InterMat Staff

Pennsylvania Class AAA finals electric and exciting The Saturday night championship matches at the GIANT Center in Hershey were drama-filled, high-level affairs. Eight of the fourteen bouts featured nationally ranked wrestlers facing one another, which included six in a row between 120 and 152 pounds. The first of those intriguing affairs was an overtime bout at 120 pounds, which No. 1 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) win 3-1 with a takedown over No. 5 Scott Parker (Pennridge) with a takedown at the edge of the mat. It came after Parker had upended two-time state champion Ethan Lizak (Parkland), ranked No. 6 nationally, in the semifinal. It continued with a 5-1 victory for No. 6 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan) over No. 16 Zach Valley (Northampton) in the 126-pound final. Macri upended No. 18 A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) 5-3 in the semifinal; while Valley earned his place in the rankings with a 1-0 tiebreaker victory over defending state champion Sam Krivus (Hempfield), who is ranked No. 8 nationally, in the semifinal round. Freshman Cameron Coy (Penn-Trafford), now ranked No. 10 nationally, upended No. 12 Chase Zemenak (Nazareth) 2-1 in the state final at 132 pounds. The difference came in a locking hands infraction committed by Zemenak during the second period. No. 11 Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional) finished third, and was a key figure in the weight class. Coy upended Smith in the previous week's regional final, after losing to him in the sectional final the week before that; Zemenak beat Smith 3-0 due to a second period rideout, along with a third period escape and counter takedown, to avenge a 1-0 loss from the state duals. The next bout at 138 pounds was a "rubber" match between No. 3 Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and No. 4 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional). Kemerer upended Joseph 3-2 in the POWERade final, while Joseph beat Kemerer 5-2 in the regional final last week. Regulation ended 1-1, as the wrestlers traded escapes, with each having at least one opportunity to score from neutral during the bout. Then in overtime, Joseph shot in, Kemerer countered to create a cradle at the edge of the mat. When Kemerer went to execute the cradle, Joseph pressed into him, which caused a roll through action leading to Joseph earning the pin and condemning Kemerer to a third state runner-up finish in as many high school seasons. Though the next bout was the evening's most anticipated, with it being state champ against state champ, much of the arena's energy was wiped out with the ending of the Joseph-Kemerer bout. This state final ended up being a one-sided affair, as No. 3 Solomon Chishko (Canon-McMillan) scored a takedown in each period on the way to a 7-2 victory over No. 6 Joseph Galasso (Father Judge). The last match in the stretch of nationally ranked battles was at 152 pounds, as No. 3 T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead against No. 11 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional), and coasted home to a 4-3 victory. Shields rallied back with a reversal at the start of the third period and an additional point when Warner was called for a second stalling from neutral. However, Shields was unable to score the tying (before the stall point) or go-ahead takedown from a couple of pretty good attacking opportunities. Rounding out the head-on matchups of nationally ranked wrestlers were a 3-1 victory for No. 3 Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe) over No. 18 Kellan Stout (Mt. Lebanon), and a 5-2 victory for No. 5 Michael Boykin (Coatesville) over No. 6 Jordan Wood (Boyertown). Zavatsky won four matches against Stout during the season, including a pair in the last two weeks, which reflected all of Stout's losses on the season; while it was a second victory in as many weeks for Boykin over now two-time state runner-up Wood, as Boykin has jumped up ten spots in the rankings in that period of time. Other key narratives from the Class AAA tournament included fourth state titles won by No. 1 Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale) at 170 pounds and No. 2 Thomas Haines (Solanco) at 220 pounds; as well as the absurd dominance of freshman sensation Spencer Lee (Franklin Regional) on the way to his first state title, as he continued to confirm why he is No. 1 in the nation at 113 pounds as well as in the Class of 2017. Clovis champions, Valencia brothers sizzle in Golden State Even though they did not come near the points record, nor place a record-tying ten wrestlers as forecasted, it was still an excellent state tournament performance for No. 3 Clovis as they won a fourth straight California state title. The Cougars were led by No. 1 Nick Nevills (285), who won his third state title; and No. 4 Justin Mejia (106), who won state as a freshman. Six additional wrestlers placed for Clovis, who scored 197.5 points; which was 79 more than No. 33 Clovis West, who finished as runners-up. Two of those Cougars wrestlers placed in third, Isaiah Hokit (132) and Brody Brand (170); Josh Hokit (160) was fifth; Matt Weiss (195) was sixth; while Tristan Gilliland (113) and A.J. Nevills (182) finished in seventh. State runners-up Clovis West placed four wrestlers, led by the state title won by No. 14 Michael Knoblauch at 126 pounds, who had to beat a pair of defending state champions to win the title. In the semifinal, it was an 8-5 victory over Johnny Parada (San Fernando), while he beat No. 15 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) 8-6 in the final. It was a second victory for Knoblauch over Pengilly in as many weeks, though he had lost to Pengilly two times earlier in the season. Other placers for the Golden Eagles were runner-up Chris Garcia (145), third place finisher Tyler Zimmer (152), Cortes Morales (220) in fifth, and Chris Marin (106) in eighth. The only other team to place more than three wrestlers was No. 32 Poway, who placed four on the way to a third place finish with 110 points. The Titans were led by state champion Colt Doyle (160), who was joined on the podium by a pair of fourth place finishes from Sergio Enloe (138) and No. 19 Ralphy Tovar (145), as well as Manny Lair (126) in eighth. Anthony Valencia (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)From an individual standpoint, the absolutely dominant performances of No. 1 Zahid Valencia (132) and No. 3 Anthony Valencia (170) for St. John Bosco led the narrative. Each wrestler won state as a freshman, but failed to win state last year, and bounced back this year with much aplomb. Zahid used pins in four of five matches, including in the finals against now two-time state runner-up Wyatt Wyckoff (Paradise), and a 10-1 major decision to win this state title. It was similar dominance for Anthony, with three pins, a 7-4 semifinal victory, and a 14-4 major decision over No. 20 Bryce Martin (Bakersfield) in the state final. Order prevails in New Jersey With the exception of a minor upset at 285 pounds, it was a pretty orderly state championship in the Garden State, as all of the national ranking positions held to form. However, that did not mean the tournament was without its share of drama and intrigue. In the 106-pound final, No. 3 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton) upended No. 15 Brandon Paetzell (Phillipsburg) 1-0 to cement an undefeated 41-0 season. Ten other finals would end up being decided by two points or less and/or after regulation. The next of those finals came at 126 pounds, as now two-time state champion Craig de la Cruz (Bound Brook) beat now two-time state runner-up Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep) 3-2 in the tiebreaker. It was a battle of two ranked wrestlers at 132 pounds, as No. 6 Anthony Giraldo (North Bergen) cemented a 41-0 season with a 3-1 victory over No. 7 Mike Magaldo (Watchung Hills). It was also a match featuring a pair of four-time state placers and past state champions; Giraldo cemented a career path of 4-5-1-1, while Magaldo finished 2-1-3-2. The intrigue continued in the next weight class, as No. 17 Ronnie Gentile (Paulsboro) improved upon last year's runner-up finish with a 7-6 victory over the previously undefeated Gavin Murray (Cranford) at 138 pounds. The 145-pound final saw No. 13 David McFadden (DePaul Catholic) upend Ryan Burkert (St. Peter's Prep) 4-3. Two-time National Prep champion Jack Clark (St. Augustine Prep) earned his first New Jersey state title with a 3-1 win over Gary Dinmore (Hunterdon Central) in overtime; with the win, Clark cemented an undefeated season, while Dinmore was condemned to a third consecutive runner-up finish. Then, at 160 pounds, No. 4 Jonathan Schleifer (East Brunswick) cemented an undefeated season with his 6-5 victory over Joshua Ugalde (Bound Brook). It was an elusive state title for the four-time state placer, whose career track went 8-3-2-1. In the next weight class, No. 7 Dillon Artigliere (Roxbury) repeated as state champion with a 3-1 victory over Luke Farinaro (Don Bosco Prep). Both Schleifer and Artigliere also cemented undefeated seasons with their finals victories. At 182 pounds, No. 1 Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic) earned a third consecutive state title and Outstanding Wrestler honors with a 6-4 overtime victory over No. 14 Joey Balboni (David Brearley) in the finals match. In the next weight class, Anthony Cassar (Montgomery) assured an undefeated season with a 4-1 tiebreaker victory over Ralph Nordmandia (Franklin) in the state final. Then, at 220 pounds, it was a rematch -- and replication -- of last year's state final, as No. 2 Bryan Dobzanski (Delsea Regional) upended No. 9 Zack Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep) 3-1 in the tiebreaker to finish off a 43-0 season. In the already alluded 285-pound weight class, now No. 20 Andrew Stevens (Camden) upended previously ranked Kevin Wilkins (St. Joseph Montvale) 3-1 in overtime during the state semifinal, before beating Tyler Gildner (Robbinsville) 3-0 in a state finals bout placing wrestlers from schools that had never won a state title against one another. Stevens finished undefeated at 37-0, which is something that No. 2 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic) was also able to accomplish (though he finished 41-0) after winning the 113-pound state final by a 7-0 decision over No. 18 Patrick D'Arcy (Holy Spirit).

The NCAA Division I qualifiers, including at-large selections, will be released on NCAA.com over the course of the day on Wednesday, beginning with heavyweights at 1 p.m. ET and continuing with a new weight class released every 30 minutes. The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show is set for 6 p.m. ET Wednesday on NCAA.com. The seeds and brackets will be unveiled for each weight class. Details on the championship match order for the NCAA finals will also be revealed. InterMat will publish the brackets and complete list of qualifiers after the NCAA Wrestling Selection Show.

How often does amateur wrestling appear on TV? Right now, those who are passionate about the sport are saying in one loud voice, "Not often enough!" The wrestling community -- wrestlers, coaches and fans -- rightfully complain that the sport just doesn't get the coverage it deserves ... not just in terms of live coverage of dual meets and tournaments, but also in terms of reporting during local and national sportscasts. One could also argue that real wrestling is an even rarer sight on TV entertainment shows, whether it's played for laughs on a sitcom, or as a story element on a dramatic series. Let's take a look at some specific examples where entertainment TV rolled out the wrestling mat, with an eye to how the sport is generally depicted on situation comedies and dramas, and why. (Note: This discussion is limited to amateur-style wrestling as shown on entertainment series, not made-for-TV movies or documentaries. It does not include analysis of depictions of professional wrestling or guest appearances by WWE stars -- nor anything related to mixed martial arts matches or MMA fighters -- on sitcoms, dramas or reality series.) Wrestling, Played for Laughs "Modern Family" The idea for this story came to mind after seeing recent commercials promoting an episode of the popular ABC-TV sitcom "Modern Family" which showed Luke, the only son of Claire and Phil Dunphy, one of the three branches of the "modern family" depicted on the series, in a wrestling singlet and headgear ... a seemingly out-of-blue development, as, over the five-year life of the series, there has been nothing pointing to the Luke character being a wrestler. A scene from "Modern Family"The episode in question, titled "The Feud" which aired Feb. 26, featured a trio of separate story lines (typical for the "Modern Family" series), including a story thread featuring Luke Dunphy (Nolan Gould) as a high school wrestler, slated to wrestle the son of his father Phil's rival in real estate sales, Gil Thorpe. Early in the episode, there was a scene in the gym where the dual meet was taking place, showing the two fathers' different attitudes about the match -- Phil vacillating between being nervous, and wanting to be supportive of his son; the opponent's dad being full of bluster and bravado (bragging about his son's record) -- in contrast to the pre-match attitudes of the two wrestlers (Luke being almost serene, while his opponent seeming wound up). After this set-up scene, the episode focused on the other two non-wrestling storylines ... only to return to the mat in the closing minutes of the show. Back in the gym, the two young wrestlers shook hands (with the Luke Dunphy character being coached by former Michigan State wrestler now actor Curran Jacobs), the opponent took Luke down and pinned him in not much more than a nanosecond. The payoff to the wrestling storyline came at the end of "Modern Family" when Thorpe and his son were celebrating their victory in a diner, while the Dunphy men were licking their wounds a few tables away. Then a waitress yelled, "Fight! Fight!" as it appeared that Luke was choking his opponent in the restaurant ... however, viewers were told that Luke was actually saving the life of his rival who was choking on some food. In another twist at the very end of the show, Luke told his dad that the rival wrestler had been making a "you choked" gesture to Luke, so Luke settled the score by putting the other guy in an actual chokehold. Nolan Gould played Luke DunphyThe episode clearly used the sport of wrestling as a comedic vehicle; it's highly unlikely it's a new facet of the Luke Dunphy character and the start of more mat-centric stories. In fact, it would not be impossible to imagine that this will be the first and last time we see Luke in a singlet and headgear. Even before the Feb. 26 episode of "Modern Family" was broadcast, I had started to think about the various fictional TV series that have shown the sport over the years. This article takes a look at some of the ways wrestling has been shown on entertainment TV. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of "TV episodes with wrestling" but a representative sample of the sport's portrayal in one entertainment medium. "Saved by the Bell" For an entire generation of TV viewers and wrestling fans, the first TV series that comes to mind for its portrayal of wrestling is "Saved by the Bell," a long-running NBC Saturday morning sitcom in the late 1980s and early 1990s. One of the principal characters in the series, A.C. Slater, was written as a high school wrestler ... played by actor Mario Lopez, an actual high school wrestler at Chula Vista High School who placed second at 160 pounds in the San Diego Sectional, and seventh at the California state championships in 1991. Actor Mario Lopez, a former wrestler in California, played Slater in "Saved by the Bell"Slater-as-wrestler became a major plot line in at least a couple episodes. In the episode "Pinned to the Mat" shown in the first season, Slater gave up wrestling for cooking class ... which caused problems for his bud Zack (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), who bet his dirt bike that Slater would easily handle the big bruiser from a rival high school. Ultra-nerdy classmate Screech (Dustin Diamond) stepped in for Slater, finding himself the victim of an airplane spin over the rival wrestler's head. Slater jumped in, made short work of the abysmal brute (who's shown lying dazed and confused on the mat, animated stars circling his head). Slater quickly comes to the conclusion his place is indeed on the mat, not in the kitchen ... assuring viewers they'll continue to see more of Lopez in a singlet, not a chef's apron. A couple years later, "Saved by the Bell" returned to the wrestling mat for an episode titled "Hold Me Tight" that found comedy in a subject that still remains touchy more than two decades later away from TV: girls wrestling boys. In this episode, Kristy, new to Bayside High, earned a spot on the wrestling team ... but finds herself in a predicament when wrestling a boy from a rival high school. Would-be boyfriend Zach yells, "Do that move you did at The Max!" (the characters' after-school hangout) which, of course, is illustrated in every how-to-wrestle book and DVD (not!). Kristy not only won the match, but the hearts and minds of her classmates, some who doubted a girl could find success wrestling a boy. Both of these episodes play on notions held by the general public (non-wrestling fans) about what wrestling looks like, and that allowing girls to wrestle boys leads to unintended consequences (like jealousy among girls who don't wrestle). The on-screen wrestling action is over in a blink of an eye, and does not resemble anything you'd see in a high school or college gym. In other words, it's very much over the top, and played strictly for laughs. Another aspect of how wrestling is portrayed on "Saved by the Bell" -- the high school wrestlers' uniforms. The singlets worn by Slater, his teammates and rivals were the kind that revealed more of the chest and back, like those worn in international competition more than a decade ago, or by some high schools and colleges (the Iowa Hawkeyes, for example) in the late 1950s and early 60s during the transition from shirtless wrestling to requiring shirts. To viewers whose only exposure to wrestling is once every four years during the Olympics, this style of singlet says "wrestling" more clearly and loudly than the kind most wrestlers actually wear in high school. "The Wonder Years" Running during the same era as "Saved by the Bell" -- but with a much different vibe, and, presumably, with a different audience in mind -- was "The Wonder Years" -- a prime-time ABC series broadcast in the late 1980s into the early '90s that was a nostalgic look back at growing up in suburbia in the 1960s. The main character of the series (which had comedic elements, but didn't look or sound like a traditional sitcom, i.e. no laugh track) was Kevin Arnold (played by Fred Savage). The series had started with Kevin being a cute grade-school boy ... but, towards the end of the series run, Kevin had grown into high school. In the sixth season of "The Wonder Years" an episode titled "Hulk Arnold" predated the notion presented in the recent "Modern Family" episode where a high school boy suddenly becomes a high school wrestler, seemingly out of the blue, with absolutely no advance notice or warning. Fred Savage (right) played Kevin Arnold in "The Wonder Years" -- a prime-time ABC series broadcast in the late 1980s into the early '90s that was a nostalgic look back at growing up in suburbia in the 1960sIn "Hulk Arnold," Kevin had demonstrated some talent for wrestling in gym class, and was recruited for the team. However, once in the wrestling room, Kevin quickly discovered how tough the sport is, deciding it wasn't for him, and, instead of working on getting better, bellyached to his tough-love coach. Sitting on the sidelines during a dual meet -- with his friends and family in the stands -- the coach made Kevin a last-second substitution to go up against the defending state champ. Kevin assumed he's being punished for his half-assed attitude ... but, as he's worked over by the champ, he rediscovered some of the talent -- and fight -- he showed back in P.E. No, he didn't pin the champ, but he managed to hold his own by not getting pinned, and, in the process, won the admiration of his teammates, coach, friends and family. Unlike the depictions of wrestling in the sitcoms previously mentioned in this article, "The Wonder Years" match was not over in less than five seconds. Nor did it employ some WWE-inspired acrobatics that provided laughs on "Saved by the Bell." Kevin's match with the champ looked more realistic than the portrayal of wrestling in most sitcoms. And, perhaps just as importantly, it's one of the very few examples that captured the notion that yes, wrestling is a tough sport, mentally and physically, but it has rich rewards for those who work hard and don't give up. (Sadly, "The Wonder Years" was yet another example of a series where a character suddenly becomes a wrestler, without any set-up, then, presumably, hangs up the headgear and is never seen in a singlet again.) Wrestling for dramatic effect From searching the Internet -- and my own memory -- it seems the vast majority of TV shows that have shown wrestling as a comedic element on a situation comedy. Despite the drama that is inherent in two athletes battling for supremacy on a mat, depictions of wrestling are rare in serious TV programs. One notable distinction was "I'll Fly Away," a one-hour drama on NBC in the early 1990s set in the small-town South in the early 1960s, during the civil rights movement. The series -- which draws its name from the title of a Negro spiritual from the early 1900s -- told the intersecting stories of a white, widowed prosecutor and his three at-home children, and the African-American woman who cared for them and their house, as well as her own home life with a young daughter and father. More than one TV critic compared "I'll Fly Away" to "To Kill a Mockingbird", the 1960 Harper Lee novel about a white attorney/father of two young children, defending a black man against rape charges, which was made into a movie starring Gregory Peck. A number of elements -- the setting, black-white tensions, the father-as-attorney, use of woman as narrator -- are consistent with both. In at least a couple episodes of "I'll Fly Away" (which lasted only two seasons), the eldest son Nathan (played by twins Jeremy and Jason London) was shown as a high school wrestler. The depictions were played straight, not for laughs. (Though there was a scene in which the rookies were presented with their wrestling gear while standing out on the football field naked, in front of their coach and teammates, which seemed more odd than either comic or dramatic.) Cast from "I'll Fly Away"In one scene, Nathan was sent out on to the mat to do battle with a (presumably) top wrestler from a rival school. The action was straightforward and familiar to any fan of the sport (no airplane spins here). The camera zoomed in close to the two combatants ... and, as tension grew, all sound other than the exertions of the wrestlers in action was eliminated. Even when the camera cut away to show fans and both teams cheering on their guy, there was absolute silence except for the grunts, groans and breathing of the two on the mat, presumably to emphasize the intense struggle of the evenly-matched athletes. After considerable on-the-mat struggle, Nathan cradled his rival, got the fall, and, as the gym erupted in cheering, "normal" sound returned. The only element that I remember to ring somewhat false (I have not been able to find the scene -- nor the series -- available for viewing online, or available for purchase on DVD) was the gear. "I'll Fly Away" had both wrestlers in singlets; back in the early 1960s, singlets were extremely rare in high school wrestling, and, in fact, were against the rules in most states as well as the NCAA. To be completely accurate, Nathan and his opponent would have been wearing trunks, perhaps tights, with sleeveless shirts optional. (In many parts of the country, wrestlers competed bare-chested.) Back then, headgear was optional in most places; the NBC series got that right by having the wrestlers compete without earguards. Another "I'll Fly Away" episode played on racial tensions of the time, as an African-American student new to the school (perhaps through integration) challenged Nathan's best friend for a starting position on the squad. Rather than wrestle a black -- and run the risk of being humiliated by losing his starring role on the team and as a top jock in the school -- Nathan's teammate simply gave up wrestling, which ultimately sent his life on a downward spiral. Again, this situation of a white high schooler refusing to wrestle a black may be difficult for young people today to understand, given greater inclusion of athletes of all colors in wrestling nowadays. However, 50 or more years ago, it was rather rare to see wrestlers of color in action on the high school or college level. A number of states that are now considered to be wrestling hotbeds -- including Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania -- did not have their first African-American state champ until the 1950s or early 1960s. During this time, it was also rare to see a black wrestler in college. Look at team photos from the era and typically might be one wrestler of color amid a sea of white athletes. To cite the two schools with the greatest number of NCAA team titles: University of Iowa's first black starter was Simon Roberts in the mid-1950s (who went on to become the first African-American NCAA champ, in 1957); Oklahoma State welcomed Joe James to the Stillwater campus in 1960. (James won the heavyweight title at the 1964 NCAAs.) From looking at their college team photos, Roberts and James were pretty much alone as wrestlers of color at their schools at the time ... as was the case at most major college wrestling programs of 50-60 years ago, where there might be one black among an otherwise all-white team. Why wrestling on TV Even though amateur wrestling may not be often depicted in TV sitcoms and dramas, the same can be said for most other high school or college sports. Think about it: How many TV series have shown football or basketball? (The TV version of the Texas high school football series "Friday Night Lights" aside.) So why would some TV writers and producers incorporate the oldest and greatest sport into their shows? For starters, because the very nature of wrestling can be manipulated for comedic -- or dramatic -- effect. The one-to-one competition can lend itself to potentially humorous or serious situations, such as the examples already cited in this article. There are other reasons that may have to do with the "mechanics" of the sport. Wrestling takes place in a relatively confined space, especially compared to football, basketball or baseball. Unlike outdoor sports such as football or baseball -- or even space-demanding sports like basketball -- wrestling easily fits into a typical film/TV studio. The "compact-ness" of wrestling makes it much easier to capture the action on a wrestling mat -- including close-ups of the wrestlers and their faces -- than other sports. The close-up, confined nature also lends itself to capturing sounds such grunts, groans, bodies hitting the mat, even conversation (wrestlers in TV shows tend to do a lot more talking while wrestling than their real-life counterparts) much more readily than in other sports. In fact, that ability of TV cameras and sound to provide a close-to-the-action perspective helped make professional wrestling and boxing popular programming in the early days of television 60-70 years ago. What's more, it's easier for scriptwriters, directors, fight coordinators and choreographers to plan out and stage an amateur wrestling match for TV cameras than other sports. The show's creators and crew are working with (usually) two wrestlers and maybe a referee, instead of five basketball players or eleven football players on each team. Finally, the one-to-one nature of wrestling is a natural for good storytelling. Ever notice how team sports football or baseball are promoted as one-to-one battles -- for example, quarterback vs. quarterback, or pitcher vs. pitcher -- as if the contest outcome were based solely on the performance of these two individuals. Wrestling is one school sport where this aspect is true, and not a matter of promotional license. Leaving out the essence of wrestling Most TV programs that incorporate wrestling into their series don't sweat the details when it comes to providing accurate depictions of the sport. They are seeking to entertain an audience, not striving to show a textbook double-leg takedown or good chain wrestling, let alone be 100% accurate in terms of the gear the wrestlers are wearing. More significantly, however, fictionalized depictions of wrestling on TV usually overlook many of the fundamentals that make the sport truly great. Elements such as long hours in the practice room, hard work, sacrifice, and dedication are often hard to portray in any entertainment medium, and, therefore, usually don't make their way to sitcoms or dramas for the small screen.

The brackets have been released for the 2014 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, which take place Friday and Saturday at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Link: NCAA Division III Championships Brackets

Matchups for the 40th annual Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic have been released. The event will be held on Sunday evening, March 16, at the Fitzgerald Field house on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh. At 4 p.m., the undercard dual meet between a team of seniors from Oklahoma and seniors from the WPIAL (Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League). Then, at 6:00 p.m. it will be a match of top seniors from Pennsylvania against those from across the United States. The following are the current lineups for both events, rankings listed are those from InterMat as of Wednesday, March 12. Matches are listed in the order they will be wrestled at the event. Team USA vs. Pennsylvania 126: No. 1 Stevan Micic (Hanover Central, Ind.) vs. No. 3 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic) 152: No. 1 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) vs. No. 3 T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley) 113: No. 10 at 120 Brent Fleetwood (Smryna, Del.) vs. No. 6 at 120 Ethan Lizak (Parkland) 132: No. 3 Josh Alber (Dakota, Ill.) vs. Ian Brown (Hanover) 170: No. 2 Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) vs. No. 12 at 182 Stephan Loiseau (Lancaster Catholic) 220: *Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md./USOTC) vs. No. 5 Michael Boykin (Coatesville) 182: No. 9 Joel Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) vs. No. 3 Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe) 160: No. 1 Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.) vs. No. 3 Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin) 195: No. 4 Chip Ness (Buford, Ga.) vs. No. 20 Tristan Sponseller (Bermudian Springs) 120: No. 2 Nathan Boston (Woodford County, Ky.) vs. No. 6 at 126 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan) 285: No. 1 Nick Nevills (Clovis, Calif.) vs. No. 2 Thomas Haines (Solanco) 138: No. 1 Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, N.J.) vs. No. 3 at 145 Solomon Chishko (Canon-McMillan) 145: No. 6 at 152 Tyler Berger (Crook County, Ore.) vs. No. 2 Jason Nolf (Kittanning) *Snyder did not compete scholastically during 2013-14, so he is not weight class ranked; however, Snyder is the No. 1 overall prospect in the Class of 2014 Oklahoma vs. WPIAL 113: Braden Bennett (Locust Grove) vs. Brendan Price (Canon-McMillan) 120: Jacob Findley (Collinsville) vs. Kevin Kinyua (Mt. Lebanon) 126: No. 20 at 132 Cub Yeager (Locust Grove) vs. No. 11 Dom Forys (North Allegheny) 132: Justin Fletcher (Bixby) vs. No. 6 Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional) 138: Will Steltzen (Collinsville) vs. Tyler Buckiso (Peters Township) 145: Jonce Blaylock (Berryhill) vs. Grant Fetchet (South Fayette) 152: No. 19 Dakota Head (Tuttle) vs. Steven Edwards (Burrell) 160: Jacobe Smith (Muskogee) vs. Jonathan Avon (North Hills) 170: No. 6 Chandler Rogers (Stillwater) vs. Kyle Coniker (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) 182: No. 11 at 220 Lance Dixon (Edmond North) vs. Terrell Fields (Valley) 195: No. 5 Derek White (Edmond North) vs. Cole Macek (Montour) 220: No. 12 at 285 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North) vs. Jake Temple (Avella) 285: Trey Loveall (Locust Grove) vs. Shane Kuhn (Kiski Area)

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Cornell wrestling team continued its unprecedented dominance of the EIWA, crowning four individual champions and running away with the team title, an eighth consecutive. Cornell scored 165.5 points, placed all 10 of its wrestlers and qualified eight of them for the upcoming NCAA championships as the two-day tournament commenced on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra. Cornell won titles at 125 pounds behind Nahshon Garrett, 149 pounds with Chris Villalonga, 184 pounds with Gabe Dean and 197 pounds from Jace Bennett. Additionally, Dylan Palacio dropped his finals match in sudden victory to place second. All five earned spots in the NCAA tourney. Also earning a spot with an automatic qualifier was Mark Grey at 133 after pinning two opponents in the wrestlebacks to finish third, Mike Nevinger at 141 and Brian Realbuto (157). Nevinger lost a tight 3-0 decision to 10th-ranked Luke Vaith of Hofsta in the semifinals, then injury defaulted out of his consolation final against top-seeded Richard Durso of Franklin & Marshall to wind up in the fifth-place match. Needing a win to earn one of the qualifying berths, he pinned Tyson Dippery of Rutgers in just 1:16. Realbuto lost in Saturday's quarterfinals, but won three straight to get back into the third place match against Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers, where he lost a close decision. Junior Jacob Aiken-Phillips placed fifth at 285, just one spot short of the automatic qualifier and will be a candidate for an at-large bid to the championships. Sophomore Duke Pickett finished seventh at 174 pounds and is likely a longshot to make 10 Big Red wrestlers at the NCAAs, something that has never happened in school history. This championship may have been the most impressive of the eight, as it posted the second-largest margin of victory in more than 100 years of meet history. Its 64.5 point adantage over Lehigh was bettered only by the 1997 Penn team that scored an EIWA record 183 points and crowned six champs to take the meet by 79.5 points. Cornell has now posted at least three EIWA champions in each of the last six seasons with its four, raising its all-time total to 142, second all-time to Lehigh. It was the program's 22nd EIWA title in program history. With Villalonga's win at 149 pounds, Cornell has won every weight class at least once int he last five seasons except at heavyweight. While the Big Red won four individual titles, no other school claimed more than one. Garrett added another impressive win on his resume, topping American's David Terao for the third time this season with a 2-1 decision that was as dominant as a one-point, low scoring match could be. Garrett used an escape and ride time to pull out the win against Terao, who tried to slow down the pace against the offensive-minded Garrett. The Big Red sophomore became just the fourth Cornellian to win EIWA titles as a freshman and sophomore, joining Travis Lee '05, Mack Lewnes '11 and Cam Simaz '12. He advanced to the finals without having to wrestle in the morning session, as Bucknell's Paul Petrov was forced to medically forfeit. Dean also had little trouble despite a low-scoring affair against a top 10 opponent, dispatching ninth-ranked Lorenzo Thomas of Penn, 3-1. Dean had another apparent takedown waived off and won despite having to sit through a review that was longer than the seven-minute match on its own. It was his first and only decision of the tournament, winning his other matches with a major, a tech and a semifinal pin of Harvard's Cameron Croy to set him up for his first EIWA title. None of the titles came easy, with Villalonga winning his first championship with a hard-fought 4-2 win over Lehigh's Mitch Minotti in the lone matchup between the top two finishers in the finals. Villalonga had the lone takedown in the match. He earned his spot in the finals with another good, solid postseason-type win, knocking off Ken Theobold of Rutgers 3-1. It was Villalonga's second win of the season against both opponents. The most exciting of the titles came with a last-second reversal by Bennett, who was taken down with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third. The reversal pushed him past Cody Reed of Binghamton by a 5-4 margin. He pinned Princeton's Abe Ayala in the semis in just 2:09 to send him to his first EIWA final. Palacio just missed out on his first EIWA crown after surrendering a takedown to Hofstra's Joe Booth with just nine seconds left in the first tiebreaker. He had decisioned Josh Houldsworth of Columbia earlier in the afternoon by a 5-3 margin. Mark Grey, who lost in the semifinals in sudden victory, bounced back in a big way with consecutive pins in the wrestlebacks to place third. He got Columbia's Angelo Amenta to his back 2:14 into the first round before pinning Vincent Dellefave of Rutgers, avenging one of his losses from earlier this season. Possibly the gutsiest effort was by Mike Nevinger in picking up the final NCAA slot at 141. After being hurt in a semifinal loss to Hofstra's Luke Vaith, he medically forfeited out of the consolation semi against Durso, only to catch Dippery of Rutgers just 1:16 into the fifth-place match. Realbuto earned his NCAA spot after finishing fourth at 157, winning three straight matches in the wrestlebacks before falling on a late four-point move by Perrotti from Rutgers. Realbuto was on the giving end of a tech fall against Princeton's Kevin Moylan before earning an 8-3 decision over Austin Sommer of Drexel. Both Pickett and Aiken-Phillips won their final matches at EIWAs, with Pickett finishing seventh after a win over Brown's Richard McDonald and Aiken-Phillips getting an impressive win over Binghamton's Tyler Deuel for his 23rd victory of the year. PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Cornell wrestling team advanced all 10 wrestlers to day two of the 2014 EIWA championships, taking control of the team race and placing seven in Sunday's semifinals with a dominant Saturday at the Palestra. The Big Red piled up 92 points to easily outdistance their closest competitors, Lehigh (62.5) and Rutgers (62). The Big Red qualified Nahshon Garrett (125), Mark Grey (133), Mike Nevinger (141), Chris Villalonga (149), Dylan Palacio (165), Gabe Dean (184) and Jace Bennett (197) to tomorrow's semifinals and an opportunity to add to the school's long list of EIWA champions. Despite falling into the consolation bracket, the Big Red's three other wrestlers all advanced in the wrestlebacks after falling in the quarterfinals and each are still alive to finish as high as third. Dylan Realbuto (157), Duke Pickett (174) and Jacob Aiken-Phillips (285) will continue their quests to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The Big Red sent all 10 wrestlers through to the quarterfinals with seven winning their way into the semis and the other three winning their consolation bouts to remain in contention for third. Cornell pinned its way through three matches. Garrett dominated both of his matches at 125, earning tech falls at the buzzer against Brown's Vincent Moita and an early second period match-ender against Brendan Campbell of Navy. Grey eased his way through the first two rounds against Ivy opponents, earning an early takedown and three nearfall points against McKendry Bade in his first round major over the hometown Penn Quaker. Nevinger reached the semifinals at 141 with a pair of usually dominant decisions, topping American's Tom Page, 8-4, then dropping Army's Tyler Rauenzahn, 8-1. Villalonga made it 4-for-4 in the semifinals by outscoring his two opponents a combined 17-0 in picking up a pair of major decisions. The first real upset came at 157 pounds after Realbuto's second period fall in the first round of Franklin & Marshall's Andrew Murano. He dropped a 4-3 decision to Columbia's Markus Scheidel after being taken down late, but bounced back strong with a major decision triumph over Penn's Raamiah Bethea, 9-1, in the wrestlebacks. Palacio won a pair of interesting matches, including a quarterfinal victory where the referee twice awarded points to the wrong wrestler and held off a late nearfall attempt by Boston University's Mitchell Wightman to hold on for a 7-6 win. After topping Keithen Cast of American by a 4-1 decision in the first round, Pickett lost to Brian Harvey of Army 3-0 in the quarters. His quest to get back to third place and earn a bid to NCAAs started in the wrestlebacks with a 10-7 win over Bucknell's Robert Schlitt. Dean was his usual dominant self in a pair of bonus wins, earning a major decision over Rutgers' Dan Seidenberg (14-4) before earning a tech fall over Binghamton's Caleb Wallace less than a minute into the second period to cruise into the semifinals. For the second time in less than a month, Bennett pinned Hofstra's Zeal McGrew in the first period and then held off Penn's Frank Mattiace in the quarters, part of a 3-0 day against the host Quakers. Aiken-Phillips also won his opener with a 10-5 triumph over Navy's Colynn Cook before losing his second match, an 8-5 decision to Blake Herrin of American. The junior squeaked out a 4-3 decision over Hofstra's Michael Hughes in the consolation fourth round to stay alive. Cornell will have a chance to clinch its eighth straight EIWA title when it hits the mats tomorrow for the semifinals and the back draw.

MADISON, Wis. -- University of Iowa senior Tony Ramos won the 133-pound Big Ten title during championship round action of the conference tournament Sunday at the Kohl Center. The Hawkeyes finished second in the team standings with 135 points, trailing only Penn State's 140.5 points. Nine Iowa wrestlers finished in the top-five of their respective brackets, the most of any school. All nine placewinners earned an automatic berth to the 2014 NCAA Championships. "I believe that we have a team to win it here and I believe we have a team to win it in a couple of weeks, that's how you go forward," said UI head coach Tom Brands. "That's what our next mission is. We have to get ready for the next tournament. Even if we come out on top (here), there are things to work on and there are things to work on now. It's the same either way. We have to go to work." The top-seeded Ramos earned his first career Big Ten Championship by downing second-seeded Tyler Graff of Wisconsin, 2-1. Ramos, who finished second at the 2012 and 2013 Big Ten Championships, used a second period escape and 1:37 of riding time to defeat Graff. "It didn't go exactly the way I wanted, but I got the win," said Ramos. "I wanted to win this one in regulation and I'm walking out of here with the title. It was a lot of fun and the fans were great. Wisconsin did a great job hosting this tournament." Iowa also recorded four runner-up finishes. Derek St. John (157), Nick Moore (165), Mike Evans (174) and Ethen Lofthouse (184) all placed second at their respective weights. Junior Bobby Telford posted a pair of wins Sunday, wrestling back from a first round defeat to finish third at 285. Telford began his day with a 3-1 victory over Northwestern's Michael McMullan in the consolation semifinal, and downed Mike McClure of Michigan State, 3-2, in the consolation finals. Telford rallied from a two-point deficit to defeat the sixth-seeded McClure, registering two escapes and 1:18 of riding time. Cory Clark dropped a 9-5 decision in the consolation finals to place fourth at 125. Josh Dziewa and Nathan Burak placed fifth at 141 and 197, respectively. Iowa returns to the mat March 20-22 at the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City. The NCAA will announce the tournament field Wednesday, March 12. "We have to be strong and we have to go forward, and we have the team for that," said Brands. "We have the mental makeup for that with this team and the emotional make up. We have a lot of good guys and we need to win more matches." Notes: Attendance was 10,111... Total attendance was 28, 442... Ramos is the 110th Big Ten Champion in school history... Iowa's 110 Big Ten Champions has combined for 191 conference titles... Ramos is the 11th Big Ten Champion under head coach Tom Brands... FINAL TEAM STANDINGS Penn State - 140.5 Iowa - 135 Minnesota - 118.5 Ohio State - 86.5 Nebraska - 79 Illinois - 78.5 Wisconsin - 73 Michigan - 71.5 Northwestern - 58 Indiana - 37 Purdue - 34.5 Michigan State - 21.5

Related: Results KENT, Ohio -- For the third time in as many years, the Tigers are conference champions. Mizzou posted 118.5 team points en route to the 2014 Mid-American Conference title, their second title since joining the MAC as an affiliate member last year. The squad placed all 10 grapplers in the top six, and crowned two individual champions in Drake Houdashelt and J'den Cox. Seven Tigers booked their trips to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City throughout the tournament. "I'm really proud of the way this team kept fighting," said Head Coach Brian Smith following the Championships. "To have five freshman in the lineup and to keep competing at a high level really shows our maturity as a program. I'm shocked, but I shouldn't be. We believe in this team. They showed everyone why today." After a couple of tough losses early in the placement rounds for first, third and fifth, Houdashelt turned the tide with an overtime win against Alex Richardson (ODU) in the championship bout. The victory clinched his third individual title since entering the Tigers starting lineup in 2012. His takedown with 16 seconds left in sudden victory gave the Tigers some life. With Northern Iowa holding a comfortable lead in team points, Mizzou needed a lot of help. They decided to create their own, winning placement matches at 157, 174 and 184 with bonus points, closing the gap on their new MAC-rivals. True freshman Joey Lavallee followed up Houdashelt's title with a pin over Tristan Warner (ODU) at 4:13. Then, after a Zach Toal decision over Shaun'Qae McMurtry (NIU) in a rematch from Saturday, Mikey England pinned two-seed Caleb Marsh from Kent State, a guy he fell to just a couple of weeks ago 2-0. Suddenly, the Tigers were within striking distance. "I honestly thought we were out of the team race after the first few weight classes, said Smith. "We started to focus on getting guys to qualify for NCAAs, and we really thought it was over. But they never stopped battling." Down two team points to UNI, Cody Johnston took the mat against Ryan Garringer of Ohio in the 184-pound fifth place match. On the adjacent mat, UNI had All-American Ryan Loder wrestling in the 184-pound championship. A win by decision and a Loder loss would tie the scores up, however a win in bonus points would make things interesting. Johnston, who was notified Wednesday that he would replace the injured Johnny Eblen, would proceed to tech fall Garringer in 5:21, 18-2. And then, Loder lost to ODU's Jack Dechow in sudden victory. Mizzou had taken a 115.5 - 114.0 lead over UNI, their first lead of the tournament. J'den Cox's major decision in the title match over Phil Wellington (Ohio) closed the door on the rest of the nine-team field. Cox dominated Wellington in a 10-1 bout to avenge his lone MAC loss from back in December. His major gave Mizzou an extra team point to seal it, giving the Tigers their second-consecutive MAC title. Cox went a perfect 3-0 on the weekend winning by a technical fall and two major decisions. The conference named Mizzou's true freshman the tournament's `Most Outstanding Wrestler' following his performance. Junior Devin Mellon would finish second at heavyweight after falling to Ohio's Jeremy Johnson. Johnson ranks No. 11 in the nation at 285 pounds. All 10 Mizzou starters placed in the top-six in their respective brackets. Seven grapplers are headed to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City later this month following their MAC finishes. The other three still have a shot to get a wild card bid, which will be announced later this week by the NCAA. Last year at the Mid-American Conference tournament, the Missouri Wrestling program dominated the eight-team field on their way to being crowned MAC Champions in their first year as an affiliate member of the conference. The Tigers dethroned Central Michigan, who had been MAC Champions for 11-straight seasons. Mizzou shattered the previously held team score high at the Championships, posting 136.0 points while crowning four individual champions. Team Standings: 1. Missouri 118.5 2. Northern Iowa 116 3. Old Dominion 97? 4. Ohio 94.5 5. Central Michigan 85.5 6. Kent State 67 7. Eastern Michigan 57.5 8. Northern Illinois 50 9. Buffalo 12.5

Related: Results The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team rode a strong and balanced performance to its fourth straight Big Ten championship this weekend, sparked by two historic individual champions. Penn State out-distanced second place Iowa by 5.5 points. Head Coach Cael Sanderson's squad took the title with 140.5 points while the Hawkeyes were close behind at 135.0. In addition to its fourth straight team trophy, Penn State will return home with its first ever four-time individual champions as seniors David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) made school and conference history with final, historic, title runs. All 10 Nittany Lion wrestlers are headed to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City as Penn State now sets its sights on a fourth straight NCAA crown. Taylor was named the 2014 Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, the third time he has won the honor. The Lion senior also pulled in his first Big Ten Championship Outstanding Wrestler honor as well. Sanderson won his fourth-straight Big Ten Coach of the Year award. An epically tight team race heading into the Big Ten finals, Penn State led Iowa by just one half point (128.5 to 128.0) and each team had five finalists. While both squads picked up key points in the placing bouts, Penn State would use those consolation points and the title turns by Taylor and Ruth to roll to victory. Taylor, the No. 1 seed at 165, took on second-seed Nick Moore of Iowa in the finals. With Penn State trailing Iowa at the time of the bout by 3.5 points, Taylor went to work. The duo traded early shots with Taylor breaking through at the 1:45 mark for an early 2-0 lead. The Lion senior then turned Moore for three back points to open up a 5-0 lead with :45 left on the clock. Taylor then rode Moore out to lead 5-0 with 1:44 in riding time after one period. Taylor took down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 6-0 lead. He added another quick takedown, cut Moore loose and then countered a Moore shot to notch a takedown of his own for a 10-1 lead. The Iowa bench challenged the call, contending that Moore and a takedown earlier in the scramble, but the Taylor points stood. Taylor then cut Moore loose and picked up another takedown. Moore countered for his own score but Taylor carried a hefty 13-5 lead with nearly 2:00 in riding time into the third period. The third stanza was all Taylor on top, clinching the riding time point and riding Moore out. The 14-5 major decision, with 3:29 in riding time, made Taylor the 12th four-time Big Ten Champion in conference history (and Penn State's first-ever). Taylor will head to the NCAA Championship with a 29-0 record on the year after his 3-0 Big Ten title run that included a pin, a tech fall and a major. Ruth, the No. 1 seed at 184, took on Iowa's Ethan Lofthouse, the No. 2 seed, in the finals at 184. With a chance to clinch Penn State's fourth-straight team 10-2 title and become the school's second four-time Big Ten champ, the Lion senior was unstoppable. Ruth notched two first period takedowns to open up an early 4-1 lead. Taking down to start the second, Ruth quickly escaped and then turned in to the Hawkeye quickly, taking Lofthouse down again to open up a 7-1 lead. He cut Lofthouse loose and quickly took him down again to lead 9-2 with well over 1:00 in riding time after two. Lofthouse took down to start the third period but Ruth would not relent. The Lion senior simply rode the Hawkeye out for the full period and, with 3:35 in riding time, rolled to the 10-2 major. The win made Ruth the 13th four-time Big Ten Champion in conference history and, following teammate David Taylor by mere minutes, the second in Penn State history. Ruth will head to the NCAA Championship with 29-1 record thanks to his 4-0 conference title run (which included three majors). Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), the No. 1 at 125, took on Illinois' Jesse Delgado in the title bout at 125, a rematch of last year's NCAA Championship match. Neither man could break through for any takedowns during regulation, trading escapes (Megaludis in the second and Delgado in the third). The duo then wrestled evenly for a first sudden victory period, a first tie breaker and a second sudden victory period with neither wrestler escaping. In the second tie breaker, Delgado was down first and escaped in ten seconds. Megaludis escaped but :25 seconds into his second tie breaker period, giving Delgado a 3-2 (TB2) decision on a :15 riding time edge. Megaludis posted a 3-1 record to finish as Big Ten runner-up, including a first round pin. Megaludis heads to Oklahoma City with a 26-3 record. True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 141, met second seed Logan Stieber of Ohio State in a rematch of classic in Rec Hall from earlier this year. Stieber scored early, taking Retherford down at the 2:26 mark to open up a 2-0 lead early on. Retherford escaped to a 2-1 score but Stieber had a 1:07 riding time edge. Leading by one after one, Stieber chose neutral to start the second period. Stieber connected on a low single at the :45 mark and turned it into a takedown and a 4-1 lead. The Buckeye then rode Retherford out to carry that lead into the third. Retherford chose down to start the third and was turned for two near fall points. He managed a reversal to cut the lead to 6-3 but it was not enough as Stieber, with 1:41 in riding time, posted the 7-3 win. The loss was the first for Retherford, who heads to the NCAA Championships as the Big Ten Runner-Up with a 29-1 record. Retherford went 3-1 with a major in his first Big Ten Championship run. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 1 seed at 197, took on second-seeded Nick Heflin of Ohio State in the finals. After a scoreless first period, McIntosh chose down to start the second stanza and worked his way to a reversal and a 2-0 lead. The Lion was able to control Heflin for a bit, but the Buckeye escaped before the period ended and McIntosh led 2-1 after two periods. Heflin chose down to start the third period and worked his way to a reversal and a 2-2 tie. The remainder of the final stanza had McIntosh pressuring Heflin and the Buckeye playing defense, stepping back and working the clock down to zeroes. The duo worked through a scoreless first sudden victory period and then each wrestler escaped in their firs tie breaker, sending the bout to a second sudden victory tied 3-3. In the second sudden victory period, Heflin countered a McIntosh shot with just :01 on the clock for the winning takedown, posting the thrilling 5-3 (sv2) win. McIntosh ended the tournament as the Big Ten runner-up with a 2-1 mark. He heads to Oklahoma City with a 27-3 record. Junior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), the No. 2 seed at 174, dominated Illinois' Tony Dallago in his consolation semifinal bout, putting on a takedown clinic on his way to a 16-5 major decision (with 3:05 in riding time). Brown then took on No. 4 Logan Storley of Minnesota in the third place match. The bout was a tight one but Brown used a strong second period ride to build up 1:11 in riding time, which would be the difference in a 2-1 victory. Brown's third place run came off a 4-1 mark with two majors and an injury default. He heads to NCAAs with a 28-4 record. Senior James English (York, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 149, took on Michigan's Eric Grajales in the consolation semifinals and dropped a tough 12-2 bout. The loss sent the Lion senior to the fifth place bout where he used a second period reversal and a riding time point to down Wisconsin's Ryan Lubeck, 3-2. English finished fifth in his first Big Ten tournament as the seventh-seed, posting a 3-2 record. English will roll on to his first NCAA Championships with an 11-5 record. Junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 285, was pinned by sixth-seed Mike McClure of Michigan State in his consolation semifinal match. The eighth-seeded Lion then took on Northwestern's Mike McMullan in the fifth place bout and dropped a tough 8-2 decision. Gingrich placed sixth at his first Big Ten Championship as the eighth-seed, going 2-3 with a win over the top-seed. He will head to Oklahoma City with a 22-8 record. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 133, picked up critical bonus points in his seventh-place bout against Northwestern's Dominick Malone. Gulibon used a last second takedown and ride out to post a 9-1 major and placed seventh in his first Big Ten Championship. Gulibon went 3-2 with a tech fall and a major and heads to his first NCAA Championship with a 17-13 record. Junior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), the No. 5 seed at 157, suffered a tough 13-4 loss to Illinois' Zac Brunson in the seventh place bout and took eighth. Alton went 2-3 at the tournament with a major and heads to Oklahoma City with an 18-5 mark. Penn State went 29-14 overall, collecting two pins, two tech falls, ten majors and an injury default for 21 bonus points. Penn State becomes the fifth team in conference history to win four straight team titles, the first since Iowa from 1995-1998. Sanderson's squad will send 10 automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships two weeks from now in Oklahoma City. This marks the second straight year that Penn State has sent its full line-up to nationals. It is also the fifth time that Sanderson has qualified all 10 of his wrestlers as a head coach. The NCAA announces the full and final NCAA brackets and seeds on Wednesday night. Taylor and Ruth became Penn State's first four-time Big Ten Champions are 12th and 13th four-time champions in Big Ten history. The senior tandem is now owners of eight individual and four Big Ten team titles. They head to Oklahoma City still unbeaten against any Big Ten opponent during their careers. They are a combined 112-0 against conference foes (56-0 each). Taylor is now 29-0 on the year with 13 pins, eight tech falls and seven majors. He is 129-3 all-time with 50 pins, 42 techs and 29 majors and is 56-0 all-time against Big Ten competition. His 50 pins is three shy of Penn State's all-time record of 53. Ruth is now 29-1 on the year with ten pins, eight tech falls and nine majors. He will head to Oklahoma City with a 131-3 record, including 45 pins, 24 techs and 32 majors. He is 56-0 all-time against Big Ten competition as well. With Taylor's honors and Sanderson award, Penn State has collected quite a bit of conference hardware during its current run. The Lions have had the last four Big Ten Wrestlers of the Year (Taylor three times, Ruth once), Sanderson has won four straight Coach of the Year honors, Penn State has claimed four tournament OWs as well (Taylor, Ruth, Quentin Wright and Frank Molinaro) and one Freshman of the Year (Taylor). The Nittany Lions now head to Oklahoma City for the 2014 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Penn State will be seeking its fourth-straight National Championship during the three-day event, which runs March 20-22, in Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena. The tournament begins on Thursday morning at 12 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Central). All six sessions will air live on ESPNU and/or ESPN, with ESPN3 offering full tournament multi-mat coverage online. 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 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Team Standings: 1: PENN STATE, 140.5 2: Iowa, 135.0 3: Minnesota, 118.5 4: Ohio State, 86.5 5: Nebraska, 79.0 6: Illinois, 78.5 7: Wisconsin, 73.0 8: Michigan, 71.5 9: Northwestern, 58.0 10: Indiana, 37.0 11: Purdue, 34.5 12: Michigan State, 21.5 Finals Results: 125: Jesse Delgado ILL dec. Nico Megaludis PSU, 3-2 (TB2; 0:15 RT) 133: Tony Ramos IOWA dec. Tyler Graff WIS, 2-1 141: Logan Stieber OSU dec. Zain Retherford PSU, 7-3 149: Jason Tsirtsis NU dec. Jake Sueflohn NEB, 6-2 157: James Green NEB dec. Derek St. John IOWA, 7-4 165: David Taylor PSU maj. dec. Nick Moore IOWA, 14-5 174: Robert Kokesh NEB dec. Mike Evans IOWA, 6-4 184: Ed Ruth PSU maj. dec. Ethan Lofthouse IOWA, 10-2 197: Nick Heflin OSU dec. Morgan McIntosh PSU, 5-3 (SV2) 285: Tony Nelson MINN dec. Adam Chalfant IND, 2-1 (TB)

Related: Results NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team won its 12th Big 12 team championship and 48th conference title on Saturday at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla. The day was highlighted by Chris Perry's 3-2 upset over top-ranked Andrew Howe of Oklahoma in the 174-pound finals. Six Cowboys took home individual titles, while three produced runner-up finishes and Blake Rosholt took home a third-place medal at 197 pounds. Perry was also named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. "Today was good from a standpoint of that first round kind of set the pace for us," Coach John Smith said. "Pushing nine of the 10 into the finals is always a good thing when you're in the Big 12 because you really position your team to win. The final round I thought was pretty good. I'm not mad, but there were a couple of things I would have liked to see differently, but overall it takes a team effort, and this team today definitely gave the effort." Eddie Klimara took to the mat for the Cowboys in the first championship bout of the night, facing All-American Jarrod Patterson of OU at 125 pounds. Klimara kept it a tight match but Patterson's 1:02 riding time advantage gave him the 4-3 victory over Klimara. Senior Jon Morrison finished his final conference tournament with his second-consecutive Big 12 crown. Morrison earned his sixth career win over OU's Cody Brewer with an 8-1 decision. Collica became the 19th freshman in school history to win a conference title. He defeated Iowa State's Gabe Moreno, 4-2, to earn his first Big 12 title at 141 pounds. "It was real cool winning my first Big 12 title," Collica said. "The matches today--I had some tough ones. I had to toughen up, rode hard in the third to win both, and just had to out-tough the other guy. That's what it's about." At 149 pounds, Josh Kindig, the No. 2 seed, took on top-seeded Kendric Maple from OU. The last time the two met in Norman, Kindig upset the 2013 national champion, 4-3; however, this time Kindig could not pull off another upset and dropped the match, 6-3. Sophomore Alex Dieringer took home his second conference title in just as many attempts at 157 pounds. Dieringer faced OU's Justin DeAngelis, whom he defeated with ease, 8-3. Senior and former Sooner Tyler Caldwell earned his second Big 12 title of his career--both during his time as a Cowboy--defeating ISU's Michael Moreno with a 12-1 major decision. The championship round skipped ahead to the 184-pound bout as the 174-pound championship was scheduled to be the night's finale. Redshirt freshman Nolan Boyd faced Lelund Weatherspoon of ISU. Boyd led the whole match, but a takedown by Weatherspoon with just seconds left in the match gave him the advantage and the 4-3 win over Boyd. Austin Marsden was the next finalist for the Pokes at heavyweight. The Crystal Lake, Ill., native took on WVU's A.J. Vizcarrondo, the tournament's No. 2 seed. Marsden won his first conference title with a 5-2 decision. The day's most awaited match was saved for last as Perry and Howe went head-to-head in the final bout of the night. Several controversial and reviewed calls created an intense atmosphere as the two battled it out to be the Big 12's best. Perry snagged two escapes, while Howe picked up the bout's only takedown, but it was Perry's riding time advantage that secured the Cowboy's fourth Big 12 title. "It's nice to win four. I really didn't pay much attention to it coming in," Perry said. "As a whole, I just felt relaxed. I just felt good all week, so to come in here and beat him was big for me. If I can beat him here, I know I can beat him anywhere. He'll be ready in Oklahoma City, and I'm not even thinking forward to if I wrestle him, unless it happens. I've been in tight matches with a lot of guys this year, and I've just got to focus and worry about myself and not worry about the other competitors. I've just got to come out and execute. I believe in myself. I love winning, and I believe March is my time every year." The Cowboys will be back in action in Oklahoma City on March 20-22 to compete in the NCAA wrestling championships. "We're behind from a standpoint of the top teams. We're going to have to close the gap," Smith said. "You've got several guys that have low rankings, and that doesn't put you in a very good position. But we closed the gap last year, and that's something we're going to have to do. We're going to have to wrestle above our seeds if we're going to do well." Team Standings: 1. Oklahoma State 98.5 points 2. Oklahoma 63.5 points 3. Iowa State 45.5 points 4. West Virginia 26 points Final Results: 125: No. 1 Jarrod Patterson (OU) dec. No. 2 Eddie Klimara (OSU), 4-3 133: No. 1 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 2 Cody Brewer (OU), 8-1 141: No. 2 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. No. 4 Gabe Moreno (ISU), 4-2 149: No. 1 Kendric Maple (OU) dec. No. 2 Josh Kindig (OSU), 6-3 157: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. No. 2 Justin DeAngelis (OU), 8-3 165: No. 1 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) MD No. 2 Michael Moreno (ISU), 12-1 174: No. 2 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 1 Andrew Howe (OU), 3-2 184: No. 3 Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) dec. No. 1 Nolan Boyd (OSU), 4-3 197: No. 1 Kyven Gadson (ISU) dec. No. 2 Travis Rutt (OU), 3-3 TB2 (on criteria) 285: No. 1 Austin Marsden (OSU) dec. No. 2 A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU), 5-2

Related: Results The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team won its 28th Southern Conference Tournament in Buies Creek, N.C., tonight. The Mocs had three individual champions led by junior Corey Mock’s victory at 165 pounds. Mock not only grabbed an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, but he also took home the award for Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Chattanooga tallied 88.0 points on the day, the fewest for a championship team since UNCG won with 81.5 points in 2010. It was the Mocs fourth straight tournament title and eighth in the last nine years. The Citadel took the runner-up spot with 78.5 points. Campbell, which hosted the tournament, placed third with 54.0 points. Appalachian State finished fourth with 36.0 points, in front of Gardner-Webb (32.5), SIUE (30.5), Davidson (29.0) and VMI (13.5). Junior Nick Soto took home his third-straight conference championship and will make his third appearance at the NCAAs. The No. 1 seed at 133 pinned VMI’s Michael Flora in 2:54 to advance to the semifinals, where Davidson’s Anthony Elias medically forfeited. In the final, Soto handily defeated Campbell’s Drew Walker, 12-2, to up his overall record to 33-9. The match of the night came at 165 between Mock and The Citadel’s Turtogtokh Luvsandorj. Luvsandorj carried a No. 7 Coaches Panel ranking into the match, while Mock was right behind him at No. 8. Luvsandorj took the regular season meeting 4-3, but Mock dominated tonight’s rematch. He won the title bout 7-1 and did not give up a takedown in the tournament, improving to 30-3 overall. Junior Levi Clemons followed that with a win of his own at 174, registering two major decisions along the way. He took down VMI’s Derek Thurman, 13-5, before defeating Campbell’s Cody Ryba, 11-2 in the semifinals. Clemons met the second seed, Jake Residori from SIUE, in the championship bout, but Residori had to medically forfeit with Clemons up 2-0 in the first period. Clemons improves to 26-13 overall and earns his second trip to the NCAA Championships. He also was an at-large participant as a sophomore in 2012. Senior Alex Hudson also grabbed an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, despite falling in the finals to The Citadel’s Aaron Walker. The Southern Conference was allocated 16 spots for the NCAA Championships, with three each at 149 pounds and 165 pounds, two each at 157 pounds and heavyweight and one each at the six other weights. UTC had a pair of true freshman finish second in their brackets. Michael Pongracz was runner-up at 141 while top-seeded Scottie Boykin lost in the finals at 197. Fellow freshman Dawson Peck placed fourth at heavyweight, along with sophomores John Lampe at 184 and Austin Sams at 149. UTC now turns its attention to the NCAA Championships on March 20-22. The Mocs could grab an at large bid at one or two more weights before competition begins in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Brackets | Team Scores TOPEKA, Kan. -- Grand View (Iowa) cruised to its third straight team championship after tying an NAIA record with 193 total team points -- an NAIA record 108.5 points more than the next team -- in the 2014 NAIA Wrestling National Champions at the Kansas Expocentre. Great Falls (Mont.) finished in second place with 84.5 points, edging third-place Montana State-Northern by one point. Grand View, which is the eight team in NAIA history to win at least three national titles, is the fourth program to win three-straight since Lindenwood (Mo.) claimed three-consecutive banners in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Additionally, the Vikings team total tied former member Dana’s (Neb.) 2006 point total, which previously stood as the national record. Grand View ended the event with four individual national champions, highlighted by three-time All-American Eric Thompson. The senior 285 pounder controlled the entire match against first-time All-American Courtney Freeman of Cumberlands (Ky.), eventually grinding out a 17-2 technical fall win. With the victory, Thompson becomes the first three-time national champion at the heavyweight division since Jeff Thue of Simon Fraser (B.C.) accomplished the feat in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Thompson ends his career with a 14-0 all-time record at the national championships. In addition to Thompson, Ryak Finch (125), Brandon Wright (141) and Chad Lowman (165) claimed national crowns, while Gustavo Martinez (141) and Dallas Houchins (157) finished runner-up after dropping a 2-1 and 5-3 decisions. Overall, Grand View had 11 of its 12 qualifiers earn All-America honors. Lowman, who was the fifth Viking to take the mat, won his second-straight national champion with a 7-5 victory over three-time All-American Ethan Hinebauch of Montana State-Northern. The 165-pound senior won his first national title last season at 157 pounds. Southern Oregon’s Brock Gutches, who won his third-straight title at 174 pounds with a 3-2 win over Jared Miller of Montana-State Northern, was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for the 57th annual event. Similarly to Thompson, Gutches has never lost in three appearances at the national championships en route to becoming the first three-time national champion in NAIA history at 174 pounds. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) was the only other program with multiple national champions, including Jameel Bryant at 184 pounds. Bryant, who is the fourth national champion in team history, won his second-straight banner with a 6-5 win over Cody Linton of Cumberland (Tenn.), while teammate Joe Cozart avenged his championship final loss last season with a 5-3 win against Dallas Houchins of Grand View. Bryant is the first 184 pounder to win two-straight national championships since Jeremy Engelhardt of Mary (N.D.) in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Six individuals earned their first national title – Finch, Bryce Shoemaker (133) of Baker (Kan.), Wright, Jake Williams (149) of Cumberland (Tenn.), Cozart and Jesse Hellinger of Dickinson State (N.D.). Shoemaker is the first-ever national champion for Baker. The freshman grappler won a 3-0 decision against Justin Brooks of Indiana Tech, who was also wrestling in his first title match.

Related: Results Regional team championship in school history on Saturday, March 8, inside the UCCU Center at Utah Valley University. The Bison claimed three individual titles on the way to the team title, defeating defending champion Wyoming by a score of 74-66. Wyoming had won the last four NCAA West Regional/Western Wrestling Conference Tournament team titles, including a close three-point margin over the Bison last season. Senior Steven Monk (165 pounds), sophomore Hayden Zillmer (174) and junior Evan Knutson (285) each won their respective weight classes to clinch spots in the NCAA Championships to be held March 20-22 in Oklahoma City, Okla. Monk won both of his matches by fall on Saturday, pinning Jesse Stafford of Air Force in the first period of the semifinal and pinning Wyoming’s Dakota Friesth at the 4:28 mark of the championship match. The West Regional title is the third of Monk’s career. Zillmer will make his first appearance at the NCAA Championships after registering a pair of decisions to take first on Saturday. The sophomore from Crosby, Minn., won 5-1 over Monte Schmalhaus of Utah Valley in the semifinals and 8-3 over John Nething II of South Dakota State in the finals. Knutson returns to the NCAA Championships for the second time after a 2-0 day at the West Regional. He pinned SDSU’s J.J. Everard in 2:20 in the semifinals and won by a 4-1 decision over Utah Valley’s Adam Fager in the finals. Monk was named the West Regional’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, and NDSU head coach Roger Kish earned the Coach of the Year award for the second straight season. Senior Justin LaValle (133), junior Kurtis Julson (184) and redshirt freshman Tyler Lehmann (197) all dropped decisions in the finals to finish with runner-up honors. Julson later wrestled a true second place match for a spot in the NCAA Championships and lost a 3-1 decision to Devin Hightower of Air Force. Redshirt freshman Clay Cathey and senior Tyler Diamond placed third at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. After all the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA DI Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 12. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers. Last year the WWC had three of its wrestlers receive at-large selections. Team Standings: 1. North Dakota State 74.0 2. Wyoming 66.0 3. Air Force 50.0 4. Utah Valley 49.5 5. South Dakota State 34.5 6. Northern Colorado 12.5 West Regional/WWC Automatic Qualifiers for the 2014 NCAA Championships (champions listed first) 125: Tyler Cox (Wyoming) 125: Jade Rauser (Utah Valley) 133: Greg Rinker (Air Force) 141: Avery Garner (Utah Valley) 149: Alex Kocer (South Dakota State) 157: Cody Pack (South Dakota State) 157: Josh Kreimier (Air Force) 165: Steven Monk (North Dakota State) 165: Dakota Friesth (Wyoming) 165: Curtis Abner Cook (Utah Valley) 174: Hayden Zillmer (North Dakota State) 184: Benjamin Stroh (Wyoming) 184: Devin Hightower (Air Force) 197: Shane Woods (Wyoming) 285: Evan Knutson (North Dakota State)

Head coach Cael Sanderson's Penn State wrestling squad finds itself in first place at the conclusion of day one at the 2014 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The Nittany Lions, working for their fourth straight Big Ten crown, will have five wrestlers in the Championship Finals tomorrow afternoon. Penn State leads rival Iowa by a slim one point margin, 122.0 to 121.0, in the team race. Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), the No. 1 at 125, withstood a strong effort from fourth-seeded Ryan Taylor of Wisconsin. Megaludis battled his way to a 4-3 win on 1:45 in riding time to advance to tomorrow's Big Ten title bout against Illinois' Jesse Delgado. True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 141, dominated Michigan's Stephen Dutton in his semifinal bout, rolling to a 4-0 win with 1:15 riding time to advance to the finals tomorrow against Ohio State's Logan Stieber. Senior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), the No. 1 seed at 165, made short work of fifth-seed Jackson Morse of Illinois in the semifinals, gaining control of the Illini's shoulders, stepping over his chest and turning his shoulders flat to the mat for a pin in just 0:40. The pin was Taylor's 13th of the year and the 50th of his career, leaving him three shy of the Penn State record of 53. Taylor will take on Iowa's Nick Moore in the finals tomorrow. Senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), the No. 1 seed at 184, took care of Michigan's Dom Abounader in the semifinals, rolling to a 9-1 major decision with over 3:00 in riding time (3:05). Ruth's impressive victory moves him into tomorrow's finals where he will face third-seed Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), the No. 1 seed at 197, used a late reversal in the tie breaker period to grab a 3-2 (tb) win over Iowa's Nathan Burak, the fifth-seed. Each wrestler had an escape in regulation and wrestled a minute of scoreless action in the sudden victory period. McIntosh rode Burak for all but a second of the opening tie-breaker stanza but the Hawkeye's late escape gave him a 2-1 lead. McIntosh was steady on bottom, however, deftly working his way into control of Burak with :07 left for a reversal. A short ride out gave the Lion sophomore the 3-2 (tb) win and moved him into the finals tomorrow where he will take on Nick Heflin of Ohio State. Junior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), the No. 2 seed at 174, suffered a 3-2 upset at the hands of Iowa's Mike Evans, giving up a first period takedown that would prove to be the difference. Brown shifts down to the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning. Junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), the No. 8 seed at 285, could not follow up his upset of the tournament's top seed by defeating the defending NCAA Champion. Tony Nelson of Minnesota was able to pin Gingrich at the 1:58 mark and send the Lion junior into the consolation semifinals tomorrow morning. Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 133, punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a solid 9-4 win over Nebraska's Shawn Nagel in his first consolation bout. He then dropped a tough 6-1 decision to Ohio State's Johnni DiJulius in the conso quarters and will wrestle for seventh place tomorrow morning Senior James English (York, Pa.), the No. 7 seed at 149, picked up his first career win at the Big Ten Championships in the first round of consolation action, riding Purdue's Brandon Nelsen for the entire third period to post a 3-2 decision thanks to 1:23 in riding time. Needing one more win to move on to NCAAs, used a second period near fall and ride-out to post a 5-2 win over sixth-seed Ian Paddock of Ohio State, earning his first trip to the NCAA Championships, Penn State's 10th qualifier. Junior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), the No. 5 seed at 157, posted a hard-fought 2-1 win over Ohio State's Randy Languis in his first consolation bout, using a quick third period escape to secure 1:00 in riding time to post the critical point. The win moves Alton on to the NCAA Championships as well. In the consolation quarters, Michigan's Brian Murphy notched a late takedown to post a 3-1 win over Alton, sending Alton to the seventh place bout. The Nittany Lions went 9-3 in the second session, including a 5-2 mark in the semifinals and are now 23-7 overall. Penn State's bonus point tally stands at 15 off two pins, one default win, two techs and six majors. The event continues on Sunday with consolation and seventh place bouts at 12 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Central). The Championship Finals begin at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central) and air live on the Big Ten Network. 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 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. 2014 Big Ten Wrestling Championships - Team Standings After Session 2 Saturday, March 8, 2014 - Kohl Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Wis. 1: PENN STATE, 122.0 2: Iowa, 121.0 3: Minnesota, 86.0 4: Ohio State,73.5 5: Illinois, 69.5 6: Nebraska, 68.0 7: Wisconsin, 58.0 8: Michigan, 49.5 9: Northwestern, 44.0 10: Indiana, 34.0 11: Purdue, 30.0 12: Michigan State, 15.0

KENT, Ohio -- Five UNI wrestlers have punched their tickets to the NCAA Division I national tournament, and more will have the chance to secure a spot tomorrow at the Mid-American Conference Championships. Dylan Peters, Joe Colon, Joey Lazor, Cooper Moore and Ryan Loder are guaranteed spots at nationals and are vying for a championship spot at the Mid-American Conference Championships. UNI wrestling coach Doug Schwab preaches the importance of bonus points, and his team responded by earning them in nine matches to keep UNI in the lead for the team title at the MAC Championships. Five Panthers are in the hunt for a championship, which will be settled tomorrow. 125 – Peters will face Jared Germaine of Eastern Michigan for the title. 133 – Joe Colon is matched up with Joe Roth of Central Michigan. Colon beat Roth 7-2 earlier this season. 141 – Joey Lazor will get a rematch with Chris Mecate of ODU. Mecate is the only MAC dual opponent to beat Lazor. Mecate won 10-8 at the Panthers’ last dual. 165 – Cooper Moore and Harrison Hightower will meet. Moore pinned Hightower in 3 minutes, 39 seconds at their last dual meeting. 184 – Ryan Loder will get a shot to avenge a loss against the wrestler who tainted his perfect record. Loder hadn’t lost a dual since the 2011-12 season until Jack DeChow edged him out 5-4 in a dual. Three Panthers still have a shot at third. 174 – Cody Caldwell will face Mikey England of Missouri. Caldwell beat him 10-7 at home earlier in the season. 197 – Jared Bartel will face Shawn Scott of Northern Illinois. 285 – Blaize Cabell is matched up against Jared Torrence of Northern Illinois. QUALIFYING FOR THE NCAA TOURNEY The conference championships determine how many UNI wrestlers will compete at the NCAA national tournament. The MAC originally was allocated 41 spots that automatically qualify for nationals. However, a change at 184 pounds changed the seedings and removed two automatic bids for that weight class. The new seedings and number of wrestlers who automatically qualify by weight class: 125 – No. 1 Dylan Peters (4) 133 – No. 1 Joe Colon (5) 141 – No. 3 Joey Lazor (5) 149 – No. 6 Tyler Patten (4) 157 – No. 7 Jarrett Jensen (5) 165 – No. 1 Cooper Moore (3) 174 – No. 4 Cody Caldwell (5) 184 – No. 3 Ryan Loder (3) 197 – Jared Bartel (2) 285 – No. 4 Blaize Cabell (3) SUNDAY'S SCHEDULE 11 a.m. – Consolation semifinals (three mats) 12:20 p.m. – Championship, finals, third-place matches and fifth-place matches (three mats) NCAA qualifying spot matches to follow if necessary. UP NEXT The NCAA releases the remaining at-large selections March 12, which will set the final field for the NCAA Division I National Tournament set for March 20-22 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Related: Results BLACKSBURG, VA. -- Host Virginia Tech, led by junior Devin Carter who was named the ACC's Most Valuable Wrestler, won three of the first four championship bouts and went on to claim its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestling Championship Saturday night at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va. The Tournament was the 60th Annual Wrestling Championship held by the ACC. Before a crowd of over 2,344 fans at Tech's Cassell Coliseum, Virginia Tech scored 87 points to outdistance Pitt (67), Virginia (61.5), North Carolina (38.0), Maryland (37.5), NC State (33.5), and Duke (18). Tech, ranked 16th nationally, and coached by Kevin Dresser, received a boost in their lineup just before the Tournament as Carter, who is 14-0 on the year, was given medical clearance to wrestle after missing more than two months due to the hamstring injury. The Hokies used strong efforts in the consolation rounds to claim a 10-point lead In the Tournament heading into the championship round as Chris Moon (165), Nick Vetterlein (184) and Ty Walz (Hwt.) all earned third-place finishes. "Today, 10 guys came together and had an awesome day,” said Dresser . "It is all about how you finish in this sport and we finished the ACC season with an almost-perfect day. We're going to enjoy this one for a while and then head off to Oklahoma City. "But the future around here is extremely bright for Virginia Tech wrestling. This crowd today was awesome. They got into it and got loud. I told my guys for the last two weeks that they needed to show some emotion after matches. I needed to see some fist pumps and some flexing and some celebrating because wrestling is a long season and that's what the end of the season is all about. I knew having it in Cassell Coliseum that it would be extremely loud all day and the fans didn't disappoint.” Pitt, ranked 10th nationally in their first season under coach Jason Peters, placed five wrestlers in to the championship finals but failed to capitalize on that advantage as Carter and Zach Neibert at 149 claimed wins over Pitts Edgar Bright and Mikey Racciato, respectively. The Panthers, who were undefeated in six ACC dual meets to take the ACC regular season title, received only a win from Tyler Wilps (Oakdale, Pa.) at 174 pounds. North Carolina's Nathan Kraisser (Ellicott City, Md.) got Pitt off to a rough start by defeating Pitt's Anthony Zanetta with a 5-3 sudden win in overtime if the 125-pound championship match. Virginia Tech freshman Dennis Gustafson (Woodbridge, Va.) then set the tone for the Hokies with a dominating 11-0 major decision at 133 over Maryland's Tyler Goodwin. The Hokies' Carter (Christiansburg, Va.), in only his second match since suffering a major hamstring injury which required surgery, captured a hard-fought 6-1 win over Pitt's Edgar Bright. It was the third ACC title for Carter, a junior, who previously had won league crowns in 2011 and 2012 at 133 pounds. He becomes the 41st wrestler in league history to win three individual titles, the 21st to do so in more than one weight class. He was named the Tournament MVP in voting by the ACC head coaches. "It's a nice, sentimental award, but Dennis Gustafson deserves this as much as I do,” Carter said. "He's a true freshman who put up bonus points in all three matches and won 11-0 in the finals. Three weeks ago, I thought I'd be a spectactor along with everyone else at this event and to do all this, capped by the Outstanding Wrestler award, is just amazing.” He becomes the fifth Virginia Tech wrestler and third straight to be named the ACC's Wrestling Tournament MVP joining Jon Bonilla-Bowman (2007), Matt Epperly (2008), Pete Yates (2012) and Jarrod Garnett (2013). Virginia Tech's 149-pound senior Zach Neibert (Dayton, Ohio) kept the momentum going for the Hokies with a dramatic 3-1 sudden victory in overtime against Pitt's Mikey Racciato to put a strong hold on the championship. In all, Tech had four individual champions as senior Chris Penny (Virginia Beach, Va.) downed Virginia's Zach Nye, 10-6, at 197 pounds to join Gustafson, Carter and Neibert in the winners Virginia's Nick Sulzer (Cleveland, Ohio), the nation's No. 2-ranked wrestler at 165 pounds was one of two Cavaliers to claim titles. Sulzer improved to 32-1 on the year with a 7-1 decision over North Carolina sophomore John Michael Staudenmayer. Blaise Butler (Belvidere, Ill.) also captured the title at 157 by downing NC State's Thomas Gantt, 3-2. Maryland Jimmy Sheptock (Northhampton, Pa.), the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds joined Carter in winning his third ACC wrestling title, when he took a 3-1 decision of Pitt's Max Thomusseit. Thomusseit entered the Tournament ranked fifth nationally. Sheptock captured the 174-pound conference title in 2012, then won in 2013 at 184. Sheptock improved to 27-0 on the year with the win, his second of the year against Thomusseit. He is the 42nd ACC wrestler to win three individual titles and the 22nd to do it in more than one weight class. NC State's Nick Gwiazdowski (Delanson, N.Y.), the nation's third-ranked heavyweight, continued his winning ways, downing two-time ACC champion Spencer Myers, 10-4, in the final match of the night. Gwiazdowksi is now 37-2 on the year. Both the ACC individual champions and runners-up were also named to the All-ACC wrestling team and a total of 34 ACC wrestlers earned automatic bids to this year's NCAA Championship, which will be held March 20-22 in Oklahoma City, Ok. Team Standings: 1. Virginia Tech 87 2. Pitt 67 3. Virginia 61.5 4. North Carolina 38 5. Maryland 37.5 6. NC State 33.5 7. Duke 18 Finals Results: 125: Nathan Kraisser (UNC) dec. Anthony Zanetta (Pitt), 5-3 SV 133: Dennis Gustafson (VT) maj. dec. over Tyler Goodwin (Md.), 11-0 141: Devin Carter (VT) dec. Edgar Bright (Pitt), 6-1 149: Zach Neibert (VT) dec. Mikey Racciato (Pitt), 3-1 SV 157: Blaise Butler (UVa) dec. Tommy Gantt (NCS), 3-2 165: Nick Sulzer (UVa) dec. John Staudenmayer (UNC), 7-1 174: Tyler Wilps (Pitt) dec. Stephen Doty (UVa), 7-2 184: Jimmy Sheptock (Md.) dec. Max Thomusseit (Pitt), 3-1 197: Chris Penny (VT) dec. Zach Nye (UVa), 10-6 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NCS) dec. Spencer Myers (Md.), 10-4

Related: Results CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Edinboro wrestling team crowned five champions while winning the 39th Annual EWL Championships at Cleveland State's Woodling Gymnasium on Saturday. The Fighting Scots finished with 140.5 points to pace the seven-team field. Bloomsburg was second with 113 points, followed by Lock Haven with 87.5 points. In all, seven Fighting Scots qualified for the upcoming NCAA Division I National Championships. The EWL championship is Edinboro's 13th under head coach Tim Flynn and the first since 2010. Pittsburgh had won the last four EWL crowns before moving to the ACC this year. A.J. Schopp picked up his third straight EWL title at 133 lbs., while Mitchell Port and Dave Habat won for the second straight year at 141 and 149 lbs., respectively. Vic Avery picked up his first EWL title at 184 lbs., as dis Ernest James at heavyweight. Schopp was selected the Outstanding Wrestler, making it a clean sweep after he earlier was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the PSAC Championships. As usual, Schopp and Port were dominant. Schopp, ranked second at 133 lbs., boosted his record to 31-1 and improved to 103-12 with a pair of technical falls and a decision. He won by technical fall 18-0 (5:00) over Nick Wilcox of Bloomsburg in the finals. He led 5-0 after one period, then chose the top to start the second period and tilted Wilcox four times for three near-fall points each time. Port, meanwhile, kept his record spotless at 26-0 with a pair of wins, both by major decision. In a rematch of last year's finals, the top-ranked wrestler at 141 lbs. won a 12-2 major decision over Bloomsburg's Dan Neff. He posted a pair of takedowns in the first period for a 4-1 lead, boosted the margin to 9-1 after two periods with a takedown and three near-fall points, and registered another takedown in the third. Habat, ranked 15th by InterMat and 17th by TheOpenMat.com, improved to 26-4 with two wins. The junior has now won ten straight matches. He claimed a 6-0 decision over Bryce Busler of Bloomsburg, who came in ranked 18th by TheOpenMat.com. He had a takedown in the final seconds for a 2-0 lead after one period, added an escape in the second, and recorded a second takedown in the third period. Avery, who has battled injuries all year, posted an impressive 8-2 decision over Lock Haven's Fred Garcia in the finals at 184 lbs. Following a scoreless first period, Avery opened the second with an escape. He would add two takedowns in the period for a 5-1 advantage. Garcia started the third with an escape, but Avery recorded his third takedown of the match and owned riding time. Ranked 13th by TheOpenMat.com and 15th by InterMat, Avery boosted his record to 23-5 with three wins. He was second at 184 lbs. in 2012 before redshirting last year. James, a senior, ran his winning streak to 14 matches with three decisions. In the finals he squared off against rival Justin Grant of Bloomsburg, who came in ranked 14th by TheOpenMat.com and 18th by InterMat. The two exchanged escapes in regulation and headed into overtime, where James prevailed with a takedown with 35 seconds gone. James is now 27-5 and ranked 12th by TheopenMat.com and 16th by InterMat. His best previous finish was second in 2012. Kory Mines and Johnny Greisheimer also reached the finals but had to settle for second. Mines, ranked 18th by TheOpenMat.com and 19th by InterMat at 125 lbs., dropped a 2-1 decision to Rider's Robert Deutsch, who is ranked 12th and 14th, respectively. The difference came in riding time. Mines is now 22-9 and will make his first trip to Nationals. Greisheimer met Clarion's Austin Matthews in a rematch of the PSAC finals at 157 lbs., where he claimed a 9-8 decision over the freshman. He would lose a week later to Matthews in the dual, and suffered a 9-5 loss on Saturday. Matthews used a takedown and reversal in the first for a 4-3 lead. It was 6-5 after two periods, with Greisheimer's two escapes balancing a second Matthews' takedown. In the third Matthews would escape and add an insurance takedown with just over 22 seconds remaining. Despite the loss, Greisheimer will make his third trip to Nationals. He is 24-9 and ranked 15th. All ten Fighting Scots reached the semifinals. Vince Pickett followed up a 3-1 loss to Phil Sprenkle in the semi's to capture third place at 197 lbs. with a fall and a major decision in the wrestlebacks. With a 21-11 record, the sophomore will have to wait and see if he receives an at-large bid to Nationals. Patrick Jennings also brought home third place at 174 lbs., going 3-1 on the day. The redshirt sophomore won a grueling matchup with Clarion's Ryan Darch in the third place match, winning by fall at 9:15. He ends the year at 12-13. Kasey Burnett-Davis had hoped to parlay a strong showing at EWL's into a trip to Nationals at 165 lbs. the junior won his first match but proceeded to lose three straight matches to end the year at 18-12. He lost a tough 3-2 decision to Ramon Santiago of Rider in the semifinals.

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 9 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), 4-3 No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa), 4-3 133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue), 7-6 No. 5 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. No. 7 David Thorn (Minnesota), 9-4 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. No. 6 Steve Dutton (Michigan), 4-0 No. 3 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) maj. dec. No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 9-0 149: No. 6 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) dec. No. 8 Eric Grajales (Michigan), 8-6 No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. No. 2 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 4-2 157: No. 4 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 4-3 TB No. 3 James Green (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), 7-3 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) pinned No. 13 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 0:40 No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) dec. No. 20 Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota), 8-5 174: No. 3 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) dec. No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota), 3-2 No. 5 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State), 3-2 184: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 15 Domenic Abounader (Michigan), 9-1 No. 4 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 5-4 197: No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. No. 13 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 3-2 No. 4 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) dec. No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 3-2 285: No. 6 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) pinned No. 14 Jon Gingrich (Penn State), 1:58 No. 2 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) dec. No. 4 Mike McMullan (Northwestern), 3-2

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 9 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) 133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) No. 5 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. No. 7 David Thorn (Minnesota) 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. No. 6 Steve Dutton (Michigan) No. 3 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) 149: No. 6 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) vs. No. 8 Eric Grajales (Michigan) No. 2 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) 157: No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) vs. No. 4 Derek St. John (Iowa) No. 3 James Green (Nebraska) vs. No. 6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Jackson Morse (Illinois) No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. No. 20 Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) 174: No. 3 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. No. 5 Mike Evans (Iowa) 184: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 15 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) No. 4 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) vs. No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 197: No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 13 Nathan Burak (Iowa) No. 4 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) vs. No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 285: No. 6 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. No. 14 Jon Gingrich (Penn State) No. 2 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) vs. No. 4 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. Nick Roberts (Ohio State), 12-5 No. 9 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin) dec. No. 15 Conor Youtsey (Michigan), 7-3 No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 11 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 10-2 No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. Camden Eppert (Purdue), 9-2 133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) pinned No. 19 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 1:33 No. 10 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) pinned No. 13 Zane Richards (Illinois), 6:53 No. 7 David Thorn (Minnesota) dec. No. 8 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 5-3 No. 5 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. No. 15 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 8-1 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (Penn State) dec. Jessie Thielke (Wisconsin), 7-2 No. 6 Steve Dutton (Michigan) dec. No. 13 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 7-0 No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. No. 19 Danny Sabatello (Purdue), 10-9 No. 3 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) tech. fall Steven Rodrigues (Illinois), 15-0 149: No. 6 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) maj. dec. Nick Trimble (Michigan State), 17-5 No. 8 Eric Grajales (Michigan) dec. No. 7 Brody Grothus (Iowa), 4-1 No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) dec. No. 18 Ian Paddock (Ohio State), 3-2 No. 2 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. James English (Penn State), 3-2 157: No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) dec. No. 13 Brian Murphy (Michigan), 5-0 No. 4 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. No. 7 Dylan Alton (Penn State), 4-1 No. 6 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 8 Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 10-1 No. 3 James Green (Nebraska) pinned Zac Brunson (Illinois), 2:15 165: No. 1 David Taylor (Penn State) tech. fall Austin Wilson (Nebraska), 22-4 No. 13 Jackson Morse (Illinois) dec. No. 10 Dan Yates (Michigan), 8-5 No. 20 Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) dec. No. 6 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), 7-1 No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa) maj. dec. Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana), 16-5 174: No. 3 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) pinned Collin Zeerip (Michigan), 4:28 No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. Tony Dallago (Illinois), 9-5 No. 5 Mike Evans (Iowa) maj. dec. No. 13 Mark Martin (Ohio State), 8-0 No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State) maj. dec. Scott Liegel (Wisconsin), 12-3 184: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. Nikko Reyes (Illinois), 4-1 No. 15 Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec. No. 9 T.J. Dudley (Nebraska), 5-4 No. 4 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) dec. No. 11 Kenny Courts (Ohio State), 4-1 No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) maj. dec. Luke Sheridan (Indiana), 12-3 197: No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) dec. Timmy McCall (Wisconsin), 7-4 No. 13 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 10 Braden Atwood (Purdue), 5-4 No. 5 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) by medical forfeit over Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) No. 4 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) pinned No. 19 Alex Polizzi (Northwestern), 1:08 285: No. 14 Jon Gingrich (Penn State) dec. No. 1 Adam Coon (Michigan), 3-1 SV No. 6 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 5 Bobby Telford (Iowa), 2-0 No. 4 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. No. 7 Mike McClure (Michigan State), 5-1 No. 2 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) dec. No. 8 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 7-2

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