) 285: 1. Austin Marsden (OSU) 2. Ross Larson (OU) 3. Tanner Harms (WYO) 4. Ben Tynan (NDSU) 5. Dustin Dennison (UVU) 6. Joe Scanlan (ISU) 7. Marcus Malecek (AF) 8. AJ Vizcarrondo (WVU) 9. Alex Macki (SDSU) 10. Jack Kuck (UNC)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Four-time defending national champion Grand View (Iowa) closed session I of the 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Championships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, leading the team competition with 41 points. Session II is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CST with the parade of champions, while action on the mat starts at approximately 6:30 p.m. The 59th annual event is taking place inside the Kansas Expocentre for the third-straight year. The Vikings had 10 of their 11 grapplers advance to the quarterfinals of the championship bracket. Walker Marshall at 141 pounds was the only Grand View individual to lose in session I, falling to No. 2 seed Andrew Schulte of Concordia (Neb.) in the first round. Marshall is still alive in the consolation bracket after eliminating David Sparks of Campbellsville (Ky.), 8-4. Montana State-Northern is second in the team standings with 30.5 points, followed by Missouri Valley with 25 points and Indiana Tech with 24.0 points. All three programs have five individuals in the quarterfinals. All three defending national champions - Davion Caston of Campbellsville (Ky.) (133 pounds), Ricky McCarty of Oklahoma City (165 pounds) and Gabi Musallam of Missouri Valley (285 pounds) - kept their repeat title hopes alive by advancing to the quarterfinals. Twenty-one unseeded grapplers advanced to the quarterfinals, including a trio at 149 pounds, 197 pounds and 285 pounds. It was a tough morning for the No. 5 seeds, as six of the 10 wrestlers fell out of the championship bracket in the first two rounds. Arguably the most shocking upset of session I came in the second round at 125 pounds, as unseeded Casey Coulter of Southern Oregon downed top-seeded and top-ranked Adrian Gaines, 12-10. Gaines - a returning All-American - entered the match with a 20-0 record. Unfortunately for Gaines, his tournament would end in the consolation bracket with an 11-8 loss to Robert Ozuna of York (Neb.). Coulter, who is a sophomore from Grant Pass, Ore., is in the championships field for a second-straight year. He will face the No. 8 seed Hugo Perez of Midland (Neb.) in the quarterfinals. Another notable upset was Montana State-Northern's Toby Cheff falling to Korey Walker of Oklahoma City, 9-4. Cheff is a two-time All-American after finishing third in both 2014 and 2015. Lyon (Ark.) and Southeastern (Fla.) - both schools in their inaugural season of intercollegiate varsity action - earned first-ever championship wins today. Lyon's Dustin Miller won 5-2 over Kaleb Furr of Ottawa in the 125-pound consolation round one. Both of Southeastern's wrestlers won their first-ever championship bout, as Olson Delisca defeated Miller at 125 pounds and Ethan Owen (133 pounds), who received a bye in the first round, downed No. 8 seed Vicente Hernandez of Simpson (Calif.), 8-3, in the second round. Owen will face the top-seed Jacob Colon tonight in the quarterfinals.

The brackets have been released for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which take place Saturday and Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Link: Brackets

A high school wrestler who believes he contacted herpes from a wrestling mat wants the California state wrestling championships to be postponed because he may have infected others slated to compete at the event. Blake Flovin, a senior at Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, says he was diagnosed with herpes gladiatorum, caused by the herpes virus, after wrestling at the Central Coast Section tournament at Independence High School in San Jose Feb. 20-21. Flovin's face is covered with lesions, and he's concerned he may have infected others he wrestled at that San Jose tourney and at a subsequent event, and that some of these other wrestlers may be competing at the 2016 California Interscholastic Federation championships this weekend in Bakersfield. Robert Powell, the Flovin family attorney, told the San Jose Mercury-News Wednesday, "I'm not asking them to shut it down forever, but it absolutely needs to be delayed to allow for the incubation period to pass with all the wrestlers Blake wrestled with." CIF officials said they won't cancel the tournament in Bakersfield, insisting they follow rigid national safety protocols to protect wrestlers from infections and viruses like herpes gladiatorum, which is spread mostly through red skin lesions. All wrestlers undergo skin checks before the tournament and any athlete with an active infection won't be allowed to compete. The organization added that doctors will be on site during the state wrestling championships. "We've had many times where our doctors have removed an athlete who was showing symptoms or some sort of skin lesion. This is something we deal with on a regular basis," said the organization's senior director Brian Seymour, who is also tournament director in Bakersfield this weekend. "We follow protocol to the letter of the law." The federation's spokeswoman Rebecca Brutlag acknowledged, however, that "nothing is foolproof." Central Coast Section chairman Duane Morgan, who ran the tournament at Independence High, contacted all the coaches of athletes on Tuesday who wrestled Flovin, alerting them to the exposure. In an article at WebMD.com titled "Herpes gladiatorum is common among wrestlers", the medical website states, "Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) acquired during wrestling is one of the most common infections caused by personal contact during athletic activity… Physicians say the condition, called herpes gladiatorum, causes skin lesions on the head, neck, and shoulders that are often misdiagnosed." "Skin contact is the primary mode of HSV-1 transmission," Mark Dworkin, MD, told WebMD. "In wrestling, the head and neck are major points of contact, and over 90% of the lesions we observed erupted in this area." Sports medicine experts say wrestlers with active lesions should be temporarily excluded from participating in wrestling events. "Even though its common sense for an infectious athlete to sit out, sometimes there's pressure on high school kids to continue," Guy Nicolette, MD, the varsity team physician and clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told WebMD.com. "Some are afraid of losing a scholarship. Others are afraid of losing the respect of their coach. That's a lot to handle during adolescence." Herpes gladiatorum is prevalent enough in the sport that in 2007 the National Federation of State High Schools Associations published a position statement on the disease and its effect on wrestlers in particular, saying that "in recent years, control of skin infections has become a crucial part of high school wrestling." The Flovin family has alleged lax health and safety protocols in high school wrestling, particularly at the tournament nearly two weeks ago at Independence High. "The rules and the swiftness in the way they deal with skin issues in wrestling is flawed and kids and coaches try to skirt around the issues," Blake Flovin told KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco. "It's widespread to hide the disease because of scholarships at stake," said Blake's father Rick Flovin, who is assistant wrestling coach at Mitty High and is trained as an EMT. He says he helped institute at the school some of the strictest hygiene standards in the sport, including requiring wrestlers to step in a pan of disinfectant before they step on a mat. That safety measure was not in place at Independence High, he said. Update: The 2016 CIF Wrestling Championships are taking place this weekend as originally scheduled. "After a thorough medical review of this situation, we have concluded that this week's CIF State Boys Wrestling Championships will proceed as scheduled for March 4-5, at Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield," said CIF executive director Roger Blake. "With regard to California high school wrestling championships, it is standard operating procedure for certified trainers and physicians to conduct a careful skin evaluation of every wrestler before weigh-ins on both days of the tournament. Physicians and certified athletic trainers are trained to detect symptoms and make a determination as to the nature of the condition and whether the student-athlete may compete without posing a risk to himself of any other competitor. "We are confident that our practices, along with an exhaustive medical review of this particular situation, ensure that there is no justification for concern about the spread of a contagious disease at the event. "We look forward to sponsoring the anticipated 561 student-athletes from 276 California high schools competing at the 44th annual CIF State Wrestling Championships."

The alleged gunman and one of the classmates he shot in a shooting inside a southwest Ohio school Monday were both on the same wrestling team, according to multiple media reports. The accused shooter, a 14-year-old juvenile, was a member of the eighth-grade Mohawk wrestling team -- as was one of his victims -- at Madison Junior-Senior High School, located between Cincinnati and Dayton. Two students were shot, while two others were otherwise injured but not wounded in the incident which took place in the school cafeteria at approximately 11:15 a.m. ET Monday. The two wounded students were air flighted to a Dayton hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and are expected to be released this week. The other two students who may have been injured by shrapnel or in an attempt to flee the shooter were treated and released. The suspected shooter used a .380 caliber handgun which he obtained from a family member, according to police. After the shooting, he ran out of the school, dropping the weapon outside the building. Police K-9 units found the accused shooter and weapon within minutes. The Madison Junior/Senior High wrestling coach, Stan Oligee, declined comment when contacted by the Cincinnati Enquirer, saying the incident was "too raw" to discuss. However, at least two upper-class members of the wrestling team commented on the alleged shooter, who they knew because the middle school and high school teams conduct practice together. "He's real nice, he's friendly with everyone, everyone's usually real nice to him," Madison sophomore Jordan Eslick told WXIX-TV, the Fox affiliate in Cincinnati. "I don't ever see him get picked on or have a problem with anyone." "It was his first year on the wrestling team and we were actually pretty good friends. It didn't seem like anything was wrong with him, like he was bullied, he got along with everyone and I was really shocked when I heard it was him," Eslick said. Eslick added that he was unaware of any problems between the alleged shooter and the teammate who was shot. Jacob Farler, a senior on Madison Sr. High School's wrestling team, told WDTN, the Dayton ABC station, "We didn't personally know them too well because they were in junior high. We still saw them at practice every day. It's kind of just a surreal thing." Farler added that what happened Monday did not line up with what he knew of the accused shooter. "He usually had a smile on his face. He seemed happy. Joking around and everything." When asked why the shooting may have taken place, Farler told WDTN he had no idea. The alleged gunman has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of inducing panic and one count of making terroristic threats, the Butler County Sheriff's Office said Monday. He is being held at the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center. On Tuesday an attorney for the 14-year-old boy entered a denial of charges, the juvenile equivalent of a not guilty plea. The case may be moved to adult court. Meanwhile, the Madison Mohawk team has traveled to Columbus for the 2016 Ohio high school state wrestling championships. One wrestler, Nick Svarda, made it to the 220-pound finals, but was pinned. He had been state champ in 2015.

Qualification weekend has arrived and for wrestlers from the Big 12 to the ACC the beginning of the "real season" has finally started. It's an exciting time to be a wrestling fan, but an even more thrilling time to be on the mat. There is a lot of extra commentary that is sometimes poured atop wrestling, which can sometimes confuse and imbalance our own perception of the sport. But stripped down and seen through the lens of this is a battle of preparation and willpower, strength and wit. The NCAAs garner much of the attention, but when watching wrestling from top-to-bottom, few weekends in the sport compare to the one weekend each year that hosts a half dozen NCAA Division I qualification tournaments across almost every time zone. There are many wrestlers who feel complete satisfaction with making the NCAA tournament and this is their weekend to do so. Last-second comebacks, unexpected upsets and heated team races will make this a great weekend for wrestling. Also this weekend brings us closer to filling out our brackets! This year we will be re-welcoming a special one-time-only Back Points podcast with linemaker extraordinaire Brian Muir (@muirorless). Tune in and get a leg up on the lines. To your questions … Q: Please look into your crystal ball and tell us who is the 2016 NCAA champ by weight and the team champion. -- David E. Foley: As you may expect I have to remind you that this is heading into the conference weekend and will almost certainly change after the Resilite residue settles Sunday night … 125: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) 133: Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 141: Kevin Jack (NC State) 149: Zain Retherford (Penn State) 157: Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 174: Bo Nickal (Penn State) 184: Gabe Dean (Cornell) 197: J'den Cox (Missouri) 285: Nick Gwizdowski (NC State) Team: Penn State Q: Gardner-Webb University is also in the SoCon. They beat Appalachian State and lost to Chattanooga with some starters out of their lineup. They have also beaten Duke this year and deserve recognition in the rankings. -- Rich C. Foley: When I read this I thought you might be mistaken, but you're not. This is a solid team! I don't know where you want them in the team rankings, or if there were individuals who were overlooked, but the win over Duke and UTC are excellent markers for the program and its growth. Congrats on the success and I will be sure to keep an eye on their performance this weekend. Q: What is your most anticipated match from the ACC tournament? Between conference tournaments and the Olympic qualifier here in North Texas this weekend, it doesn't get much better than this! -- Brad B. Virginia Tech heavyweight Ty Walz gets his hand raised after winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational in December(Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: The biggest match of the ACC tournament? Hmm. I'm liking Kevin Jack vs. Joey Ward for best scrambles. I'm picking Thomas Gantt vs. Nick Brascetta for most physical. I'm liking Ethan Ramos in the mild upset over Zach Epperly. I'm choosing Nick Gwiazdowski vs. Ty Walz as most entertaining. And I'm pretty excited to see who comes out of the Pan Am Qualifiers. Definitely hurts the Americans that no Cubans made it out at the World Championships. They are on-location and ready to scrap. Their men and women are both very dangerous in a small tournament and I wouldn't be surprised to see them qualify 6/7 in freestyle along with another pair in women's wrestling and three in Greco-Roman. Also keep an eye out for the Venezuelan men, up-and-coming Canadians, and the trio of Ecuadorian middleweights who could each win the title at their weights. Q: What are the chances that Ohio State and Penn State sweep the Big Tens with individual champions? Combined, they have a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in nine weight classes and the No. 3 seed at 133 pounds. David D. Foley: Ten percent? I don't see Jordan Conaway or Johnni DiJulius making their way past Cory Clark (Go Iowa!) or Illinois' Zane Richards, who I think has an outside chance of winning the NCAA tournament. Still, you make a valid observation that there has been a massive consolidation of power in the Big Ten over the last few years. Worth checking on again heading into next year's finals. Q: Isaiah Martinez-Jason Nolf II this weekend. You are you taking? Why? -- Mike C. Foley: Jason Nolf is the favorite heading into the match and will be the favorite to the win the NCAA title after their rematch. Nolf is strict with his forward pressure and positioning. He's relentless on angles and following through with scrambles. There are no hiccups in his motion. He is constantly progressing with his positioning and once he slaps a pinning combination he simply doesn't let go. However, their first match also implied that Martinez was out of shape or suffering from a deep weight cut. That might not be the case come finals. He could be ballooned up, rested and have a full tank of gas for this most epic of rematches. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Celebrations from Minnesota's state wrestling tournament. This is cool. (Maybe a little too much chest pounding?) Q: If you're Fresno State's AD, what coaches are you looking at to lead the program? -- Mike C. Foley: The list would be pretty short. I'd aim for some of the top assistants in the country and would almost totally focus in on regional affiliations. The first names that popped in my head were the Tirapelle brothers, Alex and Adam, whose family runs deep in the area. Adam has been coaching wrestling at the high school level in recent years. Alex is the head coach at Penn and seems to be well liked and enjoying some success early in his career. Would he want to make a move back west to start from scratch? That might be a bridge too far for a young coach. Assistant coaching options include Jason Welch! Q: Can you please review which weight classes the United States has qualified for the Olympic Games, and which ones have not? -- Mike C. You have to win your semifinals match at the qualifier and wrestle in the finals to ensure that you have qualified your nation for Rio. As you know, the wrestler who qualifies is not necessarily the wrestler that goes to Rio. The team will be chosen at the Olympic Team Trials April 9-10 in Iowa City. Women's freestyle: Qualified -- 75 kilos: Adeline Gray 48 kilos: Alyssa Lampe 53 kilos: Whitney Condor 58 kilos: Alli Ragan 63 kilos: Erin Clogdo 69 kilos: Tamyra Mensah Men's freestyle: Qualified -- 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs Qualified -- 97 kilos: Kyle Snyder 57 kilos: Anthony Ramos 65 kilos: Brent Metcalf 86 kilos: Jake Herbert 125 kilos: Tervel Dlagnev Greco-Roman: Qualified -- 75 kilos: Andy Bisek Qualified -- 130 kilos: Robby Smith 59 kilos: Spencer Mango 66 kilos: RaVaughn Perkins 85 kilos: Jordan Holm 98 kilos: Joe Rau Q: Why is it we don't see more Western European stars internationally? Zelimkhan Khadjiev has come to prominence, placing fifth at the World Championships last year, and taking second to Jordan Burroughs at the Yasar Dogu, but where are all the athletes from Spain, England, Germany? I know that Greco is somewhat more popular than freestyle there, but even that is scarce compared to the rest of Europe. Why is this? -- Brian B. Foley: Khadjiev is one of my favorite wrestlers to watch, but he's also got a wonderful backstory. Although you would assume that he is a Russian transplant purchased by the French federation, he's actually pretty French having moved to the country when he was 3 years old. As for the freestyle talent in Western Europe there are two reasons. First, some of these countries only celebrate Greco-Roman, a style that was first developed in France in the 1800s. The second is that there is a dearth of freestyle-based traditional styles in the region and very few clubs that support those programs. There is an effort to import talent and development at the international level is underway, but when looking at Europe as a whole it doesn't need to get much more difficult or concentrated with talent. Q: Any comments about Easton (Pa.) Area High School's streak ending this year? Easton wrestling teams produced at least one district champion for 68 consecutive years. Are you aware of other lengthy streaks? -- Charles W. Foley: The Streak. Impressive run by Easton, but like all good streaks they need to end to be fully appreciated. That is one hell of a long time to be putting out district champions in arguably the toughest wrestling hotbed in the nation. In NYC? Wanna wrestle? On March 12, BTS is hosting our first ever Step Into The Circle Fundraiser. It's an adult wrestling tournament. Basically instead of asking friend to sponsor you to run for a cause, you're asking your friends to wrestle for a great wrestling cause. So far we've raised over 24K (all through small donations). We have college alumni teams, corporate teams, teams with old friends, etc. It's going to be a ton of fun and it's a pretty unique fundraiser. You can check it out at https://www.crowdrise.com/StepIntoTheCircle. Email of the Week By Rich W. I am an NC State wrestling fan and enjoyed your column about NC State and Virginia Tech. I saw their dual this year and have some thoughts. Both teams have been built with a "whole team, 10-man" approach. If you look at NC State's big wins this year -- Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Missouri -- it was wins by their unranked wrestlers at 133, 149 and 174 that sealed it. Against Virginia Tech, NC State lost because Virginia Tech's unranked wrestlers at 133 pounds and 149 prevailed. Even when NC State didn't win, the unranked wrestlers contributed by not giving up bonus points. Against Oklahoma State, Missouri, Iowa, and even Old Dominion, NC State only won five matches but in every case they prevailed on bonus points. Giving up only two bonus points to Iowa was huge. I think Skip's single best move to turn the season was convincing Tommy Gantt to redshirt last season in what would have been his last year at NC State. It turned what would have been a last year with a mediocre team into a last year with a special team. However, Skip also let one get away, Bryce Meredith. He was the biggest new contributor for most of last year until Kevin Jack emerged. We'll never know if Bryce could have been comfortable wrestling at 133 this year. Your column focused on the East Coast phenomenon. But I see it more as a Southern thing. How many top-recruit wrestlers really don't want to spend four or five winters living in freezing cold? If this is the issue, maybe NC State has the edge over Virginia Tech! P.S. I think the ACC Championships will come down to who wins two finals matchups between NC State and Virginia Tech, 184 pounds and heavyweight. Both are tossups.

The seeds for the EIWA Wrestling Championships were released on Thursday. Cornell has the most No. 1 seeds with four. The 112th EIWA Championships take place Saturday and Sunday at Jadwin Gym in Princeton, N.J. 125: 1. Paul Petrov (Bucknell) 2. Darian Cruz (Lehigh) 3. David Terao (American) 4. Dalton Macri (Cornell) T5. Zach Fuentes (Drexel) T5. Pat D'Arcy (Princeton) 7. Nolan Hellickson (Harvard) 8. Steven Bulzomi (Binghamton) 9. Bryan Damon (Hofstra) 10. Michael Russo (Brown) 133: 1. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) 2. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) T3. Angelo Amenta (Columbia) T3. Davis Pearce (Drexel) 5. Caleb Richardson (Penn) 6. Zack Davis (Navy) T7. Jacob Nicholson (Binghamton) T7. Jeffrey Ott (Harvard) 9. Austin Harry (Army) 141: 1. Rick Durso (F&M) 2. Todd Preston (Harvard) 3. Randy Cruz (Lehigh) 4. Tyler Smith (Bucknell) 5. Jordan Laster (Princeton) 6. Nicholas Gil (Navy) 7. Logan Everett (Army) T8. Kevin Devoy (Drexel) T8. Jamel Hudson (Hofstra) 10. Tyler Scotton (American) 149: 1. C. J. Cobb (Penn) 2. Matt Cimato (Drexel) 3. Laike Gardner (Lehigh) 4. Steven Galiardo (Brown) 5. Joe Galasso (Cornell) 6. Victor Lopez (Bucknell) 7. Corey Wilding (Navy) 8. Frankie Garcia (Binghamton) 9. Mike D'Angelo (Princeton) 157: 1. John Boyle (American) 2. Dylan Palacio (Cornell) 3. Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) 4. Markus Scheidel (Columbia) 5. May Bethea (Penn) 6. Ian Brown (Lehigh) 7. Russell (Parsons (Army) 8 Adam Krop (Princeton) 9. Vincent DePrez (Binghamton) 165: 1. Duke Pickett (Cornell) 2. Ryan Preisch (Lehigh) 3. Devon Gobbo (Harvard) 4. Tyrel White (Columbia) 5. Jonathan Viruet (Brown) 6. Mitchell Wightman (American) T7. Austin Rose (Drexel ) T7. Ray Bethea (Penn) 9. Judd Ziegler (Princeton) 174: 1. Brian Realburo (Cornell) 2. Casey Kent (Penn) 3. Brian Harvey (Army) 4. Jon Schleifer (Princeton) 5. Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) 6. Jack McKeever (Binghamton) 7. Rustin Barrick (Bucknell) 8. Zack Hernandez (Columbia) 9. Frank Affronti (Hofstra) 10. Andrew LaBrie (Brown) 184: 1. Gabe Dean (Cornell) 2. Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 3. Mathew Miller (Navy) 4. Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) 5. Steven Schneider (Binghamton) 6. Abe Ayala (Princeton) 7. Tom Sleigh (Bucknell) 8. Stephen Loiseau (Drexel) 197: 1. Brett Harner (Princeton) 2. John Bolich (Lehigh) 3. Michael Woulfe (Navy) 4. Owen Scott (Cornell) 5. Frank Mattiace (Penn) 6. Bryce Barnes (Army) 7. Jeric Kasunic (American) 8. Tyler Greene (Bucknell) 9. Josh Popple (Harvard) 285: 1. Joe Stolfi (Bucknell) 2. Max Wessell (Lehigh) 3. Mike Hughes (Hofstra) 4. Jeramy Sweeney (Cornell) 5. Garrett Ryan (Columbia) 6. Ray O'Donnell (Princeton) 7. Nick Gajdzik (Harvard) 8. Joseph Goodhart (Drexel)

TOPEKA, Kan. -- (Brackets) The 2016 NAIA Wrestling National Article ImageChampionships, presented by USA Wrestling-Kansas, official brackets have been released. Session one action inside the Kansas Expocentre is scheduled to start Friday at 10 a.m. CST. The 59th annual event consists of four sessions, concluding Saturday with the championship finals. Official brackets were verified and approved by the NAIA-Wrestling Coaches Association Bracketing Committee Thursday afternoon. There will be 239 wrestlers representing 46 institutions. For the first time in the history of the NAIA, the first three sessions and all six mats will be live streamed at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships on www.NAIANetwork.com. Fans will be able to find the specific match they're looking for using the interactive live scoring system Trackwrestling. The title bouts (session 4) will be delivered on ESPN3. For more information on the NAIA Wrestling National Championship, click here.

Isaiah Martinez will be looking to win his second straight Big Ten title at 157 pounds, but the road to the title likely goes through Jason Nolf (Photo/Darrell Hoemann, Fighting Illini Athletics)This Saturday and Sunday, the Big Ten Conference tournament takes place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The finals will air live on the Big Ten Network at 4 p.m. ET, while the rest of the rounds can be seen on BTN Plus. The tournament field includes nine teams ranked in the InterMat tournament rankings and 64 nationally ranked wrestlers. The following is a weight-by-weight preview of the tournament. The number is parentheses the probability of each wrestler taking home the championship in each individual weight class. The prediction model is based on Nate Silver's March Madness methodology. The probability is determined using three factors, the conference issued preliminary seeds, the InterMat rankings and StrikeScoreMMA.com's Wrestler's Pythagorean Expectation (WPE) which accurately predicted match outcomes in multiple dual meets this season. 125: 1. Nathan Tomasello, OSU (15.83%) 2. Thomas Gilman, IOWA (15.35%) 3. Nico Megaludis, PSU (14.16%) 4. Tim Lambert, NEB (11.43%) 5. Elijah Oliver, IND (8.78%) 6. Johnny Jimenez, WIS (6.04%) 7. Conor Youtsey, MICH (7.43%) 8. Sean McCabe, RU (6.45%) Steve Polakowski, MINN (3.48%) Garrison White, NU (3.33%) Mitch Rogaliner, MSU (3.26%) Michael Beck, MD (1.90%) Francis Edelen, ILL (1.39%) Luke Schroeder, PUR (1.16%) The probability numbers fall in line with the general consensus that this weight in a three-man race between Tomasello, Gilman and Megaludis. Already this season, Tomasello defeated Megaludis, while Gilman has faced neither. The expected Gilman-Megaludis semifinal will be brutal. The winner will most likely not be at his best to face the returning NCAA champion in the final. 133: 1. Zane Richards, ILL (12.90%) 2. Cory Clark, IOWA (12.64%) 3. Jordan Conaway, PSU (11.39%) 4. Geoff Alexander, MD (9.12%) 5. Eric Montoya, NEB (8.74%) 6. Ryan Taylor, WIS (8.57%) 7. Johnni DiJulius, OSU (8.40%) 8. Rossi Bruno, MICH (6.21%) 9. Dom Malone, NU (6.50%) 10. Anthony Giraldo, RU (5.23%) 11. Luke Welch, PUR (3.39%) 12. Garth Yenter, MSU (2.29%) 13. Alonzo Shepherd, IND (2.05%) 14. Sam Brancale, MINN (2.56%) Richards is undefeated on the season. He holds an overtime victory over Clark, which was the Iowa wrestler's only defeat of the season. Do not expect an easy trip to the finals for either man as 133-pound division contains the most ranked wrestlers (9) of any weight in the tournament. 141: 1. Micah Jordan, OSU (15.13%) 2. Tommy Thorn, MINN (13.50%) 3. Anthony Ashnault, RU (14.25%) 4. Jameson Oster, NU (9.07%) 5. Javier Gasca III, MSU (9.18%) 6. Anthony Abidin, NEB (7.25%) 7. Danny Sabatello, PUR (6.26%) 8. Jimmy Gulibon, PSU (6.10%) Brock Ervin, ILL (4.87%) Brody Grothus, IOWA (4.66%) George Fisher, MICH (4.44%) Alfred Bannister, MD (3.09%) Luke Rowh, WIS (1.31%) Tommy Cash, IND (0.90%) Jordan has been solid all season. His lone defeat was a one-point loss to Missouri's Matt Manley. This should be an interesting division for the team race between Penn State and Iowa. Gulibon and Grothus have both performed below expectations this season. Grothus has one of the highest win probabilities among unseeded wrestlers. 149: 1. Zain Retherford, PSU (14.70%) 2. Brandon Sorensen, IOWA (13.93%) 3. Jake Sueflohn, NEB (12.87%) 4. Jason Tsirtsis, NU (11.50%) 5. Alec Pantaleo, MICH (11.49%) 6. Alex Griffin, PUR (7.15%) 7. Andrew Crone, WIS (5.72%) 8. Jake Short, MINN (7.47%) Tyson Dippery, RU (4.02%) Luke Blanton, IND (3.42%) Kyle Langenderfer, ILL (2.96%) Cody Burcher, OSU (2.03%) Wade Hodges, MD (1.86%) Kaelan Richard, MSU (0.87) Retherford is undefeated on the season and has scored bonus in over 88 percent of his matches. Sorensen is also undefeated and extremely hard to score on. Both wrestlers hold victories over Sueflohn and Tsirtsis, so fans can look forward to a final featuring a pair of undefeated wrestlers. 157: 1. Jason Nolf, PSU (16.17%) 2. Isaiah Martinez, ILL (15.38%) 3. Richie Lewis, RU (11.90%) 4. Jake Ryan, OSU (10.74%) 5. Edwin Cooper, Jr., IOWA (8.95%) 6. Brian Murphy, MICH (9.21%) 7. Tyler Berger, NEB (7.45%) 8. Lou Mascola, MD (5.19%) Brandon Kingsley, MINN (5.20%) Doug Welch, PUR (3.81%) Jake Danishek, IND (2.70%) TJ Rushchell, WIS (1.73%) Mark Bozzo, MSU (1.02%) Anthony Petrone, NU (0.66%) Nolf has the second-highest win probability of anyone in this tournament. In January, he handed Martinez, the returning national champion, his first career collegiate defeat via third-period fall. Since then, Martinez has returned to form with four-straight wins. Nolf has extended his undefeated season record to 27-0. He is putting up bonus in a staggering 93 percent of his matches. The expected finals rematch is one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament and it should not disappoint. 165: 1. Isaac Jordan, WIS (14.25%) 2. Bo Jordan, OSU (13.78%) 3. Steven Rodrigues, ILL (12.39%) 4. Anthony Perrotti, RU (11.98%) 5. Chad Welch, PUR (11.21%) 6. Austin Wilson, NEB (9.29%) 7. Geno Morelli, PSU (6.97%) 8. Patrick Rhoads, IOWA (5.71%) Brandon Krone, MINN (3.30%) Garrett Sutton, MICH (3.14%) Brendan Burnham, MD (3.08%) Bryce Martin, IND (1.96%) Luke Norland, NU (1.63%) Dean Vettese, MSU (1.31%) As expected, the Jordan cousins dominated this weight in the conference. Last month, Isaac moved to 2-0 career against Bo with a 6-4 victory that did not seem that close. There should be a tough fight for third as Rodrigues, Perrotti and Welch have all had strong seasons up to this point. 174: 1. Bo Nickal, PSU (15.33%) 2. Alex Meyer, IOWA (12.33%) 3. Zach Brunson, ILL (13.39%) 4. Myles Martin, OSU (10.41%) 5. Nathan Jackson, IND (10.95%) 6. Micah Barnes, NEB (8.49%) 7. Nick Wanzek, MINN (6.47%) 8. Ricky Robertson, WIS (4.47%) 9. Phil Bakuckas, RU (6.67%) 10. Mitch Sliga, NU (4.04%) 11. Aaron Calderon, MICH (3.59%) 12. Josh Snook, MD (1.99%) 13. Shane Shadaia, MSU (1.26%) 14. Andrew Hoselton, PUR (0.60%) Nickal has one of the bigger gaps over the field in terms of win probability. His lone defeat on the season came against Jackson in January. Brunson over Meyer has been one of the more popular upset picks among wrestling writers. The win probability seems to agree with that sentiment. The two did not wrestle this year. However, Meyer did score a come-from-behind fall at the buzzer over Brunson last season. The Illinois wrestler might not be at the top of his game. In his last match, he was upset by Wanzek 13-10. 184: 1. Dominic Abounader, MICH (15.68%) 2. Matt McCutcheon, PSU (13.85%) 3. Sam Brooks, IOWA (11.82%) 4. TJ Dudley, NEB (11.96%) 5. Nick Gravina, RU (8.43%) 6. Kenny Courts, OSU (8.64%) 7. Jeff Koepke, ILL (7.15%) 8. Ryan Christensen, WIS (4.74%) Tanner Lynde, PUR (4.19%) Mark Colabucci, MD (3.73%) Matt Irick, IND (3.46%) Mitch Sliga, NU (2.68%) Shwan Shadaia, MSU (2.25%) Chris Pfarr, MINN (1.41%) Abounader should be the favorite here. He is 20-1 on the season and his only defeat came against Cornell's Gabe Dean. McCutcheon is still not right due to injuries and has defaulted two of his last five matches. Brooks is coming off a loss to Pete Renda of NC State, but he defeated Abounader at last year's NCAA tournament. 197: 1. Morgan McIntosh, PSU (16.31%) 2. Brett Pfarr, MINN (15.06%) 3. Nathan Burak, IOWA (14.44%) 4. Max Huntley, MICH (13.35%) 5. Aaron Studebaker, NEB (10.67%) 6. Mark Martin, OSU (6.18%) 7. Hayden Hrymack, RU (5.83%) 8. Jacob Cooper, MSU (4.13%) Jacob Berkowitz, NU (3.32%) Andre Lee, ILL (2.62%) Eric Peissig, WIS (2.49%) Drake Stein, PUR (2.12%) Garrett Wesneski, MD (1.93%) Jake Massengale, IND (1.56%) McIntosh has the highest win probability of anyone in the tournament. He is undefeated on the season and holds a victory over second seeded Pfarr. The Penn State wrestler is 4-0 in his career against Burak with a 19-7 combined score in those four matches. The expected semifinal between Pfarr and Burak might be the most interesting rematch of the bracket. Burak's only defeat on the season came against Pfarr after the referee did not call a near takedown at the final buzzer that would have won the match for Iowa.. 285: 1. Adam Coon, MICH (14.19%) 2. Kyle Snyder, OSU (13.66%) 3. Sam Stoll, IOWA (12.79%) 4. Billy Smith, RU (10.85%) 5. Michael Kroells, MINN (10.89%) 6. Collin Jensen, NEB (6.77%) 7. Brooks Black, ILL (6.94%) 8. Nick Nevills, PSU (6.84%) Dawson Peck, MD (4.64%) Garrett Goldman, IND (3.48%) Tyler Kral, PUR (3.43%) Brock Horwath, WIS (3.03%) Conan Jennings, NU (1.52%) Dimitrus Renfroe, MSU (0.97%) Coon enters as the number-one seed with the highest win probability. The junior world medalist is 15-1 with his only defeat coming against nemesis Ty Walz of Virginia Tech. However, Snyder is a reigning World champion at 97 kilos. He has only wrestled three matches so far this season and taken bonus in all three. Stoll was injured at the end of the NC State dual meet, so his status is still up in the air. Also, Nevills has returned from what was thought to be a season ending injury. He has loads of talent but has only wrestled in six matches on the season. Richard Mann currently runs the data-driven MMA blog StrikeScoreMMA.com.

USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States, has declared the week of March 5-13 as Women's Wrestling Week in the United States. This year's Women's Wrestling Week is in conjunction with the celebration of Girls Sports Month in March. USA TODAY Sports is helping celebrate March's Girls Sports Month with a series of feature stories and other activities. It is also Women's History Month, a perfect time to focus on women athletes and leaders in the sport of wrestling. As part of Women's Wrestling Week, any female athlete who is not a member of USA Wrestling is invited to come out and try the sport at a chartered club practice. USA Wrestling will provide a complimentary membership for March 5-13, the time covered by Women's Wrestling Week. USA Wrestling chartered clubs have been encouraged to allow females of all ages to attend their practice free of charge during World Wrestling Week. To find a club program in your area, visit the link below: http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Membership/Athletes/Find-a-Club Additionally, female athletes with prior wrestling experience who would like to participate in a USA Wrestling sanctioned event may do so on both weekends of March 5-6 and March 12-13. USA Wrestling extended the week to cover two weekends in order to provide even more opportunity for young women to try the sport. Athletes who will attend practices or events with the complimentary membership are asked to confirm their attendance in advance with the club leader or event host before going to the activity. To continue on last year's efforts the hashtag #EachOneBringOne will be used within social media as part of Women's Wrestling Week this year. In addition, to extend the success of National Girls and Women in Sports Day in February, people are also encouraged to continue using the hashtag #GirlsWrestle during this time. Three-time World champion Adeline Gray, a top medal contender for the upcoming Olympic Games, encourages girls and women of all ages to give wrestling a try and learn about its many benefits. She has been interviewed by USA Today as part of their series on Girls Sports Month, and her feature in USA Today will be published next week during Women's Wrestling Week. "It is not just for young girls, it is for anybody. There are so many women who say to me that they wish they had been able to have the opportunity to wrestle. I love to see them try it, to get on the mat, get in a stance and use it as part of their personal fitness and lifestyle. For young girls, they need to realize that these opportunities are real. Even if they try it out for fun, it is important to realize that there are so many things that come from wrestling that are very good, for both males and females," said Gray. Leaders within USA Wrestling and its women's wrestling programs are looking forward to this year's Women's Wrestling Week. "I am excited to join our amazing female athletes and USA Wrestling leaders in kicking off Girls Sports Month with a week focused on introducing more girls and women to wrestling and its athletes. Working together, we can ensure that all American girls have access to wrestling and the opportunity to benefit from the discipline, confidence and grit wrestling develops in each individual," said Kyra Barry, U.S. Women's Team Leader. "Women's Wrestling Week is important because there are still people, including a lot of coaches, athletes and parents, who don't know about the opportunities we have in this country for women in wrestling. We are seeing explosive growth for young women in the sport of wrestling, but there are so many more we have yet to reach. The USA has a strong Senior Women's Team, but we will be even stronger as we increase our numbers by expanding opportunity," said National Women's Coach Terry Steiner. "Wrestling teaches the most amazing life lessons, and we are pleased to offer this opportunity to more girls and young women during Women's Wrestling Week. As a community, we have a great chance this week to continue to create more opportunity for women in wrestling," said Patricia Fox, chair of USA Wrestling's Women's Age-Group Council. "It is our mission to build and grow women's wrestling in our nation. USA Wrestling is committed to being inclusive. We invite all girls and women to try wrestling and learn about how the sport can make a positive impact in your life," said USA Wrestling President James Ravannack. As part of Women's Wrestling Week, USA Wrestling will be providing daily features on American women's women's wrestling through its media platforms, to highlight the rich heritage of women's wrestling in our nation. "We are excited to celebrate and promote Women's Wrestling Week. USA Wrestling is committed to providing every single American youth with the opportunity to experience wrestling, both male and female. Our goal is for young girls to be given additional quality opportunities to get on the mat. America needs wrestling now as much as ever, and that goes for women and men alike. These are exciting times as we thrive to make our sport available to all," said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. Take part in Women's Wrestling Week!! Go to TheMat.com or follow USA Wrestling's social media platforms for more information about Women's Wrestling Week.

Quick quiz for current and former high school wrestlers, their families and fans: You've just been pinned in a match. What should you do? A. Shake your opponent's hand, then leave the mat without incident. B. Shake your opponent's hand, then punch him in the face, then create a scene that gets you and your dad arrested. Sadly, one New Jersey high school wrestler apparently thought that "B" was the correct answer, judging by his reported behavior at the Region 1 wrestling tournament at Wallkill Valley Regional High School this past weekend, according to multiple media reports. Ralph Hall Jr., a senior at Lenape Valley High School, was pinned at 2:28 of his 220-pound match in the first round of wrestlebacks by Adam Schlereth of Newton. As Schlereth was being declared the winner by having his arm raised by the referee, the 18-year-old Hall punched the Newton senior in the face. "He got up, shook my hand and hit me with a nice punch," Schlereth told NJ.com. "We played youth football together when we were younger and he's always been the type of kid to be mad and frustrated after a loss, but I never thought it would come to that." After Hall threw the punch, he was kicked out of the building and police on duty followed him out. He was arrested for assault. Ralph Hall Sr., seated in the stands, expressed his displeasure with what was happening to his son, and was also escorted out of the building by police. The elder Hall continued to cause a disturbance while leaving the gym and into the hallway, the New Jersey Herald reported. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Despite getting socked in the face, Schlereth returned to wrestling in the tournament. "Everybody was talking to me about it but I was trying to focus on my match," Schlereth said. "The cops came to me and asked if I wanted to press charges but I told them to talk to me after I wrestle." Schlereth made it to the consolation finals, where he was pinned at 5:04 of the match. Meanwhile, Ralph Hall Jr. and his father are awaiting court appearances for their arrests. Update March 3: Good things can come from a bad situation: Adam Schlereth will be wrestling at the 2016 New Jersey state wrestling championships after all. The wrestler who pinned him at the Region 1 consolation finals, Todd Eckert of Roxbury, was forced to pull out of the state tournament because of an injury; Schlereth will go in his place this weekend..