InterMat Staff

Top-ranked Penn State defeated No. 3 Iowa, 24-12, on Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Read the live blog replay. Results: 125: No. 3 Nico Megaludis (PSU) vs. No. 4 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 4-1 133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (Iowa) pinned No. 15 Jimmy Gulibon (PSU), 5:22 141: No. 2 Zain Retherford (PSU) dec. No. 9 Josh Dziewa (Iowa), 4-2 149: Zack Beitz (PSU) dec. Michael Kelly (Iowa), 6-1 157: No. 1 Derek St. John (Iowa) dec. James Vollrath (PSU), 10-4 165: No. 1 David Taylor (PSU) maj. dec. No. 4 Nick Moore (Iowa), 12-3 174: No. 3 Matt Brown (PSU) dec. No. 6 Mike Evans (Iowa), 4-1 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (PSU) maj. dec. No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa), 12-4 197: No. 3 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) maj. dec. Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 16-4 285: No. 3 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. No. 12 Jimmy Lawson (PSU), 3-2 Penn State at Iowa

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- The 16th-ranked Colorado Mesa wrestling team won eight of the ten matches en route to a 36-9 win over the visiting Bethany College Swedes on Thursday night in Brownson Arena. The Swedes came into the dual ranked 13th in the NAIA National poll with seven of their ten wrestlers ranked in the top six in the NAIA Individual Rankings. The Mavericks got pins out of Jonathon Stelling (133,) Daniel Salazar (141,) and Trevor Donarski (157.) Donarski's pin came 24 seconds into the match and gave Colorado Mesa a 21-3 lead in the dual. James Martinez picked up a 4-1 win over Courtney Strauss at 149 pounds. The junior from Rifle had a 4-0 lead after the first period and held on for the final two periods only surrendering a riding time point in the win. Martinez improved to 8-1 on the season. Eighth ranked Chester Granard improved to 7-0 on the season after winning his bout over Matthew Atwood by technical fall, 16-1. Granard scored five points in first two periods before tallying six in the final period. Jordan Passehl picked up a 5-1 win over Zach Anderson in the 285 pound bout. Passehl, ranked eighth in the most recent NWCA National Rankings, pushed his record to a team-high 11-4 this season. The Mavericks improved their season dual record to 3-1 on the season and will return to the mat on January 2 when they battle Embry-Riddle in Prescott, Ariz. 125 Quenton Harrison (BC) dec Erick Vargas (CMU) 4-3 133 Jonathon Stelling (CMU) pins James Lohman (BC)4:25 141 Daniel Salazar (CMU) pins Colt Rogers (BC) 6:40 149 #3 James Martinez (CMU) dec Courtney Strauss (BC) 4-1 157 Trevor Donarski (CMU) pins Jonathon Blackwell (BC) 0:24 165 Jessie Hoffschneider (CMU) maj dec Jordon Ward (BC) 15-3 174 #8 Chester Granard (CMU) tech fall Matthew Atwood (BC) 17-1 184 Scott Verner (CMU) dec Spencer Wilson (BC) 8-4 197 Taylor Baird (BC) pins Paco Retana (CMU) 2:00 285 #8 Jordan Passehl (CMU) dec Zach Anderson (BC) 5-1

ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst University wrestling team opened up PSAC action on Thursday night at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center with a 34-12 victory over Seton Hill. With the win, the tenth-ranked Lakers (No. 2 in Super Region I) improved to 5-0 and 1-0 in the PSAC. Seton Hill dropped to 2-3 and 0-1 in the PSAC. The Griffins led the dual 12-10 after the opening five matches, but the Lakers outscored Seton Hill 24-0 over the final five to remain unbeaten on the season. Redshirt sophomore Angelo Bortoluzzi secured the victory with a win via fall at 184 pounds, eliminating any thoughts of a Seton Hill upset. The dual meet started at 125 pounds with redshirt junior Ryan Bohince picking up the win by forfeit and a 6-0 lead for the Lakers. Bohince moved to 8-5 on the season. At 133 pounds, redshirt sophomore Kody Young squared off against Andy Schutz. Schutz struck first with a takedown, but Young quickly escaped and answered with a takedown of his own. However, while Young was riding from the top position, a scramble ensued and Schutz picked up a defensive fall at the 2:00 minute mark to even the team score at 6-6. The Lakers then sent out sophomore Dylan D'Urso at 141 pounds to take on AJ Fisher. D'Urso secured a takedown and three nearfall points in the first period. He then added an escape in the second, another takedown in the third and a riding time point to earn a 9-0 technical fall victory. D'Urso improved to 12-2 on the season, scoring bonus points in 11 of those bouts. The win put the Lakers back on top 10-6. However, the Griffins would take the next two bouts by decision to jump ahead of the Lakers, 12-10. At 149 pounds, sophomore Joey Miller took on Kevin Laubach and dropped a tough 4-2 decision. Laubach used two takedowns to secure the victory. The 157-pound bout featured two talented freshmen in Mercyhurst's Francis Mizia and Seton Hill's Zach Voytek. The first period ended scoreless with each wrestler fending off shots from their counterpart. They traded escapes in the second and third period before Voytek struck late in the match with the winning takedown. The Lakers took over from there. Redshirt senior and team captain Clint Schaefer didn't waste any time at 165 pounds against Brett Smith. He got to work right away with a takedown and a three nearfall points in the first period. He added two more takedowns on his way to an 11-2 major decision, regaining a two-point lead for the Lakers at 14-12. With the win, Schaefer improved to 11-3 on the season. At 174 pounds, redshirt sophomore August Mizia picked up a 15-0 technical fall in 3:15 over Tyler Mohlhenrich to give the Lakers a 19-12 lead. Mizia used two takedowns and four sets of nearfall points to secure the victory. Mizia moved to 10-2 on the season. Bortoluzzi then secured the victory at 184 pounds, improving his record to 6-7 with a fall over Tyler Dombrowski at 1:48. Bortoluzzi used two first period takedowns before locking up a cradle and securing his third fall of the season. The win put the Lakers ahead 25-12 with only two bouts left. Redshirt sophomore Brian Beattie took to the mats at 197 pounds against Morris Lawson. Beattie improved to 7-4 on the season with a 5-0 victory. He used a takedown, reversal, and a riding time point to put the Lakers ahead 28-12. Freshman Andrew Welton closed out the dual in the heavyweight bout, needing only 33 seconds to pin Seton Hill's Ryan Simonica for the final margin. The pin was Welton's fifth on the season, which leads the team. He also improved his record to 10-3 on the season. Mercyhurst will be off until after the New Year when they travel to San Francisco, California to take on San Francisco State and Menlo College on January 3. Results: 125 – Ryan Bohince (Mercyhurst) won by forfeit 133 – Andrew Schutz (Seton Hill) won by fall (2:00) over Kody Young (Mercyhurst) 141 – Dylan D'Urso (Mercyhurst) won by major decision (9-0) over AJ Fisher (Seton Hill) 149 – Kevin Laubach (Seton Hill) won by decision (4-2) over Joey Miller (Mercyhurst) 157 – Zach Voytek (Seton Hill) won by decision (3-1) over Francis Mizia (Mercyhurst) 165 – Clint Schaefer (Mercyhurst) won by major decision (11-2) over Brett Smith (Seton Hill) 174 – August Mizia (Mercyhurst) won by technical fall (15-0) 3:15 over Tyler Mohlhernrich (Seton Hill) 184 – Angelo Bortoluzzi (Mercyhurst) won by fall (1:48) over Tyler Dombrowski (Seton Hill) 197 – Brian Beattie (Mercyhurst) won by decision (5-0) over Morris Lawson (Seton Hill) 285 – Andrew Welton (Mercyhurst) won by fall (0:33) over Ryan Simonica (Seton Hill)

The American University wrestling team picked up its first dual meet win of the season, defeating George Mason, 26-10, on Thursday night in Fairfax, Va. "The team showed a lot of heart tonight," said Head Coach Teague Moore. "It's always hard to get back in action after nearly two weeks off and finals, but our team fought hard and the tight matches went our way." American opened the dual with back-to-back victories at 125 and 133 lbs. No. 15 David Terao posted a 15-2 major decision over Bill Prochniewski in the first bout and Esteban Gomez-Rivera followed with 4-3 decision over the Patriots' Vince Rodriguez. George Mason registered the next win but Cole Moseley earned a 4-3 decision over James Hunsberger at 149 lbs. Marcos Peralta picked up a 4-0 decision at 165 lbs. and Keithen Cast notched a 11-2 major decision over Zachary Martinez in the next match. No. 9 Daniel Mitchell and Blake Herrin closed out the dual with wins for the Eagles. Mitchell recorded his fastest fall of the season, pinning Matt Meadows in 2:56. Herrin secured the dual meet win with a 6-3 decision over Jacob Kettler. American opens the new year in Chattanooga, Tenn. at the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday, January 1 and Thursday, January 2. Results: 125: #15 David Terao (AU) major dec. Bill Prochniewski (GMU), 15-2; American leads, 4-0 133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) dec. Vince Rodriguez (GMU), 4-3; American leads, 7-0 141: Sahid Kargbo (GMU) major dec. Tom Page (AU), 16-4; American leads, 7-4 149: Cole Moseley (AU) dec. James Hunsberger (GMU), 4-3; American leads, 10-4 157: Gregory Flournoy (GMU) dec. John Boyle (AU), 8-3; American leads, 10-7 165: Marcos Peralta (AU) dec. Matthew Stull (GMU), 4-0; American leads, 13-7 174: Keithen Cast (AU) major dec. Zachary Martinez (GMU), 11-2; American leads, 17-7 184: Ryan Hembury (GMU) dec. Jason Grimes (AU), 3-2; American leads, 17-10 197: #9 Daniel Mitchell (AU) fall Matt Meadows (GMU), 2:56; American leads, 23-10 HWT: Blake Herrin (AU) dec. Jacob Kettler (GMU), 6-3; American leads, 26-10

Related: Results The second annual Minnesota Storm Holiday Cup concludes today with competition in men's freestyle and women's Greco-Roman. Watch the action on the live video streams.

The 21st edition of the Beast of the East will be this Saturday and Sunday from the Bob Carpenter Center on the campus of the University of Delaware in Newark. Wrestling starts both days at 8:30 a.m. ET. Competition on Saturday will set up the championship quarterfinals and leave a total of 16 wrestlers remaining in the field for Day 2. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and all consolation up to the medal matches will take place in the first part of Sunday's competition, with matches for first through eighth place starting at 3:15 p.m. ET. A live pay-per-view broadcast of the quarterfinals, semifinals, and championship final is being available by NSide Wrestling and can be found here. Bracket results and updates can be found here. No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J., is the prohibitive favorite to take home a 14th consecutive championship at the Beast of the East, which would be their 18th in all. The Buccaneers will be joined by ten other nationally ranked teams in this prestigious field: No. 7 Wyoming Seminary, Pa., No. 8 Massillon Perry, Ohio, No. 9 Bergen Catholic, N.J., No. 19 Brecksville, Ohio, No. 20 St. Peter's Prep, N.J., No. 23 Don Bosco Prep, N.J., No. 24 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa., No. 29 Robinson, Va., No. 47 Boyertown, Pa., and No. 50 McDonogh, Md. Based on registered participants, and the preliminary seeds, 41 nationally ranked wrestlers are slated to compete in the tournament this weekend. Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 138 pounds is the lone top-ranked wrestler, while there are five wrestlers ranked second nationally in the tournament: Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 113, Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 126, Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin, Pa.) up a weight class at 170, Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) at 182, and Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.) at 285 pounds. Four wrestlers will be seeking to defend their championships from last year: Suriano, No. 10 Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.) at 120, No. 7 Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.) at 138, and Peppelman; while two others, McKenna and No. 5 Dylan Milonas (Blair Academy, N.J.) at 160 will be seeking to regain titles won in December 2011. The following is a brief summary of the field in each weight class. 106: The top seed is No. 5 Ty Agaisse (Delbarton, N.J.), who placed seventh at state last year and third in the Super 32 in October. No other nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in the weight class, though it does include five wrestlers who earned All-American status this past summer in Fargo including second seed Joey Prata (St. Christopher's, Va.) 113: Suriano is the top seed in this weight class, and was an undefeated state champion last year in New Jersey. He is also a two-time finalist at the Super 32 Challenge, winning that tournament last year before his freshman season. He is a strong favorite in a weight class featuring just one other nationally ranked wrestler in sixth seed Trent Olson (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), who is ranked No. 20 in the country. Pennsylvania state runners-up Connor Sheehan (Solanco) and Luke Karam (Bethlehem Catholic) hold the second and third seeds. Injury to a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry, Ohio) and Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) make this weight class more barren than it would otherwise be. 120: Defending Beast champion Fleetwood will have a tough path in order to earn a repeat championship. There are five other nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight bracket; however, four of them are in the other half of the draw. The lone ranked wrestler in his half is the fourth seed Chaz Tucker (Blair Academy, N.J.), who is ranked No. 15 nationally and an opponent that Kolodzik beat 8-7 in the semifinal round this past week. Seeds 2, 3, 6, and 7 are all nationally ranked, in order: No. 7 Scott Parker (Pennridge, Pa.), returning Beast runner-up No. 13 Austin Assad (Brecksville, Ohio), No. 18 Micah Hight (Caesar Rodney, Del.), and No. 11 Luis Gonzalez (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.). The fifth seed in this weight is Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park,N.J.), who won a state title in 2012 and was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American and Super 32 Challenge placer this off-season. 126: The two nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight have finished as runners-up in past editions of the Beast of the East. Kolodzik, ranked No. 2 nationally, was runner-up last year and is coming off of a Walsh Ironman title last week; while No. 5 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) was runner-up at this tournament in 2010 and 2011, but missed last year's event due to injury. These wrestlers are the top two seeds in the weight class. Three other returning placers at the Beast of the East are in the weight class: third-seeded David Bavery (Massillon Perry, Ohio), fourth-seeded A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg, Pa.), and seventh-seeded Brandon Olsen (Indian River, Va.) 132: A quartet of nationally ranked wrestlers is in this weight bracket, including the top two seeds in No. 5 Anthony Giraldo (North Bergen, N.J.) and No. 13 Coy Ozias (Christainsburg, Va.). Joining them as nationally ranked wrestlers are fourth seed Anthony Tutolo (Lake Catholic, Ohio), who is No. 15 at 126 pounds; and No. 17 Chase Zemenak (Nazareth, Pa.), who is the seventh seed. Additional returning place-winners in this tournament are Zach Valley (Northampton, Pa.), the tournament's third seed, and seventh seed Christian Innarella (Delbarton, N.J.). National Prep champion Jack Mutchnik (St. Paul's, Md.) is the fifth seed. 138: McKenna, the nation's top ranked wrestler in this weight class, is the lone nationally ranked wrestler in the field. The next two seeds are returning Beast placers in Corland Schuyler (Manheim Township, Pa.) and Clay Walker (Eastside, S.C.) 145: Defending tournament champion, and last year's Most Outstanding Wrestler Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.) is ranked No. 7 nationally and the tournament's top seed. He is joined by three other nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, who are also the second through fourth seeds: No. 10 at 138 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley, Pa.), No. 19 Neal Richards (Matoaca, Va.), and No. 14 at 138 David McFadden (DePaul Catholic, N.J.). The next two seeds are National Prep runner-up Walker Dempsey (Blair Academy, N.J.) and two-time Maryland public schools state champion Cameron Harrell (McDonogh, Md.) 152: Five nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in this weight class, and they hold down the top five seeds. That group is led by No. 9 Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.), who was runner-up in this tournament last year. Rounding out the top five seeds are No. 11 Nick Reenan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), No. 12 Jack Bass (Robinson, Va.), No. 14 Zach Hertling (Ocean Township, N.J.), and No. 17 Casey Sparkman (Massillon Perry, Ohio). Other notables include sixth seed Toby Hague (McDonogh, Md.), a three-time National Prep placer, and returning Beast of the East placer Chase McDaniel (Cave Spring, Va.), who is seeded eighth. 160: Likewise, it is five nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class. The top three seeds in this weight are all nationally ranked: No. 4 T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley, Pa.), 2011 Beast of the East champion Dylan Milonas, and No. 12 Tony Dailey (Massillon Perry, Ohio). The other nationally ranked wrestlers are seeded sixth and seventh, which mean ranked vs. ranked battles in the quarterfinals: No. 17 Logan Breitenbach (Archbishop Spalding, Md.) is the sixth seed, while No. 20 Chris Weiler (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) is the seventh seed. Seeded fourth and fifth are state champion Taylor Misuna (Grassfield, Va.) and returning Beast of the East placer Zak DePasquale (Robinson, Va.) 170: Likewise, it is a quintet of nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class. That group is led by defending tournament champion Peppelman as the top seed. The next two seeds are No. 6 Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) and No. 8 Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.); those wrestlers met in the semifinals last year at 160 with Martin winning 1-0, before Martin lost 3-2 in the final to Peppelman. No. 17 Luke Farinaro (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) is the tournament's fourth seed, while No. 10 at 160 Ryan Preisch (Milton, Pa.) is seeded seventh. Ironman placers Isaac Bast (Massillon Perry, Ohio) and Brandon Dallavia (Blair Academy, N.J.) hold down the fifth and sixth seeds respectively, with Super 32 Challenge placer Bobby Fehr (Northampton, Pa.) holding down the eighth seed. 182: The nation's second-ranked wrestler Sebastian, a two-time New Jersey state champion, holds down the top seed. The weight class's other nationally ranked wrestler, No. 20 Joey Balboni (David Brearley, N.J.) is the second seed. Additionally in this weight class is Dylan Wisman (Millbrook, Va.), the tournament's third seed who placed fourth in both styles this summer in Fargo at the Junior Nationals. 195: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class is No. 17 Hunter Ritter (John Carroll, Md.); however, the National Prep third place finisher and Cadet Nationals double All-American (Greco-Roman champ) is seeded fifth. The top seed is Daniel Hawkins (Mt. St. Joseph, Md.), a returning Beast of the East placer, who is a two-time Junior Greco-Roman All-American; second seed is Josh Murphy (Brecksville, Ohio), a Junior freestyle All-American; third seed is returning Beast of the East placer David Showunmi (Blair Academy, N.J.); while two-time National Prep placer L.J. Barlow (Haverford Prep, Pa.) is the fourth seed. Other notables in this weight class include Cadet freestyle All-American Matt Correnti (Holy Cross, N.J.), who is the sixth seed; and state champion Anthony Mancini (Salesanium, Del.), the seventh seed. 220: A pair of nationally ranked underclassmen features in this weight class, No. 6 Zach Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep, N.J.) -- last year's runner-up at this weight class -- and No. 8 Jordan Wood (Boyertown, Pa.). Returning Beast of the East placers Antonio Pelusi (LaSalle, Pa.), Stefano Millin (Massillon Perry, Ohio) and Jake Anderson (Malvern Prep, Pa.) are the third through fifth seeds respectively. 285: Thomas Haines (Solanco), a three-time state champion ranked No. 2 in the country, is the lone ranked wrestler in this weight class at the Beast of the East. He is obviously the top seed. Returning Beast of the East placers Kevin Wilkins (St. Joseph Montvale, N.J.) and Jake Pinkston (Robinson, Va.) are the next two seeds, with two-time Junior National freestyle All-American Jake Scanlan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) the fourth seed. Super 32 Challenge placer Andrew Dunn (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) is not listed as a seed.

On Tuesday morning I was evacuated from Juba, South Sudan by Special Forces operating with the Unites States Air Force. The evacuation was in response to violence between rival factions of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) -- the country's main military force. When the violence began Sunday night it was reported that a recently sacked vice president was attempting to manage a coup. As the hours passed and stories started to emerge it was evident that the factions weren't being made along party lines, but tribal. I was in Juba hosting a two-part "Wrestling for Peace" tournament through my non-profit Wrestling Roots Foundation and our partner the John Fetzer Institute. Fetzer, whose mission it is to promote "love and forgiveness" through sports, science, education and other fields, was our primary source of financial support. The first tournament was completed last Saturday and by all accounts was s success. We had more than 8k fans show up to Juba Stadium, including fans and athletes from more than a dozen tribes. In the moment, the tournament was a snapshot into the country's hope to evolve from tribe-focused difference, to South Sudanese nationalism and cultural similarity. There is much more to write out about what happened in Juba, but for now it's too fresh to detail with competency or care. (I'm writing this on the plane ride home to the states.) This was a major diplomatic event that requires vigilance in retelling. However, one thing is certain: We're lucky to have a blue passport that reads United States of America. As the Air Force landed their C-130's and used their Special Forces unit to set up a perimeter in the tall grass surrounding the runway, there were others in Juba -- those dedicated to promoting peace, love and forgiveness -- who were stuck inside a city in the grip of violence, death and insecurity. My friends lost members of their family and have seen their homes hit by tank fire, RPG's and the spray of bullets from AK-47's. I was carried out unharmed by our Armed Forces, and for that I'm fortunate and grateful. I'll bring you much more about our friends, the tournament and the violence in Juba over the next several weeks. Until then, please keep South Sudan in your thoughts. More than most any place on the planet, the people there are in need of a Christmas miracle. To your questions ... Q: When I was a kid it was always fun to see a growing field of old and young talent at the Midlands. Why do you think not as many older wrestlers are entering? -- Eric L. Foley: Wrestling hurts! You may remember that I gave this tournament another chance in 2011 and was handily defeated in two of three matches by wrestlers who were in much better shape. Conditioning is a large component of being a successful collegiate wrestler, and if you're like me and of modest talent, but not training, stepping onto a mat with a 20-year-old who is four months sober, wrestling six-times a week and lifting every other day, will likely end with a darkening glimpse of the rafters. Thought there is some great talent showing at this year's event. Your question reminds me that we need to find a more democratic and inviting form of wrestling for our former wrestlers with the physical and mental want to compete. As always, I think it's a takedown-only style that we see across the world. This extends wrestling from a sport with a primary age focus of 10-22, into one that is for 10-45. Wrestling is fun. We just have to learn to relax the focus on mega-conditioning for the old farts like myself who don't mind a few minutes of sparring, but can't absorb four seven-minute matches on a Saturday. Q: You recently answered a question about coaches who are "program builders." I'll take it a step further. Which current wrestler (NCAA or National Team pool) will be a future coaching superstar? In other words, who will be the next Cael Sanderson or John Smith? David Taylor? Kyle Dake? Jordan Burroughs? -- DZ Foley: You mentioned the greatest freestyle wrestler in American history and the greatest collegiate wrestler in American history, leaving me to think that the next great coach will need a similar background. Jordan Burroughs, who is undefeated through 67 matches and owns three World titles, is starting to fit into that schematic. He's engaging which is helpful, and from what I know of him as a person and a wrestler he's a hard worker and polite. He's my second choice. My top choice might be Kyle Dake, if only because he's seen Rob Koll do it firsthand and is one of the most popular, and fiercely-competitive wrestlers in the world. Though it would be a big cut, it's conceivable that Dake could make a World team at 70 kilos and later challenge Burroughs again for 74 kilos. That would give him the international street cred, but he's already secured an argument for GOAT after his recent 4-4-4 at the collegiate level. Q: An interesting article about the demise of BU wrestling. I wrestled for Coach Adams years ago and have a lot of respect for the man. I also accepted your premise that he just did not do enough to show the administration that the program is still relevant. This article, however, takes a different and interesting spin on events, speculating that the program being dropped had more to do with corporate sponsorship and the promotion of lacrosse. Now if Coach Adams was more of an innovator and marketer it likely would never have come to where things are today. If you have time and are interested, please take a read as I would be interested in your thoughts. -- Jordan B Foley: I'm hesitant to absolve Boston University and its alumni for not creating a more profitable and exciting program at Boston. The components were/are there and if there was more vigilance much of what is transpiring never would have occurred. That aside, the idea that Boston would sell off wrestling in favor of a shoe contract for their new lacrosse program is infuriating. The main rub is that the school won't come out and admit that there was a calculus for creating the decision to drop wrestling, that had been influenced by the New Balance cash. Was it illegal? Doubtful. Immoral? Welcome to the NCAA. Lacrosse is a rapidly growing sport in the Northeast, where this is a high concentration of wealth and a population of mothers and fathers keeping their kids off the football field to avoid head traumas. Lacrosse is a more controlled sport with less physicality. Lacrosse is also a culture, and with the long hair and bro-isms comes a mini-economy of gear sales, clothing companies and shoes. Lacrosse is easy to commoditize and thus is more attractive to the school. Wrestling still hasn't figured out how to profit from its culture. We are a lower to middle income sport, but the problem really stems from traditionalism and an unwillingness to adapt. Boston wrestling can't be blamed for that cultural failure, but parallels can be seen in the pre-decision apathy of the alumni and coaching staff in wanting to create new revenue, or excitement about the program. Q: Did you know the BU-Penn State match at BU was a sellout and the largest crowd ever to witness any sporting event (including basketball) at Case Gym? -- Pat D. Foley: That is a great 'did you know!' Despite my tough feelings on the matter, I do hope we can see Boston take the mats for the 2014-2015 season and beyond. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Link: South Sudan: On the brink of collapse? Q: As an advocate for women's wrestling I wanted to thank you for all of the coverage and work that you do for the future of the sport. I also believe that the women's side is the future for wrestling. I know of a coach that is trying to build a women's program smack dab in the middle of Pennsylvania, and maybe you have heard of him. His name is Terry Fike. He coaches a women's club team at Lock Haven University. It's called Women's Wrestling Project. Terry has a Facebook page for this and a website. -- Beau E. Foley: I'm going to send Terry an email. This is a great step forward and indicative of a culture that is starting, albeit slowly, to accept that women are wrestlers, too! It's still my opinion that when the wrestling community embraces the participation of women, we'll see a rapid rise in participation and some support for our men's programs that often don't have a companion sport to keep them off the radar of Title IX lawyers. Pennsylvania is the right place to focus these developments. Coaches, parents, friends and family have all grown up with the sport and respect the winners within -- male or female. Kyle Dake and David Taylor's rivalry, which started when they were young, has continued on after college wrestling (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: What are or were some the great individual rivalries in the sport? I ask because last year there was a lot of hype around David Taylor and Kyle Dake but as great and strategic as those matches were, they ended in Dake victories. It's looking like Howe and Dake might be a pretty good in the coming years but I think we will see in time. But are there some really good true rivalries? -- Marcus R. Foley: The Taylor-Dake rivalry was an organic phenomenon that won't be repeated again soon, but here are some that might reach that level, or have the ingredients. I realize most of these are just the top two wrestlers, but they are all competitive matchups that could heat up in the second half of the year due to proximity, name ID or past history. 125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. Nico Megaludis (Penn State) 133: Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 141: Zain Retherford (Penn State) vs. Logan Stieber (Ohio State) 149: None. Weight class is too wide open. 157: Derek St. John (Iowa) vs. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) 165: None. Taylor is too dominant. 174: Chis Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. Andrew Howe (Oklahoma) 184: None. Ruth is too dominant. 197: Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) vs. Scott Shiller (Minnesota) 285: Mike McMullan (Northwestern) vs. Tony Nelson (Minnesota) Q: What are the current NCAA uniform guidelines regarding wearing a singlet in competition? I am guessing that a team would be prohibited from wearing fight shorts for a dual meet, but could a wrestler wear fight shorts while competing at Midlands? How about an open preseason tournament? -- Matt T. Foley: Wrestlers are still able to wear a doublet, which is spandex shorts and a spandex rash guard. However, I think that just makes for more material rather than a more conservative look. Midlands doesn't allow fight shorts, and I haven't heard of any preseason tourneys that are allowing this sensible solution to our sport's uniform crisis. COMMENT OF THE WEEK By RT I was fortunate to attend the Cliff Keen in Lost Wages, Nevada. There were some great matches. My top five performances: 1. Robert Kokesh giving Andrew Howe all he could handle. 2. Daniel Mitchell taking down Taylor Meeks. 3. Johnni DiJulius handling Joe Colon and then pinning Cody Brewer. 4. Brian Realbuto giving James Green all he could handle. 5. Logan Stieber's two-minute tech fall in the finals. My biggest disappointments: 1. Devin Carter's season-ending injury, mainly for Carter himself but also for the fans that were anticipating a Stieber-Carter final. 2. The often classless behavior of some members of a Big Ten program's coaching staff. During many of this team's matches I watched, certain coaches were consistently whining about calls, stepping onto the mat during matches, seemingly trying to intimidate opposing coaches, and confronting the referees. I understand passion from coaches (my college coach was an NCAA champ and he would be often be on the floor next to the mat during our matches -- literally wrestling them with us!) However, he had class and would argue only egregious calls. One of the many great qualities of wrestling (and especially wrestling as a character builder for kids) is the ZERO tolerance for the kind of punkish behavior we see on football fields and during other sports. I know the rules of sportsmanship for wrestlers but am curious about the rules for coaches? Seems to me it would have been appropriate for the Cliff Keen refs to reprimand certain coaches for their inappropriate behavior. InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. Questions can be sent to Foley's email account or Twitter. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives.

BOONE, N.C. -- The NC State wrestling team returned to action Thursday night, capturing a pair of dual wins at Boone, N.C. The Wolfpack (7-1) downed Cleveland State 35-3, then defeated Appalachian State 28-6. The Pack started the evening with a 35-3 win over Cleveland State. NC State won nine of the 10 matches, including four bonus point wins. Redshirt sophomore Nick Gwiazdowski (285) and freshman Max Rohskopf (157) both recorded pins, while redshirt senior KaRonne Jones (197) posted a 22-9 major decision as did freshman Chris Wilkes (133) with his 20-6 win. NC State picked up a second win by defeating host Appalachian State 28-6. The Mountaineers picked up a win at 125 pounds to start, but the Pack's Chris Wilkes (133) and Sam Speno both posted their second wins of the day to give the Pack a 6-3 lead. After another Mountaineer victory at 149, NC State closed out the match with six straight wins highlighted by Gwiazdowski's second pin at 285 and Jones' second major decision at 197. The Pack will return to action Jan. 1, competing in the prestigious Southern Scuffle. NC State 35, Cleveland State 3 125: Marshall Brown (NCSU) dec. John Martin; 4-3 133: Chris Wilkes (NCSU) major decision Dan King; 20-6 141: Sam Speno (NCSU) dec. Mike Carlone; 9-4 149: R.J. LaBeef (CSU) dec. Cohl Fulk; 10-7 157: Max Rohskopf (NCSU) fall Nick Montgomery; 3:47 165: Dylan Ceravalo (NCSU) dec. Matt Donohoe; 11-6 174: Pete Renda (NCSU) dec. Nick Corba; 2-0 184: Michael Macchiavello (NCSU) dec. Xavier Dye; 9-7 197: KaRonne Jones (NCSU) major decision Ray Stone; 22-9 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Riley Shaw; 4:05 NC State 28, Appalachian State 6 125: Dominic Parisi (ASU) dec. Micah Perez; 7-3 133: Chris Wilkes (NCSU) dec. Chris Johnson; 6-2 141: Sam Speno (NCSU) dec. Jake Smith; 3-0 149: Dylan Cottrell (ASU) dec. Brian Hamann; 13-11 157: Tommy Gantt (NCSU) dec. Nick Hall; 9-6 165: Nijel Jones (NCSU) dec. Zach Strickland; 6-1 174: Pete Renda (NCSU) dec. Colin Hedash; 3-2 184: Shayne Brady (NCSU) dec. Nick Vetell; 2-1 197: KaRonne Jones (NCSU) major decision Kacee Hutchinson; 11-2 285: Nick Gwiazdowski (NCSU) fall Denzel Dejournette; 2:05

KENT, Ohio -- After taking a 15-3 lead at the halfway mark, the No. 9 Ohio State wrestling team maintained its impressive performance and defeated Kent State, 27-6, Thursday night at the M.A.C. Center. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 5-1 overall. The match vs. the Golden Flashes served as Ohio State’s final event of 2013. The Buckeyes will resume action Jan. 10 at Wisconsin, while their first home match of 2014 in St. John Arena is against Nebraska at 7 p.m. Jan. 24. Redshirt freshman and 125 pounder Nick Roberts, polled No. 19 in the nation propelled Ohio State to a 5-0 lead after he shut out Del Vinas, 16-0. After two periods, Roberts took a commanding 9-0 lead over Vinas and added a pair of takedowns, back points and escape en route to his 19th win of the season. Johnni DiJulius, the sixth-ranked 133-pounder in the nation, edged No. 19 Mack McGuire, 3-1, in the first tiebreaker. After a scoreless first period, DiJulius chose bottom and escaped to take a 1-0 lead. However, McGuire managed to accrue 1:17 of riding time to send the bout into overtime. As time expired in the extra session and both wrestlers still scoreless, McGuire chose top. It was not long after, DiJulius scored a reversal for a 3-1 lead and after preventing McGuire from escaping won his 16th match of the season. With the Buckeyes winning, 8-0, redshirt junior and No. 3 Logan Stieber lifted Ohio State to a 12-0 advantage after recording a 10-0 major decision against No. 18 Tyler Small in the 141-pound match up. After owning a 9-0 lead heading into the third period, an escape in the third by Stieber gave the Buckeye his 10th win, all bonus point victories, of the season. Up next, at 149 pounds, senior and No. 20 Ian Paddock was an 11-6 winner over 26th-ranked Mike DePalma. Paddock jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first period on a takedown and 3-point nearfall. However, a trio of takedowns by DePalma in the second period cut Paddock’s lead to one at 7-6. Entering the final period with a 9-6 lead, Paddock sealed his 17th win of the season with a final takedown. The Golden Flashes were able to get on the board behind No. 8 Ian Miller’s 11-4 win over redshirt junior Randy Languis in the 157-pound bout. After a brief intermission, Kent State won its second-consecutive match of the evening when Tyler Buckwalter defeated Joe Grandominico, 9-5, at 165 pounds. Ohio State answered the back-to-back setbacks with four consecutive victories from 174 pounds to heavyweight. In the 174-pound match up, Mark Martin beat No. 20 Caleb Marsh, 4-2. The Buckeye sophomore scored a takedown in the final seconds of the match to break a 2-2 tie and recorded his 17th win of the season. Not to be outdone, redshirt sophomore Kenny Courts, who is ranked 12th in the nation, won a dramatic 11-10 match vs. No. 17 Sam Wheeler. Up, 7-4, to start the third period, Courts gave up a reversal before escaping, putting the score at 8-6 in Courts’ favor. Wheeler tied the score on a takedown, but Courts escaped, holding on to a slim 9-8 advantage. Courts then scored a takedown, but Wheeler followed with a reversal, however it was not enough as Courts added his 18th victory of the season. Fifth-ranked Nick Heflin was a 3-2 winner over Cole Baxter at 197 pounds. The Buckeye senior scored the winning takedown in the third period after both wrestlers were tied at one each. With Heflin up 3-1, Baxter scored an escape, but that was all he could managed. The win served as Heflin’s 10th of the season. Nick Tavanello’s 3-1 victory over Mimmo Lytle wrapped up the Buckeyes’ successful evening. After a scoreless first period, Tavanello chose bottom and escaped and with 10 seconds left in the period scored a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Lytle scored an escape in the third, but could not add any additional points as Tavanello won his 16th match of the season. Results: 125: No. 19 Nick Roberts (OSU) tech. fall Del Vinas (KSU), 16-0 133: No. 6 Johnni DiJulius (OSU) dec. No. 19 Mack McGuire (KSU), 3-1 TB 141: No. 3 Logan Stieber (OSU) maj. dec. Tyler Small (KSU), 10-0 149: No. 20 Ian Paddock (OSU) dec. Mike DePalma (KSU), 11-6 157: No. 8 Ian Miller (KSU) dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 11-4 165: Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) dec. Joe Grandominico (OSU), 9-5 174: Mark Martin (OSU) dec. No. 20 Caleb Marsh (KSU), 4-2 184: No. 12 Kenny Courts (OSU) dec. No. 17 Sam Wheeler (KSU), 11-10 197: No. 5 Nick Heflin (OSU) dec. Cole Baxter (KSU), 3-2 285: Nick Tavanello (OSU) dec. Mimmo Lytle (KSU), 3-1

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. -- Campbellsville University rallied back from a 15-3 deficit to beat Ashland University, 22-19, in a daytime spotlight dual Wednesday in Gosser Gym. The win is CU's 13 dual win of the season – the most ever in a single-season in the program's 10 years. Campbellsville has won 12 duals in a season multiple times. CU, which has increased its number of duals in a season this year, has a minimum of 12 duals remaining in January and February. Starting at 197 pounds, CU fell behind early with a first match loss and then pin and forfeit at 125 pounds and 133 pounds to give Ashland its 12-point lead. Colby Reinhardt started CUs run with a 12-3 major decision at 141 pounds, followed by a 5-1 win at 149 by Matt Milton. Joe Whalen pushed past Matthew Buxton at 157 to pull the Tigers within two points. Treyvonta Rhodes used an escape and late takedown with 30 seconds remaining to avoid sudden victory and win an 8-7 decision with riding time to give CU the lead at 16-15. CU clinched the win with a second-period pin by Marvin Lawrence, who stuck Jon Beam in 2:29 to give CU a seven-point edge, 22-15, with one weight remaining. Campbellsville (13-3) will return take two weeks off and return to action Saturday, Jan. 4 at 10 a.m. for the CU Duals in Powell Athletic Center. CU will host Darton College, Life University, Indiana Tech and University of the Cumberlands on the day, meeting Darton at 11:30 and Darton at 1 p.m. Results: 197: No. 6 Joe Brandt (AU) dec. No. 11 Nate Knauf (CU), 8-3 AU 3-0 285: No. 14 Justin McDaniel (CU) dec. Tyler Shank (AU), 6-1 Tied 3-3 125: Johnny Maurice (AU) fall Chase Boone (CU), 1:24 AU 9-3 133: No. 3 Michael Labry (AU) won by forfeit AU 15-3 141: No. 10 Colby Reinhardt (CU) maj. dec. Bobby Mason (AU), 12-3 AU 15-7 149: No. 12 Matt Milton (CU) dec. Ty Davis (AU), 5-1 AU 15-10 157: Joe Whalen (CU) dec. Matthew Buxton (AU), 6-3 AU 15-13 165: No. 12 Treyvontay Rhodes (CU) dec. Brendan Stanley (AU), 8-7 CU 16-15 174: No. 10 Marvin Lawrence (CU) fall Jon Beam (AU), 2:29 CU 22-15 184: Brandon O’Neil (AU) maj. dec. No. 8 Travis McIntosh (CU), 12-4 CU 22-19

This Friday and Saturday in Kansas City, Mo., forty of the best teams from the Midwest and surrounding areas will assemble for the Kansas City Stampede at Hale Arena. The tournament features six members of the Fab 50 national team rankings and 25 individuals in the weight class rankings. Three weight classes are projected to have three or more individuals, and another six weights have two nationally ranked individuals. Bo Nickal is ranked No. 1 at 182 (Photo/Rob Preston)The featured weight in the KC Stampede is the 182-pound weight class, which is anchored by a pair of Junior National freestyle champions, No. 1 Bo Nickal (Allen, Tex.) and No. 3 Michael Pixley (Blue Springs, Mo.). They are joined by another pair of nationally ranked individuals from Oklahoma: Junior freestyle All-American No. 11 Joel Dixon (Edmond North) and NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up No. 13 Nathan Marek (Southmoore). Seven other individuals in the top five of their respective weight classes are in the field, six of whom are in weight classes with at least one other nationally ranked wrestler. Below is a listing of the remaining nationally ranked individuals in the tournament. 106: No. 7 Matt Schmitt (Platte County, Mo.) and No. 17 Paxton Rosen (Edmond North, Okla.) 113: No. 4 Daton Fix (Sand Springs, Okla.) and No. 10 Christian Moody (Collinsville, Okla.) 120: No. 3 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.) and No. 16 Elijah Oliver (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) 126: No. 3 Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.) and No. 6 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo.) 132: No. 6 Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville, Okla.), No. 7 Jacob Rubio (Canyon Randall, Tex.), and No. 8 Kaid Brock (Stillwater, Okla.) 138: No. 2 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) and No. 18 Brock Wingbermuehle (Seckman, Mo.) 145: No. 5 Joe Smith (Stillwater, Okla.), No. 8 Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.), and No. 16 Logan Ryan (Bettendorf, Iowa) 152: No. 6 Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) 170: No. 4 Chandler Rogers (Stillwater, Okla.) and No. 12 Lance Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) 195: No. 4 Derek White (Edmond North, Okla.) 220: No. 10 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) The first stage of the tournament has eight pools of five wrestlers each, for four matches. The second stage of the tournament has the top two in each pool competing in an upper bracket for four more matches (first round winners guaranteed top eight, second round winners top four, etc.), and the net two in each pool competing in a lower bracket for four more matches. Fab 50 ranked teams in the field include No. 11 Edmond North, Okla.; No. 15 Stillwater, Okla.; No. 27 Bettendorf, Iowa; No. 34 Archer, Ga.; No. 40 Timberland, Mo.; and No. 44 Tuttle, Okla. Other teams to watch include Collinsville, Okla.; Neosho, Mo.; Park Hill, Mo.; Perry, Okla.; Skutt Catholic, Neb.; and Sand Springs, Okla.

Two of the nation's top ten teams will travel to Hinsdale Central High School, just west of Chicago, for the 48th Annual Rex Whitlach Wrestling Invitational. No. 2 Oak Park River Forest and No. 6 Montini Catholic anchor the field of 25 teams, all from the state of Illinois, competing in the tournament on Friday and Saturday. The matches for 1st and 3rd place should start at about 4 p.m. CT on Saturday. Ten wrestlers in all are nationally ranked in their respective weight classes, including a pair at the 285 pound weight class: No. 4 Brian Allen (Hinsdale Central) and No. 6 Michael Johnson, Jr. (Montini Catholic). Those other ranked wrestlers are No. 9 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest) at 106 pounds, No. 7 Rudy Yates (Brother Rice) at 113, No. 7 Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest) at 138, No. 10 Larry Early (Oak Park River Forest) at 145, No. 2 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel) at 152, No. 13 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic) at 160, and No. 14 Edgar Ruano (Montini Catholic) at 220. Bethlehem Catholic dominates King of the Mountain No. 24 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa. moved up six spots in the Fab 50 after their dominant performance at this past weekend's King of the Mountain Tournament. The Hawks placed ten wrestlers in all, including a pair of wrestlers each taking first, second, and third place. Winning titles were No. 5 Zeke Moisey (126) and Nick Cortopassi (182). Second place went to Boyertown, Pa., which enters the Fab 50 at No. 47 this week. They were led by No. 8 Jordan Wood (220), who won his weight class with three first period pins followed by a 5-1 victory in the championship bout. Seven other wrestlers earned a placement finish for their team. The most notable championship match came at 120 pounds, where it was a battle of Pennsylvania state champions that Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) won by 4-3 decision in the tiebreaker over Ethan Lizak (Parkland). Pletcher moves up to No. 2 in the nation, and Lizak dropped to No. 4 nationally. Zack Zavatsky, ranked No. 5 nationally at 182, joined Pletcher as a wrestler to win his weight class for Greater Latrobe. A couple other matches during the tournament placed nationally ranked wrestlers against one another. In the 145 pound final, it was No. 2 Jason Nolf (Kittaning) earning a 22-8 major decision victory over No. 10 at 138 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley); while No. 4 T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley) used a 13-0 major decision over No. 18 Dom Scalise (Greater Latrobe) in the semifinals to catalyze his title run at 160. West Coast showdowns in Reno Many of the best wrestlers from the western third of the country, along with some traveling in from the midwest and mid-atlantic states, will assemble this Friday and Saturday for the Reno Tournament of Champions. Leading the very large field are four teams in the Fab 50 team rankings: No. 37 Vacaville, Calif., No. 39 Maple Mountain, Utah, No. 42 Poway, Calif., and No. 49 Centennial, Idaho. Additionally, eight nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in the field: No. 15 Gionn Peralta (Vacaville, Calif.) at 113 pounds, No. 20 Sean Cannon (Green Valley, Nev.) at 120, No. 19 Ralphy Tovar (Poway, Calif.) at 138, No. 4 Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho) at 145, No. 10 Tyler Berger (Crook County, Ore.) at 152, No. 6 Jon-Jay Chavez (Centennial, Idaho) at 160, No. 7 Kimball Bastian (Maple Mountain, Utah) at 170, and No. 5 Jeramy Sweany (Vacaville, Calif.) at 195. Potential battle of three-time champions in Illinois As part of a quad meet on Saturday afternoon hosted by No. 17 Marist, Ill., there is the likelihood of a match between a pair of three-time state champions when No. 30 Marmion Academy, Ill. and Dakota, Ill. take to the mat. No. 8 Josh Alber (Dakota) and No. 16 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy) are both slated to compete in the 126 pound weight class. Each wrestler has won three state titles so far in their career, and the wrestlers did meet last year at the Dvorak Memorial -- Alber won that meeting by 3-2 decision in the 120 pound final. Joining No. 17 Marist, No. 30 Marmion Academy, and Dakota in this quad meet is Gordon Tech. The additional item to note is the Fab 50 dual meet between Marist and Marmion Academy which will also happen. Quick and dirty dual meet happenings On Wednesday, Dec. 11 it was Davison defeating Detroit Catholic Central 31-28 in a battle of the two top teams in the state of Michigan. Thursday, Dec. 12 saw Cedar Rapids Prairie, Iowa and Linn-Mar, Iowa split the 14 weight classes in a 38-34 victory for Cedar Rapids Prairie. However, Linn-Mar avenged that loss on Saturday by a 40-29 score when two of their key starters returned to the lineup. On Friday night, it was Marist earning a 33-28 victory over No. 26 Lowell, Mich. needing a decision victory in the last weight class to seal the dual meet. Finally on Saturday, St. Johns, Mich. earned a 35-33 upset victory over Detroit Catholic central. However, the Shamrocks were missing two starters -- Trevor Zdebski (125) and No. 11 at 170 Andrew Garcia (171) that directly impacted the outcome of the match. The victorious Redwings did move up eight spots in the rankings to No. 36, while the Shamrocks drop five spots to No. 16, and Davison moved up two spots to No. 18 nationally. Minnesota Christmas Tournament Most of Minnesota's best teams will assemble this Friday and Saturday in Rochester for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, where they will be joined by some out of state opposition (three squads from Wisconsin and two from North Dakota). A trio of Fab 50 teams is in the event: No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 38 Bismarck, N.D., and No. 41 Kaukauna, Wis. Twelve nationally ranked individuals are in the field, including a pair ranked No. 1 nationally and another pair ranked No. 3 nationally. Top ranked wrestlers in this tournament are Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.) at 160 pounds and Lance Benick (Totino-Grace) at 195, while Mark Hall (Apple Valley) at 170 and Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville) at 285 are ranked third. The one weight with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers is at 182 pounds, which features No. 15 Bobby Steveson (Apple Valley) and No. 19 Keegan Moore (Jackson County Central). Additional nationally ranked wrestlers include No. 17 Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.) at 113 pounds, No. 4 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville) at 126, No. 19 Jordan Shearer (West Fargo, N.D.) at 132, No. 5 Seth Gross (Apple Valley) at 138, No. 20 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) at 145, and No. 16 Dayton Racer (Apple Valley) at 152. Iowa teams assemble for Battle of Waterloo Thirty-two schools, all from the Hawkeye State, will convene at Young Arena in Waterloo on Friday and Saturday for a dual meet tournament known as the Battle of Waterloo. The format of the event is identical to The Clash National Wrestling Duals, which take place in Minnesota right around the first of the year. There are four brackets on the first day of eight teams each, which have three dual meets per squad. Teams then will wrestle a round-robin of three matches on Saturday against the teams placing in the same bracket position that they did on Friday. The two brackets competing early on Friday (9AM/11AM/1PM Central Time) are headed by No. 31 Waverly-Shell Rock and No. 43 Linn-Mar. One of the brackets competing late on Friday (4PM/6PM/8PM CT) is headed by No. 46 Cedar Rapids Prairie; while the other is relatively open with West Delaware Manchester, Davenport Assumption, and Alburnett each having a shot at the title. The championship round-robin on Saturday will take place in the late segment, 4PM/6PM/8PM. View full team assignments in this article. First state champions of 2013-14 The Alaska Class 123A (small-school division) state tournament was held this past weekend at the Anchorage Christian School. Yet again, it was Bethel winning the title with 217 points. However, they did not have a single weight class champion; but had six wrestlers place second and another three take third. Results. Upcoming quick bits Six nationally ranked teams, and 25 ranked individuals, will be competing in the Kansas City Stampede. A separate preview was posted about that event. Arguably the nation's second-best in-season tournament is this Saturday and Sunday at the Bob Carpenter Center on the University of Delaware Campus. A separate preview for the Beast of the East will be posted on Friday. Three Fab 50 teams -- No. 5 Clovis, No. 32 Clovis West, and No. 35 Gilroy -- will be competing in the Zinkin Classic this Friday and Saturday at Buchanan High School near Fresno, Calif. Additional notable teams in the field include Buchanan and Santiago Corona. The Tri-State Invitational, featuring some of the better wrestlers and teams from the Pacific Northwest will be held on Friday and Saturday at North Idaho College in Cour d'Alene, Idaho. 64 teams are slated to compete in the event including notables such as Deer Park (Wash.), Hermiston (Ore.), Kuna (Idaho), Lake Stevens (Wash.), Lewiston (Idaho), and Post Falls (Idaho). On Sunday, No. 18 Davison and No. 26 Lowell will compete in a dual meet in Flint, Mich. as part of the AGON II event.

Was Chris Weidman's win over Anderson Silva a fluke or a passing of the torch? We'll find out at UFC 168. The main question is whether Silva plans to dance around or take care of business the way he did against the likes of Yushin Okami. Along with the main event, Richard and John break down the rest of the main card, featuring a rematch between Rhonda Rousey and Miesha Tate that nobody asked for, and a serious test for young heavyweight contender Travis Browne against longtime veteran Josh Barnett. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

In its first dual action of the season, the North Central College wrestling team scored an easy victory over the University of Chicago Maroons, 26-12, on Tuesday night at Merner Field House. After a forfeit victory by Nick Santos at 125 pounds, Layten Binion continued the Cardinals momentum at 133 pounds with a dominating 23-8 technical fall victory over Adam Wyeth. Nathan Segal (149 pounds), Josh Tardy (157 pounds), and Alex Vosburgh (165 pounds) produced three straight victories for the home team. Segal squeaked out a 2-1 decision over Jacob Smith, while Tardy claimed an 8-2 decision over Michael McNulty. Vosburgh made it three in a row with an 8-5 decision over Paul Papoutsis. The Cardinals head for warmer weather this weekend when they head to the Florida Gulf Coast Duals Saturday in Fort Myers, Fla. Results: 125: Nick Santos (NCC) won by forfeit 133: Layten Binion (NCC) def. Adam Wyeth, tech. fall 23-8 141: Charles Banazak (UC) def. Andrew Rodawold, dec. 10-6 149: Nathan Segal (NCC) def. Jacob Smith, dec. 2-1 157: Josh Tardy (NCC) def. Michael McNulty, dec. 8-2 165: Alex Vosburgh (NCC) def. Paul Papoutsis, dec. 8-5 174: Steven Franke (UC) def. Erick Kirkman, dec. 2-0 184: Vincent Pizzo (NCC) won by forfeit 197: Mario Palmisano (UC) def. Javier Ishola-Marquez, dec. 8-3 285: Jeffrey Tyburski (UC) def. Dylan Mahler, dec. 3-2

INDIANOLA -- The 17th-ranked Rams picked up wins in all 10 weight classes en route to a 43-0 victory over Simpson Tuesday night at Hopper Gymnasium. Cornell (6-2) cruised to its 10th straight series win over the Storm (1-3) and put up the most points in a dual meet since beating Buena Vista, 44-3, in 2011. It was the team's fifth shutout in head coach Mike Duroe's nine seasons at the helm, and first since the 2010-11 season. The Rams recorded victories in a variety of ways, including pins by sophomores Samuel Chalkley (2:19 at 141 pounds), Trevor Engle (6:45 at 149) and senior Alex Coolidge (4:08 at 197). Cornell won three matches by two-point margins. "Our guys wrestled pretty well. We wrestled with a purpose and for the most part were aggressive," Duroe said. "We scored points at important times, which gave us some momentum in individual matches." Senior Ben Rosen received a forfeit in the opening bout at 125. Freshman Phillip Opelt (8-5) followed with a 14-4 major decision over Sam Reichenbacker. The Rams quickly built the lead to 22-0 behind back-to-back falls by Chalkley (over Devin Syler) and Engle (over Ryan Joint). Engle improved his season record to 12-4. Sophomore 157-pounder Danny Klema made it 25-0 at the halfway point with a 10-4 decision over Jacob Mize. The Rams then reeled off three consecutive tight wins to push the advantage to 34-0. Freshman Michael Maksimovic (13-6) won his 165-pound match – 5-3 over Shane Swank – on a last-second takedown in the third period. Brent Hamm (10-5) prevailed, 7-3, over Brett Roberts at 174. Sophomore Aburough Abegesah scored the winning takedown in extra time for a 6-4 sudden victory over Taylor Witzel at 184. Coolidge (11-2) ended his match at 197 with a second-period pin over Jared Bevins. Senior heavyweight Carl Gaul (11-5) got past Colby Vlieger, 2-0, in the final match of the night. "We're on a little bit of an uptick now," Duroe said. "I like our team. But we still have a lot of work to do and need to keep paying attention to individual development." National polls – Cornell climbed eight spots to No. 17 in Tuesday's NWCA Division III Coaches' Poll. The Rams have a pair of nationally-ranked individuals in Coolidge (No. 4 at 197) and Engle (No. 8 at 149). Both wrestlers move up one spot from the previous rankings release. Coming up: The Rams will take some time off from the competition mat before returning to action at the Citrus Invitational Dec. 29-30 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Results: 125 – Ben Rosen (Cor) won by forfeit. 133 – Phillip Opelt (Cor) maj. dec. Sam Reichenbacker, 14-4. 141 – Samuel Chalkley (Cor) pinned Devin Syler, 2:19. 149 – #8 Trevor Engle (Cor) pinned Ryan Joint, 6:45. 157 – Danny Klema (Cor) dec. Jacob Mize, 10-4. 165 – Michael Maksimovic (Cor) dec. Shane Swank, 5-3. 174 – Brent Hamm (Cor) dec. Brett Roberts, 7-3. 184 – Aburough Abegesah (Cor) dec. Taylor Witzel, 6-4 SV. 197 – #4 Alex Coolidge (Cor) pinned Jared Bevins, 4:08. 285 – Carl Gaul (Cor) dec. Colby Vlieger, 2-0.

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team secured its third-straight victory and improves to 2-0 at home as it defeated Olivet College 23-9, Tuesday, Dec. 17 at Bowen Field House. With the win, Eastern improves to 7-1 overall on the season, while Olivet falls to 4-2 overall. The win brings Head Coach Derek DelPorto just one win away from tying the all-time EMU coaching record as he currently posts a 79-69-2 record. The all-time EMU coaches record is held by John Eisley who posted an 80-74-2 record in his 12 years at Eastern. Redshirt-senior Brandon Zeerip (Fremont, Mich.-Hesperia) got the Eagles out to a quick 4-0 lead over the Comets as he grabbed a 14-6 major decision over Kyle Witgen before freshman Austin Geerlings (Kentwood, Mich.-East Kentwood) picked up his second dual victory of his collegiate campaign, earning a 10-4 decision at 165 lbs. Olivet earned its first points of the night in the 174 lb. weight class as Nick Allen used 2:17 of riding time to secure a 3-2 victory over Jacob Davis (North Ridgeville, Ohio-St. Edward) before EMU went on to win five-straight bouts. Eastern extended its lead to 10-3 when Anthony Abro (Canton, Mich.-Canton) shut out Ryan Stevenson 4-0 at 184 lbs. Redshirt-senior Nick Whitenburg (Temperance, Mich.-Bedford) grabbed the Eagles' second major decision of the dual at 197 lbs. when he shut out Thomas Hall 11-0, including one point for 2:17 of riding time. The Green and White took a 14-point lead over Olivet when redshirt-senior Khodor Hoballah (Dearborn, Mich.-Dearborn) nabbed EMU's third shutout of the day with a 4-0 decision over Ryan Stevenson. "True" freshman Shayne Wireman (Lansing, MIch.-Holt) clinched his second dual victory of the season as he earned an 8-1 decision over Kyle Gillies, while Vincent Pizzuto (North Jackson, Ohio-Jackson Milton) picked up the Eagles' final victory of the day with a 10-4 decision at 133 lbs. Trailing by 20, Olivet came back to win the final two bouts as Jake Byers (Cedar Springs, Mich.-Rockford) and Mike Shaw (Bangor, Mich.-Allegan) were unable to earn victories in their respective weight classes. The Eagles hit the road for the fifth time this season as they travel to Evanston, Ill. to compete in the Midland Championships, Saturday, Dec. 28 – Sunday, Dec. 29. Results: 157: Brandon Zeerip (EMU) maj. dec. Kyle Witgen (OC), 14-6 (EMU, 4-0) 165: Austin Geerlings (EMU) dec. Dan Fleet (OC), 10-4 (EMU, 7-0) 174: Nick Allen (OC) dec. Jacob Davis (EMU), 3-2 (EMU, 7-3) 184: Anthony Abro (EMU) dec. Jeff Holm (OC), 7-3 (EMU, 10-3) 197: Nick Whitenburg (EMU)maj. dec. Thomas Hall (OC), 11-0 (EMU, 14-3) HWT: Khodor Hoballah (EMU) dec. Ryan Stevenson (OC), 4-0 (EMU, 17-3) 125: Shayne Wireman (EMU) dec. Kyle GIllies (OC), 8-1 (EMU, 20-3) 133: Vincent Pizzuto (EMU) dec. Michael Gancer (OC), 10-4 (EMU, 23-3) 141: Justin Holm (OC) dec. Jake Byers (EMU), 4-2 (EMU, 23-6) 149: Gage Pederson (OC) dec. Mike Shaw (EMU), 2-0 (EMU, 23-9) BOUT-BY-BOUT 157: Zeerip maj. dec. Witgen, 14-6 Zeerip took a 4-2 lead to end the first period as he used two takedowns and secured 1:02 of riding time, while Witgen was only able to muster two escapes in the first period. After choosing down to start the second period, Zeerip nabbed an escape and two takedowns to close out the second with a 7-2 lead. Zeerip continued to build on his lead in the third period nabbing three takedowns and securing a total of 2:53 of riding time. Witgen was unable to secure any takedowns in the entire bout, but did grab three escapes in the final two minutes of action. 165: Geerlings dec. Fleet, 10-4 Geerlings nabbed the first points of the match as he secured a takedown before Fleet was awarded an escape to end the first period. Geerling chose to be down to start the second period and quickly earned an escape and a takedown. Fleet grabbed one final escape to end the second period, while Geerling secured 1:51 of riding time to take a 5-2 advantage heading into the final minutes of action. Fleet led off the third period with an escape, but Geerlings recovered quickly as he had two final takedowns compared to Fleet's one escape. Geerlings also tacked on 2:19 of riding time to secure a 10-4 decision and give EMU the 7-0 lead. 174: Allen dec. Davis, 3-2 Davis scored the only points of the first period as he clinched a takedown just 0:14 seconds into the bout. The two points would be the only scoring spectators would see heading into the third period. After choosing down to start the third, Allen used a reversal to knot the score at 2-2 and was able to clinch the deciding point with 2:17 of riding time and give Olivet its first points of the night. 184: Abro dec. Holm, 7-3 The first period went back-and-forth in scoring as Abro earned a takedown before Holm grabbed his first escape. The two used the same sequence one more time in the first period before Abro nabbed one final takedown to take the 6-2 lead after the first period. Abro earned the only points of the second period as he escaped after choosing down to bring his lead to 7-2. The final point of the match came in the final period as Holm clinched an escape after choosing down to start the period, but was unable to get an advantage over Abro as the redshirt-senior gave EMU the 10-3 lead over Olivet. 197: Whitenburg maj. dec. Hall, 11-0 Whitenburg dominated throughout the entire bout as he used a takedown and a near fall in the first period and an escape and a takedown in the second to take an 8-0 advantage heading into the final two minutes of the match. The redshirt-senior used 2:07 of riding time and one final takedown to secure the 11-0 shut out victory over Hall and claim the major decision for the Eagles. HWT: Hoballah dec. Stevenson, 4-0 The only points of the first period came on a Hoballah takedown as he led 2-0 heading into the second period. Hoballah was also able to secure his riding time point in the first period as he grabbed 1:39 and never looked back. The second period saw no scoring between the two opponents as the final point of the match came in the third when Hoballah was awarded one point for a Stevenson stall. 125: Wireman dec. Gillies, 8-1 Wireman was aggressive to start the bout as he used two takedowns and a near fall in the first period to take a 6-0 lead over Gillies. Gillies nabbed his first point after choosing down to start the second half and earning the escape point before Wireman added on an entire minute of riding time from his first period time of 2:40. After choosing down to start the third period, Wireman used one final escape and his 1:24 riding time to earn his second dual victory of the season and extend the Eagle lead to 20-3. 133: Pizzuto dec. Gancer 10-4 Pizzuto used two takedowns compared to Gancers two escapes to take the 4-2 lead heading into the second period. A reversal and a takedown in the second gave Pizzuto the 8-4 lead before a takedown in the final period allowed the redshirt-sophomore to take a 10-4 victory and pick up the Green and White's final win of the night. 141: Holms dec. Byers, 4-2 Holms grabed the only two points of the first two periods on a takedown in the first. Holms nabbed two escapes in the third, while Byers was only able to muster one takedown as time clicked off the clock and Holm's went on to a 4-2 victory, earning Olivet three points on the decision. 149: Pederson dec. Shaw, 2-0 The only points of the entire bout came in the first period as Pederson used an early takedown to secure the 2-0 victory over Shaw, but the decision was not enough as the Eagles took the 23-9 dual victory over the Comets. Tower Inn - Ad Space Bottom4 DIY

NEW CONCORD, Ohio -- The Waynesburg University wrestling team received four forfeits and won five-of-six contested bouts en route to a 45-3 road win at Muskingum on Tuesday. It was the Yellow Jackets' fourth-straight victory. Waynesburg (6-3) received forfeits at 125 and 133 pounds before junior Jake Vitolo won the first live bout of the night by 17-0 technical fall. Junior Chris Milligan stretched his team's lead to 21-0 with a 9-0 major decision triumph at 149 pounds. After the visitors picked up their third forfeit of the night at 157 pounds, junior Sam Guidi recorded the only pin of the night, which came in just 49 seconds, at 165 pounds. Waynesburg continued to roll by picking up the final forfeit of the night at 174 pounds, making the score 39-0 Jackets. Following seven bonus-point victories to open the match, the Jackets took two of the final three matchups of the evening, all of which ended in decisions. Senior 184-pounder Cameron Fine kept things going with a 5-2 win, before the Muskies (0-5) scored their only points at 197 pounds. Sophomore Greg Kumer wrapped up the Orange and Black win with a 6-0 decision at heavyweight. Waynesburg wraps up the 2013 portion of its schedule this weekend, when it travels to Nashville, Tenn., to take part in the Gator "Boots" Duals. The Yellow Jackets will face off against some of the best Division III teams from the Midwest when they tangle with the Chicago, Elmhurst (Ill.) and the host team, Luther (Iowa). Results: 125 – Gordan Bieber (W) wins by forfeit 6-0 133 – Filippo Crivelli (W) wins by forfeit 12-0 141 – Jake Vitolo (W) 17-0 tech. fall Ben Barnhart- Sullivan 17-0 149 – Chris Milligan (W) 9-0 Maj. Dec. Jonathan Rau gh 21-0 157 – Shane Foster (W) wins by forfeit 27-0 165 – Sam Guidi (W) Pin :49 Cole Vencill 33-0 174 – Anthony Bonaventura (W) wins by forfeit 39- 0 184 – Cameron Fine (W) 5, Malachi Blum 2 42-0 197 – Luke Weber (M) 7, Dan Mahon 2 42-3 285 – Greg Kumer (W) 6, James Keys 0 45-3

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. -- Augustana won six of the first eight weight classes en route to a 21-12 non-conference wrestling victory over 23rd ranked Loras on Tuesday, December 17 in the Carver Center. The Vikings stayed undefeated and pushed their record to 6-0 on the season while the DuHawks fell to 1-3. Sophomore Jimmy Panozzo (Carl Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.) got things started for Eric Juergens' team with a 4-0 win over Ronald Triche at 125 and moved his record to 10-3 in the process. After freshman CJ Sojka (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn, Ill.) lost a tough 8-6 decision to Rudy Johnson at 133, the Vikings went on a roll and won the next two weight classes and five of the next six. Sophomore Isaiah Schaub (St. Francis HS, Traverse City, Mich.) won a close 3-2 decision over Nick Steger at 141 to bump his record to 16-4 and junior Hector Ruiz (East Aurora HS, Aurora, Ill.) handled Joe Wood 5-1 and is now 11-8. Junior Kevin Sundberg (Paw Paw HS, Paw Paw, Mich.) lost to Steven DeWitt 12-5 at 157 before junior Connor Cummings (Downers Grove North HS, Woodridge, Ill.) picked up a crucial victory. He beat Bill Wood 6-4 in overtime at 165 to move to 11-6 this year. Senior Jordan Richardson (Grandville HS, Wyoming, Ill.) is now 9-3 after beating Joe Butler 5-2 at 174. Junior Thomas Reyhons (Davenport Assumption HS, Davenport, Iowa) clinched the match for Augustana by pinning Mathias Palmersheim at 2:28 in the 184 pound weight class. Reyhons now leads the team with a record of 18-3. Senior Hunter Feraco (Gull Lake HS, Battle Creek, Mich.) lost a 3-2 decision to Malcom Watson at 197 and junior John Schraidt (Riverside-Brookfield HS, Riverside, Ill.) fell 3-1 to James Buss. Augustana is now 23-9-1 all-time in the series against the DuHawks. Results: 125 – Jimmy Panozzo (A) beat Ronald Triche (L) 4-0 133 – Rudy Johnson (L) beat CJ Sojka (A) 8-6 141 – Isaiah Schaub (A) beat Nick Steger (L) 3-2 149 – Hector Ruiz (A) beat Joe Wood (L) 5-1 157 – Steven DeWitt (L) beat Kevin Sundberg (A) 12-5 165 – Connor Cummings (A) beat Bill Wood (L) 6-4 (OT) 174 – Jordan Richardson (A) beat Joe Butler (L) 5-2 184 – Thomas Reyhons (A) pinned Mathias Palmersheim (L) at 2:28 197 –Malcom Watson (L) beat Hunter Feraco (A) 3-2 285 – James Buss (L) beat John Schraidt (A) 3-1

Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland --The International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA) announced the weight classes for men and women's freestyle and Greco-Roman competition for the Olympic Games in 2016. The organization that governs the sport worldwide also announced rule changes and competition format that will begin Jan. 1, 2014. The new classes became necessary when FILA added two classes to women's freestyle competition and reduced each of the men's styles by one weight class, therefore setting a 6-6-6 field for men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's freestyle wrestling for the Games in Rio de Janeiro. FILA's Technical Commission worked with the federation's Medical, Scientific, Referee and Athlete's Commissions to form the basis of changes for the sport of Wrestling that will be in effect through the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new weight classes for the Olympic Games, which go into effect in 2014, are: Men's freestyle (all weights in kilograms): 57, 65, 74, 86, 97, 125 Greco-Roman: 59, 66, 75, 85, 98, 130 Women's Freestyle: 48, 53, 58, 63, 69, 75. For FILA competitions, including world and continental championships, world cups and Golden Grand Prix championships, FILA will add 61 and 70 kg classes to the men's freestyle, 71 and 80 kg to the Greco-Roman field and 55 and 60 kg to the women's freestyle competition. The weight classes for Juniors and Cadets were not changed. They remain: Men's freestyle: 50, 57, 61, 65, 70, 75, 80, 86, 97, 125 Greco-Roman: 52, 60, 64, 68, 72, 77, 82, 88, 100, 130 Women's Freestyle: 44, 48, 53, 55, 58, 63, 66, 69, 72, 75 FILA has adopted the following amendments to the rules which will be in force for 2014: For all Disciplines: Technical Superiority: A match will end at 10 points advantage in Freestyle and 8 points in Greco-Roman. Throws: Four points will be awarded for all throws in Freestyle. In Greco-Roman 4 points will be awarded for throws that are followed and controlled and 5 points will be awarded for grand amplitude throws. End of Match: In all disciplines elimination of two three-point throws and one five point throws ending a match. Par Terre: Elimination of the five-second count for the one additional back point exposure and any penalty for a false start will receive one point, not two as currently practiced. Greco-Roman Wrestling: Passivity: For the first warning the match is not stopped. Match ending in 0-0: The last wrestler warned loses. Takedown: Two points are awarded from a standing or neutral position for a throw without back exposure. Challenge Procedure: The Appeal Jury will render its decision without consulting the refereeing body. If the Appeal Jury overturns the decision of the refereeing body, the referees will be warned. A second warning will result in the suspension of the referees. The decision of the Appeal Jury is final. There will be no challenge authorized in case of penalties for passivity. Criteria to determine ties in team competition: 1st Criteria: Total of classification points after eight matches between two teams. 2nd Criteria: Most victories by falls, injury, default, forfeit or disqualification. 3rd Criteria: Most match victories by technical superiority. 4th Criteria: Most technical points obtained in all matches. 5th Criteria: Fewest technical points given in all matches. FILA kept its one-day competition format for each discipline: Greco-Roman, men's freestyle and women's freestyle, but changed the competition times to 10 a.m. for the first session. A 30-minute minimum time between matches has also been made compulsory. "We believe we have set the foundation for both the Olympic Games and the FILA championships with these weight classes, rule changes and competition format," said FILA President Nenad Lalovic. "We thank the members of the Technical Commission for their guidance in this important decision. We used the knowledge and ideas of various commissions in FILA to reach these decisions. It was a total organizational effort. "We want to make changes that make the sport better," he added. "If we need to change, we will. Our goal is to be excellent in everything we do." About FILA FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, is the global governing body of the sport of wrestling. It works to promote the sport and facilitate the activities of its 177 national federations from around the world. It is based in Corsier-Sur-Vevey, Switzerland. To learn more about FILA visit its official website, http://www.fila-official.com/; Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/fila.official, or Twitter handle, @FILA_Official. For more information please contact FILA at 41.21 312 84 26 or Bob Condron, Press Officer, condron@fila-wrestling.com or rscondron@yahoo.com.

The international wrestling federation FILA has awarded the 2014 Freestyle World Cup to USA Wrestling, which will host the event in Los Angeles, Calif., March 15-16. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships, and will feature the top 10 men’s freestyle wrestling teams in the world, based upon the team standings of the 2013 World Championships. The local organizing committee will be structured, benefitting from the talent and membership of Beat the Streets Los Angeles, California USA Wrestling, the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, the Semnani Family Foundation and other strong Los Angeles-based sports organizations. The venue for the competition is currently being finalized and will be announced when available. "This is exciting because we have a tremendous fan base in our area for the international teams that will be coming here to compete, as well as for the USA team. Our fans are knowledgeable and very passionate. We are looking forward to hosting a dynamic, exciting and successful event," said USA Wrestling leader Andy Barth who is helping lead the local organizing committee. "We are excited to help bring the Freestyle World Cup back to the United States and to California," said Duane Morgan, state chairperson of California USA Wrestling. "This is another example that USA Wrestling is the national governing body for our sport and can bring major international events here which expose California youth to Olympic-level wrestling. We are pleased the event is in our back yard and we will help as much as we can to make sure it is a success." The 10 nations which have qualified for the World Cup, based upon team standings at the 2013 World Championships are: 1) Iran; 2) Russia; 3) Georgia; 4) Ukraine; 5) United States; 6) India; 7 tie) Cuba and Mongolia; 9 tie) Armenia and Turkey. The most recent Freestyle World Cup was held in Tehran, Iran in February 2013, with Iran winning the team title, Russia placing second and the United States placing third. The World Cup field will be split into two pools of five nations, with each team competing against the other four teams in its pool. The winning teams of each pool will compete for first place; second place in each pool will compete for third place; third place in each pool will compete for fifth place; fourth place in each pool will compete for seventh place and fifth place in each pool will compete for ninth place. The Freestyle World Cup was developed in the United States, which has hosted the event 26 times since its inception. The most recent time that the United States hosted the event was in 2003 in Boise, Idaho. The U.S. cities which have hosted the World Cup include Toledo, Ohio (17 times); Chattanooga, Tenn. (twice); Spokane, Wash.(twice); Stillwater, Okla. (twice); Baltimore, Md.; Fairfax, Va. and Boise, Idaho. This will be the second major international wrestling event held in Los Angeles within a year. United4Wrestling, which featured the United States, Russia and Canada competing in men’s and women’s freestyle wrestling, was hosted at LA Coliseum on May 19, 2013. This successful event was an important competition in helping wrestling display its worldwide appeal and retain its status as an Olympic sport. "USA Wrestling is pleased to host the Freestyle World Cup again, and look forward to a fantastic competition in Los Angeles. It is our intention to provide an exciting event presentation which will help showcase the best freestyle wrestling teams in the world. We invite all wrestling fans to join us at the Freestyle World Cup this year," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. ABOUT USA WRESTLING USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and the International Wrestling Federation FILA. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. Its president is James Ravannack, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender. ABOUT FILA FILA, the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, is the global governing body of the sport of wrestling. It works to promote the sport and facilitate the activities of its 177 national federations from around the world. It is based in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. To learn more about FILA visit its official website, http://www.fila-official.com/; Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/fila.official, or Twitter handle, @FILA_Official. (For more information please contact FILA at 41.21 312 84 26 or Bob Condron, Press Officer, condron@fila-wrestling.com or rscondron@yahoo.com

RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- It was only fitting California Baptist University’s first-ever win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo came in dramatic fashion, beating the Mustangs by one point at 19-18. As if a victory over an NCAA Division I opponent wasn’t impressive enough, CBU improved to 4-1 this season despite forfeiting the 285-pound match. The dual result accounted for Cal Poly’s first loss of the year, as it slid to 2-1. “We also had three new guys in the lineup and four guys at new weights,” head coach Lennie Zalesky said. “To beat Cal Poly, usually the best NCAA Division I team in California and typically ranked in the top-25 in D-I, is just incredible.” The Lancers won six of the nine matches that were wrestled, with many of the individual bouts coming down to dramatic finishes. Five of CBU’s wins were within three points, including a pair of one-point victories. “The guys wrestled tough, we won on the last second a lot,” Zalesky said. Bradford Gerl provided the Lancers with the biggest win of the night, a 16-5 major decision over Colton Shorts, at 141. It did not come as easy as the result may suggest. Bradford found himself down 5-0 less than a minute into the first period after giving up a takedown and three-point near fall. Even on his back, Bradford never lost his composure and rallied to take a 6-5 lead before the period ended, as he notched an escape, takedown and three-point near fall within a 28-second span. Bradford sealed the win with a three-point near fall in the second period and two more in the final frame. California Baptist University 125-pounder Bryden Lazaro opened the dual with a one-point win over Britain Longmire, 7-6, after notching an escape six seconds into the third period. Alex Anunciation (149) increased the Lancers’ lead to 10-3 with a 9-6 win over Cal Poly’s Kyle Chene. Anunciation trailed, 3-2, going into the final period but scored six points on a pair of escapes and takedowns to claim the bout. “Alex came back from an injury for the first time in a year, and he was a little tired, but he won it on guts and good technique,” Zalesky said. “He had a couple of really nice shots.” Brady Bersano improved his personal record to a team-best 11-4 on the year when he tallied a 7-4 victory over Luke McDonald at 157. Like Anunciation, Alec Smith stepped onto the mat for the first time this year against Sohrab Movahedi at 165. Tied at four going into the third frame, Smith tallied his second takedown of the match with 1:10 remaining to wrap up the 6-4 win and give CBU a 16-3 lead. Cal Poly quickly jumped back into contention when Dominic Kastl, who is ranked 24th at 174 pounds by D1CollegeWrestling.net, pinned his man to bring the score to 16-9 with two matches to go. Knowing there was a forfeit at heavyweight was looming, Caleb Gerl nabbed a clutch 3-2 victory over Sean Dougherty at 184 for CBU. Caleb took a 2-0 lead with a takedown within the final 15 seconds of the first period. “Alex and Caleb’s wins were big and we needed them both,” Zalesky said. “Caleb won on a lot of guts.” In a tightly-contested and low-scoring match, Dougherty managed to tie matters up at two with a reversal in the final 1:31 of the match. Caleb had the luxury of not having to force anything down the stretch, as the amount of riding time he built up earlier on (4:06) was good for a 3-2 decision in his favor and 16-9 Lancer advantage. While it may not have been a win, CBU also received an inspired performance from Kenneth Tribble. The normal 174-pounder jumped up to 197 for the match and delivered a gutsy performance. He trailed 4-2 at the end of the first period and was nearly pinned, which would have cost the Lancers the match--along with a major-decision defeat--in the second period. Tribble kept both his shoulders off the mat and worked a quick reversal to pull within 9-5 heading into the second period. He stayed out of trouble and grabbed a takedown in the final two minutes in a 9-8 defeat that secured the Lancer win. “He couldn’t get pinned or majored, that was a heck of a performance,” Zalesky said. “He really turned it on at the end of the match, took him down and rode him out.” The Lancers take a break for the rest of the 2013 year, picking up on the road in 2014 with a pair of tournaments on Jan. 4. Results: 125 -- Bryden Lazaro (CBU) dec. Britain Longmire (CP) 7-6 133 -- Devon Lotito (CP) dec. Taylor Hall (CBU) 5-1 141 -- Bradford Gerl (CBU) maj. dec. Colt Shorts (CP) 16-5 149 -- Alex Anunciation (CBU) dec. Kyle Chené (CP) 9-6 157 -- Brady Bersano (CBU) dec. Luke McDonald (CP) 8-4 165 -- Alec Smith (CBU) dec. Sohrab Movahedi (CP) 6-4 174 -- Dominic Kastl (CP) pinned David Irish (CBU) 0:59 184 -- Caleb Gerl (CBU) dec. Sean Dougherty (CP) 3-2 197 -- Nicolas Johnson (CP) dec. Kenneth Tribble (CBU) 9-8 285 -- Spencer Empey (CP) won by forfeit

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team posted a dominating 35-3 win over Gardner-Webb to open Southern Conference action in Maclellan Gym tonight. The Mocs delighted the crowd for the Taziki’s Candlelight Dinner Match by winning nine of the 10 individual bouts. “Overall, it was just a great night,” stated UTC head coach Heath Eslinger. “We want to be innovators in our sport and in athletics. Obviously, the exclamation point is we come away with a good win and some good, solid wrestling.” Instead of pulling out the bleachers, the Mocs sold mat-side tables and brought in Taziki’s Mediterranean Café to cater a formal dinner for the fans. Space around the mat sold out quickly and made for a very unique atmosphere in Maclellan Gym. Chattanooga raced out to a 17-0 lead with wins in the first five matches. The dual started at 184 pounds with sophomore John Lampe scoring a 5-2 decision over Gray Jones. “We started at ‘84 yesterday and thought it was a great place to start,” said Eslinger. “We drew it again today. John Lampe is just a kid that does not want to lose.” Freshman Scottie Boykin followed with an impressive 11-3 major decision over Boyce Cornwell at 197. Junior Kevin Malone was next with his 7-4 decision over Justin Kozera at heavyweight. Freshman Campbell Lewis scored his first collegiate win tonight. He gave the Mocs a 13-0 lead with a 5-0 shutout of William Anderson at 125. It was one of four shutouts for Chattanooga on the evening. Junior Nick Soto had a major decision (13-4) over Robbie Goulde at 133 before Ryan Mosley put Gardner-Webb on the board with a win at 141. That was all the Bulldogs would get tonight as the Mocs ran off the last four matches. Freshman Michael Hooker had a 4-2 decision over Tyler Ziegler at 149. Ziegler’s two points in the match were the last for GWU on the evening. Junior Alex Hudson quickly shut out Kyle Ash for an 8-0 major decision win at 157. The 165 match looked like it could be a good one between UTC’s No. 4 ranked junior Corey Mock and GWU freshman Austin Trott. Mock came into the match undefeated at 11-0 while Trott was an impressive 13-2 to start the season. Mock led 6-0 after an opening period that included a takedown and four back points. Trott chose top for the second period, but Mock quickly reversed and went to work on top. Before the end of the second frame, Mock had had run off 11 more points for the 17-0 technical fall. “Corey Mock has been outstanding,” added Eslinger. “That kid he wrestled is tough and he made it look easy. He has a lot of confidence and confidence wins athletic events. It is starting to permeate our team and he is doing a great job being a leader. He is doing the right things and he will continue to get better.” Junior Levi Clemons bounced back from a tough day on Sunday against Purdue to put an exclamation point on tonight’s match. He pinned GWU’s Brett Stein (2:22) in the first period to close out the team win. “Levi needed that,” continued Eslinger. “Levi Clemons is a guy we had to rally around and he did great tonight.” The Mocs improve to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action. Gardner-Webb drops to 4-8 on the year and 1-1 in league matches. Tonight’s win was the 50th in Eslinger’s career at UTC. He is already fourth on UTC’s career coaching win list with a 50-34 record since taking over prior to the 2009-10 season. “I think we upped it a notch, just with the classiness of it,” said Eslinger. “It was a great event. We are grateful to the people who support us and buy these tables. Good things are in the works for Chattanooga wrestling. “We need to be more creative on how we treat our donors. It takes a lot of help from a lot of people to keep this thing where they are and to move forward. We want to think of more creative ways like this to enhance the atmosphere of the match. We want to have events, not just wrestling matches. This was an event.” UTC’s next home 'event' is the prestigious Southern Scuffle, presented by Defense Soap and Flip Wrestling. The 34-team tournament takes place in McKenzie Arena on Jan. 1-2. Tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627). The Mocs still have work to do before the holiday break. Chattanooga heads out west for a dual match at Stanford on Dec. 20 and the Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions on Dec. 22. Results: 184 John Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 5-2 - Gray Jones (GWU) – UTC 3-0 197 Scottie Boykin (UTC) – MD 11-3 - Boyce Cornwell (GWU) – UTC 7-0 285 Kevin Malone (UTC) – Dec. 7-4 - Justin Kozera (GWU) – UTC 10-0 125 Campbell Lewis (UTC) – Dec. 5-0 - William Anderson (GWU) – UTC 13-0 133 Nick Soto (UTC) – MD 13-4 - Robert Golde (GWU) – UTC 17-0 141 Ryan Mosley (GWU) – Dec. 6-1 - Austin Sams (UTC) – UTC 17-3 149 Michael Hooker (UTC) – Dec. 4-2 - Tyler Ziegler (GWU) – UTC 20-3 157 Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 8-0 - Kyle Ash (GWU) – UTC 24-3 165 Corey Mock (UTC) – Tech Fall 17-0 (4:50) - Austin Trott (GWU) – UTC 29-3 174 Levi Clemons (UTC) – Fall 2:22 - Brett Stein (GWU) – UTC 35-3

KENT, Ohio -- Kent State (5-3, 2-0 MAC) won its fifth consecutive dual meet with a 25-7 victory over Old Dominion Monday night at the M.A.C. Center. Sophomore Cole Baxter put an exclamation point on the Golden Flashes' six straight victories from 149 to 197 with a first period pin of Kevin Beazley. "I thought we wrestled especially well from the top position," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "Better than we have all season." Baxter was among the many Flashes wrestling well from the top. After a pair of takedowns, he used an arm bar and far side wrist control to turn Beazley for the fall at 1:54. The beginning of Kent State's six straight wins also started with a strong performance from the top position by sophomore Michael DePalma. After a scoreless first period, DePalma tilted Alexander Richardson to take a 3-0 lead. A third period escape immediately followed by a takedown gave DePalma a 6-0 lead on the way to a 7-1 victory. "He was ranked higher than me so I came in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," DePalma said. Sophomore Ian Miller also knocked off a ranked opponent with a 7-2 win over Tristan Warner. Miller's patented underhook and shot in the first 10 seconds of the match was the first of his three takedowns. Sophomore Tyler Buckwalter kept things rolling with a 16-3 major decision over Marcus Johnson. Buckwalter unleashed five takedowns and a pair of two-point near falls. Junior Caleb Marsh jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two periods in a 5-3 victory over Billy Curling. A penalty point awarded to Marsh broke a 3-3 tie in the third period and led to the exit of Monarch's coach Steve Martin. Old Dominion was deducted two team points. Sophomore Sam Wheeler made it five straight wins for the Flashes with a 5-3 decision over Austin Coburn. A double-leg takedown in the first and a reversal in the second gave Wheeler a 4-0 edge heading into third. Sophomore Mack McGuire's two first period takedowns made the difference in a 9-6 victory. McGuire tied the team score up 3-3 after sophomore Del Vinas dropped the 125 bout 2-0. Junior Tyler Small fell to No. 9 Chris Mecate 5-0 to give the Monarchs a 6-3 lead after three matches. One of Kent State's toughest tests of the season comes Thursday (Dec. 19) when the Golden Flashes host No. 7 Ohio State at the M.A.C. Center. Results: 125 Jerome Robinson (ODU) won by decision over Edilberto Vinas (KSU) 2-0. 133 Mackenzie McGuire (KSU) won by decision over Scott Festejo (ODU) 9-6 141 Chris Mecate (ODU) won by decision over Tyler Small (KSU) 5-0 149 Michael Depalma (KSU) won by decision over Alexander Richardson (ODU) 7-1 157 Ian Miller (KSU) won by decision over Tristan Warner (ODU) 7-2 165 Tyler Buckwalter (KSU) won by major decision over Marcus Johnson (ODU) 16-3 174 Caleb Marsh (KSU) won by decision over Billy Curling (ODU) 5-3 184 Sam Wheeler (KSU) won by decision over Austin Coburn (ODU) 5-3 197 Cole Baxter (KSU) won by pin over Kevin Beazley (ODU) 1:54 285 Matt Tourdot (ODU) won by decision over Mimmo Lytle (Kent State) 3-1 Old Dominion deducted two team points during 174-pound bout

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio University wrestling team (4-1) opened its 2013-14 home campaign in style Sunday morning as it defeated Appalachian State 27-12 inside the Convocation Center. Redshirt sophomore Spartak Chino (Wheaton, Ill.) opened the duel with a 12-9 decision over ASU's Nick Hall, giving the Bobcats an early 3-0 lead and snapped his two bout-losing streak. Redshirt junior Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) continued Ohio's momentum, with a 4-0 victory by decision versus ASU's Zach Strickland, raising the Bobcats' lead 6-0. Appalachian State got on the board after Colin Hedash defeated Ohio's redshirt sophomore Marshal Willet (Broadview Heights, Ohio) by decision (6-3), but the Bobcats responded in the following bout with a fall by redshirt senior Ryan Garringer (Downers Grove, Ill). Garringer's pin of ASU's Nick Vetell marked his third fall of the season. Redshirt Sophomore Phillip Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) continued the Bobcats' drive, defeating ASU's Kacee Hutchinson by a 15-0 technical fall, pushing their lead to 17-3, earning his eighth-consecutive win on the year. Redshirt senior Jeremy Johnson (Broadview Heights, Ohio) gave the Bobcats a 20-3 lead after he defeated Denzel Dejournette 9-5 to pick up his 12th win on the year. Both teams would trade victories in the final four bouts as Ohio would go on to secure the win. Ohio closes out the 2013 calendar year on Dec. 22 at the Reno Tournament of Champions, the tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m. Results: 157: Spartak Chino (OHIO) dec. Nick Hall (APP), 12-9 (OHIO 3-0) 165: Harrison Hightower (OHIO) dec. Zack Strickland (APP), 4-0 (OHIO 6-0) 174: Colin Hedash (APP) dec. Marshal Willet (OHIO), 7-3 (OHIO 6-3) 184: Ryan Garringer (OHIO) fall Nick Vetell (APP), (OHIO 12-3) 197: Phil Wellington (OHIO) tech. fall Kacee Hutchinson (APP), 15-0 (OHIO 17-3) HWT: Jeremy Johnson (OHIO) dec. Denzel Dejournette (APP), 9-5 (OHIO 20-3) 125: Dominic Parisi (APP) fall KeVon Powell (OHIO), (1:15) (OHIO 20-9) 133: Kagan Squire (OHIO) dec. Chris Johnson (APP), 6-3 (OHIO 23-9) 141: Noah Forrider (OHIO) maj. dec. Acton Pifer (APP), 15-6 (OHIO 27-9) 149: Dylan Cottrell (APP) dec. Tywan Claxton (OHIO), 6-4 (OHIO 27-12)

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga.-- Patrick Kissel’s pin in the final bout lifted No. 21 Purdue past Chattanooga, 21-15, Sunday in Mountain View High School. With the dual tied at 15-15 heading into the 174-pound match, Kissel asserted himself against Levi Clemons right off the whistle, and in doing so, he pushed the Boilermakers’ record to 3-1, 0-1 Big Ten. The two teams each claimed five weights, but it was pins by Kissel and Camden Eppert that proved to be the difference maker for Purdue. “I wanted to go out there and win,” Kissel said. “It feels good wrestling for these guys and having everyone believe in me and wrestling to my potential. My mindset was to go out there and win. I got the cradle and it felt good to have everyone on our side yelling. I could hear my corner yelling the whole time.” Kissel struck for a takedown just seconds into his match with Clemons, locked in on a cradle and rolled the Moc from his head flat onto his back for the first fall of his redshirt junior campaign. The dual came down to the 174-pounders as Purdue and Chattanooga went back-and-forth up until the intermission following the 133 match. No. 15/17 Braden Atwood got the Boilermakers on the board, following a 6-4 sudden victory decision for the Mocs at 184 pounds. The 197-pounder took down Jared Johnson four times and tallied 2:51 riding time en route to a 10-3 decision to improve to 11-4. A 4:00 fall of Chattanooga’s Byron Smith by Camden Eppert at 125 pounds gave Purdue a 9-6 advantage after four bouts. The redshirt senior built a 7-1 lead after the first period thanks to a takedown, a three-point and a two-point nearfall. With his second fall of the season, Eppert’s record moves to 5-3. The Boilermakers won back-to-back bouts in sudden victory coming out of the intermission. At 141 pounds, Danny Sabatello trailed by two points heading into the third period, 6-4. He escaped to start the period and took down Austin Sams for a 7-6 lead, but was called for locked hands to even the score at 7-7 and force the match into sudden victory. Midway through, Sabatello got the decisive takedown for his 10th win of his sophomore season, a 9-7 decision. Brandon Nelsen and Michael Hooker exchanged takedowns in the first and third periods, respectively, but it was Hooker’s riding time from the second period and a locked hands call that forced the 149-pounders into an extra 60 seconds of action. A takedown by Nelsen clinched the eighth win of his redshirt junior campaign, and the second in sudden victory, to give Purdue a 15-9 lead with three bouts remaining. The Mocs responded, taking decisions at 157 and 165, setting up the dual-deciding bout at 174. Purdue returns to action Dec. 29-30 at the 51st Annual Ken Craft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Results: 184: John Lampe (Chattanooga) dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue), 6-4 (SV1) 197: No. 15/17 Braden Atwood (Purdue) dec. Jared Johnson (Chattanooga), 10-3 285: Kevin Malone (Chattanooga) dec. Alex White (Purdue), 3-0 125: Camden Eppert (Purdue) pin Byron Smith (Chattanooga), 4:00 133: Nick Soto (Chattanooga) dec. Cashé Quiroga (Purdue), 10-8 141: Danny Sabatello (Purdue) dec. Austin Sams (Chattanooga), 9-7 (SV1) 149: Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) dec. Michael Hooker (Chattanooga), 5-3 (SV1) 157: Alex Hudson (Chattanooga) dec. Doug Welch (Purdue), 8-1 165: No. 4/7 Corey Mock (Chattanooga) dec. Chad Welch (Purdue), 6-0 174: Patrick Kissel (Purdue) pin Levi Clemons (Chattanooga), 1:25