InterMat Staff

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team posted five individual placewinners, including runner-up finishes from junior Rossi Bruno and sophomore Adam Coon, to claim fifth place (88.5 points) at the Southern Scuffle on Friday (Jan. 2) at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. Bruno, seeded third at 133 pounds, had to settle for runner-up honors for the third time this season, falling to Iowa State's fifth seeded -- and 13th-ranked -- Earl Hall, 5-2, in the championship match. Tied at 1-1 late in the third period, Bruno, ranked eighth, went big with an attempted cement mixer, but Hall took advantage, countering for a takedown and two near fall. Bruno picked up a pair of solid wins in the morning session, earning bonus points with an 11-1 major decision over North Carolina's Troy Heilmann in the quarterfinals before edging Lehigh's second-seeded -- and sixth-ranked -- Mason Beckman, 7-5, in the first tiebreaker of his semifinal bout. Bruno and Beckman traded takedowns and escapes in regulation and after a scoreless sudden-victory frame, Bruno started on bottom first in the tiebreaker. He escaped quickly and locked up a cradle on the edge in the waning moments of the 30-second frame to gain a three-point advantage. Beckman escaped in the second round but could muster nothing else as Bruno held on for the victory. Coon, seeded third at heavyweight, fell to Oklahoma State's top-seeded -- and fourth-ranked -- Austin Marsden, 7-4, in the championship match. Marsden struck on an early single leg in the first period and countered a pair of Coon attacks to add two more in the third, including one in the waning seconds to ice it. Coon earned two decisions in the morning round, shutting out Penn State's sixth-seeded Jon Gingrich, 2-0, in the quarterfinals on an escape and 1:50 riding time and cruising to a 10-3 win over Missouri's seventh-seeded Devin Mellon in the semifinals. Coon scored takedowns in the first and third period against Mellon, locking up a cradle to add two back points off the former and rode for 1:32. Sophomore Domenic Abounader, seeded eighth at 184 pounds, posted a 6-2 record, including a 3-2 mark today, en route to fifth place in his Southern Scuffle debut. Abounader rallied in his medal match to defeat Missouri's fourth-seeded -- and ninth-ranked -- Willie Miklus, 4-3, on a third-period rideout and 1:21 in time advantage. After giving up an early duck under, Abounader reversed midway through the second and trailed by one entering the final period. Abounader opened the day with a 13-5 loss to Cornell's second-seeded -- and seventh-ranked -- Gabe Dean, in the semifinals but rebounded in the wrestlebacks. He also earned a solid win over Oklahoma State's fifth-seeded Nolan Boyd, 5-3, scoring counter takedowns in the first and second periods. Fifth-year senior Max Huntley, seeded fifth at 197 pounds, took sixth place after defaulting out prior to the consolation semifinals. He posted a 5-1 record, including a 2-1 mark today, earning back-to-back consolation wins after falling to Penn State's fourth-seeded -- and fourth-ranked -- Morgan McIntosh, 7-4, in the quarterfinal round. After giving up a pair of first-period takedowns in that contest, Huntley scored out of a scramble at the second-period buzzer and escaped quickly in the third to pull within one. McIntosh struck again, however, finishing an ankle pick on the edge and riding out the period to hang on. After earning bonus with a major decision in his first wrestleback match, Huntley gutted out a 5-4 decision over Virginia's ninth-seeded -- and 16th-ranked -- Zach Nye in his second, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods. Huntley finished the match despite requiring injury time in the second but defaulted out of his remaining matches for precautionary reasons. Sophomore/freshman George Fisher, unseeded at 141 pounds, rounded out the Wolverines' placewinners, claiming seventh place in his second varsity tournament appearance. He closed out the tournament with a commanding 9-3 decision over Oklahoma State's eighth-seeded Dean Heil in the medal match. Fisher built up a sizable early lead with two first-period single legs, adding two near fall with a cradle off the latter. He iced the match late with another takedown , barreling Heil over when the Cowboy relaxed after missing on a shot of his own. The victory turned around Fisher's loss to Heil in last night's third round; he lost that match 7-2. Fisher opened the day with a pair of wrestleback falls, upping his tournament total to three, in just a combined 3:49. He used a leg turk to a reverse half to pin Army's Matthew Kelly at 2:06 before making quicker work of Appalachian State's Mike Longo, cradling him up off a takedown to secure the fall at 1:43. Two Wolverines finished just a match shy of placing as junior/sophomore Conor Youtsey and sophomore/freshman Brian Murphy were eliminated with similar 4-2 records at 125 and 157 pounds, respectively. Michigan will kick off Big Ten Conference dual competition next weekend, traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., to face Minnesota at 8 p.m. CST on Friday (Jan. 9) before squaring off against in-state rival Michigan State 2 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 11) in East Lansing, Mich. Friday's dual against the Golden Gophers will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Oklahoma State finished third at the Southern Scuffle with three individual champions in Josh Kindig (149), Alex Dieringer (165) and Austin Marsden (285). The Cowboys finished with 135.5 points, behind Penn State's 165 points and Missouri's 150 points. "It was good to see the three victories in tonight's finals," coach John Smith said. "It's nice to see us score takedowns to win those types of matches. Overall, it wasn't a bad tournament for us. It tells us how far away we are, which is a little further than I hoped. We can take good things out of this tournament as we head into next week. I'm looking forward to competing against Iowa." Kindig, the first champ for the Cowboys, started the day with a defensive fall in the third period of the quarterfinals over Luke Frey of Penn State to send him to the semifinals. There, he edged Pittsburgh's Edgar Bright, 3-2, to earn his spot in the 149-pound finals, where he took on No. 4 Drake Houdashelt of Missouri. The two finished with a scoreless first period, and the Tiger was the first to put points on the board with a second-period escape. Kindig tied it up with his own escape in the third. Houdashelt got in on a shot, but it was Kindig who ended up with the takedown early in the third period. An escape from Houdashelt and a trio of penalty points between the two made the final score 5-3 and gave Kindig his first Southern Scuffle title. "That match was a great win for me after losing to him last year more than once," Kindig said. "However, I have a lot of work to do to get where I want to be when it comes time for nationals. I need to focus on putting more points on the board against guys like him." Dieringer sailed to the finals in his second day of action, notching two technical falls and giving up a total of two points. The first came over Dakota Friesth of Wyoming in the quarterfinals, where he ended the match almost a minute early, 18-1. In the semifinals, he was just as dominant, taking out Peyton Walsh of Navy, 17-1. In the finals, Dieringer took out No. 2 Nick Sulzer of Virginia, 8-2. Dieringer tallied up three takedowns with an escape and riding time advantage to seal his second-consecutive Southern Scuffle title. The win was his second victory over the Cavalier this season, with the first coming at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November. "I feel good about my performance," Dieringer said. "I didn't give up an offensive point, and I got five bonus matches so I feel good about that. Also to wrestle the No. 2 guy, Sulzer, was good to see where I am at this point in the season. That being said, I have to go back and keep working on my flaws and push hard in the room every day. Only three more months." Marsden became the third finalist for the Pokes when he rolled over Penn State's Nick Nevills, 11-3. The junior collected four takedowns en route to the win. Earlier in the day, Marsden had no trouble defeating Collin Jensen of Nebraska with two takedowns and a reversal. He met up with Michigan's Adam Coon in the finals. Marsden scored the only takedowns of the match to defeat Coon, 7-4, and win his first title at the event. "I went into the tournament with a completely different mindset," Marsden said. "Instead of winning by one or two shots, I wanted to go out there and push the pace and score a lot of takedowns. The Scuffle was my opportunity to change it, and I thought I wrestled well. I got a lot of bonus points. I wrestled through to the finals, where I got the first takedown and kept the pace and didn't slow down." With a decisive 8-3 win over Ben Willeford of Cleveland State in the quarterfinals to start the day, Eddie Klimara advanced to the 125-pound semifinals, where he faced No. 3 Alan Waters of Mizzou. The junior got the first takedown with a solid ride in the first period, but Waters got the escape and a takedown of his own to leave the Cowboy trailing, 3-2, heading into the second period. Klimara started the period with a reversal and gave up the escape to tie the bout, 4-4. Waters later took the lead with a third-period escape. Although there were several well-battled takedown attempts from the Cowboy, none were completed and Klimara fell 5-4. Following the loss, he was able to advance to the third-place match, where he went up against Sean Boyle of Tennessee-Chattanooga. A slow start put the Cowboy behind and he was not able to overcome the deficit, falling, 11-9, and finishing fourth. Marsteller also finished fourth, but it was his quarterfinal win that got attention. The true freshman upset the No. 3-seed and 12th ranked Dylan Palacio of Cornell in an 11-10 thriller. Marsteller struck first with a takedown in the first. The rest of the period was full of reversals and nearfalls to bring the score to 8-6 in favor of Marsteller, leading into the second. An escape and takedown for Palacio in the second period gave him a 9-8 advantage. Marsteller tied it up with an escape in the third, but it was a takedown at the buzzer that gave Marsteller the huge upset victory. OSU had five other placers in Dean Heil (141), Anthony Collica (157), Kyle Crutchmer and Jordan Rogers (174) and Nolan Boyd (184). The Cowboys will resume dual action on Jan. 11 in Stillwater, Okla., as they host the Iowa Hawkeyes.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The University of Iowa wresting team recorded a 27-9 win over the No. 23 ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The win improves Iowa's winning record against Rutgers to 2-0 after a 33-9 victory in 2009. The Hawkeyes resumed their regular season schedule after collecting 4 individual titles and an overall team-win at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championship on Dec. 29th and 30th. Sophomore Cory Clark (133), junior Nathan Burak (197), and seniors Mike Evans (174) and Bobby Telford (285) all walked away with championship honors at their respective weights. Thomas Gilman took on Rutger's sophomore Sean McCabe and scored early finishing the first period ahead 10-4. Gilman ended the match at 6:33 with a 25-10 tech fall. The win included 12 takedowns by Gilman and put the Hawkeyes in front 4-0. Sophomore Phillip Laux went at 133 to compete with Scott DelVecchio, ultimately being overcome 10-3. This was Laux's first career dual appearance, bringing his career record overall to 23-2. Senior Josh Dziewa battled the No. 11 ranked Anthony Ashnault, but fell behind at the very end with a last second takedown by Ashnault. The 2-point score gave the Rutgers redshirt freshman a 3-1 advantage. The win put Rutgers ahead 6-4 heading into the 149-pound match-up. Brandon Sorenson, coming off of a third place finish at the Midlands Championships, collected a major decision 18-5 victory over Ken Theobold. Sorenson recorded his 6th career major decision win, moving his career record to 20-3. At 157 Michael Kelly faced #13 Anthony Perrotti and recorded a 4-0 decision, helping to move Iowa further into the lead with a score of 11-6. This was Kelly's first Big Ten appearance of the 2014-2015 season. Seniors Nick Moore (165) and Mike Evans (174) collected a major decision and decision, respectively. Moore took on Nick Gravina and recorded four takedowns and two near falls in the 16-4 victory. Evans, defending 174-pound Midlands champion, shut out opponent Phil Bukuckas with a 5-0 decision. Sammy Brooks delivered the only fall of the night, pinning Hayden Hrymack at 3:52. The pin contributed three of six bonus points Iowa tallied during the dual. Three takedowns helped Rutgers newcomer Andrew Campolattano defeat Kris Klapprodt in an 8-5 decision at 197. Undefeated heavyweight Bobby Telford improved his season record to 15-0 after a 6-2 decision over Billy Smith, solidifying the Iowa victory with a final score of 27-9. Iowa will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 4 as they take on the No. 7 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The dual is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. (CT) in Columbus, Ohio. Results: 125 - #4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) tech fall Sean McCabe (Rutgers), 25-10; 4-0 133 - Scott DelVecchio (Rutgers) dec. Phillip Laux (Iowa), 10-3; 4-3 141 - #11 Anthony Ashnault (Rutgers) dec. #6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 3-1; 4-6 149 - #10 Brandon Sorenson (Iowa) major dec. Ken Theobold (Rutgers), 18-5; 8-6 157 - Mike Kelly (Iowa) dec. #13 Anthony Perrotti (Rutgers), 4-0; 11-6 165 - #7 Nick Moore (Iowa) major dec. Nick Gravina (Rutgers), 16-4; 15-6 174 - #2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. Phil Bukuckas (Rutgers), 5-0; 18-6 184 - #8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) pinned Hayden Hrymach (Rutgers), 3:52; 24-6 197 - Andrew Campolattano (Rutgers) dec. Kris Klapprodt (Iowa), 8-5; 24-9 285 - #3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #9 Billy Smith (Rutgers), 6-2; 27-9

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Mizzou wrestling concluded the final day of the 2015 Defense Soap & Flips Southern Scuffle with three event championships and a second place overall finish. Redshirt senior Alan Waters (125), redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes (141) and sophomore J'den Cox (197) all racked up titles in their respective brackets, while also maintaining their perfect records to start the 2014-15 season. Mizzou's 150.0 team points was good enough for second place, only trailing No. 4 Penn State's tournament winning 165.0 points. The impressive two-day effort by the Tigers outgained national powers such as No. 8 Oklahoma State (135.5 points), No. 12 Nebraska (116.0), No. 15 Michigan (88.5), No. 3 Cornell (79.5), No. 11 Lehigh (79.0), No. 9 Pittsburgh (72.0), No. 21 Wyoming (57.6), No. 16 Virginia (51.5), and No. 14 Iowa State (49.5). The second greatest attendance number in Chattanooga Southern Scuffle history made their way to McKenzie Arena Friday, as 3,320 total attendees made their way through the turnstiles. The second day of the Scuffle began with the quarterfinals rounds and two rounds of consolation matches. Waters once again began the day strong for Mizzou, by picking up a technical fall win over Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) and advancing to the semifinals. Redshirt sophomore Zach Synon later advanced to the blood round, defeating two opponents in a row, both by decision. Mayes followed suit, winning in tie-breaker period one over Dean Heil (Oklahoma State) to advance to the 141 pound semifinals. In the 149 pound semifinal, redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt had a back-and-forth match against No. 15 Mike Racciato (Pittsburgh), winning 11-7 to move to the title match. Redshirt senior Johnny Eblen later defeated No. 7 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) to advance in the 174 pound bracket. Redshirt freshman Willie Miklus and Cox both advanced to their respective semifinals by way of major decisions, leaving the Tigers with seven wrestlers still in the running for an event championship. Afternoon matchups brought ranked wins in the field of eight for Waters, Mayes, Houdashelt, and Cox, moving them into the finals and locking in the team's second place standing for the tournament. Also making it into placement matches were Eblen, Miklus and redshirt senior Devin Mellon. Waters recorded the first title of the evening for Mizzou with a 3-1 decision win over No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell). Up next in the 141 pound title matchup was Mayes against No. 17 Geordan Martinez (Boise State). A close 6-4 decision in Mayes' favor gave Tiger Style their second event winner of the tournament. Houdashelt suffered his first loss of the season in his 149 pound championship match to No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) via 5-3 decision. Cox responded nicely for the Tigers and got the team back in the winner's circle, as he defeated No. 5 Conner Hartmann by a 6-1 decision. Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).

Related: Brackets | Team Scores | Placers | Blog CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 4 in the latest Intermat Tournament Power Index, used a torrid morning session to win the 2015 Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad used a balanced attack of placers at nine of ten weights to win its fifth straight Southern Scuffle title. Penn State won the team race with 165.0 points while Missouri was second with 150.0. The Lions went 29-15 in the morning session to bolt out to an insurmountable lead over the Tigers. Oklahoma State placed third with 135.5, Nebraska fourth with 116.0 and Michigan fifth with 88.5 The day began with the quarterfinals and for Penn State that meant sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) was up first. Gulibon, ranked No. 5 nationally and the top seed at 133, downed No. 15 Kevin Devoy of Drexel 7-2. Penn State had two quarterfinalists at 149. Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 17, picked up key bonus points with a third period pin over Drexel's Matt Cimato at the 6:35 mark. Junior Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.) took on Josh Kindig, ranked No. 2 nationally. Frey was tied 2-2 midway through the third period and was turning Kindig for possible back points when the official gave Kindig a defensive pin at the 5:22 mark, sending Frey into consolation action. Senior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 8 at 157 and making his season debut at the tournament, was tied 1-1 in the third when he was turned for a quick pin at the 6:24 mark, falling into consolation action. True freshman Jason Nolf (Yatesboro, Pa.), red-shirting this season and wrestling unattached, moved into the semifinals with a strong 6-1 win over North Carolina State's Tommy Gantt. Senior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 4 nationally at 174, posted a hard-fought 11-6 win over Oklahoma State's Jordan Rogers in his quarterfinal match. Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), the sixth-seed at 184, dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Lehigh's Nate Brown, who was ranked No. 3 nationally. Junior Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 nationally at 197, posted a strong 7-4 win over No. 12 Max Huntley of Michigan to move into the semifinals. Penn State had two semifinalists at heavyweight. Senior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), the sixth-seed at 285, lost a 2-0 decision to No. 8 Adam Coon of Michigan. True freshman Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), red-shirting this season and wrestling unattached, dominated No. 19 Riley Shaw of Cleveland State. Nevills rolled to a 5-1 win with over 4:00 in riding time to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Gulibon gave up two second period takedowns and could not come back from it, dropping a tough 5-2 decision to No. 13 Earl Hall of Iowa State. Beitz took on Missouri's Drake Houdashelt, ranked fourth nationally, in the semis and nearly picked up the upset. A third period ride out gave the Tiger a riding time point and a 3-2 decision. Nolf became Penn State's first finalist, albeit a non-team scoring one, with a strong 6-1 win over No. 12 Russell Parsons of Army in his semifinal bout. The win pushed the unattached true freshman into the championship finals. Brown opened up an early lead on No. 5 Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh and held on for a hard-fought 6-5 decision to advance to become Penn State's second finalists. McIntosh took on defending National Champion J'Den Cox of Missouri in the semifinals. Cox turned a second period escape and a riding time bonus point into a 2-1 win, sending McIntosh into the consolation semifinals with the close decision. Nevills took Oklahoma State's Austin Marsden, ranked No. 4 nationally at 285, in the semifinals but dropped an 11-3 major to the Cowboy big man and moving to the consolation semifinals. Nolf met top-seed James Green of Nebraska, ranked No. 2 nationally, in the finals at 157. The Nittany Lion battled the three-time All-American tough for seven minutes but dropped a tough 7-4 decision to the Husker senior. Nolf went 4-1 during his second-place performance in his first trip to the Southern Scuffle. Brown took on top-seed Robert Kokesh of Nebraska, ranked No. 1 nationally, in the finals at 174. Brown gave up a second period takedown and could not come back from it despite a flurry of shots in the third period. Kokesh's defense allowed the Husker to post the 3-2 decision. Brown placed second with a 5-1 record, including a pin, a tech fall and a major. The Lions who did not win in the semis roared back to help Penn State in the team race. Gulibon dominated No. 14 Mackenzie McGuire of Kent State in the conso semis, posting a 7-2 win to advance to the third place match. In that match, the Lion sophomore dropped a tough 3-1 (sv) decision to No. 6 Mason Beckman of Lehigh. Gulibon went 4-2 with two majors to place fourth. Beitz took on teammate Frey in the consolation semifinals and posted a hard won 2-1 decision, moving to the third place bout. In that bout, the Lion sophomore lost a tough 3-2 bout to No. 7 Edgar Bright of Pittsburgh. Beitz went 4-2 with a pin and a major during his fourth place fun. McIntosh made quick work of No. 18 Jace Bennett of Cornell in the conso semis, picking up first period pin at the 1:37 mark to move into the third place match. In that match, McIntosh posted a 4-3 win over No 15 Elliott Riddick of Lehigh to take third place. McIntosh went 5-1 with two pins in his tourney run. Nevills was set to take on teammate Jon Gingrich in the conso semis but, after getting banged up in the prior match, the Lion took a medical forfeit. He ended the tournament, starting unseeded, as the sixth place finisher, posting a 3-1 mark overall. Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 125, bounced back from a contested upset loss last night to win three straight consolation matches to start the day. Conaway posted two decisions early and then majored Pitt's Dom Forys 8-0 to move into the conso quarters. He dropped a tough 8-5 decision to No. 17 Tim Lambert of Nebraska to fall into the seventh place match. In that placing bout, the Lion junior took revenge on Willeford to the tune of a 10-4 decision. He went 5-2 at the Scuffle during his seventh place run with a tech fall and two majors. With every point of critical import in a tight team race, Penn State got solid production at 141 pounds. Red-shirt freshman Kade Moss (South Jordan, Utah) posted key bonus points with a major decision in his first conso bout Friday morning and both an injury default and a medical forfeit following that. With a top-eight finish clinched, Moss was not done. He pinned Oklahoma State's Dan Heil at the 4:18 mark, picking up his third pin of the tournament. He was pinned by No. 10 Zach Horan of Central Michigan in the conso semis, moving to the fifth place bout where lost 8-5 to No. 14 Joe Ward of North Carolina. Moss went 7-3 overall with three pins, a major and two forfeits for 11.0 bonus points. Frey responded to his tough loss to Kindig by dominating Central Michigan's Justin Oliver 9-2, clinched a top-eight finish and then downed Central Michigan's Colin Heffernan in the conso quarters to set up a consolation semifinal bout with teammate Beitz. Beitz posted a tough 2-1 win, sending Frey to the fifth place match where he pinned Nebraska's Tyler Berger in the first period, getting a quick fall at the 1:30 mark. Frey went 6-2 with two pins to place fifth. Alton responded to his upset loss in the quarters by catching No. 4 Brian Realbuto in a headlock and putting him to his back for a quick pin. The fall, at the 1:17 mark, moved Alton into the conso quarters and clinched a top eight finish in his first event of the year. He then duplicated the effort, catching No. 19 Anthony Collica in another headlock and picking up the first period pin at the 2:33 mark. Alton took on No. 12 Russell Parsons of Army in the consolation semifinals and worked his way to a thrilling 5-4 win. The decision pushed the fifth seed into the third place bout where he dropped a 5-2 decision to North Carolina State's Tommy Gantt. Alton made his season debut at the event and went 5-2, placed fourth as the fifth seed and picked up two pins over ranked wrestlers. McCutcheon bounced back with a strong 3-1 win over Nebraska's Aaron Studebaker in his first consolation match. The decision clinched a top-eight finish and moved him into the consolation quarters where he dominated No. 19 T.J. Dudley of Nebraska. McCutcheon was up 11-0 with just :30 left when Dudley injury defaulted, giving McCutcheon two bonus points on top of the win. In the consolation semis, he took on No. 9 Willie Miklus of Missouri in a key bout in the team race. McCutcheon used a late takedown to grab a thrilling 9-8 win and move into the third place bout. The red-shirt freshman took on No. 3 Brown of Lehigh again and fell 4-0. McIntosh placed fourth with a 5-2 record, including a pin. Gingrich took care of Appalachian State's Denzel DeJournette in his consolation match, posting a 9-5 win. The victory clinched a top-eight finish for the Lion senior and moved him into the conso quarters where he posted a quick 15-0 tech fall over Kent State's Mimmo Lytle. In the conso semis, Gingrich was set to meet teammate Nick Nevills, but Nevills was banged up the match before so Gingrich grabbed the medical forfeit and moved into the third place bout. In the third place match-up, Gingrich used a last second takedown to post a thrilling 3-2 win over Missouri's Devin Mellon. Gingrich's third place finish came off a 7-1 record which included a pin, two majors, a tech and one forfeit victory. Junior Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) lost his first consolation match of the day, a 10-4 decision, and ended his Scuffle run with a 2-2 mark, including two majors. Red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) nearly upset No. 10 Joey LaValle of Missouri in his first consolation bout Sunday, but riding time led to a 2-1 loss. Law went 2-2 with a major. Classmate Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.), Penn State's lone competitor at 165, dropped an 11-9 (sv) decision in his first consolation bout and ended his tournament with a 2-2 mark, including a pin. Senior heavyweight Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.), making his season debut at the Scuffle, lost his first wrestle-back of the day and ended his tournament with a 2-2 mark. True freshman Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas), wrestling unattached, went 2-1 on day one and was nicked midway through his third round tie-breaker loss (on one second of riding time) to Wyoming senior Andy McCulley. Nickal took a medical forfeit (which is not a loss) and ended his tourney run with a 2-1 record at 174. Senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.), ranked No. 6 nationally at 285 and the tournament's No. 2 seed, did not wrestle at the event due to injury as well. After a 38-7 first day, Penn State went 33-22 on day two of the event, posting a final 71-29 overall mark. The Lions tallied 33 bonus point victories over the tournament's two day run (12 majors, three technical falls, 14 pins, four forfeits). Penn State had place-winners at nine of the ten weights (all except 165) and picked up team points at all ten weights. The Nittany Lions finished with 12 place winners. Penn State returns to action next in a home dual on Friday, Jan. 9, when Indiana visits Rec Hall for a 7 p.m. match-up. A limited number of SRO tickets are available for select Penn State Rec Hall dual meets, although the SROs for the Lehigh dual are sold out. For ticket inquiries, call 1-800-NITTANY. Penn State Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2014-15 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. 2015 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE - FINAL TEAM STANDINGS - TOP FIVE Friday, Jan. 2, 2015 - Chattanooga, Tenn. 1: PENN STATE - 165.0 2: Missouri - 150.0 3: Oklahoma State - 135.5 4: Nebraska - 116.0 5: Michigan - 88.5 Attendance: 3,320

125: 1st: No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 3-1 3rd: No. 20 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga) dec. No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State), 11-9 5th: No. 17 Tim Lambert (Nebraska) dec. No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming), 3-2 7th: No. 5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State) dec. Ben Willeford (Cleveland State), 10-4 133: 1st: No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) dec. No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 5-2 3rd: No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 3-1 SV 5th: No. 15 Kevin Devoy (Drexel) dec. No. 14 Mackenzie McGuire (Kent State), 4-2 7th: No. 18 Nick Soto (Chattanooga) dec. Troy Heilmann (North Carolina), 10-4 141: 1st: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State), 6-4 3rd: No. 20 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska) dec. No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan), 2-1 5th: No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) dec. Kade Moss (Penn State), 8-5 7th: George Fisher (Michigan) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 9-3 149: 1st: No. 2 Joshua Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri), 5-3 3rd: Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State), 3-2 5th: Luke Frey (Penn State) pinned Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 1:31 7th: No. 15 Mike Racciato (Pittsburgh) dec. Colin Heffernan (Central Michigan), 3-2 157: 1st: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) dec. Jason Nolf (Penn State), 7-4 3rd: Tommy Gantt (North Carolina State) dec. No. 8 Dylan Alton (Penn State), 5-2 5th: Aaron Walker (The Citadel) tech. fall No. 12 Russell Parsons (Army), 20-5 7th: No. 19 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State) dec. Max Hvolbek (Stanford), 10-4 165: 1st: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 8-2 3rd: No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) dec. Chance Marstellar (Oklahoma State), 8-3 5th: Coleman Gracey (Army) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Lehigh), 4-0 7th: Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Dakota Friesth (Wyoming), 7-3 174: 1st: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State), 3-2 3rd: John Eblen (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh), 7-3 5th: Andy McCulley (Wyoming) by medical forfeit over No. 18 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State) 7th: No. 7 Tanner Weatherman (Iowa State) dec. Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State), 10-8 SV 184: 1st: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) pinned No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh), 3:55 3rd: No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh) pinned Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 5:00 5th: No. 16 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec. No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 4-3 7th: Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) by medical forfeit over No. 19 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska) 197: 1st: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke), 6-1 3rd: No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 4-3 5th: No. 18 Jace Bennett (Cornell) by medical forfeit over No. 12 Max Huntley (Michigan) 7th: Shane Woods (Wyoming) dec. No. 16 Zach Nye (Virginia), 3-1 SV 285: 1st: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan), 7-4 3rd: Jon Gingrich (Penn State) dec. Devin Mellon (Missouri), 3-2 5th: No. 19 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State) by medical forfeit over Nick Nevills (Penn State) 7th: Mimmo Lytle (Kent State) dec. Jacob Kettler (George Mason), 5-2

125: No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 3-1 133: No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) dec. No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 5-2 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State), 6-4 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri), 5-3 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) dec. Jason Nolf (Penn State), 7-4 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 8-2 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska)dec. No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State), 3-2 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) pinned No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh), 3:55 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke), 6-1 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan), 7-4

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) 133: No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) vs. No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) vs. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) 184: No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan)

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming), 11-3 No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State), 5-4 133: No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) dec. No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 5-2 No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) dec. No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh), 7-5 SV 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina), 5-3 No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) pinned No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan), 1:41 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) dec. Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh), 3-2 No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State), 3-2 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) dec. Aaron Walker (The Citadel), 4-2 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. No. 12 Russ Parsons (Army), 6-1 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) tech. fall No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy), 18-1 No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) dec. Chance Marsteller (Oklahoma State), 10-3 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. John Eblen (Missouri), 5-2 No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh), 6-5 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) dec. No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri), 6-3 No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh), 3-1 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) dec. No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State), 2-1 No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh), 4-2 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. Nick Nevills (Penn State), 11-3 No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. Devin Mellon (Missouri), 10-3

For it being a match-up between the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked teams in the country, there is a ton of uncertainty with each team heading into Saturday's showdown. Coming off a title at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman in early December, St. Paris Graham (Ohio) travels to Blairstown, N.J. to take on Beast of the East champions Blair Academy. The dual meet is part of a triangular that also features Smyrna (Del.), and is slated for a noon start. However, one of the main stories is the uncertainty around the Blair Academy program and lineup. First, and obviously foremost, is the exit of Mason Manville. One of the nation's best juniors has left the school, and will spend the rest of this season training and competing in the Olympic styles through the Minnesota Storm. In addition, top ten in the nation wrestlers Charles Tucker (132) and Brandon Dallavia (170) have not competed since the Ironman. Things have not been perfect for St. Paris Graham since the Ironman either. No. 20 Brent Moore (145) did not compete at the GMVWA this past Saturday and Sunday, while nationally ranked Eli Stickley (120) and Eli Seipel (126) have each absorbed an unexpected setback in the interim. Stickley losing 8-6 in the GMVWA semis to Gage Branson (Glen Este, Ohio), after giving up an early five-point throw; while Seipel lost 4-3 to state placer Georgio Poullas (Canfield, Ohio) 4-3 the prior weekend in a dual meet. All of that being said, one finds it hard to believe that each team won't be at the fullest strength possible on Saturday afternoon. The following reflects projected lineups for each squad. 106: Justin Stickley (St. Paris Graham) vs. Matthew Vinci (Blair Academy) Stickley placed at state last year as a freshman, and was fifth at the Walsh Ironman in mid-December. The freshman Vinci went 1-2 at both the Ironman and Beast of the East. This match has bonus points written all over it. 113: No. 3 Mitch Moore vs. Zach Sherman The freshman sensation Moore was just that in winning the Walsh Ironman, while returning National Prep runner-up Sherman took eighth. Moore will be victorious in this match, while the goal for Sherman is to quite frankly eliminate bonus points. 120: No. 6 Eli Stickley vs. Requir van der Merwe Stickley finished as a somewhat unexpected runner-up at the Ironman. However, his overall career has been more than excellent; winning state last season, winning the Ironman during his sophomore season, and earning three placements at the Super 32 Challenge. The junior van der Merwe placed third at National Preps last year, fifth at the Beast, and was one match away from Ironman placement. Even though van der Merwe upset Stickley in last year's dual meet, and Stickley is prone to the goofy outcome, the most likely outcome here is a Stickley decision. 126: No. 15 Eli Seipel vs. Andrew Merola/Andrew Monohan Blair Academy started different wrestlers in each of the two major tournaments this season; both the freshman Merola and the senior Monohan went 2-2 in their respective apperances. In the opening match at the Ironman, Seipel earned a pin over Merola. Look for possible (even probable) bonus points for Seipel in this dual match. 132: No. 11 Rocky Jordan vs. No. 7 Charles Tucker This here is arguably the swing match of the entire dual meet. Though Tucker is higher ranked based on having a more robust resume, including a pair of Junior National freestyle All-American finishes (runner-up this past year) the freshman Jordan upended Tucker 6-4 in the Walsh Ironman semifinal. 138: Ryan Thomas vs. No. 3 Matthew Kolodzik Thomas and Kolodzik are elite wrestlers in their respective grade levels; however, Thomas is a freshman and Kolodzik is a senior. Kolodzik finished as runner-up at the Walsh Ironman for a third time, and it was his fourth time in the finals; while the fab frosh Thomas went 2-2. Kolodzik should win this matchup, though a bonus point outcome is highly unlikely. 145: No. 20 Brent Moore vs. Michael Monica At the Ironman, Moore placed fourth, while Monica was one match away from placing. The pair met in the opening bout for each with Moore earning a 6-5 victory; however, Moore needed multiple (stalling) penalty points in the third period to rally back from a deficit. The "on surface" resume of each wrestler -- Moore being a FloNationals champion at Super 32 placer, while Monica is lacking that type of "juice" -- would point to a Moore win; however, a Monica win would be a leading indicator for a Blair dual meet victory. 152: No. 15 Kyle Lawson vs. No. 3 Jordan Kutler Kutler placed third at the Walsh Ironman, while Lawson placed seventh. In addition, Kutler and Lawson had one similar opponent, No. 14 Austin Kraisser (Centennial, Md.); Kutler won 4-1, while Lawson lost 5-4. Kutler has been superlative this season in placing third at the Ironman and winning the Beast, to build upon his Junior National freestyle All-American finish this summer. The most likely outcome in this match is a Kutler decision; should Lawson win this match, it would be a leading indicator for a Graham dual met victory. 160: No. 2 Alex Marinelli vs. Ryan Karoly With Manville out of the picture, the Blair Academy strategy for this matchup remains open. It seems most likely the Buccaneers will bump the freshman Karoly, normally a 145/152 to absorb this weight class. In the Ironman, the junior Marinelli upended Mason Manville by 3-1 overtime decision to win his first Ironman title in a third finals appearance. 170: Garrett Jordan vs. Peter Bearse Two of the more unknown wrestlers on each team has a critical role in this dual meet. The junior Jordan, whom is not related to head coach Jeff or U.S. Congressman Jim, was just a state qualifier last year. However, he scored crucial points for the Falcons in the Ironman with a sixth place finish. The senior Bearse was not expected to contribute to the Blair varsity this year, but jumped in when Manville left the picture, and placed down at 160 pounds in the Beast. The most likely outcome here is a Jordan win by decision. 182: Hayden Bronne vs. No. 7 (at 170) Brandon Dallavia Bronne qualified for the state tournament last year, but went 0-2 at the Walsh Ironman. Dallavia placed last year at National Preps, was a Cadet National freestyle champion this summer, and was third in the Walsh Ironman down at 170 pounds. Blair Academy will need Dallavia to secure bonus points in this one, and that is a likely outcome. 195: Kanan Sarver vs. No. 13 (at 182) Chase Singletary The sophomore Sarver went 1-2 at the Walsh Ironman, while the sophomore Singletary placed eighth down a weight at 182 pounds, though that bracket was absolutely loaded (he placed third at the Beast as well). In this dual meet bout, bonus points seem like a good bet, the question is four or six. 220 pounds: Brandon Hays vs. Neil Putnam The absence of state placer Josh Couchman is felt here for St. Paris Graham. He will be back in a few weeks. However, if Couchman was healthy, Blair would just flex Putnam up all the way to 285 (NFHS rules allow for the HVY class to be anyone above the 195 weight limit, whereas the Ohio rule requires the wrestler be 215 pounds). In terms of this bout, anything less than a win by fall for Putnam would reflect "victory" for Graham. 285: Dylan Nave vs. No. 11 (at 220) David Showunmi The junior Nave had a losing record last season, and was 1-2 in the Ironman. The senior Showunmi won the Ironman down at 220 pounds, and was third in a rather tough Beast weight class at 220. In addition, he bumped up to 285 pounds this past weekend, and earned a victory over 2013 state placer Jose Palomino (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.). If this is not a win by fall for Showunmi, Graham has accomplished something. Even though St. Paris Graham is the nation's number one team, and Blair Academy lost Manville, one could still argue the visitor Falcons enter this dual meet as the underdog. The Buccaneers lineup flexibility gives them at least 20 points from the last four weight classes. In addition, there are likely decisions at 138 and 152 pounds for Blair Academy. There are three other opportunities for them to secure a seventh win: 132, 145, or 170. The most likely path to victory for the Falcons is to win eight weight classes, or find a way to taper down bonus points in the back four weights during a seven-seven dual meet. Should Blair Academy win the dual meet, the picture for who is number one gets totally muddied up, with the strongest argument in favor of current No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. The Huskies had an excellent Walsh Ironman -- considering the absence of No. 4 Larry Early at 145 pounds, and state qualifier Allen Stallings at 220. If St. Paris Graham win the dual meet, they will close out the year national champions, as this dual meet is the biggest hurdle left for the Falcons.

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) 133: No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) vs. No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) vs. No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) vs. No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) vs. Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) vs. No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State) 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) vs. Aaron Walker (The Citadel) No. 12 Russ Parsons (Army) vs. Jason Nolf (Penn State) 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. Chance Marsteller (Oklahoma State) 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. John Eblen (Missouri) No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) vs. No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri) No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh) 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) vs. No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) vs. No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) vs. Nick Nevills (Penn State) No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan) vs. Devin Mellon (Missouri)

125: No. 2 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 17 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 10-2 No. 10 Tyler Cox (Wyoming) maj. dec. Dom Forys (Pittsburgh), 17-7 No. 11 Eddie Klimara (Oklahoma State) dec. Ben Willeford (Cleveland State), 8-3 No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri) tech. fall No. 20 Sean Boyle (Chattanooga), 15-0 133: No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State) dec. No. 15 Kevin Devoy (Drexel), 7-2 No. 13 Earl Hall (Iowa State) pinned No. 10 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 5:34 No. 8 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) maj. dec. Troy Heilmann (North Carolina), 11-1 No. 6 Mason Beckman (Lehigh) dec. No. 15 (at 141) Mark Grey (Cornell), 3-2 TB 141: No. 8 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) dec. Dean Heil (Oklahoma State), 3-1 SV2 No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) by medical forfeit over Nick Arujau (Cornell) No. 17 Geo Martinez (Boise State) maj. dec. No. 20 Anthony Abidin (Nebraska), 10-2 No. 10 Zach Horan (Central Michigan) dec. Isaiah Locsin (Stanford), 3-2 149: No. 2 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) pinned Luke Frey (Penn State), 5:22 Edgar Bright (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 14 Gabe Moreno (Iowa State), 10-6 No. 17 Zack Beitz (Penn State) pinned Matthew Cimato (Drexel), 6:35 No. 4 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. No. 15 Mike Racciato (Pittsburgh), 11-7 157: No. 2 James Green (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 19 Anthony Collica (Oklahoma State), 11-3 Aaron Walker (The Citadel) pinned No. 8 Dylan Alton (Penn State), 6:24 Jason Nolf (Penn State) dec. Thomas Gantt (North Carolina State), 6-1 No. 12 Russ Parsons (Army) dec. Max Hvolbek (Stanford), 7-1 165: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) tech. fall Dakota Friesth (Wyoming), 18-1 No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) dec. No. 13 Jim Wilson (Stanford), 5-4 Chance Marsteller (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 6 Dylan Palacio (Cornell), 11-10 No. 2 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) maj. dec. Chandler Smith (Army), 16-2 174: No. 1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 18 Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma State), 14-1 John Eblen (Missouri) dec. No. 7 Trent Weatherman (Iowa State), 7-3 No. 5 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) dec. Andy McCulley (Wyoming), 5-2 No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. Jordan Rogers (Oklahoma State), 11-6 184: No. 7 Gabe Dean (Cornell) maj. dec. No. 16 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), 13-5 No. 9 Willie Miklus (Missouri) maj. dec. Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State), 18-10 No. 3 Nate Brown (Lehigh) dec. Matt McCutcheon (Penn State), 4-2 No. 1 Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 15 Ben Stroh (Wyoming), 7-4 197: No. 3 J'den Cox (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 16 Zach Nye (Virginia), 12-4 No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. No. 12 Max Huntley (Michigan), 7-4 No. 5 Conner Hartmann (Duke) dec. Bryce Barnes (Army), 7-0 No. 15 Elliot Riddick (Lehigh) by medical forfeit over Spencer Johnson (Nebraska) 285: No. 4 Austin Marsden (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 14 Collin Jensen (Nebraska), 7-1 Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. No. 19 Riley Shaw (Cleveland State), 6-1 No. 8 Adam Coon (Michigan) dec. Jon Gingrich (Penn State), 2-0 Devin Mellon (Missouri) dec. Jared Johnson (Chattanooga), 2-0

Happy New Year! The mailbag this week is straddling the Southern Scuffle, so making prognostications of the event is both disingenuous and meaningless. However, the Midlands Championship did end earlier this week and with nationwide coverage on BTN, the tournament left many fans feeling underwhelmed by NCAA wrestling. Not often does the wrestling community reach consensus, but the shocking lack of offense in the Midlands finals seemed to generate a lot of similar critiques. Very few takedowns and a dearth of stalling calls and what felt like hours of edge-wrestling left fans frustrated for action. While the event suffered from a lack of action the wrestling community took to social media and batted around the same ideas regarding pushout rules and increased stall calls. We know from watching international wrestling that a strictly enforced out-of-bounds rules results in more scoring. We've seen over the years that a pushout often penalizes defensive wrestlers, increases technical actions and draws in fans. The rule would also speed up matches, which can seem to average more than 12 minutes from first whistle to final handshake. When will the NCAA listen to reason? The hope is that the rules committee does something before the falloff in viewership becomes appreciable. As someone close to international wrestling I recognize the importance of making subtle shifts in the rules. Tweaking of rules prevents gamesmanship that often comes from a few years of coaches mulling over how best to limit risk while maximizing wins. Changing the rules -- in this case changing the out-of-bounds -- should create a waterfall of action in the center of the mat. NCAA wrestling has a multitude of other issues, including proper dual meet scoring, administration of overtime and adaptation of fan-friendly uniforms. However, nothing is as quickly solved, or has as high a return, as the creation of a rule that doesn't allow wrestlers to flee the action and wrestle on the edge. A rule that should increase scoring techniques more than 30 percent in the first year. Wrestling is a beautiful sport that deserves more attention, but with the current set of rules the sport those in charge of leading it haven't earned the viewership. Q: How many NCAA finals matches have had two future Olympic/World gold medalists? I can only think of Mark Schultz vs. Ed Banach. What about two future Olympians? -- Sean M. Foley: Yeah, I scanned my brain and the Internet and this feels about right. I'd think that there are some from the late 60s who might've hopped into the mix, but I'm battling through a New Year's hangover and lost inspiration in trying to prove you, and my instinct, wrong. Future Olympians will require more attitude than I can muster. On a related note: sweet mother did Mark Schultz spin out of control this week on social media. The author of the book Foxcatcher and the inspiration behind the Bennet Miller directed film, took to Twitter to lampoon IN ALL CAPS the work of the director. Apparently the two are not on close speaking terms and Mark carries anger about the way in which the story was portrayed to audiences. Take a read for yourself ... Screaming on social media is almost never a good look and even worse when your product is on the shelves. But at the heart of the issue, I think, is the fragility of being portrayed on the big screen by someone you barely know and on their terms. Q: Maybe an individual state by state breakdown of toughest tournaments in state. Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.? -- Zach S. Foley: We've done this dance a few times, but it's always worth a stab. 1. Pennsylvania 2. Ohio 3. New Jersey 4. Illinois 5. California Multimedia Halftime A reminder that somewhere in the Caucuses right now Abdulrashid Sadulaev is hitting a fireman's carry. DC vs. Jones is a must-watch UFC event. But after the event I'm leaving MMA to the WWE crossover fans. Dana White and the Fertitta bros. are losing money for a reason, and it's not for a lack of available worldwide fight talent (Ahem, Ben Askren). But for the night, this will be must-watch TV ... #BreakBones Q: One of the great things about wrestling is that so many good wrestlers are also excellent students who go on to have successful careers in many different fields. Not long ago I read that two recent All Americans, Eric Tannenbaum and Kyle Ott, are both doing their medical residencies now. It would be great if you could shine a spotlight on a few other recent, high-level college wrestlers who've been successful off the mat. Information such as this should serve as an inspiration for our middle and high school wrestlers. -- Stan S. Foley: Thanks for bringing to light the recent accomplishments of former Big Ten wrestlers Tannenbaum and Ott. Oddly, I think that wrestlers tend to encounter many of their successful counterparts during alumni events. At Virginia we were fortunate to have alums who spanned industries and were often among the best in their chosen professions. I remember meeting a few and it clicking that not only was wrestling going to be over one day and that "real life," whatever that might be, would be starting at the sunset of those days. My relationship with wrestling has become a touch more protracted than I originally believed, but I've watched with pride as all my friends have moved on to successful and fulfilling careers. Maybe we can start to spotlight more former athletes in the media. Conduct follow-ups, video some interactions. One thing that does occur is that the only former wrestlers we tend to see in our media web are those that coach. Since they aren't far removed, but likewise are also not active, the former wrestlers we see aren't (in our eyes) diverse, though often that's not the case. Thanks for the submission. Interesting note to consider. Q: The Midlands finals showed what is wrong with college wrestling. It puts you to sleep. How many overtime or no takedown in first period matches were there? BORING! Is that what wrestling wants to promote so people want to watch? -- Tim J. Foley: Per the opening, I'm in agreement. Jack Dechow won a Midlands title at 184 poundsNorthwestern and the BTN did a fantastic job of presenting the event. (I think Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons do good work.) However, the wrestling was fairly abysmal in terms of action. Until he pancaked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the 184-pound finals, Old Dominion's Jack Dechow had moved backwards and out of bounds FIVE TIMES in 20 seconds, with another minute or so remaining. The pancake really only came after Thomas had to continue pressing for points, only to be lulled into a sloppy over-under from his knees. Dechow deserved to win the match, is an aggressive wrestler, and I think a candidate to be the NCAA champion. He's coached by a go-getter, all-the-time guy in Steve Martin, and yet even he is on ice skates late in the match. Something has to give. Poem of the Week By Ken B. 'Twas two nights before Christmas, in the Thompson Street Gym, the wrestlers weren't scared, they all felt prepared. New Beat The Streets singlets, strapped over shoulders with care. Anticipation of victory hung in the air. The wrestlers were jogging, stretching, and warming up in pairs, visions of doubles practiced with care. Two new PSAL teams, and two veteran refs, all had just shaken hands, slapped teammates on backs. When all of a sudden, the ref blew his whistle, people sprang to their feet to cheer on friends as they wrestle. Center of the mat, instructed the official. Stay in your stance, head up, move forward and grapple. The sweat on the brow, oh how it glistened. The coach shouted sprawl, the wrestler she listened. On the side of the mat teammates suddenly appeared, a small one, a big one, a stick through a pear. A coach with a tie, a coach in a sweater, lessons to teach to make these NYC kids life's winners. Some got pinned, and some did the pinning, but the wise coach knew it wasn't just about winning. Coach whistled, coach clapped, coach turned bright red, then coach cupped his hands and he said, 'now move, now sprawl, now take a shot. On the whistle you stand, on the whistle head up, on the whistle keep moving, keep moving don't stop!' Match after match, not a single wrestler did stall. Congrats boys and girls, we're proud of you all ... Great effort tonight by several of our new PSAL developmental teams, and thank you to our donors for making it possible. If you'd like to make a donation to Beat The Streets go to: BTSNY.org > Donate

Isaiah White was a Walsh Ironman champ, and is ranked No. 1 at 152 pounds (Photo/Rob Preston) The Clash XIII National Wrestling Duals come to Rochester, Minn. on Friday and Saturday. Ten of the Fab 50 nationally ranked teams are among the field of 32. The format of the Clash is that on Friday the 32 teams are split into four eight-team brackets, where each squad will get three matches to determine their placement. Then on Saturday, there will be eight four-team pools, each involving the quartet of teams earning the same placement on Friday; again, the teams will compete in three matches. On Friday, two of the brackets will be conducted in a morning/afternoon session, matches scheduled for 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Central Time starts; while the other two brackets will be contested in the afternoon/evening session, matches stating at 4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. The morning/afternoon session on Saturday will involve teams that finish fifth through eighth place on Friday, while the afternoon/evening session features those that finish in the top four (i.e. win their opening dual meet on Friday). Even though the event takes on a dual meet format, there are many excellent individuals across the 32 teams competing at The Clash XII. The following individuals appear in the most recent national weight class rankings: 106: No. 14 Kirk Johansen (Glenbard North, Ill.), No. 16 Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 113: No. 4 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 5 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.), No. 19 Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) 120: No. 16 Alex Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 126: No. 2 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), No. 20 Alex Lloyd (Shakopee, Minn.) 145: No. 2 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 3 Max Thomsen (Union, Iowa), No. 4 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 152: No. 1 Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 160: No. 10 Dayton Racer (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 17 Matthew Rundell (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 6 Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest, Ill.), No. 8 Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook, N.J.), No. 10 Jacob Holschlag (Union, Iowa), No. 17 Luke Norland (Jackson County Central, Minn.) 182: No. 4 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.), No. 8 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy, Ill.), No. 16 Tyler DeMoss (Hononegah, Ill.) 195: No. 1 Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.), No. 2 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 12 Steven Holloway (Mediapolis, Iowa) 220: No. 12 Christian Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), No. 14 Lucas Warren (Marmion Academy, Ill.), No. 19 Gable Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.) 285: No. 9 Brady Reiff (Parkston, S.D.), No. 15 Alex Hart (Prior Lake, Minn.) Brackets "B" and "D" have been assigned to the Friday morning session. Bracket "B" The top seed in Bracket "B" is No. 19 St. Peter's Prep, N.J. They have a pretty balanced team across the lineup. Notable pieces include nationally ranked Kelly at 113, a state alternate from last year at 126, a Beast of the East placer at 132, two-time state placers in Connor and Ryan Burkert at 138 and 145, state qualifiers at 152 and 195, nationally ranked Colucci at 220, and a state placer at 285. Their first round opponent is Parkston, S.D. That should be a mismatch, though the opportunity to see Reiff facing legitimate competition is a good thing. The likely semifinal opponent for St. Peter's Prep will be Marist, Ill. The Redhawks are not as balanced as they have been in past years, and it has shown in some early season dual meet losses. Key wrestlers include a state qualifier at 120, two-time state placer David Kasper at 145, a two-time state qualifier at 152, three-time state placer Alex Benoit at 182, along with formidable competitors at 195 and 285. The other half of the bracket is looking at a likely semifinal battle between No. 26 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. and No. 42 Carl Sandburg, Ill. That presumes those teams clear Totino-Grace, Minn. and Grand Island in their opening matches respectively, which they should; an interesting note is that STMA and Totino-Grace are both ranked No. 2 in their respective Minnesota state tournament classification. Looking at that semifinal more closely, it will be a clash between the star power of STMA and the across the board lineup balance of Carl Sandburg. Predicted finishes: (1) St. Peter's Prep (2) Carl Sandburg (3) St. Michael-Albertville (4) Marist (5) Totino-Grace (6) Vacaville (7) Grand Island (8) Parkston Bracket "D" The top seed in Bracket "D" is No. 17 Marmion Academy, Ill. The Cadets are led by a pair of nationally ranked upper-weights in Traxler at 182 and Warren at 220; Warren has been held out of tournaments so far this season, but should compete during dual meets. Additional known commodities include state qualifier and Cadet freestyle All-American A.J. Jaffe (132), returning state placer Trace Carello (160), along with a pair of 2013 Cadet freestyle All-Americans in Matt Ferraro (152) and Riley DeMoss (170). They also got placement finishes at the Dvorak out of a freshman at 106, a senior first-time starter at 120, sophomores at 126 and 138, and a junior at 145 whom is in his first year as the full-time starter. One other name to watch out for in dual meets should Marmion flex the back half of the lineup is freshman Nate Jimenez (160-182). Marmion draws Lake Crystal in the first round, but beyond multi-time state champion Louis Sanders (132/138), there is little in that squad. The semifinal bout should be against either Hastings, Minn. or Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Iowa. Jefferson may be under-seeded as a five in the brackets, featuring six state ranked wrestlers (big-school division) in the lineup: returning state placers Brendan Baker (No. 2 at 113) and Kyle Briggs (No. 5 at 132); along with state qualifier Tavian Rasheed (No. 7 at 152), Luke Sedlacek (No. 6 at 160), Kelly May (No. 9 at 182), and Dalton Kuehl (No. 6 at 285). No. 24 Bettendorf, Iowa is the second seed in this bracket. The Bulldogs fit the description of a "stars-and-scrubs" squad. In their last competition, they had five weight class finalists at the Kansas City Stampede; however, only two other wrestlers even appeared in the upper bracket (i.e. top 16 overall from 30-plus person weight classes). Nationally ranked wrestlers Stroker (145) and Racer (160) anchor the squad; while returning state champions Jack Wagner (113) and Jacob Schwarm (120), along with state runner-up Paul Glynn (132) and 2013 state champion Jacob Woodward (152) are the other core pieces. Also ranked in Iowa is Jackson Gallagher, sixth at 126. They face Adrian, Minn. in a relatively non-competitive first round match. That squad is anchored by state champion Skyler Hieronimous at 113. The other opening match in that half-bracket places Hononegah, Ill. against Anoka, Minn. It should be Hononegah to clear that, but it's not likely that they are capable of upending Bettendorf. Predicted finishes: (1) Marmion Academy (2) Bettendorf (3) Cedar Rapids Jefferson (4) Hononegah (5) Hastings (6) Anoka (7) Adrian (8) LCWM Brackets "A" and "C" have been assigned to the Friday afternoon session. Bracket "A" Bracket "A" is anchored by No. 2 in the nation Oak Park River Forest, Ill., which finished as runners-up in last year's edition of The Clash. However, the Huskies enter this year's event as the prohibitive favorites. They have seven wrestlers within the national weight class rankings: 106, 113, 120, 145, 152, 160, and 170. Where there is not a nationally ranked wrestler, there is a darn good wrestler: for instance returning state placer Townsell at 126, Cadet freestyle runner-up Hernandez at 132, state qualifier Bennette at 138, and state qualifier Stallings at 220. Pleasant Valley, Iowa is the opening first round match for the Huskies, and the only question in that one is how many bouts OPRF takes. The opening bout for the right to face OPRF in the semifinal features teams ranked first in Minnesota Class AA and Class A, Simley and Minneota. Interestingly, neither Simley nor Minneota not feature a single wrestler ranked first in their weight class; Simley is led by returning state placers Anthony Jackson (132) and Jack Ryan (195/22), while Minneota is led by returning state runner-up Brock Buysse at 113. Moving onto the other half of Bracket "A", there are a pair of nationally ranked teams seeded second and third. No. 41 Union, Iowa is the two seed, and No. 46 Shakopee, Minn. is the three seed. Union should clear their opening round bout against Kenyon-Wanamingo (Minn.), which is led by junior Ethan Cota at 106. The nationally ranked Knights are led by nationally ranked wrestlers in Thomsen at 145 and Holschlag at 170. Other returning state placers Derek Holschlag (113) and McLaughlin (160), while additional notables appear at 106, 126, 138, and 220. Shakopee should clear their opening round match against Wasatch, Utah, whose notable wrestler is two-time state runner-up Spencer Heywood (160). Key wrestlers for Shakopee are state champions Brent Jones (120) and Owen Webster (160), along with nationally ranked Alex Lloyd (126). One concern in their lineup is the lack of quality past Webster; while they have projected state placers in seven of nine weight classes through 160, only King (10th at 182) is state ranked among their back five weight classes. Predicted finishes: (1) OPRF (2) Union (3) Shakopee (4) Simley (5) Minneota (6) Wasatch (7) Pleasant Valley (8) Kenyon-Wanamingo Bracket "C" Finally, defending Clash champions Apple Valley, Minn. are the top seeds in Bracket "C", which is the strongest and most wide open of the four brackets. The No. 17 ranked Eagles showed some susceptibility for dual meet competition during the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, as they only placed wrestlers in six weight classes. However, they have three absolute hammers in the back five weight classes: Hall at 170, Bobby Steveson at 195, and Gable Steveson at 220. Those wrestlers can obviously be flexed around as necessary in the back five weights. Other wrestlers to note are at 106, 113, 145, and 152; so they are vulnerable to a team with really good down low into the middle. The opening round match against Fox Lake Grant, Ill. is a non-issue. Looking ahead to the semifinal, Apple Valley could hit just the wrong matchup in Glenbard North, Ill. The Panthers are superlative in the lower weights with nationally ranked wrestlers in Johansen and Gomez at 106 and 113. Joining those two in placing at the Dvorak were wrestlers at 120 through 132. Other Dvorak placers came at 160, 182, 195, and 220; while they also have wrestlers ranked around the top ten at 170 and 285. Of course that presumes Glenbard North is able to clear Prior Lake, Minn. in the opening match. That squad is anchored by nationally ranked Hart at 285 pounds and Junior freestyle All-American Streifel at 220. Other key wrestlers are at 106, 120, 138, and 145. The second seed in this bracket is No. 25 Bound Brook, N.J. They are led by nationally ranked Ugalde at 170, state placer Lewis at 138, along with state qualifiers at 132, 152, and 182. Other solid wrestlers are at 106, 126, 138, 160, and 195. Their opening match is against Jackson County Central (Minn.), who would be very dangerous if they had anything to go with the three hammers on their team at 160-182 in Paden Moore, Norland, and Keegan Moore; however, they really don't. The third seed here is Mediapolis (Iowa), which is led by nationally ranked Holloway at 195. They also have returning state placers in Swofford (126), Buster (138), Cole Erickson (152), and Conley (160); along with state ranked wrestlers at 132 and 170. First round opposition for the Bulldogs comes in the form of Jefferson (Ga.), which is led by state champions Chase Piperato (145) and Caleb Little (170). Predicted finishes: (1) Bound Brook (2) Glenbard North (3) Apple Valley (4) Mediapolis (5) Prior Lake (6) Jefferson (7) Jackson County Central (8) Fox Lake Grant Based on the finishes this preview predicts for the Day 1, these are projected finishes for Day 2: Championship Pool: (1) Oak Park River Forest (2) Marmion Academy (3) St. Peter's Prep (4) Bound Brook Second Pool: (1) Carl Sandburg (2) Glenbard North (3) Bettendorf (4) Union Third Pool: (1) Apple Valley (2) STMA (3) Shakopee (4) Cedar Rapids Jefferson Fourth Pool: (1) Mediapolis (2) Marist (3) Simley (4) Hononegah Fifth Pool: (1) Prior Lake (2) Minneota (3) Hastings (4) Totino-Grace Sixth Pool: (1) Jefferson (2) Vacaville (3) Wasatch (4) Anoka Seventh Pool: (1) Grand Island (2) Pleasant Valley (3) Adrian (4) Jackson County Central Eighth Pool: (1) LCWM (2) Parkston(3) Kenyon-Wanamingo (4) Fox Lake Grant

Honolulu, Haw. -- Senior 184-pounder Taylor Meeks won all three of his matches on Tuesday to win his weight class at the Aloha Open. Meeks edged Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr 4-3 in the deciding bout to earn OSU’s lone title at the four-team, round-robin event, which also featured No. 2 Minnesota, Oklahoma and American. Redshirt freshmen Jack Hathaway (125), Abraham Rodriguez (149) and Cody Crawford (197) each took second place. Hathaway and Rodriguez were 2-1; Crawford went 3-1. The Beavers are now idle until a Jan. 10 home dual with Pacific-12 Conference rival Stanford. It starts at 5 p.m. and will be televised by Pac-12 Networks. For more on the wrestling team, follow the club’s official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling or by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateWrestling.

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Edinboro's Mitchell Port earned his second consecutive title at 141. lbs. at the 52nd Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Tuesday, as the Fighting Scots captured a fourth place finish. Iowa won the event in convincing fashion with a Midlands record of 189 points, followed by Illinois second with 130.5 points and Northwestern third with 106 points. The Fighting Scots tallied 101 points at the two-day event. Edinboro had five wrestlers medal, led by Port's first place showing at 141 lbs. Port was also named the Art Kraft Champion of Champions, voted on by the #Midlands52 title winners. The redshirt senior, who came into the event as the top seed and ranked second nationally, posted a 4-1 decision over Virginia Tech's Devin Carter in the final, improving to 19-0 on the season with the win. Carter was seeded second and was the NCAA runner-up at 141 lbs. last season. Edinboro added a second place finish by Dave Habat at 149 lbs., a pair of fourth place finishes by Kory Mines at 125 lbs. and A.J. Schopp at 133 lbs., while Vic Avery took home fifth place at 184 lbs. Habat, the second seed at 149 lbs., was edged by top-seeded Jason Tsirtsis of Northwestern 2-1 in the first tiebreaker. Tsirtsis is the reigning national champion at 149 lbs., capturing the title as a redshirt freshman in 2013-14. Habat reached the finals by way of a 3-2 decision over Iowa's Brandon Sorenson in the semifinals. After rallying for three consecutive consolation victories, Kory Mines fell to fourth-seeded Sevan Micic of Northwestern by a 4-1 decision in the third place match at 125 lbs. Mines, who faced Micac yesterday in the quarterfinals, improved on yesterday's result of a 13-1 major decision. Mines topped third-seeded and 14th-ranked Josh Rodriguez of North Dakota State 3-1 in the consolation semifinals. Schopp, the top-seeded and top-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs., defeated Kevin Norstrem of Virginia Tech in the consolation semifinals by way of a 4-3 decision. He finished fourth after a medical forfeit in the third place match. Schopp was edged by Zane Richards of Illinois 1-0 in the semifinals earlier today, after winning by fall in three straight matches to open the event, including one victory over eventual third place finisher Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin. Schopp is now 15-1 on the season. Avery earned five wins en route to a fifth place finish at the event, capped by a 3-2 decision over Illinois' Nikko Reyes, boosting his record to 16-5 for the 2014-15 campaign. Avery dropped a 3-2 decision in the second tiebreaker to third-seeded Sam Brooks of Iowa in the consolation semifinals. All five of Avery's losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top eight in the nation, including a narrow 5-3 loss in sudden victory to second-ranked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn in the quarterfinals yesterday. The redshirt junior responded by winning three out of his next four matches to earn fifth place at the event.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Indiana had two wrestlers place at the 52nd annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. Taylor Walsh dominated the field to win the 165-pound championship (pinning four of five), while Nate Jacksonearned eighth place after a strong 3-3 showing in the 174-pound class. Walsh made quick work of the field by pinning his first two opponents in under two minutes. In his quarterfinal match-up, Walsh won a rather uneventful bout in a 3-0 decision over eighth seeded Jonathan Schleifer (Princeton). For day two, Walsh kept up his pinning ways with a 47 second pin of the 12th nationally-ranked wrestler in the 165-pound class, Jackson Morse (Illinois). In the championship bout, Walsh fell behind early 4-1 after two takedowns by Harger (Northwestern). An escape to end the first period and another to start the second but Walsh down 4-3. He didn't wast much time from there, pinning the eighth nationally-ranked 165-pound wrestler in 4:06. Along with the championship, Walsh took home Most Falls Award, High Points Award and the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. With the four pins for the tournament, Walsh now has 18 on the season. This puts him in a tie for third with now volunteer assistant Kurt Kinser (2008) on the Indiana single season list (Walsh holds the record with 26 set last season). The redshirt senior now has 116 career wins, which puts him in eighth on the all-time Indiana list. Redshirt sophomore Nate Jackson also advanced to the quarterfinals. He added yet another major decision to his total for the season with a 17-7 victory against Ben Hass. Up to that point, Jackson had outscored his opponents 45-18 in his past three bouts dating back to the December 13 match against Manchester's Dylan Lauffer. After defeating 12th seeded Ryan Wolfe (Rider) in an 11-7 decision, the 174-pounder lost a tough match against the number four seed Brock Gutches, 4-2. Jackson defeated David Kocer of South Dakota State with a 6-5 decision to advance to the podium rounds. In his final two matches, Jackson lost both on 3-2 decsions to earn eighth place. Heavyweight Garret Goldman wrestled well and finished with a record of 3-2 for his two days. He took down 12-seed Chris Lopez (Illinois) with a 5-2 decision in the first round. Against nationally ranked (13th) Evan Knutson, Goldman lost a hard-fought match 2-0. But in the wrestle backs, Goldman won two straight beating two Big Ten opponents -- Tyler Kral (Purdue) and Brooks Black (Illinois). In his final bout, Goldman lost another close one, 3-0 to the 11 seed Dawson Peck (Unat. Maryland). Luke Sheridan went 2-2 for the tournament with victories against Vincent Pickett (Edinboro) and Jack Carda (Air Force). In both of Sheridan's losses, it came down to the wire. In his third round bout, Sheridan and the eight seed, Jared Haught, were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation. There was no score in the sudden victory period, but early in the first 30-second period, Haught got a takedown. Sheridan couldn't escape in the second 30-second period and thus did not advance. In his first consolation match, the senior took on four seed Patrick Downey of Iowa Central; Sheridan lost on a 3-2 decision. Unattached freshman Jake Danishek had a good showing, going 3-2. In the three matches he won, Danishek outscored his opponents 46-12, earning a technical fall and a major decision. Alex Gregoryfinished the day with two victories, defeating Grant Nehring (North Dakota State) and Brooks Marino (Penn). Gregory came close to advancing in consolation after losing 2-1 in a tiebreak. The Hoosier wrestlers take on Penn State in a Big Ten battle. Indiana wrestles the Nittany Lions in State College, Pennsylvania on January 9 (7 pm).

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 20 Wisconsin wrestling team finished out 2014, as five Badgers earned top-eight finishes and led UW to a seventh-place finish at the 52nd annual Midlands Championships on Tuesday. No. 14 Timmy McCall finished runner-up after a close finals match. McCall grappled with the No. 1 seed Nathan Burak from Iowa and kept a strong lead throughout the bout. McCall snuck in a quick takedown in the first period followed by an escape from Burak to give him the early advantage 2-1. McCall started on top going into the third period and upped his lead to 3-2 after a swift escape. Burak stunned McCal, however, with an abrupt takedown in the last seconds of the match to attain first place and a 4-3 win. McCall did have a huge win earlier in the day over Jeff Koepke of Illinois in the semifinals at 197 lbs, defeating the Big Ten foe with a 5-3 decision to move to the finals. No. 16 Ryan Taylor claimed third place after winning by medical forfeit over A.J. Schopp from Edinboro in the third-place match. Taylor started his day with a win by forfeit over Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers. He then faced Penn’s Caleb Richardson and won in a 7-3 decision. The two wins were a positive burst of energy for Taylor, who then went on to defeat Jarrod Garnett of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club in a 9-6 decision. No. 5 Connor Medbery suffered his first loss of the season in the heavyweight semifinals to Iowa’s third-ranked Bobby Telford. Telford earned the first points of the bout with a takedown at the end of the first period. Medbery then cut the lead by one after an escape near the end of the second period, 2-1. With just over a minute and a half remaining in the final period, Telford managed an escape and clinched the final score of 3-1. Medbery advanced to the third-place match after winning by decision over North Dakota State’s Evan Knutson, 5-2. At 174 lbs., Frank Cousins trounced three consecutive opponents by decisions to claim seventh place. No. 18 Ricky Robertson downed Princeton’s Brett Harner with a 5-4 decision to claim seventh place at 184 lbs. In yet another close thriller for Robertson, the fifth consolation round found him heading into overtime with the score tied at 3-3 against Edinboro’s Vic Avery. Robertson would drop the bout, however, in sudden victory, 5-3. Wisconsin will be back in action when it returns to Evanston, Illinois, for Big Ten action against Northwestern on Jan. 9.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini finished second at the 2014 Midlands Championships, tallying 130.5 points, behind only Iowa and its record 189 points. Seven Illinois grapplers garnered place-winner honors, led by Isaiah Martinez who took the crown at 157 pounds. Zane Richards (133) and Zac Brunson (174) advanced to the championships bout in their respective weight classes, earning runner-up honors after falling in the finals. Jackson Morse (165) finished third, while Steven Rodrigues (141), Nikko Reyes (184) and Jeff Koepke (197) finished sixth. Martinez started the day with 16-5 major decision over Iowa's Mike Kelly in the semifinals. In the 157-pound championship match, Martinez faced off with South Dakota State's Cody Pack. Martinez recorded two first-period takedowns, but Pack escaped from each, holding Martinez to a 4-2 lead. Martinez started down in the second period, escaping to earn a 5-2 lead. Pack chose down in the final period and escaped, but not before Martinez racked up the riding time. Martinez won the bout, 6-3, giving him his first Midlands Championships title of his career. Richards' day began with a 1-0 win over top-ranked A.J. Schopp of Edinboro to advance to the championship match. In the 133-pound final, Richards faced off with Iowa's Cory Clark. After a scoreless first period, Clark took a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second period. Richards matched Clark's escape with one of his own, tying the match at 1-1. Clark recorded another takedown to take a 3-1, but Richards was able to escape to make it 3-2. Richards was unable to record a takedown of his own, dropping the bout, 4-2, after Clark was awarded a point for riding time. Brunson began the day with an 8-0 major decision over Northwestern's Johnny Sebastian in the semifinals, advancing to the 174-pound championship bout where he faced Iowa's Mike Evans. Brunson and Evans produced a scoreless first period in the final, but a Brunson escape in the second gave him a 1-0 lead heading into the final period. Brunson started on top of Evans in the last period, but Evans rolled into a reversal and rode out Brunson to earn the 2-1 win. Morse began the day with a loss to eventually champion Taylor Walsh of Indiana in the 165-pound semifinals, falling to the consolation bracket. Morse battled back to take third, beating CSU Bakerfield's Adam Fierro and Iowa's Nick Moore in the process. After advancing to the semifinal, Rodrigues dropped the bout to Virginia Tech's Devan Carter, 15-6, falling to the consolation bracket. Rodrigues lost in the consolation semifinals to Joseph McKenna of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club, 8-3, before dropping the fifth-place match to Old Dominion's Chris Mecate, 6-2. Reyes wrestled all day in the consolation bracket after dropping a match in Monday's second round. After the loss, Reyes won four consecutive matches, before dropping decisions in the consolation semifinals and the fifth-place match. Koepke began his day in the championship semifinals, dropping a 5-3 decision to Wisconsin's Timmy McCall. In the consolation semifinals, Koepke fell to Alex Polizzi of Northwestern, 4-1, before falling to Princeton's Abe Ayala in the fifth-place match, 5-3. The Illini will return to action at the friendly confines of Huff Hall on Jan. 9 when they welcome Big Ten newcomer Rutgers to town. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. CT.

125: 1st: No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 3-1 SV2 3rd: Stevan Micic (Northwestern) dec. Kory Mines (Edinboro), 4-1 5th: No. 14 Joshua Rodriguez (North Dakota State) dec. Billy Watterson (Brown), 9-2 7th: Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) maj. dec. David White (Binghamton), 15-4 133: 1st: No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois), 4-2 3rd: No. 16 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) by medical forfeit over No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 5th: Kevin Norstrem (Virginia Tech) dec. Jarrod Garnett (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club), 3-2 7th: Dominick Malone (Northwestern) dec. Caleb Richardson (Penn), 7-5 141: 1st: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech), 4-1 3rd: Joey McKenna (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club) dec. No. 6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 3-1 5th: No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 6-2 7th: Brandon Wright (Grand View) dec. Shyhiem Brown (Maryland), 3-2 149: 1st: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. No. 3 David Habat (Edinboro), 2-1 TB 3rd: No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. No. 16 Sal Mastriani (Virginia Tech), 6-0 5th: Rick Durso (F&M) by medical forfeit over Brody Grothus (Iowa) 7th: No. 12 Alexander Richardson (Old Dominion) dec. Seth Lange (Minnesota), 9-5 157: 1st: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) dec. No. 1 4 Cody Pack (South Dakota State), 6-3 3rd: Mike Kelly (Iowa) dec. Chad Walsh (Rider), 4-3 5th: No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown) dec. Louis Mascola (Maryland), 4-3 7th: Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan), 7-0 165: 1st: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) pinned No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), 4:06 3rd: No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois) dec. No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 5-2 5th: No. 16 Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Ty Prazma (Missouri), 6-5 7th: No. 14 Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) pinned Pat Smith (Minnesota), 2:07 174: 1st: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois), 2-1 3rd: Alex Meyer (Iowa) maj. dec. Josh Snook (Maryland), 13-5 5th: Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) by forfeit over Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon) 7th: Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) dec. No. 19 Nate Jackson (Indiana), 3-2 184: 1st: No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) maj. dec. No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn), 13-5 3rd: No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 3-1 5th: No. 14 Vic Avery (Edinboro) dec. No. 20 Nikko Reyes (Illinois), 3-2 7th: No. 18 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin) dec. Brett Harner (Princeton), 5-4 197: 1st: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin), 4-3 3rd: James Fox (Harvard) dec. No. 8 Alex Polizzi (Northwestern), 6-4 SV 5th: No. 10 Abe Ayala (Princeton) dec. Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 5-3 7th: Ruben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) dec. Shawn Scott (Northern Illinois), 4-3 285: 1st: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern), 4-2 3rd: No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) dec. No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 2-1 5th: Dawson Peck (Maryland) dec. No. 13 Evan Knutson (North Dakota State), 1-0 7th: Garrett Ryan (Columbia) maj. dec. No. 18 Jake Henderson (Old Dominion), 10-1

1. Iowa 189 2. Illinois 130.5 3. Northwestern 106 4. Edinboro 101 5. Virginia Tech 99.5 6. Old Dominion 81 7. Wisconsin 80.5 8. Maryland 51.5 9. North Dakota State 45.5 10. Indiana 45 11. South Dakota State 42 12. CSU Bakersfield 39.5 13. Rider 39.5 14. Penn 37 15. Princeton 34.5 16. Purdue 33 17. Harvard 31.5 18. Lehigh Valley Athletic Club 31 19. Minnesota - Unattached 30.5 20. Brown 28

Related: Brackets | Standings | Placers EVANSTON, Illinois -- The University of Iowa wrestling team won four individual titles and scored a tournament-record 189.0 points to win the 52nd annual Midlands Championships on Tuesday night. The Hawkeyes' 189 team points broke their previous record of 187.5, set in 2013. Illinois was a distant second with 130.5, followed by Northwestern (106), Edinboro (101) and Virginia Tech (99.5). Iowa has won a record 24 Midlands team titles. Iowa crowned four champions -- Cory Clark, Mike Evans, Nathan Burak, Bobby Telford -- for the first time since 2007, when Joe Slaton, Dan LeClere, Mark Perry, and Brent Metcalf all earned first place finishes at their respective weights. No. 3 seeded Clark took the 133 title after advancing to the finals for the first time in three trips to the Midlands Championships. He previously collected a fourth-place finish in 2012 and a sixth-place finish in 2013. Clarkimproves his overall record to 14-0 after this championship win. "It felt good to have a first-place performance instead of a sixth and previous year fourth, so it's a big jump for me, especially going up a weight," Clark said. "At the same time, all this tournament is for me is a learning experience and I've learned a lot." Evans defended his championship at 174 after a 2-1 victory over the No. 2 seed Zac Bruson from Illinois. Evans is the first repeat champion since Brent Metcalf won three straight titles from 2007-2009. Iowa 197-pounder Nathan Burak, seeded first and wrestling unattached, collected his first Midlands Championship title. He took on the sixth-seeded Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) in the finals and clinched the match with a takedown in the final seconds to win, 4-3. Burak previously came in third during his first appearance and his all-time Midlands record stands at 10-1. Bobby Telford, the No. 2 seed at 285, walked away with a first-place finish after a battle with the top-seeded Mike McMullan of Northwestern. The pair had met five times previously and Telford improved upon his 2011 and 2013 second-place finishes. "It's a big win," Telford said. "I've been in this situation three times, I've gotten second twice and that kind of lingers with a guy. It was my last chance at it and it was my last chance to get the feather in my hat with a Midlands championship." Thomas Gilman, the defending champion at 125, fell to the second-seeded Joey Dance from Virginia Tech, 3-1, in the second sudden-victory period. It was Gilman's first loss of the season, tallying a record of 14-1 overall. The Hawkeyes also closed out the Midlands Championships with four third-place finishes. Sixth-seeded Brandon Sorenson (149), No. 5 seed Michael Kelly (157), No. 10 seed Alex Meyer (174), and No. 3 seed Sammy Brooks (184) each won their consolation finalsmatches. Josh Dziewa (141) and Nick Moore (165) both collected fourth-place finishes at the Midlands. Dziewa was defeated by the No. 10 seed Joseph McKenna (Lehigh-unattached), in a 3-1 decision. Moore ultimately fell to fourth-seeded Jackson Morse (Illinois) in a 5-2 decision. Iowa returns to action on Jan. 2 at Rutgers. The dual is set to begin at 7 p.m. (CT) and is televised on BTN. The Hawkeyes then travel to Ohio State to compete Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. (CT).

No. 1 Minnesota left its stamp on the first annual Aloha Open in Honolulu on Thursday, capturing six individual titles on the day. Noteworthy among those championships were No. 2 Chris Dardanes at 133 and No. 1 Dylan Ness at 157, both of whom continued undefeated seasons and will carry unblemished records into the new year. The four other individual champions for the Gophers were: Conrad Rangell (141), Jake Short (149), No. 3 Logan Storley (174) and No. 2 Scott Schiller (197). The first-year tournament featured a different format than most. The four teams competing in the event - Minnesota, No. 20 Oregon State, Oklahoma and American University - were allowed to enter more than 10 wrestlers into the event (the Gophers elected to enter 12). At each weight class, there was a round-robin to determine the champion. Because some teams brought more than one competitor at a specific weight class, some of these round-robins were three matches per wrestler, while others were four or five. At 133, Dardanes took the title with a 3-0 finish that included a pair of major decisions, giving him a team-high seven on the season, which accounts for half of his total victories. At 141 and 149, Rangell and Short also earned titles with 3-0 finishes, the only unranked Minnesota wrestlers to take first place at their weights. At 157, Ness kicked off his day with a pin, the 33rd of his career. That ties him with Jared Lawrence for 11th in program history and puts him one shy of cracking the top 10. At 174, Storley won all three of his matches in different fashions, racking up a technical fall, a decision and a major decision (respectively) on his way to the title. Finally, at 197, Schiller finished 4-0 with two major decisions and a pin. The second of those victories marked a career milestone for Schiller as it represented his 100th win for the Maroon and Gold. He joins teammate Storley in surpassing the 100-win mark this season after Storley did so at the Cliff Keen Invitational earlier this month. In addition to the six individual champions, the Gophers also had a pair of wrestlers place second, Brandon Kingsley at 165 and No. 11 Brett Pfarr at 184, and a three more finish third: Jordan Bremer at 125, No. 18 Nick Wanzek at 165 and No. 12 Michael Kroells at 285. A full listing of match results for each Gopher wrestler appears below. After enjoying the sun and beaches in the Aloha State for a few more days, the Gophers will return home and begin preparing for their next competition, a Big Ten dual on Friday, January 9 at 8 p.m. CT against No. 17 Michigan at the Sports Pavilion. That dual will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network and will also be available on the BTN2Go app. As always, to stay updated on the latest news around the Gopher Wrestling program, regularly check back here on GopherSports.com and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

125: No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. Stevan Micic (Northwestern), 4-3 No. 6 Joey Dance (Virginia Tech) dec. No. 14 Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State), 7-1 133: No. 7 Zane Richards (Illinois) dec. No. 1 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro), 1-0 No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. Jarrod Garnett (LVAC), 7-6 141: No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. No. 9 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 11-7 No. 3 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) maj. dec. Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 15-6 149: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. Brody Grothus (Iowa), 3-2 TB2 No. 3 Dave Habat (Edinboro) dec. No. 10 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa), 3-2 157: No. 9 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) maj. dec. Mike Kelly (Iowa), 16-5 No. 14 Cody Pack (South Dakota State) dec. No. 18 Justin Staudenmayer (Brown), 5-1 165: No. 4 Taylor Walsh (Indiana) pinned No. 12 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 0:47 No. 8 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 8-5 174: No. 2 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. Brock Gutches (Southern Oregon), 4-0 No. 9 Zac Brunson (Illinois) maj. dec. Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern), 8-0 184: No. 2 Lorenzo Thomas (Penn) dec. No. 10 Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State), 7-5 No. 4 Jack Dechow (Old Dominion) dec. No. 8 Sam Brooks (Iowa), 6-5 197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. James Fox (Harvard), 3-1 No. 14 Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) dec. Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 5-3 285: No. 1 Michael McMullan (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 4-2 No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 5 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 3-1