InterMat Staff

EAST STROUDSBURG -- Delaware Valley College, ranked eighth in Division III, improved to 8-2 on the season with Thursday evening's 31-13 triumph at Division II East Stroudsburg University. The Aggies now owns a 6-2 advantage in the series with their higher division foe. The Warriors fell to 6-9 in dual meets on the year. Delaware Valley registered points in six weights with two pins, a major decision, an injury default and a forfeit. Connor Kirkegard got the nod at 125 pounds and the freshman improved to 19-9 on the year as he dropped Anthony Marino with 38 seconds left in the opening period (2:22). It gave the Aggies six points and a lead that they would never relinquish. Pat Davis, the second of five freshmen in the lineup, increased the Delaware Valley lead to 10-0 as he blanked Devin Holmes, 8-0, for a major decision at 133. The win improved Davis to 11-11 on the year. East Stroudsburg took two of the next three weights as Joseph Hoy posted a 15-8 decision over Dale Fava at 141 and nationally-ranked and returning All-American Braden Turner earned a 9-0 decision over James Dugan at 157 pounds. The Aggies picked up six points at 149 as fourth-ranked Emmanuel Ajagbe was awarded a forfeit, the senior's 25th win of the year against just two losses. Freshman Nick Della Fera gave Delaware Valley a 22-7 lead as he dropped Nate Silvethorn in 4:17. The pin was Della Fera's second of the year and it upped his season record to 19-14. The Warriors had back-to-back decisions at 174 and 184 pounds to make it a 22-13 contest. At 174, regionally-ranked and 2012 national qualifier Brendan McKeown tallied a 5-0 victory over Dallas Winston. Luke DeLuise followed with a 9-2 win over Connor Gabriel at 184. However, Delaware Valley's Aaron Karns followed with the biggest win of the night as the fourth-ranked Division III wrestler at 197 notched a 5-0 blanking over Tyson Searer. Searer entered the evening ranked fifth in Division II. For Karns, it was his 23rd victory in 26 tries this season. Heavyweight Mike Boardman (13-9) then ended the match by being awarded an injury default victory over Joe Blaes with 43 seconds left in the bout. The Aggies return to action on Friday evening (7:00 p.m.) when they host Elizabethtown College. Results: 125 - Connor Kirkegard (DelVal) by fall over Anthony Marino, 2:22 (6-0 DelVal) 133 - Pat Davis (DelVal) by major decision over Devin Holmrs, 8-0 (10-0 DelVal) 141 - Joseph Hoy (ESU) by decision over Dale Fava, 15-8 (10-3 DelVal) 149 - Emmanuel Ajagbe (DelVal) by forfeit (16-3 DelVal) 157 - Braden Turner (ESU) by major decision over James Dugan, 9-0 (16-7 DelVal) 165 - Nick Della Fera (DelVal) by fall over Nate Silverthorn, 4:17 (22-7 DelVal) 174 - Brendan McKeown (ESU) by decision over Dallas Winston, 5-0 (22-10 DelVal) 184 - Luke DeLuise (ESU) by decision over Connor Gabriel, 9-2 (22-13 DelVal) 197 - Aaron Karns (DelVal) by decision over Tyson Searer, 5-0 (25-13 DelVal) 285 - Mike Boardman (DelVal) by injury default over Joe Blaes, 6:17 (31-13 DelVal) Exhibition (165): Tony Vorndan (ESU) by decision over Alec Horan, 1-0 Exhibition (184): Christopher Yocum (DelVal) by decision over Will Esposito, 6-1

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- The Adams State University Grizzlies Wrestling team continued to wrestle well Thursday night at Plachy Hall, defeating the ninth-ranked Colorado Mesa Mavericks 21-18. The score was slightly deceiving, as the Grizzlies won six out of the eight matches in which they had a wrestler, forfeiting the 141 and 197 pound matches. Thursday night�s win propelled the Grizzlies into first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings. The evening�s action begin at the 285-pound weight class where ASU�s Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) jumped out to a 5-0 first period lead on a takedown and three-point near fall. Stam would have likely gotten the pin but time expired. Stam would get an escape in the third period and finished the night with a 6-2 victory over Colorado Mesa�s Paco Retana. Stam, who has been wrestling well as of late after a slow start to the season, is now 8-11, 5-5 in duals on the season. Next up on the night was ASU�s eighth-ranked Jerry Huff (Broomfield, Colo.) who dominated against Colorado Mesa�s Jonathon Sterling. Huff was leading 6-1 when he pinned Sterling at the 4:18 mark of the match. Huff, who recently garnered the No. 8 ranking in the nation, is now an impressive 19-4 on the season and a perfect 8-0 in duals on the year. Martin Ramirez (Elk Grove, Calif.) extended the Grizzly lead to 12-0. Ramirez defeated Tyler Nelson 7-2 on his way to improving to 19-10, 7-3 in duals on the year. The Grizzlies forfeited the 141-pound match as No. 3 Ryan Fillingame (Victorville, Calif.) was out due to illness. In the 149-pound weight class, Max Ortega (Rio Rancho, N.M.) was impressive in defeating the Maverick�s James Martinez, who came into the match with only two losses on the year. Ortega made a valiant effort trying to score the Grizzlies more points in a major-decision but settled for a convincing 10-3 decision. Ortega improved to 14-5 on the season. He is also an undefeated 6-0 in dual matches this year. In the most impressive win of the night, junior Daniel Kelly (Parker, Colo.) defeated Colorado Mesa�s Jon Gappmaier by a score of 7-3. Gappmaier came in with a strong 12-3 record on the year. Kelly trailed at the end of the first period but was able to tie the score up at three heading into the final stanza. Kelly was very impressive in the last two minutes, scoring four points to get the 7-3 win. Kelly now leads the team in wins and boasts a 22-7, 9-1 mark on the season. Kelly is also 6-0 on the year in RMAC duals. Continuing the domination theme, Justin Samora (Cortez, Colo.) scored a decision over Mesa�s Tyler Miles with an 8-2 decision. Samora, now 18-11, 8-2 on the season, was never in doubt and scored an extra point with over one minute of riding time by the end of the match. No. 8 Jarrod Purvis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) suffered a heartbreaking loss at 174 pounds, losing in the second sudden victory period by a score of 3-2. With the scored tied at one, neither wrestler was able to score in the first sudden victory period or the first sudden death periods. Colorado Mesa�s Zak Slotten escaped from Purvis with less than one second to go in the second sudden victory period to secure the victory. Purvis fell to 16-7, 7-3 in duals on the season. The score for the dual at this point was 21-9 in the Grizzlies favor. Mark Mabry Jr. (Benson, Ariz.) fell in the 184-pound matchup, losing 4-1 and falling to 6-9, 0-3 for the year. The Grizzlies would forfeit the final match of the evening at 197 pounds but had built a big enough lead to secure the 21-18 win over the No. 9 team in the nation. ASU is now 7-3, 5-1 in the RMAC and in sole possession of first place. The Grizzlies wrestle for the final time at home this season against Colorado Mines on Friday night at 7 p.m. in Plachy Hall. Results: 285 Taylor Stam (ASU) dec. Paco Retana (CMU), 6-2 3 0 Stam is now 8-11, 5-5 in duals. 125 #8 Jerry Huff (ASU) def. Jonathon Sterling (CMU), 4:38 9 0 Huff is now 19-4, 8-0 in duals. 133 Martin Ramirez (ASU) dec. Tyler Nelson (CMU), 7-2 12 0 Ramirez is now 19-10, 7-3 in duals. 141 Drew Schumann wins by forfeit. 12 6 149 Max Ortega (ASU) dec. James Martinez (CMU), 10-3 15 6 Ortega is now 14-5, 6-0 in duals. 157 Daniel Kelly (ASU) dec. Jon Gappmaier (CMU), 7-3 18 6 Kelly is now 22-7, 9-1 in duals. 165 Justin Samora (ASU) dec. Tyler Miles (CMU), 8-2 21 6 Samora is now 18-11, 8-2 in duals. 174 Zak Slotten (CMU) dec. # 8 Jarrod Purvis (ASU), 3-2 (SV-2) 21 9 Purvis is now 16-7, 7-3 in duals. 184 Nick Petersen (CMU) def. Mark Mabry, Jr. (ASU), 5-1. 21 12 Mabry, Jr. is now 6-9, 0-3 in duals. 197 Jordan Passehl (CMU) wins by forfeit 21 18

After 75 years of deciding the state champion team through the individual bracket state tournament series, the Buckeye State will have its debut state dual meet tournament finals Saturday at St. John Arena on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Eight teams from each division will compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine the team state champion; yes, in three weeks time, there will also be a state championship team crowned in the individual bracket state finals. Though many of the teams in the field are the usual suspects that have been at the top of the individual bracket tournament standings over the recent years, there are some programs new to the puzzle that have been total after-thoughts in the individual bracket tournament model. Wrestling will begin at 11 a.m. with quarterfinal matches in the upper bracket of all three divisions, the next round starting at 1:15 p.m. will feature lower bracket quarterfinals, and at 3:30 the semifinals for each division will be wrestled. Championship matches in each division will occur at 8 p.m. Four nationally ranked teams are featured in the Division I (big school) field: No. 2 St. Edward, No. 16 Massillon Perry, No. 20 Cincinnati Moeller, and No. 26 Brecksville. Those squads are the top four seeds in order listed. First round matchups are the following: St. Edward vs. Pickerington Central, Brecksville vs. Oregon Clay, Cincinnati Moeller vs. Centerville, and Massillon Perry vs. Marysville. St. Edward, Massillon Perry, and Moeller are extreme favorites in their opening round bouts, while Brecksville is only a slight favorite over an extremely balanced Oregon Clay lineup. The semifinal matches are likely to feature St. Edward as a favorite over Brecksville, and Massillon Perry the slightest of favorites over Moeller; and the likely final would have St. Edward as a slight favorite over Massillon Perry. The following wrestlers are ranked top 16 statewide in Division I: 106: Austin Assad (Brecksville), Jose Rodriguez (Massillon Perry), L.J. Bentley (St. Edward) 113: Aaron Assad (Brecksville), Conner Ziegler (Moeller), Jared Davis (Oregon Clay), Jason Spencer (Massillon Perry) 120: David Bavery (Massillon Perry), Taleb Rahmani (Marysville), Richie Screptock (Oregon Clay), Brandon Watson (Centerville) 126: David Sparks (Marysville), Chance Driscoll (St. Edward), Austin Phillips (Massillon Perry), Connor Borton (Moeller) 132: Dean Heil (St. Edward), Andrew Mendel (Moeller), Sonny Lucas (Brecksville), Jamie Norris (Massillon Perry), Gavin Nelson (Oregon Clay) 138: Colin Heffernan (St. Edward), Noah Forrider (Marysville), Isaac Bast (Massillon Perry) 145: Edgar Bright (St. Edward), Casey Sparkman (Massillon Perry), Austin Strnad (Brecksville) 152: Markus Scheidel (St. Edward), Tony Dailey (Massillon Perry), Wyatt Wilson (Moeller), Aaron Yarger (Pickerington Central), Damen Dominique (Oregon Clay) 160: Dakota Sizemore (Moeller), Quentin Hiles (Brecksville), Chase Boyd (Marysville), Bruno Millin (Massillon Perry), Robbie Rogers (St. Edward), Nick Stencel (Oregon Clay) 170: Dean Meyer (Moeller), Ason Sunkle (Pickerington Central), Troy Lang (Brecksville) 182: Domenic Abounader (St. Edward), Garrett Conner (Centerville), Quentin Rosser (Moeller), Matt Stencel (Oregon Clay) 195: Joe Tayse (Massillon Perry), Josh Murphy (Brecksville), Eddie Silva (Oregon Clay), Gabe Dzuro (St. Edward), Austin Pfarr (Marysville), Jerry Thornberry (Moeller) 220: Chalmer Frueauf (Moeller), Parker Knapp (St. Edward), Conan Jennings (Centerville), Morgan Miller (Marysville), Austin Linden (Brecksville) 285: Stefano Millin (Massillon Perry), Ralph Nichols (St. Edward) Jeff Jordan and the St. Paris Graham coaches celebrate after Micah Jordan defeats Dean Heil at the Walsh Ironman (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)St. Paris Graham, ranked No. 5 nationally and 12-time defending champion in the individual bracket tournament, is the strong favorite in the Division II team tournament. The second and third seeds are the primary challengers to the Falcons; CVCA and Claymont profile similarly, and it should be an interesting semifinal involving the two squads. Seeded fourth and fifth are returning individual state runners-up Lexington and Toledo Central Catholic. The Minutemen are very strong in the back third of the lineup, while the Irish are very strong in the front third of the lineup; and the dual meet will come down to the middle few weights, as well as bonus point accrual. First round matchups are as follows in Division II: St. Paris Graham vs. Athens, Lexington vs. Toledo Central Catholic, Claymont vs. Perry, and CVCA vs. Hamilton Ross. The following wrestlers on these teams are ranked top 16 in their division: 106: Eli Stickley (St. Paris Graham), Tyler Warner (Claymont), Josh Portillo (Toledo Central Catholic) 113: Eli Seipel (St. Paris Graham), Dustin Warner (Claymont), Ryan Bennett (CVCA), Matt Pool (Toledo Central Catholic), Collin Dees (Perry) 120: Nathan Tomasello (CVCA), Brent Moore (St. Paris Graham), Josh Mossing (Toledo Central Catholic) 126: Cody Burcher (Claymont), Josh Decatur (CVCA), Nate Hagan (Toledo Central Catholic) 132: Micah Jordan (St. Paris Graham), Aaran Gessic (Perry), Andy Dobben (CVCA), Drew Dillon (Claymont) 138: Alex Mossing (Toledo Central Catholic), Cordell Byrd (Hamilton Ross), Drew Avery (Claymont), Ricky Simonelli (CVCA), Nathan Henkle (St. Paris Graham) 145: Jeff Hojnacki (CVCA), Joseph Jones (Hamilton Ross) 152: Alex Marinelli (St. Paris Graham), Matt Dobben (CVCA) 160: Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham), Alec Schenk (Perry) 170: Tyler McClellan (CVCA), Matt Dennis (Claymont), Ryan Sill (Perry), Drew Kasper (Lexington) 182: Jacob Kasper (Lexington), Colt Crall (Claymont), Josh Couchman (St. Paris Graham) 195: Josh Lehner (Lexington), Tyler Bridwell (Hamilton Ross), Evan Nichols (Perry), Nick Havener (CVCA) 220: Frank Hiemkreiter (Hamilton Ross), Garrett Harding (Claymont), Bailey Faust (Lexington), Anthony Welty (St. Paris Graham) 285: Billy Miller (Perry), Gavin Peacock (Hamilton Ross), Ravyn Workman (Lexington) The small-school division, Division III, features the most asymmetry between the individual bracket and dual meet tournaments. Both the returning champion and runner-up in last year’s individual bracket state tournament, whom are also likely to occupy those positions come three weeks from now, failed to make the state team tournament final eight. Defending champion Waynedale was upset 35-31 in the regional final on Wednesday night by Tuslaw. Key to the upset was the absence of returning state runner-up Zane Nelson from the Bears’ lineup, as well as back-to-back one-point losses in the middle of the dual meet. Troy Christian, last year’s runner-up and returning all their state points from last year, lost in the regional semifinal rounds to Versailles nine matches to five; in that dual meet, all four of the Eagles’ projected state finalists won, but they only had one other win. As a result, the joint favorites are Tuslaw, which has extreme balance in their lineup and the potential to finish in the lower half of the top ten at individual state, and Delta. This Delta team was third in the individual tournament, is projected to finish third again, and features a trio of returning state placers. The top two seeds are Delta and Tuslaw, they draw Keystone and Blanchester respectively in the opening round. Other opening round matches feature third seed Amanda-Clearcreek against Johnstown Northridge, and fourth seed Versailles against Upper Sandusky. The following top 16 ranked wrestlers in Division III are among the state team tournament field: 106: Jacob Speiss (Delta), Shane Johnston (Tuslaw), Jake Adkins (Johnstown Northridge) 113: none ranked 120: Dion Perez (Tuslaw), Kyle Keller (Delta), Billy Shannon (Amanda Clearcreek) 126: Dustin Marteney (Delta) 132: Dylan Marthey (Tuslaw), Matt Mangen (Versailles) 138: Jared Dilley (Amanda Clearcreek), Chance Marthey (Tuslaw) 145: Tyler Fahrer (Delta) 152: Jared Mattin (Delta), Thomas Williams (Johnstown Northridge), Charles Kenner (Upper Sandusky), Jeff Powell (Tuslaw) 160: D.J. Blair (Tuslaw) 170: J.J. Tipton (Amanda Clearcreek) 182: Jacob Worthington (Keystone) 195: Kyle Dieringer (Versailles) 220: Travis Boyd (Blanchester) 285: Anthony Verhovec (Johnstown Northridge), Andrew Smith (Versailles)

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. I'm posting this mailbag from India where despite my fear of a stomach bug that could flatten a Billy goat, I've managed to avoid the gastro-apocalypse. Maybe it's foolish to mention my luck, but facing the invisible destruction of cholera and amoebic dysentery without succumbing makes me feel invincible. I'll inevitably end up eating a bad curry, but why let the fear of a loss interrupt an ongoing victory celebration. I'm in Dehli to write about wrestling, and one of the reasons I've avoided getting sick is that I'm able to crash in the beautiful apartment of a kind man who works for the U.S. Library of Congress. In addition to his librarian duties (I'd imagined he racks books at the Taj Mahal, but found out that it's actually a pretty sweet job securing documentation, etc.), he's made a hobby of visiting various Indian akhadas and photographing traditional Indian wrestlers. His collection is impressive and I hope to share some of his work in the coming weeks. By now you've heard me say, or read that I believe "wrestling is everywhere," and after this week in India, I've never been more certain. It's been an informative and challenging week and though there are still places to be seen and matches to be wrestled, I'm thrilled with the amount of content I've accumulated in these first five days. In addition to dodging porcelain-praying stomach viruses and wrestling in the mud with locals, I've had some time to think about the Iowa vs. Penn State match and the resulting shift in some polls. It's clear to me that I underestimated the Hawkeyes, and that my love for Matt Brown, while still not wavering, might have blinded me to the mustachioed talents of Mike Evans, as likely a wrestler to win the NCAA title at 174 pounds as anyone. However, in no way do I think that Penn State is anything other than the national champion in 2013, nor do I think that they should be ranked other than first in any poll. I know that the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll is for dual meets only, but without a true dual meet national championship isn't the poll misleading to casual fans? Without there being weight on these matches, there is little chance that coaches are peaking for these matches. Maybe that cancels itself out with teams like Iowa and Penn State, but maybe it doesn't. Either way the poll misleads fans into thinking that Iowa and Oklahoma State are the top two teams in the nation, a misguided assumption that will seem foolish if Penn State wins the NCAA championship by thirty points. I'm all for expansion, but is it really more valuable to the sport to have rankings that are difficult to substantiate and that will be proven ineffective in March? But then again, I'm also a homer for my guys at InterMat ... To your questions ... Q: A boring night of work had me surfing through YouTube and I came across the ESPN Sports Century piece on Dan Gable which aired a while back. Watching the documentary, mainly clips of old school wrestling, made me think about how the sport of wrestling has evolved. In Gable's final match with Larry Owings he was taken down in the first period with a cheesy wrist roll and then put to his back in the third period from a scramble, he looked lost in both situations. I can't help but compare the style back then to the more advanced techniques we see now. More scrambling, funk and counter wrestling. Even the Iowa style has evolved with discussions about guys like St. John and Evans showing some scrambling. Do you think the Gable of Waterloo High would dominate national high school events today? Would the Cyclone version of Gable dominate the Midlands and Scuffles of today? -- James S. Foley: Technique across all sports has improved over the past fifty years. Athletes today are bigger, faster, stronger and smarter than their counterparts of a few decades ago. They practice more, compete more, and train more. They have better nutrition and access to more information and coaching. In a time warp it would seem that the modern athlete would throttle those wrestlers of previous generations, but I think the real answer comes from something other than the output we see on film. I've written this before, but I once asked Rob Koll this same question. We were sitting in a hot tub at NCAAs in 2007 (shit just got weird, huh?) bullshitting about topics like greatest of all time and the improvement of athletes through the years. At least some of my questioning came from having seen Koll pin Michigan's Joe Pantaleo in the 1988 NCAA finals with a double overhook throw. That guy, and everyone else in the stadium, knew that Koll had a torn ACL, but somehow he kept falling into this throw. Like you mentioned in your question, these techniques look RIDICULOUS by modern standards and yet seem to work like magic potion in every video before 1995. Koll said something interesting about this phenomenon. He said that regardless of the time in which they were born, winners will always be winners -- that the emotional and intellectual aspects of competition, and the "it" factor that drives people to learn more, train harder, and dedicate their lives to winning, is a human trait unbound by time. Koll's a silly, effective salesman, and maybe I was getting lightheaded from the chlorine fumes coming up from the 105-degree water, but the man sold me. Dan Gable would win today just like he won in the 1960s because Dan Gable is a champion, a winner, a stone-cold bad ass. No matter if it's hitting wrist rolls, Granby's, funk, or Burroughs' blast double, given the same resources, or a few weeks to catch up, Gable would wrestle right alongside today's studs. Q: Which of the wrestling polls/ranking matters for the seeding at the NCAA individual finals? -- Reed K. Foley: Nice question. None. The seeds are tallied and doled out on what claims to be a totally objective system on wins and losses. The committee is attempting to be fair to the numbers to avoid accusations of meddling. This is the system you want. Q: I was thinking about how tough it is to make a good living off of amateur wrestling. How many people in your estimation are making a good living, say $125,000 a year or more, off of amateur wrestling in America? -- Eugene L. Foley: These are just educated guesses that include total annual salary, camps, teaching salaries, outside businesses -- anything that can't be detangled from their wrestling jobs. NCAA wrestling coaches: 36 High school wrestling coaches: 140 Club coaches: 56 Journalist/media: 6 (Not this guy!) Apparel: 11 Non-profit executives: 4 2012 Olympic gold medalists: 2 Camp directors: 25 Total: 280 Your 20-Minute Halftime Bring your tissues. Heavy stuff. Q: You ever see this clip of Mark Schultz getting disqualified in the 1984 Olympics? How did he win gold after this? That obviously would not happen in today's rules. I know John Smith was beat in the '92 Olympics but it was a pool system, and the guy who beat him got beat, then Smith wrestled that guy and crushed him so he advanced. Any idea how it worked in '84? This move is so nasty. I used to hit it before refs knew what it was. -- Frank C. Foley: I get a little sensitive when people assume that moves were created in the months before they became popular. Nothing exemplifies this more than the Korean Zombia (Chan-Sung Jung) submitting Leonard Garcia with a "Twister" in 2011. Of course the move existed for almost 100 years in college wrestling and was even showcased in technique books from the 30s. The refs might have been ignorant to the move, but it'd been around for hundreds if not thousands of years. Frank Gotch and the first line of catch-as-catch-can wrestlers and pankration fighters are responsible for cultivating and cataloguing moves like the "double wrist lock," which modern jiu-jitsu guys would just call a standing kimura. It's painful, it's dangerous and it should be totally illegal in non-catch wrestling. The disqualification counted as a loss, not a tourney disqualification. Because Shultz emerged from his pool he was able to compete in the tournament and pursue the gold. The new system is imperfect, but it's much less corrupt and easier to follow for many sports fans. Q: I am sure you will get flooded with emails about this, but can you recall a dual meet where all the matches were so critical and exciting as the Iowa vs. PSU meet? Hard to believe that the most boring match of the night was 165. -- Nathaniel T. Foley: Boring only because David Taylor is a human freak. Give it a few years and we'll find out that he and Dake are the first class of homo sapiens found to have mutated genetic code. Trust me, they'll be shooting laser beams out of their eyes by 2020. The dual meet was insane! I watched it from a hotel room in Kuala Lumpur with two buddies, both of whom have absconded to Asia and wrestled in the states. After watching NIce and McD trade scrambles they were both hooked on the action. It was a good opening match, I mean these are two guys that could've easily spent those two hours burning their flesh by the poolside (free popsicles, too) but instead they sat riveted by wrestling! It's probably not worth recapping the entire dual meet, for that I'm going to direct you to this week's Back Points podcast. But this was some of the best wrestling entertainment I've had in years. I still prefer to watch my Wahoos, but when the big bellies bump in the center of Carver Hawkeye it's impossible to look away. The ground will shake, tempers will flare and at the end you'll have a week's worth of postmortems to write and dissections to undertake. Right NOW is the Golden Age of Wrestling. Q: A lot of great wrestlers -- Askren, Chandler, Dillashaw, Maynard -- all made the smooth transition from wrestling to MMA. Will Henry Cejudo make the same smooth transition why or why not? -- Gregg Y. Foley: No. Henry Cejudo retired from freestyle wrestling after falling short of making the 2012 Olympic Team at 55 kilos (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Lets look at some anecdotal evidence that supports the idea that Cejudo is joining MMA as part of a money grab and might not have the same hard-fought, obscured pathway to the cage as successful fighters. Cejudo made his announcement to go into MMA in front of 50k soccer fans in Mexico. Good Lord, why? He's had any number of endorsement deals and was fitted for his 2012 Olympic Ralph Lauren jacket even though he'd only wrestled twice in the four years since he'd won gold. He's written two books, one about his life and the other about wrestling. and in the oddest of twists he is very active in the promotion of a play about his life being acted in Arizona. If none of this convinces you of something being amiss, you need to watch the video of his retirement press conference. Motivation makes all the difference in MMA. I like Cejudo's wrestling and have heard he's a decent striker (he flirted with pro boxing), but regardless of his mat talents he'll have to suffer OUT of the spotlight for a few years before ever making it big in MMA. However, Cejudo is an Olympic champion wrestler of Mexican heritage so it's possible, maybe even likely, that he'll get marketed into a UFC contract. It worked for Brock Lesnar. But fighting at heavyweight requires mass and a buzz cut, Cejudo will be squaring off at flyweight or bantamweight, weight classes filled with decent wrestlers who are much more proficient strikers and quicker than a hiccup in transitional positions. Wrestling is the best segway in MMA, but because it's a hard fought skill and tough lifestyle that teaches you how to wallow in hardship and succeed. Cejudo doesn't know that life anymore, he's five years removed from significant daily training in freestyle, has never competed in a collegiate season, and doesn't currently train with top wrestlers or fighters. Though he might have explosive leg attacks and great finishes, those will matter little against a field of fighters who've (finally) learned to sprawl. Cejudo is fishing for more money and a way to stay in the conversation. MMA will ensure that he has a little of both, but it'll be enough to keep him content, but too much to motivate him to do what he needs to do to win fights and become as good in the cage as he was on the mat. Q: Andrew Long. What happened to this guy? I know he got booted from Iowa State and then Penn State for personal/legal problems. Is he done? It's a shame that a guy with so much talent washed out. -- Matthew R. Foley: Oh, he's long gone. Spending time in jail has derailed his wrestling career and all but evaporated his support within the wrestling community. He was talented, though. Q: What ever happened to Corey Mock? It looked for him at UNC. -- HHR Foley: It's unclear who he's wrestling for, but Corey Mock is definitely wrestling. There was a court case in the spring, but he's been cleared of those charges. As you probably noticed he's not listed on the official UNC roster. We'll see next fall if he reemerges on a collegiate roster. Q: There seems to be a huge numbers crunch for NCAA tickets this year. Have you heard anything from anyone about releasing any unsold tickets? I have been going to this for twenty-two years and I'm having a hard time finding tickets!! -- Steven H. Foley: This is one of the most common questions in the Mailbag. I'm totally dumbfounded by the decision to decrease the capacity of the NCAA championships venue. Wells Fargo Arena holds 3k fewer fans than Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Why move this event around in the first place? And if you move it, shouldn't it be to a bigger and better arean and city than the previous host? The best idea would be for someone (You? Me?) to start a petition of some sort that asks the NCAA to keep our championships in one place every year, preferably a place with 20k seats, convenient airports and hotels that aren't grimy. I hope that the experience in Des Moines is better than expected, because right now there are plenty of wrestling fans whose cauliflower ears are red with rage. And I can't blame them in the least, but if all goes south we can at least hope that the wrestlers will compete with courage and that local restaurants serve their beer cold and often.

YORK, PA -- York College Assistant Dean for Athletics and Recreation, Paul Saikia, has announced that current assistant wrestling coach Duane Bastress has been named the Spartans' new head wrestling coach effective the end of the 2012-13 season. He replaces long-time head coach Tom Kessler who has announced he is stepping away from the program at the end of the campaign. Duan Bastress"First, I have to thank Dr. Waldner, Joe Merkle, and Paul Saikia for giving me the opportunity to become the next head coach of the York College wrestling program," stated Bastress. "This has been a dream of mine to become a head coach of a top-level wrestling program and to have an opportunity to do at my alma mater has me very excited and ready to lead this program into the next chapter. Make no mistake; I am following the greatest coach ever in the history of YCP wrestling. However, I look forward to tackling that challenge and continuing the great tradition that YCP wrestling has established." Bastress is very familiar to the Spartan program. He was a two-time NCAA Division III National Champion at 184 pounds, capturing the titles in 2005 and 2006. He went 40-0 his senior year en route to his second title. For his three-year Spartan career, Bastress went 97-6 and owned an overall collegiate mark of 114-21. Saikia believes Bastress was a natural choice to lead the York program. "We are very proud and fortunate to have such a qualified successor as Duane come from within our program. His accomplishments, dedication, and work ethic are awesome examples for our student-athletes. We believe his time working with Coach Kessler has prepared him for this advancement, and we look forward to many more years of York College wrestling success with Coach Bastress at the helm." Coach Kessler is pleased to see Bastress get a chance to lead the program. "I'm very happy and excited for Duane to get the opportunity to continue the tradition and success of the York College wrestling program, which I have no doubt he will do. He has been an assistant coach for six seasons and is no doubt ready to move this program forward." During Bastress's six years on the Spartan bench next to Kessler, York has accumulated a mark of 102-50-2 including a school-record 25 victories last winter. He has coached four wrestlers that have achieved six All-American finishes at the NCAA Championships. He was named the 2012 NWCA Division III National Assistant Coach of the Year and will be inducted into the NWCA Division III National Hall of Fame in March at this year's national championships. Taking over the reigns from Kessler has a special meaning for Bastress. "Words can not describe what Coach Kessler has done for me over the years. He recruited me to York and then made sure I pushed myself on and off the mat. I remember to this day him saying to my dad, "I don't want him for just a semester, I want him to graduate from here." That statement shows you the kind of coach and man that Coach Kessler is! He has always wanted the best for his student-athletes. Being an assistant coach under him for the last six years, I have witnessed what it takes to lead a successful program and what it takes to become a great coach. I am forever in debt to Coach Kessler for what he has done for me. I want to look back on my coaching career one day and say that my successes were because of the principles that Coach Kessler instilled in me as a student-athlete and then as an assistant coach." Saikia believes Bastress's credentials allow the Spartan program to maintain continuity and excellence. "Wrestling is a unique sport with a narrower appeal than many--those who participate and excel, are truly a special breed. With the strong tradition of our program, introducing Duane as our head coach ensures continuity and continues a legacy of leaders with those special characteristics. In addition, Duane has been very instrumental in our recruiting efforts, which is invaluable." The attitude that Bastress had on the mat has carried over to his coaching philosophy. "The things that I want to accomplish as the next head coach is to continue the tradition of YCP wrestling and lead the program to levels that it has never been. The plan is simple; out work and out hustle the competition. I plan on bringing back more top five finishes at the NCAA championships and a national team championship to York. I also aspire to have several All-Americans both academically and on the mat. As the head coach, I want my student-athletes to experience what I experienced as a student athlete. The thrill, culmination, and satisfaction of winning at the NCAA national championships! The out work, out hustle, & out condition your opponent mantra will serve us well. This has always been my mentality and this will be my coaching staff and student-athletes mentality. The type of wrestlers that I want are, first and foremost, great students. I want wrestlers who are not satisfied with just winning but want to dominate their opponent in every aspect! We have one goal and that's to become NCAA All-Americans and national champions! Our student-athletes must COMMIT TO THE SPARTAN for us to achieve these goals!" Bastress and the Spartans conclude their regular season on February 15 with a trip to Elizabethtown. York then heads to Ada, Ohio to participate in the NCAA Regional Qualifier at Ohio Northern University on March 1 and 2.

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Down by eight points after six bouts, the Lycoming College wrestling team stormed back, with senior Tyler Cunningham (Haddon Township, N.J./Haddon Township) and sophomore Nikolas Christine (Lewistown, Pa./Indian Valley) posting back-to-back pins to help clinch a 24-14 win at Stevens on Wednesday night, Feb. 6. After falling behind 14-6 after a major decision at 165 pounds, the Warriors (7-7 overall) started their comeback at 174 pounds, as junior Johnathan Secor (Pompton Plains, N.J./Pompton Plains) posted a 4-3 win over Zach Bass to close within five points. Cunningham gave Lycoming the lead in the 184-pound bout, sticking Stevens’ Mark Garrity in 2:03 to make it, 15-14, and Christine followed with a pin of Alex Moreno in 4:51 to clinch the meet. Freshman Max Lamport (Califon, N.J./Voorhees) ended the meet with a 5-1 win over Chris Moyer at heavyweight, capping the 18-point Warrior run. Stevens (5-8 overall) jumped out to a 6-0 lead with decisions at 125 and 133 pounds before sophomore Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area) notched a 3-1 win over Cody Curtiss at 141 pounds for his 21st win of the year. After a major decision at 149 pounds for the Ducks, sophomore Brian Watkins (Bear Gap, Pa./Southern Columbia) notched a sudden-victory takedown to notch an 8-6 win at 157 pounds against Conner Bass for his 19th win of the year. The Warriors get back on the mat on Saturday, Feb. 9, when they face Millersville at Lamade Gym at 12 p.m. Before the match, the team will honor its four seniors – Cunningham, Dave Exler (Chesterbrook, Pa./Conestoga), Terrell Nixon (Upper Darby, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) and Patrick Reynolds (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca). Results: 125: Anthony Geiger (S) dec. Cody Barbiche, 2-0 (3-0) 133: Ryan Wilson (S) dec. Zack Finn, 13-7 (6-0) 141: Caleb Wiley (L) dec. Cody Curtiss, 3-1 (6-3) 149: Mike Polizzi (S) maj. dec. Matt Neff, 11-0 (10-3) 157: Brian Watkins (L) SV-1 Conner Bass, 8-6 (10-6) 165: Joey Favia (S) maj. dec. Greg Wetzel, 15-6 (14-6) 174: Jonathan Secor (L) dec. Zach Bass, 4-3 (14-9) 184: Tyler Cunningham (L) fall Mark Garrity, 2:03 (15-14L) 197: Nikolas Christine (L) fall Alex Moreno, 4:51 (21-14) 285: Max Lamport (L) dec. Chris Moyer, 5-1 (24-14)

WICHITA, Kan. -- Michael Brown's major-decision victory clinched a 24-17 dual win over Newman (Kan.) on Wednesday at Fugate Gymnasium. Mark Meyer posted his 67th career fall to add to his OCU career record. The Stars, ranked ninth in NAIA wrestling, finished the dual season 7-9. Entering the 197-pound match, the Stars had a 20-14 lead. Brown, a sophomore from Noble, Okla., defeated Steven Cooksley 10-1 to put the dual out of reach headed into the final match of the night. Brown is rated 12th among NAIA 197-pounders. Meyer, a senior from Midwest City, Okla., finished off Colton Duhr in 4:16 at 157 pounds. Meyer is the fourth-ranked 157-pounder in the NAIA. The Stars led the dual 20-6 following the 165-pound match. OCU's Zach Skates, a redshirt freshman from Broken Arrow, Okla., drubbed Clark Driz 15-0. Skates is ranked eighth in the NAIA. Josh Stewart picked up a forfeit win to give the Stars a 9-6 edge. Stewart, a senior from Muskogee, Okla., holds the 14th spot in the 149-pound national ratings. Kidd Gomez started the Stars off with a 6-4 victory over Kris Workman in the 125-pound bout. Gomez, a senior from Noble, Okla., sits No. 5 in the 125-pound NAIA rankings. OCU will aim to qualify individuals into the NAIA Championships in the NAIA Central Qualifying Group Tournament at 9 a.m. Feb. 16 in Baldwin City, Kan. Under a format new for this season, the top four placers per weight in the qualifying group tournament advance to the national tournament. Results: 125: Kidd Gomez, OCU, dec. Kris Workman, 6-4 133: Travis Rodenbaugh, NU, dec. Tyler Espitia, 6-1 141: Aaron Engels, NU, dec. Trevor Sterling, 5-0 149: Josh Stewart, OCU, by forfeit 157: Mark Meyer, OCU, pinned Colton Duhr, 4:16 165: Zach Skates, OCU, tech. fall Clark Driz, 15-0 174: Reece Wright-Conklin, NU, tech. fall Tyson Campbell, 18-0 184: Tyler Hasenbank, NU, dec. Cody Sivertsen, 11-6 (OT) 197: Michael Brown, OCU, maj. dec. Steven Cooksley, 10-1 285: Lorenzo Cerna, NU, dec. Stanley Lattimore, 2-1 (OT)

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Kutztown University won eight of the ten bouts as the Golden Bears dispatched Millersville on the road 30-9. The Marauders jumped ahead early 6-0, but a major decision by Brandon Davis (Allentown, PA/Parkland) at 133 cut KU's deficit to two points. Evan Yenolevich (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh) put the Golden Bears on top 7-6 with his decision at 141, the second win in a run of six straight victories for KU. Mitch Voelker (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley) and Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, PA/Council Rock South) scored decisions at 149 and 157 before Andrew Wesner (York, PA/Central York) pinned Zach Pincus in 7:28 for a 19-6 Kutztown lead. Wade Rivera (Orefield, PA/Parkland) followed with a victory by decision at 174. After Millersville got back on the scoreboard with a decision at 184, Vinny Campanile (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Valley) and Ziad Haddad (Allentown, PA/Bethlehem Catholic) sealed the win for the Golden Bears with major decisions. Campanile shut out Joel Suter 10-0 and Haddad was an 18-5 winner over Bradley Ladd. Campanile's win was his 20th of the year and he and Haddad are each 12-1 in dual matches. The victory matched last season's total and gave Kutztown double-digit wins for the seventh straight season. Results: 125: Samuel Oberlander, MILL, pinned Nick Lamoreaux (Bethesda, MD/Milton Hershey), KUTZ, 4:19 133: Brandon Davis (Allentown, PA/Parkland), KUTZ, maj. dec. Thomas Nulty, MILL, 15-6 141: Evan Yenolevich (New Tripoli, PA/Northwestern Lehigh), KUTZ, dec. David Charles, MILL, 6-1 149: Mitch Voelker (Leesport, PA/Schuylkill Valley), KUTZ, dec. Brock Thompson, MILL, 5-1 157: Matt Martoccio (Kintnersville, PA/Council Rock South), KUTZ, dec. Zac Wawrzyniak-Bush, MILL, 6-2 165: Andrew Wesner (York, PA/Central York), KUTZ, pinned Zach Pincus, MILL, 7:28 174: Wade Rivera (Orefield, PA/Parkland), KUTZ, dec. Tyler Hoover, MILL, 11-6 184: Daniel Cox, MILL, dec. Matt Cosgrove (), KUTZ, 7-5 197: Vinny Campanile (Stanhope, NJ/Lenape Valley), KUTZ, maj. dec. Joel Suter, MILL, 10-0 285: Ziad Haddad (Allentown, PA/Bethlehem Catholic), KUTZ, maj. dec. Bradley Ladd, MILL, 18-5.

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- McDaniel won the final three bouts to stretch an 18-15 advantage into a 33-15 Centennial Conference (CC) wrestling victory over Gettysburg on Wednesday. Mason Goretsas (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) and Joe Camlin (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) each recorded pins to lead the Green Terror (8-7, 3-2 CC) to the victory. Matt Spano led the Bullets (5-17, 1-5 CC) with a 3-minute, 41-second pin at 141. Mike O'Boyle (North Reading, Mass./North Reading) staked McDaniel to a 3-0 lead with a 6-2 decision at 125 before Ryan O'Boyle (North Reading, Mass./Central Catholic) added a forfeit victory at 133 to stretch the lead to 9-0. Spano's pin pulled Gettysburg within 9-6 before Goretsas recorded a pin at 149 with just 10 seconds left in the bout to return the advantage to nine. Logan Yox (Westminster, Md./Liberty) added a 6-1 decision at 157 before Manny Markantone responded with a 6-3 victory at 165 for the Bullets. Zach Thomson and Nick Cross (Centreville, Md./Queen Annes County) traded forfeits before Scott Forrester (Manchester, N.J./Manchester) notched a 12-7 victory to seal the win. Camlin closed out the match with a 1-minute, 16-second pin. The Green Terror returns to action at New York University in a trimatch with Ursinus on Saturday. Action begins at 11 a.m. Results: 125: Mike O'Boyle (M) dec. Holt Johnson 6-2 133: Ryan O'Boyle (M) won by forfeit 141: Matt Spano (G) pinned Trey Mitchell 3:41 149: Mason Goretsas (M) pinned Cody Keane 6:50 157: Logan Yox (M) dec. Tyler Cunningham 6-1 165: Manny Markantone (G) dec. Luke Yox 6-3 174: Zach Thomson (G) won by forfeit 184: Nick Cross (M) won by forfeit 197: Scott Forrester (M) dec. Mike Sheehan 12-7 HWT: Joe Camlin (M) pinned Nick Diunizio 1:16

ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst University wrestling team made history on Wednesday night thanks, in large part, to an unlikely hero. The Lakers claimed the program's first-ever conference title, and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's first-ever Division II Championship with a 26-9 victory at crosstown-rival Gannon at the Hammermill Center in downtown Erie. Mercyhurst ran the table in the PSAC this season, improving to 13-2 overall and finishing with a 5-0 conference mark. Gannon dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference. With the match still hanging in the balance entering the 197-pound bout, Mercyhurst head coach Mike Wehler decided to call upon redshirt freshman Brian Beattie, who had wrestled just 11 matches all season, and just once in dual competition. Beattie clinched the championship, posting a 7-4 victory over Gannon's Kris Rahn to give the Lakers an insurmountable lead and their league's first-ever D-II champion. With Mercyhurst leading 17-9, Beattie scored a takedown in the opening 30 seconds of his match to take a 2-0 lead and then added a two-point nearfall to take a 4-0 advantage. Rahn escaped to cut Beattie's lead to three. Beattie had a takedown taken away from him in the closing seconds of the first, saying the points came after the buzzer. After a scoreless second period, Rahn picked up a reversal early in the third to cut Beattie's lead to 4-3. However, the redshirt freshman returned the favor, reversing it back for a 6-3 lead. Beattie added a point on a Gannon penalty, countered by a Rahn escape with 43 seconds left to set up a wild finish. Beattie would hold off Rahn's rally to clinch the first-ever Division II PSAC Championship. Beattie improved to 7-5 on the season. The table was set again by the dynamic freshman duo of Willie Bohince and Dylan D'Urso, who both had to work extra hard to post upset victories over their counterparts from Gannon. The first bout of the night, at 125 pounds, featured two regionally-ranked combatants � Bohince of Mercyhurst and Matt Turek of Gannon. Bohince entered the night ranked third in Super Region I, while Turek was ranked second. Turek jumped out to a 2-0 with a takedown midway through the opening period, but Bohince tied the match early in the second with a pair of escapes. With the score tied at 2-2 entering the third period, Bohince scored an early three-point nearfall to take his first lead of the match, 5-2. Turek picked up an escape, to cut the lead to 5-3, and then picked up a stalling point, cutting the Bohince lead to 5-4. The Laker freshman held off a late rally, topping Turek 5-4 to earn a 3-0 Mercyhurst advantage. Bohince improved to 25-4 overall and 14-0 in dual matches this season. The 133-pound bout also featured two ranked competitors - the region's third-ranked wrestler in D'Urso, and the top-ranked wrestler in the region (seventh in the nation), Jose Matos of Gannon. D'Urso scored a takedown in the opening seconds to take a 2-0 lead and then scored a two-point nearfall, countered by an escape by Matos, to hold a 4-1 lead after the opening period. Matos would cut the D'Urso lead to two points at 4-2 with an escape to start the second period. Then, in the third period, D'Urso started the frame with an escape to recapture the three-point lead. D'Urso added a late takedown in the third to win the bout 8-2, upsetting the top-ranked wrestler in the region. D'Urso improved to 23-3 overall and 13-1 in dual matches this season. Redshirt sophomore Nick Hannan (8-6, 3-2 duals) got the call at 141 pounds against Gannon's Adam Weinell. After a scoreless two periods, Weinell chose defense to start the third. Weinell picked up an escape to get the first point of the match. Hannan couldn't muster any offense against Weinell's defense, and eventually lost the bout 3-0, cutting the Mercyhurst lead to 6-3. Sophomore Michael Griffith, ranked fifth in the latest Super Region I rankings, was up next at 149 to attempt to get those points back. Griffith owned the first period, riding his opponent, Gannon's Mike Krysiak, for nearly the entire three minutes. The Laker sophomore scored an early takedown to take a 2-0 lead and then added a three-point nearfall to take a 5-0 advantage after the opening period. Griffith kept going in the second, scoring a reversal early to take a 7-0 lead. He would add a two-point nearfall just moments later to extend the advantage to 9-0. The sophomore was not done, getting a three-point nearfall in the closing seconds of the second. After Krysiak scored an escape to start the third, Griffith added a takedown to take a 14-1 lead. Krysiak would add another escape to end the bout, with Griffith earning the major decision win, 15-2 (including riding time). Griffith improved to 19-6 overall and 11-2 in duals and gave the Lakers a 10-3 lead after four bouts. Up next, at 157 pounds, was redshirt junior Tyler Berger and Gannon's Sean Floor, who entered the bout ranked sixth in the Super Region I rankings. Like the 141-pound match, the first two periods were scoreless. Floor chose defense to start the third and scored an early escape to take a 1-0 lead. That point would mark the only point of the match, as Gannon cut the lead to 10-6. Redshirt junior Clint Schaefer, ranked fifth in the region at 165 pounds, took the mat next and was pitted against Gannon's Adam Greenman. Schaefer, who started the season 17-3 but is just 3-3 over his last six bouts, scored a takedown late in the first period for the only points of the opening three minutes. The Laker grappler added an escape early in the second to take a 3-0 lead after two periods. Those would be the only points of the match, as Schaefer improved to 21-6 overall and 11-4 in dual matches. Mercyhurst led 13-6 heading to the 174-pound bout, which featured redshirt freshman Angelo Bortoluzzi, ranked sixth in the region, and Gannon's Jermaine Easter. Bortoluzzi started the match with a quick takedown, which was countered by an escape from Easter. Bortoluzzi added a takedown with five seconds left in the opening period to take a 4-1 lead. The redshirt freshman would add a two-point nearfall in the closing seconds of the second for a comfortable 6-1 lead heading to the third period. Bortoluzzi added an escape, followed by a takedown in the opening minute of the third period and then rode out Easter to hang on for the major decision victory, 10-1 (with riding time). He picked up his 18th victory of the season against nine losses and gave Mercyhurst a 17-6 lead with three bouts left. At 184, redshirt senior Eric Lundgren, ranked fifth in Super Region I, squared off with Zach Zelcs of Gannon, who entered the bout second in the region. Lundgren scored a quick takedown, immediately escaped out of by Zelcs, giving Lundgren a 2-1 lead. Zelcs followed with a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead after the opening period. In the second, Zelcs picked up an escape to take a 4-2 advantage. It marked the only point of the middle stanza. Zelcs scored a takedown with 43 seconds left in the third to take a 6-2 advantage and then rode out Lundgren to close out the match. Redshirt senior Jeffrey Pollard closed out the night with a medical forfeit over Gannon's Chaz Lear. The match went into the second period before Lear had to call for an injury timeout and wasn't able to recover. The Lakers will now compete at the Lake Erie Quad Meet on Saturday, February 9. Mercyhurst will wrestle King College (Tenn.) at 10:00 a.m., the University of Findlay at 11:30 a.m., and wrap up with Lake Erie College at 1:00 p.m. Results: 125 Willie Bohince (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Matthew Turek (Gannon) 5-4 [MU 3-0] 133 Dylan D`Urso (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Jose Matos (Gannon) 8-2. [MU 6-0] 141 Adam Weinell (Gannon) won by decision over Nick Hannan (Mercyhurst) 3-0. [MU 6-3] 149 Michael Griffith (Mercyhurst) won by major decision over Michael Krysiak (Gannon) 15-2. [MU 10-3] 157 Sean Floor (Gannon) won by decision over Tyler Berger (Mercyhurst) 1-0. [MU 10-6] 165 Clint Schaefer (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Adam Greenman (Gannon) 3-0. [MU 13-6] 174 Angelo Bortoluzzi (Mercyhurst) won by major decision over Jermaine Easter (Gannon) 10-1. [MU 17-6] 184 Zack Zelcs (Gannon) won by decision over Eric Lundgren (Mercyhurst) 6-2. [MU 17-9] 197 Brian Beattie (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Kristopher Rahn (Gannon) 7-4. [MU 20-9] 285 Jeffrey Pollard (Mercyhurst) won by medical forfeit over Charles Lear (Gannon) . [MU 26-9]

The fifth-ranked Mountain Cat wrestling team raced out to a 13-0 lead with the help of a Dave Fogle (Summerhill, Pa.) pin at 133 lbs. on their way to coasting to their 12th straight dual meet win with a 38-9 victory over Seton Hill University, Wednesday night in the Sports Center. Pitt-Johnstown, which recorded three falls in the match, is now 13-2. The Mountain Cats jumped on Seton Hill early. Evan Link (Cresson, Pa.) won a 12-3 major decision over Steve Smith at 125 lbs., before NCAA eighth-ranked Fogle pinned Trey Constable at 3:47. A 6-2 decision by NCAA No. 6 and Super Region I No. 3 Dave Cawley (Pittsburgh, Pa.) over A.J. fisher, ranked sixth in the region, at 141 lbs. increased it to 13-0 Pitt-Johnstown. The Griffins got back in it and cut it to 13-9 with Region fourth-ranked Nick Nichols' fall over Tyler Chesney (Roaring Spring, Pa.) at 6:47, and a 4-3 decision by Brett Smith at 157 lbs. However, the Mountain Cats regained control with Keith Ryan's (Shirleysburg, Pa.) (165 lbs.) 4-0 shutout over Randall Wagner at 165 lbs. and cruised to their 12th consecutive victory. Gary Lantz (Delta, Pa.) scored a 12-1 major decision over Tyler Mohlenrich at 174 lbs,. and sixth-ranked Travis McKillop (Lower Burrell, Pa.) picked-up his team-leading ninth fall of the year at 2:41 over Dylan Bushby to extend the Mountain Cat lead to 26-9. Another fall, this time by Nikos Garafola (Greensburg, Pa.) (197 lbs.) over Tyler Dombroski at 4:25, built the lead to 32-9, before Josh Duplin's (Johnstown, Pa.) win by forfeit at 285 lbs. closed it out. With the loss, Seton Hill dropped to 7-12. The Mountain Cats wrap-up the dual meet season at home against Anderson (SC) University on Saturday, and Shippensburg University for Senior Night on Wednesday. Both home matches will begin at 7 p.m. in the Sports Center. Results: 125: Evan Link (UPJ) Major Decision Steve Smith 12-3 4-0 UPJ 133: #8 Dave Fogle (UPJ) Fall Trey Constable (SHU) 3:47 10-0 UPJ 141: #7 Dave Cawley (UPJ) Decision A.J. Fisher (SHU) 6-2 13-0 UPJ 149: Nick Nichols (SHU) Fall Tyler Chesney (UPJ) 6:47 13-6 UPJ 157: Brett Smith (SHU) Decision Joel Paolo (UPJ) 4-3 13-9 UPJ 165: Keith Ryan (UPJ) Decision Randall Wagner (SHU) 4-0 16-9 UPJ 174: Gary Lantz (UPJ) Major Decision Tyler Mohlenrich (SHU) 12-1 20-9 UPJ 184: #6 Travis McKillop (UPJ) Fall Dylan Bushby (SHU) 2:41 26-9 UPJ 197: Nikos Garafola (UPJ) Fall Tyler Dombroski (SHU) 4:25 32-9 UPJ HWT: Josh Duplin (UPJ) Won By Forfeit 38-9 UPJ

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Trailing South Dakota State 18-16 with two matches remaining Wednesday in Brookings, S.D., Utah Valley sophomores David Prieto (197 pounds) and Adam Fager (heavyweight) won the final two matches of the contest to help the Wolverines win their fourth straight dual, 22-18. Prieto needed overtime to declare a winner for his third third straight match. After splitting his previous two OT matches, Prieto prevailed against the Jackrabbits (4-10, 0-3 WWC) by taking down SDSU's Joe Skow in the first sudden victory period to win 3-1. With the Wolverines leading by just a point (19-18) entering the final match of the evening, Fager sealed the victory for UVU (5-2, 2-1 WWC) with a 5-3 decision over J.J. Everard. "Those last two matches were important wins for us but Josh (Wilson) and Chase's (Cuthbertson) wins were even bigger," said UVU head coach Greg Williams. "It came down to 197 and heavyweight tonight and I'm proud of the guys for getting it done." After falling behind 12-0 after two matches, UVU won the next three bouts to take a 13-12 advantage. Junior Avery Garner (141 pounds) started the Wolverine rally with a 9-2 decision over SDSU's Ben Gillette. Senior Josh Wilson (149) then followed with a 12-4 major decision over Dustin Walraven and redshirt freshman Chase Cuthbertson (157) came through with a first-period fall over Cody Pack just 1:42 into the match. The Jackrabbits then pulled back in front, 15-13, as Joe Brewster pulled out a 4-2 overtime victory over UVU junior Abner Cook (165). Wolverine junior Monte Schmalhaus (174) then helped Utah Valley regain the lead with a 5-0 decision over Troy Morisette. With the Wolverines up just a point, at 16-15, SDSU once again took the lead (18-16) as Shea Nolan pulled out a hard-fought 3-2 decision over UVU redshirt freshman Derek Thomas (184). A couple stalling calls on Thomas were the difference in the bout as Nolan received two critical points from the stall calls. South Dakota State began the dual with a 12-0 lead after Aaron Pickrel won by forfeit at 125 pounds and Brance Simms pinned UVU sophomore Chasen Tolbert (133) at the end of the first period. In its last four matches, Utah Valley has defeated Arizona State (26-15), Northern Colorado (39-0), Stanford (18-15) and now SDSU (22-18). The Wolverines managed to defeat South Dakota State Wednesday without both Rauser brothers, as Jade and Val both missed the dual due to sickness. Prior to the start of the dual, UVU redshirt freshman Logan Addis defeated SDSU's Tyler Johnson 17-10 in an exhibition contest. "It's getting down to the end of the season and we've got to have heart," added Williams. "These are three good teams we've got coming up and we need to be focused and ready to go when we face them." The Wolverines will continue their road trip by heading up to Fargo, N.D., to take on No. 25 North Dakota State Friday evening. The Bison are currently leading the Western Wrestling Conference standings with an unblemished 2-0 conference mark. UVU will then take on Boise State in Boise, Idaho, on Feb. 13 and finish its regular season by hosting Air Force on Feb. 16. Results: 125 - Aaron Pickrel (SDSU) won by forfeit 133 - Brance Simms (SDSU) won by pin Chasen Tolbert (UVU), 2:40 141 - Avery Garner (UVU) won by decision Ben Gillette (SDSU), 9-2 149 - No. 22 Josh Wilson (UVU) won by major decision No. 31 Dustin Walraven (SDSU), 12-4 157 - Chase Cuthbertson (UVU) won by pin Cody Pack (SDSU), 1:42 165 - Joe Brewster (SDSU) won in sudden victory 1 Abner Cook (UVU), 4-2 (SV1) 174 - Monte Schmalhaus (UVU) won by decision Troy Morisette (SDSU), 5-0 184 - Shea Nolan (SDSU) won by decision Derek Thomas (UVU), 3-2 197 - David Prieto (UVU) won in sudden victory 1 Joe Skow (SDSU), 3-1 (SV1) 285 - Adam Fager (UVU) won by decision J.J. Everard (SDSU), 5-3 Exhibition (149) - Logan Addis (UVU) decision Tyler Johnson (SDSU), 17-10

Matt Baker and Morgan Denson won the last two matches of the evening to push the Maryville wrestling squad past Lindenwood 21-13 in a dual meet in St. Charles, Mo., Wednesday evening. The victory is the second straight dual triumph for the Saints. Lindenwood led 4-0 before Keygan Foster got the Saints on the scoreboard with a 15-8 win at 133. Tyrell Galloway edged his foe at 141, and Keenan Hagerty recorded a 6-2 triumph at 149. Joey Moorhouse recorded a one-point win in the 157-division, and Christian Loges posted a 6-1 victory to push the Saints edge to 15-4. The Lions took the next two weight classes, including one via an injury, to cut the team score to 15-13. In the 197-pound classification, Baker cruised to a 10-4 decision to set the stage for Denson to close out the match. In a close overtime decision, Denson recorded a 3-1 win to close out the eight-point victory for Maryville. The Saints are back in action Friday, Feb. 8, when they host Ouachita Baptist in a 7 p.m. dual meet in Moloney Arena. Maryville will be celebrating �Think Pink� night and will be giving out free pink T-shirts to the first 50 fans in attendance.

Laurinburg, NC-- No. 12 ranked heavyweight Denzel Vaughan was able to pin his Liberty University opponent in the first period to complete SAU’S comeback and lead them to the upset win 23-21 over the Division 1 club on senior night in Harris Court. After freshman Jared Key (197) dominated his opponent by technical fall 22-7 to cut the Flames lead to 21-17, Vaughan stepped to the mat and promptly took the Liberty Flame down three times en route to an easy fall and 6 points to send the home crowd into a frenzy as the gym erupted with excitement. Vaughan now improves to 11-2 on the year while Key, who is 14-9 and has won 11 of his last 14 matches, led the team tonight by scoring 9 takedowns and is now third on the team with 35. Standout junior lightweight Chauncey Foster got the Knights off to a fast start as he thoroughly dominated his opponent on the strength of 8 takedowns to win 21-6 and give SAU a 5-0 lead. Foster now leads the Knights with 52 takedowns on the season. Senior Josh Tegard then put on a great show as his 5 takedowns were enough to bag 4 team points as he routed his opponent 11-3 in his best performance of the season. Fellow senior Sterling Perry then followed that up with a solid 4-0 victory. After some losses in the next few weights to Liberty’s heart of the lineup, SAU freshman Denzel Leggett then came out and came within inches of getting his first pin of the season as he used a beautiful arm toss to throw his opponent to the mat. Leggett, however, would not be able to snag the pin and fell 13-6 in a hard-fought bout. Liberty, a NCAA Division one athletic school, but now competes in the NCWA, is only three years removed from winning the NCAA Div. 1 East Region and is by far one of the best wins by Head Coach Joe Baranik and his SAU Grapplers!! St. Andrews, now 6-10, will wrestle one more tune-up match at rival Newport News Apprentice this weekend at 2 pm before returning home one final time on Feb. 16 for the NAIA East National Qualifier which will determine who qualifies for the NAIA National tournament. The tournament is set to get underway at 9 am. Results: 125- Chauncey Foster (SAU) won by tech fall over Jeremy Beale 21-6 7:00 133- Josh Tegard (SAU) maj. dec. Carey Caprio 11-3 141- Sterling Perry (SAU) dec. Josh Sanders 4-0 149- Peter Crawford (LU) maj. dec. Kody Getkin (SAU) 10-1 157- Miguel Rodriguez (LU) maj. dec. James Green (SAU) 14-1 165- Bobby Clymer (LU) won by forfeit 174- Keyshaun Ward (LU) maj. dec. Russell Lindsay (SAU) 10-1 184- Josh Sturgill LU) dec. Denzel Leggett (SAU) 13-6 197- Jared Key (SAU) tech fall Jacob Hood 22-7 (7:00) 285- Denzel Vaughan (SAU) pinned Josh Travers (LU) 2:06

Randy Couture

WATERLOO, Iowa -- Five former NCAA wrestling champions will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on June 9, 2013. The Hall of Fame is located inside the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The Class of 2013 includes Joe Heskett, Troy Steiner, Terry Steiner, Kirk Myers, and Dale Brand. The Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa was established in 2002 to honor the people who have made an impact on the sport on a national level, or who have done extraordinary work in the State of Iowa. The hall recognizes native-born Iowans, and those who achieved their fame while wrestling or coaching for an Iowa school. Heskett was an NCAA champion and a four-time All-American (1999-2002) for Iowa State. He placed third at the NCAA tournament as a freshman, second as a sophomore and as a junior, and first as a senior. The former Cyclone compiled a 143-9 career college record with 58 pins. He also placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. Heskett is the current head wrestling coach at Army. Troy and Terry Steiner, identical twins who wrestled at the University of Iowa, each won an individual NCAA championship. Troy was a four-time All-American and an NCAA champion for the Hawkeyes, placing fifth, second, first, and third at the NCAA tournament (1990-1993). Terry was a three-time All-American an NCAA champion, placing third, fifth, and first at the NCAA tournament (1991-1993). Troy currently serves as an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State. Terry is the U.S. National women’s head wrestling coach for USA Wrestling. Myers was a three-time Division II NCAA champion for the University of Northern Iowa (1978-1980) and a three-time Division I All-American. He placed sixth at the NCAA tournament in 1979, third in 1980, and fifth 1982. Myers set the single season record for pins at Northern Iowa in 1982 at 21. He was also a state champion for Algona in 1977. Brand was an NCAA champion for Cornell College in 1937 and a runner-up in 1936. He was also an alternate on the 1936 Olympic wrestling team that competed in Berlin, Germany. Brand was the head wrestling coach at Clarion High School from 1946 through 1976, compiling a 252-76-2 dual meet record. He coached 23 individual state champions and six runner-up teams. Dale’s most famous wrestler at Clarion was Glen Brand, 1948 Olympic champion and namesake of the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. Dale and Glen were first cousins. Dale Brand died in 2004 at the age of 90. Three other special awards will be given during the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. The Huff family of Waterloo will receive the Family Legacy Award. Lewis and Louise Huff had four sons and one daughter, all of whom attended West Waterloo High School. Charles was a two-time state runner-up (1951-1952), Dale finished third as a senior (1954), Don was a state champion in 1956 and 1957, and Tom was a state champion in 1957, 1958, and 1959. Don wrestled for Northern Colorado from 1957 through 1959, and at the University of Iowa during the 1961 season. He qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1958. Don was the head wrestling coach at West Waterloo from 1978 through 1998. In 1989 his team won the 3A state championship. The West Waterloo wrestling room in named in his honor. Tom was an NCAA runner-up for the University of Iowa in 1963 and a third place finisher in 1962. He wrestled post-collegiately for Air Force. Diane graduated from West in 1971. She married Steve Yagla, a former wrestler for Waterloo Columbus and at the University of Iowa. Steve’s brother, Chuck, was a two-time NCAA champion for Iowa and is a member of the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa. Wyatt Schultz will receive the Russ Smith Community Impact Award. The award is given to a person demonstrating exceptional local impact on wrestling within the state of Iowa. Schultz is the owner and publisher of The Predicament, a publication that covers wrestling within the state of Iowa. He is a sports photographer, covering wrestling tournaments statewide. His photographs have appeared in Wrestling USA, USA Wrestler, Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine, and Sports Illustrated. Schultz also helped coordinate the High School Dream Team dual (Iowa versus the United States) at Iowa City West in 2008 and 2012. Jason Christenson will receive the first Bob Siddens High School Coaching Excellence Award. The award is given to an Iowa high school wrestling coach who exhibits the high standards that Bob Siddens set during his legendary coaching career. Siddens coached West Waterloo to 11 state team titles and a 327-26 dual meet record. Christenson has been the head wrestling coach at Southeast Polk High School since 2001. He led his team to a second place finish at the 3A Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships, which was the first team trophy at the traditional state tournament in program history. Christenson has also served as Iowa’s junior director for USA Wrestling since 2002. He was named USA Wrestling’s Developmental Coach of the Year in 2007. A banquet honoring all award winners will be held at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo on Sunday, June 9. For more information contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or dgmstaff@nwhof.org. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum is a not-for-profit organization based out of Waterloo, Iowa. The mission of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is to preserve history, recognize excellence, and inspire future generations.

"On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5 to 6 p.m CT on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments about the show. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. Ironside was an NCAA wrestling champion for the University of Iowa in 1997 and 1998. He currently provides match commentary for Iowa wrestling meets on KXIC radio and on television for the Iowa high school state wrestling tournament. Hipps is the owner of InterMat (www.intermatwrestle.com), a website that covers all aspects of wrestling. He was named journalist of the year by Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine in 2010.

PEMBROKE -- Visiting Limestone captured three of the first four matches of the night to stake claim to an early 10-3 lead, but 13th-ranked UNCP won five of the last six matches, including three bonus-point victories, to turn back the Saints, 27-13, on Tuesday evening in the English E. Jones Center. The victory helped the Braves (8-6) grab its first winning season under head coach Othello Johnson, while also snapping a three-match losing streak in the series with Limestone (7-9). The Saints wrap up their dual meet season with three-straight setbacks. Eric Rholetter posted a convincing 13-2 major decision over Jake Smith at 125 pounds, and Ross Benzel used a late takedown to register a 3-2 win at 133 pounds over Dontae Brown, to help the Saints grab an early 7-0 lead, but all-American Daniel Ownbey stopped the bleeding with a high-energy 6-4 decision over Devon Jackson at 141 pounds to get the Black & Gold on the board. Limestone would stretch its lead back out to seven points, 10-3, moments later with Theran Goodale's tight 4-3 win at 149 pounds over Reggie Allen, but the momentum quickly turned to the Braves for the remainder of the night. Justin Pencook's 22-7 technical fall win over Austin Koile at 157 pounds cut UNCP's deficit back to 10-8 heading into the intermission, and the hosts took the meet's final lead minutes out of the break when Blaze Shade registered a first-period pin (2:55) Ryan Buchanan. Defending national champion Mike Williams continued to rack up the team points for the Braves with a 10-2 major decision over Demetre Liguori at 174 pounds, before the Saints finally answered with a last-second takedown that pushed Blake Steiert past Stuart Nadeau (2-1) at 184 pounds. The Braves would win each of the final two matches of the night to provide the final. Brach Walker tallied his first pin since early December 34 seconds into the second period of his 197-pound bout with Justin Tribble, while Chris Giddens scored a big second period and then held off Aaron Rowe in the heavyweight bout en route to a 5-4 decision. The Braves will put the caps on their 2012-13 dual meet schedule on Thursday when they travel to central South Carolina to battle top-ranked Newberry (17-2). Wrestling action is set to get underway at 7 p.m. inside Newberry's Eleazer Arena. Results: 125: Eric Rholetter (LC) maj. dec. Jake Smith (UNCP) M 13-2 133: Ross Benzel (LC) dec. Dontae Brown (UNCP) D 3-2 141: No. 1 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) dec. Devon Jackson (LC) D 6-4 149: Theran Goodale (LC) dec. Reggie Allen (UNCP) D 4-3 157: Justin Pencook (UNCP) tech. fall Austin Koile (LC) TF 22-7; 6:14 165: Blaze Shade (165) pinned Ryan Buchanan (LC) F 2:55 174: No. 1 Mike Williams (UNCP) maj. dec. Demetre Liguori (LC) M 10-2 184: Blake Steiert (LC) dec. Stuart Nadeau (UNCP) D 2-1 197: Brach Walker (UNCP) pinned Justin Tribble (LC) F 3:34 285: Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Aaron Rowe (LC) D 5-4

The Shippensburg University wrestling team picked up bonus points in six of its eight victories on Tuesday night en route to a convincing 40-6 dual meet victory over the Hilltoppers of West Liberty University inside the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex (ASRC). Shippensburg (11-6) won eight of 10 bouts overall (including one forfeit) and none of its wrestlers were taken down in any of the victories. SU raced out to a 19-0 lead behind three technical falls and a major decision, and later picked up two pins in the middle weights. Sophomore Dereck Enders opened up with a 16-1 technical fall at 125 pounds before senior Cody Myers had a 19-3 technical fall at 141 pounds. After Myers, sophomore Ean Starner notched a 16-1 technical fall at 149 pounds. At 133 pounds, redshirt-freshman Cameron Throckmorton returned to the lineup and scored a 12-1 major decision. The Raiders got two victories by fall. The second was recorded by sophomore Neal Grudi at 174 pounds. Competing at the weight class for the first time in his career, Grudi scored his pin just 27 seconds into the second period. Senior John Lindquist continued his winning ways with a pin at 165 pounds just 12 seconds before the end of the first period. He improved to 4-0 at 165 pounds this season and 9-7 overall with his second pin of the campaign. SU’s only straight-up decision came at 184 pounds, where sophomore Luke Etter picked up a 3-1 victory over Derrick Williams. West Liberty (4-8) picked up a 9-2 decision at 157 pounds and a 10-3 decision at 197 pounds. Shippensburg hosts Anderson (S.C.) at 7 p.m. Friday inside Heiges Field House. Results: 125: Dereck Enders (SU) tech falls Joe Wagstaff (WLU), 16-1 (5:00) [5-0] 133: Cameron Throckmorton (SU) maj. dec. Cole Nace (WLU), 12-1 [9-0] 141: Cody Myers (SU) tech falls Johnny McComas (WLU), 19-3 (7:00) [14-0] 149: Ean Starner (SU) tech falls Daniel Carpenter (WLU), 16-1 (7:00) [19-0] 157: Art Hobley (WLU) dec. Mark Lentz (SU), 9-2 [19-3] 165: John Lindquist (SU) pins David Schlieper (WLU), 2:48 [25-3] 174: Neal Grudi (SU) pins Ben Giles (WLU), 3:27 [31-3] 184: Luke Etter (SU) dec. Derrick Williams (WLU), 3-1 [34-3] 197: Danny Doyle (WLU) dec. Francis Slover (SU), 10-3 [34-6] 285: Jacob Nale (SU) wins by forfeit [40-6]

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. -- Teddy Furnish needed a decision at heavyweight to give No. 5 Lindsey Wilson its first win over No. 6 Campbellsville (Ky.), but he went ahead and earned the victory in style, pinning Terrell Moore in one minute and 13 seconds to give the Blue Raiders a 19-15 win on Tuesday night. Gosser Gym was packed with fans ready to watch the NAIA top-6 battle, a series that the Tigers led 4-0 heading into the dual. The matches lived up to the hype, with each team winning five leading up to Furnish's triumphant moment. Lindsey Wilson, now 2-1 in Mid-South Conference dual matches, earns at least a share of the MSC Regular-Season Championship with the win. For the Blue Raiders, in just their fourth season of wrestling at the school, Campbellsville is the highest rated team it has beaten. Ethan Miller started things off in the Blue Raider's favor with a high-energy, 7-2 win over Robert Boston at 125 pounds. But Campbellsville answered right back at 133 as Tyler Alsip edged Jacob McCombs 6-5. Lindsey Wilson broke up the tie with extra points at 141 as Wismit Moinius registered numerous takedowns to rout Chris Teague 14-5 and give Lindsey Wilson a 7-3 cushion with a major decision. Campbellsville found its first lead of the night after the next two matches, registering decisions at 149 and 157. Kyle Terry slowed down Zach McCormick 10-7 at 149 and Conor Young avoided a late takedown by Joe Cozart to win 9-6 at 157. With the Tigers leading 9-7, the Blue Raiders found a way to turn the tables and win back-to-back matches themselves at 165 and 174. At 165, James Haywood was masterful not giving up an escape to hold on to a 4-2 win over Joe Whalen and Jameel Bryant shutout Michael Johnson 5-0 at 174. Lindsey Wilson was back on top 13-9, but the Tigers once again found a way to win two straight matches to regain the lead, but the Blue Raider grapplers didn't allow any extra points. With Ian Stephens battling an injury, it was Cadyn McKeeth wrestling up at 184 for Lindsey Wilson. While undersized against Josh Ashbrook, McKeeth held his ground and didn't let himself be taken down late to avoid a major decision. Ashbrook completed the 7-3 win and pulled the Tigers within one. At 197, Jacob Bradford went after Allen Scruggs with two big shots at the end of the third period, but couldn't find any points as he lost 6-5 to give Campbellsville a 15-13 lead with one match to go. Furnish came out of the gate strong, scoring two points on a takedown to put Moore on his stomach and started working him for extra points. Moore allowed himself to be flipped and Furnish put all his weight into the shoulders to get the pin that brought a large contingent of Blue Raider fans to their feet. With the dual season behind them, Lindsey Wilson now focuses on the NAIA East Regional Qualifier at 9 a.m. CT on Feb. 16 in Lauringburg, N.C. Results: 125 Ethan Miller (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) won by decision over Robert Boston (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 7-2. 0 3.00 133 tyler alsip (Campbellsville (Ky.)) won by decision over Jacob McCombs (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 6-5. 3.00 0 141 Wismit Moinius (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) won by major decision over Chris Teague (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 14-5. 0 4.00 149 kyle terry (Campbellsville (Ky.)) won by decision over Zach McCormick (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 10-3. 3.00 0 157 Conor Young (Campbellsville (Ky.)) won by decision over Joe Cozart (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 9-6. 3.00 0 165 James Haywood (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) won by decision over joe whalen (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 4-2. 0 3.00 174 Jameel Bryant (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) won by decision over michael johnson (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 5-0. 0 3.00 184 Josh Ashbrook (Campbellsville (Ky.)) won by decision over Cadyn McKeeth (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 7-3. 3.00 0 197 Allen Scruggs (Campbellsville (Ky.)) won by decision over Jacob Bradford (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) 6-5. 3.00 0 285 Theodore Furnish (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)) won by pin over terrell moore (Campbellsville (Ky.)) 1:13. 0 6.00 Dual Meet Score 15.0 19.0 Dual Meet

ALLIANCE, Ohio -- No. 29 ranked Mount Union's wrestling won over Heidelberg, in an Ohio Athletic Conference dual Tuesday, February 5th, 24-15 at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex. With the win, the Purple Raiders improve to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the OAC. The Raiders won five out of 10 contested matches highlighted by a pin from junior Tyler Johnston (Lyndhurst/Brush), as he pinned senior Andrew Johnson 5:43. Mount Union grabbed three major decisions that came from freshman Jeremy Border (Caldwell/Caldwell) who won over freshman Justin Kihn, 9-1 at 133, sophomore Bryant Roby (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph) who won over freshman Colin McDermitt, 13-4 at 141 and sophomore Jon Garrison (Fairlawn/Copley) who won over freshman Aaron Banko 16-3 at 157. Senior Jeremy Regula (Dundee/Claymont) won by disqualification over freshman Damon Cheek, 6-0 at 165 for the Raiders. Heidelberg (10-7, 3-1 OAC) junior Delian Schneider won by decision over junior Brad Kress (Louisville/Louisville) 7-5 at 125. Junior Jeremy Stepp won by decision over sophomore Brent Kirk (Adena/Buckeye Local) 3-1 at 174 and sophomore Richard Dowdley won by decision over freshman Brian Deming (Madison/Perry) 9-5 at 184. Senior Andy Lovins won by decision over Nick Rajcsak (Stow/Stow) 2-1 at 197 for the Student Princes while freshman Nino Majoy won by decision over senior Nick Terifaj (Brook Park/Strongsville) 2-1 in three overtime periods at 285. Mount Union hosts Muskingum next Tuesday, February 12th for an Ohio Athletic Conference match at the MAAC. Results: 125 – Delian Schneider (Berg) won by decision over Brad Kress (Mount Union) 7-5 133 – Jeremy Border (Mount Union) won by major decision over Justin Kihn (Berg) 9-1 141 – Bryant Roby (Mount Union) won by major decision over Colin McDermitt (Berg) 13-4 149 – Tyler Johnston (Mount Union) won by pin over Andrew Johnson (Berg) 5:43 157 – Jon Garrison (Mount Union) won by major decision over Aaron Banko (Berg) 16-3 165 – Jeremy Regula (Mount Union) won by disqualification Damon Cheek (Berg) 6-0 174 – Jeremy Stepp (Berg) won by decision over Brent Kirk (Mount Union) 3-1 OT 184 – Richard Dowdley (Berg) won by decision over Brian Deming (Mount Union) 9-5 197 – Andrew Lovins (Berg) won by decision over Nick Rajcsak (Mount Union) 2-1 285 – Nino Majoy (Berg) won by decision over Nick Terifaj (Mount Union) 2-1 (3OT)

Springfield, Mass. -- The Springfield College wrestling team dominated local-foes Western New England, American International, and STCC on Tuesday as it captured the City of Springfield Wrestling Championship. Tom Casper had three victories, including two by pin, to lead the way for the Pride. Eric Hamrick also was victorious in all three of his matches, wrestling in three different weight classes. The Pride, which is ranked 12th in the nation, is currently riding a 10-match winning streak as it improves to 11-2 on the year. Springfield will return to action this Saturday in a quad meet at Plymouth State with Trinity and Johnson & Wales. Springfield 31, Western New England 19 125: Tom Casper (SC) pin, Stephen Colling (WNE), 1:06 133: Victor Ekpenyong (SC) pin Robby Ferrante (WNE), 4:32 141: Sean Mcallister (WNE) major Mark Pinto (SC), 9-0 149: Josh Hadley (SC) dec. Robert Cox (WNE), 6-5 157: Mark Gonzalez (SC) injury default, Nik Moreschi (WNE) 165: Eric Hamrick (SC) pin Zach Bantle (WNE), 2:03 174: Michael Fish (SC) major Henry Mckenna (WNE), 10-2 184: Mike Frizinia (WNE) dec. Nicholas Camera (SC), 3-2 197: Jeremy Burns (SC) dec. Dylan Kniska (WNE), 2-0 285: Jamison Sacco (WNE) pin John Gabordi (SC), 0:56 Springfield 41, STCC 10 125: Tom Casper (SC) pin Derek Lopes (STCC) 4:58 133: Mizam Tamaradze (STCC) tech. fall Victor Ekpenyong (SC) 16-2 141: Simeon Everett (STCC) tech. fall Mark Pinto (SC) 16-1 149: Josh Hadley (SC) win by forfeit 157: Eric Hamrick (SC) major James Zupko (STCC) 16-4 165: Mark Gonzalez (SC) pin Mario Encarnacion (STCC), 6:03 174: Vincent Silano (SC) pin Quoc Pham (STCC), 4:28 184: Nicholas Camera (SC) dec. Brendan Riggins (STCC) 8-2 197: Jeremy Burns (SC) major Rahmel Hill (STCC), 11-2 285: John Gaboradi (SC) win by forfeit Springfield College 42, American International 13 125: Tom Casper (SC) win by forfeit 133: Max Flanagan (SC) pin Cole Ludorf (AIC) 1:05 141: Mark Pinto (SC) pin Andrew Lischke (AIC) 4:58 149: Brandan Walsh (AIC) maj Josh Hadley (SC) 11-1 157: Will Honer (AIC) win by forfeit 165: Kim Pearce (SC) win by forfeit 174: Vincent Silano (SC) win by forfeit 184: Nicholas Camera (SC) pin Zach Van Ess (AIC) 4:46 197: Eric Hamrick (SC) win by forfeit 285: Matthew Pringle (AIC) dec Jeremy Burns (SC) 14-7

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. -- Duke redshirt sophomore wrestler Immanuel Kerr-Brown upended Gardner-Webb's wins leader at 157 pounds to help clinch a 19-15 Blue Devils' victory over the Bulldogs Tuesday evening. The win was the fifth straight for the Blue Devils, marking Duke's longest win streak since the 2002-03 season. Duke picked up wins at six weight classes, including a major decision from redshirt senior Peter Terrezza at 125 pounds, to move to 7-5 overall for the season. The Blue Devils are now 24-1-1 all-time against Gardner-Webb (4-9). Redshirt freshman Trey Adamson started the match for the Blue Devils on the right foot with a hard-fought 4-1 decision over Hunter Gamble at 174 pounds. Adamson scored a takedown in the final seconds of the first period and never relinquished the lead. With a 2-1 edge heading into the final period, the Riverton, Utah native iced the victory in the final two minutes with another takedown for his fifth consecutive victory and 15th of the season. At 184, redshirt senior Diego Bencomo used a strong final period to take home a 5-2 decision over Gray Jones. Bencomo registered a takedown in the first period, but Jones rallied with a pair of escapes to even the score 2-2 after five minutes of wrestling. Starting down in the third period, the Blue Devil senior escaped to make it 3-2 and added a takedown in the final moments for his 10th triumph of the season. The Bulldogs, down 6-0 early, rallied to tie the bout 6-6 with consecutive decisions at 197 and heavyweight. The match at 285 was a double overtime thriller between Duke's Brian Self and Travis Porter. Self, wrestling up a weight class, battled hard and nearly came away with the victory before Porter scored a last-second takedown for the decision. Terrezza put the Blue Devils back on track with a crucial 8-0 major decision at 125. The New Providence, N.J., native controlled all facets of the match and fought for what proved to be key bonus points for Duke. Terrezza opened the bout with a takedown, but was unable to build his lead until the third period when he added a takedown and a three-point nearfall en route to the shutout win. Gardner-Webb took six points from a forfeit at 133 to take its first lead of the match, 13-12, with four weights left to wrestle. Duke quickly regained the lead as Tanner Hough posted his 17th win of the year at 141 pounds. The sophomore built a 4-1 lead in the first period before Davante Andujar battled within one, 4-3, in the second period. Hough held off any last shots from Andujar and scored a takedown of his own for the 7-4 decision and 13-12 Duke lead. Back-to-back wins by redshirt freshman Marcus Cain and Kerr-Brown at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively, clinched the victory for the Blue Devils. Cain posted his sixth straight and eighth dual win, while Kerr-Brown upended Gardner-Webb's wins leader Alex Medved in a 5-0 decision. Cain amassed a 6-1 lead after five minutes of wrestling and never led Ryan Medved get closer than three points in the 8-3 decision. The win was his 17th of the season and helped stretch Duke's lead to 16-12 with two matches remaining. Kerr-Brown, after a scoreless first period, scored three points in the second period and added a takedown in the final seconds of the match to shut down Medved. Kerr-Brown's win was his 21st of the year and evened his dual record to 4-4. Duke resumes its ACC schedule Saturday, Feb. 9 against Maryland at 1 p.m., in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Results: 174 - Trey Adamson (Duke) dec. Hunter Gamble (GWU) - 4-1 (Duke 3-0) 184 - Diego Bencomo (Duke) dec. Gray Jones (GWU) - 5-2 (Duke 6-0) 197 - Blake Salyer (GWU) dec. Dylan Ryan (Duke) - 5-1 (Duke 6-3) 285 - #33 Travis Porter (GWU) dec. Brian Self (Duke) - 5-2 (Tied 6-6) 125 - Peter Terrezza (Duke) maj. dec. Cortez Starkes (GWU) - 8-0 (Duke 10-6) 133 - Robbie Golde (GWU) wins by forfeit. (GWU 12-10) 141 - Tanner Hough (Duke) dec. Davante Andujar (GWU) - 7-4 (Duke 13-12) 149 - Marcus Cain (Duke) dec. Ryan Medved (GWU) - 9-3 (Duke 16-12) 157 - Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) dec. Alex Medved (GWU) - 5-0 (Duke 19-12) 165 - Justin Guthrie (GWU) dec. Randy Roden (Duke) - 6-5 (Duke 19-15)

Canon-McMillan escapes with four-peat in WPIAL team tournament with last match victory Ranked No. 10 nationally, Canon-McMillan, Pa., entered this past weekend's Class AAA WPIAL tournament the clear favorites to earn a fourth consecutive title -- even without the presence of Solomon Chishko, one of the nation's best juniors who has been out all season due to injury sustained in the Super 32 Challenge final. However, their finals match against Franklin Regional, Pa., would be a nail-biter. With the dual meet starting at 126 pounds, it was right in the Franklin Regional wheelhouse. No. 5 Michael Kemerer opened the proceedings for the Panthers with a 20-5 technical fall, which was replicated by Connor Schram for the Big Macs at 132 pounds. Shifting their other three middle-weight stars up a weight class, Franklin Regional opened up a 17-5 lead after 152 pounds with a 15-0 technical fall from senior Tyler Smith, 6-0 decision from sophomore Josh Maruca, and 13-4 major decision from No. 13 (at 145) Josh Shields. Canon-McMillan would respond back with victories in four of the next five matches to tie the dual meet at 20-20, which included some interesting lineup shifts from the Big Macs. No. 2 (at 170) Cody Wiercioch weighed in at 182 for the match, but would wrestle in the 195-pound weight class and secure bonus points. They also flipped their normal 285-pound wrestler Angelo Broglia, and he was able to get a 6-3 victory at 220 pounds. However, the hopeful Big Macs' residual for that would have been for No. 15 (at 220) Alex Campbell to compliment the win at 220 with a win of his own. That plan was derailed by Super 32 runner-up Luke Fleck, who in his first major week of competition since missing the bulk of the season with injury, upended Campbell by 3-2 decision to give the Panthers a 23-20 lead. Brendan Price gave Canon-McMillan their first lead of the dual meet with a 15-0 technical fall at 106 pounds. The next match saw Franklin Regional regain the lead at 26-25 after Kyle Berk's 10-8 decision victory over Josh Minor to set up the last match heroics of No. 12 Dalton Macri, who earned a fall at the minute mark to give the Big Macs the 31-26 victory. Friday night's semifinal rounds saw Canon-McMillan outlast Kiski Area for a 36-24 victory, and Franklin Regional upend North Allegheny 28-27 for their victory and first-ever appearance in the WPIAL team finals. The Panthers' performance this weekend, in conjunction with the return of Luke Fleck to the lineup and performance of their four stars in the middle, see them jump back into the Fab 50 team rankings at No. 35. The week ahead in state championships Individual bracket championship tournaments will be held in Arizona, Montana, and Nevada. Dual meet events will be held in Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. The Oklahoma dual meet championships will be held at Cushing High School for Class 3A and 4A (smaller-schools), and at Claremore High School for Class 5A and 6A (bigger-schools). Both tournaments will be on Saturday, and start with preliminary rounds being held at 10 a.m. and noon CT; semifinals at 2 p.m., followed by championship bouts at 6:30 p.m. In the 6A tournament, No. 25 Broken Arrow and No. 30 Edmond North are the top squads in each half of the draw. 6A Bracket No. 12 Collinsville is the favorite in the Class 5A Bracket. No. 41 Tuttle is the favorite in the Class 4A Bracket. Class 3A Bracket A preview for the Pennsylvania Class AAA and Class AA dual meet tournaments is being posted today, while a preview for the Ohio state dual meet tournaments (Divisions I, II, and III) will be posted on Friday. No. 45 CBHS ends team season with Tennessee dual meet title Christian Brothers, Tenn., ranked No. 45 in the Fab 50 team rankings ended the dual meet regular season with a TSSAA Division II state championship. The tournament was held this past weekend at the Williamson County Expo Center in Franklin, Tenn. The Brothers won their three matches by the following scores: 45-25 over Montgomery Bell Academy (9 matches to 5), 39-24 over The Baylor School (8-6), and 42-23 over Father Ryan (9-5). Going 3-0 for CBHS were John Santi (120), No. 15 Kaleb Baker (152), and Barrett Walthall (170). Division II results Division II brackets Carl Sandburg moves onto team state tournament after outlasting Marist in individual regional This past Saturday marked the start of the individual state tournament series in the Land of Lincoln for all three classifications -- AAA, AA, and A. However, the first layer tournament, also serves as the qualifier for the dual meet state tournament. The sixteen individual regional team champions advance to dual team sectional to be held Tuesday, February 19, with the final eight to be held on Saturday, February 23. In one of those things that can be described as the nature of quirky assignments inherent to interscholastic athletics, two of the four best teams in Class AAA were stuck in the same individual regional at Marist for a second straight year. As a result, one of those teams would be precluded from the team state tournament. For the second straight year, it was No. 14 Carl Sandburg -- the defending dual meet state champions -- withstanding the challenge of No. 21 Marist. The margin was narrow last year, 12-1/2 points, and even narrower this year. The Eagles out-pointed the Redhawks 244 to 238. Key to the Eagles victory was a 7-3 record in championship matches, including 5-3 in those involving a Marist opponent; while Marist was 3-5 against Carl Sandburg in title matches, and 4-7 overall. Winning titles for Carl Sandburg were Sebastian Pique (120), Jake Vales (126), John Pellegrino (138), Mitch Cook (152), C.J. Brucki (160), No. 11 Colin Holler (170), and No. 5 Ricky Robertson (195); while Marist collected titles from Mark Duda (113), Mario Leveille (132), Jakada Hull (152), and Tom Howell (220). Last weekend highlights Like Canon McMillan in District 7 (aka, the WPIAL), it was Easton, Pa., earning a four-peat in Class AAA as District 11 dual meet champions. This time, it was a 28-26 victory over Parkland, Pa., in the championship round. It was the second victory of such margin for the Red Rovers during the month of January. Don Bosco Prep followed up their narrow loss to No. 36 Bergen Catholic, N.J., with a 32-31 victory on criteria (most first points across the matches) against No. 38 Bound Brook, N.J., after the teams tied 31-31 while splitting the fourteen weight classes at 7-7. This week of performances, along with the Ironmen finally getting healthy move them back into the Fab 50 team rankings at No. 41. Rankings updates As a reminder the last update for individual weight class rankings prior to after all state tournaments are done has been posted today. In addition, the weekly update of the Fab 50 national team rankings has been posted. All state championship result links from the past weekend Individual Bracket State Tournament Results Alaska Class 4A Dual Meet State Tournament Results Tennessee Class A/AA Class AAA Division II

Pride. Tradition. Commitment to excellence. Legacy. Four phrases at the core of wrestling in the state of Pennsylvania. Come Thursday afternoon many of the best teams in the Keystone State will be assembling at the GIANT Center in Hershey for the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships. Round of 16 matches will take place on Thursday, quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Friday, with the championship on Saturday; consolation wrestling takes place on Friday and Saturday, as the tournament will place the top four teams. Darian Cruz (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)In the small-school division, Class AA, No. 24 Bethlehem Catholic is after a third consecutive championship. Led by No. 3 Darian Cruz (120) and No. 16 Zeke Moisey (126), the Hawks enter as favorites. Based on recent history, the primary challengers are likely to come from either District 10 (northwest part of the state) or District 3 (south central). Champions from District 10 this year were Reynolds, which has won this event three times (2006, 2007, 2009) and finished second (2010) within the last seven years. Runner-up at this district was Fort LeBoeuf, champions in 2010 and runners-up in 2011. Last year’s runner-up to Bethlehem Catholic was Boiling Springs, who this year won the District 3 championship with a victory over Bermudian Springs. Those four squads, along with District 4 champion (north central) Central Columbia reflect the primary contenders. Breaking down the draw, it would appear that the top half of the bracket is much tougher with four of those teams, as well as District 7 (WPIAL/Pittsburgh area) champion Burrell all present. Key first round matches place Burrell against Bermudian Springs, with that winner likely clear to the semifinal round; while Central Columbia draws Fort LeBoeuf for the right to face Bethlehem Catholic in the quarterfinal round. Reynolds and Boiling Springs are alone in the bottom half of the draw. In the first round, the Raiders draw District 11 runner-up Saucon Valley; while Boiling Springs faces District 10 third place squad Saegertown, a team which will be heard from in an extreme way over the coming three-plus years. In Class AAA, No. 10 Canon-McMillan is the defending champion, and enters the event as a slight favorite ahead of No. 31 Central Dauphin, who won the previous four championships. Last year, the Big Macs ended an extremely lengthy dual meet win streak for Central Dauphin in the semifinal round with a 28-25 victory. In qualifying for the team state tournament, Canon McMillan won the District 7 title for a fourth consecutive year, while Central Dauphin retained their strangle-hold on the District 3 championship. Other teams meriting attention are WPIAL runner-up Franklin Regional, ranked No. 35 nationally and coming off a 31-26 loss to Canon-McMillan in Saturday night’s final; WPIAL third-place team North Allegheny, which suffered a narrow 28-27 defeat to Franklin Regional in the semifinal round; District 11 champion Easton, which has been in the finals eight times during the 14-year history of this event; District 11 runner-up Parkland, which is very strong in the back-third of the lineup, and the 2010 runner-up; District 1 champion Owen J. Roberts; and District 10 champion Erie McDowell, the defending runners-up. In looking at the draw, it is again the top half that appears to be stronger. Central Dauphin’s challenges will start with an opening round match against North Allegheny. However, it is highly likely that the middle of the Rams lineup -- No. 8 Tyson Dippery (138), Austin Rose (152), No. 5 Garrett Peppelman (160), and Colton Peppelman (170) -- along with some lower weight contributions will prove to be enough for the victory. That will lead them into a quarterfinal match against Parkland, presuming they are able to upend Mifflin County in the opening round. Key wrestlers for Parkland include No. 8 Ethan Lizak (113), Josh Ortman (138), Nazar Haddad (182), and Shaun Heist (220). If they can win a couple matches down low against an underrated Rams group, and somewhat limit the Central Dauphin damage through the middle, they could steal the dual meet in the upper-weights. However, the safe bet is that Central Dauphin advances to the semifinal round, where they are most likely to face either Franklin Regional or Owen J. Roberts. The Panthers have four stars in the middle of the lineup -- No. 5 Michael Kemerer (126), Tyler Smith (132), No. 20 Josh Maruca (138), and No. 13 Josh Shields (145) -- along with Super 32 Challenge runner-up Luke Fleck (285) to provide a hammer in the back end. This Owen J. Roberts squad is extremely balanced, but unfortunately for them, it is likely that four of their better wrestlers will have to match up as underdogs against star Panthers wrestlers. If they are to pull off the upset, it would involve some creative lineup maneuvering, and then using their superior depth against the lesser-known Franklin Regional wrestlers. In the lower half of the draw, Easton is the prohibitive favorites to clear the third quarter of the draw. The Red Rovers squad is led by freshman Evan Fidelibus (113), senior Robbie Rizzolino (132), senior Evan DiSora (160), and senior Tyler Greene (182). It is a battle-hardened squad with a good mix of veterans and youth. Down in the lower quarter of the draw, Canon-McMillan is the likely exiter, with a state dual meet finals rematch against Erie McDowell looming in the second round. The Big Macs are led by No. 12 Dalton Macri (120), No. 3 Connor Schram (126), No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (170), and No. 15 Alex Campbell (220). The lower semifinal is likely to place two of the most heralded programs in PIAA wrestling -- Easton and Canon-McMillan -- against one another. However, it is hard to create the scenario for which Easton is able to come out with a win, though the Red Rovers will certainly try their darndest. Predictions Class AA: Bethlehem Catholic gets the three-peat with a championship victory over Boiling Springs Class AAA: Central Dauphin runs the "gauntlet," ending with an upset victory over Canon-McMillan in the championship match.