InterMat Staff

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- Sammie Henson recorded his first career victory as head coach as the West Virginia University wrestling team earned a 23-12 victory over Lock Haven at Thomas Field House on Friday evening. “It was nice to get our first dual win tonight,” said Henson. “This was truly a family effort from our coaching staff, athletic administration, medical staff, strength and conditioning coach, team dietitian, sports information director and, of course, our academic advisor. Our student-athletes continue to grind it out to a new level as we have a lot to improve upon, but our family is all in. Consistency wins!” The Mountaineers opened with a 4-0 lead as Zeke Moisey took a 12-3 major decision from Kaleb Lemaire at 125 pounds. A pair of first period takedowns gave Moisey a 4-1 lead at the end of the first. He padded his lead with an escape and two more takedowns to lead 9-2 entering the third period, where he added another takedown and gave up just an escape in taking the major decision and giving West Virginia a 4-0 lead. After dropping the bout at 133 pounds, Michael Morales made it a 10-3 WVU lead with a first-period pin of Robert Rehm at 141 pounds. The Bald Eagles earned wins at 149 and 157 pounds to cut the West Virginia lead to 10-9. Ross Renzi got the Mountaineers back on track with a 4-2 decision over Aaron McKinney at 165 pounds. Renzi twice scored takedowns on McKinney in the first period, yielding just and escape to carry a 4-1 advantage into the second. With Renzi starting on top, McKinney added an escape to his tally in the second before the two battled through a scoreless third period as the Mountaineers pushed their lead to 13-9. Newcomer Parker VonEgidy, competing in his first match since transferring from Missouri, started his Mountaineer career off by winning a 9-7 decision over Tyler Wood at 174 pounds. VonEgidy scored a takedown in the first to take a 2-1 lead after Wood registered an escape. Wood recorded a take down and two escapes to take a 5-4 lead over VonEgidy, who scored on a reversal. Despite giving up a stalling point and an escape, VonEgidy took Wood down twice and added the riding point for the win, giving West Virginia a 16-9 lead. After dropping a decision at 184 to cut the lead to four at 16-12, the Mountaineers took the last two bouts for the win. Jake A. Smith dominated in a 12-0 major decision over Blaze Buckwalter at 197. Smith registered a takedown in the first period and scored a reversal in the second, riding out Buckwalter for the rest of the period. Smith added a pair of nearfall points, followed by a trio of nearfall points and tacked on the riding point at the end to push WVU ahead 20-12. A.J. Vizcarrondo finished out the match with a 6-4 sudden victory over Brad Emerick at heavyweight. Giving up an escape in the second, Vizcarrondo tied the bout in the third with an escape of his own. He would claim the win with a takedown midway through the second overtime, giving the Mountaineers the 23-12 win. Following a break for the holidays, West Virginia will travel to Phoenix, Arizona, for a pair of duals. The Mountaineers will face Grand Canyon on January 3 in a 10 p.m. ET before heading to Arizona State for a rematch on January 4. Results: 125 Zeke Moisey (WVU) major dec. Kaleb Lemaire (LHU), 12-3 4 0 133 Ronald Perry (LHU) dec. Cory Stainbrook (WVU), 9-4 4 3 141 J#10/12 Michael Morales (WVU) pinned Robert Rehm (LHU), 1:25 10 3 149 Daniel Neff (LHU) dec. James Dekrone (WVU), 6-4 10 6 157 Elias Biddle (LHU) dec. Tim Wheeling (WVU), 4-2 10 9 165 Ross Renzi (WVU) dec. Aaron McKinney (LHU), 4-2 13 9 174 Parker VonEgidy (WVU) dec. Tyler Wood (LHU), 9-7 16 9 184 Fred Garcia (LHU) dec. Bubba Scheffel (WVU), 7-4 16 12 197 Jake A. Smith (WVU) major dec. Blaze Buckwalter (LHU), 12-0 20 12 HWT A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU) dec. Brad Emerick (LHU), SV-2 6-4 23 12

Live Blog Virginia at Bucknell

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 5 in the latest Intermat Tournament Power Index, downed No. 9 Virginia Tech in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd of over 6,300 Friday night. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad won six of ten bouts and won 20-15, led by junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) and senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) The dual began with one of its most anticipated match-ups, with No. 10 Conaway taking on No. 5 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech. Conaway came back from an early 2-1 deficit with a slick four-point move at the end of the second period and posted a 7-5 win over fifth-ranked Dance. At 133, No. 5 Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) notched a workmanlike 9-4 win over No. 19 Kevin Norstrem to give Penn State a 6-0 lead. Hokie Devin Carter, ranked No. 3 at 141, pinned Lion junior Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) at the 1:56 mark of the first period to tie the dual at 6-6. Sophomore Nittany Lion Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 149, suffered a 7-5 upset loss to Virginia Tech's Sal Mastriani, giving the Hokies a 9-6 lead. Red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) was strong at 157, rolling to a convincing 10-4 win over Tech's David Wesley. The sent the teams into the break tied 9-9 At 165, Lion Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) dominated Virginia Tech senior Chris Moon, rolling to a 17-2 technical fall to put Penn State up 14-9. Hammond picked up the tech fall at the 7:00 mark thanks to a gaudy 4:19 riding time total. Two-time All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 2 at 174, battled No. 9 Zach Epperly in another top-ten showdown. The Lion senior opened up an early lead but Epperly was able to tie the bout late with a takedown and ride out. Brown looked to score early in the extra period but Epperly countered the Lion's move and won the bout with a takedown. The 8-6 (sv) decision cut Penn State's lead to 14-12. Virginia Tech then took a 15-14 lead as junior Austin Gabel posted a 5-3 win over red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 18, at 184. At 197, No. 4 Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) retook the lead for Penn State, downing Jared Haught. The Lion All-American nearly picked up a last second pin, turning a third period ride out into three near fall points as the bout ended While time ran out on McIntosh's efforts at a pin, the 5-0 victory put Penn State back up on top, 17-15. In the dual's final bout, Penn State senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) faced off against No. 6 Ty Walz of Virginia Tech with the dual meet in the balance. Lawson took a 2-1 lead in the second period with a strong takedown. An escape to start the third period gave the Lion a 3-1 lead only to see Walz take Lawson down with just seconds left to tie the bout. Lawson appeared to escape as time expired and was awarded the takedown. But the official reviewed the call and reversed it, sending the bout into sudden victory. Undaunted, Lawson turned a single leg into a dual clinching takedown in extra time. The 5-3 (sv) win over fifth-ranked Walz clinched Penn State's 20-15 victory. The dual was tight from start to finish, with Penn State winning six of ten bouts and claiming a slim 16-12 takedown edge. The Nittany Lions improved to 5-0 with the win while Virginia Tech suffered its first loss, falling to 4-1. Penn State returns to action on New Year's Day. The Nittany Lions will carry four straight Southern Scuffle titles into the 2015 Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2 at UT-Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is set for 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. #5 Penn State 20, #9 Virginia Tech 15 December 19, 2014 - Rec Hall - University Park, Pa. 125: #10 Jordan Conaway PSU dec. #5 Joey Dance VT, 7-5 / 3-0 133: #5 Jimmy Gulibon PSU dec. #19 Kevin Norstrem VT, 9-4 / 6-0 141: #3 Devin Carter VT pinned Michael Waters PSU, WBF (1:56) / 6-6 149: Sal Mastriani VT dec. #13 Zack Beitz PSU, 7-5 / 6-9 157: Cody Law PSU dec. David Wesley VT, 10-4 / 9-9 165: Garett Hammond PSU tech fall Chris Moon VT, 17-2 (TF; 7:00) / 14-9 174: #9 Zach Epperly VT dec. #2 Matt Brown PSU, 8-6 (SV) / 14-12 184: Austin Gabel VT dec. #18 Matt McCutcheon PSU, 5-3 / 14-15 197: #4 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Jared Haught VT, 5-0 / 17-15 285: Jimmy Lawson PSU dec. #5 Ty Walz VT, 5-3 (SV) / 20-15 Attendance: 6,352 Records: Penn State 5-0, 1-0 B1G; Virginia Tech 4-1 Up Next for Penn State: at 2015 Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, 2015; Chattanooga, Tenn. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Junior Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 125, battled No. 5 Joey Dance in one of the dual meet's premier bouts. Dance got in on a low single at the 2:15 mark, forcing a scramble in the center circle. The Hokie finished off the move and took an early 2-1 lead after quick Conaway escape. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the period and Dance carried the 2-1 lead into the second period. Conaway chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Dance quickly got in on a low single, forcing another scramble on the Lion Logo. Conaway worked his way out of trouble and action resumed with both men on their feet. Conaway shot low with a quick ankle pick, controlled the action and picked up the takedown with :15 left in the period. The Lion then turned Dance for two back points and led 6-2 after two periods. Dance chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 6-3 score at the 1:37 mark. Riding time was not an issue. Dance worked his way in on a high single with :40 left and finished off the move to cut Conaway's lead two 6-5. The Lion escaped to a 7-5 lead with :15 left and held on for the thrilling 7-5 victory. 133: Lion sophomore Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 133, wrestled No. 19 Kevin Norstrem in a second straight top-20 match-up. Norstrem picked up an early takedown to open up a 2-1 lead with 2:00 on the clock. The Lion sophomore picked up the tempo, got in on a single leg with 1:10 on the clock and nearly scored. But a stalemate was called with :50 on the clock. Forcing a reset. Gulibon scored quickly off the reset and the bout was tied 3-3 after a quick Norstrem escape. Gulibon continued his offensive pressure and picked up another takedown as the period ended to lead 5-3 after one. Gulibon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 6-3 lead. Trailing by three, Norstrem chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 6-4 score with 1:19-4 win. 7 left in the bout. Gulibon blew through a high single and took an 8-4 lead just seconds later and controlled action from the top long enough to build up a 1:00 plus riding time edge. He then continued his ride for the rest of the period and, with the bonus point, posted the 9-4 win with 1:25 in riding time. 141: Junior Michael Waters (Advance, N.C.) took to the mat against No. 3 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech. Carter scored quickly, taking a 2-0 lead and cutting Waters loose to a 2-1 score. The Hokie senior added another quick takedown and led 4-1 with 1:34 left. He then turned Waters and, after a brief fight, got the quick pin at the 1:56 mark. 149: Sophomore Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 149, faced off against Tech sophomore Sal Mastriani. The duo traded quick early shots with neither wrestler able to finish off a takedown and a reset was called with 2:15 on the clock. Action continued at a high pace into the final minute of the opening period with Beitz first pushing off a Mastriani shot and then the Hokie returning the favor on the outside circle. Tied 0-0, Beitz got in on a low single but once again, action was halted with :45 on a stalemate. Mastriani posted the first score at the :15 mark, turning a low single into a takedown and a 2-0 lead after one period. Beitz chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 2-1 deficit. Beitz was unable to break through Mastriani's defense as the Hokie was able to hold off Beitz shots for the next minute and then gained control of the Lion's ankle with :30 left in the period. Beitz fought off the shot for a bit but Mastriani got the call on the edge of the mat with :18 left, taking a 4-1 lead. Beitz managed a late escape and trailed 4-2 after two periods. Mastriani chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Beitz shot high at the :48 mark but Mastriani countered and upped his lead to 7-3 with :40 on the clock. Beitz added a late takedown but Mastriani held on for the 7-5 win. 157: Nittany Lion red-shirt freshman Cody Law (Windber, Pa.) met Tech junior David Wesley at 157. Law wasted no time opening up a lead, notching a quick takedown to lead 2-1 just seconds into the bout. Law's constant offense allowed him to turn a low single into a takedown with 1:38 on the clock, opening up a 4-2 lead after a quick Wesley escape. Law's pressure forced Wesley into a first stall warning at the :40 mark and the Lion freshman led 4-2 after one period. Law chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. The Windber native quickly tacked on a third takedown, taking a 7-3 lead after cutting Wesley loose at the 1:18 mark. Law blew through a low single and led 9-3 at the :40 mark. He then maintained control for the rest of the period and led 9-3 with 1:12 in riding time after two periods. Wesley chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 9-4 score seconds in. Law fought off two solid Wesley shots over the next minute, maintaining his lead. He nearly scored on a single leg with :30 left but a stalemate was called, forcing a reset. With :10 left, Law got in on a low single and nearly picked up a major with a final takedown, but Wesley was able to hold firm. Law's strong 10-4 win included 1:12 in riding time. 165: Red-shirt freshman Garett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) took on Virginia Tech's Kevin Moon at 165. Moon got in on a quick single, forcing a scramble in the center circle. But Hammond was able to counter the move, nearly scoring himself at the 2:00 mark. After a brief, fight, Hammond picked up the takedown and then worked Moon to his back, nearly getting the fall. Three back points, however, gave the Lion freshman a 5-0 lead. He then controlled action from the top for over a minute and picked up two more back points to lead 7-0. A short ride out and Hammond led 7-0 with 1:51 in riding time after one period. Hammond chose down to start the second period, quickly escaped to an 8-0 lead but was taken down. Another Hammond escaped gave the Lion a 9-2 lead and he then took Moon down again to lead 11-2. Trailing by nine, Moon chose neutral to start the third period but Hammond was relentless. He picked up another takedown and the turned the Hokie senior over to his back for three more near fall points and a 16-2 lead. With the riding time clinched, Hammond then rode Moon out and posted the 17-2 tech fall at the 7:00 mark thanks to 4:19 in riding time. 174: Two-time All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 2 at 174, faced No. 9 Zach Epperly in another of the dual's key bouts. Brown scored first quickly, using a quick low single to pull Epperly in from out of bounds at the 1:39 mark to lead 2-0. Epperly escaped to a 2-1 score and held off a late Brown shot as the period ended. Brown chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Epperly briefly tied the bout with a solid takedown but Brown's quick escaped allowed the Lion senior to lead 4-3 with :45 on the clock. The Lion All-American then worked his way in on another high single and finished off the move for a 6-3 lead after two periods. Epperly chose down to start the final stanza but Brown was able to control action long enough to build up a 1:04 riding time edge before the Hokie escaped to a 6-4 Brown lead. Epperly tied the match at 6-6 with a scrambling takedown and cut Brown's riding time edge down under 6-6. Brown nearly escaped to the win with :10 left but action moved out of bounds with Epperly still on top. Epperly was able to ride Brown out and the match moved into sudden victory. Brown shot low on Epperly and looked to score, but the Hokie was able to counter, and worked his way on top of Brown for the takedown and the upset win, 8-6 in sudden victory. 184: Red-shirt freshman Matt McCutcheon (Apollo, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 184, tangled with Virginia Tech's Austin Gabel. The duo battled evenly for the half the opening stanza and the Gabel drew first blood with a solid takedown at the 1:31 mark to take a 2-0 lead. McCutcheon escaped to a 2-1 score. McCutcheon was unable to break through Gabel's defense and trailed 2-1 after one period. McCutcheon chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-2 tie. Gabel worked his way in on another high single but this time McCutcheon was able to counter the effort and force a reset with 1:10 left in the period. Neither wrestler scored after that and the bout moved to the third period tied 2-2. Gabel chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. McCutcheon shot low on Gabel but the Hokie junior was able to counter the move and scored on a counter takedown to lead 5-3 after a quick McCutcheon escaped with :42 left. McCutcheon was unable to score down the stretch and Gabel posted the 5-3 win. 197: All-American Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 4 at 197, met freshman Jared Haught. The duo battled evenly for the full opening three minutes, with each wrestler unable to put together a scoring combination. McIntosh chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. McIntosh continued to look for an opening to score, but Haught was able to push off the Lion's efforts and keep the score at 1-0 until under :30 on the clock. McIntosh shot low as the second period ended but Haught stepped back and the bout moved to the third period with the Lion junior up 1-0. Haught chose down to start the third period and McIntosh was able to control the action from the top. He built up over 1:00 in riding time with a strong ride and then turned Haught with just :03 left, nearly picking up the pin. The move, with 1:57 in riding time, gave McIntosh the 5-0 win. 285: Senior Jimmy Lawson (Toms River, N.J.) took on Ty Walz, ranked No. 6, in the dual's final bout. The duo battled evenly for the first two minutes with neither wrestler creating a solid scoring chance. Gabel looked to score on a late shot but Lawson was able to muscle his way out of trouble. Tied 0-0 after one period, Walz chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 1-0 lead. Lawson quickly got in on a low single leg but Walz was able to work his way out of bounds and force a reset with 1:27 on the clock. With just :10 left in the period, Lawson bulled through Walz's chest for a late takedown and a 2-1 lead. Lawson chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Walz got in on a low single and forced a scramble in the center circle. Lawson was able to fight off the move and force a stalemate with 1:25 on the clock. Walz worked his way in on a high single once again and Lawson scrambled his way to another stalemate at the :40 mark. With :10 left, Walz scored a takedown to tie the bout at 3-3. Lawson appeared to escape and was awarded the point. But the official waved the escape off and the bout moved into extra time. Lawson was undaunted, however. The senior turned a low single into a dual clinching takedown, sending over 6,300 Rec Hall faithful to their feet and securing the 5-3 (sv) win.

Live Blog Virginia Tech at Penn State

RALEIGH, N.C. - The 19th-ranked NC State wrestling team had to come from behind, but won the final five bouts and downed Appalachian State in Reynolds Coliseum, 29-12. With the Mountaineers holding a 12-10 lead the first five bouts, the Pack won the final five of the evening to push its record to 7-2. After ASU wins at 125 and 133 pounds to start. #16 Sam Speno (141) recorded a major decision followed by Brian Hamann (149) recording a pin to get the Pack started. After the intermission, #15 Max Roshkopf (165), Pete Renda (174), Michael Boykin (197) recorded decisions while Nicky Hall recorded his first career pin and #2 Nick Gwizdowski closed out the dual with a major decision over #19 Denzel Dejournette. Up Next: NC State will take a short break for the holidays. The Pack returns to action on Jan. 7 hosting ACC foe Duke in Reynolds Coliseum. Results: 125: Dominic Parisi (ASU) dec. Joe DeAngelo; 6-2 - 0-3 133: Vito Pasone (ASU) fall Bryce Meredith; 4:34 - 0-9 141: #16 Sam Speno (NCSU) major dec. Mike Longo; 11-1 - 4-9 149: Brian Hamann (NCSU) fall Javon Johnson; 2:33 - 10-9 157: Zachary Strickland (ASU) dec. Chad Pyke; 9-3 - 10-12 165: #15 Max Rohskopf (NCSU) dec. Nick Kee; 3-1 - 13-12 174: Pete Renda (NCSU) dec. Forrest Przybysz; 6-2 - 16-12 184: Nicky Hall (NCSU) fall Dominick Vetell; 2:46 - 22-12 197: Michael Boykin (NCSU) dec. Tyler Radford; 5-1 - 25-12 285: #2 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) major dec. #19 Denzel Dejournette; 15-6 - 29-12

Is this weekend's UFC Fight Night show any good? Not really. Do Richard and John preview the fights anyway? Absolutely! They also discuss the lawsuit against the UFC filed by Nate Quarry, Cung Le, and Jon Fitch. Whether the suit goes anywhere or perhaps prompts the formation of a union remains to be seen, but it'll be entertaining. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Sony this week bowed to North Korean threats and canceled the release of "The Interview." The Pope brokered a deal between Cuba and the United States, which will lead to the first normalized relations between the two countries in 50 years. The UFC was both sued by former fighters and hired a fake wrestler with no MMA experience to their promotion. As if all this wasn't enough, New York state outlawed fracking, which is the main cause supported by actor Mark Ruffalo, the man who plays Dave Schultz in Foxcatcher. And yet the biggest surprise of the last week was none of the above. Henry Cejudo made weight, won his UFC debut and then said something nice about the sport of wrestling! While I'm not sold that he can be a top contender in the UFC, I was impressed with his ability to strike and balance that with good conditioning. There is at least a chance that he's been reading some of his criticism and has decided to rededicate himself to greatness. I'm not sure there is a wholesale change of character and I'm still hyper-skeptical about his career projections, but a note of congratulations are in order for Henry who proved to be game on this walk into the octagon. Note: There will be no mailbag next week. Go spend time with your family. Q: Is the NCAA championship the highest attended wrestling tournament in the world? -- Tom B. Foley: I've always found attendance records to be somewhat flawed. The three-day NCAA wrestling event accumulates the total tickets sales for each session and at the end comes up with an attendance number usually around 100k people. Does that mean 100k people came to the event? No. It normally means 15-20k people showed up six times. There are at least three other large tournaments that come to mind with audiences as big, or bigger than that of the NCAAs. The Mongolian national Naadam tournament is held in a stadium that holds 25k people and is usually filled. In Senegal traditional wrestling matches average well more than 50k people. The Kirkpinar oil wrestling festival in Edirne also hosts 15-20k people per event. There is a lot of fluctuation and though not the largest, I do think the NCAA tournament is among the top five events in terms of attendance. Q: Well, so much for Gabe Dean running the table. Looked pretty human in losing twice at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Brett Pfarr had him beat too except for an inexplicable non-call by the ref. Do you take your crow salted or not? -- Eugene L. Cornell All-American Gabe Dean fell in the semifinals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to Oregon State's Taylor Meeks (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: Pardon me, good sir, but I never claimed that our young grappler's talent was otherworldly. In fact, I do remember that I predicted a few losses and at best a two-time NCAA champion. I'm a believer in Dean's ability, but I think we are looking at a two-time NCAA champion with one or two more losses. Not exactly modest expectations, but also not quite to the level of Ruth. You may be right, however, that the hype surrounding Dean's sophomore season was premature. He's talented, but in losing those two matches showed that he's not yet competing at the top level in 2014-2015. His sluggish start could have something to do with an offseason filled with training and competition, or maybe he was sick, or injured. Who knows, but to answer your question, I prefer hot sauce (chili oil) to any salt, or pepper, or other dry spice. Q: Given the recent decisions by the IOC to allow different formats of city bidding and more sports in the Olympics what do you think are the chances of wrestling adding more weights to include more competitors, what would those weights look like in a most favorable to the U.S. team standpoint. And who do you think best fills them? -- Jimmie D. Foley: I'd think that two non-Olympic weight classes are the limit to what would ever be added back into the Games. While we want more weight classes, we still have yet to have any country qualify all 18 wrestlers for the Olympics, which means there is not yet a high enough concentration of talent to demand the extra spots. However, I do think that the Agenda 2020 opens the door to new styles and that could create a new energy behind the sport at-large. Beach wrestling and other new styles may finally have an avenue for inclusion. As of yet a lot is unknown, but I do think that the growth of the Games and the reformatting of the mission can be beneficial to the sport of wrestling. Multimedia Halftime New USA Wrestling Room (via Jessica Medina) Grapple at the Garden Q: Could someone please explain the purpose of a medical forfeit in a finals or consolation finals match. Many times the athlete is not injured. Does the champion or third place winner receive a win on his record? If so, does the wrestler using the medical forfeit receive a loss? If the athlete is not injured, isn't this kind of like using a rule to avoid a loss? I thought the rule was truly for medical/injury purposes, but I see it in more and more tournaments as a way for wrestlers to avoid opponents. I thought the sport was wrestling? Not avoid wrestling! -- Dennis R. Foley: I can leave this alone, because you understand what is occurring at many programs. Suffer a loss, default out and don't risk having your crappy day affect seeding at the NCAA tournament. Sometimes the coaches pull athletes who have minor injuries, but just as often they try to protect them from bad days. I agree. Life and a wrestling career are way too short to micromanage. Throw down while you still have the knees and inverted triangle back. Be a warrior, kids. Q: The InterMat top 100 recruits is a very prestigious honor, but in no way is it an indication of how you will perform at the collegiate level. Is there anyone who was not in the top 100 recruits in high school wrestling today that is a national championship contender? Maybe you and Josh Lowe can put together some statistics on how the top 100 recruits of the last few years have performed at the NCAA Division I level? Also, who was the biggest disappointments out of the top 100 recruits in recent years? Some guys just didn't live up to their recruiting profile. -- Beau E. Foley: We have published features around this topic. Most recently, in April, Josh Lowe re-ranked the top 100 recruits from the Class of 2009 ... based on what we know in 2014. Here is the link. We'll do another one this April, looking at the Class of 2010. Q: I have noticed lately that there have been several forfeits. It has been across the board JC, NAIA, D3, D2, & D1. What is going on? What are your thoughts? I understand if a smaller program doesn't have 40 kids in the room. I just don't see why a Big Ten team has a forfeit. -- Keith T. Foley: I think that there are a lot of wrestling programs at the lower levels, and that's brilliant. However, just like the Olympics, more programs means fewer athletes in each room. Fewer wrestlers means more chance that something can and will happen. Also -- and I know this from my days as a coach -- guys don't always end up in the weight class for which they were recruited. The lightest guys often find food and booze and puberty to be a hindrance on their weight control. There is no replacing a 125-pound wrestler because you can't bump anyone up. The wrestlers on some teams just group and if there are a few injuries and the need to redshirt someone, it's often easier to forfeit. I'm not against reducing the number of collegiate weight classes, but would only do so is we could see that more schools would add programs, something I don't think we'd be able to guarantee. RANT OF THE WEEK By Patrick S. In response to your assessment of the Iowa wrestlers looking upset with themselves even after victories, I just wanted to make an observation. Of the guys that are currently in the Iowa lineup, I don't get the true "goer" vibe of a guy who is going to go out and wear you down with his gas tank and impose his physical and offensive will from anyone. I'm not saying that some of them aren't quality wrestlers (Clark, Evans, Gilman, etc.), but I just think that this "Iowa style" mentality was only truly in existence and followed to the fullest extent during Gable's tenure. In the time after Gable, I think that what they are doing is going through the motions and following what the people who wore the black and gold before them used to truly believe. They aren't actually that upset with themselves when they win 14-2 instead of getting the tech against a D3 opponent in a 41-0 dual. I just think that they feel obligated to act upset when they don't live up to that precedent of intensity. I see it as a sort of hollow charade for the fan base and even for their coaching staff. They need everyone to see just how much they care about winning. Tom Brands has a certain expectation of intensity and he obviously is far from OK with accepting anything less than perfection. Because of this, the wrestlers are just going to become Iowa drones who go out and pretend to be pissed when they win a close match just so the coaches don't yell at them and the fan base goes, "Look at him! He won and he's still mad! He must really care! What a guy! He's the kind of kid we like to have here at Iowa!" It's so transparent when a guy like Nick Moore, who has never been an offensive juggernaut in college, wins a close decision against a quality opponent and runs off the mat with his head down like he just got majored. Why does he do this? Because his coaches have planted this false image in his mind that he's a Lincoln McIlravy or a Mark Ironside. At some point you have to be realistic and understand that you're not going to go out there and tech everyone you wrestle, especially when the offensive Iowa style has essentially become extinct in Iowa City. Basically, it's annoying to watch a guy wrestle for seven minutes, not be Gable/old school Iowa level offensive, and then then run off the mat with all of this false disappointment and self-hatred because he didn't pin his opponent. Stop acting like you are wrestling with the same intensity as the 1980s Hawkeyes. You only get the act upset when you match the success and excellence set by the people you're trying to imitate. You want people to like you more? Wrestle harder. Show some offense. Cut the fake perfectionist act when your level of effort is mediocre compared to some of the historical teams that have rolled around in your practice room. Sincerely, Not an Iowa hater, but good luck trying to convince anyone of that

The 22nd edition of the Beast of the East will be this Saturday and Sunday from the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark. Wrestling starts both days at 8:30 a.m. ET. Competition on Saturday will set up the championship quarterfinals and leave a total of 16 wrestlers remaining in the field for day two. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and all consolation up to the medal matches will take place in the first part of Sunday's competition, with matches for 1st through 8th place starting at 3:15 p.m. Bracket results and updates will be available here. No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. is the prohibitive favorite to take home a 15th consecutive championship at the Beast of the East, which would be their 19th in all. The Buccaneers will be joined by ten other nationally ranked teams in this prestigious field: No. 12 St. Peter's Prep, N.J., No. 15 Bergen Catholic, N.J., No. 18 Don Bosco Prep, N.J., No. 19 Cumberland Valley, Pa., No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa., No. 23 Massillon Perry, Ohio, No. 31 McDonogh, Md., No. 38 Brecksville, Ohio, No. 39 Phillipsburg, N.J., and No. 46 Colonial Forge, Va. Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) will be looking to repeat as a Beast of the East champion (Photo/Rob Preston)Based on registered participants, and the preliminary seeds, 32 nationally ranked wrestlers are slated to compete in the tournament this weekend. A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) at 132 pounds is the lone top-ranked wrestler in the field, while there will be four wrestlers ranked second in the nation on the brackets: Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 120, Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.) competing at 170 up a weight from where he is ranked, Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) at 182, and Zack Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) at 285. Four wrestlers will be seeking to defend titles that they earned at last year's Beast of the East: Suriano, Martin, and L.J. Barlow (Haverford Prep, Pa.) at 195; Suriano is after a third Beast of the East title in as many seasons. Three defending champions are not in this year's field due to injury: Ty Agaisse (Delbarton, N.J.), Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.), and Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.) The following is a brief summary of the field in each weight class. 106: The top seed in this weight class is No. 16 Jonathan Tropea (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.), who placed eighth at state last year and was third in Junior freestyle over the summer. Three other wrestlers have earned past All-American honors in Fargo among the field: Matthew Parker (Pennridge, Pa.), Jakob Campbell (Boyertown, Pa.), and Zac McCauley (Massillon Perry, Ohio) 113: The top seed in this weight class is Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.), who was runner-up at the Beast of the East last year and a National Prep champion. However, the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this field is third seed Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg, N.J.), a two-time state placer -- last year a state finalist – who is No. 9 in the nation. In between those two in the seedings is returning National Prep runner-up Zach Sherman (Blair Academy, N.J.), who was also a Cadet freestyle All-American this past summer. The fourth and fifth seeds in this weight class have the chance to upend Prata should that be the semifinal match -- Alec Kelly (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), third at state last year, and returning state runner-up Dan Moran (Northampton, Pa.) 120: Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) is ranked No. 2 nationally, and a two-time defending champion in this event. He is an extremely strong favorite to win the weight class. Seeding second and third in the weight are two-time state placer Tyshawn White (Central Dauphin, Pa.), who is ranked No. 11 down at 113 pounds, and returning state runner-up Jake Newhouse (Massillon Perry, Ohio). Also meriting attention are the fourth and fifth seeds, National Prep third place finisher Requir van der Merwe (Blair Academy, N.J.) and state champion Jake Riegel (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) 126: This is clearly the tournament's deepest weight class with five nationally ranked wrestlers, led by top seed Austin Assad (Brecksville, Ohio). Assad is ranked No. 6 in the nation, and was a Junior National freestyle champion last summer. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class are seeded third, fourth, fifth, and seventh: No. 10 Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry, Ohio), a Super 32 Challenge runner-up this fall; two-time National Prep third place finisher Steven Simpson (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.), ranked No. 14 at 120 pounds; No. 9 Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park, N.J.), double third at Junior Nationals in Fargo this summer; and No. 20 Peter Lipari (Bergen Catholic, N.J.), a two-time state placer. The second seed in this bracket is Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), a two-time state finalist and Beast of the East runner-up last year. Sixth seed Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit, N.J.) placed at the Beast last year, and is a two-time state placer. Also meriting attention in this weight are two-time state champion J.D. Gregory (Hanover, Va.) and three-time National Prep placer Ryan Friedman (St. Paul's, Md.), the eighth and tenth seeds respectively. 132: The clear top two in this weight class are a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 1 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.) and No. 7 Charles Tucker (Blair Academy, N.J.). These two stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field here. The third seed is returning Beast of the East place T.K. Megonigal (James Madison, Va.), who is also a two-time National Prep placer. 138: Two-time Beast of the East runner-up Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.), ranked No. 3 nationally, is prohibitively favored to win the tournament this year. He is the top seed, and the lone ranked wrestler in the field. Four other wrestlers in the bracket are returning place-winners in the tournament: two-time state placers Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin, Pa.) and Connor Burkert (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.), two-time National Prep placer and 2014 finalist Peter Tedesco (Belmont Hill, Mass.), and Hunter Bolen (Christiansburg, Va.). They are seeds two, three, four, and six; while the fifth seed is two-time state runner-up Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) 145: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is Ryan Burkert (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.). The tournament's sixth seed is No. 13 in the nation, and a two-time state placer, including his runner-up finish last year. Top seeded in this weight class is two-time National Prep runner-up Kevin Budock (Good Counsel, Md.), and also a returning medalist in this tournament. Fellow medalist from last year Travis Vasquez (Delbarton, N.J.), who placed third at state, is the second seed. Others to watch in this weight are two-time National Prep placers Tyshawn Williams (Archbishop Curley, Md.) and Matthew Lattanze (Malvern Prep, Pa.), the fourth and fifth seeds; as well as Nick Steed (Massillon Perry, Ohio), the eighth seed and a returning state runner-up. 152: Four nationally ranked wrestlers reside in what is probably the tournament's second deepest weight class. The top three seeds in this weight class are ranked seventh, third, and fourth: returning Beast of the East runner-up Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley, Pa.) and Jordan Kutler (Blair Academy, N.J.), who both were Junior freestyle All-Americans this summer, along with Cameron Harrell (McDonogh, Md.). Super 32 Challenge placers Joseph Tavoso (Delbarton, N.J.) and Neal Richards (Matoaca, Va.) are the fourth and fifth seeds, with Richards positioned No. 12 in the national rankings. Others to watch in this weight class are state champion Garrett Tingen (Fauquier, Va.) and two-time state placer Joe Trovato (Paraus, N.J.), whom are seeded seventh and tenth. 160: Junior freestyle runner-up David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J.) enters the tournament as the top seed and ranked No. 6 nationally. He is a strong favorite to win the title, though No. 19 Corbin Allen (Hanover, Va.) is also in the field, and is the second seed. In what is a very shallow weight, look for freshman Michael Beard (Malvern Prep, Pa.) to possibly place third, which would augment the sixth place finish at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this past weekend. 170: Super 32 champion Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.) is ranked No. 2 nationally down a weight class at 160 pounds, and is the top seed here. He should receive a rather stern test in the final from Cadet double champion Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.), the tournament's second seed and No. 6 wrestler nationally at this weight class. National Prep placers Chris Almony (John Carroll, Md.) and Sam Rowell (Mt. St. Joseph's, Md.) are the next two seeds, though they are significantly behind the top two seeds. One to keep an eye on is Jimmy Schuitema (Phillipsburg, N.J.), the tournament's eighth seed. 182: One of the tougher weight classes of the tournament is this one with four nationally ranked wrestlers, which is anchored by defending champion Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.), the nation's No. 2 ranked wrestler. Rounding out the ranked wrestlers and top four seeds, in order of seed are No. 6 Dylan Wisman (Millbrook, Va.), No. 17 Chase Singletary (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 15 Kevin Mulligan (Bergen Catholic, N.J.). Returning Beast of the East placers are the next three seeds – Nick DePalma (DePaul Catholic, N.J.), Josh Colello (Cedar Cliff, Pa.), and Kyle Gentile (Pennridge, Pa.) 195: Another weight class with pretty solid depth, as five returning Beast of the East placer populate the bracket. Nationally ranked wrestlers are seeded second and third, No. 17 Matthew Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.) and No. 5 Hunter Ritter (John Carroll, Md.); Correnti is a two-time state medalist, while Ritter won the Super 32 Challenge this fall after winning a FILA Cadet freestyle title this summer. Returning tournament champion L.J. Barlow (Haverford Prep, Pa.), a three-time National Prep medalist is the top seed. National Prep placers Neil Putnam (Blair Academy, N.J.) and Desmond Johnson (Springside Chestnut Hill, Pa.), who also placed in this tournament last year, are the fourth and fifth seeds. Rounding out the top eight seeds are state runner-up T.J. Allen (Hanover, Va.), National Prep placer and Super 32 placer Kevin Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), and state champion Tyler Love (Centreville, Va.) 220: Three nationally ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class, and happen to occupy the top three seed lines in this bracket. Listed in seed order it goes No. 11 Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), No. 13 David Showunmi (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 6 Patrick Grayson (Colonial Forge, Va.); Dunn and Grayson both won Super 32 Challenge titles this fall (Dunn at 285), while Showunmi won the Walsh Jesuit Ironman last week. The next two seeds are National Prep placers Mike Smith (McDonogh, Md.) and Nick Miller (Good Counsel, MD.), while Super 32 placer Christian Colucci (St. Peter's Prep, N.J.) -- a two-time state qualifier – is the sixth seed. 285: Two-time Beast of the East runner-up Zack Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) is the top seed in this weight class, and ranked second in the nation. He is also the clear favorite in this weight bracket. The other nationally ranked wrestler in this field, No. 20 Anthony Helm (Matoaca, Va.), is the fourth seed. Seeded second and third are returning Beast placer Bo Spiller (Solanco, Pa.), who placed fourth at state plast year; and D.T. Badley (St. Christopher's, Va.), who placed at the Ironman last week.

After scoring the first 12 points in Thursday's night dual against No. 18 Northwestern, No. 1 Minnesota held off a charge from the Wildcats to win, 21-19, and remain undefeated on the season. The victory improves the Gophers record to 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten. The win also extended Minnesota's winning streak over Northwestern to 13 matches and marks the fifth consecutive season Minnesota has begun conference competition 2-0. The dual began at 174 with No. 4 Logan Storley earning six points by forfeit. The match was the first of three forfeits on the evening. Northwestern forfeited the match at 157 to No. 1 Dylan Ness, and Minnesota forfeited the match at 125 to Garrison White. Minnesota took the next two matches following the initial forfeit to build up a 12-0 lead in the dual. That stretch began with No. 11 Brett Pfarr grinding out a 5-0 victory over Mitch Sliga by scoring an early takedown in the first period and then continuing to apply pressure throughout the remainder of the match. Next, at 197, No. 2 Scott Schiller defeated No. 8 Alex Polizzi, 5-2. Schiller fell behind Polizzi 2-1 after the first period, but a reversal early in the second period gave Schiller a lead he would not relinquish. The victory kept Schiller undefeated against Polizzi in his college career (4-0). At 285, No. 12 Michael Kroells challenged No. 1 Mike McMullan. A first period takedown gave McMullan the lead, but Kroells pulled to within 2-1 after the second. Kroells earned a strong ovation from the home crowd as he fought for points near the buzzer, but fell 4-1. Action resumed at 133 after the forfeit at 125, with Jordan Kingsley falling to Dominick Malone 8-3. That result pulled the dual score even at 12. No. 4 Nick Dardanes took the mat at 141 and quickly jumped ahead of Jameson Oster with a pair of first period takedowns and ultimately won by decision, 6-4, putting Minnesota ahead, 15-12. For the second time on the night, a Gopher got a shot at the top-ranked wrestler at his weight when Jake Short took on No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis at 149. Short brought the crowd to its feet with a second period reversal that tied the match at 3-3 heading to the final period, but a third period escape and a point for riding time gave Tsirtsis the victory, 5-3, and again tied the score of the dual. The night's final forfeit (at 157) gave the Gophers a six-point lead heading into the final match of the night, where No. 18 Nick Wanzek took on No. 8 Pierce Harger. Wanzek repeatedly fought off attempts by Harger to score the fall to tie the dual, saving critical team points for the Gophers as he lost 11-1, sealing the Gophers 21-19 victory. After a brief holiday break, Minnesota will fly to Hawaii to compete in the initial Aloha Open against No. 20 Oregon State, Oklahoma and American on Dec. 30. That event will be available to stream on Flowrestling.org (stream requires a FloPRO subscription) and updates will be provided throughout all Gopher matches on the Gopher Wrestling Twitter feed. Results: 174: No. 4 Logan Storley (Minn) forfeit victory / Minnesota 6 - Northwestern 0 184: No. 11 Brett Pfarr (Minn.) dec. Mitch Sliga (NU), 5-0 / Minnesota 9 - Northwestern 0 197: No. 2 Scott Schiller (Minn) dec. No. 8 Alex Polizzi (NU), 5-2 / Minnesota 12 - Northwestern 0 285: No. 1 Mike McMullan (NU) dec. No. 12 Michael Kroells (Minn), 4-1 / Minnesota 12 - Northwestern 3 125: Garrison White (NU) forfeit victory / Minnesota 12 - Northwestern 9 133: Dominick Moore (NU) dec. Jordan Kingsley (Minn), 8-3 / Minnesota 12 - Northwestern 12 141: No. 4 Nick Dardanes (Minn) dec. Jameson Oster (NU), 6-4 / Minnesota 15 - Northwestern 12 149: No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. Jake Short (Minn), 5-3 / Minnesota 15 - Northwestern 15 157: No. 1 Dylan Ness (Minn) forfeit victory / Minnesota 21 - Northwestern 15 165: No. 8 Pierce Harger (NU) maj. dec. No. 18 Nick Wanzek (Minn), 11-1 / Minnesota 21 - Northwestern 19

While many indicators point to America as having entered a post-literate era, there remain great numbers of readers hungry to devour books. Wrestlers, coaches and fans who are both passionate about their favorite sport -- and reading -- will find a number of titles that will appeal to both passions. Here are some new books incorporating wrestling that have been published in the past few months, or are expected to be available soon, and are now available for ordering. Foxcatcher In "Foxcatcher: The True Story of My Brother's Murder, John du Pont's Madness, and the Quest for Olympic Gold," 1984 Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz's memoir, reveals the real story behind why he and his brother Dave Schultz came to the Foxcatcher Farms wrestling training facility owned by multimillionaire John du Pont, heir to the du Pont chemical fortune. It served as the basis for the much-anticipated movie of the same name, starring Channing Tatum as Mark Schultz, Mark Ruffalo as Dave, and Steve Carell as du Pont. Now available for purchase at Amazon.com. Faith and Wrestling There are many signs of a powerful linkage between Christian faith and the sport of wrestling. There's the Bible story of Jacob wrestling with the angel of the Lord; today, a number of wrestlers openly profess their faith. The latest example: former wrestler Michael Fessler with his "Faith and Wrestling: How the Role of a Wrestler Mirrors the Christian Life." This 103-page book, whose author who wrestled at nationally-ranked Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, then at Cal State Bakersfield, then earned a bachelor's degree in Biblical and Theological Studies from Bethel University. Fessler's bio in "Faith and Wrestling" states: "Every Christian is a 'wrestler'; and wrestling itself contains a unique perspective in regard to the Christian faith." The book is at once thoughtful and thought-provoking. Available in both traditional printed book format as well as an e-book at major online book retailers such as Amazon, as well directly from the publisher at CrossBooks.com. History of Collegiate Wrestling, Second Edition First published in 2005, "The History of Collegiate Wrestling" was late wrestling historian Jay Hammond's definitive book covering a century of wrestling in college. Now available in a new second edition e-book which incorporates the text and photos of the original 380-page hardback, including a season-by-season analysis, along with feature articles including profiles of significant wrestlers, coaches and programs, analysis of rules changes, and other elements to add to a reader's understanding of college wrestling through the years. This second edition has been updated to provide coverage through the 2014 college season, along with the addition of new feature articles from a number of individual contributors, including this writer. Available only in an e-book format which may be purchased online at Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble, with proceeds from the book intended to help the non-profit National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum. The IOC/Wrestling Battle Saving Wrestling What's the story behind the International Olympic Committee's decision to eliminate wrestling from the Olympics in February 2013 ... only to reinstate the sport seven months later? Award-winning wrestling writers Jamie Moffatt and Craig Sesker shared what they uncovered in their book, "Saving Wrestling: The Inside Story of the Sport's Epic Fight to Stay in the Olympics." More than a chronology, "Saving Wrestling" serves up a behind-the-scenes, behind-closed-doors point of view on the initial IOC decision, its reversal, and everything in between. Available as an e-book for Kindle readers from Amazon, or as an iBook for iPad or iPhone, or as softcover print book. Contact Jamie Moffatt via email at emoffatt@aol.com to order. Full Circle When the IOC made its decision to axe wrestling as a core Olympic sport last year, InterMat columnist -- and former NCAA All-American wrestler -- T.R. Foley sprang into action to tell the story in words and pictures, publishing "Full Circle: The 209 Days That United the World and Saved an Olympic Sport." Foley puts together a narrative timeline that is about as close to a day-by-day examination of what was going on in the world of wrestling while the status of Olympic wrestling hung in the balance, accompanied by incredible color photos, selected by photo editor Tony Rotundo, which transport the reader around the globe. Available for purchase online via Bookmasters.com. Biographies Carl Adams Carl Adams' fame goes beyond his success on the mat (as a two-time NCAA champ at Iowa State and twice a national freestyle titlewinner), or as a collegiate coach whose career spanned four decades. He is also known and respected as an inventor, entrepreneur, author and instructor. In his new book "Think It, Believe It. Do It", Adams shares his inspiring stories of how he overcame the odds to achieve greatness, offering ideas and guidance that readers will find inspirational and practicable. The book is now available for purchase online. Dan Gable As a high school student, Scott Schulte first met Dan Gable at a wrestling clinic in Connecticut decades ago, serving as a "dummy" for the iconic wrestler and coach to demonstrate a move. The writer reconnected with Gable in 2012, with the idea of writing a new kind of biography on the Iowa State wrestler and University of Iowa coach who won the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The two spent considerable time together, with Schulte gathering stories which are shared in his new book, "A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable." Published by University of Iowa Press, the book is now available for pre-order, with a delivery date in early March 2015. For more information and to place an order, visit the publisher's website. Cliff Keen Mention the name Cliff Keen, and you probably think of the company that sells wrestling gear. However, the man Cliff Keen is much more than an entrepreneur who launched that business. Keen was head coach of the University of Michigan wrestling program for 45 years, the longest tenure of any head coach at the Ann Arbor school ... but there's so much more to the Cliff Keen story, as told in the book "Legends of Michigan: Cliff Keen" by Dave Taylor. In addition to heading up the Wolverine mat program for nearly a half-century, Keen also was a long-time assistant to the school's football program. One need not be a fan of all things Maize and Blue to appreciate this hefty volume that's rich with detail, and contains a treasure-trove of photographs. To order "Legends of Michigan: Cliff Keen" online, visit CliffKeen.com and type the word "book" into the search box. Port Robertson Porter Robertson was an iconic figure within the University of Oklahoma Athletic Department. Of prime interest here was his accomplishments as a Sooner wrestler in the 1930s, and his tenure as head wrestling coach from 1947-1959, leading the Sooners to three NCAA team titles. Among the wrestlers he coached: Tommy Evans, Stan Abel, and Dan Hodge. Robertson also coached the US Olympic freestyle wrestling team that brought home three gold medals from the 1960 Rome Olympics. Beyond wrestling, Robertson also served as the Sooner's head freshman football coach, and as academic counselor to all the university's male athletes for a couple of generations. Edgar Frost's "Port Robertson: Behind the Scenes of Sooner Sports" is not a typical biography, but more a sharing of stories from the Oklahoma athletes who remember him -- and loved him -- for his tough-love ability to shape young athletes into men of character. This hardbound book is available for purchase on Amazon.com. Joe Choynski Joe Choynski (Ko-IN-skee) was one of the great professional boxers of the previous turn of the century, taking on nearly all the top heavyweights of the late 1800s and early 1900s, including "Gentleman" Jim Corbett, Jim Jeffries, and Jack Johnson ... despite weighing about 170 pounds. Chris LaForce tells the story of this light-heavyweight great in his epic "The Choynski Chronicles: A Biography of Hall of Fame Boxer Jewish Joe Choynski." Why is this amateur wrestling writer recommending a book about a boxer who's been dead more than 70 years? This 700-page book is must reading for any fan of combat sports because it is painstakingly researched and compellingly well-written, and, in fact, should serve as a model for how to write a biography of an athlete in any sport, including wrestling. Available for purchase on Amazon. In addition to the books listed above, you'll find other great gift ideas in past InterMat Holiday Gift Guide articles from 2009 ... and 2011. (Note: There's no guarantee that all the items listed would still be available for purchase.)

The best in-season high school wrestling tournament in the country happened this past weekend, and it certainly did not disappoint. After the happenings of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, there is a major shake-up within the top four of the Fab 50 national team rankings. Each of the top four teams in the country competed in the tournament, and none finished in the position that their previous ranking would have suggested: fourth-ranked St. Paris Graham, Ohio won the title; top-ranked Blair Academy, N.J. was runner-up; second-ranked Oak Park River Forest, Ill. was third; while third-ranked Wyoming Seminary, Pa. took home fourth place. Due to personnel situations with each team, it would be too simplistic to solely look at the tournament standings, and say that’s your ranking. However, when considering for personnel situations, the adjusted standings do reflect the present ranking of the top four teams within the Fab 50. St. Paris Graham were champions with 211 points. The Falcons placed nine wrestlers, and had all core pieces present. However, one starter was missing due to injury. Returning state placer Josh Couchman will be back in the lineup at 220 pounds, where he might be a little light, at some point in mid-January. Oak Park River Forest finished third with 173 points. The Huskies placed eight wrestlers, but were without No. 4 Larry Early at 145 pounds, who is almost assuredly a finalist in this event. Early’s replacement did win a couple of matches; however, adding Early to the lineup is a 20-plus point injection. They were also without returning state qualifier Allen Stallings at 220 pounds, for whom Ironman placement was plausible (slightly more than for Couchman). Blair Academy was runner-up with 189.5 points, including nine place-finishers. The Buccaneers had all wrestlers in their projected lineup present. The lack of a 285 pound wrestler is going to be an issue all season, and will almost assuredly have to be addressed by a lineup flex during key dual meets. Wyoming Seminary was fourth in the standings with 134 points, including seven medalists. The Blue Knights suffered from the absence of No. 3 Nick Reenan at 170 pounds, a likely finialist in this event. The replacement for Reenan did win multiple matches during the tournament, but the addition of Reenan in the lineup is a 20-plus point addition. Given the above commentary, the top four is as follows: No. 1 St. Paris Graham, No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, No. 3 Blair Academy, and No. 4 Wyoming Seminary. Beast of the East The third full weekend of scholastic wrestling for the 2014-15 season is the opening weekend of wrestling for schools that compete in New Jersey’s state high school athletic association. Four of the five Garden State schools -- that aren’t Blair -- within the nation’s Fab 50 will be competing at the Beast of the East this Saturday and Sunday: No. 12 St. Peter’s Prep, No. 15 Bergen Catholic, No. 18 Don Bosco Prep, and No. 39 Phillipsburg. Those four schools are joined by seven other Fab 50 teams to form a star studded field for the tournament, which will be held at the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware. The other ranked teams include No. 3 Blair Academy (N.J.), No. 19 Cumberland Valley (Pa.), No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic (Pa.), No. 23 Massillon Perry (Ohio), No. 31 McDonogh (Md.), No. 38 Brecksville (Ohio), and No. 46 Colonial Forge (Va.) A full event-specific preview for the tournament will be posted on Friday. Reno Tournament of Champions All the way across the country is the yet another major tournament, as the Reno TOC celebrates its 20th anniversity. The high school division event will be held on Friday and Saturday. Among the close to 100 team field are four members of the Fab 50 : No. 20 Poway, Calif., the defending tournament champions; No. 33 Crook County, Ore.; No. 40 Mesa Mountain View, Ariz.; and No. 49 Pleasant Grove, Utah. Other notable teams in the field include Centennial, Idaho; Lewiston, Idaho; Maple Mountain, Utah; and Roseburg, Ore. Nationally ranked wrestlers in the field: 106: No. 3 Tomas Gutierrez (Pomona, Colo.) 113: No. 15 Ian Timmins (Wooster, Nev.) 132: No. 4 Boo Lewallen (Yukon, Okla.), No. 12 Richard Montoya (Robertson, N.M.), No. 14 Sean Cannon (Green Valley, Nev.), No. 15 Taylor LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) 138: No. 15 Alex Rich (Crescent Valley, Ore.) 145: No. 6 Ralphy Tovar (Poway, Calif.), No. 12 Bryce Parson (Lewiston, Idaho), No. 16 Matthew Park (Centennial, Idaho) 170: No. 19 Colt Doyle (Poway, Calif.) 182: No. 7 Jacob Armstrong (Salem Hills, Utah) King of the Mountain While the Walsh Jesuit Ironman dominated the wrestling headlines this past weekend, there was other stuff going on, and among the more notable events was the King of the Mountain Tournament held in the Keystone State. No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic won the tournament for a second straight year scoring 198 points, and placing eight wrestlers (six in the top three), despite the absence of returning state placer Joey Gould at 132 pounds. The sole champion for the Hawks was No. 11 Andrew Dunn at 220 pounds. A pair of Bethlehem Catholic wrestlers finished runner-up in their respective weight classes, Mike Labriola (152) and Adam Soldridge (170); while three others -- Jake Riegel (120), Luke Karam (126), and Cole Karam (145) -- placed third. Rounding out the placers were Luke Carty (113) in seventh and Stephen Maloney (138) in sixth. A narrow runner-up was Greater Latrobe with 189 points, despite placing nine wrestlers (six in the top six), which was one more than the title-winning Hawks. This performance moves the Wildcats up six positions in the Fab 50 to No. 37 overall. Two wrestlers won titles for Greater Latrobe, No. 2 Luke Pletcher (132) and Jake Shaffer (170); three others finished as runner-up -- Ethan McCoy (126), Jake Willochell (145), and Tyler Mears (285); while Ethan Smith (152) placed third. Additonal medalists for the Wildcats were Brady Sherback (106) placing eighth, Joel Cawoski (138) in seventh, and Travis Schmeling (195) placing eighth. Pletcher was one of two champions to win their finals match in a head-on showdown of nationally ranked wrestlers, his victory coming by 3-1 decision over No. 16 Korbin Myers (Boiling Springs, Pa.). Also winning a key finals showdown was Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) by 5-1 decision over No. 8 Cameron Coy (Penn Trafford, Pa.); Krivus happens to move up to No. 1 nationally at 138 pounds based on that win, along with peripheral happenings nationally. Rounding out the weight class champions were Riley Palmer (113) and Zach Trample (126) for Council Rock South, Pa.; Matt Parker (Pennridge, Pa.) at 106; John Pipa (Bishop McDevitt, Pa.) at 120; No. 7 Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County, Pa.) at 145; Devin Austin (Penn Trafford, Pa.) at 160; John Jakobsen (Stroudsburg, Pa.) at 182; Zach Smith (North Allegheny, Pa.) at 195; and Alan Beattie (Burrell, Pa.) at 285. Kaukauna upset, Bettendorf wins Five Seasons Duals The Five Seasons Duals were held this past weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Even though No. 24 Bettendorf, Iowa won the tournament bracket, it was Cedar Rapids Prairie that was the story. In the semifinal round they took on nationally ranked Kaukauna, Wis. The Hawks took home victories in eight of fourteen weight classes to earn a 30-27 victory. Cedar Rapids Prairie won eight matches despite seeing their best wrestler Josh Wenger, three times finishing fourth at state, lose 9-3 to No. 17 Robert Lee at 145 pounds; Wenger bumped up one weight class to wrestle Lee, while Lee is ranked at 138 but weighed in on the day at 145. That matchup was part of the opening six bouts (132-170) from which Kaukauna amassed a 22-3 lead, with the only Hawks win coming in overtime at 138, where Chase St. John beat Zach Lee 9-7. After the 170 pound match, the Hawks would respond with six straight wins to take a 27-22 lead with two bouts remaining. In that penultimate bout, state runner-up Ty Lee would tie the dual meet for Kaukauna with a 16-1 technical fall. Then in the last bout at 126 pounds two-time state placer Sam Uthoff beat Trent Leon 9-3 to seal the victory for the Hawks. That outcome would advance Cedar Rapids Prairie to the championship match against Bettendorf. The squads would split matches seven apiece, but the Bulldogs earned the 38-33 victory. Josh Wenger opened the dual meet well enough for the Hawks with a fall at 138 pounds, before the three best wrestlers on the Bulldogs’ team would respond with falls -- No. 2 Fredy Stroker (145), No. 18 Jacob Woodard (152), and No. 10 Dayton Racer (160). Trailing 18-6, Cedar Rapids Prairie answered with six straight victories to take a 33-18 lead heading into the dual meet’s last four matches. The defending state champion Bulldogs swept those matches, including two pins and a technical fall to seal the dual meet. Those bonus point outcomes came from the other three highly credentialed wrestlers on the Bettendorf roster: state champion Jack Wagner (113), state champion Jacob Schwarm (120), and state runner-up Paul Glynn (132). The other victory came from Jackson Gallagher, who beat two-time state placer Sam Uthoff by 7-3 decision at 126. Cedar Rapids Prairie jumps into the Fab 50 team rankings at No. 43, while Kaukauna dropped twelve spots to No. 44 overall. Kansas City Stampede The forty team field for the Kansas City Stampede features five members of the Fab 50 : No. 6 Archer (Ga.), No. 7 Stillwater (Okla.), No. 24 Bettendorf (Iowa), No. 27 Tuttle (Okla.), and No. 29 Neosho (Mo.). Additional teams to watch in the field include Collinsville (Okla.), Garden City (Kans.), and Sand Springs (Okla.). The tournament format starts with eight preliminary pools, where the top two wrestlers will advance to an upper-bracket, and the next two to a lower-bracket. Each bracket will place out to all 16 positions, with semifinalists guaranteed a top four finish. Nationally ranked wrestlers in the field: 113: No. 7 Andrew Nieman (Stillwater, Okla.), No. 13 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North, Okla.) 120: No. 3 Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.), No. 10 Christian Moody (Collinsville, Okla.) 126: No. 1 Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla.) 138: No. 4 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo.), No. 20 Ethan Karsten (Platte County, Mo.) 145: No. 2 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 10 Tristan Moran (Stillwater, Okla.) 152: No. 18 Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf, Iowa) 160: No. 6 Joe Smith (Stillwater, Okla.), No. 10 Dayton Racer (Bettendorf, Iowa), No. 13 Thomas Bullard (Archer, Ga.) 170: No. 10 Isaiah Patton (Dowling Catholic, Iowa), No. 11 Daniel Bullard (Archer, Ga.) 195: No. 13 Chance Cooper (Timberland, Mo.) 220: No. 7 Dustin Mason (Tuttle, Okla.), No. 20 Garrett Beier (Perry, Okla.) Minnesota Christmas Tournament Also on the docket this weekend is an event that is in many ways a combined class state tournament for the Gopher State. Seven of the top eight, along with nine of the top eleven from Class AAA (big-school) are in the field. They are joined by the top five from Class AA (medium-school) per The Guillotine rankings. The 34-team field also includes teams from Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Colorado. There are three Fab 50 teams in the field -- No. 16 Apple Valley (Minn.), No. 26 St. Michael-Albertville (Minn.), and No. 44 Kaukauna (Wis.). Additional teams to watch in the field are Simley (Minn.), Hastings (Minn.), and West Fargo (N.D.) Nationally ranked wrestlers in the field: 120: No. 12 Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.) 126: No. 3 Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) 138: No. 16 Jordan Shearer (West Fargo, N.D.), No. 17 Robert Lee (Kaukauna, Wis.) 145: No. 8 Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), No. 15 James Pleski (St. Francis, Minn.) 152: No. 9 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) 160: No. 14 Andrew Fogarty (Scott West, Minn.) 170: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 14 Weston Dobler (West Fargo, N.D.), No. 18 Luke Norland (Jackson County Central, Minn.) 182: No. 4 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central, Minn.) 195: No. 1 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 3 Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.) 285: No. 16 Alex Hart (Prior Lake, Minn.) Dvorak Memorial This is a strange week on the wrestling calendar with major tournaments not only on Friday and Saturday, but the Beast of the East is a Saturday/Sunday event, and the Dvorak Memorial will be conducted on Monday and Tuesday. Even though the top two teams in Illinois -- Oak Park River Forest and Montini Catholic -- are not in attendance, the field is still loaded. The 31 teams assembled at Machesney Park Harlem feature five of the top ten ranked teams in Illinois Class AAA (big-school): No. 17 Marmion Academy, No. 42 Marist, Hononegah, Mt. Carmel, and Glenbard North. Other teams in the field include Dakota (tops in Illinois Class A), Iowa City West (ranked No. 5 in Iowa Class AAA), and Lake Highland Prep (ranked tops in Florida Class A) Nationally ranked wrestlers in the field: 106: No. 10 Joseph Silva (Lake Highland Prep, Fla.), No. 14 Kirk Johansen (Glenbard North, Ill.) 113: No. 5 Austin Gomez (Glenbard North, Ill.) 126: No. 15 Austin O’Connor (St. Rita, Ill.) 182: No. 9 Nathan Traxler (Marmion Academy, Ill.), No. 14 Alex Benoit (Marist, Ill.), No. 16 Tyler DeMoss (Hononegah, Ill.) 195: No. 8 Tyler Johnson (Lockport, Ill.), No. 9 Andrew Marsden (Crystal Lake Central, Ill.) 220: No. 17 Lucas Warren (Marmion Academy, Ill.) Quick hitters South Dade, Fla. made a big statement in winning the Jim Graves Invitational at Brandon, Fla. this past weekend. They scored 584 points on the way to a tournament title by almost 100 points, as the Bucs had eleven wrestlers finish in the top three. It included four championship winners: Justin Ramirez (145), No. 16 Patricio Lugo (152), Chei Hill (195), and Michael Rodriguez (220). The Bucs move up 14 spots in the Fab 50 to No. 36 overall; while Brandon moves down 13 spots to No. 50, as the Eagles finished third in the standings with 410 points, but they were missing two starters in state champion Frankie Bruno (126) and state placer Noah Ridley (132). The Ironman yielded some significant Fab 50 shakeup. Moving up eight spots to No. 31 nationally is McDonogh, Md.; up eleven spots to No. 34 is Delta, Ohio; while Elyria, Ohio makes a debut in the rankings at No. 45 overall. The major downward mover due to the Ironman was Pleasant Grove, Utah, dropping eight spots to No. 49. With Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa and Elyria, Ohio joining the rankings, two teams had to exit the rankings. Those were West Fargo, N.D. and Washington, Ill. West Fargo dropped all the way from No. 31 after a 36-28 dual meet loss against Perham, Minn. -- in which the Packers lost eight weight classes. Washington drops out from No. 48 in the rankings. In addition to those events featured in the column, there are five others where multiple Fab 50 teams will be present: No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. and No. 10 Montini Catholic, Ill. are at the Rex Whitlach Invitational hosted by Hinsdale Central, Ill. No. 4 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. hosts the Flo-Excalibur Classic at Wilkes College, where one of the other teams is No. 25 Bound Brook, N.J. No. 5 Clovis, Calif. will be at the Zinkin Classic, which is hosted by No. 11 Buchanan, Calif. No. 8 Franklin Regional, Pa. hosts a multiple team dual meet event, where one of the other teams is No. 35 Belle Vernon, Pa. No. 41 Union, Iowa and No. 43 Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa are two of the four top-seeded teams at the Battle of Waterloo. What's on tap this week for Fab 50 teams See link.

Below is a look at what's on tap this week for the Fab 50 teams. No. 1 St. Paris Graham, Ohio -- Canfield (Ohio) Duals on Saturday No. 2 Oak Park River Forest, Ill. -- Rex Whitlach Invitational (Hinsdale Central, Ill.) No. 3 Blair Academy, N.J. -- Beast of the East No. 4 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. -- quad meet at The Hill School tonight, then Flo-Excalibur Tournament at Wilkes College on Friday and Saturday No. 5 Clovis, Calif. -- Zinkin Invitational (Buchanan, Calif.) No. 6 Archer, Ga. -- Kansas City Stampede No. 7 Stillwater, Okla. -- Kansas City Stampeded No. 8 Franklin Regional, Pa. -- dual meet vs. Woodland Hills tonight, then host multi-team dual meet event on Saturday No. 9 Southeast Polk, Iowa -- dual meet vs. Fort Dodge on Thursday, host Red Owens Classic on Saturday No. 10 Montini Catholic, Ill. -- Rex Whitlach Invitational No. 11 Buchanan, Calif. -- host Zinkin Classic No. 12 St. Peter’s Prep, N.J. -- Beast of the East No. 14 Lowell, Mich. -- dual meet vs. Mishawaka, Ind. on Friday; super dual on Monday against Davison, Richmond, Bedford, and Hudson No. 15 Bergen Catholic, N.J. -- Beast of the East No. 16 Apple Valley, Minn. -- Minnesota Christmas Tournament No. 17 Marmion Academy, Ill. -- Dvorak Invitational No. 18 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. -- Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday, then dual meet against Bound Brook on Tuesday No. 19 Cumberland Valley, Pa. -- dual meet against Mifflin County on Thursday, then Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 20 Poway, Calif. -- Reno Tournament of Champions No. 21 St. Edward, Ohio -- dual meet at St. Ignatius on Friday No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. -- Beast of the East No. 23 Massillon Perry, Ohio -- dual meet vs. Glen Oak on Thursday, then Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 24 Bettendorf, Iowa -- triangular vs. Muscatine and North on Thursday, then Kansas City Stampeded on Friday and Saturday No. 25 Bound Brook, N.J. - Flo-Excalibur Tournament at Wilkes College on Friday and Saturday, then dual meet against Don Bosco Prep on Tuesday No. 26 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. -- dual meet vs. Buffalo on Thursday, then Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Firday and Saturday No. 27 Tuttle, Okla. -- Kansas City Stampeded No. 28 Bakersfield, Calif. -- dual meet vs. San Marino, Calif. on Saturday No. 29 Neosho, Mo. -- triangular meet vs. Joplin and Springdale (Ark.) on Thursday, then Kansas City Stampede on Friday and Saturday No. 30 Evansville Mater Dei, Ind. -- dual meet at Evansville Harrison tonight No. 31 McDonogh, Md. -- dual meet vs. Cavlert Hall, Md. on Thursday, then Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 32 St. Johns, Mich. -- dual meet at Waverly tonight, Tim Horn Duals (Holland, Mich.) on Saturday No. 33 Crook County, Ore. -- Reno Tournament of Champions No. 34 Delta, Ohio -- triangular at Bryan with Archbold on Thursday No. 35 Belle Vernon, Pa. -- dual meet at Thomas Jefferson tonight, then Franklin Regional Duals on Saturday No. 36 South Dade, Fla. -- district duals on Friday and Saturday No. 37 Greater Latrobe, Pa. -- dual meet vs. Derry Area on Tuesday No. 38 Brecksville, Ohio -- triangular at Olmsted Falls with North Olmsted on Thursday, then Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 39 Phillipsburg, N.J. -- Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday, then dual meet at Howell on Tuesday No. 40 Mesa Mountain View, Ariz. -- triangular meet at Westwood with Highland on Thursday, then Reno Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 41 Union, Iowa -- dual meet vs. East Marshall and Wapsie Valley on Thursday, then Battle of Waterloo on Friday and Saturday No. 42 Marist, Ill. -- dual meet vs. Hononegah, Ill. on Friday, then Dvorak Invitational on Monday and Tuesday No. 43 Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa -- dual meet vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson on Thursday, then Battle of Waterloo on Friday and Saturday No. 44 Kaukauna, Wis. -- Minnesota Christmas Tournament No. 45 Elyria, Ohio -- dual meet vs. Midview on Saturay No. 46 Colonial Forge, Va. -- quadrangular at Hylton with Stafford and Forest Park on Wednesday, then Beast of the East on Saturday and Sunday No. 47 Dundee, Mich. -- quadrangular at Brighton, Mich. on Wednesday, then Bedford (Mich.) Invitational on Saturday No. 48 Shakopee, Minn. -- dual meet at Lakeville North tonight No. 49 Pleasant Grove, Utah -- dual meet at Riverton tonight, then Reno Tournament of Champions on Friday and Saturday No. 50 Brandon, Fla. -- Seahawk Slam (Charleston, S.C.) on Monday and Tues

MOUNT VERNON -- Aburough Abegesah (JR/Beltsville, Md.) gave Cornell's wrestling team the spark it needed with a dominant victory at 197 pounds as the 12th-ranked Rams took down Simpson, 26-12, on Military Appreciation Night Tuesday in the Small Multi-Sport Center. The Rams (5-5) built an early 15-0 lead through three matches, but then saw Simpson (2-3) storm back and cut the margin to 18-12 going into the 197-pound bout. Abegesah quickly turned momentum in favor of the Rams, notching 11 first-period points en route to a 22-6 technical fall in 5:22 over Ethan Calvert. Abegesah (5-7) recorded four 3-point near falls and four takedowns to seal the team win for Cornell, which has now won 11 straight duals against the Storm. Cornell heavyweight Eric Tucker (JR/Monroe, Conn.) put the finishing touches on the victory, recording a takedown with 12 seconds remaining to beat Colby Vlieger, 3-1. Tucker (9-5) improved his December record to 6-0. The Rams picked up six individual wins, including a forfeit handed to 125-pounder Scott Smith (JR/Chicago, Ill.) (6-10) to start the night. Sophomore Phillip Opelt (SO/Neillsville, Wis.), ranked fifth at 133, gave Cornell six more points with a second-period pin in 3:27 over Devan Berrian. Opelt took over the team lead for wins at 10-5. Sophomore Nathan Shank (SO/Iowa City, Iowa) (3-6) posted three takedowns in his 8-5 decision over Dalton Kenig at 141, stretching Cornell's margin to 15-0. The Storm strung together three tight wins to cut the deficit to 15-9. Ram freshman 149-pounder Josh Martin (FR/Lombard, Ill.) led Jonathan Melton most of the way in a 6-5 loss that was decided by riding time. Cornell's Aaron Engle (SO/Kansas City, Mo.) fell 7-5 to Jake Mize, who scored a takedown with one second left in the first overtime period. Simpson's Brian Haynes then edged Michael Maksimovic (SO/Northbrook, Ill.), 3-1, at 165. Senior 10th-ranked Brent Hamm (SR/Iowa City, Iowa) (7-6) got the Rams back on track with a 5-2 decision over Brett Roberts at 174. The Storm countered with a 7-4 win at 184 from Spencer Ward over James Garrett (SO/Fountain, Colo.), closing the gap to 18-12. The Rams held a 14-10 advantage in total takedowns. Cornell finished with 12 near-fall points – all from Abegesah – to Simpson's three. Coming up – The Rams get a break from competition until the Citrus Invitational Dec. 29-30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The 12-team individual tournament includes No. 9 Mount Union, No. 11 Augsburg, No. 12 Cornell, Case, John Carroll, Liberty, Williams, Western New England, Ursinus, SUNY-Oneonta, Florida Gulf Coast and Knox.

CLARION, PA. -- Keith Ferraro, 34, a native of Brookville, Pa., the Interim Wrestling Coach since September 25, and an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles for the past two seasons, was named Clarion University's Head Wrestling Coach today by Athletic Director Dave Katis. The Golden Eagles are an NCAA Division I Wrestling program. "I am excited to announce that Keith Ferraro will be our next head wrestling coach here at Clarion," said Katis. "As an assistant coach, and then as interim coach, Keith displayed all the attributes we wanted and needed to lead this program. He is a quality recruiter and administrator, has a strong knowledge of the sport of wrestling, is committed to developing the overall student-athlete and has the passion and desire to build a strong NCAA Division I program. Clarion is committed to having a strong, competitive wrestling team and we believe the wrestling program is in good hands with Keith Ferraro. "I am honored to accept the position as head wrestling coach at Clarion University," said Keith Ferraro. "I want to thank President Whitney, Harry Tripp, Dave Katis and the wrestling search committee for putting their faith in me to lead this prestigious wrestling program." Ferraro, the son of legendary Brookville Head Wrestling coach Lenny Ferraro, is a native of Brookville, Pa. and a 1999 Brookville High Grad. He wrestled 2 ½ years for his father, before his passing, and then finished his junior and then senior year under head coach Thad Turner. At Brookville Ferraro was a three-time District Champion 112-Fr.; 125-So.; 135-Sr.) and was part of the 1999 Brookville High School Dual Meet State Championship Team. Keith went on to attend Lock Haven University, was part of the wrestling program for four seasons (2000 – 2003) and graduated in December of 2003 with a degree in Health and Physical Education. A volunteer coach at Central Mountain in the seasons of 2003 and 2004, Ferraro was the head coach at Brockway in the 2005 season, then took a position to teach at Brookville High School and became the assistant coach under Dave Klepfer from 2006 - 2012. In the 2011-12 season Brookville advanced 13 wrestlers to regionals, 5 to the PIAA Championships and as a team placed fourth in the state dual meet championships. Ferraro was named Clarion's assistant coach on July 31, 2012 under Troy Letters and he continued in that role until being named interim coach in September. The Recruiting Coordinator since his arrival, he was a major part of the highly rated Golden Eagle recruiting class for 2013-14 which was rated 9th in NCAA Division I by AWN/Open Mat and 15th by Flo Wrestling. "Born and raised in the area, I have always been a fan of Clarion wrestling and overwhelmed by the level of support the program attracts from our alumni, the pin club, community and the institution. I am committed to advancing Clarion wrestling and will dedicate myself to reconnecting the program to its rich tradition." I believe it's also very important to build the program the right way – namely with wrestlers who are dedicated student-athletes, that will not only advance the program athletically, but themselves and the university in the process. I hope to honor the past and men like coach Bubb, by building a program that everyone can be proud of." Ferraro and wife Meghan reside in Brookville with sons Lenny and Vincent. CLARION WRESTLING NOTES: Keith Ferraro's father, Lenny Ferraro, was posthumously inducted into the PA. Wrestling in the Class of 2011 … He was 86-55-4 at Johnsonburg High as head coach from 1974 – 1983. He was District 9 Class AA Coach of the Year in 1979 … Moved on to Brookville and assisted Les Turner until 1993 – then took over at Brookville in 1994 … He was 66-11 at Brookville and won two District 9 titles … He passed away in January of 1998 … Keith Ferraro is only the (8th) head coach at NCAA Division I Clarion since 1960. Frank Lignelli re-started the wrestling program in the Fall of 1959 and coached through 1966. Bob Bubb elevated the program to elite NCAA Division I status as head coach from 1967- 92, while Jack Davis mentored from 1993-97, Ken Nellis from 1998-2006. Teague Moore from 2007 – 2011, Matt Dernlan in 2012 and Troy Letters in 2013 and 2014… In dual meet history the Golden Eagles started the 2014-15 season with a mark of 530-348-13 over that time (1960-2014) … The program was re-started in the 1959-60 season under head coach Frank Lignelli ... Lignelli was the coach from 1960-66 with a record of 61-12... He passed the torch to Bob Bubb, who from 1966-92, put Clarion wrestling on the national stage... Bubb had a career record of 322-121-4 ... Bubb led Clarion to a 4th place team finish at D-I nationals in 1973, sixth in 1972 and 87 and eighth in 1992, his final season... Bubb coached 7 D-I champions, 3 college division champs, 27 All-Americans, 29 EWL winners and 68 PSAC champs ... Bubb will be remembered for two special athletes, namely Wade Schalles and Kurt Angle... Both were named to the NCAA/NWCA 75th Anniversary Team in March of 2005... Schalles had an amazing career record of 153-5-1, won 2 NCAA titles and posted an NCAA record 106 pins ... Angle also was a 2-time NCAA D-I Champion, posted a record of 116-10-2 and also won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 ... On June 4, 2005, Bubb was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma .... Jack Davis was Clarion's head coach from 1993-97 with a record of 43-34-5, Nellis (47-89-3; 1998-2006), and Moore (37-60-1)... Clarion has 8 D-I National Champions, 45 All-Americans, 54 EWL winners and 112 PSAC Champions... That also includes 14 PSAC and 3 EWL team titles…. In 2011 Clarion won the PSAC team title, placed fourth at EWL's and qualified two wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Nationals in 157-lb James Fleming (West Mifflin) and 165-lb Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Tashkent, Uzbekistan)… In 2012 Clarion was third at PSAC's, fourth at EWL's and 18th at the NCAA Division I National Championships… Clarion had 2 D-I All-Americans in 2012 when Abdurakhmonov, a senior, finished third at 165-pounds, and Fleming, a junior, finished fifth at 157-pounds… Fleming became a two-time All-American in 2013 when he finished 8th at nationals – giving Clarion a 33rd place team finish.

BLACKSBURG -- Two-time heavyweight All-American Jeremy Johnson has joined the Virginia Tech wrestling staff as the volunteer assistant coach, as announced Monday by head coach Kevin Dresser. He joins the staff after wrapping up a stellar career at Ohio University, one which saw him tally 143 victories. “We are very excited to announce that Jeremy Johnson is joining our staff,” Dresser said. “Eric Morrill did a great job for us, but he has decided to compete again within our Regional Training Center so the timing of Jeremy finishing up at Ohio University and joining us now is perfect. Jeremy lived in Blacksburg this summer so we know exactly what we are getting. He has already made an impact with our big guys!” Johnson posted 41 wins as a senior last year en route to earning All-America honors for the second time. He was a four-time NCAA qualifier and captured two Mid-American Conference titles in three years. The Broadview Heights, Ohio, native set the school record for career victories and twice placed seventh at the NCAA Tournament (2012, 2014). Johnson graduated from Ohio with a degree in mild-moderate education this month after finishing an internship. He was a three-time NWCA All-Academic team selection for his work in the classroom.

To say Dave Miller is involved in the movie "Foxcatcher" is an understatement. His company, Dollamur, participated in the filming of the story of gold-medal-winning wrestlers Mark and Dave Schultz and their involvement at the Foxcatcher Farms training facility owned by multi-millionaire John du Pont by providing singlets and warm-ups used in the movie. What's more, Miller himself has a role in the film, essentially playing himself as the then-executive director of USA Wrestling, negotiating with du Pont. Dollamur supplied custom mats for "Foxcatcher"From the perspectives as a supplier and actor, Miller is able to provide a behind-the-scenes look into the making of "Foxcatcher" which debuted in a total of six theaters in New York City and Los Angeles on November 14, and is slowly being rolled out in selected cities week-by-week for the next couple months ... a strategy often employed by studios that believe that a particular film could receive Oscar nominations. In the case of "Foxcatcher", that is not a far-fetched possibility. As of this writing, most reviews have been very positive, with speculation that principal actors Channing Tatum (who plays Mark Schultz), Mark Ruffalo (Dave Schultz) and Steve Carell (John du Pont) are in the running for best actor nominations, along with possible best director honors for Bennett Miller, and even possible consideration for best picture. Dollamur's supporting role in "Foxcatcher" While most moviegoers won't give a second thought to the wrestling mats and uniforms featured in "Foxcatcher", serious wrestling fans will be glad to know that these items were supplied by a company that has been actively involved in the sport for more than two decades. "Our All-American Wrestling Supply has provided singlets and warm-ups for USA Wrestling," according to Dollamur National Sales Manager Dave Miller, a Madison, Wis. native who wrestled, coached and officiated matches. "Ed Hardy, the movie's athletic costumer, asked us to duplicate warm-ups and uniforms for the movie. We used photos and videos of foreign opponents, and then shared all that information with Cliff Keen Athletic who manufactured the costumes." "I'd say 90% of the uniforms -- singlets and warm-ups -- were custom-made," said Miller. "We did our level best to replicate the actual uniforms worn by the wrestlers portrayed in the movie," Miller continued. "I think that gives a good idea of how dedicated the director was to getting the details right." As for the actual wrestling surfaces ... "Every mat in the movie, we made," said Miller. "We made mats we've never made before. We even made Olympic-looking mat covers." And, in a case of history repeating itself, Dollamur made all the mats in the movie set of the Foxcatcher Farms wrestling training facility ... as well as the mats for the original facility located in suburban Philadelphia. "They built a replica of the original training facility in an abandoned school outside Pittsburgh," Dave Miller disclosed. "It was incredible how it looked just like the original." "(Director) Bennett Miller was meticulous." Dave Miller the actor, portraying himself In addition to the mats and uniforms from Dave Miller's company playing a role in the movie, the man himself also appears in "Foxcatcher." "I basically played myself," said Miller, who, at the time the movie was set, was the executive director of USA Wrestling. "The scene shows where I'm negotiating a deal with du Pont. We had wanted Dave Schultz to be head coach at USA Wrestling. In the end, USA Wrestling got du Pont's financial support, while he got to keep Dave as coach at Foxcatcher." (The "Philadelphia Inquirer" reported in a September 15, 1988 story that du Pont, 49 at the time, was named USA Wrestling's "worldwide representative" and chief sponsor after meeting with USA Wrestling executive director Dave Miller. This agreement was made one month after the Villanova University wrestling program founded by du Pont was dropped and his ties with the school severed, according to the paper.) "Dave's preference would have been to come out to Colorado to be USA Wrestling's coach," Miller continued. "But he wanted to take care of his family, and saw his continued involvement with du Pont and Foxcatcher as the best way to do that. He knew that USA Wrestling be in good hands whoever was coach." Dave MillerDave Miller pointed out one significant difference between real life and the reel portrayal of his meeting with the wrestling benefactor. "In actuality, I negotiated a deal with du Pont alone," according to Miller. "In the movie, in addition to du Pont and me, we're joined by Mark Ruffalo as Dave Schultz, and others." It was at this point in the interview where Miller shared his you-are-there perspective as an actor in "Foxcatcher", providing insight into just how much goes into the making of a major motion picture from a director whose two previous works -- "Capote" and "Moneyball" -- earned numerous awards. "The scene was set in what was supposed to be du Pont's office," Miller disclosed. "However, it was filmed at a mansion at a resort somewhere in West Virginia, about a three-hour drive south of Pittsburgh. There were so many twists and turns getting there, to this day, I don't think I could find it again on my own." Because the actual du Pont mansion in Newtown Square has been bulldozed and the former Foxcatcher Farms 700-acre estate is in the process of being developed into a new community of approximately 700 high-end townhouses and individual homes, much of the movie was shot in the Pittsburgh area. According to Dave Miller, the actual filming of "Foxcatcher" took four-and-a-half months. More than once in his interview with InterMat, Miller cited the detail-oriented nature of director Bennett Miller, and the level of attention to the smallest detail to make sure the film was accurate ... especially the wrestling. "The number one guy who helped teach the actors how to wrestle was John Guira," said Dave Miller. "As consultant, he not only taught Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum the sport, but also how to duplicate the actual moves of the wrestlers they were portraying, right down to nailing their every unique idiosyncrasy." This obsession with accuracy extended beyond the actors' performance while wearing singlets provided by Dollamur. As Dave Miller shared, "Mark Ruffalo spent an entire day asking me questions about Dave Schultz. For instance, he wanted to know exactly how Dave shook hands. During the filming, Ruffalo looked and acted like Dave." "Steve Carell took two-and-a-half hours to get made up to look like John du Pont. He had to be in the dressing room at about 5:30 each morning. Then it took about an hour at night to remove the makeup." "I knew du Pont as well as anyone," Miller continued. "It was almost scary how Carell looked and acted like du Pont. He was truly amazing in his ability to capture the essence of the guy." Dave Miller has fond memories of working with the actors and crew of "Foxcatcher". "All these people were the nicest people," according to Miller. "My kid is a huge fan of Steve Carell, so I wanted to get a photo of him, not as du Pont, but as my son would recognize him. Even though it took so much time to remove his du Pont make up, Carell did it, and posed for the photo, all very graciously." For another behind-scenes look at the making of "Foxcatcher", check out the January 2013 InterMat article on Fred Feeney, the real-life wrestling referee who played a mat official in the movie, and served as a consultant.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Central Michigan won seven of the final eight matches Sunday in posting a 21-10 victory over Buffalo in the Chippewas' Mid-American Conference opening dual. The win lifted CMU to 2-4 in duals. The Chippewas entertain Northern Illinois on Sunday, Dec. 20. "I think our guys just need to feel good about ourselves," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said. "We haven't really felt good about ourselves for about a month. Hopefully this will get us heading in the right direction. "It was a good for us. Obviously we've got things we can improve on. It was a good start for some of these young guys in the conference." Three Chippewa freshmen made their respective collegiate dual-meet debuts, and two were victorious. CMU's Cody LeCount (149 pounds) and CJ Brucki (184) both won by decision, LeCount 5-3 and Brucki 7-4. "When you have a true freshman in his first dual meet in a hostile environment and he figures out how to win, that's always a good thing," Borrelli said. CMU junior Jackson Lewis bumped up to 197 pounds from 184 and took a 9-7 decision, a result that gave CMU an 18-10 lead and clinched the victory. "The guy who really came through for us today was Jackson Lewis," Borrelli said. "His match could have gone either way. He was up 5-0 and got caught in a five-point move and that tied it 5-5. It put him in a tough situation, but he kept his composure and continued to score points." Other Chippewa winners were Zach Horan (141), Malcom Martin (157), Jordan Ellingwood (174) and Adam Robinson (285). Martin's victory, a 2-1 decision over Wally Maziarz, came in overtime. Maziarz was called for stalling in the extra session, giving Martin the sudden victory. Horan, who is ranked 10th, improved to 4-2. Buffalo is 4-5 overall, 0-2 MAC. Three Chippewas, Jordan Wohlfert, Colin Heffernan and Newton Smerchek, placed on Saturday at the Cleveland State Open. Heffernan (149) went 7-1 and Smerchek (285) finished 6-1. Both placed third in their respective weight classes. Wohlfert (165) went 5-2 to place fifth. Wohlfert recorded a pin and won three matches by major decision. One of Heffernan's wins came via major decision, while Smerchek recorded two pins and a major decision en route to his third-place finish. Results: 125: Max Soria (UB) major decision Brent Fleetwood (CMU), 10-0 133: Sean Peacock (UB) dec. Tyler Keselring (CMU), 12-6 141: Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Jason Estevez (UB), 7-1 149: Cody LeCount (CMU) dec. Justin Cooksey (UB), 5-3 157: Malcom Martin (CMU) dec. Wally Maziarz (UB), 2-1, OT 165: Rrok Ndokaj (UB) dec. Jordan Atienza (CMU), 5-3 174: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) dec. Muhamid McBryde (UB), 4-2 184: CJ Brucki (CMU) dec. Brett Perry (UB), 7-4 197: Jackson Lewis (CMU) dec. Joe Ariola (UB), 9-7 285: Adam Robinson (CMU) dec. Ian J

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Alex Utley scored a major decision at 184 pounds to cap a furious rally as North Carolina came from an 11-point deficit to beat No. 20 Chattanooga 18-17 Sunday afternoon at Mountain View High School. Ethan Ramos won by tech fall at 165 to spark a run of three consecutive wins to give Carolina its second dual victory of the season. Chattanooga (3-2) ran out to an 11-0 lead thanks to wins at 197, 285 and 125. The dual opened at 197 with Scottie Boykin edging Chip Ness 6-4, followed by another close decision when Jared Johnson beat Frank Abbondanza 2-0. No. 19 Sean Boyle then beat Cody Karns 20-5 for a five-point tech fall to push the Moc lead to 11. Troy Heilmann got Carolina (2-2) on the board at 133, knocking off No. 14 Nick Soto 7-5 with a late rally. Heilmann trailed 4-0 before a takedown late in the second period and another early in the third tied the bout at 4. In the final minute, Heilmann got Soto on his back and earned two near fall points that ultimately made the difference. Joey Ward gave the Tar Heels a second straight victory with a wire-to-wire win over Mike Pongracz at 141. Ward, who improved to 11-1 on the year, raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first period with a takedown and a two-point near fall and cruised to a 10-4 victory that pulled UNC within five. But Chattanooga got two more decisions at 149 and 157 to take an 11-point lead into the final three bouts. Ramos got things going with a high-scoring 24-8 tech fall win over Garrett Alexander. The redshirt freshman got three takedowns in the first period and added some back points in the second to take a 13-3 lead into the final period. Ramos eventually took a 15-point lead with just six seconds left in the bout to get the two bonus points for the technical fall and give Carolina a lifeline in the dual. John Michael Staudenmayer then took care of business at 174 with a 6-1 decision over Levi Clemons to set the stage for Utley's dramatic finish. Knowing that a bonus point win would guarantee the overall victory, Utley dominated the second period against Sean Mappes with a pair of near falls to take a 7-0 lead. Mappes started down to open the third, Utley escaped and added a takedown for a 10-0 major decision to complete the comeback. The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, senior improved to a perfect 8-0 on the year with the victory. Saturday night at Kell High School in Marietta, Georgia, Carolina fell to Purdue 19-12. Ward, Ramos, Utley and heavyweight Josh Lehner were winners for the Tar Heels, who fell behind early and couldn't rally against the Boilermakers. UNC will return to the mat when the Tar Heels ring in the new year at the annual Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga. That event, which brings some of the nation's best talent together each year, is set for Jan. 1-2, 2015. North Carolina 18, No. 20 Chattanooga 17 197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) dec. Chip Ness (UNC), 6-4 - UTC leads 3-0 285: Jared Johnson (UTC) dec. Frank Abbondanza (UNC), 2-0 - UTC leads 6-0 125: No. 19 Sean Boyle (UTC) tech fall Cody Karns (UNC), 21-5 (6:13) - UTC leads 11-0 133: Troy Heilmann (UNC) dec. No. 14 Nick Soto (UTC), 7-5 - UTC leads 11-3 141: No. 14 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. Michael Pongracz (UTC), 10-4 - UTC leads 11-6 149: Sean Greevy (UTC) dec. Christian Barber (UNC), 6-5 - UTC leads 14-6 157: Austin Sams (UTC) dec. Chris Mears (UNC), 5-2 - UTC leads 17-6 165: Ethan Ramos (UNC) tech fall Garrett Alexander (UTC), 24-8 (6:54) - UTC leads 17-11 174: John Michael Staudenmayer (UNC) dec. Levi Clemons (UTC), 6-1 - UTC leads 17-14 184: Alex Utley (UNC) maj. dec. Sean Mappes (UTC), 11-0 - UNC wins 18-17 Purdue 19, North Carolina 12 125: Luke Welch (P) dec. Cody Karns (UNC), 4-0 - Purdue leads 3-0 133: No. 19 Danny Sabatello (P) maj. dec. Matt Williams (UNC) - 10-1, Purdue leads 7-0 141: No. 14 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. Nick Lawrence (P), 3-2 - Purdue leads 7-3 149: Alex Griffin (P) dec. Joey Moon (UNC), 7-5 - Purdue leads 10-3 157: Doug Welch (P) dec. Chris Mears (UNC), 5-3 - Purdue leads 13-3 165: Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. Pat Robinson (P), 5-3 - Purdue leads 13-6 174: Chad Welch (P) dec. John Michael Staudenmayer (UNC), 3-2 - Purdue leads 16-6 184: Alex Utley (UNC) dec. Tanner Lynde (P), 10-6 - Purdue leads 16-9 197: Patrick Kissel (P) dec. Chip Ness (UNC), 8-5 - Purdue leads 19-9 285: Josh Lehner (UNC) dec. Tyler Kral (P), 6-4 - Purdue wins 19-12

FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State University won three of last four matches including an Evan Knutson pin at 285-pounds to turn back South Dakota State University 23-14 in a non-conference dual match in the Battle for the Border Bell on Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse. NDSU wins the Border Bell for the second straight season. Knutson, a 6-foot-1 senior from Wausau, Wis., led 5-1 over South Dakota State's J.J. Everard going into the third period. He recorded another takedown in the third and posted his first pin of the season with :11-seconds left. The 13th-ranked Knutson improved to 11-4 this season with the win and capped off a Bison rally in the upper weight classes. South Dakota State (2-3) took an 11-10 lead as the two rivals split the first six matches. Brance Simms posted a 12-3 major decision over NDSU's Hunter Weber at 133-pounds, while SDSU's 14th-ranked Cody Pack recorded a 16-6 major decision over Steven Keogh at 157, and John Nething II defeated Anthony Caputo 12-6 at 165. The Bison rebounded over the next two weight classes as 15th-ranked Kurtis Julson defeated the Jackrabbits' David Kocer 8-2 at 174 pounds and 10th-ranked 184-pounder Hayden Zillmer recorded a 14-5 major decision over Brady Ayers to put the Bison ahead 17-11. Julson improved to 9-5 on the season, while Zillmer is now 18-2 SDSU's 15th-ranked Nate Rotert held off a late third period rally from Tommy Petersen to post a 8-5 decision at 197 pounds to trim the NDSU lead to 17-14 heading into the final match. North Dakota State (2-3) won three of the first four matches starting with 125-pound sophomore Josh Rodriguez posting a 15-6 major decision over Isaac Andrade. The 14th-ranked Rodriguez improved to 6-3. Redshirt freshmen Mitch Bengtson recorded a takedown in the first two periods and a reversal in the third in a 6-1 decision over SDSU's Alex Kocer at 141. Bengtson is now 14-6. A pair of near falls in the second period lifted redshirt freshman Clay Ream to an 8-2 decision over Colin Holler at 149. Ream improved to 13-7. North Dakota Staete is off until Dec. 29-30 when the Bison will compete at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. North Dakota State (2-3) 23, South Dakota State (2-3) 14 Battle for the Border Bell/Non-Conference Dual Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse, Fargo, N.D. Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014 Results: 125 – #14 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) major dec Isaac Andrade (SDSU), 15-6 (Bison, 4-0) 133 – Brance Simms (SDSU) major dec Hunter Weber (NDSU), 12-3 (Tied, 4-4) 141 – Mitch Bengtson (NDSU) dec Alex Kocer (SDSU), 6-1 (Bison, 7-4) 149 – Clay Ream (NDSU) dec Colin Holler (SDSU), 8-2 (Bison, 10-4) 157 – #14 Cody Pack (SDSU) major dec Steven Keogh (NDSU), 16-6 (Bison, 10-8) 165 – John Nething II (SDSU) dec Anthony Caputo (NDSU), 12-6 (SDSU, 11-10) 174 – #15 Kurtis Julson (NDSU) dec David Kocer (SDSU), 8-2 (Bison , 13-11) 184 – #10 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) major dec Brady Ayers (SDSU), 14-5 (Bison, 17-11) 197 – #15 Nate Rotert (SDSU) dec Tommy Petersen (NDSU), 8-5 (Bison, 17-14) 285 – #13 Evan Knutson (NDSU) fall J.J. Everard (SDSU), 6:49 (Bison 23-14)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After ending the dual tied at 19 apiece, No. 5 Mizzou wrestling came away with a thrilling 20-19 dual win over the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday afternoon at St. John Arena. The 20th and final team point for the Tigers resulted in the last criteria of the official NCAA wrestling tiebreaker rulings. On the afternoon, Mizzou grapplers earned three ranked wins over Top-10 opponents. The biggest of them all was by redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt, as he defeated No. 3 Hunter Stieber via a Fall at 2:39. The Tigers and Buckeyes began Sunday afternoon at 125 pounds inside the St. John Arena. Redshirt senior Alan Waters built an early advantage over No. 7 Nathan Tomasello and held off a late push by the Buckeye to claim an 11-8 decision victory. After a close loss at 133 pounds, the Tigers rebounded in a big way at 149 pounds with a Fall by redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt. The win over No. 3 Hunter Stieber evened the dual at nine apiece after four matchups. Mizzou responded once again after a loss, as redshirt junior Cody Johnston earned a thrilling 9-7 SV1 victory over Ohio State's Justin Kresevic at 165 pounds. Once again the team scores were locked even with this time at 12 each. Redshirt freshman Willie Miklus delivered perhaps the biggest win of the night at 184 pounds, earning a 12-2 major decision over Josh Fox. After the Buckeyes' Kyle Snyder followed up with a major decision victory of his own at 197 pounds, the team winner of the dual came down to the heavyweight battle between sophomore J'den Cox and Ohio State's No. 10 Nick Tavanello. A big takedown in the third period led to a 4-2 decision win for Mizzou's Cox and the match ended at 19 apiece. With the final regulation score ending in a tie, the final tiebreaker came down to the official scorebook to decide the team dual winner. With the first several tiebreakers evened up, the last criteria came in to play as the team with the first takedown of the dual was honored a bonus team point. That ruling proved to be in Mizzou's favor as Alan Waters earned a takedown over Nathan Tomasello in the dual's first matchup. Results: 125: Alan Waters (Missouri) dec. Nathan Tomasello (OSU), 11-8; Missouri 3, OSU 0 133: Johnni DiJulius dec. Matt Manley (Missouri), 5-2; Missouri 3, OSU 3 141: Logan Stieber won by forfeit; OSU 9, Missouri 3 149: Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) pinned Hunter Stieber (OSU), 2:49; OSU 9, Missouri 9 157: Josh Demas (OSU) dec. Joseph LaVallee (Missouri), 3-2; OSU 12, Missouri 9 165: Cody Johnson (Missouri) dec. Justin Kresevic (OSU), 9-7 (OT); OSU 12, Missouri 12 174: Mark Martin (OSU) dec. Mike England (Missouri), 5-2; OSU 15, Missouri 12 184: Willie Miklus (Missouri) maj. dec. Josh Fox (OSU), 12-2; Missouri 16, OSU 15 197: Kyle Snyder (OSU) maj. dec. John Eblen (Missouri), 15-5; OSU 19, Missouri 16 285: J’den Cox (Missouri) dec. Nick Tavanello (OSU), 4-2; Missouri 20, OSU 19* *Missouri awarded point based on fourth tiebreaker criteria (first takedown of first match)

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Coming off of a loss to Wisconsin, the Hoosiers made a great turn around, defeating SIUE 28-12 and Manchester 47-6. IU won 16 of the 18 matches that they entered a wrestler. In dual meets on the season, Indiana is now 2-1. "I like the way we rebounded after a tough loss to Wisconsin. We wrestled with intensity," said head coach Duane Goldman. "Hopefully we can build on that and continue to wrestle the same way in upcoming matches." In the match against SIUE, redshirt senior Taylor Walsh and sophomore Jake Masengale both recorded pins. Five other Hoosiers earned victories -- four by decision and one by major decision. Indiana dominate the match versus Manchester with five pins and two tech falls. The only team points that Manchester scored were due to the forfeit of the 125-pound class by IU. In the 133-pound weight class, sophomore Chris Caton defeated Patrick Myers (SIUE) and Chase Wilson (MAN). In his bout against Wilson, Caton earned the quickest pin of the day in only 30 seconds. Redshirt sophomore Trevor Moody was a point scoring machine, winning 11-7 against Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) and with a 15-0 tech fall against Josh Juarez (MAN) Redshirt freshman Luke Blanton went 2-0 on the day with a 13-4 major decision in his match verses SIUE's Erik Traveras and a pin in 1:39 versus Manchester's Bryce Roberts. Joining Caton, Moody and Blanton at 2-0 on the day are Walsh, Nate Jackson, Jake Masengale and Luke Sheridan. Third ranked Taylor Walsh added two more pins to his tally, bringing his season total to 13 and his career total to 60. In a tough bout against Jake Residori (SIUE), 16th ranked Nate Jackson won on a 4-3 decision. Jackson followed that with dominating 12-4 major decision. Taylor Walsh isn't the only Hoosier who can rack up the pins, as Jake Masengale also pinned two on the day. The first came in 3:14 versus Derek Nagel (SIUE), the second in 4:46 against Alex Roberts (MAN). Senior Luke Sheridan duplicated his result from Manchester last season with a first round pin. Sheridan won a hard fought bout against Matthew McCliments with a 2-0 decision. The Hoosiers next match is against Cleveland State, one week from today on December 20 at 1 pm (Cleveland, Ohio).

PHILADELPHIA -- Drexel Wrestling recorded its first Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association win of the season, taking down the Navy Midshipmen on Saturday night by a score of 24-16 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons jumped on Navy early and closed the Midshipmen's late window into a comeback. Tanner Shoap earned the 16-0 technical fall at 125 pounds to begin the night on the mat, tallying near fall points while showing an impressive ground game. Kevin Devoy Jr., who is ranked No. 17 in the country by Intermat Wrestling, won by fall at 133 pounds just 57 seconds into the first period to improve to 9-0 on the early season. Up 11-0 in the early going, 141 and 149 pounds remained important weight classes for the Dragons to take control. At 141 pounds, David Pearce did the job, winning a 6-1 decision. The sophomore from Illinois held a 3-1 lead in the third period, scoring a late takedown to put away the opposing Midshipman. Following at 149 pounds, Matt Cimato extended the Dragons lead to 18-0 after a major 12-0 decision where he jumped out to a lead early in the first and never let his opponent in the match. Noel Blanco, wrestling at 157 pounds, grinded out a 4-1 decision to extend the Dragons lead to 21-0 at the halfway point of the match. "That's the kind of product we want Drexel Wrestling to be," head coach Matt Azevedo said. "We came out and we were aggressive and we went after them. We knew that the first five matches would be important, and it was huge to jump on them the way we did. "Especially coming off of finals week where some guys weren't able to practice every day, they came out ferocious. They attacked, and we scored riding time at almost every weight class. That's exactly what we want Drexel Wrestling to be." At the start of the second half of the match, Navy began to go on a scoring run. At 165 pounds was freshman Nick Elmer, who dropped a tough 7-1 decision to the No. 15 ranked wrestler at the weight class, Peyton Walsh. Following at 174 pounds, another freshman, Stephen Loiseau fell in a major decision, 12-3. Alex DeCiantis was tied 3-3 with his opponent heading into the third, but lost by fall at the 1:30 mark in the final period. With the team score at 21-13, Joshua Murphy took the mat at 197 pounds with a chance to close Navy's chance at a comeback. The freshman from Brecksville, Ohio, down 3-1 in the third, scored a late takedown to even the score at 3-3, but could not score another after his opponent took a 4-3 lead. Joey Goodhart took the mat at heavyweight needing to avoid a technical fall or a pin to secure a Dragons win. He did just that, scoring an escape and a takedown in the final minute to win the 4-3 decision as Drexel took the dual 24-16. Drexel improve to 2-3 on the season and 1-0 in the EIWA. The Dragons return to the mat when the head to the Grapple at the Garden held at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 21. They will wrestle Northern Iowa at 10 a.m. followed by George Mason at 12 p.m. Results: 125: Tanner Shoap (DREX) TF Brant Leadbeter (Navy), 16-0 133: No. 17 Kevin Devoy Jr. (DREX) WBF Colton Rasche (Navy), @0:57 141: David Pearce (DREX) DEC Patrick Prada (Navy), 6-1 149: Matthew Cimato (DREX) MAJ Corey Wilding (Navy), 12-0 157: Noel Blanco (DREX) DEC Drew Daniels (Navy), 4-1 165: No. 15 Peyton Walsh (Navy) DEC Nick Elmer (DREX), 7-1 174: Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) MAJ Stephen Loiseau (DREX), 12-3 184: Michael Woulfe WBF Alex DeCiantis (DREX), @ 7:30 197: Paul Rands (Navy) DEC Joshua Murphy (DREX), 4-3 285: Joey Goodhart (DREX) DEC Colynn Cook (Navy), 4-3

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Kory Mines and A.J. Schopp got Edinboro off to a fast start with pins and the Fighting Scots never looked back in posting a 32-6 win over the Golden Eagles on Saturday night at McComb Fieldhouse. Ranked fourth in InterMat's Tournament Rankings and 13th in the latest USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, Edinboro improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in EWL action. Clarion is now 0-8 and 0-2, respectively. The Fighting Scots were missing starters Mitchell Port (ranked second at 141 lbs.) and Vic Avery (ranked 14th by InterMat at 184 lbs.), but Edinboro still won eight of ten bouts. 6907Dave Habat won by technical fall. Mines opened up the match with a fall at 4:56 over Seth Carr at 125 lbs., as the redshirt senior improved to 14-2 for the season. He grabbed a 7-1 lead after one period and led 9-1 following a second period takedown before flattening Carr for his second fall of the season. Schopp followed with his sixth pin this year and 57th of his career as he continues to build on his school record. The redshirt senior pinned Joel Rosko at 2:11 of the first period to boost the Boro lead to 12-0. Ranked first at 133 lbs., Schopp improved to 9-0 this season and 116-14 for his career. He moved into a tie with Sean O'Day for 13th place in career wins. Freshman Jensen Lorea, filling in for Port at 141 lbs., would drop a 7-1 decision to Clarion's Sam Sherlock, but Habat gave Edinboro a 17-3 advantage with a 19-3 technical fall over Brodie Zacherl. The end came 6:12 as Habat also remained undefeated at 13-0. He boosted his career record to 111-24 as he is now tied for 18th place in career victories with Kevin Welsh. The redshirt senior is ranked fourth by InterMat. Kasey Burnett-Davis went into sudden victory before claiming a 4-2 decision over Evan DeLong at 157 lbs. KBD registered a first period takedown but a pair of DeLong escapes made it 2-2 after three periods. Burnett-Davis picked up the win with a takedown with 29 seconds left in overtime. The redshirt senior improved to 10-4. Casey Fuller improved to 11-4 at 165 lbs. thanks to a 6-3 decision over Slade Horner (12-8). Fuller had a pair of first-period takedowns for a 4-2 lead. He added a second period escape and earned a point for riding time. Edinboro's lead went to 26-3 as Zach Towers continued his impressive wrestling with a 10-3 decision over Mike Pavasko at 174 lbs. The redshirt sophomore is now 9-1 as he recorded three takedowns and also tilted Pavasko once for a pair of points. He had won by fall over Pavasko at the PSAC Championships. Nick Mitchell posted a 10-5 decision over Danny Sutherland at 184 lbs. while filling in for starter Vic Avery. He led just 2-0 after one period, but two more takedowns in the second period and a fourth in the third. A redshirt sophomore, he has a 10-1 record. In rematch of last Saturday's PSAC semifinal match, Vince Pickett's 6-2 decision over Ryan Darch (11-8) at 197 lbs. boosted Edinboro's lead to 32-3. Pickett won a week ago 6-1. Pickett held a 2-1 lead after one period and used another takedown for a 4-2 advantage after two periods. He added a quick escape and riding time for the final. Pickett, a junior, is now 12-4. The heavyweight match featured Warren Bosch, who finished third at the PSAC Championship, against runner-up Evan Daley. Bosch, continuing to make his way up from 197 lbs., would drop a 6-5 decision as Daley had 1:29 in riding time. The match was tied at 2-2 after one period, with Daley's takedown matched by a Bosch reversal. Bosch would grab a 3-2 lead with an escape a minute into the second period, but Daley regained the lead with a takedown. A Bosch escape with ten seconds left made it 4-4 heading into the final two minutes. Daley grabbed a 5-4 lead with an escape, but Bosch received a penalty point with 48 seconds to go to make it 5-5. Bosch, a redshirt junior, is now 7-7 while Daley, a local product from nearby Fort LeBoeuf High School, improved to 10-6. Edinboro will return to action on Sunday, December 21 in the Grapple at the Garden. The Fighting Scots will face third-ranked Cornell followed by 12th-ranked Lehigh at famed Madison Square Garden. Results: 125 – Kory Mines (EU) fall over Seth Carr (CU) 4:56 133 – #1 A.J. Schopp (EU) fall over Joel Rosko (CU) 2:11 141 – Sam Sherlock (CU) dec. Jensen Lorea (EU) 7-1 149 – #4 Dave Habat (EU) tech. fall Brodie Zacherl (CU) 19-3 (6:12) 157 -- Kasey Burnett-Davis (EU) dec. Evan DeLong (CU) 4-2 sv 165 – Casey Fuller (EU) dec. Slade Horner (CU) 6-3 174 – Zach Towers (EU) dec. Mike Pavasko (CU) 10-3 184 – Nick Mitchell (EU) dec. Danny Sutherland (CU) 10-5 197 – Vince Pickett (EU) dec. Ryan Darch (CU) 6-2 Hwt. – Evan Daley (CU) dec. Warren Bosch (EU) 6-5 RECORDS: Edinboro -- 5-1, 2-0 EWL Clarion -- 0-8, 0-2 EWL

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Purdue wrestlers claimed six weights en route to a 19-12 dual victory over North Carolina (1-2, 0-0 ACC) Saturday at Kell High School. No. 19 Danny Sabatello provided bonus points for a second straight night and the Welch trio prevailed as the Boilermakers improved to 7-2, 0-0 B1G. The win comes on the heels of a 19-16 upset of No. 20 Chattanooga less than 24 hours earlier and 100 miles north. "I thought their intensity was better than last night considering they had to go on back-to-back scratch weigh-ins," head wrestling coach Tony Ersland said. "They responded and wrestled hard. You get in the groove a little bit after you wrestle. Some guys had some things to prove, others had a better idea of how they wanted to wrestle tonight compared to last night and then with lineup changes, some guys had to step up. There was a combination of things that motivated our guys tonight." Redshirt freshman Luke Welch opened the dual by notching the first dual win of his career by shutting out Cody Karns, 4-0. After a scoreless opening period in the 125-pound bout, a second period rideout was key to Welch setting the tone for the remainder of the match. He escaped at the beginning of the third and took Karns down. Welch's 2:47 of riding time closed out the scoring for his fifth win of the season. Sabatello used four takedowns, an escape and racked up 5:00 of riding time to cruise past Matt Williams with a 10-1 major decision at 133. The third major decision of the redshirt junior's campaign extended his winning streak to 14 and he has had his hand raised in 11 consecutive duals dating back to last season. Sabatello owns a team-best record of 15-1 and boasts a 9-2 dual record. "I was very happy with Luke [Welch] going out and setting tone for what the night was going to be," Ersland said. "He took a fight to [Cody] Karns and wrestled him tough. Then Danny [Sabatello] built upon that momentum and kept it going." The Tar Heels narrowed the dual to 7-3 with a 3-2 decision from 14th-ranked Joey Ward against Nick Lawrence at 141 pounds, only to have the Boilermakers respond by winning the next two weights and push their lead to 13-3. With just seconds remaining and knotted at 5-5, Alex Griffin took Joey Moon down to win the 149-pound match, 7-5. The redshirt sophomore scored a takedown in the first and added two more in the third, while holding Moon to three escapes and a reversal. It was the third time the two grapplers had met and just as it was in the previous two meetings during the Roadrunner Open earlier in the season, Griffin was the victor. The win lifted his mark to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in duals. Doug Welch followed at 157 with a 5-3 decision over Chris Mears. Even though Mears struck fast and early in the first period with a takedown, Welch wasn't fazed. Nearly immediately after being taken down, he escaped. He added another escape at the start of the second period and took the North Carolina redshirt senior down. He added 1:45 of riding time to win his fourth straight match and push his mark to 13-4 in his redshirt junior season. An escape with one second on the clock lifted twin brother Chad Welch past John Michael Staudenmayer, 3-2. The 13-6 Boilermaker used a first period takedown and an escape in the third to earn the decision. Like Griffin, it was the third time Welch had seen and defeated his Tar Heel opponent, previously facing him at the Roadrunner Open. Purdue's sixth win of the night came from Patrick Kissel at 197 pounds with an 8-5 decision. Trailing Chip Ness 3-1 going into the final two minutes of action, Kissel used a six-point third period to pick up the win. The redshirt senior tallied two escapes before getting a takedown of his own and tilting Ness for a three count. "Good teams find a way to win on the road," Ersland said. "We had some adversity this weekend and they responded. I am happy with how they handled themselves with these two duals. It was a business trip; they had good poise. Overall it was a good weekend for us to build on." Purdue wrestling will break for the holidays and return to the mat at the 52nd Annual Ken Craft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. "Going into this break before Midlands, we want to get everyone refreshed," Ersland said. "This season is going to fly by. We want to make sure our guys stay focused and build their mindset to March and continue to get better." Results: 125 // Luke Welch (Purdue) dec. Cody Karns (North Carolina), 4-0 133 // No. 19 Danny Sabatello (Purdue) maj. dec. Matt Williams (North Carolina), 10-1 141 // No. 14 Joey Ward (North Carolina) dec. Nick Lawrence (Purdue), 3-2 149 // Alex Griffin (Purdue) dec. Joey Moon (North Carolina), 7-5 157 // Doug Welch (Purdue) dec. Chris Mears (North Carolina), 5-3 165 // Ethan Ramos (North Carolina) dec. Pat Robinson (Purdue), 5-3 174 // Chad Welch (Purdue) dec. John Michael Staudenmayer (North Carolina), 3-2 184 // Alex Utley (North Carolina) dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue), 10-6 197 // Patrick Kissel (Purdue) dec. Chip Ness (North Carolina), 8-5 285 // Josh Lehner (North Carolina) dec. Tyler Kral (Purdue), 6-4

ATHENS, Ohio - Mizzou wrestling began their two day trip to the state of Ohio Saturday evening in Athens, Ohio and walked away with a 25-18 dual win over the No. 25 Ohio Bobcats. Redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt and sophomore Joey Lavallee each earned big wins over ranked foes en route to the Tigers MAC victory. Redshirt senior Alan Waters kicked things off in a big way Saturday with a 16-0 Tech. Fall victory over Zak Hassan. After a loss at 133 pounds, Mizzou responded with a 19-2 Tech. Fall win at 141 pounds by redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes. In a Top-10 matchup at 149 pounds, the Tigers came away victorious as Houdashelt defeated No. 8 Tywan Claxton via 6-3 decision. Lavallee added another ranked win immediately after for the Tigers with a 3-1 decision over No. 17 Spartak Chino. At 174 pounds, redshirt senior Mikey England picked up the last win for Mizzou with a 4-1 decision over Andrew Romanchik. To end Saturday's dual, the last three weight classes ended via forfeits and Mizzou walked away with the dual victory over the Bobcats. Results: 125: Alan Waters (Mizzou) over Zak Hassan (Ohio) via Tech. Fall, 16-0 133: Kagan Squire (Ohio) over Matt Manley (Mizzou) via Decision, 4-3 141: Lavion Mayes (Mizzou) over Joel Shump (Ohio) via Tech. Fall, 19-2 149: Drake Houdashelt (Mizzou) over No. 8 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) via Decision, 6-3 157: Joey Lavallee (Mizzou) over No. 17 Spartak Chino (Ohio) via Decision, 3-1 165: Harrison Hightower (Ohio) over Cody Johnston (Mizzou) via Decision, 11-4 174: Mikey England (Mizzou) over Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) via Decision, 4-1 184: Johnny Eblen (Mizzou) over (Ohio) via Forfeit 197: No. 13 Phil Wellington (Ohio) over Mizzou via Forfeit HWT: Zach Parker (Ohio) over Mizzou via Forfeit