InterMat Staff

Big Ten Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 - Sunday, March, 10 Venue: Assembly Hall (Champaign, Ill.) Event Website Results Big 12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) Event Website Results CAA Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Case Gymnasium (Boston, Mass.) Event Website Results SoCon Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Cameron Hall (Lexington, Va.) Event Website Results ACC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Comcast Center (College Park, Md.) Event Website Results EIWA Wrestling Championships Date: Friday, March 8 - Saturday, March 9 Venue: Rutgers Athletic Center (Piscataway, N.J.) Event Website Results MAC Wrestling Championships Date: Sunday, March 10 Venue: Alumni Arena (Buffalo, N.Y.) Event Website Results EWL Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: McComb Fieldhouse (Edinboro, Pa.) Event Website Results West Regional/WWC Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 9 Venue: Arena-Auditorium (Laramie, Wyo.) Event Website Results Pac-12 Wrestling Championships Date: Saturday, March 2 Venue: Wells Fargo Arena (Tempe, Ariz.) Event Website Results

Champaign, Ill. -- The brackets have been released for the 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which take place on Saturday and Sunday at Assembly Hall in Champaign. View brackets

Fight Now TV Presents Takedown Wrestling. Our Mobile Brute studios present the Big Ten Wrestling Championships live from Champaign, Illinois from Assembly Hall! Takedown Wrestling is brought to you by Kemin, Inspired Molecular Solutions! This Saturday it's Takedown Wrestling Radio from 9 to 11 a.m. CT/10 a.m. to noon ET. The Balance of Saturday and Sunday join Steve Foster, Jeff Murphy, Chad Kriz and company for Takedown Media's annual broadcast of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships from Champaign, Ill., live from Assembly Hall! Tune in to this FREE broadcast on TheMat.com or TheMat.tv courtesy of USA Wrestling and Takedown Wrestling Media.

A lot of people figured Wanderlei Silva should retire after a long career and a lot of punishment. But fighting back in Japan at UFC on FUEL 8, Silva turned back in the clock with a brutal second round knockout of Brian Stann in a potential fight of the year candidate. Nevertheless, should Silva take the opportunity to step away on a high note, or can he still remain relevant this late in his career? While Silva's win was impressive, heavyweight Mark Hunt also made headlines by literally breaking Stefan Struve's face with a left hook. Now a kickboxer who entered the UFC on a five fight losing streak and lost to Sean McCorkle could be in line for a contender spot. All of that and a discussion of Olympic wrestling gold medalist Henry Cejudo's MMA debut on this week's episode. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

The last state tournament to finish in the nation this year will be the state of New Jersey, who championship starts on Friday evening in Atlantic City. The finals from Boardwalk Hall will occur on Sunday afternoon. Though this is an un-scored state tournament from the team standpoint, as team championships were decided based on classification early last month, there are some dominant teams in this single-class event. Ranked No. 22 nationally, South Plainfield has their famed murderer’s row from 126 through 145 with Stasenko, Delvecchio, Ashnault, and Heilmann all in the hunt for state titles. Four other wrestlers – Daniel Hedden (113), Dylan Painton (152), Inan Sikel (160), and Tory Russell (220) – also advanced to state for the Tigers. Joint most in terms of state qualifiers with nine are St. Peter’s Prep and No. 34 Bergen Catholic. The other two nationally ranked teams from the Garden State, No. 38 Bound Brook and No. 41 Don Bosco Prep qualified six and seven respectively. The following represents a weight-by-weight breakdown of the state tournament, which starts this evening. 106: At the end of the day, this weight will likely come down to the two nationally ranked freshmen, No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic) and No. 9 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep). Suriano is undefeated on the season; and has a 3-0 record against Bierdumpfel, having wins at the Mustang Classic, their dual meet, and the regional final. Bierdumpfel does have five losses, the additional ones coming at the Beast of the East to Ohio state finalists Assad and Rodriguez. In terms of path to the final, Suriano is looking at a likely semi against undefeated sophomore Michael Russo (Jackson Liberty), while Bierdumpfel’s toughest opponent would seem to be fellow freshman Zack Firestone (Clearview) in the quarterfinal round. 113: The strong favorite in this weight would be two-time state placer, 2011 state runner-up, Luis Gonzalez (Don Bosco Prep). The junior Gonzalez is the top seed in this weight class, and would seem to have a relatively clear top half of the bracket. His likely finals opponent would be senior Kevin Corrigan (Toms River South), a returning state fifth place-finisher in this weight class. 120: A lot of mileage was made after last weekend about a trio of returning top three place-finishers getting displaced prior to the state tournament; defending state champion Anthony Cefolo (Hanover Park), runner-up Carl Buttitta (JFK-Iselin), and third-place finisher Kyle Brady (Bishop Ahr) all failed to make state from either Region 3 or Region 5. Two-time state champion Brendan Calas (Seton Hall Prep) enters the weekend as the favorite, though his first challenge comes in a quarterfinal against Sal Profaci (Monroe). The other quarter of that top half should be cleared by returning state placer Ryan Pomrinca (Hunterdon Central). The lower half is the deeper of the two halves with a third quarter that features returning state placer Craig De La Cruz (Bound Brook) and senior Jonathan Mele (Livingtson); while the bottom quarter features returning state placers Robert Trombetta (Nutley), Christian Innarella (Delbarton), and Joseph Ghione (Brick Memorial). 126: Four nationally ranked wrestlers and six elite contenders stand at the front of this weight class. Leading the way is sophomore David McFadden (DePaul Catholic), a returning state runner-up, who is the top seed and ranked No. 15 nationally. He is well-positioned to clear the top quarter of the draw. In the other quarter of the top half is returning placer Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield), who is ranked No. 13 nationally and has beaten defending state champion Maglado each of the last two weeks. However, Stasenko is looking at a quarterfinal bout against the undefeated Mike Pongracz (Delaware Valley), a two-time state placer. Returning state champion Mike Magaldo (Watchung Hills), ranked No. 9 nationally, has made the state final each of his first two years; but has lost matches the last two weekends to Stasenko, 7-4 and 5-2 respectively. He has a clear third quarter of the draw. The other quarter of that bottom half features two-time state placer Anthony Giraldo, who is ranked No. 11 nationally, along with 2011 state third-place finisher Billy Ward (Buena). 132: Defending state champion Scott Delvecchio (South Plainfield) is undefeated on the season, and ranked No. 8 in the nation having also placed fourth at the Super 32 Challenge. The top half of the draw is rather barren and makes him the prohibitive favorite to reach the final. Returning state third placer Jason Estevez (Livingston) is ranked No. 18 nationally, and well positioned to be the bottom bracket semifinalist from the third quarter of the draw. The bottom-most quarter is stacked with a projected pre-quarterfinal bout featuring returning state placer Nick Anderson (Delbarton) facing Cadet freestyle All-American Ronnie Gentile (Paulsboro), with that bout’s winner slated to face returning state third placer Zach Herling (Ocean Township) in the quarterfinal round. 138: For there being a wrestler in No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield) that is undefeated in his whole career, and seeking to become only the third ever four-time state champion in Garden State history, this is a rather deep weight class. Ashnault is looking at a semifinal match against two-time state placer Richard Lewis (Toms River East), who is also undefeated on the season. In the other half of the draw, three-time state placer Brandon Keller (Timber Creek) should clear the third quarter, while in the bottom portion, a quarterfinal bout looms between two-time state placer Brian Hamann (Jackson Memorial) and returning state runner-up Gary Dinmore (Hunterdon Central), who is undefeated on the season. 145: Part of why 138 is so deep is that this weight class is very deep as well, with a defending champion of its own in No. 3 B.J. Clagon (Toms River South), who has placed seventh, second, and first in the state. Clagon is undefeated on the season and likely to advance to the semifinal in the top half of the draw against one of two juniors, either returning state placer Maaziah Bethea (Trenton Central) or the undefeated John Vanbrill (Clearview). The bottom half of this bracket should feature a semifinal between nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 10 Troy Heilmann (South Plainfield) and No. 11 T.J. Miller (Camden Catholic); Heilmann has finished runner-up each of the last two years after finishing sixth as a freshman, while Miller has sandwiched third place finishes around a 2011 state title. These two wrestlers met at the Virginia Duals, when it was Miller earning a 7-3 victory. 152: Three-time state placer Chad Walsh (Camden Catholic), ranked No. 13 nationally, enters the weekend as the third seed, but well positioned to make it to the final. He has finished eighth, fifth, and fifth at the state tournament, and is riding positive momentum after a 4-2 victory over Stinson in the regional final this past weekend. It would be a surprise to me if he did not make it to the final. The top half of the draw features two-time state placer Nick Gravina (Northern Highlands), who is ranked No. 16 up at 160 pounds having made a late drop into this weight class. He should clear to the semifinal against either Cadet freestyle All-American Josh Ugalde (Bound Brook) or No. 17 Wayne Stinson (North Burlington), a three-time state qualifier who has yet to place at state despite an excellent career peripheral to that. 160: Two-time state placer Jonathan Schleifer (East Brunswick) is ranked No. 6 nationally, having also been a NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion and Super 32 third-place finisher. He is the top seed in the weight class and a likely finalist, with his toughest match before the final a likely quarterfinal bout against Cadet freestyle All-American Josef Johnson (Delbarton). The lower half of the draw features a pair of returning state placers in Dylan Artigliere (Roxbury), who is undefeated on the season, and John Balboni (David Brearley), who is looking at a likely quarterfinal bout against Connor Donahue (Clearview). 170: Two nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class – No. 12 Ethan Ramos (Hawthorne), who was fourth at state and a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion, and No. 20 Jaeden Bernstein (Voorhees), a two-time state placer who was runner-up in 2011. Bernstein enters as the top seed with an undefeated record, and is heading towards a quarterfinal against one of three senior wrestlers that have combined for four total losses: returning state placer Jeff Farina (St. Joseph Montvale), NHSCA Junior All-American Parker Maytrott (Montville), and Mike Carroccia (Watchung Hills). The other quarter of that top half features undefeated senior Dylan Dobzanski (Delsea) and the excellent junior Luke Farinaro (Don Bosco Prep). Ramos anchors the third quarter of the draw, also with an undefeated record, while the bottom quarter of the draw is led by fellow senior Joey Balboni (David Brearley). 182: Defending state champion Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic), ranked No. 7 nationally, is the top seed in this weight class and the strong favorite to become a two-time state champion in this his junior season. The second seed in this weight class is senior Brian Bulger (Westfield). The middle quarters of this bracket are anchored by a quartet of undefeated senior wrestlers: competing for the right to face Sebastian in the semi are Frank Greco (Verona) and Al Yildiz (South Brunswick), while returning state placer Nicholas Zak (Jackson Liberty) and David Williams (Hammonton) compete for the right to match up against most likely Bulger. 195: Defending state champion Razohn Gross (Don Bosco Prep), ranked No. 19 nationally, is the strong favorite to at worst make the final as the top seed with a barren half-bracket of the draw. Returning state placer Rory Bonner (West Deptford) is undefeated on the season and a strong favorite to be one of the semifinalists opposite of Bonner, while the bottom quarter-bracket is an absolute mess. In that section, returning state placers Dom Carfagno (St. Joseph Montvale) and Matthew Moore (Brick Memorial) face off against one another in the opening round due to losses at the regional level. The winner there will have to win another bout before a likely quarterfinal against FloNationals placer Anthony Messner (Franklin). 220: Returning state third-place finisher Bryan Dobzanski (Delsea), working on an undefeated junior season, enters the state tournament as the top seed. Standing in his way is a potential quarterfinal against Cadet National double All-American Christian Jenco (Bergen Catholic), before a likely semifinal against returning state placer Mauro Correnti (Holy Cross). The senior Correnti placed fifth at state last year and was a Junior National freestyle All-American this summer, but missed much of the season due to injury. The bottom half is dominated by sophomore Zach Chakonis (Don Bosco Prep), who is ranked No. 14 nationally after placing sixth at state last year and finishing as a Beast of the East runner-up this season. His biggest challenge prior to the final would be a likely quarterfinal against the undefeated Anthony Iarussi (Summit). 285: The highest returning placer in this weight class is senior Roy Lucas (Hammonton), who is ranked No. 13 nationally down at 220 pounds. Lucas is undefeated this season after placing third last year at state, and is the favorite to reach the top half semifinal against fellow senior Anthony Tufaro (Scotch Plains), who also is a returning state placer. The lower half of the draw features a likely semifinal bout between undefeated senior Alex Thompson (Haddon Heights) and fellow senior John Appice (Manalapan), who placed at state last year.

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives. Despite the most competitive postseason in years, the IOC's decision to cut Olympic wrestling from the 2020 Games is still lingering the over the mood of Wrestler Nation. Never before has the future of so many bright wrestlers been less certain, and the careers of some many IOC diplomats been made to feel relevant. We're facing a tough fight to getting wrestling reinstated, but in the meantime it would be improper to turn our attention away from the 750+ wrestlers taking to the mat this weekend to earn a spot in the national tournament. College wrestling is a brief and brutal affair. The wrestling room isn't just padded because of the physical brutality happening on a daily basis, but also because of the mental. It's a popular trope to write that these kids are "sacrificing" for the sport, but they're not. These special athletes have chosen to prioritize the difficult over the convenient, the hard-fought over the handout. They're college kids who chose a tortuous path because they take honor in overcoming weaknesses. Sacrifice is putting a lesser value in priority over a greater value, for these 750 cauliflower-eared madmen, wrestling is the highest priority. The only sacrifice they could make would be in choosing to not wrestle. Our only job this weekend is to be fans. We aren't full-time analysts, or part-time bullies. Let's all be courteous and polite to the wrestlers we watch this weekend. Let's cheer them louder than years before, pat them on the back a little stiffer. For those eliminated and of age, buy 'em a beer. Make this weekend a celebration, because as the IOC has shown us we might not have many left. To your questions: Q: Which state has the toughest high school state tournament and why? -- Gregg Y. Foley: Starting at the top, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania had a total of 61 wrestlers in the 2012 NCAA Division I tournament. Of those 61 wrestlers, 14 earned All-American honors. Using that as our baseline, here are the top six teams as ranked by numbers of qualifiers at the NCAA tournament, followed by number of All-Americans. Pennsylvania: 61/14 Ohio: 28/8 New York: 27/6 Illinois: 20/5 New Jersey: 20/5 California: 17/8 Outside of Pennsylvania, whose position as top wrestling state is hardly questioned even by those who can't stand Steeler fans and Yuengling, the next five states are all pretty even. However, when you factor in that California and New Jersey only have one state tournament, the concentration of talent ends up favoring those two states, and hence they become the "toughest state tournaments" – an assertion that is not to be confused with which state has the best high school wrestling overall. That argument wouldn't consider the number of state tournaments, just the aggregate number of wrestlers who succeed at the college level. 1. Pennsylvania 2. California 3. New Jersey 4. Ohio 5. New York 6. Illinois As you'll read next, I used NCAA figures because I have an active distrust for high school polling data, and national results. Q: If your high school athlete is ranked, what is the advantage to wrestling postseason? Why not just wrestle your high school schedule and remain ranked at your current position and not risk taking losses? Obviously the main reason postseason is to improve on your wrestling skills but I'm asking from a rankings standpoint. The bottom 10 & unranked wrestlers have a lot to gain and the top 10 have a lot to lose. I hope this doesn't become normal occurrence but I personally know a couple of wrestlers who won't be wrestling at Fargo this year in order to protect their ranking status. I also know a couple of wrestlers who are ranked who never attend postseason events since being ranked and often wonder how they remain rank when they haven't competed at a national level in several years. -- Wrestling Fan Foley: You've definitely tapped into the growing frustration over high school rankings and their accompanying influence on competitions. I recently had a phone conversation with a high school coach who had a legitimate argument for the inclusion of his team in a nationwide team ranking. The day before some old acquaintances made the argument for a few ignored high school wrestlers. Both cited opposing wrestlers sitting out as the reason their accomplishments went unheralded. Add these conversations to your point about not wrestling to protect status and recruitability and you have some widespread angst about the subjective formula, but substantive results of rankings. It's no secret that the majority of the business for big profit amateur wrestling sites comes from catering to high school wrestlers. The customer base is larger, which means more opportunities to scare up page views and premium subscriptions, and interest wanes as wrestlers get older ( ... drink beer and eat pizza). However, it's the psychology of catering to the egos of high school parents, big-time programs and profitable clubs that have turned a once harmlessly subjective practice into a pay-for-play pyramid that ends up with a nation of people with hurt feelings and wrestlers on the pine. How exactly does that relate to your original question of high school kids sitting one out? Well, there is less incentive to wrestle when you think that your ranking can be moved arbitrarily with a loss or closely contested match. When the incentives for a ranking system were contained to regionalism, the outcome of rankings could be predicted. College coaches knew which rankings were slighted and could add or subtract weight based on their knowledge of who was making the poll. Now with numerous financial factors involved it's becoming more difficult for college coaches to know when and why a kid is being bounced around the top fifty. The wrestlers, who then want to limit their risk in order to preserve their appeal, feel this uncertainty. Behind it all is an attempt to validate a new subscription base, even as it jeopardizes the validity of the standings overall. (Side note: The amount of information about high school kids and who-beat-who is utterly mind-blowing, and to my knowledge NOT kept in one easy-to-find place. Compiling predictable and dependable high school rankings is fantastically difficult.) Q: Why does the NCAA wrestling tournament consist of a 33-man bracket? Seems an odd number given that 32 is a full 5-round bracket, and 1 pigtail match (not including the one in wrestlebacks) doesn't appear to make any sense. -- Allen S. Foley: Allen, I am not stumped but I did contact quite a few smart people and got very little in the way of substantive answers. This question is now being crowd-sourced. If you know exactly why there are 33 and not 32 spots, then I welcome your comments below. That written, my guess is that it was a holdover from the first time they awarded conference qualifier allocations. As Mark Palmer pointed out to me in a recent email, the NCAA tournament used to be something that you could just show up to and wrestle which would lead to some very large brackets, and other very small brackets. Once the system was developed the power of bureaucracy no doubt took hold! Multimedia Halftime What if instead of Greco-Roman there was ... belt wrestling? Just an idea. Here are some videos of various styles from around the world. Keep in mind that this would be best of three, takedowns only. The crowd would know exactly what was happening without ever having to know a rule, and the throws would be exciting. Instead of freestyle being the gateway style to one day enjoy Greco, what if belt wrestling was the introduction to freestyle? Again, just some thoughts getting kicked around, please don't hang me in effigy, or in real life for that matter. Korean Ssrieum World Championship Highlights Naga Belt Wrestling, Nagaland, India Q: What happened to Ty Mitch from Ohio? I know he was at VT but then fell off the radar ... -- Jenny R. Foley: I've been told he's at Ohio University, and his Facebook seems to verify it. However, don't place any large bets on that piece of information and then hold me accountable. Q: Which current wrestlers do you think would make a smooth transition from wrestling to MMA and who and how many more do you see making the transition? -- Gregg Y. Kent State's top-ranked Dustin Kilgore is made for MMA (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Foley: I have good news and bad news, Gregg. Already working on making this a massive 1500-word piece filled with technical details, interviews and projections for the next five years. However, the piece will be running on ESPN.com/mma during the NCAA tournament and will be a pay-to-read article. Kinda like this one on which guys are on the bubble. All I can tell you is that Dustin Kilgore will be on the list despite the fact he may never go into MMA. For me, Kilgore is just too skilled and too marketable to miss out on a life of slapping men with 4 oz. gloves and buying beers for small-town ring girls. He is the "Killah Gorillah!" Q: This Saturday I watched the Pac-12 Championships. I couldn't believe how great the broadcast was put together. Ken Chertow along with the other gentleman broadcasting did a tremendous job. Additionally, the video quality was in perfect HD and the manner in which the announcers articulated the action led me to be believe at some points that I was listening to a big-time NCAA basketball or football broadcast. Ken and the other announcer actually explained the matches in a play-by-play, move-by-move and position by position format and had great dialogue and knowledge of both the wrestlers and the sport. Immediately afterward, I watched a previously DVR'd Cornell vs. Oklahoma State dual meet from this year at Madison Square Garden. At the risk of sounding negative, but with the greater goal of articulating my point, I must comment on the commentating for this event. The announcers talked about a recent Knicks-Cavaliers game at the Garden, how tough wrestlers are, how great the two teams are, how nice everybody is, and basically everything, but the detailed chess matches that were taking place on the mats. In the past I've noticed that watching wrestling on TV has sometimes led me to fast forward through some matches and other times putting me at the edge of my seat. It was today I realized why (even as a former Cornell wrestler). While the Grapple at the Garden was a great event, and I hope to see the event held there every year, I noticed a stark difference in the style in commenting of the matches and for the first time ever, realized how important good quality announcers are to our sport. In light of the ludicrous IOC decision, I, like many in the wrestling community, am much more closely attuned to every aspect of how our sport can be improved. Now more keenly aware that entertainment value certainly plays a large role in the success of our sport, I think we should pay more attention to the manner in which we broadcast our events. While I wouldn't necessarily take no coverage in lieu of 1950s quality video coverage, I think it's more important than ever that wrestling take its broadcasting prowess to a new level. I believe the Pac-12 coverage set the bar to date. Ever watch an MMA event without Rogan and Goldberg? Add to that non-HD? Big difference. -- CJB, Syracuse, NY Foley: Harumph ... harumph ... harumph! I've heard that Ken Chertow is a good announcer and it's good to hear that he did a nice job at PAC12s. Other good announcers include BTN's Tim Johnson for play-by-play and Jim Gibbons for color. I've never listened to the ESPN production of the finals, but I'm told that Robles is picking it up as a third man in the booth. This weekend is actually my debut as a color commentator. I'll be working alongside Shawn Kenney for ESPN3 at the ACC tournament in College Park, Md. I can tell you from my experience covering the original BTN broadcasts for InterMat in 2010 and now working with ESPN, that these productions take lots of manpower and money, which is both humbling and a wake-up call. ESPN doesn't do anything unless it makes money, but to keep making money we have to put on a good performance. Wrestling can be a well-watched event, and though the enjoyment doesn't totally rely on the backs of the announcers, having knowledgeable and professional guys in the booth will help retain the core audience. What makes Joe Rogan great at his job is that he's a technical genius on describing the ground game in perfect detail, and when he screams it's at moments when fans at home are screaming as well, and even then only for the briefest of seconds. We need more of that in all our wrestling coverage. I'm hopeful for my performance, but realistic that it won't be perfect. Please be sure watch, listen and send in critiques. I'll need the feedback to help me improve for next season. Oh, and GO WAHOOS!

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Eastern Wrestling League President Bruce Baumgartner today announced the pre-seeds for the upcoming 38th Annual EWL Championships. Edinboro University will host the EWL Championships on Saturday, March 9 at McComb Fieldhouse. Pittsburgh seeks its third straight EWL title before moving on to the ACC next year. The Panthers will battle host Edinboro, along with Bloomsburg, Clarion, Cleveland State, and Lock Haven for the team title. In addition, the EWL Championships will serves as the league’s NCAA qualifier, with the EWL allotted 23 automatic spots for the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championships in Des Moines, IA on March 21-23. Additional wild-card spots will be announced by the NCAA on March 13. The final seeds will be announced Friday evening. The 2103 EWL Championships will get underway on Saturday at 10 a.m., with the first session including the first round, semifinals and consolation semifinals. Session II will begin at 5:45 with the third and fifth place matches, followed by the Hall of Fame inductions, the Parade of Champions, and concluding with the finals. Tickets will be available at the door. Prices and additional information are available by going to the championship website at www.gofightingscots.com. 2013 EWL CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS 125 (1): 1. Bobby Rehm Lock Haven (23-8) 2. Tyler Fraley, Clarion (14-10) 3. Ben Willeford, Cleveland State (20-16) 4. Kory Mines, Edinboro (14-17) 5. Sean Boylan, Bloomsburg (18-16) 133 (3): 1. A.J. Schopp, Edinboro (27-3) 2. Nick Wilcox, Bloomsburg (23-6) 3. Shelton Mack, Pittsburgh (15-8) 4. Cody Wheeler, Lock Haven (8-9) 141 (2): 1. Mitchell Port, Edinboro (28-3) 2. Dan Neff, Lock Haven (24-8) 3. Nick Flannery, Cleveland State (13-10) 4. Matt Rappo, Bloomsburg (17-14) Sam Sherlock, Clarion (11-10) 149 (3): 1. Dave Habat, Edinboro (25-7) 2. Josh Roosa, Bloomsburg (20-4) 3. Ronnie Garbinsky, Pittsburgh (16-9) 4. Tyler Bedelyon, Clarion (18-12) 5. Mac Maldarelli, Lock Haven (16-11) 157 (3): 1. James Fleming, Clarion (29-2) 2. Frank Hickman, Bloomsburg (24-4) 3. Donnie Tasser, Pittsburgh (24-13) 4. Michael DePalma, Edinboro (20-10) 5. Jake Kemerer, Lock Haven (17-10) 165 (3): 1. Josh Veltre, Bloomsburg (29-5) 2. Tyler Wilps, Pittsburgh (19-6) 3. Johnny Greisheimer, Edinboro (16-12) 4. Corey Carlo, Cleveland State (14-17) 174 (1): 1. Nick Bonaccorsi, Pittsburgh (14-7) 2. Ryan Darch, Clarion (9-15) 3. Chris Smith, Bloomsburg (16-14) 4. Patrick Jenings, Edinboro (12-22) 184 (2): 1. Max Thomusseit, Pittsburgh (13-4) 2. Fred Garcia, Lock Haven (24-9) 3. Vince Pickett, Edinboro (20-14) 4. Steven Cressley, Clarion (9-18) 197 (2): 1. Matt Wilps, Pittsburgh (18-2) 2. Richard Perry, Bloomsburg (27-3) 3. Justin Ortega, Clarion (18-11) 285 (3): 1. Zac Thomusseit, Pittsburgh (22-2) 2. Justin Grant, Bloomsburg (23-4) 3. Ernest James, Edinboro (21-10) 4. Harry Turner, Lock Haven (22-11) 5. Riley Shaw, Cleveland State (17-15) () NCAA-allotted qualifiers for EWL (23 in all)

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The Western Wrestling Conference announced on Wednesday the pre-seed rankings for the 2013 NCAA West Regional/WWC Championship, hosted by the University of Wyoming in the Arena-Auditorium on March 9. Winners of the NCAA West Regional weight classes earn bids to the NCAA Championships. The event also serves as the conference championship. The WWC is comprised of six schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Just five of the six schools will be competing at the qualifying tournament this season, however, as UNC is ineligible for postseason competition. Wyoming has won the last three West Regional team titles, while North Dakota State won the 2012-13 WWC regular-season dual title with a 5-0 mark in league action. The pre-seeds were voted on by the conference coaches and ranked the top five wrestlers in each weight class. Final seeds for bracketing will be determined Friday night at the Coaches’ Seeding Meeting. The NCAA recently released that the West Regional has been allocated 16 automatic qualifier spots for the 2013 Division I Wrestling Championships. The breakdown of the 16 automatic bids per weight class is as follows: 125 (4), 133 (1), 141 (1), 149 (3), 157 (2), 165 (1), 174 (1), 184 (1), 197 (1) and heavyweight (1). After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA?Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, who will be announced on March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers for the NCAA Tournament. Last year the WWC had on of its wrestlers receive at-large selection. Qualifiers from this weekend's NCAA?West Regional will compete at the 2013 NCAA?Championships, that will be held at the Wells Fargo Arena March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa. Pre-seeds 125 pounds (Top four placers receive NCAA automatic bid) 1. Jade Rauser, Utah Valley 2. Tyler Cox, Wyoming 3. Josh Martinez, Air Force 4. Trent Sprenkle, North Dakota State 5. Aaron Pickrel, South Dakota State 133 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Dylan Hyder, Air Force 2. Josh Rodriguez, North Dakota State 3. Brance Simms, South Dakota State 4. Chasen Tolbert, Utah Valley 5. Kasey Garnhart, Wyoming 141 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Avery Garner, Utah Valley 2. Mark Erickson, North Dakota State 3. McCade Ford, Wyoming 4. Carter McElhany, Air Force 5. Ben Gillette, South Dakota State 149 pounds (Top three placers receive NCAA automatic bid) 1. Cole VonOhlen, Air Force 2. Josh Wilson, Utah Valley 3. Dustin Walraven, South Dakota State 4. Joe Garner, North Dakota State 5. Brandon Richardson, Wyoming 157 pounds (Top two placers receive NCAA automatic bid) 1. Josh Kreimier, Air Force 2. Andy McCulley, Wyoming 3. Chase Cuthbertson, Utah Valley 4. Cody Pack, South Dakota State 5. Tanner Carlisle, North Dakota State 165 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Steven Monk, North Dakota State 2. Curtis (Abner) Cook, Utah Valley 3. Jesse Stafford, Air Force 4. Joseph Brewster, South Dakota State 5. Dakota Friesth, Wyoming 174 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. L.J. Helbig, Wyoming 2. Kurtis Julson, North Dakota State 3. Monte Schmalhaus, Utah Valley 4. Clay Gable, Air Force 5. Troy Morisette, South Dakota State 184 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Mac Stoll, North Dakota State 2. Devin Hightower, Air Force 3. Shane Woods, Wyoming 4. Shea Nolan, South Dakota State 5. Derek Thomas, Utah Valley 197 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Alfonso Hernandez, Wyoming 2. Kallen Kleinschmidt, North Dakota State 3. David Prieto, Utah Valley 4. Josh Mohr, Air Force 5. Joe Skow, South Dakota State 285 pounds (Winner receives NCAA automatic bid) 1. Adam Fager, Utah Valley 2. Evan Knutson, North Dakota State 3. Bentley Alsup, Air Force 4. J.J. Everard, South Dakota State 5. Leland Pfeifer, Wyoming

Related Link: Brackets GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference announced the pairings for Saturday's ACC Championships at Comcast Center late Tuesday night. Four Terrapins will begin Saturday's event as the top seeds in their respective weight classes. With 5-0 conference records, Geoffrey Alexander, Josh Asper and Jimmy Sheptock each earned a No. 1 seed at 133, 174 and 184, respectively. At 197, Christian Boley is the top seed in the bracket. Dallas Brown and Shane Gentry are seeded third at 285 and 125, respectively. Frank Goodwin will begin Saturday as a No. 5 seed at 141. Three Terps are seeded sixth: Lou Mascola (149), Danny Orem (157) and Domenic DeRobertis (165). Maryland is seeking its third consecutive ACC title and fifth in the past six seasons. Last season, the Terps entered the tournament with four No. 1 seeds as well. First-round action begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Comcast Center.

Highlight matches from the past weekend 1. California 113-pound semifinal: Sean Williams (Lemoore) dec. No. 1 Zahid Valencia (St. John Bosco), 3-2 The nation's number one overall sophomore, and top ranked in the 113 pound weight class, Valencia fell to his first career scholastic defeat against Williams. This was the same opponent that Valencia had earlier pinned in the finals of the Battle for the Belt and beaten 6-3 in the semifinal of the Doc Buchanan Invitational. Williams would go on to lose 5-3 in the final against No. 18 Israel Saavedra (Modesto). 2. Minnesota Class AA 195-pound final: No. 10 Lance Benick (Totino Grace) dec. No. 6 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville), 2-1 TB The two returning state champions traded escapes during regulation, while during the tiebreaker, the sophomore Benick was able to score an escape and also hold down the two-time state champion and Iowa recruit Berge in order to emerge victorious. This outcome reversed an earlier Berge victory in the finals of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. 3. Ohio Division I 106-pound final: No. 5 Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry) dec. No. 3 Austin Assad (Brecksville), 6-5 This match also ended up being the deciding factor in the race for runner-up in the team race as well. Both wrestlers were state runners-up last year, Rodriguez at 99 pounds in New York and Assad in this weight class to fellow Massillon Perry wrestler David Bavery. Assad opened the match with a takedown, but Rodriguez countered before the period was over to tie the match at 3-3 after Assad's late escape. Assad opened the second period with an escape, Rodriguez countered with a takedown, and Assad escaped late to tie it at 5-5. Rodriguez got an escape early in the third period, and was able to fend off two deep leg attack shots from Assad in the last thirty seconds to earn the victory. 4. Minnesota Class AAA 195-pound final: No. 13 Tommy Petersen (Lakeville South) dec. No. 20 Chase Morlock (Moorhead), 3-2 This was also a battle of state champions, both of whom are seniors. It was the North Dakota State signee Petersen who scored the match's only takedown and emerged victorious with a second consecutive state title. 5. California 120-pound final: No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) dec. No. 12 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak), 5-3 The junior Pengilly, now a three-time state placer, upended the senior Locsin -- a defending champion and in his third consecutive state finals appearance. Pengilly scored the only two takedowns of the final to cap off a dominant weekend in which he had two pins, a 13-0 major decision, and other decisive outcomes of 6-2 and 5-0 prior to the final. Gopher State wrestling tournaments provide for entertainment Both the team and individual bracket state wrestling tournaments this past weekend in St. Paul provided for much intrigue. In Thursday's dual meet championships, No. 10 St. Michael-Albertville and No. 13 Apple Valley were joint champions in Class AAA, No. 23 Kasson Mantorville earned the Class AA title, while Jackson County Central won the title in Class A. In Class AAA, Apple Valley rallied back from a 19-7 deficit after Cole Sladek's win by injury default for the Knights at 138 pounds to take a 28-22 lead after David Johnson scored a 6-5 win over Jake Briggs at 195 pounds. In winning five of those six matches, Dayton Racer (145) scored a technical fall; reserve wrestler Davlonte Young (152) earned an 11-2 major decision; while Mark Hall (160), Daniel Woiwor (170), and David Johnson (195) scored a pin, 2-0 decision, and 6-5 decision up one weight class each from where they competed in Friday and Saturday's individual tournament. St. Michael-Albertville was able to tie the dual meet with a 5-4 victory from Michael Eull over indiviudl state champion Paul Cheney at 220 before Michael Kessler scored a 2-0 victory over Lord Johsua Hyemang at 285. The teams were declared co-champions, though if it came down to criteria, the Knights would have won, as they had two six-point victories (pin/injury default) to the one pin for Palle Valley. In Class AA, Kasson-Mantorville held a 17-6 lead after 138 pounds before Simley would win five consecutive matches to take a 27-17 lead after Nick Wanzek bumped up a weight class to secure a pin at the 4:35 mark in the 182 pound weight class. Kasson-Mantorville responded by bumping up Corbin Hansen to secure a 1-0 victory at 195 pounds, bumping up Broc Berge to score a 12-4 major decision at 220 pounds, and having Sam Stoll receive the match-ending forfeit at 285 pounds in a 30-27 victory. Jackson County Central would take home the unofficial individual state tournament title with 109 points to augment its dual meet title. The margin was 20 points back to second place ACGC in Class A. The small-school "double champions" were led by weight class titles from Elliott Jurries (132) and Darick Vancura (170), as well as four other state placers. No. 39 Simley would counter Kasson-Mantorville's team title with the unofficial title in the Class AA individual state tournament, 144.5 to 143.5 over No. 23 Kasson-Mantorville. Five finalists led the way for the Spartans, including weight class titles won by Kyle Gliva (132), No. 1 Jake Short (145), and No. 4 Nick Wanzek (170); while Juan Torres (126) and Mack Short (145) took third. Kasson-Mantorville had three champions of their own: Nate Thomas (126), Colton Laganiere (138), and No. 4 Sam Stoll (285); while No. 6 Broc Berge (195) finished as runner-up, and third place finishes were accrued by Brady Berge (132) and Corbin Hansen (170). To fully validate their recovery from a dreadful Clash and Cheesehead tournaments, Apple Valley made a statement with eight finalists and seven state champions on the way to the unofficial Class AAA individual state title with 210 points. Winning titles were Maolu Woiwor (113), Seth Gross (132), Dayton Racer (145), No. 3 Mark Hall (152), No. 19 Daniel Woiwor (160), David Johnson (182), and Paul Cheney (220); while Gannon Volk (120) finished second. St. Michael-Albertville countered with a pair of champions in Tommy Thorn (120) and Jordan Joseph (170), along with seven other state placers, to amass a very respectable 164-1/2 points. Star squads and individuals dominate at the Schott One of the major stories at the Ohio State Wrestling Tournaments this past weekend was the standout performances by four elite teams within Division I, as each scored over 90 points in the tournament. Winning a third straight state title, and 15th in 16 years, was No. 4 St. Edward despite a disappointing tournament by their own high standards. The Eagles only placed six wrestlers and scored 117 points. Leading the way were weight class titles won by No. 3 Dean Heil (132) and No. 2 Domenic Abounader (182); it was the fourth state title for Heil and third for Abounader. Additional placers were No. 9 Markus Scheidel (152) in second, No. 4 Edgar Bright (145) and No. 17 Colin Heffernan (138) in third, along with Chance Driscoll (126) in sixth. Finishing runner-up for the third consecutive year in the big-school division, and ninth time in eleven years, was No. 16 Massillon Perry with 105 points. The Panthers were led by state title efforts from No. 5 Jose Rodriguez (106) and a repeat title from Joe Tayse (195), defending state champion David Bavery (120) placed third, while four others placed inside the top eight. Finishing third with 99-1/2 points was Brecksville, who moves up to No. 19 in the nation after their seven placers at state was joint-most for any team. The Bees were led by a state title from No. 11 Aaron Assad (113), runner-up finishes from No. 3 Austin Assad (106) and Quinton Hiles (160), as well as four other state placers. Fourth place in the standings was No. 21 Cincinnati Moeller with 94 points, as the Crusaders were led by state titles from Dakota Sizemore (160) and No. 10 Chalmer Frueauf (220). Quinton Rosser (182) placed second, while four other wrestlers for Moeller finished on the podium this weekend. In Division II, it was a 13th consecutive state championship for No. 5 St. Paris Graham, who finished with 155-1/2 points on the strength of four state champions and seven state placers. No. 1 Bo Jordan (160) pounds won his fourth state title to pace the Falcons -- who also had gold medal performances from No. 2 Micah Jordan (132), which was his third, Eli Seipel (113) and No. 10 Alex Marinelli (152). Third place finishes from No. 8 Eli Stickley (106) and Brent Moore (120) and fifth place finish from Lane Thomas (170) were also notable. Second place, almost 70 points back, was Perry with 87-1/2 points. This was the highest finish for the Pirates in their program's history, as they had five wrestlers finish in the top five -- including Billy Miller (285) earning the program their first state champion after seven others had lost in the finals before him. The Division III tournament was won by Troy Christian for the third time in six years, this time with 95-1/2 points scored by four wrestlers. The Eagles did qualify six to state, but two of the wrestlers went two-and-out. Their three champions were Jared Ganger (113), Garrett Hancock (120), and No. 11 B.J. Toal, while defending state champion Jordan Marshall (152) came in third place. Dual meet state champions Delta finished second with 82-1/2 points on the strength of five state placers led by state champion Jake Spiess (106). Heil and Bo Jordan were joined by No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (120) of CVCA in winning fourth state titles this past weekend. Micah Jordan and Abounader were joined by No. 18 Brandon Thompson (120) of Solon, No. 9 Jacob Danishek (145) of Dayton Christian, and No. 6 Anthony Collica (145) of Solon in winning third state titles; next year Jordan and Danishek could win their fourth. A Golden State three-peat for Clovis No. 8 Clovis made it a third consecutive state title, fourth in six years, and eleventh in program history this past weekend in dominating the California state tournament with 174 points. The Cougars were led by weight class titles from No. 19 Adrian Salas (182) and No. 3 Nick Nevills (285); along with placement finishes from Kristian Olivas (113), No. 13 Jonas Gayton (120), and Jason Ladd (145) who finishes fourth, third, and fifth respectively. Runner-up Poway, ranked No. 23 nationally, was a good way's back with 109-1/2 points led by their four state placers. The Titans had Victor Lopez (145) and Steve Cervantes (170) finish third, Ralphy Tovar (132) in fifth, and Tirso Lara (106) take seventh. Third in the standings with three state placers and 97 points was No. 49 Vacaville, who was led by state champion Jeramy Sweany (195), state runner-up No. 11 Gionn Peralta (106), and sixth place finisher Chris Lai (182). Finishing fourth was St. John Bosco with their trio of superstars -- state champion Aaron Pico (132), who is ranked No. 1 nationally, runner-up Anthony Valencia (145), and No. 1 Zahid Valencia (113) who was upset in the semis and finished third. Another highlight performance of the weekend in Bakersfield saw No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore) win his third state title at 160 pounds with a pin in the finals to cap off a sensational career. Nationally ranked wrestlers among the state champions included No. 18 Israel Saavedra (Modesto) at 113 pounds, No. 9 Mason Pengilly (Porterville) at 120, No. 1 Pico at 132, No. 12 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy) at 138, No. 2 Martinez at 160, No. 9 Peter Santos (Oakmont) at 170, No. 19 Salas at 182, and No. 3 Nevills at 285. Dominant programs make "The Palace" theirs Michigan's three nationally ranked squads were the dominant forces in this past weekend's four division individual state tournament, though the event is unscored. No. 3 St. Johns dominated the Division 2 state meet in absurd fashion, as they had eleven state placers including seven weight class champions. Winning titles for the Redwings were No. 4 Zac Hall (125), No. 7 Jacob Schmitt (130), No. 7 Logan Massa (135), No. 1 Ben Whitford (145), Josh Pennell (152), Angus Arthur (171), and No. 12 Payne Hayden (189). Other notable champions in Division 2 were No. 16 Brian Moran (215) and No. 1 Adam Coon (285) of Fowlerville, each of whom went their senior seasons without a loss. No. 18 Detroit Catholic Central led the way in Division 1 with four state champions, second most for any team in the overall meet: No. 12 (at 126) Ken Bade (135), Malik Amine (140), No. 17 Andrew Garcia (171), and Robert Coe (285). The Shamrocks also had four other wrestlers place second or third. No. 43 Davison countered with nine state placers in Division 1, which was second most for any team in the overall meet. Leading the way for the Cardinals were state titles won by Lincoln Olson (113) and Jordan Cooks (160). Also in the big-school division, a pair of champions from Holt, Benny Gomez (103) and Shayne Wireman (119) finished the year undefeated. Four squads in Division 3 combined for ten of the individual weight class champions. Dundee and Whitehall had three each: Doug Rojem (140), Teddy Warren (189), and John Merogen (285) winning for Dundee, while Zack Cooper (125), Steven Sika (160), and Joe Sika (171) won for Whitehall. Leslie had titles from the Storr brothers, Kanen (103) and Zehlin (135), while Devin Schroder (112) and Nate Limmex (130) won titles for Grand Rapids Catholic Central. Also of note was the undefeated title won by Gage Hutchison (215) from Buchanan. Half the titles in Division 4 were won by three squads. Hudson led the way with a trio of titles coming from Roddy Hamden (103), No. 10 Cole Weaver (130), and J.D. Waters (135). Jacob Perrin (140) and Josh Wendling (145) were champions for New Lothrop, while Gallory Thurston (171) and Joe Ostman (215) won titles for St. Ignace. Also, an undefeated season was had by state champion Logan Griffin (112) from Erie Mason. Other state tournaments from this weekend Hawaii Kamehameha-Kapalama won the state tournament with 178 points, which was enough to outlast three other teams that scored over 100 points; Campbell (144), Lahainaluna (132), and Punahou (120). The state championship team was led by four weight class champions: Jonathan Kamaka at 135 pounds, Keamalu Richardson at 145, Ikea Ikehara at 189, and No. 8 Dane Pestano at 215. The squad also featured four other state placers. Maryland Despite not having a state champion in Class 4A/3A, Urbana won their first ever state championship with 97.5 points, as they were led by a tournament-high six total placers. That included a pair of runner-up finishes from Morgan Way (120) and Mike Vimelson (182). Undefeated titles included those won by Brant Leadbeter (Northern County) at 113, Thierno Diallo (Duvall) at 126, Eric Hoffman (Northern County) at 160, No. 20 Garrett Linebarger (Thomas Stone) at 182, Cory Daniel (River Hill) at 195, Luis Beteta (Northwest) at 220, and Matt Green (Perry Hall) at 285. Dominating their way to a three-peat with a tournament-high three state champions in Class 2A/1A was Winters Mill with 121 points; back in second was Owings Mills with 87.5 points, while Glenelg on 87 and Catoctin on 85 were right on their heels. Champions for Winters Mill included Wes Cook (145), Cody Sharkey (152), and Chase Cullison (170). The lone undefeated champion in this classification was senior Steven Schmitz (182) from South Carroll. New England Regional Mt. Anthony Union, Vt. dominated the proceedings at this event held in Providence, R.I. this past weekend with 109 points. They were led by weight class champions in Miguel Calixto (132) and Jesse Webb (285), while two other wrestlers earned placement finishes -- Troy Gassaway (113) in second place and Austin Price (182) in fourth place. The lone other team with multiple champions was Exeter/West Greenwich, who had the LaBrie brothers (Christian at 145 and Andrew at 152) win titles. North Carolina Parkland won the Class 4A state title by just about 20 points over Jack Britt, 133 to 112, despite not having a single individual champion, but was led by runner-up finishes from Jeremy Ward (132) and Marcus Cross (145). Orange won a narrow battle for the Class 3A title with 106.5 points, which were 8.5 points ahead of Robinson and 20 points ahead of North Gaston. Yet again, the state championship team did not have an individual champion, but were led by runner-up finishes from Joe Scott (106), Jack Twomey-Kozak (138), and David Peters-Logue (160). The Class 2A title was won by Croatan with 120.5 points, while Newton Conover took second with 100. Finally, it was a tight team race as four teams were within 20 points in Class 1A with North Rowan (88.5) outlasting West Wilkes (85.5), Ayden-Grifton (74), and Robbinsville (70.5). Wisconsin Wausau West won the Division 1 title with a 28-27 victory over Kaukauna. In Division 2, it was Luxemburg-Casco with a 45-21 victory over Mauston, while the Division 3 title went to Lancaster with a 38-21 victory over Coleman This weekend in scholastic wrestling This Thursday through Saturday is the state tournament in Pennsylvania. InterMat previewed that event yesterday. While come Friday through Sunday marks the last of the state tournament, as New Jersey will crown its champions, and InterMat will preview that event tomorrow.

Coyte Cooper, CEO of Elite Level Sports Marketing and Assistant Professor in Sport Administration at UNC Chapel Hill, discusses the future of the NCAA wrestling tournament, and potential missed opportunities. Muir and Foley cover this weekend's Big Ten tournament, and make bets about the weather. Check out our Tumblr page at backpoints.tumblr.com. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by searching "back points" and pushing SUBSCRIBE. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Mid-American Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2013 MAC Wrestling Championship on Sunday, March 10 on the campus of the University at Buffalo at Alumni Arena. Four schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Missouri leading the way with six top seeds, while Central Michigan will bring two top seeds andKent State and Northern Iowa each with one top seed. Sophomore Mike Ottinger (165) and senior Ben Bennett (184) are each seeded No. 1 in their respective weight class and will look to lead the Chippewas to their 12th-straight MAC Championships crown. The pre-seeds were voted on by the conference's coaches and rank the top eight wrestlers in each weight class. 125: 1) Alan Waters, Missouri 2) Christian Cullinan, Central Michigan 3) Steve Mitcheff, Kent State 4) Jared Germaine, Eastern Michigan 5) Max Soria, Buffalo 6) Ryan Jauch, Northern Iowa 7) Kevon Powell, Ohio 8) Derek Elmore, Northern Illinois 133: 1) Nathan McCormick, Mizzouri 2) Scotti Sentes, Central Michigan 3) Levi Wolfensperger, Northern Iowa 4) Nick Smith, Northern Illinois 5) Mackenzie McGuire, Kent State 6) Vince Pizzuto, Eastern Michigan 7) Justin Farmer, Buffalo 8) Joey Munoz, Ohio 141: 1) Joey Lazor, Northern Iowa 2) Erik Galloway, Buffalo 3) Kevin Fanta, Northern Illinois 4) Nick Hucke, Missouri 5) Scott Mattingly, Central Michigan 6) Seth Schaner, Eastern Michigan 7) Dillon Kern, Kent State 8) Kagan Squire, Ohio 149: 1) Drake Houdasheldt, Missouri 2) Donnie Corby, Central Michigan 3) Bart Reiter, Northern Iowa 4) Andrew Romanchik, Ohio 5) Rob Jillard, Northern Illinois 6) Blake Roulo, Buffalo 7) Mike Shaw, Eastern Michigan 8) Andrew Candillo, Kent State 157: 1) Kyle Bradley, Missouri 2) David Bonin, Northern Iowa 3) Aaron Sulzer, Eastern Michigan 4) Spartak Chino, Ohio 5) Lucas Smith, Central Michigan 6) Andrew Morse, Northern Illinois 7) Wally Maziarz, Buffalo 8) Tommy Sasfy, Kent State 165: 1) Mike Ottinger, Central Michigan 2) Zach Toal, Missouri 3) Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo 4) Caleb Marsh, Kent State 5) Harrison Hightower, Ohio 6) Jake Davis, Eastern Michigan 7) Sam Bennett, Northern Illinois 8) Jarrett Jensen, Northern Iowa 174: 1) Todd Porter, Missouri 2) Cody Walters, Ohio 3) Sam Wheeler, Kent State 4) John-Martin Cannon, Buffalo 5) Craig Kelliher, Central Michigan 6) Cody Caldwell, Northern Iowa 7) Matt Mougin, Northern Illinois 8) Phillip Joseph, Eastern Michigan 184: 1) Ben Bennett, Central Michigan 2) Ryan Loder, Northern Iowa 3) Mike Larson, Missouri 4) Casey Newburg, Kent State 5) Michael Duckworth, Ohio 6) Khodor Hoballah, Eastern Michigan 7) Tony Lock, Buffalo 8) Bryan Loughlin, Northern Illinois 197: 1) Dustin Kilgore, Kent State 2) Brent Haynes, Missouri 3) Nick Whitenburg, Eastern Michigan 4) Phillip Wellington, Ohio 5) Angelo Malvestuto, Buffalo 6) Parker Settecase, Northern Illinois 7) Taylor Ketteman, Northern Iowa 8) Jackson Lewis, Central Michigan 285: 1) Dom Bradley, Missouri 2) Jarod Trice, Central Michigan 3) Jeremy Johnson, Ohio 4) Blayne Beale, Northern Iowa 5) Jared Torrence, Northern Illinois 6) Keith Witt, Kent State 7) Justin Heiserman, Buffalo 8) Chris Eggert, Eastern Michigan

Ten former and defending NCAA champions will hit the mats this postseason, and that means not all could make this postseason's InterMat Wrestler of the Year rankings. Iowa's Matt McDonough, who could very well end up as a three-time NCAA champion and one of the all-time greats, has two losses on the season, making it impossible to think his Big Ten and NCAA performances will be strong enough to outshine the other names on the list. Cornell's Steve Bosak is another former NCAA champion who can wrestle himself into the NCAA finals, but with losses and only a half-year of competition, his body of work won't be large enough to garner one of the most coveted awards in college wrestling. The candidates listed have the skills to win a national tournament, but more importantly can produce the dramatic, dominating style necessary to capture the attention of the InterMat postseason award committee. Like you we're fans of college wrestling and are just as vulnerable to a good story. Dark Horse Candidates 10. Quentin Wright (Penn State) The 2011 NCAA champion is the longest shot on the list, because he'll need to outperform two of his teammates. Married and expecting his first child, "Q" is a fan favorite at the event, and has the pinning power to capture plenty of attention from fans in and out of State College. To win the NCAA tournament the 24-0 wrestler will have to earn another fall over No. 3 Matt Wilps and find the solution to mustachioed man-child Dustin "Killah Gorillah" Kilgore. Q has been known to run up a few falls and already has nine this season. If Q manages to secure an upperbody throw and pin Kilgore in the NCAA finals, then look for him to also enjoy serious applause, and InterMat Wrestler of the Year consideration. Alan Waters (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)9. Alan Waters (Missouri) If he wins the NCAA championship then he's likely to receive at least one vote from the InterMat committee (Hint: Rhymes with Holy, Moly, Rolie and Polie). Waters' recent 4-0 decision of two-time NCAA champions Matt McDonough was impressive, and barring an upset at the MAC tournament the win vaulted him into the top seed at NCAAs. To make a larger impression the undefeated Waters will have to wrestle tough on top and secure major decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals. As with everyone looking to become the InterMat Wrestler of the Year, he'll have to be flashy and dominant to outperform the wrestlers who've faced, and destroyed better competition all season long. 8. Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) Were I to build a wrestler, I'd make him in the image of Kendric Maple. You think Burroughs is fast? Pssst. Maple is Tecmo-Bowl-Bo-Jackson type of fast. He's undefeated, untested and likely to make the finals, but that won't do much for him without a dominant performance. To date his best win is a 14-11 decision win against Edinboro's No. 4 Mitchell Port. Maple is a stud on top and like Q can make big moves happen from tieups on his feet, and from transitional positions. He had a tough match with B.J. Futrell in the Midlands finals, but Futrell is out of postseason competition. Still, of all the dark horse candidates, his exciting style and position on a high-profile team can help him earn votes at the tournament. 7. Tony Ramos (Iowa) Tony Ramos bought into the Iowa program before his first day on campus. He's always been the first back to the center, with a jumpy foot and mean scowl. But his dedication to the Iowa ideal was never made more clear than when he posed for a photo with high school club coach Izzy Martinez last month and revealed he's lost a tooth. No doubt a victim of his combative wrestling style. Ramos is undefeated record, a recent pin win over No. 5 Chris Dardanes of Minnestoa and a 9-0 major decision of No. 4 A.J. Schopp. However, his future will be told in the matchup against defending NCAA champion and noted world-beater No. 1 Logan Stieber of Ohio State. The two will meet each other in the finals of the Big Ten tournament, but regardless of how that meeting goes, if Ramos is able to best Stieber in Des Moines then he will earn consideration, as the Iowa crowd will be certain to promote his accomplishment. Dustin Kilgore is undefeated and ranked No. 1 at 197 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)6. Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) A barbarian with offensive facial hair and a unique personality, Kilgore is a legendary wrestler trapped at a sometimes-boring weight class. He's a worker, but it's never an easy chore to face men who can dead lift 600 pounds. Yet this season he's earned an incredible 16 pins, including a streak of five straight. If he pins through the tournament he could steal some of the wrestling media's attention away from the big matchup at 165 pounds. Either way, Kilgore is the favorite to earn his second NCAA title and walk away from collegiate wrestling as one of the all-time greats. If we can't give him the Wrestler of the Year award, then we will certainly try to create some small award in recognition of his fantastic facial hair. 5. Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) Maybe he should be higher -- he's certainly talented enough -- but Oliver's greatness is so expected that the dramatics of it all have been almost nullified. In the category of wrestlers who possess his level of expected greatness, Oliver runs third behind the winner of Dake-Taylor and the season of Ed Ruth. I feel guilty having to place "That Dude JO" so low. He's a charismatic individual and interesting wrestler. I just can't see him winning the crowd in Iowa, or outperforming the expectations, or besting the shadows of the aforementioned studs. He'll also need to be much more dominant at the tournament than he was against No. 6 Dylan Ness at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, where he won a 6-4 decision. Logan Stieber (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)4. Logan Stieber (Ohio State) The returning NCAA champion at 133 pounds, Stieber has the momentum (or hope) of a four-championship career to buoy his nomination. The sophomore is undefeated this season, but hasn't faced Ramos, who as mentioned is wrestling with the fire of both Brands brothers burning through his singlet and into the dark recesses of his soul. Every great wrestler needs an opponent who will challenge him, and bring out a flare of technique and aggression for the fans. Stieber has that opposing force in Ramos. They'll meet this weekend in the Big Ten finals, but that will only add to their story in 2013, a welcome plot-builder for Stieber whose abbreviated season has been short on dramatics. Top Contenders 3. Ed Ruth (Penn State) The defending InterMat Wrestler of the Year and NCAA champion at 174 pounds, junior Ed Ruth has become something of an unsung hero for the Nittany Lion wrestling program. In almost any other year the wrestling media would be searching deep into their book of idioms to help describe his greatness, but in 2013 he's been outmatched by publicity in the mainstream media by Dake and teammate David Taylor. Ruth has been almost untouchable this season. The Pennsylvania native's closest match was an 11-9 win over Robert Hamlin of Lehigh in November, but since then he's beat returning NCAA champion Steve Bosak of Cornell and secured 10 falls in 25 matches. If he runs through the competition at NCAAs with the same aggressive style that brought him the title at 174 pounds in 2012, then he'll have every opportunity to be mentioned in the final voting for InterMat Wrestler of the Year. 2. David Taylor (Penn State) As the loser of two razor-thin matches to Kyle Dake, David Taylor has done his part to build up the drama for what should be a climatic end of the 2013 season. He's been absolute hammer in every match this season winning 11 by fall, 7 by tech all but one of his other wins by major decision. Were it not for Dake that dominance would make him the frontrunner. Working against Taylor are his two losses to Dake. Should he get past Dake by a single point -- or worse yet, on a controversial call -- voters will question his inability to finish Dake at the Southern Scuffle. However, on the flip side of the argument, the only thing standing in the way of Dake becoming a four-time NCAA champion and a god among mortals is David Taylor. And there is always an accommodation to be made for the wrestler that derails history. Kyle Dake (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)1. Kyle Dake (Cornell) When Cael Sanderson took to the mats in Albany in 2002, it was a three-day coronation for America's rising king of the mat. Reporters were weaving tales about Sanderson's ability to effortlessly trip and upend goliath opponents. Kids were snapping photos (on cameras, not cell phones), and competing wrestlers looked on in awe. Perfection. And the man barely nudged his mouth apart enough to reveal a blood-soaked smile. Kid Dynamite is on his way to becoming the Highprince of American Wrestling. Four titles in four years at four different weight classes is a combination that makes him an attractive also-ran for G.O.A.T. Were it not for those early career losses, maybe he'd be the new King. If Dake can beat Taylor for a third time and win his fourth title then he will have certainly done enough to be considered the favorite to win InterMat's Wrestler of the Year.

The brackets have been released for the 2013 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, which take place March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala. View brackets

Starting Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa., will be the state tournaments in what is clearly the nation's best wrestling state, Pennsylvania; and with the Class 3A tournament, arguably the most rigorous state tournament in all the land. Four nationally ranked squads (three in Class 3A, one in Class 2A) and 41 nationally ranked wrestlers (28 among all the Class 3A weights, 13 in 11 of the Class 2A weights) are among those being showcased this weekend. Cody Wiercioch (Photo/Rob Preston)One of the stars of the show is No. 6 Ryan Diehl (Trinity), who is after his fourth state championship, and competing at 126 pounds. The first two came in West Virginia, while last year's and this year will come in Class 2A. Four other wrestlers are after their third state championship: No. 5 Michael Racciato (Pen Argyl) at 145 pounds, No. 1 (at 170) Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale), who will be at 160 this weekend, No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan) at 170, and No. 3 Thomas Haines (Solanco) at 220. The junior Marsteller is undefeated for his career, and could join a unique club next year; Wiercioch is a senior after a fourth finals appearance, while fellow senior and Pitt signee Racciato is after a fourth state placement; and Haines is positioned to become the heaviest four-time state champion in the Keystone State should he win the next two years. Schedule of Events Thursday, 9 a.m. ET: Class 2A championship first round and consolation first round Thursday, 4 p.m.: Class 3A championship first round and consolation first round Friday, 9 a.m.: Class 2A championship quarterfinals and consolation second round Friday, 1:30 p.m.: Class 3A championship quarterfinals and consolation second round Friday, 6:30 p.m.: Class 2A championship semifinals, consolation quarterfinals and semifinals Saturday, 9 a.m.: Class 3A championship semifinals, consolation quarterfinals and semifinals Saturday, 2 p.m.: Class 2A championship finals and consolation medal matches Saturday, 7 p.m.: Class 3A championship finals and consolation medal matches Class AAA No. 9 Canon-McMillan is strong favorites to win their third consecutive championship at the individual state wrestling tournament. The Big Macs have qualified seven wrestlers for the state tournament, five of whom are returning state medalists, and all who can place this coming weekend in Hershey. Leading the way are three-time state finalists No. 3 Connor Schram (126) and No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (170), along with two-time third in the state Solomon Chishko (145). The battle for second place looks to be between No. 29 Central Dauphin and No. 33 Franklin Regional. While the dual meet state runner-up Rams have a six to five advantage in terms of qualifiers, it just may be the Panthers with more oomph to pull ahead in the standings. Below is a weight-by-weight preview of the big-school classification: 106: Freshman Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe) is ranked No. 2 in the nation, and came into high school with five PJW championships. He has done nothing this season to change the high expectations, and is a deserving favorite this weekend. In terms of his path, he is looking at a likely quarterfinal against Zach Elvin (Central Dauphin) and a semifinal against one of two regional champions: Joe Wheeling (General McLane) or Tyrone Klump (Nazareth). The lower half of the draw will likely come down to a semifinal between freshman Gage Curry (North Hills) and the winner of the first round bout between Connor Sheehan (Solanco) and Brendan Price (Canon-McMillan); Sheehan won 7-2 when the wrestlers met at the POWERade. 113: Four nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in this weight class, as are multiple other wrestlers with legitimate cases for being nationally ranked. This is one of (if not) the deepest weight of the championships. The double regional champions quarter pairs defending state champion No. 8 Ethan Lizak (Parkland) and two-time state placer Tanner Shoap (Chambersburg) as a likely second round bout. In the other quarter of the upper-half of the bracket is regional champion Jake Gromacki (Erie Cathedral Prep), also a two-time state placer; as well as a first round bout between No. 9 Scott Parker (Pennridge) and No. 14 Dom Forys (North Allegheny), which is a rematch of last year's state consolation final won by Forys. Parker and Forys were knocked off in regional final bouts, and with a different pairings configuration, this could have been the state final. By winning the WPIAL title over Forys, A.C. Headlee (Waynesburg) -- who missed out on the state tournament last year -- has a rather clear path to the semifinal round. At that point, he is likely to face No. 17 Zack Fuentes (Norristown), who knocked off the previously undefeated Parker at the Southeast Regional this past weekend, or freshman sensation Hayden Hidlay (Mifflin County). 120: The three qualifiers from the WPIAL are the dominant figures in this weight class, No. 4 Sam Krivus (Hempfield), No. 12 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan), and Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic); all three of these wrestlers placed at state last year. This past weekend, Joseph majored Macri in the semifinal round to avenge a major decision loss to Macri in the consolation semifinals of the POWERade; then, in the final, it was Krivus with a major decision over Joseph, while Macri qualified with a third place regional finish. Krvius has earned a rather manageable clearance into the semifinal from the bottom quarter of the draw, where he is likely to see either state placer Zack Ulerick (Middletown) or the winner of an opening round match between state placer Zach Valley (Northampton) and state qualifier Michael Marino (Garnet Valley). Macri suffers the penalty of facing returning state third placer Grimaldi Gonzalez (Bethlehem Liberty) in the opening round, with the winner likely to face another regional champion in Ben Ross (Pennridge); while in the other quarter bracket of the top half of the draw, Joseph is the favorite to clear his way into the semifinal round. 126: The pair of nationally ranked wrestlers, No. 3 Schram and No. 5 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional), both of whom were state runners-up last year, are the anchor figures of this weight class. These two wrestlers have met in the POWERade and WPIAL finals, with Schram winning both of those matches. Super 32 Challenge runner-up Kemerer fits in the second quarter, and draws Super 32 seventh place finisher Colby Ems (East Stroudsburg) in the opening round. The top quarter features Beast of the East placer Cortland Schuyler (Manheim Township) as one of two regional champions, though the tougher match for him is likely to be the opening round bout against Tyler Walker (North Hills). Schram dominates the bottom quarter of the draw, and the whole bottom half, though undefeated Kyle Krasavage (Wyoming Valley West) and returning state placer Josh DiSanto (Pennsbury) will battle it out for the other semifinalist position. 132: For being a middle-weight, especially in Pennsylvania's big-school classficiation, it is a weak bracket with only No. 13 Patrick Duggan (Cumberland Valley) fitting into the national rankings conversation. Duggan anchors the bottom quarter of the draw, and is likely to see two-time state seventh Ethan Kenney (Connellsville), who won the WPIAL this past weekend, in the semifinal round. The top half of the draw is relatively barren, even with three regional champions, as it is rather likely that the winner of the first round bout between regional runners-up Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional) and Bryce Killian (Middletown) will clear to the final. Smith placed fifth at state last year and was a POWERade runner-up, while Killian has placed in the past at the Super 32 Challenge and Beast of the East. 138: On the other hand, this is a rather deep weight with four nationally ranked wrestlers, all of whom won their regional tournament. However, three of those champions are in the top half of the draw. The top quarter features both No. 19 John Dutrow (Council Rock North) and No. 11 Joseph Galasso (Father Judge), while the second quarter is anchored by No. 20 Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional). Galasso beat Maruca 8-3 for third place at the POWERade this year; Maruca placed fifth at 126 pounds in last year's state tournament, while Dutrow and Galasso finished fourth and fifth at 132 pounds in the state tournament last year respectively. Dutrow is also undefeated, while Galasso's lone loss came in overtime to national No. 1 Zain Retherford in the POWERade semifinals. Down in the bottom half, No. 8 Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin) is prohibitively favored to make a second straight state final. His quarter is rather barren, while he's looking at either T.J. Brandt (Altoona) or Jesse Rodgers (North Allegheny) in the semifinal round. 145: Solomon Chishko (Canon-McMillan), who has twice placed third in state and is a four-time Super 32 placer, came back from injury for the state series and enters these championships coming off a 3-2 victory in the WPIAL final over No. 14 Josh Shields (Franklin Regional). In his third time entering state as a WPIAL champion, he has finally escaped the two champ quarter -- last year majored Matt Cimato in that match before losing in overtime to eventual champion Steve Spearman in the semis, and the year before lost a very tight match to eventual champion Zach Horan. In what is extreme poetic justice, Chishko has a barren bottom half of the draw, with possibly Nolan Barger (Clearfield) as a semifinal opponent. POWERade champion Shields still has a manageable path, as he should make it to the semifinal round without a problem. In that semifinal, he is likely to see the winner of the regional champions quarterfinal between returning state runner-up Chris Vassar (Cedar Cliff) and state placer Mikey Springer (Norristown); Vassar placed at both the Beast and POWERade earlier this season. 152: Two nationally ranked wrestlers are featured in this weight class, No. 9 (at 160) T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley) and No. 14 Garrett Hammond (Chambersburg). The junior Warner avenged last year's 12-9 state final loss to Penn State signee Hammond with wins at the sectional and South Central regional tournaments this year. Both wrestlers should advance to the semifinal round in their halves of the draw. Warner has a projected semifinal against returning state placer Heath Coles (Norwin), a wrestler he beat 3-1 in the quarterfinal last year; while Hammond is looking to face the winner of a first round bout between Super 32 placer Raymond Nicosia (Pocono Mountain East) and Austin Rose (Central Dauphin). Hammond beat Nicosia 11-2 in the state semifinal last year, while he beat Rose 7-2 in the regional semis to avenge a loss against him at the Beast of the East. 160: Without a loss in his career Chance Marsteller (Kennard Dale), currently ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds, seeks a third state title in as many seasons. Though a clear favorite, he should see two matches that are relatively competitive: a presumptive semifinal against No. 12 Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe), the POWERade champion in this weight class, and No. 5 Garrett Peppelman (Central Dauphin), champion at the Beast of the East and also a defending state champion. To break down the non-Marsteller quarters of the draw, Zavatsky is looking at a second round match against fellow regional champion Evan DiSora (Easton), Peppelman -- who lost 7-2 to Marsteller at the South Central regional -- is looking at a second round match against the extremely tough Justin Staudenmayer (Plymouth-Whitemarsh), while the other quarter of the draw features the undefeated Tyree Spearman (Erie McDowell) and returning state placer Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem). 170: This top half bracket is one that is begging for some sort of seeding construct, and that's the mildest thing I can say about it. It obviously has three regional champions, but two of them are undefeated and the other one is defending champion Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan) -- ranked No. 2 in the nation. On the way to the final, Wiercioch should be able to navigate his way through Tom Sleigh (Dubois) in the quarterfinal and Dominic Rigous (Central Bucks South) in the semifinal. Colton Peppelman (Central Dauphin), who placed seventh in the Beast is the likely quarterfinal matchup for Rigous. The bottom half is wide open with a likely semifinal featuring returning state placer Joey Krulock (Mechanicsburg) against either regional champion Ernest Fogle (Pocono Mountain East) or returning state placer Nick Shawley (Bellefonte). 182: Thankfully the two best wrestlers in this weight class should meet in the final, No. 4 Jacob Taylor (Bald Eagle Area) and No. 5 Brett Harner (Norristown). These two wrestlers met in the finals of the Escape the Rock Tournament, where Taylor earned a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker victory. In terms of paths to the final, Harner is in that top quarter, where he would likely see WPIAL champion Alex DeCiantis (North Allegheny) in the second round; and then probably one of two POWERade placers, Drew Phipps (Norwin) or Nezar Haddad (Parkland), in the semifinal. Taylor is looking at semifinal collision with returning state placer Tyler Greene (Easton). 195: Coming off the 3-1 overtime upset victory over No. 1 Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area), returning state runner-up Jake Hart (Hampton) has an extremely manageable half-bracket, with just a likely semifinal against Landon Hanna (DuBois) -- who is 35-1 entering the tournament -- as a possible block to a second straight state final. On the other hand, life is a bit harder for McCutcheon, though he should be able to push through: a quarterfinal against fellow Penn State signee P.J. Steinmetz (Council Rock South), who placed third at state last year, before a likely semifinal against the winner of the first round match between Super 32 placer Alen Turcinhodzic (North Hills) and FloNationals placer Javon Reyes (Dieruff). 220: Already twice a state champion, now entering his junior state tournament campaign, No. 3 Thomas Haines (Solanco) is the dominant figure in this weight class. Short of his major decision loss against No. 1 Kyle Snyder in the POWERade final, he has dominated all comers this year, which includes a 10-2 major decision over No. 5 Raymond O'Donnell in the Escape the Rock final. Though he draws No. 15 Alex Campbell (Canon-McMillan) in the quarterfinal, it should be one of limited interest, as Haines majored him 13-2 in the POWERade semifinal. Haines is looking at a semifinal bout most likely against Evan Kaufman (Freedom), the Northeast regional champion who enters state with a 35-1 record. In the lower half of the draw, Zach DeLuca (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) and freshman Jordan Wood (Boyertown) are the likely semifinalists. DeLuca won the WPIAL with a 10-5 upset victory over Campbell giving him this rather manageable position, while the freshman Wood won the Southeast region and was fourth at the Super 32 this fall. 285: All eyes should be directed, for a rare occasion, to the bottom half of the draw for this weight class. Both nationally ranked wrestlers in this class, No. 6 Aaron Bradley (Nazareth) and No. 11 Shane Kuhn (Kiski Area) are in this portion of the bracket. In fact, life is even tougher for Bradley, as he draws Super 32 runner-up Luke Fleck (Franklin Regional) in the opening round; Fleck missed the bulk of the season, but came back for the team state series, and in last weekend's WPIAL consolation final he knocked off returning state qualifier Damon Sims 2-1 to earn his state qualification spot. The upper half-bracket is extremely wide open, and the first round match between returning state placer Brad Emerick (Coughlin) and Antonio Broglia (Canon-McMillan) could end up determining the finalist position; Emerick lost 3-2 to Bradley in the regional final last week and was fifth at state last year, while Broglia placed third at Reno earlier in the season and used a 3-2 tiebreaker victory over Sims in the WPIAL semi to earn state qualification. The other quarter of that top half features regional champions in Andrew Welton (Central Tech) and Joey Goodhart (Hempfield). Class AA An absurd eleven wrestlers qualified to the state tournament for No. 22 Bethlehem Catholic, as they are the prohibitive favorites to repeat as champions in the small-school division. The Hawks will be led by defending champion No. 3 Darian Cruz (120), returning state finalist No. 16 Zeke Moisey (126), two-time state placer Ryan Todora (138), and freshman sensation Luke Karam (106). The race for second place is quite frankly wide open, though a team such as Benton with No. 1 Zain Retherford (138), No. 17 Colt Cotten (145), and returning state placers in Matt Welliver (120), and Jeric Kasunic (160) is in a good position. Below is a weight-by-weight preview: 106: Two wrestlers who placed third at state last year are among the key players in this weight class. POWERade runner-up Devin Brown (Saegertown), ranked No. 13 nationally, placed third in Ohio's Division II; while Austin Griffiths (Southmoreland) was third in this weight in the Keystone State. Other notables include freshmen Karam and Taylor Ortz (Brookville), both Fargo All-Americans, and another freshman in Southwest regional champion Collin Glorioso (Huntingdon). Griffiths and Brown are in the same half-bracket, while Karam is looking at the Ortz/Glorioso winner in the lower half semifinal. 113: Returning state runner-up Korbin Myers (Boiling Springs) would have to be considered the favorite in this weight class. The toughest match in his bottom half of the draw will come in the quarterfinal against Justin Patrick (Ligonier Valley), who placed fourth at state last year. Anchoring the top half of the draw is senior Seth Carr (South Fayette), who beat Patrick in the Southwest regional final. 120: Defending state champion Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) enters as the strong favorite, though he is likely to face undefeated Josh Patrick (Ligonier Valley), a two-time state placer, in the semifinal round. The bottom half of the draw features three state placers in Matt Welliver (Benton), Ryan Easter (Bedford), and Tyler Vath (Saegertown); the draw has Welliver in the third quarter, with Easter and Vath set to meet in the second round down low. 126: No. 6 Ryan Diehl (Trinity) is a strong favorite to win his fourth state title, the first two coming in West Virginia, and last year's coming with the key semifinal win over Jason Nolf (Kittanning) -- which represents his only career loss to date -- in this AA classification. In terms of draw, he will have to clear the undefeated Kent Lane (Southern Columbia) in the semifinal round. The other half of the draw features returning state placer Logan Everett (Williamson) and two-time state placer/returning finalist No. 16 Moisey in each quarter. 132: The aforementioned Nolf is ranked No. 5 in the nation at this weight class, and is after his second state title in three high school seasons. He enters state undefeated, including championships at the King of the Mountain and POWERade tournaments. He is looking at a semifinal date against one of two returning state placers, Cole Walter (Mifflinburg) or the undefeated Karl Lightner (Smethport). The upper half-bracket features three notable wrestlers in two-time state fourth placer Ian Brown (Hanover), state runner-up Nick Zanetta (Keystone Oaks), and the undefeated Austin Harry (Lake Lehman). Zanetta and Harry project to meet in the quarterfinal, with the winner advancing to face Brown. Of interest is that Zanetta could be in a position to finish as WPIAL, Southwest Region, and state runner-up to a superstar wrestler for the second straight year -- last year it was Gulibon, this year it would be to Nolf. 138: No. 1 Zain Retherford (Benton) is the dominant figure in this weight class, as he seeks to add a second state title to the one he won freshman year. He was unable to compete last high school season due to eligibility issues with the PIAA, and finished third as a sophomore. He has won just about everything there is to win in the last twelve months, and I can't see the pattern stopping here. Looking at the draw, he is projected to face returning state placer Brock Zacherl (Brookville) in the semifinal; this matchup occurred in the Super 32 quarterfinal, Retherford winning 3-2. The top half finalist should come from the winner of a quarterfinal between Seth Lansberry (Line Mountain) and Ryan Todora (Bethlehem Catholic), a pair of returning state placers. 145: Two nationally ranked wrestlers after their fourth state placement finish are clearly the dominant figures and should meet in the final barring extremely strange circumstance. No. 5 Michael Racciato (Pen Argyl) is undefeated on the year and after a third state title, also placing third as a freshman; while No. 17 Colt Cotten (Benton) has placed fifth, fourth, and fourth in the state with a litany of major national event credentials to compliment that resume as well. 152: No. 7 Austin Matthews (Reynolds) is a two-time state finalist, three-time state placer. Though his major event resume is extremely robust -- Super 32 runner-up finish, multiple NHSCA grade-level finals, multiple Ironman placements -- that PIAA gold is still absent. Quite frankly, it should not be come Saturday afternoon. However, he will have to navigate some game opposition in the form of returning state placer Andrew Doak (Blairsville) and Northeast regional champion Ryan Preisch (Milton) just to reach the final. The upper half-bracket semifinal should feature returning state placer Tyler Herzog (Northern Lehigh) and state runner-up Kyle Barnes (Hughesville), though Barnes was upset by Preisch in the regional semifinal. 160: Finishing second at state last year, No. 17 Cody Law (Forest Hills) enters the state tournament this week undefeated. The Penn State signee is seeking to ascend that toughest step up to the top of the podium, and would have to be considered the favorite. However, it won't be easy with two-time Super 32 placer Ty Walter (Mifflinburg) standing in his way during the semifinal round. The opposite half of the draw features returning state placers in Evan DeLong (Kane), Jaric Kasunic (Benton), and Ty Schoffstal (Tri-Valley); the highest returning state placer other than Law in this weight is Schoffstal, who placed third, and he happens to be in the quarter bracket opposite DeLong and Kasunic down low. 170: It's a pair of undefeated wrestlers that lead the way in this weight class, No. 7 Peter Renda (Brandywine Heights) and Dustin Conti (Jefferson Morgan). Additional returning state placers in this weight class include Mike Fetchet (South Fayette) and Tristan Sponseller (Bermudian Springs). Renda and Fetchet, who lost in the Southwest regional final to Conti, are in the same quarter-bracket, while Conti and Sponseller project to meet in the semifinal round. 182: It's a trio of returning state placers who lead the way in this weight class, Adam Mackie (Brandywine Heights), Troy Hembury (Muncy), and the undefeated Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell). Macke and two-time state placer Hembury project to meet in the top half-bracket semifinal; while three-time state placer is looking at a semifinal bout against either sophomore Dylan Reynolds (Saegertown), who won the Northwest regional, or junior Jose Ortiz (Bethlehem Catholic), who is in his second state tournament appearance. 195: Three-time state placer Ryan Solomon (Milton) is a defending state champion, and ranked No. 2 in the nation at this weight class. The Pitt signee has been a Fargo All-American in both styles on multiple occasions, and has titles at the Beast of the East and Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic to his credit this season. In addition, his dominance drove long-time rival Raymond O'Donnell up to the next weight class. Quite frankly, Solomon should have little competition here, though a quarterfinal against senior Josh Alpha (Bethlehem Catholic), who is in his third state tournament appearance does loom; as does a likely final against either Adam Geiger (Trinity) or Garrett Vulcano (Chartiers Houston). 220: Like at the class before, this weight is likely the domain of one wrestler: No. 5 Raymond O'Donnell (Saucon Valley). The Super 32 Challenge and Beast of the East runner-up, who also is a two-time state placer and Junior freestyle All-American, is after his first state title. He is looking at a semifinal meeting against returning state placer Cam Cyphert (Cochranton) in the top half-bracket, while the bottom half finalist should come from the winner of a quarterfinal between two-time state placer Evan Daley (Fort LeBoeuf) and returning state placer Brandon Smith (Lewisburg). 285: Only two state placers return in this weight class, defending state champion Nazar Mironeko (Mifflinburg) and Trevor Stover (Biglerville). Mironeko is in the top half-bracket, and has a likely semifinal date with Brent Sterner (Susquentia), who beat Stover in the regional final; while Stover is looking at a likely semifinal against returning state qualifier Sam Breese (Lakeview).

The Big Ten Conference announced the preliminary seeds for the 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, which are set for March 9-10 on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. Five schools boast at least one top-seeded wrestler, with Penn State leading the way with three. Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State will bring a seeded wrestler in each of the 10 weight classes, while Nebraska will boast a seeded grappler in nine classes. The pre-seeds, as voted on by the conference’s coaches, rank the top eight wrestlers in five weight classes, along with 11 or 12 schools’ starters in five weight classes due to the Big Ten receiving eight or more NCAA Championships qualifier allocations in those classes. Each team enters the championships with a seeded wrestler in the 165-, 174- and 285-pound weight classes. Penn State holds three No. 1 seeds, with 165-pounder David Taylor, 184-pounder Ed Ruth and 197-pounder Quentin Wright earning top billing in their weight classes, while Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio State each hold two top-ranked wrestlers. The Hawkeyes’ Matt McDonough (125 pounds) and Derek St. John (157), the Gophers’ Logan Storley (174) and Tony Nelson (285) and the Buckeyes’ Logan Stieber (133) and Hunter Stieber (141) have each earned top seeds, while Michigan’s Eric Grajales (149) rounds out the group of top-ranked grapplers. Six of this year’s top seeds took home Big Ten titles last season, as McDonough (125), Logan Stieber (133), St. John (157), Taylor (165), Ruth (174; wrestling this season at 184) and Nelson (285) each took home crowns in 2012. Additionally, Minnesota’s Kevin Steinhaus (184) and Illinois’ Mario Gonzalez (197) return to defend their titles from last year’s championships. For more information on the 2013 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, visit the Big Ten Championships Central page on Illinois’ web site HERE. The complete list of Big Ten Championships pre-seeds can be found below and at the top of the page. 125: 1. Matt McDonough, IOWA 2. Nico Megaludis, PSU 3. Jesse Delgado, ILL 4. Sean Boyle, MICH 5. Nikko Triggas, OSU 6. Camden Eppert, PUR 7. David Thorn, MINN 8. Dom Malone, NU 133: 1. Logan Stieber, OSU 2. Tony Ramos, IOWA 3. Tyler Graff, WIS 4. Jordan Conaway, PSU 5. Daryl Thomas, ILL 6. Cashe Quiroga, PUR 7. Chris Dardanes, MINN 8. Shawn Nagel, NEB 141: 1. Hunter Stieber, OSU 2. Nick Dardanes, MINN 3. Mark Ballweg, IOWA 4. Bryan Pearsall, PSU 5. Brandon Nelsen, PUR 6. Ridge Kiley, NEB 7. Pat Greco, NU 8. Camryn Jackson, MICH 149: 1. Eric Grajales, MICH 2. Dylan Ness, MINN 3. Ivan Lopouchanski, PUR 4. Jake Sueflohn, NEB 5. Cam Tessari, OSU 6. Andrew Alton, PSU 7. Caleb Ervin, ILL 8. Dan Osterman, MSU 9. Josh Dziewa, IOWA 10. Dylan Marriott, NU 11. Preston Keiffer, IND 157: 1. Derek St. John, IOWA 2. Jason Welch, NU 3. Dylan Alton, PSU 4. James Green, NEB 5. Taylor Walsh, IND 6. Josh Demas, OSU 7. Ryan Watts, MSU 8. Danny Zilverberg, MINN 165: 1. David Taylor, PSU 2. Conrad Polz, ILL 3. Taylor Massa, MICH 4. Nick Moore, IOWA 5. Cody Yohn, MINN 6. Pierce Harger, NU 7. Ryan LeBlanc, IND 8. Austin Wilson, NEB 9. Mark Martin, OSU 10. Pat Robinson, PUR 11. Frank Cousins, WIS 12. Nick Proctor, MSU 174: 1. Logan Storley, MINN 2. Mike Evans, IOWA 3. Robert Kokesh, NEB 4. Nick Heflin, OSU 5. Matt Brown, PSU 6. Jordan Blanton, ILL 7. Lee Munster, NU 8. Dan Yates, MICH 9. Scott Liegel, WIS 10. Chad Welch, PUR 11. Jordan Wohlfert, MSU 12. Cheney Dale, IND 184: 1. Ed Ruth, PSU 2. Kevin Steinhaus, MINN 3. Josh Ihnen, NEB 4. John Rizqallah, MSU 5. Ethen Lofthouse, IOWA 6. Tony Dallago, ILL 7. Luke Sheridan, IND 8. Cody Magrum, OSU 197: 1. Quentin Wright, PSU 2. Scott Schiller, MINN 3. Mario Gonzalez, ILL 4. Andrew Campolattano, OSU 5. Braden Atwood, PUR 6. Nathan Burak, IOWA 7. Jackson Hein, WIS 8. Max Huntley, MICH 9. Alex Polizzi, NU 10. Luke Jones, MSU 11. Caleb Kolb, NEB 285: 1. Tony Nelson, MINN 2. Mike McMullan, NU 3. Connor Medbery, WIS 4. Bobby Telford, IOWA 5. Mike McClure, MSU 6. Adam Chalfant, IND 7. James Lawson, PSU 8. Ben Apland, MICH 9. Spencer Johnson, NEB 10. Nick Tavanello, OSU 11. Chris Lopez, ILL 12. Alex White, PUR

DES MOINES, Iowa -- For the second straight season, Lindsey Wilson is coming home from the NAIA Wrestling National Championships with an individual winner, as Jameel Bryant earned an 8-4 decision in tonight's finals at the Jacobson Exhibition Center. The Blue Raiders finished fifth as a team with 78.5 points, while Grand View (Iowa) won the team championship with 159. Southern Oregon finished second with 153 points and Montana State-Northern took third with 104. Bryant was the aggressor from start to finish in his 184-pound title match against fifth-ranked Jesse Hellinger of Dickinson State (N.D.). Despite being taken down early in the first period, Bryant turned the match in his favor with a hard-fought reversal to knot the score at 2-2. Bryant then brought Hellinger's leg high to get him off balance and powered him to the ground on his back for a two-point near fall. Leading 4-2, Bryant gave up an escape, followed by gaining one of his own to lead 5-3 in the second period. The best move of the match came late, as Bryant swooped under Hellinger to grab a single leg and gain a takedown once again to build a 7-3 lead and cruise to the championship with an added riding-time point at the end. With the win in the final, the junior-college transfer Bryant ends his first season at Lindsey Wilson with a 31-9 overall record. Lindsey Wilson also had Joe Cozart wrestling in a final, up against fifth-ranked Chad Lowman from Grand View at 157 pounds. Cozart fell victim to an early takedown and could only muster an escape the rest of the way. Lowman opted to take the down position in the third period and added an escape to win the national title 3-1. Cozart, who transferred in to Lindsey Wilson at the semester break from Iowa State, ended his year with a 17-6 record. Five Blue Raiders were named NAIA All-Americans with top-eight finishes in their weight class, including Cozart, Bryant, Jacob McCombs (133), Wismit Moinius (141) and Ian Stephens (184).

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Junior Bret Baumbach captured the 165-pound title as Stanford finished fifth overall (103.5 points) at the 2013 Pac-12 Wrestling Championships at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. Baumbach becomes the 15th conference champion in school history. He posted a 4-1 decision over Boise State’s Holden Packard in the semifinals and a 7-1 decision over top-seeded Seth Thomas of Oregon State in the final. Baumbach, a native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, is now 22-10 and receives an automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Championships, held this year in Des Moines, Iowa. Redshirt freshman Evan Silver was the runner-up for the Cardinal at 125 pounds. He defeated Oregon State’s Joey Palmer, 8-3, in the semifinal. Silver fell to top-seeded Tyler Iwamura of CSU Bakersfield, 6-2, in the finals. He is now 25-13 this season. Junior heavyweight Dan Scherer took fourth for Stanford and receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his career. He fell to fourth-ranked Chad Hanke of Oregon State in the first round, 5-1. Scherer captured a 2-0 decision over CSU Bakersfield’s Sammy Cervantes in the consolation round before falling 4-2 to No. 16 Levi Cooper of Arizona State in the second tiebreaker. Also finishing fourth for Stanford was sophomore Alex Manley (133 pounds), senior Timmy Boone (149 pounds), junior Kyle Meyer (157 pounds) and redshirt freshman Michael Sojka (197 pounds). Oregon State won its second straight Pac-12 team championships, nabbing three individual titles and scoring 158.0 points overall. Boise State finished second with 136.5 points, while host Arizona State took third with 110.5 points. CSU Bakersfield (108.5) finished just ahead of the Cardinal, while Cal Poly finished sixth (82.0) Stanford now awaits the announcement of the at-large berths to the NCAA Tournament to see if any other Cardinal wrestlers will join Baumbach and Scherer in Des Moines, Iowa, March 21-23.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- George Ivanov took home the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award as the Boise State wrestling team took second at the 2013 Pac-12 Championships, Saturday. The Broncos finished with 136.5 points while Oregon State tallied 158. Ivanov was one of three Boise State champions, joining Jason Chamberlain and Jake Swartz at the top of the podium. It was a short trip for Ivanov, the 18th ranked wrestler at 157 pounds, who received a first-round bye before defeating Adam Fierro in the semifinal. He advanced to the finals where he faced No. 9 RJ Pena of Oregon State. Ivanov pulled out a 3-2 decision after trailing 2-1 heading into the final period. The senior from Council Bluffs, Iowa started the final period on top and quickly picked up a two-point near fall to take the lead and rode out until the final whistle. It is the second-consecutive year a Bronco has taken home the Outstanding Wrestler Award. Brent Chriswell was given the honor last year. Chamberlain won the third conference championship of his career by defeating No. 7 Scott Sakaguchi in the championship bout, 3-1 in overtime. It was the rubber match of the series and the second time the two went to overtime this season. Chamberlain's road to the finals was filled with bonus points after getting a pin in the first round and a technical fall in the second. Chamberlain is the 10th wrestler in school history to win three conference titles for the Broncos. Swartz defended his conference crown at 184 pounds with three wins at the tournament this season. The redshirt junior earned a pair of decisions against Sean Pollock and Ryan Davies in the morning session to advance to the finals. There he faced Arizona State's Kevin Radford and won by a 3-1 decision Brian Owen (133) and J.T. Felix (285) each made appearances in the finals of their weight classes but each lost by decision. After Felix upset Levi Cooper in the semifinals he faced Chand Hanke of Oregon State in the finals. Felix took an early lead but Hanke was able to ride him out in the final period, secure the riding time point, and win by a 3-2 decision. Owen wrestled to a 3-1 victory in the semifinals but was upended by Devon Lotito of Cal Poly in the finals, 5-2. Travis Himmelman (141) and Holden Packard (165) and Cody Dixon (197) each finished third. Himmelman and Packard each went 3-1 for the tournament while Dixon advanced on a first-round bye and finished 2-1. Scott Bacon finished 1-2, losing his first-round match but rebounding with a 9-2 decision in the consolation semifinal. In the third-place match, he lost a heartbreaker as Cody Weishoff picked up a reversal and near fall with four seconds left in the second tiebreak period to win 7-4. Rami Haddadin finished the tournament 0-3. In all, five Broncos are locked in for the NCAA tournament later this month. Each of the three champions and two runner-up finishers will go with automatic qualification. At the conclusion of the conference tournament schedule next week, at large bids will be announced. Scott Bacon will be one of the hopefuls as he was ranked in the top 33 of both the latest coaches' poll and RPI ratings. The NCAA Tournament will be held March 21-23 in Des Moines, Iowa.

DES MOINES -- Four Raiders claimed individual titles and nine earned All-American honors as the second-ranked Southern Oregon wrestling team fell six points shy of a team title at the 2013 NAIA National Championships. Southern Oregon totaled153 points to finish as the national runner-up for the second straight year and fourth time in the past five years. Tournament host Grand View won its second consecutive national title with 159 points. The Vikings did not clinch the outright title until the final bout of the weekend, when Grand View's Eric Thompson won the heavyweight final to break a 153-153 tie atop the team leaderboard. Mitchell Lofstedt (Roseburg, Ore./Roseburg) pinned his way to his third national title and yet another SOU record to close out his career. Lofstedt pinned all five of his opponents on the weekend in a total time of 9:11to earn Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament honors for the second straight year. He narrowly missed out on his second consecutive Gorriaran Award – given to the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time – as teammate Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) finished with five pins in a total time of 6:50 to earn the honor. Head coach Mike Ritchey was named NAIA Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. He also received the honor in 2001 and 2009. Lofstedt topped the 125-pound rankings all year and became the 25th individual in the 56-year history of the NAIA Tournament to win three titles. He is the first 125-pounder to achieve the feat, along with the first three-time champion at SOU and the fifth four-time All-American. He also won national titles in 2010 and 2012 and finished second as a freshman in 2009. Lofstedt concludes his final season with a 37-1 overall record and 27 pins. His .974 season win percentage is the highest in SOU history, and his 27 pins broke his own school record of 26 set last season. He also holds program records for career victories (156), career win percentage (.891), career pins (86) and 30-win seasons (4). Brock Gutches (Central Point, Ore./Crater) also retained his wire-to-wire top ranking in the national championships, claiming his second consecutive title at 174 lbs. Gutches went 4-0 on the weekend with a pair of pins and two decisions, taking down seventh-ranked Jose Alvarez of Wayland Baptist 5-2 in the final. With two titles in his first two years of eligibility, Gutches will have two more years to try become the 26th three-time NAIA champion. After falling in the final last season, Jimmy Eggemeyer (Kodiak, Alaska/Kodiak) closed out his SOU career on top with a championship in the 149-pound bracket. Eggemeyer eked out three close wins in four matches this weekend, decisioning sixth-ranked Nick Haugen 2-1 in his first matchup and defeating eight-ranked Sean Elkins 6-2 in the quarterfinals. He earned a 15-6 major decision victory over 10th-ranked Chase Burns in the semifinal and clinched the championship with a 3-2 win over third-ranked Isaiah Tatum on Saturday. Prescott Garner (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) gave SOU a program-record four individual titlists, going 5-0 with three major decisions, a technical fall and a pin. The third-ranked Raider pinned No. 2 Angel Garcia in 1:14 in the semifinal and claimed a 16-7 major decision victory over top-ranked Cameron Neiss to reclaim the top spot that he held in half the rankings this season. Along with Southern Oregon's four individual champions, five other Raiders earned All-American honors. Third-ranked Taylor Johnson (Redmond, Ore./Redmond) concluded the weekend with five pins and a 5-2 record, including a 1:43 pin in the fifth-place match to claim a fifth-place finish. Ninth-ranked Miguel Baltazar (Culver, Ore./Culver) finished 4-2 at the national tournament to place sixth in the 133-pound bracket after dropping a major decision in the fifth-place match. Derek Mestrovich (Boise, Idaho/Skyview) earned a 3-1 decision victory to claim seventh place at 165 lbs. and Jacob Abrams (The Dalles, Ore./The Dalles-Wahtonka) won the seventh-place match in the 184-lb. bracket. Dalton Urrutia (Lebanon, Ore./Lebanon) dropped a 9-2 decision in the 157-lb. seventh-place match to finish eighth.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Claiming two individual champions and qualifying eight individuals to the NCAA Division III National Championships, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed a regional championship for the 11th straight year, winning the NCAA Division III West Regional on Saturday afternoon at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. Augsburg has won every NCAA regional it has participated in since going to a regional qualifying format in 2003. It's the fifth straight regional title for Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. The Auggies accumulated 143.5 points to win the regional, ahead of second-place Concordia-Moorhead's 133.0 points and third-place St. John's (Minn.) 127.0 points. Augsburg was one of four schools to claim two individual champions, joining Concordia, St. John's and Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Concordia-Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Eau Claire also claimed individual champions on Saturday. Defending NCAA Division III heavyweight national champion Chad Johnson (JR, Ferryville, Wis./De Soto HS) reached a career milestone on Saturday, claiming his 100th career victory in scoring the regional title and a national tournament berth. The top-ranked heavyweight in the latest Division III national poll, Johnson opened with a first-period pin and claimed two more wins, including a 2-1 triumph over No. 4-ranked Tom Bouressa of Concordia-Moorhead in the championship match. Johnson is now 101-13 in his three seasons at Augsburg, including a 65-2 record the last two seasons. Johnson is unbeaten over his last two years against Division III opponents; his only two losses have come to the two-time defending national champion and two-time defending national runner-up in Division II. Augsburg's Matt Hechsel (SO, Apple Valley, Minn.) qualified for his first national tournament with a dominating performance at 197 pounds, winning the regional title for the first time. Hechsel opened with a 53-second pin, then claimed a 13-0, major-decision win in the quarterfinals, a 16-0, technical-fall victory in the semifinals and a 5-4 win over Nathan Schmitz of Concordia-Moorhead in the finals. Hechsel is now 32-9 on the season. #Tossaporn (Boyd) Suparat# finished second at the regional finished second at the regional at 133 pounds, qualifying for the national tournament for the first time in his career. Suparat improved to 28-12 on the season, scoring a 14-0, major-decision win and a third-period pin en route to his regional runner-up finish. Five Auggies finished third in their weight classes at the regional, earning spots in the national tournament field. This is the first year of the new regional format for NCAA Division III wrestling, where the top three finishers in each weight class in each of six regionals earn national tournament berths. Two Auggies will make their second trips to the national tournament -- 125-pounder Mike Fuenffinger (SO, Hibbing, Minn.) and 174-pounder Josh Kohler (SR, Monticello, Minn.). Fuenffinger scored three pins on the day, improving to 26-6 on the season with his third-place finish at 125. Kohler claimed a first-round pin and went 4-1 on the day, improving to 27-12 on the season with his third-place finish. Tom Kuehn (SO, Fargo, N.D./West Fargo HS) earned his first trip to the national tournament with a third-place finish at 141, improving to 24-6 on the season. Justin Bowland (JR, Foley, Minn.) also qualified for the national tournament for the first time, finishing third at 165 pounds and moving to 20-17 in the process. Kurt Knutsen (SO, Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley HS) had a dramatic comeback after losing his first match on Saturday to finish third at 157 pounds. Now 13-21 on the season, Knutsen won four straight matches, including a 4-3 win in the third-place match, to qualify for the national tournament for the first time. Minnesota schools claimed 20 of the 30 qualifiers from the West Regional to the national tournament. Both Concordia-Moorhead and St. John's had six national tournament qualifiers, while St. Olaf had one qualifier. Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Concordia-Wisconsin and Wisconsin-Eau Claire had two qualifiers each, and Wisconsin-Platteville, Pacific (Oregon) and Milwaukee School of Engineering (Wis.) each had one qualifier. The NCAA Division III National Championships will be held March 15-16 at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Augsburg has won 11 Division III national championships since 1991, and will aim to extend two unique streaks; Augsburg has finished among the top four at the national championships for 24 straight years, and has also had five or more All-Americans at the national tournament for 24 straight years.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater will be represented by eight wrestlers -- the school's largest contingent ever to qualify for a national championship -- at the NCAA III Wrestling Championship at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa March 15-16. The Warhawks captured the team title at the NCAA III Midwest Regional hosted by Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Illinois Saturday. UW-W coach Tim Fader was named Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Team scores were: UW-Whitewater 121, Elmhurst College 108, UW-La Crosse 89, UW-Stevens Point 83.5, Olivet College 82.5, Wabash College 64, Trine University 53.5, Alma College 53, Wheaton College 43.5, North Central College 30, University of Chicago 28.5, and Manchester College 5.5. Wrestlers advance to the national tournament based on their finish at the regional, one of six qualifying regionals. The top three in each weight class advance, which will make a field of 180 wrestlers at the NCAA III championship. The Warhawks had four weight class champions. Elroy Perkin (Greenfield/Whitnall) won the 149 pound class. He opened with an 8-0 win over Brady Schrupp of La Crosse, followed with a 12-4 win over Joseph Ruettiger of Chicago, and edged Gage Pederson of Olivet 9-8 in a semifinal. Perkin, the fourth seed, defeated third seed Ben Strobel of Stevens Point 13-7 in the title bout. With four victories in the regional Perkin stands at 35-7. Cedric Gibson (Plainfield, IL) won all three of matches to capture the 165 pound class. After a first round bye, Gibson topped Josh Sampson of Wabash 10-3, and then won 8-3 over James Myers of Olivet to move into the championship. He beat Jordan Schulte of Stevens Point 3-1 in the final match to raise his record to 14-5. Shane Siefert (Mundelein, IL/Carmel) had a first round bye at 197. He beat Mario Palmissano of Chicago 14-12 to advance to the semifinals, and then won 6-2 over Dustin Wozniak of Point. In the final match Siefert defeated Darren Faber of Wheaton College 4-2. Siefert upped his season record to 28-8. Anthony Edgren (New Lisbon/New Lisbon) earned the 285 class title, winning four times, with two pins. Edgren, the number two seed, pinned Abraham Hall of Wabash in 1:23 in the first round, squeaked by Mitchell Steed of Wheaton 1-0 in the second, and beat Adam Robinson of Alma 6-1 in round three. Edgren came through with a pin, in 1:29, of William Mayer of La Crosse in the class title match. Roland Dunlap (Muskego/Muskego ) had a bye, and then won 10-6 and 3-2 to advance to the championship match at 184 pounds. Dunlap was defeated, 8-3, by Josef Rau of Elmhurst in the title match. It was the first loss of the season for Dunlap, now 11-1. Three Warhawks placed third. That group included Grant Sutter (Dodgeville/Dodgeville) at 133, Jake Fredrickson at 141, and Cade Sarbacker (Mineral Point) at 157 pounds. Sutter won, then lost, then came back with a pair of wins to up his mark to 21-3 this season. After an opening round win by technical fall, Fredrickson went down to the wire. He won 1-0 in round two, lost 3-2 in the third round, and then bounced back with a 3-1 overtime win over Jordan Kust of Stevens Point for third place. Sarbacker entered the meet with a 9-0 record, but lost his first match in the regional. He rebounded from that loss with four consecutive wins, including a technical fall and a 17-3 superior decision to finish third and up his season mark to 13-1. UW-W will enter the NCAA III championship as the number four team in the Division III poll.

ADA, Ohio -- The switch to regional qualifying tournaments seems to suit Elizabethtown wrestling just fine. The Blue Jays won the team title at the inaugural NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championships Saturday hosted by Ohio Northern University. They did it on the strength of a 141-pound championship from freshman Jesse Meaney, and runner-up finishes by Chad Lammer (133), Julian Meaney (184), Phil Landis (197) and Jeremy Rieth (285). All five guys are headed to the national tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in two weeks time. Meaney, a freshman, blew through the 141-pound bracket with three falls and a decision. Seeded fourth, he opened the tournament with a 93-second pin of Ohio Northern's Shaun Lee. Meaney moved into the semifinals with his second victory over York's Chuck Glatz in the last 15 days. Meaney saved his best for last, pinning No. 1 seed Wayne Black (Mount St. Joseph) in the semis in 5:15, and doing the same to No. 7 seed Jordan Dyer (Brockport) for the championship victory. Meaney, from Toms River, N.J., improved his season record to 17-5 with seven pins. He wasn't the only family member doing work. Older brother Julian Meaney also secured his first spot at the NCAA Division III Championships by advancing to the championship match at 184 pounds. Julian pinned his way through the first two rounds, and took down Thiel's Jacob Lowry 11-6 in the semifinals. He was forced to retire due to injury in the championship against nationally ranked Josh Thomson of Messiah. Jesse and Julian follow in the footsteps of older brother Bill Meaney, who was a national qualifier and All-American at last year's NCAA Championships. Elizabethtown placed more grapplers in championship matches, and its the reason why the Blue Jays are coming home with a team title. Landis, ranked ninth by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) dropped Pierce Curran of Case Western in 30 seconds, before earning wins by decision in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 197-pound weight class' top seed, Landis fell 9-4 to No. 2 seed Andrew Lovins (Heidelberg) in the final. Rieth, seeded second, had a typical Rieth day filled with close matches. The Philadelphia native entered the tournament having wrestled in 13 matches decided by two points or less. He added to that total by four Saturday, as every bout he was involved in came down to the wire. In the opening round, Rieth used a 3-1 sudden victory over Case Western's Dale English to move on. He needed two overtime periods to hold off John Carrol's Will Porter in the quarterfinals. A 3-2 decision over Nino Majoy of Heidelberg put him in the finals against No. 9 John Wilkinson of Brockport. Wilkinson came out on top, 4-2, in the second overtime period. The Brockport heavy also edged Rieth by two, 5-3, back in December at the York New Standard Corporation Invitational. Chad Lammer's supurb efforts in tournaments continued in Ada, Ohio, as he reached the finals from his spot as the 133-pound weight class' fifth seed. Lammer, already a champion at the Messiah Invitational, and a fifth-place finisher at the Pete Willson-Wheaton Invitational, used a forfeit victory in the first round to stay frest for his quarterfinal match against Ohio Northern's Jeremy Jones. Lammer scratched out a 4-3 win, and went on to defeat Rory Bruce of RIT, 8-4. He claimed runner-up honors after falling to No. 2 seed Joey Giaccio of York (Pa.). The five national qualifiers for the Blue Jays are the most sent to one national championship tournament in program history. Coach Eric Walker has completed reinvigorated a program that suffered through back-to-back winless dual seasons before he took over in 2003. Under his guidance, E-town has had four grapplers earn All-America honors, and now the program has a strong chance to add to that number. Bill Meaney and Quint Eno each took home All-America honors last season. Zeke Zimmer came up one spot shy of making it a six-spot for the Jays in Cedar Rapids. The sophomore settled for fourth at 174 pounds after losing the third-place match to Waynesburg's Anthony Bonaventura. Junior 125-pounder Kyle McNulty fought back from a quarterfinal defeat at the hands of nationally ranked Matthias Ellis II of Brockport to finish fifth in his weight class. The NCAA Championships will be held two weekends from now, starting on Friday, March 15.