InterMat Staff

ATHENS, Ohio -- Senior heavyweight Jeremy Johnson registered his fourth-consecutive pin to lead the Ohio University wrestling team (7-2; 3-2 MAC) to a thrilling 21-16 come-from-behind victory over Kent State Friday night at the Convocation Center. Ohio's win over the Golden Flashes marked its fourth-consecutive win at home this season and its seventh straight dating back to the 2012-13 campaign. The 'Cats win against KSU also marked their first win over the Golden Flashes since 2005. The Golden Flashes jumped out to the early lead after KSU's Tyler Small tallied a second period fall of freshman Noah Forrider (Marysville, Ohio) at 141 to open up a 6-0 advantage. Ohio fought back at 149 thanks to Tywan Claxton's (South Euclid, Ohio) decision victory versus KSU's Kyle Bower, trimming the Flashes lead to 6-3. KSU responded by increasing its lead to 10-3 after Ian Miller registered a major decision over at 157. The Bobcats charged back to cut the Flashes lead to one (10-9) following back-to-back decision victories by junior Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) at 165 and sophomore Cody Walters (Macedonia, Ohio) at 174. Hightower's win was his 23rd victory on the year and his fifth triumph in his last six bouts. Walter's come-from-behind win versus Caleb Marsh improved his season mark to 5-1. Following a loss at 184, sophomore Phil Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) picked up his 23rd win of the year, defeating Cole Baxter 3-2 and for the second time on the night Ohio cut KSU's lead to one at 13-12. This time however, Ohio took the lead after being down one point as Johnson (Broadview Heights, Ohio) pinned Mimmo Lytle in 2:58 to give the Bobcats their first lead of the night. Sophomore KeVon Powell (Romeoville, Ill.) clinched the team victory for the Bobcats in the following bout as he outlasted Del Vinas 9-5. Ohio returns to action on Sunday as it heads to Buffalo. The Bobcats' dual with the Bulls is set for 1 p.m. inside UB's Alumni Arena. Results: 141 Tyler Small (Kent State) won by pin over Noah Forrider (Ohio) 5:29; KSU 6 - Ohio 0 149 No. 149 Tywan Claxton (Ohio) won by dec. over Kyle Bauer (Kent State) 7-2: KSU 6 - Ohio 3 157 No. 6 Ian Miller (Kent State) won by major dec. over Spartak Chino (Ohio) 15-5: KSU 10 - Ohio 3 165 Harrison Hightower (Ohio) won by dec. over Tyler Buckwalter (Kent State) 9-4; KSU 10 - Ohio 6 174 No. 9 Cody Walters (Ohio) won by dec. over Caleb Marsh (Kent State) 4-2; KSU 10 - Ohio 9 184 No. 14 Sam Wheeler (Kent State) won by dec. over Ryan Garringer (Ohio) 11-5; KSU 13 - Ohio 9 197 No. 11 Phil Wellington (Ohio) won by dec. over Cole Baxter (Kent State) 3-2; KSU 13 - Ohio 12 285 No. 11 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) won by pin over Mimmo Lytle (Kent State) 2:58; Ohio 18 - KSU 13 125 KeVon Powell (Ohio) won by dec. over Edilberto Vinas (Kent State) 9-5; Ohio 21 - KSU 13 133 No. 18 Mackenzie McGuire (Kent State) won by dec. over Kagan Squire (Ohio) 2-1; Ohio 21 - KSU 16

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Led by three pins on the night, the NC State wrestling team downed Campbell 34-10 Friday in Reynolds Coliseum. The Pack (11-3) jumped out to a 15-0 lead after the first three bouts, and won seven of 10 in the dual. Six of the seven wins were bonus point victories. The dual started at 141 pounds. The Pack opened with three straight bonus point victories and jumped out to a 15-0 lead. Sam Speno scored a 17-6 major decision win to start the match. No. 26 Brian Hamann recorded a first period pin at 149 pounds. Tommy Gantt recorded a 16-1 technical fall win at 157 pounds to give the Pack the insurmountable 15-0 lead after three bouts. Campbell scored its first points with a 10-2 major decision at 165 pounds. No. 20 Pete Renda recorded his 20th win of the season and the second pin for the Pack at 174 pounds to push the Pack's lead to 21-4. Campbell came away with an 8-7 decision at 184 pounds with a takedown in the final seconds. NC State's KaRonne Jones once again answered for the Pack, scoring a 5-3 sudden victory decision at 197 pounds. No. 5 Nick Gwiazdowski clinched the dual for the Pack with his 14-6 major decision at 285 pounds to make the score 28-6 in favor of NC State. After Campbell won 11-8 at 125, NC State's Chris Wilkes closed the dual with a pin at 133 pounds with just one second left in the match. NC State will return to action on Sunday, as the Pack will host No. 17 Virginia Tech in an ACC dual at 2 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum. Results: 141: Sam Speno (NCSU) major dec. Michael Dahlstrom; 17-6 - 4-0 149: Brian Hamann (NCSU) fall Collin Munson; 1:54 - 10-0 157: Tommy Gantt (NCSU) technical fall Grant Blumenthal; 17-1 - 15-0 165: Paul Duggan (Campbell) major dec. Max Rohskopf; 10-2 - 15-4 174: #20 Pete Renda (NCSU) fall Cody Ryba; 3:57 - 21-4 184: Ville Heino (Campebell) dec. Shayne Brady; 8-7 - 21-7 197: KaRonne Jones (NCSU) dec. Taylor McGiffen; 5-3 (SV1) - 24-7 285: #5 Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) major dec. #27 Eloheim Palma; 14-6- 28-7 125: Tyler Walker (Campbell) dec. Micah Perez; 11-8 - 28-10 133: Chris Wilkes (NCSU) fall Drew Walker; 6:59 - 34-10

VESTAL, N.Y. -- The Old Dominion Wrestling team defeated Binghamton University by a 21-12 final Friday night ODU (4-8) defeated Binghamton (3-9) in six of the 10 matches. At 133 pounds Michael Hayes picked up a 9-1 major decision victory for Old Dominion. No. 4-ranked Chris Mecate (141) defeated Nick Tighe by a 13-2 major decision and Monarchs 174-pounder Billy Curling defeated Ben Price by a 22-8 major decision. Curling's 22 points were the most put up in a dual match this season by the Monarchs. "All our kids wrestled hard tonight," said Old Dominion head coach Steve Martin. "The guys put points on the board and built our leads, which is important this time of the year. Hayes, Mecate and Curling opened up their offense and got after their opponents. Richardson won a hard fought match in OT. Warner and Dechow dictated the pace throughout their matches from start to finish. It was a good chance to see the team wrestle on the road and stay focused." Results: 125- David White (BU) dec. Buddy Scarborough (ODU) 11-6. Binghamton leads 3-0. 133- Michael Hayes (ODU) major dec. Mike Sardo (BU) 9-1. ODU leads 4-3. 141- #4 Chris Mecate (ODU) major dec. Nick Tighe (BU) 13-2. ODU leads 8-3. 149- Alexander Richardson (ODU) dec. Joe Bonaldi (BU) 4-3 SV-2. ODU leads 11-3. 157- Tristan Warner (ODU) dec. Colton Perry (BU) 4-1. ODU leads 14-3 165- Vincent Grella (BU) dec. Dillon Geoghegan (ODU) 4-3. ODU leads 14-6. 174- Billy Curling (ODU) major dec. Ben Price (BU) 22-8. ODU leads 18-6. 184- Jack Dechow (ODU) dec. Caleb Wallace (BU) 8-2. ODU leads 21-6. 197- Cody Reed (BU) dec. Kevin Beazley (ODU) 3-1. ODU leads 21-9. 285- Tyler Deuel (BU) dec. Matt Tourdot (ODU) 6-2. ODU wins 21-12.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team claimed its sixth consecutive dual win, earning six straight matches to close the dual and surge past intrastate rival Michigan State, 26-6, on Friday night (Jan. 24) in front of 1,519 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines won eight individual matches in all to improve to 4-0 in Big Ten Conference competition. The two teams split the opening four bouts -- two decisions apiece -- with each team picking up an upset victory early in the dual. Freshman Domenic Abounader (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edward HS) used the overtime tiebreaker to take down No. 18-ranked John Rizqallah, 6-0, at 184 pounds. The match remained scoreless after regulation following rideouts for both wrestlers in the second and third periods. Abounader rode out the first 30-second tiebreaker and escaped quickly in the second, adding a counter takedown and cradling Rizqallah for three at the buzzer. The Spartans' upset came two bouts later at heavyweight, where Mike McClure -- ranked ninth in the latest InterMat poll -- used a late takedown and near fall to hand top-ranked freshman Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich./Fowlerville HS) his first collegiate loss. The match was even at 1-1 until the final 20 seconds when McClure countered a Coon half shot to score on a single on the edge. With Coon battling to escape, McClure crunched him to add a two-point near fall out of the circle. Coon is now 23-1 this season. U-M also picked up an early win from senior/junior Collin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS), who defeated Nick Kaczanowski at 174 pounds, 2-1, on a first-period single leg. After the MSU heavyweight win, the remainder of the dual was all Michigan as the Wolverines won each of the final six matches to pull away. The Wolverines picked up back-to-back shutouts at the lowerweights -- their second and third of the dual meet. Sophomore/freshman Conor Youtsey (Parma, Mich./Mason HS) defeated Brenan Lyon, 5-0, at 125 pounds, countering a first-period headlock for a takedown midway through the first, earning a reversal in the second and riding out the third to gain 2:38 in time advantage. Sophomore Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) also rode out the third en route to a 2-0 decision over Garth Yenter at 133 pounds. Bruno got in deep on numerous deep attacks in the first and third periods but couldn't finish. Senior/junior Steve Dutton (Miller Place, N.Y./Rocky Point HS) and fifth-year senior Eric Grajales (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) just missed on first-period falls at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, both settling instead for major decisions. Dutton, ranked 13th at 141 pounds, earned his third straight major decision with a 14-2 win over Brian Gibbs, scoring on a double leg midway through the first period before adding a pair of three-point near falls on a leg turk and arm bar. Gibbs scored on a second-period bodylock, but Dutton rebounded with a quick reversal and added another high-crotch takedown in the third. Grajales, ranked seventh, had Nick Trimble caught in a cradle for the bulk of the first period but couldn't get the call in his 10-2 major decision win at 149 pounds. Grajales also scored on an arm drag in the second and rode for 2:01 to claim his eighth straight dual win. Freshman Brian Murphy (Carol Stream, Ill./Glenbard North HS) took advantage of an early takedown to defeat Roger Wildmo, 4-2, at 157 pounds. He caught Wildmo reaching and spun behind for the match's lone takedown. The wrestlers traded escapes in the second and third, while Murphy, ranked 13th, earned an additional point for his 1:38 riding time. Fifth-year senior Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS), ranked seventh, capped the dual with an 8-2 decision over Bobby Nash at 165 pounds. He also took advantage of a quick start, scoring on an early head in the hole and subsequent two-point tilt in the first period. Yates added another takedown in the second and rode for 2:19. The Wolverines will continue Big Ten dual competition next weekend, traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 31) before returning home to face three-time defending NCAA champion Penn State at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 2) at Cliff Keen Arena. The PSU dual will be aired live on the Big Ten Network. Results: 174 -- Collin Zeerip (U-M) dec. Nick Kaczanowski, 3-2 U-M, 3-0 184 -- Domenic Abounader (U-M) dec. #18 John Rizqallah, 6-0 TB U-M, 6-0 197 -- Nick McDiarmid (MSU) dec. Chris Heald, 3-1 U-M, 6-3 Hwt -- #9 Mike McClure (MSU) dec. #1 Adam Coon, 5-1 Tied, 6-6 125 -- Conor Youtsey (U-M) dec. Brenan Lyon, 5-0 U-M, 9-6 133 -- Rossi Bruno (U-M) dec. Garth Yenter, 2-0 U-M, 12-6 141 -- #13 Steve Dutton (U-M) major dec. Brian Gibbs, 14-2 U-M, 16-6 149 -- #7 Eric Grajales (U-M) major dec. Nick Trimble, 10-2 U-M, 20-6 157 -- #13 Brian Murphy (U-M) dec. Roger Wildmo, 4-2 U-M, 23-6 165 -- #7 Dan Yates (U-M) dec. Bobby Nash, 8-2 U-M, 26-6

Hempstead, NY -- Senior Luke Vaith recorded a tech fall victory and three other Pride wrestlers posted major decisions to lead Hofstra to a 29-9 EIWA victory over the Drexel Dragons at the Mack Sports Complex Friday night. The Pride won eight of the 10 matches to improve to 5-6 on the season and 3-2 in the EIWA. Drexel slipped to 4-12 overall and 0-3 in conference action. Drexel’s struggles began before they hit the mat as their bus trip from Philadelphia to Long Island took almost five hours, which caused the starting time of the match to be pushed back 30 minutes. It didn’t get better when the match started at 125 pounds as Hofstra captured the first four contests to take a 16-0 lead. 18th-ranked senior Jamie Franco (18-6) opened with a 9-0 major decision over Tanner Shoap at 125. 20th-ranked red-shirt freshman Jamel Hudson (15-4) followed with a 10-2 major over Kevin Devoy at 133 for an 8-0 lead. 10th-ranked senior Luke Vaith (21-4) then posted his fourth tech fall of the season on David Pearce at 141 before junior Cody Ruggirello (18-8) tallied a 3-0 victory over Matt Cimato at 149. Drexel posted one of its two wins at 157 as Austin Sommer edged red-shirt freshman Jahlani Callender (12-7), 5-3 to cut the deficit to 16-3. But the Pride won the next three matches as 14th-ranked graduate-student Joe Booth (25-5) majored Jason Fugiel, 12-4 at 165, red-shirt freshman Frank Affronti (9-12) topped Kevin Matyas, 6-4 with a takedown 30 seconds into sudden victory at 174 and sophomore Victor Pozsonyi (4-12) topped Alex DiCiantis, 4-2 at 184. Drexel’s ninth-ranked senior Brandon Palik continued his winning ways with a pin of Hofstra junior Zeal McGrew in 1:48 at 197 pounds. But Hofstra freshman Michael Hughes closed out the match with an 8-1 win over Joe Giorgio at 285. The Pride will now be off from competition for two weeks before returning on Friday, February 7 when they host the Bearcats of Binghamton in an EIWA match at the Mack Sports Complex. Match time for the Senior Night contest is 7 p.m. Results: 125 Jamie Franco (HU) maj. dec. Tanner Shoap (DU) 9-0. 133 Jamel Hudson (HU) maj. dec. Kevin Devoy (DU) 10-2. 141 Luke Vaith (HU) tech fall David Pearce (DU) 7:00 20-5. 149 Cody Ruggirello (HU) dec. Matt Cimato (DU) 3-0. 157 Austin Sommer (DU) dec. Jahlani Callender (HU) 5-3. 165 Joe Booth (HU) maj. dec. Jason Fugiel (DU) 12-4. 174 Frank Affronti (HU) dec. Kevin Matyas (DU) 6-4. in SV 184 Victor Pozsonyi (HU) dec. Alexander DeCiantis (DU) 4-2. 197 Brandon Palik (DU) WBF Zeal McGrew (HU) 1:48. 285 Michael Hughes (HU) dec. Joseph Giorgio (DU) 8-1.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.-- No. 19 Wisconsin’s road trip got off on the right foot Friday night with a 23-12 win over Indiana in University Gymnasium in Bloomington, Ind. Wisconsin (10-4 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) posted seven wins, six by decision and one by technical fall, on its way to its 10th win of the season. The dual got underway at 149 lbs., where Rylan Lubeck started UW off with a 4-2 sudden victory decision over Eric Roach. The 157-pound match featured a matchup of ranked wrestlers as Wisconsin’s No. 7 Isaac Jordan took the mat against Indiana’s No. 5 Taylor Walsh. Jordan posted his first career win over a top-five opponent with a 2-1 decision over Walsh. Frank Cousins suffered the Badgers’ first defeat of the night, falling 8-6 at 165 lbs., to Ryan LeBlanc. Scott Liegel, Jackson Hein and Timmy McCall rattled off three-straight Badger wins to give UW a 15-3 lead after six matches. Liegel defeated Mat Irick, 6-2, at 174 lbs., Hein posted a 3-2 win over No. 17 Luke Sheridan at 184 lbs., and McCall earned a 4-2 decision over Garret Goldman at 197 lbs. No. 10 Connor Medbery suffered his first pin of the season, getting stuck at 1:35 by No. 8 Adam Chalfant at heavyweight. Indiana (7-6, 0-5) claimed its second-straight victory when Alonzo Shepard defeated Matt Cavallaris, 4-1, at 125 lbs., but Wisconsin was able to finish the night with a pair of wins to earn the victory. At 133 lbs., No. 6 Tyler Graff tallied his seventh technical fall of the season with a 19-4 win over Chris Caton. At 141 lbs., Jesse Thielke earned his 13th win of the season with a 10-4 decision over Trevor Moody. Wisconsin continues Big Ten action on the road on Sunday when it visits No. 16 Northwestern for a noon dual meet in Welsh-Arena in Evanston, Ill. The Badgers return home to Madison to host North Dakota State on Sunday, Feb. 2 in a 1 p.m. dual meet at the UW Field House. Results: 149 Rylan Lubeck (UW) dec. Eric Roach (IU), 4-2 (SV2) 157 #7 Isaac Jordan (UW) dec. #5 Taylor Walsh (IU), 2-1 165 Ryan LeBlanc (IU) dec. Frank Cousins (UW), 8-6 174 Scott Liegel (UW) dec. Matt Irick (IU), 6-2 184 Jackson Hein (UW) dec. #17 Luke Sheridan (IU), 3-2 197 Timmy McCall (UW) dec. Garret Goldman (IU), 4-2 HWT #8 Adam Chalfant (IU) fall #10 Connor Medbery (UW), 1:53 125 Alonzo Shepherd (IU), dec. Matt Cavallaris (UW), 4-1 133 #6 Tyler Graff (UW) tech fall Chris Caton (IU), 19-4 141 Jesse Thielke (UW) dec. Trevor Moody (IU), 10-4

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State wrestling team won its inaugural Beauty and the Beast dual, defeating Boise State, 21-15, inside Wells Fargo Arena. In front of a crowd of 1,148, the Sun Devils are now 1-0 in Pac-12 action, with a mark of 6-5 in duals on the year. Boise State falls to 2-5 on the year and a 2-3 mark in league action. “What I’m seeing from this group is that they’re starting to come together,” head coach Shawn Charles said. “Everyone is working hard for the end result. They’re all going out there and doing what they can to put points up on the board and to help the program.” After picking up a win in the opening weight class as Ares Carpio scored a 9-8 decision over Rami Haddadian at 125, the Sun Devils dropped the following three bouts to trail Boise State, 9-3. At 157, Joel Smith picked up a 10-2 major decision over Taylor West, cutting the Broncos’ lead to 9-7 going into the break. ASU came out of the intermission with a win at 165, with Nick Rex picking up three points over Holden Packard in a 6-4 decision, which gave ASU a 10-9 edge. “Joel Smith went out at 157 and demonstrated that we can go out and work hard to score points, and he got bonus points for the team score that match,” Charles said. “We knew 165 was going to be a dog fight for us, and Nick Rex has really been putting in the time. He transferred in this year but has bought in to everything we are doing as a program. He went out and laid it on the line for us in an extremely tight match. He knew how important it was and fought tooth and nail for the victory.” The Sun Devils picked up two more bonus point victories at 174 and 184, starting with Ray Waters pinning Cole Rice in 3:20 for six points toward the team score. At 184, Blake Stauffer picked up his third tech fall victory of the season, defeating Andrew Tiedman 16-0, giving ASU a 21-9 advantage going into the final weights. Josh DaSilveira dropped a 7-3 decision over Cody Dixon at 197, while Chace Eskam fell to No. 6 J.T. Felix, 7-4. On the gymnastics side, the No. 23-ranked Sun Devils defeated No. 25 California, 196.000-195.350, giving ASU the Beauty and the Beast sweep. Up next for ASU wrestling, the Sun Devils host No. 18 Iowa State on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m. MT. The match will be live streamed via thesundevils.com. Results: 125- Ares Carpio (ASU) def. Rami Haddadin (Boise State): Dec 9-8 133- Ben DeMuelle (Boise State) def. Cord Coronado (ASU): Dec 4-3 141- Brian Owen (Boise State) def. Matt Kraus (ASU): Dec 5-0 149- Chris Castillo (Boise State) def. Preston McCalmon (ASU): OT 5-3 157- Joel Smith (ASU) def. Taylor West (Boise State): Major 10-2 165- Nick Rex (ASU) def. Holden Packard (Boise State): Dec 6-4 174- Ray Waters (ASU) def. Cole Rice (Boise State): Fall 3:20 184- Blake Stauffer (ASU) def. Andrew Tiedman (Boise State): Tech 16-0 197- Cody Dixon (Boise State) def. Josh DaSilveira: Dec 7-3 HWT- No. 6 J.T. Felix (Boise State) def. Chace Eskam (ASU): Dec 7-4

PITTSBURGH -- The No. 13 University of Pittsburgh wrestling team (10-1, 4-0 ACC) won the final four bouts of the day and used a pin from Mikey Racciato to cruise past ACC foe Virginia (13-3, 2-1 ACC), 25-9, this evening at Fitzgerald Field House. Anthony Zanetta started the Panthers out with a win at 125 pounds. The senior and UVa’s Nick Herrmann were knotted at 1-1 with a minute to go in the bout before Zanetta struck on a nice high single for the takedown to take the 3-1 lead and rode out Herrmann for the remainder of the period to give Pitt an early 3-0 lead. The Cavaliers were able to tie the match at 3-3 with a decision at 133 pounds, setting up a key match between Virginia’s 16th-ranked Joe Spisak and 19th-ranked Edgar Bright. Spisak scored the lone takedown of the opening frame to hold a 2-0 lead going into the second. In the second, Bright started on bottom but was able to gain a reversal to even the match. Following a stalemate call, Spisak was called for his third caution on bottom awarding Bright a point. Spisak was able to escape in the third to once again tie the match early in the third before Bright struck on a double near the edge of the mat with a mere 10 seconds left to bring the Fitzgerald Field House to its feet and give Pitt a lead it would not relinquish. Racciato helped push the Panther lead to nine points after four bouts when he pinned Justin Van Hoose at the 6:46 mark. Racciato was on Van Hoose early, scoring a pair of takedowns in the first and another in the second to lead 6-3 going into the third. Racciato then started down in the third and quickly escaped and went on the offensive, adding yet another takedown. As Van Hoose tried to escape, Raccaito was able to catch him out of position and turn him to his back for the fall. Virginia earned a pair of decisions at 157 and 165 pounds to cut the Pitt lead to a mere three points before No. 7 Tyler Wilps put in a dominating performance at 174 pounds in a 12-4 major decision over No. 12 Stephen Doty. Wilps scored five takedowns during the match, including a key go-behind near the Virginia bench with under 20 seconds left to push his edge to eight points for the major decision. The Panthers picked up decisions from Max Thomusseit and Nick Bonaccorsi at 184 and 197 pounds respectively to put the match out of reach at 22-9. While the final match would not decide the dual this time, P.J. Tasser once again pulled out a thrilling overtime victory. With a quick escape in the first tie breaker period, Tasser went on top and was able to ride out the Cavalier’s Ethan Hayes, who weighed 60 pounds more than Tasser, for the final 30 seconds for the 2-1 decision to finalize the Panther victory, 25-9. Pitt will return to the mats on Saturday, Feb. 1, when it travels to long-time rival West Virginia (9-3) for a 7 p.m. dual. Results: 125: Anthony Zanetta (P) dec. Nick Herrmann (V), 3-1; Pitt leads, 3-0 133: Joseph Martinez (V) dec. No. 17 Shelton Mack (P), 1-0; Match tied, 3-3 141: No. 19 Edgar Bright (P) dec. No. 16 Joe Spisak (V), 5-3; Pitt leads, 6-3 149: Mikey Racciato (P) pins Justin Van Hoose (V), 6:46; Pitt leads, 12-3 157: No. 15 Blaise Butler (V) dec. Cole Sheptock (P), 3-1; Pitt leads, 12-6 165: No. 2 Nick Sulzer (V) dec. Geno Morelli (P), 14-8; Pitt leads, 12-9 174: No. 7 Tyler Wilps (P) m. dec. No. 12 Stephen Doty (V), 12-4; Pitt leads, 16-9 184: No. 6 Max Thomusseit (P) dec. No. 20 Jon Fausey (V), 5-3; Pitt leads, 19-9 197: No. 18 Nick Bonaccorsi (P) dec. Zach Nye (V), 3-1; Pitt leads, 22-9 285: P.J. Tasser (P) dec. Ethan Hayes (V), 2-1 (TB1); Pitt wins, 25-9

FARGO, N.D. -- The North Dakota State Bison earned a victory in their Western Wrestling Conference opener, defeating the Air Force Academy Falcons 41-6 Friday, Jan. 24, at the Bison Sports Arena. The Bison (7-3) have now won five straight duals, including seven of their last eight. NDSU took an early lead and finished the dual by winning five consecutive matches. After Hunter Weber earned six points at 125 pounds for the Bison with Air Force leaving their slot open, NDSU's Justin LaValle, Clay Cathey and Tyler Diamond picked up decisions to give the Bison a 15-0 lead through 149 pounds. Air Force's Josh Kreimier cut the NDSU advantage to 15-6 with a 3rd-period pin at 157 pins. NDSU senior and third-ranked Steven Monk reversed the momentum at 165 pounds, earning a pin in the second period and extending his match winning streak to 14. Bison sophomore Hayden Zillmer – ranked No. 10/11 in the nation at 174 pounds – followed with a major decision to put the match out of reach, 25-6. Kurtis Julson and Tyler Lehmann picked up pins for NDSU at 184 and 197 pounds, respectively, and Evan Knutson won by an 11-1 major decision over Cody Davis to conclude the match at 285 pounds. The Bison travel to Madison, Wis., for their next dual against the Wisconsin Badgers in a non-conference match on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. Results: 125: Hunter Weber (NDSU) won by forfeit 133: Justin LaValle (NDSU) won by decision over Greg Rinker (Air Force), 9-7 NDSU 9, Air Force 0 141: Clay Cathey (NDSU) won by decision over David Walker (Air Force), 3-2 NDSU 12, Air Force 0 149: Tyler Diamond (NDSU) won by decision over Natrelle Demison (Air Force), 8-4 NDSU 15, Air Force 0 157: Josh Kreimier (Air Force) won by pin over Nick Olejnik (NDSU), 6:07 NDSU 15, Air Force 6 165: No. 3 Steven Monk (NDSU) won by pin over Daniel Baucke, 4:30 NDSU 21, Air Force 6 174: No. 10/11 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) won by major decision Konner Witt (AFA), 19-5 NDSU 25, Air Force 6 184: Kurtis Julson (NDSU) won by pin over Scott Reilly (AFA), 3:48 NDSU 31, Air Force 6 197: Tyler Lehmann (NDSU) won by pin over Parker Hines (AFA), 2:52 NDSU 37, Air Force 6 285: Evan Knutson (NDSU) won by major decision over Cody Davis (AFA), 11-1 NDSU 41, Air Force 6

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Another standing room only, capacity crowd packed Rec Hall as the top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers took care of No. 11 Illinois in Big Ten wrestling action. Nearly 6,500 fans, the 17th-straight home sell out for Penn State, cheered on as head coach Cael Sanderson's team win nine of ten bouts to roll to a 31-3 Big Ten dual meet victory. Junior All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, got Penn State off to a hot start in a rematch of last year's NCAA title bout. The Lion took down No. 4 Jesse Delgado 5-4 to put Penn State up early and bring yet another capacity crowd to its feet. At 133, Lion freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 15, nearly upset No. 11 Zane Richards but the Illini connected on a takedown in extra time to post the 3-1 (sv) decision, briefly tying the dual at 3-3. Unbeaten true freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 141, majored John Fahy 15-3 to put Penn State up 7-3. Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) then took down yet another ranked opponent, using a third period reversal to post a 4-2 win over No. 19 Caleb Ervin. Junior All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 4 at 157, then took care of No. 12 Zac Brunson 5-2 in only his second dual meet of the year. Alton, who has been slowly returning to action after off-season surgery, stayed unbeaten with the win. After halftime, senior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) majored No. 12 Jackson Morse 11-3. Taylor, ranked No. 1, at 165, stayed unbeaten with the win. Junior All-American Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, majored Illinois senior Tony Dallago 12-2 and Penn State was out to a 21-3 lead. Senior All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 184, rolled to a 14-3 major over Nikko Reyes to continue Penn State's string of bonus points and put the Lions up 25-3. At 197, sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 7 at 197, then posted a 10-3 win over Illinois' Jeff Koepke. With 12th-ranked Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.) out with an injury, junior Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) got the nod at 285, making his second dual meet appearance of the year. Gingrich stepped up in a big way with a strong 6-1 win over Illinois' Chris Lopez, cementing the 31-3 final score. The 6,480 in attendance marked the 17th-straight home sell out for Penn State. Penn State posted a lop-sided 20-2 takedown advantage as well. Taylor improved to 21-0 on the year with 10 pins, six tech falls and five majors. He is 121-3 overall and is tied for ninth on Penn State's all-time wins list. Ruth is 20-1 on the year with seven pins, seven tech falls and six majors. He is 122-3 overall and is eighth all-time in wins at Penn State. Retherford moved to 21-0 with three pins, two techs and seven majors. Megaludis is 20-2 on the year with a pin, four techs and eight majors while Brown improved to 21-1 with eight pins, two tech falls and seven majors. McIntosh improved to 20-2 with three pins and nine majors. Penn State stays unbeaten on the year with an 11-0 mark, 4-0 in Big Ten action. Illinois falls to 6-5, 0-4 B1G. Penn State makes a Big Ten swing through the state of Michigan this weekend. The Nittany Lions are at Michigan State on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m. and then visit Michigan on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2. The Lions and Wolverines tangle at 3:30 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. Penn State's Friday dual at Michigan State is live on the BTDN. With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of the remaining Rec Hall duals. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. 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. Results: 125: #2 Nico Megaludis PSU dec. #4 Jesse Delgado ILL, 5-4 -- 3-0 133: #11 Zane Richards ILL dec. (SV) #15 Jimmy Gulibon PSU, 3-1 (sv) -- 3-3 141: #2 Zain Retherford PSU maj. dec. John Fahy ILL, 15-3 -- 7-3 149: Zack Beitz PSU dec. #19 Caleb Ervin ILL, 4-2 -- 10-3 157: #4 Dylan Alton PSU dec. #12 Zac Brunson ILL, 5-2 -- 13-3 165: #1 David Taylor PSU maj. dec. #12 Jackson Morse ILL, 11-3 -- 17-3 174: #3 Matt Brown PSU maj. dec. Tony Dallago ILL, 12-2 -- 21-3 184: #2 Ed Ruth PSU maj. dec. Nikko Reyes ILL, 14-3 -- 25-3 197: #7 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Jeff Koepke ILL, 10-3 -- 28-3 285: Jon Gingrich PSU dec. Chris Lopez ILL, 6-1 -- 31-3 Attendance: 6,480 (17th-straight home sell out) Records: Penn State 11-0, 5-0 B1G; Illinois 6-5, 0-4 B1G Up Next for Penn State: at Michigan State, Friday, Jan. 31, 7 p.m. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Junior Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, met No. 4 Jesse Delgado of Illinois in a rematch of last year's NCAA title bout. As a sold out crowd came to its feet before the match started, the duo met in the middle of the mat and worked for control early on. Megaludis tried to connect on an early shot but Delgado was able to force a stalemate at the 1:50 mark. Megaludis continued to shoot, forcing Delgado into a first stall warning at the :45 mark. After a reset at the :36 mark, blood time was called and then the period ended tied at 0-0. Megaludis chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Delgado for a 2-0 lead. The Illini escaped only to have Megaludis get in on a low single quickly. Delgado was able to force a stalemate and action moved on at the 1:25 mark with Megaludis up 2-1. Megaludis looked to connect on a lightning quick low single off a reset. After a short scramble, Megaludis finished off the move and led 4-1 with :25 left. Delgado was awarded an escape after a video review and the match moved to the second with Megaludis up 4-2. Delgado chose down to start the third and quickly reversed Megaludis to tie the match at 4-4. Megaludis escaped to a 5-4 lead at the :55 mark and then fought off a strong Delgado high single until only :12 was left in the match. After a reset with :12 left, Megaludis was able to kill the clock and grab the thrilling 5-4 win. 133: Red-shirt freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 15 at 133, faced off against No. 11 Zane Richards in a key battle at 133. The freshmen duo battled evenly for the first minute-plus with neither man able to find an opening to score. Each man worked for shoulder control but there was no give in the defense and the bout moved to the second tied 0-0. Richards chose down to start the second period but Gulibon quickly broke the Illini down, taking control up top to build up :47 riding time before Richards escaped to a 1-0 lead. Gulibon tried to score on a high-low combo at the :40 mark, but Richards was able to back out of bounds and force a reset with :17 on the clock. Gulibon chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. The Lion freshman continued to make the Illini back to the outside circle. He nearly connected on a high single with 1:10 left but Richards' defense stayed true and the bout continued tied 1-1. The duo traded counter attempts to no avail with :30 on the clock. Tied 1-1, the bout moved into sudden victory. Richards countered a Gulibon shot :30 into the extra time and grabbed the hard-fought 3-1 (sv) win. 141: True freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 141, met John Fahy. Retherford fought off an early Fahy shot, then worked in on his own single leg and connected for two points with 1:42 on the clock. The unbeaten Lion then went to work up top, breaking Fahy down and building up a sizeable riding time edge while trying to turn the Illini for back points. Fahy escaped to a 2-1 score but Retherford's consistent offense led to another takedown with :20 on the clock and the Lion led 4-1 with 1:09 in time after one. Retherford chose down to start the second period and worked his way to a reversal and a 6-1 lead with 1:27. He then turned Fahy for three back points to lead 9-1. After another ride out, Retherford led 9-1 with 2:27 in time after two period. Fahy chose down to start the third and Retherford let him out to a 9-2 score. He swiftly moved in on another single to up his lead to 11-2 with 1:32 on the clock. Retherford reset himself, controlled Fahy's legs and turned him for three more back points to lead 14-2 with a clinched riding time point. Fahy escaped as time wound down and Retherford walked away with a convincing 15-3 major, including 3:58 in riding time. 149: Red-shirt freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) met No. 19 Caleb Ervin at 149. Beitz grabbed Ervin's ankle and worked his way into a scramble that ended with a takedown at the 1:40 mark. Ervin escaped to a 2-1 score and action resumed in the middle of the mat. Continuing to pressure the ranked Illini, Beitz once again gained control of Ervin's right leg but this time Ervin was able to force a stalemate with :20 on the clock. Trailing 2-1, Ervin chose down to start the second period but Beitz was strong on top, working the Illini long enough to build up his riding time edge to 1:13 before Ervin escaped to a 2-2 score with 1:10 on the clock. Beitz nearly scored again with :10 left with a low single, but Ervin was able to kill the clock and the match moved to the third tied 2-2. Beitz chose down to start the third period but Ervin was able to control the action for a minute by holding on to Beitz ankle. A reset was called with :56 on the clock and Ervin was hit for a stall with :40 on the clock. Beitz quickly countered after a reset and worked his way deftly around Ervin for a reversal and a 4-2 lead at the :20 mark. Beitz then rode Ervin out and posted a 4-2 with over the ranked Illini. 157: Junior Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 4, took on No. 12 Zac Brunson at 157. Alton, wrestling in only his second dual this year, and Brunson battled evenly for over 2:00 with neither wrestler finding an opening to score. Alton took a solid shot at the :25 mark, nearly took Brunson to his back and then held on for the takedown and a 2-0 lead after one period. Brunson chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 2-1 Alton lead. Alton used a textbook high single to drive through for another takedown and a 4-2 lead after a quick Brunson escape. The Alton takedown was the period's only offense and the Nittany Lion junior carried that lead into the third. Alton chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Brunson tried to get in on a high single but Alton was able to work his way out of bounds and maintain position and a 5-2 lead with 1:10 on the clock. The duo traded shots for the next :40 with neither man connecting. Alton tried to score on a late single leg but time ran out and Alton posted the 5-2 win. 165: Senior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, took to the mat against No. 12 Jackson Morse. Morse got in on a high single leg but Taylor quickly wrapped him up to force a stalemate at the 2:20 mark. Taylor patiently waited for his offense to connect and came through with a nice low shot and takedown with 1:20 left in the opening period. Taylor then kept control of the ranked Illini, working for a tilt. He picked up three near fall points with just :15 left and rolled into the first period with a 5-0 lead and 1:21 in riding time. Morse chose down to start the second period, quickly escaped and then surprised Taylor with a takedown to cut Taylor's lead to 5-3. A reset was called with :57 on the clock but Taylor could not work his way free from Morse's strong ride. Morse worked the clock down to zeroes. Leading 5-3, Taylor chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to a reversal and a 7-3 lead with 1:20 on the clock. It was Taylor's turn to dominate the action from the top, nearly turning Morse for a pin before action was stopped for potentially dangerous. Taylor picked up two more back points, then another two as time expired and posted the tough 11-3 major decision. 174: Junior Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, met veteran Illini senior Tony Dallago. The duo traded shots and near-scoring scrambles for over 2:00 with neither wrestler able finish off any of the opening salvos. After a reset at 1:00, Brown bulled through a high double and steadily worked his way to a takedown and a 2-0 lead with :22 left in a spirited opening period. Dallago escaped but Brown quickly caught the Illini senior, took him to his back and nearly pinned him. The late five-point move gave Brown a 7-1 lead after the opening period. Brown chose down to start the second and Dallago locked his hands, giving Brown an 8-1 lead. Delgado maintained control, however, until the :55 mark when Brown escaped to a 9-1 lead. Dallago got called for a stall with :10 on the clock and Brown furiously worked for a takedown, but time ran out and the late score did not count, giving Brown a 9-1 lead after two. Dallago chose down to start the third period and Brown controlled the action from the top position until Dallago escaped at the 1:20 mark. But Brown continued to pour on the offense, rolling through another takedown to lead 11-2 with 1:10 left. He reset on his knees and began trying to lock up a cradle with :50 on the clock. No near fall points were given and Brown maintained the lead at the :10 mark. A short ride out and 1:15 in riding time gave Brown the 12-2 major. 184: Senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 184, faced off with Illini freshman Nikko Reyes. Ruth quickly took the Illini freshman down and then began working for an opportunity to turn the Illini for back points. Ruth controlled the action for all but :10 and then added one more takedown to lead 4-1 after one period. Reyes chose down to start the second period and Ruth cut him loose at the 1:40 mark, still with 2:59 in riding time. The duo battled evenly for the rest of the period and Ruth led 4-2 after two. Ruth chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. The Lion then worked Reyes to the mat and stepped behind him for a takedown and a 7-2 lead with 1:25 on the clock. With the riding time point assured, Ruth picked up another point on stalling and led 8-3 after cutting Reyes loose with :50 on the clock. Ruth circled around for a takedown with :30 on the clock and took a 10-3 lead. Ruth turned Reyes for three late back points and rolled to the 14-3 major with 4:04 in riding time. 197: Sophomore Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 7 nationally, took on Jeff Koepke at 197. McIntosh took multiple shots out of the gates, connecting on this third with 1:15 left to lead 2-1 in the opening stanza. Koepke got hit for a first stall with 1:00 on the clock and action resumed in the center circle. Leading 2-1 after one, McIntosh chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. McIntosh kept Koepke backing up and took a 4-1 lead on a stall point. A third stall meant another point and McIntosh led 5-1 with :45 left. The Lion then got in on a low single and notched a takedown to lead 7-2 with :30 on the clock after a Koepke escape. McIntosh led 7-2 after two and Koepke chose down to start the third. A Koepke escape cut the lead to 7-3 and McIntosh continued to pressure the Illini. The Lion sophomore connected with Koepke's ankle, pulled his head down to the mat and added a final takedown. With 1:03 in riding time, McIntosh posted the 10-3 decision. 285: Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) stepped up for Penn State and took on Illinois' Chris Lopez. The duo battled evenly for the opening over two minutes and then Gingrich got on the board with a solid low double, getting the takedown and taking a 2-0 lead with :51 on the clock. The Lion junior, making his second dual meet appearance of the year, then rode Lopez out to lead 2-0 after one. Lopez chose down to start the second stanza but Gingrich was able to break the Illini down and build up a sizeable riding time edge while looking for a turning combination. Gingrich maintained control for the entire period and, while not turning Lopez, entered the third period with a 2-0 lead and 2:51 in riding time. Gingrich chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Gingrich kept Lopez backing up, looking for offense and worked his way through a high double with :40 left to lead 5-0. Gingrich cut Lopez loose and quickly began looking for another takedown. Lopez backed out of the circle and the clock hit zeroes, giving Gingrich the 6-1 victory.

Columbus, Ohio -- After losing two of the first three matches, No. 10 Nebraska (9-1, 3-1 Big Ten) won six of the last seven en route to a 28-12 victory over No. 11 Ohio State at St. John Arena on Friday night. Redshirt freshmen Tim Lambert (125) and TJ Dudley (184) each earned pins for the Huskers, while No. 1 James Green (157) added more back points with a major decision. Lambert’s win came in the first bout of the night as he took down No. 16 Nick Roberts in 4:56. Lambert, the No. 9 wrestler by InterMat, improves to 17-6 and picks up his second fall of the season. No. 5 Jake Sueflohn earned Nebraska’s next victory of the night in the fourth match and started a streak of five consecutive Husker wins. Sueflohn battled No. 18 Ian Paddock to a 4-4 tie after two periods before the Husker junior exploded in the third period for a 9-4 triumph. Sueflohn started the period in the down position and earned a reversal before adding near fall points and tacking on a riding time point. At 157 pounds, Green used seven takedowns in his 16-4 major decision over Randy Languis. Green, a two-time All-American, is 23-0 on the season and picked up his sixth major decision. Austin Wilson snapped a three-match losing streak by taking down Ohio State’s Joe Grandominico at 165 pounds. Wilson, a sophomore, earned an early takedown and battled to a scoreless second period to take a 2-0 lead into the final two minutes. Starting the third period in the down position, Wilson escaped before earning a takedown and tacking on an additional point for riding time in a 6-0 win. No. 4 Robert Kokesh (174) continued Nebraska’s momentum in the following match by defeating No. 14 Mark Martin by a 6-2 margin. The grapplers entered the third period in a tie at zero before Kokesh earned an escape and two takedowns for the final score. Kokesh picks up his 25th win of the season and improves to 10-0 in duals. At 184 pounds, No. 11 Dudley extended Nebraska’s lead to 25-9 with his pin over No. 8 Kenny Courts in 2:29. The fall marks Dudley’s eighth of the season to tie Kokesh for first among Nebraska starters. Dudley is 21-4 on the season and improves to 9-1 in dual competition. Collin Jensen capped the NU victory at heavyweight with a 10-4 decision over Nick Tavanello. Jensen, a redshirt freshman, trailed Tavanello 4-1 after the first period before reeling off nine straight points against the Buckeye. Starting the second period in the down position, Jensen managed a reversal and near fall before a takedown in the third period and one final near fall. The Huskers suffered losses at 133, 141 and 197 pounds to ranked Buckeyes. Shawn Nagel dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 5 Johnni DiJulius at 133 pounds before Colton McCrystal was pinned by two-time defending national champion Logan Stieber at 141 pounds. At 197 pounds, No. 20 Caleb Kolb fell by a 3-1 sudden victory to No. 8 Nick Heflin. The Huskers continue their road trip on Sunday at noon CT when they face No. 21 Purdue at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind. The dual will be streamed on the Big Ten Digital Network, with a subscription required to view the matches. Results: 125: #9 Tim Lambert (NEB) by pin over #16 Nick Roberts (OSU), 4:56 (NEB 6, OSU 0) 133: #5 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) by dec. over Shawn Nagel (NEB), 2-1 (NEB 6, OSU 3) 141: #3 Logan Stieber (OSU) by pin over Colton McCrystal (NEB), 2:19 (OSU 9, NEB 6) 149: #5 Jake Sueflohn (NEB) by dec. over #18 Ian Paddock (OSU), 9-4 (NEB 9, OSU 9) 157: #1 James Green (NEB) by major dec. over Randy Languis (OSU), 16-4 (NEB 13, OSU 9) 165: Austin Wilson (NEB) by dec. over Joe Grandominico (OSU), 6-0 (NEB 16, OSU 9) 174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #14 Mark Martin (OSU), 6-2 (NEB 19, OSU 9) 184: #11 TJ Dudley (NEB) by pin over #8 Kenny Courts (OSU), 2:29 (NEB 25, OSU 9) 197: #8 Nick Heflin (OSU) by sudden victory over #20 Caleb Kolb (NEB), 3-1 (NEB 25, OSU 12) HWT: Collin Jensen (NEB) by dec. over Nick Tavanello (OSU), 10-4 (NEB 28, OSU 12)

The Lakeland College wrestling team was dominant on the mat from start to finish against Maranatha Baptist University, sweeping all 10 matches in a 58-0 dual meet victory Thursday night at the Woltzen Gymnasium. The Muskies won nine of the 10 matches by pin or forfeit to win the Northern Wrestling Association dual meet. Lakeland is now 3-2 in dual matches this season. The Muskies opened with a pair of forfeits and then received pins in four straight matches. Boone Roycraft (Fr.-Winneconne, Wis.) started by taking down Zach Zimmerman in 3:52 at 141 lbs., and Juan Diaz (Jr.-Park Ridge, Ill.) followed at 149 by taking down James Warren in just 1:53. Matt Weber (Jr.-Lockport, Ill.) was in control of his match most of the way and finally came up with the pin late at 157 lbs., winning by fall over Ricky Warren in 6:29. Mitchell Fucile (Fr.-Chilton, Wis.) followed with another pin, defeating Oliver Klein in 4:31. Rainger Rossway (Fr.-Marquette, Mich.) added a win by fall at heavyweight, defeating Daniel Kiesling in 2:57. Lakeland's other competition win came by Eddie Terres (Jr.-Escanaba, Mich.), who defeated Jesse Gjefle 14-5 by major decision. The Muskies also won both of the night's exhibition matches. Rossway earned a second win at 285 lbs., while Grant Franson (Sr.-Lindenhurst, Ill.) defeated Ricky Warren by decision. Lakeland is in action again Friday for duals hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Muskies face the host Pioneers at 6 p.m. and then take on NWA foe Knox (Ill.) College at 7:30 p.m.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- 18th ranked Colorado Mesa fell behind 19-3 after five bouts but won five consecutive wins in a 21-19 come from behind win over Chadron State in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual on Thursday night in Brownson Arena. The Mavericks dropped four of the first five bouts to open the night including a forfeit at 184 pounds. The dual started at 184 pounds. Chadron State came into the dual riding a nine-match winning streak and sat atop the RMAC with a 3-0 record. Two of Chadron's wins came from nationally ranked wrestlers Jordan Debus, who wrestled at 197 pounds tonight, and third ranked Dustin Stodola at 133 pounds. Colorado Mesa picked up back-to-back bonus point wins from Daniel Salazar and James Martinez. Salazar picked up a major decision over Jay Stine, 10-1, at 141 pounds followed by a technical fall win for James Martinez over Jacob Anderson, 16-0, at 149 pounds. Trevor Donarski, Jessie Hoffschneider, and Chester Granard followed suit with decisions in the next three weight classes. Jordan Passehl had the other victory for the Mavericks at 285 pounds. Passehl defeated the Eagles' Mike Hill 4-2 and improved to 16-5 on the season. The Mavericks will be back in action tomorrow night when they take on the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys at 7:00pm in Brownson Arena. Results: 125: Taylor Summers (CSC) maj dec Erick Vargas, 9-0 133: #3 Dustin Stodola (CSC) pins Jonathon Stelling, 4:37 141: Daniel Salazar (CMU) maj dec Jay Stine, 10-1 149: #2 James Martinez (CMU) tech fall Jacob Anderson, 16-0 157: Trevor Donarski (CMU) dec CJ Clark, 9-4 165: Jessie Hoffschneider (CMU) dec Tyler Smart, 9-2 174: #7 Chester Granard (CMU) dec Caleb Copeland, 6-0 184: Dylan Fors (CSC) wins by forfeit 197: #6 Jordan Debus (CSC) dec Paco Retana, 6-2 285: Jordan Passehl (CMU) dec Mike Hill, 4-2

CONWAY, Ark. – Truman Wrestling took care of Central Baptist (Ark.) 44-5 on Thursday night in a dual match victory. The Bulldogs return to the mats on Friday with an conference dual at Central Oklahoma. Josh Wells, Ryan Ward and Helmut Rentschler won the first three bouts of the evening to stake the 'Dogs (6-4) to the lead. Jabez Zinabu won by fall at 125 and following a loss at 133, the Bulldogs reeled off four straight wins with Mark Smith, Colton Schmitz and Devon Fenstermaker winning by falls. Results: 174 – Josh Wells (Truman) won by forfeit 184 – Ryan Ward (Truman) decision over Ricky Tate (9-3) 197 – Helmut Rentschler (Truman) tech fall over Jonathan Maraille (15-0) 285 – John Lopez (CBC) decision over Joel Geders (6-3) 125 – Jabez Zinabu (Truman) won by fall over Nathan Sheward 133 – Shelnutt (CBC) decision over Rafael Lopez (5-3) 141 – Mark Smith (Truman) won by fall over Jacob Worsley 149 – Ryan Maus (Truman) won by forfeit 157 – Colton Schmitz (Truman) won by fall Austin Gonzalez 165 – Devon Fenstermaker (Truman) won by fall Jacob McKenna

Kings Point, NY… The College of New Jersey wrestling team brought an end to the United States Merchant Marine Academy's eight-match winning streak ass the Lions posted a 25-12 road win over the Mariners on Thursday. The win put the 30th-ranled Lions at an even 4-4, while USMMA lost for the first time in more than a month to dip to 8-2. The Mariners raced out to a 9-3 lead following the first four weight classes with sophomore Jimmy Gill (Smithtown, NY/St. John the Baptist) getting TCNJ's win at 133 pounds with a 3-2 decision. Once down by six points, the Lions got rolling as sophomore Dylan Thorsen (Belvidere, NJ/Belvidere) won 149, sophomore Nick Herring (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) earned a decision at 157, and sophomore Antonio Mancella (Mays Landing, NJ/Oakcrest) put TCNJ in front at 13-9 with a technical fall win at 165. The Lions then sent their two ranked wrestlers out to the mat with 10th-ranked senior Zach Zotollo (Paramus, NJ/Paramus) posting a 10-4 win at 174 and top-ranked senior Brian Broderick (Manahawkin, NJ/Southern Regional) won 7-2. The final win of the night for the Lions came at 197 pounds thanks to junior Frank Crocco (Little Falls, NJ/Passiac Valley) pinned his opponent at 197 in 2:46. Lions aim to pack Packer Hall on February 7 TCNJ has set its match against fifth-ranked Wilkes University as "Alumni Night" on Friday, February 7 with the hopes of filling Packer Hall. The dual meet is set for a 7 p.m. start, but fans are encouraged to arrive early with pre-match t-shirt promotions being held, as well as a number of former Lion grapplers being introduced before the starting line-ups. Results: 125 – Mike Mui (USMMA) dec. Kevin Corrigan (TCNJ), 8-7; 0-3 133 – Jimmy Gill (TCNJ) dec. Isaac Hammonds (USMMA), 3-2; 3-3 141 – Nathan Twito (USMMA) wins by forfeit; 3-9 149 – Dylan Thorsen (TCNJ) dec. Jack Walsh (USMMA), 7-1; 6-9 157 – Nick Herring (TCNJ) dec. Ben Stallings (USMMA), 3-0; 9-9 165 – Antonio Mancella (TCNJ) tech. fall. Bernard Watson (USMMA), 21-6 (7:00); 13-9* 174 – #10 Zach Zotollo (TCNJ) dec. Josh Miller (USMMA), 10-4; 16-9 184 – #1 Brian Broderick (TCNJ) dec. Sam Fry (USMMA), 7-2; 19-9 197 – Frank Crocco (TCNJ) WBF Tyler Russell (USMMA), 2:46; 25-9 HWT – Brian Walker (USMMA) dec. Patrick Schinder (TCNJ), 4-1; 25-12 *4-Point Technical Fall (No Back Points Earned)

MOORHEAD, Minn. - Trailing 15-10 after the 174 pound bout, Southwest Minnesota State rattled off three straight victories to take a 19-15 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference dual win over MSU Moorhead. No. 6 Jacob Begin had his eight-bout winning streak halted by Connor Monk's pin of Begin at 2:23. No. 8 Justin Reinsma picked up his 22nd win of the season and extended his winning streak to seven with an 8-3 decision over Shane Novak at 133 pounds. Ethan Hildebrandt picked up a key decision at 141 to put SMSU up 6-3. Codie Lane was leading his 157-pound bout by a score of 6-5 in the third period, but Daniel Murakami scored a takedown with three seconds left to take the bout by decision, 7-6, and give MSUM a 9-6 lead. Kyle Begin answered for SMSU with a dominating performance over Shawn Porter. Begin led 13-1 after two periods and scored three 3-point nearfalls, but couldn't register the elusive 6-point pin. Begin went on to win 13-4 to give SMSU four points from the major decision. Andrew Rodas, Micah Larson and Cole Wilson all took wins by decision in their respective bouts to combine for nine points to erase the five-point deficit and give SMSU the 19-15 victory. The win was SMSU's third straight conference win. SMSU (9-3, 3-0 NSIC) will look to keep the streak going this Sunday at 2 p.m. in Fayette, Iowa versus Upper Iowa. Results: 125 | Blake Bosch (MSUM) defeats Antonio Meikel (SMSU) by decision, 8-3. MSUM leads 3-0 133 | Justin Reinsma (SMSU) defeats Shane Novak (MSUM) by decision, 8-3. Tied 3-3 141 | Ethan Hildebrandt (SMSU) defeats Isaac Novacek (MSUM) by decision, 8-7 (riding time). SMSU 6-3 149 | Garret Hoffner (MSUM) defeats Beau Buysse (SMSU) by decision, 5-3. Tied 6-6 157 | Daniel Murakami (MSUM) defeats Codie Lane (SMSU) by decision, 7-6. MSUM leads 9-6 165 | Kyle Begin (SMSU) defeats Shawn Porter (MSUM) by major dec. 13-4. SMSU leads 10-9 174 | Connor Monk (MSUM) defeats No. 6 Jacob Begin (SMSU) by fall, 2:23. MSUM leads 15-10 184 | Andrew Rodas (SMSU) defeats Matthew Lewellen (MSUM) by decision, 8-6. MSUM lead 15-13 197 | Micah Larson (SMSU) defeats Tyler Schlosser (MSUM) by decision, 3-0. SMSU leads 16-15 285 | Cole Wilson (SMSU) defeats Gerard Fugleberg (MSUM) by decision, 5-2. SMSU wins 19-15

The Adams State University Wrestling team defeated the New Mexico Highlands University Cowboys, 30-19. The match began with the 285 pound weight class. Freshman, Tuli Laulu was pinned by Cody Marquez at 4:20. The next six matches were all Grizzlies. Freshman, Ian Wingstrom got the Grizzlies on the board with a 5-4 decision over Eric Rangel. Wingstrom scored two takedowns in the match. Sophomore, Martin Ramirez earned the first of three pins for the Grizzlies at 4:50. Ramirez scored two takedowns before pinning Tre Humphrey. The second pin for the Grizzlies was scored by redshirt senior, and RMAC Wrestler of the Week, Ryan Fillingame at 2:52 over Orlando Guerra. Fillingame controlled the match in the first period with five takedowns before earning the pin just before the first period ended. The Grizzlies earned a forfeit at the 149 weight class. Redshirt senior, Daniel Kelly earned the third pin for the Grizzlies at 4:40 over Jesse Martinez. Kelly scored two takedowns before earning the pin in the second period. Redshirt junior, Mark Mabry, Jr. earned a late three point near fall and a point for riding time to beat Juan Alvarado, 5-4. The win gave the Grizzlies a commanding 30-6 advantage. The Cowboys would win the next three matches as redshirt sophomore, Mario Garcia lost to Easton Hargrave, 7-1, in the 174 pound weight class. Freshman, Nevada Bencomo was defeated by Igor Gomzin, 15-4. Freshman, Dakota Bencomo was pinned at 5:19 by Justin Rockhill. However, the Grizzlies had built too much of a lead over the Cowboys and won the dual, 30-19. Up next the Grizzlies host the University of Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, January 25 at 7 p.m. in Plachy Hall.

WHITEWATER, Wis. -- The Warhawk wrestling team came out on top of a battle of ranked teams Thursday evening in Kachel Gym. UW-Whitewater, ranked third in the National Wrestling Coaches Association, defeated No. 14 UW-La Crosse 27-17 to remain unbeaten in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, 5-0, and improve to 17-4 in dual matches this season. The Eagles fall to 8-3-1 overall and 3-1 in the league. Results || Photo Gallery (courtesy of Jenny DuPuis) Zac Denny (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) started off the match in the 125 pound bout against La Crosse's Ryan Weinmann. It took less than one minute for Denny to record a takedown after grabbing Weinmann's ankle. The action remained constant throughout the match with Weinmann searching to tie the score with a shot that took Denny's right leg nearing the end of the third period. Denny stayed strong and nearly reversed the Eagle offense in his favor to seal the 6-4 win and put Whitewater ahead 3-0. Fourth ranked Jimmy Nehls (Downers Grove, IL/North) took the early lead after a takedown of UW-L's 133-pounder, tenth ranked Dustin Weinmann. The brawlers battled hard through the three periods but Nehls held off a late surge by Weinmann for the 5-4 victory to extend the Warhawk lead to 6-0. Matt Adcock (Bloomingdale, IL/Lake Park), ranked sixth at 141 pounds, followed suit with another close bout. Adcock was able to kick out of a hold by La Crosse's Austin Schoen for an escape to seal the 3-2 win and keep the Eagles off the scoreboard. In the 149 pound weight class, No. 8 Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) cruised to a 7-0 lead after one period. He extended the margin and held his ground as UW-L's Dylan Shaffer pushed the pace in the third period to keep the major decision in reach. Perkin recorded the major after being awarded one point for riding time, 10-2, to give the Warhawks a 13-0 lead after five weight classes. The Eagles got on the board with a 14-0 major decision in the 157 pound weight class as RJ Dilcher topped Whitewater's Cam Loomis (River Falls/River Falls). Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield North), ranked fifth at 165 pounds, struck back for Whitewater. Despite high energy and action, the first period resulted in just two points with Gibson leading 2-0 after three minutes. Gibson's speed and power combination propelled him to a 7-1 win to push the UW-W lead to 16-4. TJ Decker (Pewaukee/Pewaukee) opened the 174 pound matchup with a takedown of Richard Carlson in exciting fashion with Decker lifting Carlson in the air and driving him to the mat. Decker tallied four takedowns in the bout adding one point of riding time for a 9-3 win. The scoreboard showed 19-4 in favor of Whitewater with three bouts remaining. La Crosse's Eric Twohey, ranked second at 184 pounds grabbed the win by a 2-0 decision to add three points to the Eagles' total to make the score 19-7. Top ranked Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) sealed the dual for UW-W at 197 pounds. Siefert recorded a takedown, two three-point nearfalls and two two-point nearfalls in the first period to take a 12-1 lead after three minutes of action. He ended the bout with a takedown followed by a nearfall in the second period to record the technical fall, 16-1, in 3:50. Siefert's win put the dual out of reach of the Eagles with the Warhawks leading 24-7. Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon), ranked third at 285 pounds, put the finishing touches on the dual. With the score tied 1-1 after regulation, the bout went into sudden death overtime. A flurry by both wrestlers gave Edgren an opening which he took to record the takedown and the win, 3-1. The Warhawks will host the annual Border Brawl Duals Saturday, January 25 in Kachel Fieldhouse in Whitewater. The dual matches are scheduled to begin at 11:00 with separate flight competitions taking place throughout the day. The final round of duals is set for 6:00 Saturday evening.

Matt Nagel has taken the Concordia Moorhead wrestling program to new heights in his first season as the lone head wrestling coach of the program. The Cobbers recently finished runner-up at the NWCA National Duals in Division III and climbed to No. 2 in the national rankings. Matt Nagel (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Your team recently finished runner-up at the National Duals, knocking off two higher ranked teams. How would you assess your team's performance at the National Duals? Nagel: For the first time it was a test for our guys. We just wrestled with a whole other level of intensity. I think that was the difference maker. They believed that they could be in that position. By believing in themselves they just wrestled a lot harder. They won all the close positions. We made some huge improvements, but we're not there yet. I think we can continue to get better. How important was it for your program to face Wartburg, the No. 1 team in the country? Nagel: I think it was great, especially after having the bit of success that we did. The guys were on a real high note. But at the same time it was good for them to see that next level. We got to that high point, but then kind of got beat up on by Wartburg. It was good for them to see that so that they know we need to go back to the drawing board and that we have room to get better. Concordia is now ranked No. 2 in the latest rankings. What does that No. 2 national ranking mean to your program? Nagel: It's great for our program. It's a big deal for recruiting purposes and things like that, and just for people to know that what we're doing here is the real deal and we're trying to build this thing up. But as far as the end of the year, it's just a number and the guys still have to commit to the rest of the season and continue to get better. Ultimately what happens at the end of the year is going to be the difference maker. Your 133-pounder Jacoby Bergeron recently climbed to No. 3 in the latest rankings. What has been the biggest difference in his wrestling of late? Nagel: I think he has just done a really good job with his weight. His training has been spot-on, and that then allows him to go out and wrestle as hard as he can. He has a very good gas tank and he wrestles through all positions, and I think that has been the difference maker. We've gone up against some of those ranked opponents before, but this weekend we're starting to close the gap and beat those guys. He's finding his shots. He's finding his openings. Like I said, he's just wrestling through all positions. This is your fifth season at Concordia, but your first season as the lone head coach of the wrestling program. What has been the biggest change with your title change? Nagel: To be honest with you, there's not a whole lot of change. The previous two years we were co-head coaches. We see it more as just a label change. Clay does a lot of recruiting, and that's a huge impact on our program and a huge time-consuming task. He's able to get out and meet those kids, make those contacts, and get the kids here. I've been doing a lot more of the technique. So not a lot has changed. What's it like working with your father? Clay NagelNagel: To have him as a mentor has been a huge thing in the respect that he's a veteran coach. He has all those good pieces of information when it comes to those tough questions … like whether to wrestle someone or not wrestle someone, or whether an athlete needs to be training harder. So he has all those little bits of information that come from being a head coach for a long time. Sometimes as a young head coach you can get caught up in the intensity. So I think we have a real nice balance. I have been able to bring in a lot of the stuff I learned at Minnesota, like with the intensity, but at the same time we're keeping a nice level of intensity that fits for our kids. Your roster includes several Minnesota wrestlers, but you do you have wrestlers from states like California, Idaho, and Montana. How do you approach recruiting? Nagel: The biggest thing for us is that we want to give opportunities to the kids that are from around this area. That's what college wrestling is for. There are a lot of schools around the metro area, but there are kids around here that want to wrestle in college, so we're giving them that opportunity. So it's important for us to seek out the local kids and get them around here. And then after that, we're just trying to make contacts with as many kids as we can. It's a unique division to recruit for. In Division III you really have to have a specific profile to meet the academic criteria and be able to make it work financially. So there's a lot of that goes into it. Not every kid is able to make it. We have to reach out to as many kids as possible and if they fit the profile and it works out for them, then we'll get them on campus. You spent time at the University of Minnesota as a Division I athlete. Now you're a Division III coach. How does a Division III wrestling practice compare to a Division I wrestling practice? Nagel: I try to instill almost all the things we did at Minnesota, but I have to tailor it to the athletes I have. These kids that we're getting here maybe haven't been exposed to quite as much as some of the kids I was wrestling with at Minnesota. But at the same time they can still get that same amount of intensity. We just have to break things down a little bit more and try to get them to that level. You had a successful career at Minnesota, where you earned All-American honors in 2005 and had over a 100 career victories. When you look back on your own competitive career, do you have any regrets? Matt Nagel earned All-American honors at at Minnesota (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Nagel: I really don't. I used every opportunity I could to get better while I was there. It was a phenomenal experience. I credit everything I'm doing today to my experience at Minnesota. I learned so much and was able to connect with so many important people. J Robinson and just all the lifelong lessons. I think about the other coaches that I had, like Mark Schwab, and all the motivational things that I still use to this day. Marty Morgan, Luke Becker, Brandon Eggum, and Jared Lawrence … all those guys had such a huge impact on my life. My freshman year I took some serious lumps and in that position might not have taken the opportunity to wrestle as high as I did, but I think it was a great experience for me and it made me a lot tougher later on in my career. You had a tremendous amount of success in Greco-Roman. Do you believe Greco-Roman wrestling can help wrestlers in folkstyle wrestling? Nagel: Absolutely. I think it's huge. The things you learn from Greco-Roman wrestling, like how to use your hips, balance, and pressure and things like that, really help. It's very evident to me when we get in those positions that some wrestlers don't know how to use their hips if they have never wrestled Greco-Roman. That's a huge part of wrestling. They need to be able to feel that balance and use their hips in those ways. That's what Greco-Roman wrestling is all about. I can't encourage it enough. We're trying to move in that direction where I'm trying to get my guys to go to events like the FILA Junior World Team Trials to get them exposed to that. In practice I'll put them in body lock positions, seatbelt positions, where they'll just battle with their hips and learn to use their hips. When you were getting out of college, MMA was really gaining in popularity. Some of your contemporaries, like Johny Hendricks, have gone on to great success in the UFC. Did you ever seriously consider an MMA career? Nagel: No, I didn't. I just don't know if it was ever in the cards for me. If someone would have approached me, then maybe I would have considered it. At that time in my life I started to train a little bit for two years after college, and the competitive fire wasn't quite there. I was working on my master's and trying to get my graduate work done. But it's fun for me now to watch guys like Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley. I wrestled both those guys at the NCAA tournament and many other times. So it's fun to see those guys and it's great to have wrestlers in the UFC. What is this year's team capable of accomplishing? Nagel: I really believe that we can be a top-two team in the country. I really think that with the guys that we have and our abilities, we can get a number of All-Americans. With our upperclassmen, I think we have a chance to get two or three guys in the finals or in that third-place match. That's what it's going to take. We're not there yet, but I think we can continue to get better. I think that it's a realistic possibility for them. The biggest thing is the guys are finally believing that we're a top-tier team. This story also appears in the Jan. 24 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Though we're well underway with the NCAA season, this weekend's 25th annual Ivan Yariguin Memorial wrestling tournament in Krasnoyarsk marks the opening event of 2014 freestyle calendar. Known as the "toughest wrestling tournament in the world," the Yariguin usually features a concentration of Russian talent only duplicated at their national tournament. Add in a few Olympic champions from surrounding countries and tough guy Brent Metcalf, and what you have is one very, very impressive three days of wrestling. The Yariguin is not only the first tournament of the season, but the first tournament since the wrestling world recovered from its collective #SaveOlympicWrestling hangover. It's the perfect time to reflect on what was gained during the 209-day campaign. In Krasnoyarsk, the sport of wrestling never has been more popular with children. Already the favored sport in much of Siberia, the local clubs in Krasnoyarsk have seen an unprecedented swelling of their rolls. According to three-time Olympic champion Buvasair Satiev, "We have never had more new wrestlers in our schools. This decision was the best thing to happen to our sport in terms of enrollment." That's a favorable way to look at wrestling's past struggle. In the vein of "any press is good press," the IOC's decision to cut wrestling was a $10 million recruitment campaign. Numbers soaring and interest in the sport at its highest in decades, wrestling now needs to take advantage of its opportunity (outside of the various professional organizations). We need to grow the sport at home and develop a set of talking points that we can use to recruit new athletes. Something you can do today, if you haven't already, is sign up for the National Registry 4 Wrestling in America. No matter where I am in the country I talk up the sport and tell anyone who'll listen, from cab drivers to lawyers -- anyone who is foolish enough to engage me in the topic. I tell them why they need to put their child in wrestling, and how wrestling, compared to other sports like football or baseball, can help build real life skills and a mental toughness that'll take them farther than even the most incredible gridiron glories. My sales pitch doesn't always land, but when it does it feels like those two or three extra students will matter to the long-term health of the sport by growing our base of participation and understanding. Let's keep up the momentum and make sure that wrestling once-again becomes the showcase sport of the Olympics. To your questions ... Q: In one of the most upset-laden seasons we've had in a long time, how surprising is it that Pittsburgh beat Oklahoma State? -- Nicholas B. Foley: Surprising, but mostly just impressive. Pitt has been a program on cruise control for years. This summer they elevated longtime assistant coach Jason Peters to the head job, and in his first-ever matchup with John Smith, he manages a 19-18 victory. Pitt can finish in the top ten for the first time in several years. Jason Peters is in his first season as Pitt's head wrestling coach (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)There is something to all these upsets, but it's too early to tell if this is a blip on the radar, or an early taste of what wrestling has become. I tend to believe that the talent gap in wrestling is shrinking, in part thanks to a better transmission of information, and an earlier specialization in amateur sports by youth athletes. Thirty years ago to be the best wrestler in the country meant learning techniques from Dan Gable and his staff. Today, a quick Internet search by wrestler or coach can impart that same knowledge. While the grit and intangible of coaches like Gable can't be delivered over Wi-Fi, the techniques and match-planning that helped make them successful are very much accessible. Congrats to Pitt and Coach Peters on a job well done, but I'm still pulling for my Wahoos this weekend. Q: Penn State just feels too good. Does lack of parity hurt wrestling? Also, after Taylor and Ruth graduate do you think they'll have the firepower to win in 2015? If not, what team will take over as the favorite for 2015 when they don't have the 40 or so tournament points those guys rack up? -- Brandon J. Foley: Lack of parity? Say whaaa? All seven returning NCAA champions from 2013 have lost this season. None of those seven are top-ranked in their weight class, and last weekend the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 teams in the country all lost. Penn State could dominate the NCAA tournament. Last year they had the firepower to put on a 40-plus point differential, but remember that even last year they needed a win in the finals at 197 pounds to finish the job. Also, if this season has taught us anything it's that we can never assume an outcome, individual or team. Ed Ruth was untouchable until Gabe Dean handled him in the finals of the Southern Scuffle. Penn State will be geared up for a battle in Oklahoma City. They are aware that as the No. 1 program in the country, wrestlers from every team will give their best performance. That competitive energy will result in upsets. The talent level between wrestlers and programs is thin. While Penn State has escaped an upset, nothing is guaranteeing that they won't be bested by a nation of wrestlers all clamoring for top prize in Oklahoma City. As for 2015, there is plenty to suss out. Penn State might well open as the preseason No. 1 team in the country, but that honor might belong to any number of teams, from Iowa to Ohio State to Cornell. Q: I was watching the Saitiev video for the fifth time and was astounded watching his throws. A thought came to me: why don't we see more throws in folkstyle? And then I considered the idea that it may be because there are high risks to perform a throw with no real reward in folkstyle. Wouldn't it be interesting if the folkstyle rules were tweaked to give an extra point or two if a throw was performed with both feet of the wrestler lifted from the mat? Thoughts? -- Ken S. Foley: In freestyle the rules have been changed to make simplicity more important than incentivizing the rare throw. At the 2013 World Championships there were zero five-point throws in men's freestyle, a handful in women's freestyle, and roughly 8-10 in Greco-Roman. Like the talent level at the NCAA tournament, international wrestlers are too good to be put in that compromising a position. By making all back exposures two points -- therefore upping takedown with back exposures from three to four points -- there is a very good chance you will see an increase in feet to back maneuvers in 2014. However, it's unclear if the risk of being exposed on your own attack might also limit the attacks of offensive wrestlers. This weekend in Krasnoyarsk should prove to be an ideal situation for testing the new rules for efficacy in creating fairness and action. In folkstyle any rule that would incentivize lifting an opponent off the ground would create hazardous throws from bad positions. Unlike freestyle which allows bottom wrestlers to base out and avoid being turned, folkstyle encourages a flurry of action, and with a wrestler behind you, it would be madness if lifting feet off the ground added more points to your total. Even if the rule was that scoring could only happen from neutral, wrestlers would take dangerous risks with opponents since the reward would be added points. Overall, folkstyle is much more about control, while freestyle remains about securing moves. Adding points for moves rather than control would distract from the traditional aims of American folkstyle. Q: So I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and he asked me if I knew of any tournaments around the country that featured either folkstyle or freestyle wrestling and had a class for guys over 50. He's 65 and in great shape. I wrestle him (primarily in jiujitsu and grappling) every two weeks or so. He's pretty good. All I could think of was NAGA, which I think is all submission wrestling. Do you know of any tournaments where an old fart like me (55) or my friend could attempt to pathetically relive their glory days for an afternoon? -- @german663 Foley: There are a few veterans tournaments around the country, but you'd have to check the USA Wrestling schedule to see when and where they occur. USA Wrestling does help compile a veterans team that travels to the World Championships in Belgrade. I interviewed those guys last year and they seemed to have really enjoyed the experience. Start with USA Wrestling and work your way back from there. Cade OlivasQ: Just curious if you know what happened to Cade Olivas this year? He is a rising star and I assume he is a freshman, but is he too small for varsity? Love watching that kid get after it ... relentless. -- Justin Z. Foley: Oh, I think he's in eighth grade. I agree about his tenacity. Loved watching him compete at the Cadet World Championships in Serbia where he won bronze. I think he'll be the next big high school star, but I'm waiting until he starts his freshman year to start the stalk! Q: Here's a theory for you to mull over. I have thought the high attendance and near-to or capacity crowds at the NCAA tournament is to some degree due the scarcity of Division I programs in some areas. If I live in an area with little to no college wrestling, say Louisiana, and I have to travel, do I spend the money and time to travel to an in-season tournament or dual, or since I have to spend significant dollars focus on going to the NCAAs? I see fans of defunct programs every year and while I've never asked them, I'd bet most haven't attended a regular season event. --Fred H. Foley: This is a very solid point. I guess there is a small percentage of fans that attend the NCAA tournament as alumni from defunct programs. If you consider the number of programs that have been cut it wouldn't be surprising if a few guys from each of those teams still make the trip to NCAAs to see each other and enjoy the wrestling. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Iowa vs. Minnesota Q: My friend Paul Diefenbach did some research and turned up this related info: Steve Mocco of Iowa in 2002 was indeed ranked No. 1 as a true freshman and lost in the NCAA finals to Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State. The year before, Rowlands was No. 1 as a redshirt freshman and lost in the finals to John Lockhart of Illinois. These are the only freshman heavyweights I can find that were ranked No. 1, and I can't find any freshman heavyweight champs. If it happened, it was pre-1949 (freshmen were ineligible from 1949-1971). -- Jim C. Foley: Our readers, folks. Awesome stuff. Mike ZadickQ: Where is Mike Zadick? What has he been doing since he left Iowa? -- Mark K. Foley: From what I've been told he's living back in Montana and has moved into a business outside of wrestling. Best of luck to him and his AMAZING beard. Love the Zadicks. Q: So if you had a dual meet with the eight weight classes with the preseason No. 1s vs. the current No. 1s, who's winning? Are we looking at the changing of the guard, a red herring that all NCAA champs should be undefeated, or overwhelming parity? P.S. Can we get the Bears Superfans to stop doing crappy commercials and start doing shorts about Adam Coon? Coon vs. a hurricane? What if the hurricane is named Adam Coon? -- Tom B. Foley: I'm one-hundred percent behind the preseason No. 1 wrestlers. Seven of them have already proven they can win an NCAA title, and the other is Tony Ramos. Even if they all won't win (and they won't) 4-5 will finish the NCAA tournament as the champion. As mentioned above, there have been plenty of marketable upsets this season that lend to the idea of a shrinking talent gap, but when it comes time to deliver in March, I still believe in two-time NCAA champs like Logan Stieber and Ed Ruth. Even Tony Nelson, who has suffered two losses this month, is much more likely to win the NCAA tournament than anyone else at heavyweight, including wunderkind Adam Coon. As for the Bears, please allow me a moment to vent a frustration I've acquired while living in Chicago. No city in America is as up and down about the fortune of their team's chances for postseason glory more than those who reside in Chicago. Win the Week 3 matchup with the Colts and fans think the Bears a lock for the Super Bowl, lose and they should fire the entire staff and burn down Soldier Field. But what is worse than their mania, is their affection for "gunslinger" Jay Cutler -- the apathetic fat face who is the curse of modern sports. It's flummoxing that Chicago -- The City of Broad Shoulders, The City That Works -- gives affection to that fish-handed weenie. The Bears' last Super Bowl winning quarterback was Jim McMahon, who might not have been the Dick Butkus of quarterbacks, but at least he cared about winning and losing and could dance. By the way, has Adam Coon already reached the level of wrestling celebrity? Are we turning this freshman grappler into a folk legend before February? If so ... I'm totally in. I find nothing more entertaining than assigning superhero powers to 19-year-olds just trying to win matches and graduate. Adam Coon as wrestling's Chuck Norris! Q: FYI: Patrick Downey is not in Oregon. He is attending classes at Iowa Central Community College. -- Troy B. Foley: Xie xie. Q: These four kids are arguably four of the best high school wrestlers in the past 25 years. Just for fun, if they were to wrestle each other at the same weight class in high school, who would win the Iron Man Tournament? Cary Kolat Alan Fried David Taylor Dustin Schlatter -- Henry T. Foley: Cary Kolat. He was on a different planet in high school. Like Dan Gable was in college wrestling, the ability of a high school wrestler is still judged by how he compares to Kolat. Remember that Kolat placed fourth at Midlands while still in high school, back when that tournament had post-grads entering by the dozen and every good team showed up for action. Q: While this year's dual meet season has been marked by a large number of surprising outcomes, haven't all the individual upsets served to completely remove the drama from one race... isn't The Dan Hodge Trophy being engraved at this very moment with David Taylor's name once again? -- Cal M. Foley: The InterMat Wrestler of the Year Award is decided after the final whistle in March. But if you're asking if he's the least likely to drop a match, then you're likely correct. However, I like my boy Nick Sulzer of Virginia to give him a test. I know it seems like a long shot, and maybe it is, but Sulzer has the talent to win a title. And not for nothing, DT is only 1-2 in the NCAA finals.

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- Campbell remains unbeaten after defeating Gardner-Webb 30-9 Thursday night, using seven individual wins to move to 3-0 overall and in the Southern Conference. Cody Ryba (174 pounds), Ville Heino (184 pounds), and Taylor McGiffen (197 pounds) all improved to 3-0 in league action to lead CU. Tyler Walker (125 pounds) and Eloheim Palma (285 pounds) both moved to 2-0 with wins Thursday. The Walker twins opened up the match with two wins for the second-straight time. At 125 pounds, Tyler picked up his second win of the season with a 1:55 pin over William Anderson. In the 133-pound division, Drew earned his third major decision of the year 15-5 over Robbie Golde to put CU up 10-0. Gardner-Webb came back with two wins at 141 and 149. Ryan Mosely defeated Michael Dahlstrom 7-3 before Tyler Ziegler took a 6-3 decision over Collin Munson, closing the score to 10-6. Grant Blumenthal gave the Camels another win at 157 pounds, posting the 6-3 decision over Alex Bennett. No. 20 Austin Trott edged out Paul Duggan 1-0 at 165 pounds, and picked up the final Runnin' Bulldog win of the day. Ryba notched his second major decision of the year at 174, 12-2 over Aaron Rabin. Heino followed with another major decision victory, 16-6 over Zach Bennett in the 184-pound spot. At 197 pounds, McGiffen picked up his second tech fall of the year, taking down Terry Henderson 20-5. Palma earned the final CU win of the day, 9-4 over Justin Kozera in the heavyweight bout. Full results are listed below. The Camels have a quick turnaround, as they compete at N.C. State tomorrow in a 7 p.m. match. Results: 125 - Tyler Walker (CAM) pin William Anderson (GWU), 1:55 133 - Drew Walker (CAM) major dec. Robbie Golde (GWU), 15-5 141 - Ryan Mosley (GWU) dec. Michael Dahlstrom (CAM), 7-3 149 - Tyler Ziegler (GWU) dec. Collin Munson (CAM), 6-3 157 - Grant Blumenthal (CAM) dec. Alex Bennett (GWU), 6-3 165 - No. 20 Austin Trott (GWU) dec. Paul Duggan (CAM), 1-0 174 - Cody Ryba (CAM) major dec. Aaron Rabin (GWU), 12-2 184 - Ville Heino (CAM) major dec. Zach Bennett (GWU), 16-6 197 - Taylor McGiffen (CAM) tech. fall Terry Henderson (GWU), 20-5 285 - Eloheim Palma (CAM) dec. Justin Kozera (GWU), 9-4

Corvallis, Ore. -- The No. 24 Oregon State wrestling team downed No. 20 Lehigh 28-10 Thursday night in front of Beaver Nation. The Beavers started the night with a bang as Toney Chay (165) pinned Lehigh’s Ben Haas in 4:33, giving Oregon State an early six point lead, and setting the tone for the rest of the match. Teammate Joe Latham (174) kept the ball rolling as he upset No. 16 Elliot Riddick by a 5-2 decision, extending the Beaver’s lead to nine. Oregon State’s Austin Morehead (184) followed that performance with an 11-1 major decision over Zach Diekel, bringing the score to 13-0. Moving into 197, No. 13 Taylor Meeks collected six points for the Beavers off a Mountain Hawk forfeit, giving Oregon State a 19-0 lead. No. 15 Amarveer Dhesi (HWT) then topped Lehigh’s Doug Vollaro with an 8-4 decision moving into the lighter weight classes. The Mountain Hawks earned the next 10 points of the match in three consecutive bouts. Lehigh’s Darian Cruz defeated Joey Palmer (125) by a 9-4 decision, followed by No. 7 Mason Beckman who topped Drew Van Anrooy (133) by a 4-0 decision. At 141, Lehigh’s No. 15 Laike Gardner defeated joey Delgado with an 11-3 major decision, bringing the score to 19-10 heading into the final two bouts. No. 12 Scott Sakaguchi (149) brought the house down with an exciting 6-4 sudden victory decision over Lehigh’s No. 11 Mitch Minotti. Tied at 4-4, the bout was sent into overtime, where Sakaguchi grabbed an early takedown to claim the victory, bringing the crowd to their feet. No. 11 RJ Pena finished the night off for the Beavers with an 8-6 decision over Lehigh’s No. 10 Joey Napoli, finalizing Oregon State’s 28-10 victory over their ranked opponent. Oregon State hosts No. 6 Oklahoma on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. PT in Gill Coliseum. The match will air live on the Pac-12 Networks, while live stats and updates can be found at www.Trackwrestling.com and Twitter.com/OSU_Wrestling. The Beavers will also be celebrating Senior Day to honor their six senior wrestlers for their years of hard work and commitment to the program. Senior Day celebrations will starts at 11:15 before the match gets underway. Head Coach Jim Zalesky on Toney Chay’s pin in the first bout… “I was happy with tonight. Toney is our guy and he’s had some success… He kept at it and got the takedown, and we worked on that, and then he got the pin. Instead of letting the guy go, he turned him over and got the pin. It was a great way to start, with six points.” On Joe Latham upsetting his ranked opponent… “I think he could have wrestled better, but I think it was a good win for him against a ranked opponent. He wrestled a good match.” On Scott Sakaguchi’s performance… “I think Sakaguchi kind of woke up. He came out a little too slow and the guy had a higher pace than him. But he found a way to win; sometimes you just have to find a way to win.” Scott Sakaguchi on his matchup… “I just kept hustling. I knew he was just trying to hold on for the win at that point and I started getting frustrated… I refocused and realized I just had to go and get a lot of points really quick. That’s probably the most fun of a dual I have ever wrestled in.” On the team’s win… “I felt like the team all around was getting excited and scoring a lot of points and hustling. For the team, and for myself, it’s the most fun dual I have been a part of, for sure… We started in the middle and those guys did an awesome job, they got us all excited. Jess (Lewis) gave us a good speech before and it got us all fired up.” Results: 165: Toney Chay pinned Ben Haas, 4:33 (OSU 6, LU 0) 174: Joe Latham dec. No. 16 Elliot Riddick, 5-2 (OSU9, LU 0) 184: Austin Morehead maj. dec. Zach Diekel, 11-1 (OSU 13, LU 0) 197: No. 13 Taylor Meeks forfeit over John Bolich, FFT (OSU 19, LU 0) HWT: No. 15 Amarveer Dhesi dec. Doug Vollaro, 8-4 (OSU 22, LU 0) 125: Darian Cruz dec. Joey Palmer, 9-4 (OSU 22, LU 3) 133: No. 7 Mason Beckman dec. Drew Van Anrooy, 4-0 (OSU 22, LU 6) 141: Laike Gardner maj. dec. Joey Delgado, 11-3 (OSU 22, LU 10) 149: No. 12 Scott Sakaguchi dec. No. 11 Mitch Minotti, 6-4 OT (OSU 25, LU 10) 157: No. 11 RJ Pena dec. No. 10 Joey Napoli, 8-6 (OSU 28, LU 10)

UFC on FOX is upon us, and before overly dedicated fans begin obsessing about the ratings for the Saturday show and what that one data point means for the history of the entire sport, Richard and John break down the four main card bouts. There is rambling, yelling, disagreements, and even some actual fight analysis thrown in. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Top-ranked Michigan heavyweight Adam Coon and Penn State 141-pounder Zain Retherford are both undefeated heading into their final two months of their true freshman seasons. Though neither is likely to retain their perfect season, it got us thinking about which wrestlers of the past ten years had the most impressive campaigns as true freshmen. Here's our list of top ten freshmen of the past ten years. Honorable Mention: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) NCAA sixth-place finisher in 2012 Logan Storley (Minnesota) NCAA sixth-place finisher in 2012 James Green (Nebraska) NCAA seventh-place finisher in 2012 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) NCAA round of 12 in 2011 Alan Waters (Missouri) 39-7 in 2010-2011 Quentin Wright (Penn State) NCAA sixth-place finisher in 2009 Kellen Russell (Michigan) Big Ten champ, 2-2 at NCAAs in 2008 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) NCAA eighth-place finisher in 2005 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) NCAA sixth-place finisher in 2010 10. Nick Gwiazdowski (Binghamton/North Carolina State) NCAA eight-place finisher in 2012 Summary: Winning as a freshman is always difficult, but special consideration has to be paid to any wrestler who can come out of high school at 18 and mix it up with 285-pound goliaths for five months. Nick Gwiazdowski was as unlikely an All-American as there ever was when he took home a plaque in 2012, and his performance against bigger and stronger men proved that true freshman success could stretch to heavyweights. 9. Cam Tessari (Ohio State/Hofstra) NCAA fourth-place finisher in 2012 Cam Tessari finished fourth at the 2012 NCAAs after losing in the opening round (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Summary: One of the biggest recruits for Ohio State head wrestling coach Tom Ryan in 2011, Cam Tessari was one of the Monroeville High School wrestlers many fans thought would lead the program for the next five seasons. Tessari fulfilled his promise in 2012 by earning a 10th seed at the NCAA tournament and then outperforming that seed to finish fourth at 149 pounds. The Ohio native, who has battled inconsistency over his first two seasons, has since transferred to Hofstra where Rob Anspach is hoping Tessari can recreate his freshman magic. 8. Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma/Oklahoma State) NCAA fifth-place finisher in 2010 Tyler Caldwell reached the NCAA semifinals in 2010 by defeating Chris Brown of Old Dominion in the quarterfinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Summary: Unseeded heading into the 2010 NCAA tournament, Tyler Caldwell used a close 3-2 tiebreaker win over fifth-seeded Colt Sponseller (Ohio State ) to propel him into the quarterfinals against Old Dominion's Chris Brown. After a 2-1 decision over Brown, Caldwell battled to a 4-1 decision loss to Andrew Howe in the semifinals. Not much had been expected of Caldwell heading into the NCAA tournament, but that run on the front side of the bracket, plus a win over ninth-seeded Andy Rendos of Bucknell, made Caldwell one of the best true freshman wrestlers of this decade. 7. Lance Palmer (Ohio State) NCAA fourth-place finisher in 2007 Summary: Lance Palmer, a four-time Ohio state champion, was a top ten wrestler all season, and at NCAAs found himself facing Matt Coughlin (Indiana) in the quarterfinals. He won 2-1, and thought he'd drop his semifinal match to Josh Churella (Michigan), 5-2. Palmer would go on to earn a respectable fourth-place finish. Palmer was tremendous on the mat, which allowed him to make a smooth transition to Division I college wrestling. 6. J.P. O'Connor (Harvard) NCAA fifth-place finisher in 2007 Summary: Wrestling in the shadow of Harvard NCAA champion Jesse Jantzen could have been crippling for four-time New York state champion J.P. O'Connor. But by the end of the 2007 season it was obvious that O'Connor had learned that you could win an NCAA title by being better on the mat. With arguably the best ride in the history of NCAA wrestling, O'Connor managed his way into sixth place in a loaded 149-pound weight class in 2007. 5. Nico Megaludis (Penn State) NCAA runner-up in 2012 Summary: A surprise NCAA finalist two seasons ago, Nico Megaludis has since become the type of top-tier wrestler every program wants. He's fun to watch, aggressive on his feet, and puts on stunning displays of flexibility and creativity in shot defense. Whether he's hitting the splits, or working counter-offense, Megaludis was, and still is, a top contender. 4. Troy Nickerson (Cornell) NCAA runner-up in 2006 Summary: The first five-time state champion from New York State, there was plenty of hype following Troy Nickerson to Ithaca in 2005-06. For the most part, Nickerson delivered on that hype. Under the guidance of Cornell head coach Rob Koll and then-assistant Steve Garland, Nickerson utilized a brutal top game and aggressive counter offense to make a run to the NCAA finals. 3. Andrew Howe (Wisconsin/Oklahoma) NCAA runner-up in 2009 Summary: Though he's now in his sixth season and growing roots at the NCAA tournament, there was a time (last decade) when Andrew Howe was fresh on the scene. A Donny Pritzlaff duplicate, Howe excelled at Wisconsin in his true freshman season by doing what Donny had done years earlier -- working the head, keeping position, and giving up stunningly few points. He's the favorite to win in 2014, and with two championships and four top-three NCAA finishes, Howe will go down as one of the best of all time. 2. Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) NCAA champion in 2006 Dustin Schlatter cruised to an NCAA title as a true freshman (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Summary: Mat-stomping intimidation and a grueling pace made Schlatter feared as a true freshman. Along with Troy Nickerson, Schlatter was among the first wave of true freshmen wrestlers in the NCAA who showed that the young could more often than not compete with upperclassmen in their first season. Before 2006 the majority of young wrestlers needed a year or two to develop on the mat and in shot defense. Not Schlatter. He was strong, tough-minded, strong defensively and offensive. That season he defeated NCAA champion Zack Esposito of Oklahoma State twice, including once by major decision. 1. Kyle Dake (Cornell) NCAA champion in 2010 Kyle Dake won his first NCAA championship at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Summary: What happened after Kyle Dake's freshman season is really what pushed him past Dustin Schlatter and into the top spot of true freshman. What many had hoped Schlatter would become, Dake became, and it all started in his true freshman season. A four-time NCAA champion at four weights in four straight years, Dake has an argument for overall greatest of all time. Advocates for the Cornell legend would have tough time outstripping Cael Sanderson's undefeated career, but when it comes to topping a list of diaper dandies, nobody was better than Dake.

The Lindenwood wrestling team defeated the Central Missouri Mules by a score of 27-16 in Warrensburg, Mo. on Wednesday night. Central Missouri started off the dual with a Zeb Spicer pin over Tyler Sexton in the 174 weight class. Lindenwood took the next five matches to give the Lions a 22-6 lead and it would be all they needed. John McArdle won 20-8 in his match and Steven Butler pinned his opponent at the 1:11 mark in the 285 weight class. Matt Katusin also won by pinfall as his came at the 1:22 mark. Colton Orlando fell to No. 3 Frank Cagnina and Luke Roth lost to No. 7 Ty Loethen in their respective weight classes. The Lions improve to 3-0 in duals. Lindenwood will return to action on Saturday when they take on Central Oklahoma.