InterMat Staff

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The sixth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys took on the Arizona State Sun Devils in Gallagher-Iba Arena on Friday, where the Pokes gathered seven wins en route to a dominating 29-10 win. The Cowboys (10-5) earned four bonus-point wins on the night, allowing for some fresh faces to step into the lineup. Eddie Klimara showed a lot of offense, earning an abundance of points in the form of six takedowns, two sets of nearfall points and an escape in his 19-5 major decision over Ares Carpio. Senior and fourth-ranked Jon Morrison picked up his second technical fall of the year, although he was just inches away from the pin, defeating Cordero Coronado, 22-4, in less than six minutes. “Anytime you have a chance for bonus points, you really just want to push the pace and try to get the pin,” Morrison said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t unable to get the pin tonight because he got off of his back at the end, but it was good to end it with a tech fall.” True freshman Anthony Collica was given a tough fight but was able to take a 4-2 win from ASU’s Matt Kraus at 141 pounds. At 149 pounds, Josh Kindig, ranked 10th in the nation, earned a 6-3 decision over Preston McCalmon, scoring two takedowns and a reversal in his 18th win of the season. No. 2 Alex Dieringer picked up the only fall of the night, pinning Joel Smith of Arizona State in 4:11 at 157 pounds. Prior to the pin, Dieringer led the bout, 16-2, collecting three takedowns and four sets of nearfall points. Tyler Caldwell grabbed the final bonus points for the Pokes at 165 pounds. The Wichita, Kan., native picked up the night’s second technical fall with a 25-10 win over Nick Rex in 6:35. It was the senior’s 10th bonus-point win of the season. Quinten Patterson made the start at 174 pounds for the Cowboys. He took a tight battle with Ray Waters into overtime, maintaining a neutral position in the final seconds of regulation despite an attack by Waters; however, Patterson was unable to hold off his opponent’s next attack in sudden victory, giving Waters the 4-2 win. At 184 pounds, Jordan Rogers stepped in to take on 17th-ranked Blake Stauffer, but could not hold off the Sun Devil, falling 11-2. Darnell Bortz made his second start of the season at 197 pounds. He faced Wes Moore and snatched four escapes, but it was not enough as the senior suffered an 8-4 loss. At heavyweight, Ethan Driver lent a hand, earning his second dual-win in three starts. Driver and Chace Eskam took the low-scoring bout into a sudden victory period, where Driver found the victory, 3-1. “He did a good job of staying in position and fighting off the legs,” coach John Smith said. “A couple of nice shots on his part. He couldn't come up to finish it, but you always like to see that overtime win. He came close to scoring twice. The guy never touched a hand on the takedown. Instead of getting frustrated, he just kind of stayed in there. Good win for him” The Cowboys will be back in Gallagher-Iba Arena for their final dual of the season, when they take on American University on March 2 at 2 p.m. Results: 125: No. 19 Eddie Klimara (OSU) MD Ares Carpio (ASU), 19-5 133: No. 4 Jon Morrison (OSU) TF5 Cordero Coronado (ASU), 22-4; 5:53 141: No. 20 Anthony Collica (OSU) dec. Matt Kraus (ASU), 4-2 149: No. 10 Josh Kindig (OSU) dec. Preston McCalmon (ASU), 6-3 157: No. 2 Alex Dieringer (OSU) fall Joel Smith (ASU), 4:11 165: No. 5 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) TF5 Nick Rex (ASU), 25-10; 6:35 174: Ray Waters (ASU) dec. Quinten Patterson (OSU), 4-2 SV1 184: No. 17 Blake Stauffer (ASU) MD Jordan Rogers (OSU), 11-2 197: Wes Moore (ASU) dec. Darnell Bortz (OSU), 8-4 285: Ethan Driver (OSU) dec. Chace Eskam (ASU), 3-1 SV1

KENT, Ohio -- No. 13 Edinboro jumped out to a 17-0 lead and coasted to a 27-9 win at Kent State on Friday night. The Fighting Scots won seven of the ten bouts, with Mitchell Port winning by fall and Kory Mines, A.J. Schopp and Ernest James claiming major decisions. Edinboro won for the tenth time in its last 11 matches to improve to 10-3. Kent State, a loser to No. 9 Missouri before wrestling the Scots, fell to 11-13. Mines got the night off to a flying start as he won a 13-5 major decision over Alfredo Gray at 125 lbs. Ranked 17th by InterMat and 18th by TheOpenMat.com, Mines became the sixth Fighting Scot with 20 wins as he improved to 20-7. He registered four takedowns and also had three near fall points to dominate the match. Schopp followed with an 12-0 major decision over Mack McGuire (24-12), who came in ranked 19th by TheOpenMat.com. Schopp, ranked second at 133 lbs., picked up his 19th win with bonus points despite recording just one takedown. That came early in the first period, and he would tilt McGuire twice for an 8-0 lead after one period. He added three more near fall points in the second period. Schopp improved to 27-1 while claiming his 99th career win. Top-ranked Mitchell Port followed with the lone pin of the night, winning by fall over former national qualifier Tyler Small (21-15) at 5:50 at 141 lbs. Port remained undefeated at 22-0 while picking up his 11th pin. That is one shy of Schopp's team-leading total. In probably the most anticipated match of the night, Dave Habat, ranked 15th by InterMat and 18th by TheOpenMat.com at 149 lbs., edged former teammate Michael DePalma (21-17) 2-1 to give the Scots a 17-0 lead. DePalma was Edinboro's starter at 157 lbs. a year ago. Habat garnered the lone takedown of the match midway through the first period and rode DePalma out. DePalma would ride out Habat in the second period, but the only scoring in the third was a stalling point against Habat with 17 seconds to go. Habat is now 23-4. Kent State would get on the board at 157 lbs. in a matchup of nationally-ranked wrestlers. Fourth-ranked Ian Miller improved to 24-4 with a 10-4 decision over Johnny Greisheimer, who came in ranked 15th. Miller recorded four takedowns while sending Greisheimer to 21-8. Kasey Burnett-Davis rallied from an early deficit by win by a 10-5 decision over T.J. Keklak at 165 lbs. Keklak opened the scoring with a takedown 30 seconds into the match and led 2-1 after one period. But Burnett-Davis turned the match around in the second period with two takedowns, one with six seconds left followed by two back points at the buzzer, to take an 8-3 lead after two periods. Burnett-Davis is now 16-9. Kent State closed to 20-6 after Caleb Marsh (17-8) claimed a 6-1 decision over Patrick Jennings (9-11) at 174 lbs. Vic Avery made up for it with a 10-4 decision over Mike Vollant at 184 lbs. Ranked 13th by TheOpenMat.com and 15th by InterMat, Avery improved to 19-4. He had four takedowns, two in the first period and two more in the third. The two team would split the final two matches. Cole Baxter (22-15) won a 5-0 decision over Warren Bosch (2-3) at 197 lbs. Bosch was filling in for regular starter Vince Pickett. Ernest James boosted his record to 23-5 with an 11-0 major decision over Jordan Marrero at heavyweight. James is ranked 12th by TheOpenMat.com and 16th by InterMat and won his 94th career match. He had two takedowns and picked up two near fall points. Edinboro concludes its dual match season on Saturday night, hosting West Virginia. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. at McComb Fieldhouse. Prior to the match seniors Bijan Banks, Andrew Church, Johnny Greisheimer and Ernest James will be honored. Results: 125 lbs. -- #19 Kory Mines (EU) maj. dec. Alfredo Gray (KSU), 13-5 133 lbs. -- #2 A.J. Schopp (EU) maj. dec. Mack McGuire (KSU), 12-0 141 lbs. -- #1 Mitchell Port (EU) fall over dec. Tyler Small (KSU), 5:50 149 lbs. -- #15 David Habat (EU) dec. Michael DePalma (KSU), 2-1 157 lbs. -- #4 Ian Miller (KSU) dec. #15 Johnny Greisheimer (EU), 10-4 165 lbs. -- Kasey Burnett-Davis (EU) dec. T.J. Keklak (KSU), 10-5 174 lbs. – Caleb Marsh (KSU) dec. Patrick Jennings (EU), 6-1 184 lbs. -- #15 Vic Avery (EU) dec. Mike Vollant (KSU), 10-4 197 lbs. – Cole Baxter (KSU) dec. Warren Bosch (EU), 5-0 Hwt. -- #16 Ernest James (EU) maj. dec. Jordan Marrero (KU), 11-0

One of the best experiences in the remarkable wrestling career of Jordan Burroughs came at the 2013 World Cup. Wrestling in front of a boisterous sellout crowd of 15,000 screaming fans in Tehran, Iran, Burroughs put on a dazzling display of his immense talents by winning all five of his matches and leading the U.S. to a third-place finish. Burroughs was a virtual rock star last year in Iran, where he was cheered early and often by that nation's rabid and passionate wrestling fan base. The World Cup was an important event for the sport, coming shortly after the International Olympic Committee recommended wrestling be removed from the Olympics. "Wrestling at the World Cup was a tremendous experience," said Burroughs, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion. "It was an awesome event and we were treated like kings. The fans were incredible and it was amazing the way that all of the countries came together to support wrestling." The World's premier wrestling countries will come together once again for another important competition at the 2014 World Cup. The event will be contested at the Forum, presented by Chase, on March 15-16 in Inglewood, Calif. The World Cup is the annual international dual meet championships, and will feature the top 10 men's freestyle wrestling teams. "I am looking forward to seeing a lot of fans from the U.S. come out to support us --I hope there is a great turnout," Burroughs said. "We don't receive very many opportunities to have a home-field advantage in an event like this where the top countries in the World are competing. I'm really excited about the World Cup being back in the U.S. It should be a great event." The 2013 World Cup was a key and pivotal event in bringing nations like the U.S., Iran and Russia together on the same stage during wrestling's successful quest to stay in the Olympics. Burroughs is a perfect 10-0 in World Cup competition. He went 5-0 in his first World Cup appearance in 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. "We're pumped about Jordan wrestling in the World Cup again this year," U.S. National Coach Zeke Jones said. "He gives us a chance to win every dual and the guys respond to him when he wrestles. He lifts every wrestler on the team up." Burroughs won an American record 69 straight matches to start his international career before being defeated by American Nick Marable in the quarterfinals of the Yasar Dogu International this past weekend in Istanbul, Turkey. "I always want to win obviously, but I have a little bit more of a chip on my shoulder now," Burroughs said. "I need to come out with more of a fire that will prevent that from happening again. Nick did a great job and he's been wrestling well. I need to make sure I'm coming out more aggressively and attacking more early in the match." Burroughs rebounded to win his next two matches in Turkey to claim a bronze medal at 74 kg/163 lbs. "We spoke about the World Cup last week when we were leaving Turkey and winning the World Cup is important to Jordan and the team," Jones said. "He knows for us to compete well, we'll need each guy on the team getting out there and scoring points, building leads, fighting every position and hold, and most of all knowing that we're wrestling hard for our country. I know Jordan takes a lot of pride in wearing the American flag on his singlet. "It'll take a team effort and Jordan is the center of our team. He leads and we follow. It's that simple." The 10 nations which will compete for the World Cup are (alphabetically): Armenia, Georgia, India, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. Nations were invited based upon final team standings at the 2013 World Championships. Iran defeated Russia in the finals last year in Tehran. The U.S. finished third. The remainder of the U.S. lineup is being finalized and is scheduled to be released shortly. Tickets are now available via Ticketmaster, through http://www.ticketmaster.com/, www.fabulousforum.com, and The Forum Box Office. The phone number for Ticketmaster is 800-745-3000. JORDAN BURROUGHS' WORLD CUP RECORD 2012 World Cup, Baku, Azerbaijan WIN Ammet Gadzimagomedov (Russia) WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan) WIN Demirsin Batuhan (Turkey) WIN Sadegh Goudarzi (Iran) WIN Davit Khutsishvili (Georgia) 2013 World Cup, Tehran, Iran WIN Jakob Makarashvili (Georgia), 3-0, 2-1 WIN Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 2-0, 7-1 WIN Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei (Iran), 4-0, 2-0 WIN Stefanov Kirov (Bulgaria), 7-0, 6-0 WIN Ali Shabanau (Belarus), 1-1, 5-0

NEWBERRY -- The No. 4 Newberry Wolves closed out their duals season with a dominant 52-3 win over the visiting Anderson Trojans in Eleazer Arena on Thursday night. With the win, Newberry closes out the season with an 18-2 duals record, while Anderson ends at 2-21. The Wolves will participate in the NCAA Division II Super Region II Tournament in Tiffin, Ohio, next weekend. The dual was the Wolves’ Senior Night as well, with the program honoring seniors Blake Ridenour (Maryville, Tenn.), Davis Bagwell (Birmingham, Ala.), Zach Howerton (Lexington, S.C.), Hunter Robinson (Opelika, Ala.), Braden Carter (Christiansburg, Va.), Kayne Melko (Bellaire, Ohio), Taylor Knapp (Lawrenceville, Ga.), Joey Grisko (Gloucester Township, N.J.), Matt Wade (Easton, Md.), Jeff Vesta (Manhattan, Kan.) and B.J. Young (Jackson, N.J.). Travis Laxton (Live Oak, Fla.) took a major decision at 125 lbs. with a late nearfall, and Anderson won its only bout of the dual with Zak Hale’s decision over Trung Duong (Lynchburg, Va.) at 133 lbs. From there it was all Newberry in extremely quick fashion, as B.J. Young got an injury default win at 141 lbs. while up by 11 points. Seiji Borja (Charleston, S.C.) at 149 lbs., Taylor Knapp at 157 lbs., Kayne Melko at 165 lbs and Joe Pittman (Forsyth, Ga.) at 184 lbs. all pinned their opponent in the first period. Newberry rounded out its total with forfeit victories by Blake Ridenour at 174 lbs., Cody Brundage (Chapin, S.C.) at 197 lbs. and Matt Wade at heavyweight.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- No. 1 Jimmy Sheptock picked up a pin in his final dual as a Terrapin as the Maryland wrestling team throttled George Mason, 35-3, Thursday night. Ty Snook also picked up a fall for the Terps (9-8, 3-3 ACC), who finish the season on a four-meet win streak. Maryland wrestlers picked up bonus points in four matches. "It was a great way to finish our season," head coach Kerry McCoy said. "I'm really proud of our guys and look forward to the next few weeks. We are going to fine tune some things and be ready to perform at ACC's." The match began at 125 pounds with Paul O'Neill starting his second straight dual. The sophomore rebounded from his loss against American, defeating William Prochniewski by a 16-6 major decision. Tyler Goodwin followed with a 9-2 victory over Rich Carroll-Lavorato. At 141 pounds, Shyheim Brown continued his strong run of form, getting past Sahid Kargbo, 1-0. Frank Goodwin then had no trouble at 149 pounds, nabbing a major decision victory over Donald Takagi. George Mason picked up its only win of the night at 157 pounds through Greg Flournoy. The Patriot wrestler finished strong in a 10-5 victory over Danny Orem. Tyler Manion got the Terps back on track at 165, squeaking by Ryan Forrest in the first sudden victory period. Snook followed with a dominant performance, pinning Zachary Martinez after just 50 seconds. At 184 pounds, Sheptock punctuated his undefeated dual career in style with a fall victory over Ryan Hembury. Maryland’s other nationally ranked competitors finished the dual with victories. No. 9 Christian Boley overcame a slow start to defeat Matt Meadows, 5-3, before No. 7 Spencer Myers defeated Jacob Kettler, 4-0. The win puts the Terps over .500 at 9-8 for the season. Maryland has never been under .500 in McCoy’s six years as head coach. The Terps return to action at the 2014 ACC Championships. Virginia Tech will host the competition on March 8 at Cassell Coliseum. Maryland has two reigning ACC champs in Sheptock and Boley. Results: 125: Paul O'Neill (MD) maj dec William Prochniewski (GMU) 16-6. (4-0) 133: Tyler Goodwin (MD) dec. Rich Carroll-Lavorato (GMU), 9-2 (7-0) 141: Shyheim Brown (MD) dec. Sahid Kargbo (GMU), 1-0. (10-0) 149: Frank Goodwin (MD) maj dec Donald Takagi (GMU), 12-3 (14-0) 157: Gregory Flournoy (GMU) dec. Danny Orem (MD) 10-5 (14-3) 165: Tyler Manion (MD) won in SV 1 Ryan Forrest (GMU), 4-2 (17-3) 174: Ty Snook (MD) fall over Zachary Martinez (GMU) 0:50. (23-3) 184: Jimmy Sheptock (MD fall over Ryan Hembury (GMU) 2:38. (29-3) 197: Christian Boley (MD) dec. Matt Meadows (GMU) 5-3. (32-3) 285: Spencer Myers (MD) dec. Jacob Kettler (GMU) 4-0. (35-3)

A special thanks to everyone who has purchased a copy of Full Circle! If you haven't purchased one yet, there are still copies available. Don't wait. It's a beautiful tribute to the #SaveOlympicWrestling movement that takes you through our community's historic efforts. If you want to talk shop, I'll also have copies available at the ACC Championships, World Cup, NCAAs and the U.S. Open. Thanks for the support! There was a lively Twitter discussion this weekend as to the merits, or lack thereof, to the criteria-decided matches at the international level. The topic was spurred by Nick Marable's upset over two-time World champion and 2012 Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs, who had famously won his first 69 matches. The victory wasn't just shocking for Burroughs' loss, but also by the manner of decision, a 4-4 match that was decided by criteria. As many readers know, there is no overtime in international competition, but a ranking system of valuations given to various items like value of move, last to score, and passivity warnings. These are meant to help nudge along action and ensure points. Back to Twitter. Unlike Facebook, which requires friendship, Twitter is an open ballroom filled with shouting bystanders and whispering bullies. Last weekend's chat was raucous, but brought together a tidy cross-section of former wrestlers, each with a unique opinion on the validity of overtime. On one side there was the well-coifed and dashingly handsome Adam Tirappelle arguing against criteria (and FILA, et. al) and on the other the likes of me who saw the merits of criteria-based overtime. Tommy Rowlands stood somewhere in the middle, either keeping score, or keeping the peace. Because Twitter transmits in 140 characters and mailbags usually come in around 2500 words, I was at a competitive disadvantage, but as was predicted by Rowlands, the mailbag would be our discussion tie-breaker. Though I have the unlimited cyber canvas with which to Steven Seagal the overtime argument, I am opting instead to step away for a curveball. The NCAA needs to alter its overtime rules, too. (Bait-aaaaand-switch) The wise and avuncular NCAA isn't often challenged re: rules changes, but this year -- with a dearth of scoring (excitement) and takedown rules that have become petty and obnoxious -- their rules are coming under more scrutiny. However, because we love collegiate wrestling and the NCAA makes money, many fans take the tact that "Well, 'hey' they gotta be doing something right!" and tend to not skewer their weaknesses. That bystander approach of coaches and fans is changing. Wrestling from neutral is too defensive, but it's mat wrestling that is proving to be the biggest bore to fans. The NCAA rules must be analyzed for better action, and freeing up the dependency on double OT decisions might be a way to better action. Cael Sanderson and others saw the weakness of the NCAA's overtime rules this weekend. Specifically, why is second tiebreaker a series of rideouts? Does saddling up an opponent like a cowboy on a rodeo bull prove you're the better wrestler? Do a series of crotch lifts head and arm chokes make for compelling action? Doubtful. To some fans the "will-he-or-won't-he ride 'em" might be appealing, but to the casual fan it's a terrible drag on the pace of the day's matches and a distraction from what matters in wrestling. Criteria gives credit to the wrestlers who score more dominating and exciting scoring actions in the course of the established, regulated six minutes of action. Ties are rare, but when they occur there is always an understanding of who lost, and why. Criteria is pretty simple. For example, Marable scored two takedowns, while Burroughs scored one takedown and two pushouts. Should Burroughs have been awarded overtime for two sumo-pushes rather than a takedown? Wasn't the end of the match exciting? The drama and finality of knowing that he needed to score provided action and the frenetic type of wrestling that many fans enjoy. (Note: The scoreboard is being improved to display the winning wrestler instantly and easily.) One thing that international wrestling could do to eliminate the problem is award a final point to the winning wrestler for having an advantage on criteria. Marable beats Burroughs 5-4 isn't confusing and avoids the red herring of criteria scores being "tied." Give him the point and people understand that Marable was the winner, which in essence is all the score is supposed to transmit. Doesn't seem fair? Take a look at the tiebreaker scores in college. Wrestlers who win the ridetime exchange are left with tied scores. Do we burn down the house? The winning wrestler didn't score an offensive point, but wins the match, like Kellen Russell dec. Montel Marion, 3-3, TB2 in the 2011 semifinals. That's not more competitive or better than what happens at the international level. The final consideration when estimating which overtime system you prefer is the influence of television. The time it takes to compete each match matters to broadcasters. At the Olympic level a limitless overtime period for a takedown would be a disaster for ratings and all but burn the clock on sponsors. Limitless isn't workable, and if you make the overtime period a single one-minute period then you have to go to rules where people are grabbing balls from a bag. Nobody wants that. Ball bags are bad. Overtime is sexy to American audiences because we see it works well in football. The pigskin partition works because it's portioned for advertisers by a clock that stops every 35 seconds. Soccer, the world's most popular sport, isn't as easily divided into those profitable nibbles of advertising space and therefor has plenty of ties. Wrestling's largest asset is that it's divided into six-minute matches. These morsels of excitement can be blocked and advertised around, whereas a 21-minute overtime between the Chinese and Slovakian heavyweights in the Greco-Roman quarterfinals is a special type of visual hell. Criteria keeps all six minutes of wrestling entertaining to fans, because each and every score matters. There is gamesmanship and strategy, but there is also pure wrestling. Competitors aren't afforded the option to cruise when leading by two points with 10 seconds remaining because giving up the last takedown is part of the criteria. Score now or lose. Wrestling fans want action, and I promise you that international freestyle has become more exciting than collegiate rules. Maybe there is just more energy in the wrestling since elimination and resurrection, or maybe there was good luck with new rules, decent refereeing, or the foresight of people on the governing body's commission? No one answer suffices, but their rules, including criteria, work. The NCAA needs to take note and change their overtime to something that pushes action, because watching two heavyweights lay atop of one another for alternating 30-second periods is a solution for sleep deprivation. To your questions ... Q: Did you see that raucous crowd of nearly 200 people for the National Duals? Impressive! It's a good thing that you, along with other national pundits, continue to press for NCAA duals. Perhaps if the NCAA endorses the National Duals setup they can double the attendance (or even triple it)! Also, notice how the top-seeded teams all not only won, but completely dismantled the lower-seeded teams? Carrying over National Dual team points to the individual tournament will only further distance the elite teams like Penn State, Iowa, and Minnesota from the rest of pack. Meanwhile, you'll be deemphasizing the current NCAA individual championship tournament, which has more spectators using the restroom at one time than actually attend the National Duals. -- Todd S. Foley: I laughed at the last line, and then I got sad when I realized that this was not hyperbole, but truth. It would be a mistake to conflate the current NWCA National Duals with what the NCAA Championship Duals would look like. Calendars would change, host cities would be selected and teams would be compelled to compete. Though the devil is in the details, there is also some savior in those same details. Making teams go, and making it matter, will generate interest. As for it only furthering the lead of the top teams, I don't buy it. Individuals can still place at the NCAA tournament, which makes the AD's and alumni happy. Meanwhile there is an additional income stream coming in for the sport. That's a big deal since the economic viability of the current NCAA system is under heavy scrutiny. I've never had the time at the NCAA tournament to care about the team race. My teams were never in the hunt, but I think that goes for 98 percent of the teams that show up. It's as good as a statistical impossibility that four wrestlers from Stanford can do well enough at the individual tournament to propel themselves into a discussion for the team title. That lack of parity is exactly why everyone loves the individual tournament. If I'm a supporter of UNC-Chapel Hill I could give a flying goat if Iowa or Penn State wins the team title. I like watching the Carolina blue singlets, and maybe those from my conference. My concern is on the upsets and individual stories. The conversation in the over-stuffed bathrooms tend to reviled not around the 13.5-point lead Penn State has on Iowa, but on the efforts of a wrestler from The Citadel, or the domination of Ed Ruth (for example). Give the NCAA National Duals a chance. We can't expect to grow as a sport by sustaining the status quo. Q: I'm sure the Jordan Burroughs' loss is flooding your mailbag. I just want to say wrestling has now had what could have been the best (Lance Armstrong minus blood doping) run in sports ended by a 4-4 loss, and Karelin's (the greatest Olympian of all time) legacy lost by a brief unlock of his hands in a clinch. While both rules have some merit behind their ideas, it just is absolutely foolish to think we can add/keep new fans with these idiotic decisions. Can FILA purposely harm themselves any more? Overtime should simply happen with no clock until someone scores. Imagine a gold-medal match being 5-3 until a last-second takedown is awarded to win 5-5. We have so many people in this country that have wrestled who don't watch freestyle. We have to stop giving them reasons not to watch. -- Tom B. Foley: Though I spent a great deal of cyberspace talking about overtime, this question stays because you mentioned Karelin-Gardner. Nowhere in the history of rule-making was more stupidity infused into a signle decision than the breaking grip rules seen in 2000. That's an utterly dumb rule, and though you equate it to the lack of OT, in fact there WAS an overtime in the Karelin-Gardner match. Under new rules that match plays out differently. That match is watchable, understandable, exciting, fulfilling and a shining example of what is right with the sport. As it is, Jacques Rogge left the arena that day asking what the hell just happened. The other reason I kept your question is that you were the only one to ask about Burroughs and Marable, which I found very, very odd. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Choo-Choo, Men: The Pico hype train gets another shovel full of coal 1996 Olympic wrestling highlights Support Sara McMann Your choice, but I support Cormier Link: Soccer players do NOT belong on the wrestling mat Q: As you have discussed before, the top man stalling on top or making little to no attempt to turn in order to get the riding time point is becoming a bigger problem. There is even a strategy that justifies stalling on top for two minutes, even if you give up a stalling point. (Two minutes of RT likely equals one point and avoiding giving up the escape gains another "point advantage" if you can escape in less than a minute.) I don't think we should get rid of riding time, but I have two suggestions and would like your opinion. First, the rule designated stalemate calls where the first time the bottom man gets to his feet with the top man's legs in or when the top man is hanging on an ankle while the bottom man is mule kicking out should be automatic stalling calls. It is the top man's job to advance position and it didn't make sense to give him the advantage of a restart to gain more riding time when he isn't returning the man to the mat or moving up. Second, perhaps the riding time point should only be given if the dominant wrestler has exposed his opponent's back to the mat. Just exposure or perhaps a one count would require the top man to work for back points as opposed to just hanging on. Top wrestlers could still work for not giving up an escape but it would only reward wrestlers looking for a turn. Is this possible? Your thoughts? -- Dan B. Foley: This is the best idea I've read in 2014. Make the wrestlers score backpoints to earn the ride-time point! That was the intention of the rule, but there was never the incentive. We've gotten away from the inspiration for the rules in wrestling, and this is a SIMPLE solution to a COMPLEX problem. Heineken? Guinness? Stella? Bud Light? First Okie City brew is on me. Adam Coon is currently ranked No. 2 at heavyweight (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Q: Most impressive true freshman: J'den Cox, Adam Coon, or Zain Retherford -- Dave A. Foley: Coon! He's at heavyweight and has beaten a two-time NCAA champion with offensive points. I like Retherford, but heavyweight isn't kind terrain for 18-year-olds, and I want to see him make it through NCAAs without getting stalled out of a match. J'den Cox is my No. 2. COMMENT OF THE WEEK By Mark B. I know that a lot is happening in the Division I wrestling season right now but I would like to see a few more stories on some of the smaller programs. I don't know if you are aware but a first-year junior college team, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, just cleaned house at the West Central Regional Championships. They had all ten wrestlers in the finals and ended up with nine champions. I may be a little biased because I was an NAIA wrestler and my younger brother now wrestles for NEO, but there are still some great stories outside of the Division I level. It would be great to see some of these stories on InterMat. INTERESTING CONCEPT OF THE WEEK By Ronald M. Here's an idea: from a neutral restart, the first wrestler to gain control of his opponent's leg scores one point, a wrestler achieving a takedown scores two points (whether or not he scores the one aforementioned point). For example: A. Red gains control of green's leg and then achieves a takedown -- 3 points for red B. Red gains control of green's leg, but green subsequently achieves a takedown -- 1 point for red, 2 points for green C. Red gains control of green's leg, but no takedown is subsequently achieved (due to stalemate, action going out of bounds, green escaping his leg from red's control) -- 1 point for red This has several practical advantages -- given a clear definition of "gain control of opponent's leg," it's not an arbitrary call for the referee (the problem with passivity calls), it's difficult to game the system (both wrestlers now have an incentive to shoot, and to prevent their opponent from capturing their leg), it still rewards scrambling (since you can score a two-point takedown after your opponent shoots and gains control of your leg).

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Damion Hahn, who has played a large part in the success of the Cornell wrestling program's rise to national prominence, has been named associate head coach. Hahn has played lead roles in recruiting and scheduling, while working primarily with the middle and heavyweight wrestlers in the Big Red room. "The promotion is our way of recognizing Damion's total commitment to Cornell wrestling," said head coach Rob Koll. "Damion was the top assistant coach in the country and we wanted to make sure he knows how important a part of our program he is and to make sure he will always be with us." In his eighth season under head coach Rob Koll, Hahn has been on the staff for much of the Big Red's string of unprecedented success. While at Cornell, Hahn has helped the Big Red capture eight Ivy League team titles, seven EIWA team championships, six top 10 NCAA team finishes, eight individual NCAA champions, 30 All-Americans, 22 individual EIWA champions and 36 first-team All-Ivy selections. Hahn has also helped promote the Big Red wrestling brand, making it one of the most popular in all of college wrestling with its active social media and creative marketing efforts. A two-time NCAA champion at Minnesota, Hahn wrapped up his Golden Gopher career ranking 12th all-time in career victories with a 118-21 record, which included a 33-1 mark during his senior season in 2003-04. He became the third wrestler in school history to capture two NCAA titles when he won back-to-back crowns in 2003 and 2004 and is one of just four four-time All-Americans and five three-time Big Ten champion in school history. Hahn received the 2004 Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year award, given to the top male athlete in the Big Ten conference. A 2004 graduate of Minnesota with a degree in education and youth studies, Hahn ended his freestyle wrestling career with a second place finish at the Olympic Team Trials in 2008. Hahn, his wife, Terry, and their son, Miles, reside in Dryden.

USA Wrestling has announced that the 2014 U.S. World Team Trials in men's and women's freestyle wrestling will be hosted at the Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., May 31-June 1. Numerous World and Olympic medalists, and past U.S. World and Olympic Team members are expected to compete including 2012 Olympic wrestling medalists Jordan Burroughs, Jake Varner, Clarissa Chun and Coleman Scott. The U.S. World Team Trials will determine men's and women's freestyle athletes who will compete at the 2014 World Wrestling Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, September 8-14, as well as the U.S. national teams for the 2014-15 campaign in men's freestyle and women's freestyle. "USA Wrestling is pleased to bring its top Senior-level domestic event of the year to Wisconsin, one of the hotbeds for our sport," said Pete Isais, USA Wrestling National Events Director. "We are also excited to showcase our top FILA Junior athletes, who are expected to be the stars for Team USA on the World and Olympic level in the future." The U.S. World Team Trials in Greco-Roman, the third Olympic style, will not be hosted in Madison. It is set for June 10-14 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The FILA Junior World Team Trials in men's freestyle and Greco-Roman, also held in Madison on May 30, will feature the nation's top men's freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers between the ages of 17-20 competing for a chance to represent the U.S. at the FILA Junior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, August 5-10. The U.S. World Team Trials, on both the Senior and FILA Junior level, is expected to include numerous athletes who are natives of Wisconsin, or are current or past student-athletes at Wisconsin colleges. Included in this list of those with Wisconsin roots include NCAA All-American Tyler Graff, a current star at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Andrew Howe, who won an NCAA title for Wisconsin-Madison in 2010. Athletes training at the Wisconsin Regional Training Center, including past Badger star Kyle Ruschell, are also expected to qualify to enter. This will be the first World Team Trials that USA Wrestling has ever hosted in Madison. There has been one past U.S. World Team Trials hosted in the state of Wisconsin, the 1994 Greco-Roman World Team Trials held in LaCrosse, Wis. Madison has hosted some major USA Wrestling events in the past, including the 1976, 1979 and 1983 U.S. Freestyle National Championships and the 2012 FILA Junior Nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman. The local organizing committee for the event will include the Wisconsin Regional Training Center, the Madison Area Sports Commission (MASC), the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation and the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association. "Bringing the World Team Trials to Madison is truly a combined effort of groups that bring a variety of assets to the table. The Wisconsin Regional Training Center is the local sponsor for the Trials but without the support and commitment from the leaders of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association, the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation and the Madison Area Sports Commission we would not be able to pull this off. Wisconsin's Wrestling legacy in the World and Olympic efforts of the USA is exemplary. There has been at least one Wisconsin athlete on nearly every Olympic Wrestling Team since 1972. We all hope this event will inspire more of our young athletes to pursue their Olympic Dreams. For the rest of us that no longer have the Olympic Games as a goal-we just get to watch the best wrestlers in the USA fight it out for a spot on the USA World Team," said Mitch Hull of the Wisconsin Regional Training Center. "The Madison Area Sports Commission is honored to partner in hosting the World Team Trials at the Alliant Energy Center. Wisconsin and the greater Madison area enjoys an illustrious history with the sport of wrestling, and we are excited to share and add to that legacy with this prominent event. The Madison area is excited to deliver a memorable experience for the elite athletes and great fans of the sport," said Jamie Patrick, Director of Sports Sales and Development for the Madison Area Sports Commission. "The Wisconsin Wrestling Federation is excited and honored to be part of the 2014 World Team Trials that is being held in Madison. As USA Wrestling's state affiliate and the grassroots organization for Wisconsin, we see this as a great opportunity. This gives our member athletes, coaches, officials and fans a chance to see this nation's best men and women freestyle wrestlers. The WWF board of directors is anxious and willing to assist any way possible to make this an event the wrestling community is proud of. To all wrestling fans, please put this on your calendar and plan to attend to witness the USA's finest freestyle wrestlers," said Dave Black, Wisconsin Wrestling Federation state chairman. "The Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association is excited to have the 2014 USA Wresting World Team Trials held in Wisconsin. Our association and membership believes this is a unique opportunity for Wisconsin Wrestling and Wisconsin Wrestling supporters. Wisconsin has a rich history in all styles of wrestling and this gives our fans, coaches, and younger athletes an opportunity to see some of the best in our nation compete for a spot on our country's World Team. Members of the WWCA are excited to be a part of host group. We have worked with the Wisconsin Regional Training Center, the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation, and the Madison Area Sports Commission during the planning process and looking forward to helping staff and organize a great event. Wrestling enthusiasts, make your arrangements now to be a part of this great event," said Dave McCarthy, President of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association. The exact schedule for the U.S. World Team Trials and the FILA Junior World Team Trials will be announced shortly, along with information on how to purchase tickets. U.S. FREESTYLE WORLD TEAM TRIALS SITES 1983: Iowa City, Iowa 1985: Baton Rouge, La. 1986: Indianapolis, Ind. 1987: Raleigh-Durham, N.C. 1989: Stillwater, Okla. 1990: 1995: Philadelphia, Pa. 1997: Las Vegas, Nev. 1998: Waterloo, Iowa 1999: Seattle, Wash. 2001: Cincinnati, Ohio 2002: St. Paul, Minn. 2003: Indianapolis, Ind. 2005: Ames, Iowa 2006: Sioux City, Iowa 2007: Las Vegas, Nev. 2009: 2010: Council Bluffs, Iowa 2011: Oklahoma City, Okla. 2013: Stillwater, Okla. 2014: Madison, Wis. U.S. WOMEN'S WORLD TEAM TRIALS SITES 1990: San Francisco, Calif. 1991: Toledo, Ohio 1992: 1994: Las Vegas, Nev, 1995: Norman, Okla. 1996: Las Vegas, N.M. 1997: Roseville, Calif. 1998: Colorado Springs, Colo. 1999: Rochester, Minn. 2000: Battle Creek, Mich. 2001: Cincinnati, Ohio 2002: St. Paul, Minn. 2003: Indianapolis, Ind. 2004: (for non-Olympic weights) Colorado Springs, Colo. 2005: Ames, Iowa 2006: Colorado Springs, Colo. 2007: Las Vegas, Nev. 2008: Colorado Springs, Colo. 2009: 2010: Council Bluffs, Iowa 2011: (for Olympic weights) Oklahoma City, Okla. 2011: (for non-Olympic weights) Colorado Springs, Colo. 2012: Colorado Springs, Colo. 2013: (for Olympic weights) Stillwater, Okla. 2013: (for non-Olympic weights) Colorado Springs, Colo. 2014: Madison, Wis.

ESPN will expand its TV and digital coverage of the 2014 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on March 20-22 by televising all six sessions and carrying every match on ESPN3, both for the first time. ESPN will televise the semifinals and championship finals while ESPNU will air the preliminary sessions and medal round. The entire tournament will be available on WatchESPN. The tournament from Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., will begin Thursday, March 20, with the first and second sessions -- never before televised -- on ESPNU. ESPN3’s individual mat feeds will allow fans to watch every match, including the wrestle-back bracket, accompanied by live commentary throughout the tournament. Additionally, for computer users, ESPN3 will once again offer multi-mat simultaneous viewing which allows fans to watch up to four different mats at one time. “We’ve seen significant audience growth in our NCAA Wrestling Championships coverage over the last few years which reflects the insatiable appetite wrestling fans have for live competition,” said Brent Colborne, ESPN director of programming and acquisitions. “The addition of the first two sessions on television, combined with our ‘every mat, every match’ digital strategy will provide the ultimate viewing experience for them.” The 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships finals were the most-viewed since 2004, the first year ESPN televised the finals live. Overall, ESPN and ESPNU’s 2013 Wrestling Championships coverage reached 5.4 million viewers in the course of two days. Digitally, ESPN3 and WatchESPN combined to generate 12.68 million live minutes viewed throughout three days of coverage, up 13% from 2012. ESPN began covering the NCAA Wrestling Division I Championships in 1980. Live telecasts of the championship finals began in 2004 and preliminary round telecasts began in 2005. Since 2011, ESPN has provided live coverage of all six sessions on ESPN3.

Join Steve Foster, Scott Casber producer Brad Johnson and Jeff Murphy with the Kemin Report this Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m. CT/10 a.m. to noon ET live from Clear Channel's KXNO studios in Des Moines, Iowa. This week's guests: 9 a.m. Tom Brands 9:20 a.m. Heath Grimm 9:35 a.m. Troy Steiner 9:50 a.m. Christian Payne 10 a.m. Kevin Jackson 10:40 a.m. Jeff Murphy 10:50 a.m. Amy Ruble Fans, athletes, coaches: This is your sport. Join in the conversation live. Ask questions. Call 866-333-5966 or 515-204-5966. Takedown Wrestling is available on radio on AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa, online at Livesportsvideo.com, or on your Blackberry or iPhone with the iHeart Radio app. (Click on KXNO under Sportsradio.)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Ithaca College wrestling team capped its dual-meet season with an exciting 20-13 victory over fifth-ranked Cortland on Wednesday at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers secured victories in six of 10 weight classes, including a clinching victory for senior heavyweight Shane Bartrum (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) on the team's Senior Night. Prior to the match, Bartrum, Josh Giacolone and Dominick Giacolone (Cato, N.Y./Cato-Meridian) were all honored. Ithaca's other seniors are Ricky Dracup (Southampton, Pa./William Tennent) and Brett Sanko (Lenhartsville, Pa./Hamburg Area). The 125-pound bout started with a scoreless first period. Cortland's Paul Fields started the second with the advantage, but Ithaca's Jimmy Kaishian (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) got an early reversal. Fields escaped but Kaishian immediately regained control with a takedown and held a 4-1 lead into the third period. Fields got an escape in the third period, but a takedown in the final seconds and riding-time point for Kaishian gave him the 8-2 decision. The nation's top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, Ithaca's Alex Gomez (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood), built a 4-1 lead in the first period of his match then got an escape and takedown in the second period to make it 7-1. Gomez yielded two escapes to Cortland's Troy Feniger in exchange for two takedowns to lead 11-3 after two periods. Near-fall points for Gomez to start the third made it 13-3, and after a series of free escapes and takedowns, Alex Gomez (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) won by tech fall 23-8 at 6:51. In a matchup of highly-rated 141-pounders, Cortland's fourth-ranked Brian Bistis took on Ithaca's Dominick Giacolone (Cato, N.Y./Cato-Meridian), who was ranked as high as fourth earlier in the season before falling out of the rankings due to injury. Bistins scored the lone point of the first two periods on a second-period escape. Giacolone answered with an escape in six seconds to start the third period. Bistis secured a takedown with 30 seconds left in the third period and Giacolone escaped with 8 seconds left. The 3-2 decision win for Bistis got the Red Dragons on the board and made the match score 8-3 in Ithaca's favor. At 149, a high-scoring first period saw Cortland's top-ranked Bobby Dierna and Ithaca's Eamonn Gaffney (Florham Park, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) tied 4-4 after the first period. Dierna escaped to start the second and added a takedown to lead 7-4. Gaffney's early escape in the third period got him within two, but the nation's number one went on to an 11-6 decision victory. Cortland's James Ondris led 1-0 over Ithaca's Kevin Collins (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) in the second period and then Collins got an escape after an injury timeout for Ondris. Collins built a 4-1 lead in the third before Ondris got an escape in the final minute, but that was the end of the scoring and Collins won 4-2 to put Ithaca ahead 11-6 in the team scoring. At 165, Ithaca's Kristopher Schimek (Cherry Creek, N.Y./Pine Valley Central) had a first-period takedown but Cortland's Joe Cataldo got a first-period escape. Cataldo started the second period with the advantage but Schimek escaped early to build his lead to 3-1. A second-period takedown extended Schimek's lead to 5-1. In the third period, Schimek started the third period with the advantage. Schimek scored near-fall points at the end of the period and a riding time point gave him the 8-1 decision win. Schimek, ranked second in the nation at 165, improved his record to 28-2 on the season and has won 21 consecutive matches. One of the highlight bouts of the evening saw the nation's fifth- and sixth-ranked wrestlers match up at 174 where Cortland's fifth-ranked Lou Puca took on Ithaca's sixth-ranked Carlos Toribio (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood). After a scoreless first period, Puca had the advantage in the second and rode out the two-minute period. Puca escaped 13 seconds into the third period to hold a 1-0 lead and significant riding time. Toribio attempted a pair of double-leg takedowns in the last 25 seconds and got the takedown with one second left in the third period. Puca's riding-time point sent the match to overtime at 2-2. One scoreless overtime period was followed by Toribio twisting out from under Puca and nearly managing a reversal, but Puca held on to his foot to ride out the 30 seconds. Puca escaped in 15 seconds in the second tiebreaker period and clinched the 3-2 overtime decision. In the 184-pound bout, Ithaca's Dan Glinko (Florham Park, N.J./Hanover Park) scored a first-period takedown and second-period reversal to lead 4-2 headed to the third. Cortland's Nick Bellanza got an escape early in the third and a takedown with five seconds left in the period to make it 5-4. The riding time advantage for Glinko sent the bout to overtime. Glinko got in a single-leg takedown attempt that Bellanza defended for a brief while, but the takedown at 45 seconds of overtime gave Glinko the 7-5 sudden-decision victory and put the Bombers ahead 17-9 with two weight classes remaining. Cortland's Joe Giaramita, ranked third in the nation at 197, got two first-period takedowns against Ithaca's Zach Conner (Islip Terrace, N.Y./Islip) and went on to take a 7-1 lead before Conner got a reversal late in the second period. Giaramita dominated the third period and with the riding time posted a 12-3 major decision to set up the conclusion at heavyweight with Ithaca leading the team score 17-13. The heavyweight matchup between Ithaca's Shane Bartrum (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) and Cortland's Lance Moore was scoreless after one period. Moore got an escape to start the second period, but there was no further scoring. Bartrum answered with an escape early in the third period and then got a takedown with 1:05 remaining. Moore escaped with 25 seconds left but Bartrum secured the bout with a takedown in the final 10 seconds and a 5-2 decision win that gave the Bombers a 20-13 dual-match victory. Results: 125: J. Kaishian (IC) dec. P. Fields (CRT) 8-2 133: #1 A. Gomez (IC) tech fall T. Feniger (CRT) 23-8, 6:51 141: #4 B. Bistis (CRT) dec. D. Giacolone (IC) 3-2 149: #1 B. Dierna (CRT) dec. E. Gaffney (IC) 11-6 157: K.Collins (IC) dec. J. Ondris (CRT) 4-2 165: #2 K. Schimek (IC) dec. J. Cataldo (CRT) 8-1 174: #5 L. Puca (CRT) dec. #6 C. Toribio (IC) 3-2 tb-1 184: D. Glinko (IC) dec. N. Bellanza (CRT) 7-5 ot 197: #3 J. Giaramita (CRT) maj. dec. Z. Conner (IC) 12-3 285: S. Bartrum (IC) dec. L. Moore (CRT) 5-2

GOLDEN, Colo. -- In their final dual of the season, the Colorado Mesa Mavericks defeated the Colorado Mines Orediggers 36-7. The Mavericks won eight of the ten matches including five for bonus points. The dual started at 184 pounds where Chester Granard moved up a weight class and received a forfeit. Colorado Mesa's Paco Retana picked up a huge win in terms of RMAC/Regional purposes are concerned. Retana defeated Oredigger Paul Wilson by pin just as the first round was ending. The previously ranked Wilson led 5-2 before the pin happened. The Mavericks rattled off the next three matches and led 24-0. After an Oredigger win at 141 pounds, the Mavericks went on another three match winning streak. Trevor Donarski picked up a major decision win at 157 pounds followed by a Jessie Hoffschneider technical fall win at 165 pounds. The Mavericks finished the season with an 11-5 record and 5-3 in the RMAC. All that lies ahead now is the NCAA Super Region West / RMAC Championships where the top three finishers will advance to the NCAA Championships. The Regional Tournament will be held in Brownson Arena on February 28 and March 1. The Mavericks will likely have two number one seeds in the tournament. Results: 184: #6 Chester Granard (CMU) won by forfeit.: CMU, 6-0 197: Francisco Retana (CMU) won by pin over Paul Wilson (Mines) 2:56.: CMU, 12-0 285: Jordan Passehl (CMU) won by decision over Andrew Rixon (Mines) 13-10.: CMU, 15-0 125: Erick Vargas (CMU) won by decision over Cory Carter (Mines) 8-4.: CMU, 18-0 133: Colby Christensen (CMU) won by pin over Robby Schultheis (Mines) 2:48.: CMU, 24-0 141: Jacob Gerken (Mines) won by major decision over Brandon Kittle (CMU) 10-1.: CMU, 24-4 149: Nick Swanson (CMU) won by decision over Justin Ray (Mines) 4-1.: CMU, 27-4 157: Trevor Donarski (CMU) won by major decision over Ashton Krajnovich (Mines) 20-8.: CMU, 31-4 165: #5 Jessie Hoffschneider (CMU) won by tech fall over Lawson Fiss (Mines) 7:00 20-5.: CMU, 36-4 174: Josh Brown (Mines) won by decision over Willy Holdren (CMU) 7-3.: CMU, 36-7

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. -- There was a strategy in the decision made by Tyler Maher in the third period of the heavyweight match in Wednesday night, Feb. 19's dual meet between the Lycoming College wrestling team and Stevens Institute of Technology. However, it was an ailing junior Nik Christine (Lewistown, Pa./Indian Valley) that took advantage, putting Maher on his back and securing a 24-15 Warrior win to cap the dual meet season. The Warriors (13-8 overall) completed a remarkable comeback over the Ducks (11-8 overall), who had been ranked as high as 19th in the NWCA Division III poll this year, as they posted wins in the final two bouts to finish the bout with six wins. With Maher leading 10-4 as the third period wound down in the final bout and Lycoming holding an 18-15 lead, Maher made the decision to allow Christine to escape and work for a takedown and earn the riding time point to earn a major decision and clinch the bout for the Ducks. However, as the pair moved to the left corner of the mat and the clock moved under 30 seconds, Maher took a shot and didn't get in deep enough. Christine, who had been taken down twice already in the period, however rolled into a cement mixer when back in the neutral position, putting Maher on his back and quickly securing the pin. In the 197-pound match, freshman Skylar Ebner (Muncy, Pa./Muncy) came up huge for the Warriors after Stevens took a 15-12 lead thanks to nine points in the 174- and 184-pound bouts. Ebner got in with a headlock halfway through the period and worked Doug Medrano into putting both shoulders on the mat over the next 20 seconds, securing his 10th pin of the season at the 2:10 mark. After a dropping a decision in the 125-pound match, the Warriors rebounded with decisions at 133 and 141 pounds, as senior Zack Finn (East Rochester, N.Y./East Rochester) posted a 4-0 win over Dillon Guarino and junior Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area) dominated in a 5-2 win over Ricky Perrine. At 149 pounds, fourth-ranked Michael Polizzi had to make a last period comeback to beat freshman Seth Lansberry (Klingerstown, Pa./Line Mountain), posting a 3-point near fall to edge out the Warrior rookie, 8-7, to retie the bout at six. Freshman Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield) used takedowns in the first and second periods, though, to take a 6-4 decision from Leo Wortman at 157 pounds and junior Brian Watkins (Bear Gap, Pa./Southern Columbia) followed with a huge 3-2 win over Connor Bass, who entered the meet with a 20-7 record. Watkins used a first-period takedown to take control of the 165-pound match and give Lycoming a 12-6 lead. Stevens, however, used a pin at 174 and a decision at 184 to take a 15-12 lead, setting up Lycoming's final dramatics. The Warriors get back on the mat when they start the postseason on Sunday, March 2, with the NCAA Mideast Regional at York College. The six-mat, one-day tournament will serve as the qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on March 15-16, with the top three wrestlers in each weight class qualifying. Results: 125 Rob Murray, SIOT, dec. Jake Witmer, LYCO, 5-0 133 Zachary Finn, LYCO, dec. Dillon Guarino, SIOT, 4-0 141 Caleb Willey, LYCO, dec. Ricky Perrine, SIOT, 5-2 149 Michael Polizzi, SIOT, dec. Seth Lansberry, LYCO, 8-7 157 Nolan Barger, LYCO, dec. Leo Wortman, SIOT, 6-4 165 Brian Watkins, LYCO, dec. Connor Bass, SIOT, 3-2 174 Zachary Bass, SIOT, pinned Matthew Neff, LYCO, 2:15 184 Ryan Dormann, SIOT, dec. Greg Wetzel, LYCO, 3-1 197 Skylar Ebner, LYCO, pinned Doug Medrano, SIOT, 2:10 285 Nikolas Christine, LYCO, pinned Tyler Maher, SIOT, 6:45 Exhibition Results: 149 Tommy Flynn (LC) dec. Justin Baker, 12-5 165 Colin Navickas (SIT) fall Christian Felstedt, 2:38

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. -- As it should on a championship night, it came down to the final bout to determine the winner of Wednesday night's dual match and the winner of the PSAC Division II Regular Season dual championship. Freshman Andrew Welton earned a 3-0 decision win in the heavyweight bout, lifting the eighth-ranked Mercyhurst University wrestling team to a 23-15 victory at 15th-ranked Pitt-Johnstown and giving the Lakers their second consecutive PSAC title – the first two Division II dual titles in the history of the conference. It was Mercyhurst's 12th consecutive victory as it finishes the regular season with an 18-1 overall record and a perfect 7-0 mark against PSAC opponents. The Mountain Cats had their 12-match winning streak snapped, dropping to 13-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference. It was also the first time that head coach Mike Wehler has beaten Pitt-Johnstown since joining Mercyhurst in 2007. The Lakers improved to 2-12-1 lifetime against UPJ. In the first match of the night, redshirt junior Ryan Bohince was pitted against eighth-ranked Dave Fogle of Pitt-Johnstown. After a quick takedown by Fogle, Bohince countered with an escape to cut the lead to 2-1. Moments later, Fogle earned another takedown for a 4-1 advantage. Another escape by Bohince proved to be the final point of the first period. Bohince escaped to start the second, cutting the Fogle lead to 4-3. The Laker junior scored a takedown late in the period to take a 5-4 advantage and then rode him out to close out the period. Fogle escaped to start the third period and then picked up a quick takedown to go back in front 7-5 with a minute left. Those would prove to be the final points of the 125-pound bout as Fogle claimed an 8-5 decision with the riding time point. At 133, redshirt sophomore Kody Young battled Pitt-Johnstown's Luke Palamides. After a slow first two minutes, Young made a quick move to score a takedown and a three-point nearfall to jump in front 5-0 after the opening period. Young countered a move by Palamides in the second period to turn it into a takedown and a 7-0 lead after five minutes. Young chose bottom to start the third and was nearly pinned early but was able to get out and pick up an escape point for an 8-0 advantage. Palamides countered with a takedown, but Young picked up an escape for a 9-2 lead and then scored a two-point takedown in the final second to get the major decision 11-2 victory and a 4-3 Laker advantage. Seventh-ranked sophomore Dylan D'Urso was up next at 141 against UPJ sophomore Sam Hanau. Hanau had D'Urso in trouble early but the Laker sophomore forced a stalemate. After the whistle, D'Urso scored a quick takedown for a 2-0 lead. Hanau later countered with a reversal to tie the bout at 2-2 after the opening three minutes. Hanau scored a quick escape to start the second period, taking a 3-2 advantage on D'Urso. But, the number two wrestler in the region countered with a takedown late in the second to take a 4-3 lead after two. D'Urso was in a world of trouble early in the third period but was able to weather the storm to earn a stalemate. After the whistle, D'Urso picked up an escape for a 5-3 advantage and then, in the final seconds, earned a takedown for 7-3 win and a 7-3 lead for the Lakers. The win extended D'Urso winning streak to 16 straight and 34 consecutive victories in dual action. He improved to 25-2 on the season. The highlight of the night was, arguably, at 149 where redshirt sophomore Jeremy Landowski was pitted against his cousin, Cole Landowski of UPJ. It was a scoreless first period, but both took shots to attempt to grab early points. UPJ's Landowski grabbed a 2-0 lead midway through the second on a foul and an escape. The Lakers' Landowski scored a takedown in the final seconds of the middle stanza to tie the bout. The Laker sophomore picked up a reversal after choosing bottom to start the third to grab a 4-2 advantage. He, then, was able to ride out his cousin until the final second, picking up a riding time point in the process for a 5-3 victory. It was Landowski's 14th consecutive victory as he improved to 18-4 on the season. At 157, redshirt freshman Francis Mizia battled UPJ's Heath Coles and, after a scoreless first two minutes, Mizia scored a takedown for a 2-0 lead and then added a two-point nearfall for a 4-0 advantage after one period. Coles grabbed an escape to start the second, cutting the Mizia lead to 4-1. But, Mizia countered with a takedown late in the second to hold a 6-1 lead after two periods. The Laker freshman chose bottom to start the third and drew an escape for a 7-1 advantage. A late takedown and an added riding point gave Mizia a 10-1 major decision victory and a 14-3 Mercyhurst lead. Mizia improved to 24-4 on the season. Redshirt senior Clint Schaefer was pitted against UPJ senior Gary Lantz, ranked fourth in the region, at 165 to begin the second half of the night. After a scoreless first period, Lantz scored a quick escape to start the second to take a 1-0 lead. He added a takedown to build his lead to 3-0, but Schaefer added an escape to cut Lantz' lead to 3-1 after two periods. Lantz added a takedown to start the third, building his lead to 5-1. A stalling point and a riding time point gave Lantz a 7-1 victory, cutting the Mercyhurst lead to 14-6. Redshirt sophomore August Mizia took a quick 5-0 lead on John Blankenship at 174, scoring a takedown and a three-point nearfall in the opening minute. Mizia quickly turned it into a pinfall just 90 seconds into the match for a 20-6 Laker lead. It was Mizia's seventh fall of the season as he improved to 22-4 on the season. Freshman Dakota DesLauriers attempted for the major upset when he took the mat at 184 against third-ranked Travis McKillop of UPJ. McKillop earned a takedown midway through the first period to take a 2-0 lead. McKillop added a two-point nearfall for a 4-0 lead after one. McKillop added an escape midway through the second for a 5-0 margin. McKillop scored a takedown past the midway mark of the third period and then added a riding point for an 8-0 win over DesLauriers. The four team points cut the Mercyhurst lead to 20-10. Redshirt sophomore Brian Beattie allowed an early takedown to UPJ's Zac Bennett to start the 197-pound bout. Bennett added a three-point nearfall late in the period and then a stalling point for a 6-0 advantage after three minutes. Beattie was nearly pinned on two different occasions in the second period, but was able to turn it into a reversal to keep from allowing six points. However, Bennett held a 15-2 lead after two periods. Bennett scored two points on a nearfall early in the third to score the technical fall, setting up the heavyweight showdown. Welton took center stage against the Mountain Cats' Josh Duplin in the final bout of the night with the Lakers clinging to a five-point lead. After a scoreless opening period, Welton chose bottom to start the second and drew an early escape for a 1-0 lead. Welton would add a takedown late in the third to seal the victory. Mercyhurst heads back to Johnstown on March 1 and March 2 for the NCAA Division II Super Region I Championships. The tournament determines qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament later in the month. Results: 125 lbs. #8 Dave Fogle (UPJ) decision over Ryan Bohince (MU), 8-5 133 lbs. Kody Young (MU) major decision over Luke Palamides (UPJ), 11-3 141 lbs. #7 Dylan D'Urso (MU) decision over Sam Hanau (UPJ), 7-3 149 lbs. #8 Jeremy Landowski (MU) decision over Cole Landowski (UPJ), 5-3 157 lbs. Francis Mizia (MU) major decision over Heath Coles (UPJ), 10-1 165 lbs. Gary Lantz (UPJ) decision over Clint Schaefer (MU), 7-1 174 lbs. August Mizia (MU) fall over John Blankenship (UPJ), 1:30 184 lbs. #2 Travis McKillop (UPJ) major decision over Dakota DesLauriers (MU), 8-0 197 lbs. Zac Bennett (UPJ) technical fall over Brian Beattie (MU), 17-2 285 lbs. Andrew Welton (MU) decision over Josh Duplin (UPJ), 3-0

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Redshirt senior Eloheim Palma secured the Fighting Camel win Wednesday night, using an 8-6 decision in the heavyweight bout to give Campbell the 20-18 win over SIUE, its fifth Southern Conference win of the year. Palma and classmate Brent Jorge each notched crucial wins to lead CU to victory in their final regular season home match as Camels. The Walker twins put Campbell in front 9-0 to begin the match against the Cougars. At 125, Tyler remained perfect in the SoCon at 5-0, taking the 11-5 decision over Dakota leach before Patrick Myers had to medically forfeit at 133 pounds, giving Drew a six-point win. John Petrov notched the first Cougar win of the night, earning a 3-1 decision over Michael Dahlstrom at 141 points. Jorge came away with his third technical fall of the season, handing Karsten Van Velsor an 18-3 loss at 149 pounds, moving CU ahead 14-3. Grant Blumenthal followed with a slim 5-4 decision over Logun Taylor at 157 pounds, giving the Camels their largest lead of the night, 17-3. SIUE stormed back to win four bouts in a row, including two sudden victory wins, a decision and a pin, to take the 18-17 lead going into the final match. Palma used an 8-6 decision at the heavyweight spot to take the Camels' final three team points and clinching the 20-18 victory. The Camels will round out the regular season Saturday in Chapel Hill. CU will take on Pittsburgh at 2 p.m. in Carmichael Arena before meeting The Citadel at 3:30 p.m., making up Thursday's canceled match. Results: 125: T. Walker dec. Leach 11-5 133: D. Walker med. for. Meyers 141: Petrov dec. Dahlstrom 3-1 149: Jorge tech fall Van Velsor 18-3, 2:50 157: Blumenthal dec. Taylor 5-4 165: Lester SV-2 Duggan 4-3 174: Residori dec. Ryba 6-0 184: White SV-1 Heino 5-3 197: Wood pin Matthews 2:43 285: Palma dec. Devine 8-6

Three of the Midwestern wrestling power states holds their state tournaments this weekend. Iowa and Illinois' individual state tournaments get underway today and conclude on Saturday, while Indiana's state tournament is Friday and Saturday. Below is a look at the notable wrestlers and weight classes in the Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana state tournaments this weekend. Iowa One of the nation's most popular state tournaments in terms of fan attendance and media interest comes to the Wells Fargo Center in Des Moines, which hosted last year's NCAA Division I Championships, this weekend. Based on rankings from The Predicament, all three divisions should have relatively competitive races for the title. Most notable is Class 3A, which features a trio of nationally ranked teams: No. 22 Southeast Polk, No. 23 Bettendorf, and No. 36 Waverly-Shell Rock. The three teams finished in that order in last year's individual state tournament. Entering this year's event, Southeast Polk has 12 state qualifiers, Waverly-Shell Rock 11, and Bettendorf 9. However, the most recent rankings have Bettendorf with a state high five wrestlers either first or second: Jack Wagner (106), Jacob Schwarm (113), No. 3 Fredy Stroker (132), No. 9 Logan Ryan (138), and Jacob Woodard (152). Southeast Polk counters with four such wrestlers: Nolan Hellickson (120), Briar Dittmer (145), Ethan Andersen (220), and Jake Marnin (285); while Waverly-Shell Rock also has four: No. 20 Bryce Steiert (145), Spencer Derifield (160), Izaak Miller (182), and Kaleb Staack (285). Five nationally ranked wrestlers are in Class 3A this year: No. 14 Alijah Jeffery (Linn-Mar) at 120, Stroker at 132, Ryan at 138, Steiert at 145, and No. 6 Marcus Harrington (Waterloo West) at 195. Jeffery is the lone undefeated wrestler in the 120-pound weight class, and is looking at a quarterfinal match against returning state seventh Sam Uthoff (Cedar Rapids Prairie), before a semifinal against returning state third Hellickson. Top wrestlers in the other half of the draw by the rankings include two-time state placer Trevor Murano (Dallas Center Grimes), Paul Glynn (Bettendorf), and Michael Zachary (Dowling Catholic). Stroker is a strong favorite at 132 pounds, though there is a fellow state champion in this weight class, Jake Koethe (West Des Moines Valley). Those two wrestlers are in opposite halves of the draw. Stroker's quarterfinal is most likely to be against Justin Reiher (Waverly-Shell Rock), with the semifinal against the winner of a first round bout between returning state placer Keegan Shaw (Southeast Polk) and two-time state placer Matt Wempen (Linn-Mar). Defending champ Ryan is a strong favorite at 138, though the next two ranked wrestlers are in his half of the draw. Two-time state fourth Josh Wenger (Cedar Rapids Prairie) and returning state seventh Dan Kelly (Cedar Falls) are likely to meet in the quarterfinal round for the right to face Ryan in the semifinal round. Returning state eighth Aaron Meyer (Southeast Polk) is the favorite in the other half of the draw, something that is to the Rams' benefit in the team race. While returning state finalist Steiert is a clear pick at 145, his path to the final is likely to involve three top seven ranked wrestlers; Connor Coyle (Sioux City North), Alex Caldwell (Clinton), and Landon BeLieu (Indianola) in that order. Returning state fourth Briar Dittmer (Southeast Polk) is the favorite in the other half of the draw, with likely top seven matchups coming in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Harrington, undefeated for the season, is the strong favorite to repeat at 195 pounds. His primary challenger is Colin Kreiter (North Scott), who placed fourth in this weight last year. The two wrestlers are slated to meet in the semifinal round. They have already met this season, Harrington pinning Kreiter in the first period during the opening weekend of the season for Kreiter's only loss of the season. In terms of the Class 2A team race, both Mediapolis and Davenport Assumption qualified ten to the state tournament, and should wage an intense battle for the championship. As far as individuals go, only one weight class features a nationally ranked wrestler: 138 pounds with No. 18 Max Thomsen (Union), who is undefeated for the season. Also in his weight class is another undefeated wrestler, two-time state placer Andres Gonzalez (Clear Lake), who is in the opposite half of the bracket. The Class 1A team race has a strong favorite in Alburnett, the defending state champions, who qualified ten individuals to the state tournament. There is a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in this classification, No. 19 Evan Hansen (Exira) and No. 9 Ryley Howell (Walpello). Hansen competes at 182 pounds, where he is undefeated on the season and a strong favorite to repeat as state champion. The second ranked wrestler in his classification, Adam Hawkins (BGM Brooklyn) is 44-1 on the season and does loom as a semifinal opponent; while 43-1 Luke Huber (Hudson), ranked third, is the likely finals opponent. Howell competes at 285 pounds, where he is undefeated on the season after finishing as runner-up last year at 220. There is another undefeated wrestler in his weight class, returning state third Landon Paulsen (Woodbury Central), who is in the other half of the draw. Illinois The three class state tournament in the Land of Lincoln commences from the State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana on Thursday. No. 2 Oak Park River Forest (Class 3A) and No. 19 Montini Catholic (Class 2A) qualified the most wrestlers to this un-scored individual state tournament with twelve each. The other two Fab 50 teams, No. 18 Marist and No. 29 Marmion Academy – both Class 3A teams – qualified nine each. Among Class 1A teams, Plano and Dakota qualified the joint most at ten each. Three wrestlers will be seeking their fourth state title in as many campaigns this weekend: No. 14 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy) in the Class 3A 126-pound competition, No. 4 Josh Alber (Dakota) in the Class 1A 132, and No. 5 Jered Cortez (Glenbard North) in the Class 3A 132. Jimenez should be mostly unchallenged, as the second-ranked competitor Jon Marmolejo (Glenbard North) suffered his lone defeat of the season by 13-3 major decision to Jimenez in the Dvorak final. They are in opposite halves of the draw, and Marmolejo does have an interesting first round match against three-time state placer Nick Nasenbenny (Plainfield Central). Likewise, Cortez and the undefeated Alber are virtually unchallenged in their respective weight classes. A pair of Class 3A weight classes features three nationally ranked wrestlers in the bracket, 113 and 285 pounds. At 113 pounds, two of those wrestlers will meet in the first round: No. 8 Brian Rossi (Lockport) and No. 18 Anthony Bosco (Marmion Academy). Bosco was upset in the semifinals 2-1 by Jake Sizer (Mt. Carmel), and then lost 8-6 in overtime to fellow upset victim No. 9 Rudy Yates (Brother Rice) in consolation final. With Nick Lukanich (Marist) being the fourth seeded sectional champ, it created the pairing of top seed Rossi (two-time state third placer) and Bosco; with Lukanich and Rossi being in the same half of the draw. Yates is in the third quarter of the draw, and looking at a quarterfinal match against Alex Madrigal (Oak Park River Forest). In the fourth quarter of the draw, a first round match between Sizer and returning state runner-up Miguel Silva (Plainfield South) looms for the right to face returning state third placer Travis Piotrowski (Prairie Ridge) in the quarterfinal round. The two best Class 3A 285-pound wrestlers have unfortunately been paired together, No. 7 Brian Allen (Hinsdale Central) and No. 8 Nicky Allegretti (Lincoln-Way East) were sectional champions but placed in the same half of the draw. The defending state champ Allen and Allegretti have split bouts this year, Allen winning 3-1 at Palatine and Allegretti winning 5-4 in the ultimate tiebreaker and Lincoln-Way East. The sectional runners-up to Allen and Allegretti are the likely semifinalists in the bottom half of the draw; No. 17 Adarios Jones (Moline) and Michael Hobbs (Downers Grove South). Hobbs is likely to face fellow returning state qualifier Nick McDermand (Libertyville) in the quarterfinal, and Jones is looking at a date with sectional champion D'Andre Johnson (Glenbard East). Four other weight classes feature a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers: Class 3A 106, Class 3A 120, Class 3A 195, and Class 2A 285. At 106 pounds, No. 7 Jason Renteria (Oak Park River Forest) and No. 8 Austin O'Connor (St. Rita) are in opposite halves of the draw. The lone loss for Renteria came in the Walsh Ironman final, while O'Connor has three losses, all against nationally ranked opposition by one point. That includes a 6-5 loss to Renteria on opening night, and two losses in dual meets to ranked 113-pound wrestlers. The 120-pound weight class features No. 16 Kris Williams (Thornwood) and No. 18 Steven Polakowski (Libertyville) as the top two seeds. Williams is undefeated for the season and a two-time state champion, while Polakowski qualified for state last year, and is a Junior freestyle All-American. In Polakowski's half of the draw, Cadet National double finalist Gabe Townsell (Oak Park River Forest) is the regional champion; and will draw two-time state runner-up Mark Duda (Marist) in the quarterfinals. Opposition to watch in Williams' half of the draw include Cadet freestyle All-American Andrew Mehrholz (Deerfield), who is in his quarter; along with A.J. Jaffe (Marmion Academy) and two-time state placer Michael Cullen (Cary-Grove) in that other quarter. The two nationally ranked 195-pound wrestlers, No. 11 Tyler Johnson (Lockport) and No. 20 Andre Lee (Oak Park River Forest), are in opposite halves of the draw. Cadet freestyle champion Johnson is undefeated on the season, as is Regis Durbin (Lake Forest). Durbin and Lee are the sectional champions within the bottom half of the draw. The two nationally ranked Class 2A 285-pound wrestlers, No. 10 Michael Johnson (Montini Catholic) and No. 11 Tanner Farmer (Highland) are in opposite halves of the draw. Defending state champion Farmer is undefeated on the season, as is Deuce Rachal (Lindblom). Rachal and Johnson, a National Prep runner-up last year, are the sectional champions within the bottom half of the draw. Rounding out the nationally ranked wrestlers in Class 3A are No. 12 Isaiah White (Oak Park River Forest) at 138 pounds, No. 1 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel) at 152, No. 19 Kamal Bey (Oak Park River Forest) at 160, No. 10 Davonte Mahomes (Oak Park River Forest) at 170, and No. 18 Alex Benoit (Marist) at 182. Other nationally ranked wrestlers in Class 2A include No. 7 Kyle Akins (Sycamore) at 120 pounds, No. 14 Garrett Sutton (Richmond-Burton) at 160, and No. 15 Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic) at 170. The other ranked Class 1A wrestler is Derrick Maisonet (Plano) at 195. Indiana This tournament held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is a single-class affair, and has a single-elimination format. Wrestlers that lose in the first round do not place, those in the quarters finish fifth through eight. Seven of the fourteen weight classes will feature nationally ranked wrestler, multiple ranked wrestlers are featured in four of those weight classes. The 220-pound weight class is arguably the featured one in this tournament with three nationally ranked wrestlers and an additional undefeated wrestler as the four semi-state tournament champions. Dylan Faulkenberg (Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter) and No. 8 Gelen Robinson (Lake Central), the defending state champion in this weight class, populate the top half of the draw. No. 9 Fletcher Miller (Kokomo) and No. 12 Connor Tolley (Franklin Community) anchor the bottom half. Miller, runner-up last year to Robinson and a Junior freestyle All-American, has the lone loss for a wrestler in this weight class; he lost 4-3 to 285-pound favorite Wesley Bernard during the season. Tolley placed fourth in this weight class last year, and was a NHSCA Junior Nationals champion. Speaking of the 285-pound class, it features a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers, both of whom are undefeated on the season and two-time state placers. Wesley Bernard (Indianapolis Cathedral) is ranked No. 6 nationally, and was a Junior freestyle All-American during the summer, while Eric Hemmelgarn (Jay County) holds the No. 19 ranking. Each is positioned to face a wrestler with one loss in the semifinal round. Bernard is in the same half as returning state placer Shawn Streck (Merrillville), a Cadet National double All-American during the summer; while Hemmelgarm has returning state qualifier Norman Ogleby (Benjamin Davis) in his half. Another weight with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers is at 145 pounds, where both wrestlers won state titles last season. No. 9 Cody LeCount (Perry Meridian) upended No. 11 Tommy Forte (Mishawaka) by a late match fall during early January. Should the wrestlers meet again, it would mercifully be in the state final, as they are in opposite halves. The third best wrestler in this weight is returning state placer Ben Harvey (Indianpaolis Cathedral), who has lost twice to LeCount on the season, including by fall in the semi-state final. Unfortunately he has been drawn into the same quarter as Forte. Two other returning state placers reside in this weight class, Evan Loe (Peru) and Bailey Schober (Greenwood). Each was a semi-state champion; Loe is in the same half as Forte and Harvey, while Schober is in the same half as LeCount. Last for the weights with multiple ranked wrestlers, the 132-pound weight class features both No. 14 Deondre Wilson (Warren Central) and No. 18 Brandon James (Perry Meridian). Wilson has wins over James in finals each of the last two weeks, 4-3 in the regional and 6-5 in ultimate tiebreaker at semi-state. The only other returning state placer in this weight class is Devin Broukal (Bloomington South), who placed seventh each of the last two years. Broukal and defending state champ Wilson are in the same half of the draw, and his only loss of the season was 6-2 to the undefeated Wilson. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers in the tournament are No. 20 Chad Red (New Palestine) at 120 pounds, No. 1 Stevan Micic (Hanover Central) at 126, and No. 9 Vinny Corsaro (Indianapolis Cathedral). Red, undefeated on the season, is in a weight class with seven other past state placers. That includes a two-time state placer in his likely quarterfinal match, Bailey LaHue (Corydon Central). In the other quarter of that bottom half, the anchor is returning state fourth place finisher Connor Knapp (East Noble). The top quarter of the draw is anchored by Brock Hudkins (Danville), who placed fifth at state last year and beat LaHue in the semi-state final; the other match of that top quarter is a battle of state placers in Jacob Cottey (Perry Meridian) and Forrest Glogouski (Fairfield). Also in the top half is the undefeated Jake Sinkovics (Mishawaka), who placed seventh last year at state. One of the most hyped matches of the season is likely to come at 126 pounds, in the semifinal round, a battle of undefeated wrestlers between two-time state champion Micic and freshman sensation Nick Lee (Evansville Mater Dei). Micic does have a likely quarterfinal date with returning state fourth placer Cael McCormick (Yorktown) before the semifinal clash with Lee. The top half of the draw is led by undefeated returning state placer Erique Early (Fort Wayne Snider) and returning state runner-up Zachary Davis (Mishawaka Penn). The undefeated Corsaro is in a weight class with only two other state placers, and they are slated to meet in the quarterfinal round. Nick Borta (North Montgomery) placed seventh last year at state, and was undefeated for the season prior to losing by technical fall to Corsaro this past weekend; he'll likely face returning state third placer Rhett Hiestand (Yorktown) in that bout. Borta has two victories over Hiestand, his only two losses of the season.

For obvious reasons, the UFC brass have been eager to paint Ronda Rousey as a pound for pound caliber fighter. But could a fighter with equal athleticism and Olympic level takedown defense exploit Rousey's lack of striking ability? We'll find out Saturday when she takes on Sara McMann in the UFC 170 main event. Besides that, welterweights Demian Maia and Rory MacDonald face off in a must one bout and...actually the rest of the main card is pretty weak. But Richard and John also discuss the biggest news story of the week: Gilbert Melendez's potential departure to Bellator. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Mike Finn and Mike Rogers will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, Feb. 19. "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 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Finn is the editor of Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine. He was named journalist of the year by the National Wrestling Media Association in 2006. Rogers is the head wrestling coach at Franklin & Marshall. He was a two-time All-American for Lock Haven.

The Luther seniors wrapped up their final home meet of their careers with a 48-0 victory over St. Olaf College. Major decisions by Cody Orr (149), Eric Moreno (184) and Nick Jazdzewski (197) helped propelled the Norse to victory. The match of the night was an upset victory by Jarid Groth who pinned No. 2 ranked James Roach at 5:49. The victory gave Groth his 21st win of the season. Brent Blaser (165) and Nick Pearch (285) recorded wins by decision. The Norse will be off until Saturday, March 1 when they will travel to the Five Flags Center in Dubuque for the NCAA III Central Regional. The top three place winners in each weight class will earn berths to the NCAA III National Championships. Results: 125 #8 Garrett Wangsness - L Forfeit Open - SO 6 0 133 #3 Evan Obert - L Forfeit Open - SO 12 0 141 Dakota Gray - L Forfeit Open - SO 18 0 149 Cody Orr - L Maj. Dec. 10-2 Adam Woitalla - SO 22 0 157 Blake Letney - L Forfeit Open – SO 28 0 165 Brent Blaser - L Dec. 5-3 Alex Evan – SO 31 0 174 Jarid Groth - L Fall - 5:49 #2 James Roach - SO 37 0 184 Eric Moreno - L Maj. Dec. 14-0 Seth Barkosky - SO 41 0 197 Nick Jazdzewski - L Maj. Dec. 10-0 Mathew Caulfield - SO 45 0 285 Nick Pearch - L Dec. 2-1 Zach Gibson - SO 48 0

Westminster, Md. -- No. 3 Messiah College moved to 21-2 in duals this season with a 44-6 route of McDaniel College on Tuesday night. The dual win was the Falcons' fourteeth in a row, with their past five match-ups combining for a 207-25 advantage. The win was also the Falcons' final tune-up before the NCAA Division III Regionals, set for Mar. 2 at York College in York, Pa. Three Falcons secured wins by pinning their McDaniel opponent and two others won by tech fall. No. 8 Ricardo Plummer (174) and Ben Kramer (197) won by tech fall, both of them in the third round. Making his return to the mat after time out with an injury was Chris Williamson (149) who won by pin over Trey Mitchell right at the end of the second period. The match was evenly fought but Williamson took a shot near the end of second, got the takedown and put Mitchell onto his back quickly. The other two pins came from Nick Havener (184) and Charles Jones (285), both in the first period of their bouts. McDaniel's six points came from a pin at 133 pounds by No. 9 Ryan O'Boyle over Kyle Coblentz. That tied the match at six points each but the Falcons didn't let the Green Terror score a point thereafter. As mentioned, the NCAA Regionals will be the Falcons' next time on the mat so they will have a couple of weeks off to prepare for the tournament. Continue to follow the Falcons here on GoMessiah.com as that time approaches. Results: 125: Lucas Malmberg (Me) won by forfeit; 6-0 133: Ryan O'Boyle (Mc) pinned Kyle Coblentz 2:26; 6-6 141: Kaleb Loht (Me) dec. Alvontae Drummond 7-3; 9-6 149: Chris Williamson (Me) pinned Trey Mitchell 4:58; 15-6 157: Larry Cannon (Me) maj. dec. Erik Meyer 9-1; 19-6 165: Jonathan Goodwin (Me) dec. Luke Yox 10-5; 22-6 174: Ricardo Plummer (Me) tech. fell Ricky Tisinger 21-4 (5:20); 27-6 184: Nick Havener (Me) pinned Marvin McKinney 2:05; 33-6 197: Ben Kramer (Me) tech. fell Dakota Wilhem 16-1 (7:00); 38-6 HWT: Charles Jones (Me) pinned Taylor Avino 2:45. 44-6

ADA, Ohio -- The Heidelberg University wrestling team claimed their seventh Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship with a 28-10 defeat of the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. The Berg grapplers only dropped three matches to Ohio Northern to remain undefeated in the OAC in 2013-14. Third year head coach Ned Shuck's career OAC record moves to 11-4 after tonight's triumph over the Polar Bears. "We are going to enjoy tonight and we will appreciate the effort and hard work it takes to be OAC champs," said Shuck. "Tomorrow we will forget about it and prepare for the Mideast Regionals. It is an important achievement (to win the OAC), we did it in solid fashion and we were confident in our wins. But now we get ready for York, Pa. and the competition we will face at Regionals." The Student Princes were awarded a forfeit at 125-pounds to take an immediate 6-0 lead. After sophomore Tyler Price accepted the forfeit at 125, sophomore Colin McDermitt extended the Berg's lead. McDermitt scored a decisive 12-3 major decision at 133-pounds moving the Berg's lead to 10-0. Senior Ian Gillespie, in his final OAC match earned a dominant 13-0 major decision at 141-pounds to push the Student Princes ahead, 14-0. Sophomore Damon Cheek claimed the third major decision of the evening, 10-2. After the 149-pound weight class, the Student Princes controlled the match 18-0. Fellow sophomore Aaron Banko suffered the first Heidelberg loss of the night at 157-pounds. Banko was handed a slim 4-3 decision to put the Polar Bears on the board. Senior Jeremy Stepp concluded a stellar year in the OAC with a six-point victory, 11-5. Stepp's decision pushed the score to 21-3 in Heidelberg's favor before junior Brennan Kelly dropped the Berg's second match of the night. Kelly went down to the Polar Bear's Tyler Gargano, who is currently ranked by d3wrestle.com. The Student Princes sealed the match and their seventh OAC regular season championship at 184-pounds with a major decision from junior Richard Dowdley. Dowdley clinched the match with an impressive 11-3 triumph. Senior Jason Russell concluded a one-loss year in the OAC at 197-pounds with a close victory. Russell scored a 1-0 decision with riding time over Michael Pawlitz to push the Heidelberg advantage to 28-6. Freshman 285-pounder Alex Farrow fought valiantly against nationally ranked Cody Lovejoy but surrendered the third 'Berg loss of the night. The young heavyweight fell to Lovejoy, 10-3 after scoring a crucial takedown in the final minute of the match and not allowing the Polar Bear score the major decision. "I just want to say thanks for all of the support this season," said Shuck. "It takes a family to win a championship It's not just the guys that wrestled in the duals, it is the student body, the administration, the other sports teams and their athletes, the friends and family of the program. It's the 30+ guys on the team that work hard and prepare for their opportunity everyday. Not just the ten, it is a family of teammates and it was cool to win this OAC title for all of them." The 18-point victory over Ohio Northern moves the Student Princes to an undefeated 5-0 in conference action this season and earns them their second consecutive OAC regular season title. "Guys have been working really hard and this is just a small step toward the Regional and NCAA Championships," said assistant Patrick Wright. The Heidelberg wrestling team will return to the mat on Sunday, March 2 for the Mideast Regional Championships. The Mideast Regional will be host by York College in York, Pa. Results: 125 Ty Price (Heidelberg) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached) . 0 6.00 133 Colin McDermitt (Heidelberg) won by major decision over Cole Cochran (Ohio Northern) 12-3. 0 4.00 141 Ian Gillespie (Heidelberg) won by major decision over Cody Harting (Ohio Northern) 14-0. 0 4.00 149 Damon Cheek (Heidelberg) won by major decision over Ryan Fowler (Ohio Northern) 10-2. 0 4.00 157 Kyler Deeter (Ohio Northern) won by decision over Aaron Banko (Heidelberg) 4-3. 3.00 0 165 Jeremy Stepp (Heidelberg) won by decision over Keegan Shillito (Ohio Northern) 11-5. 0 3.00 174 Tyler Gargano (Ohio Northern) won by decision over Brennan Kelly (Heidelberg) 3-2. 3.00 0 184 Richard Dowdley (Heidelberg) won by major decision over Dillon Brancheau (Ohio Northern) 11-3. 0 4.00 197 Jason Russell (Heidelberg) won by decision over Michael Pawlitz (Ohio Northern) 1-0. 0 3.00 285 Cody Lovejoy (Ohio Northern) won by major decision over Alex Farrow (Heidelberg) 12-3. 4.00 0

PEMBROKE – The 17th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team rallied back from a late pin with wins in the final two matches to record its biggest win in school history as the Braves toppled No. 3 Newberry, 18-15, on Tuesday evening in the English E. Jones Center. The victory helped UNCP (12-4) snap an eight-match losing streak in the series, giving the Braves their first victory over the Wolves since the 2004-05 campaign. The setback was just the second of the season for Newberry (17-2) whose only other loss came at the hands of top-ranked Notre Dame in the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals on January 12. The triumph will allow the Black & Gold to take a school record 11-match win streak in dual meets into the 2014-15 campaign. The win also marked the final home match in the Black & Gold for seniors Dontae Brown and Justin Pencook. "It feels wonderful. I couldn't be more proud of the guys on our team and our coaching staff," said UNCP head coach Othello "O.T." Johnson. "I am very proud that the guys were able to pull together and stay together this year to put us in a position for this historic win." Newberry's Jeff Vesta, the nation's second-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds, gave Newberry the quick lead with a 5-0 decision over Brown, but the Braves answered back minutes later when Cole Murray finished off a 2-0 win over Nick Lankford. The individual victory would have tied the score back up, but the Braves were deducted a team point and Newberry held on to a 3-2 advantage. An 11-7 victory by third-ranked B.J. Young over fourth-ranked Daniel Ownbey at 141 pounds would swing the momentum back to the Wolves, but the Braves followed with decision wins by Eric Milks (149 pounds) and Pencook (157) to take an 8-6 advantage into the intermission. The Wolves retook the lead, 9-8, on second-ranked Blake Ridenour's 5-0 blanking of Reggie Allen in the 165-pound match, but the hosts got a big 14-4 major decision from Blaze Shade at 184 pounds to take its largest lead of the match, 12-9. Newberry, however, would deliver a big blow at 184 pounds when Jared Holliday registered a second-period pin of Brach Walker to give the Wolves a 15-12 advantage. The Braves would lay their heart and soul on the line in the final two matches though, tying the match on Stuart Nadeau's late 3-point near fall at 197 pounds, and then securing the win on eighth-ranked Chris Giddens' 4-2 upset of second-ranked Matt Wade in the heavyweight bout. Results: 125: No. 8 Jeff Vesta (NC) dec. Dontae Brown (UNCP) D 5-0 133: Cole Murray (UNCP) dec. Nick Lankford (NC) D 2-0 141: No. 3 B.J. Young (NC) dec. No. 3 Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) D 11-7 149: Eric Milks (UNCP) dec. Seiji Borja (NC) D 3-2 157: Justin Pencook (UNCP) dec. Taylor Knapp (NC) D 10-4 165: No. 2 Blake Ridenour (NC) dec. Reggie Allen (UNCP) D 5-0 174: Blaze Shade (UNCP) maj. dec. Joe Pittman (NC) M 14-4 184: Jared Holliday (NC) pinned Brach Walker (UNCP) F 4:20 197: Stuart Nadeau (UNCP) dec. Braden Carter (NC) D 8-5 285: No. 8 Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. No. 2 Matt Wade (NC) D 4-2

NEW CONCORD, Ohio -- No. 10 ranked Mount Union beat Muskingum 54-0 in an Ohio Athletic Conference wrestling dual Tuesday in New Concord. The Purple Raiders finish the regular season 12-5 overall and at 4-1 in the OAC while Muskingum finishes winless at 0-10 overall and 0-5 in the OAC. Mount Union gained seven forfiet victories and won all three of the contested matches. All three of the Raider wins were major decisions from Bryant Roby (Westchester, Ill./St. Joseph) at 141 pounds, Nick Rajscak (Stow/Stow) at 197 pounds and Josh Roberts (Wellington/Wellington) at 285 pounds. Jon Garrison (Copley/Copley), ranked No. 7 in the nation at 157 pounds, picked up one of the forfeit wins which gave him 31 victories on the season. Mount Union next competes at the NCAA Mideast Regional Sunday, March 2 at York College in York, Pa. Results: 125: Dan Hoberney (MTU) win by forfeit 133: Pete Hughes (MTU) win by forfeit 141: Bryant Roby (MTU win by major decision (9-1) vs. Jonathan Raugh 149: Tyler Johnston (MTU) win by forfeit 157: Jon Garrison (MTU) win by forfeit 165: Joe Schindel (MTU) win by forfeit 174: Brogan Endres (MTU) win by forfeit 184: Brent Kirk (MTU) win by forfeit 197: Nick Rajcsak (MTU) win by major decision (10-2) vs. Luke Weber 285: Josh Roberts (MTU) win by major decision (11-1) vs. James Keys

EAST STROUDSBURG -- East Stroudsburg University won five of the eight bouts contested, including pins from junior Anthony Marino at 125 and redshirt junior Luke DeLuise at 184, as the Warriors upset No. 9-ranked Kutztown, 27-20, in PSAC and NCAA Division II wrestling on Tuesday night at Koehler Fieldhouse. The win is ESU's first over a nationally-ranked team since knocking off No. 18 Kutztown, 29-11, on February 16, 2010. The Warriors were without redshirt senior Braden Turner (26-5), ranked No. 3 in DII at 165 pounds, but produced two victories over regionally-ranked opponents at 184 and 197 to spring the upset. Both teams gave up one forfeit, with ESU gaining six points at 133 and Kutztown getting them back at 165. Kutztown led 16-15 at that point before the Warriors won three straight bouts to take control. Marino opened the night with a fall in 1:55 at 125, decking Nick Lamoreaux for a 6-0 lead. Senior Nick Kaiser picked up a forfeit victory at 133 to make it 12-0. Kutztown's Mitch Voelker won an 8-0 major decision over freshman Joey Kratochvil, wrestling up at 141, to get the Golden Bears on the board. Redshirt sophomore Eric Howey, who hadn't wrestled in exactly a month due to injury, pulled out a key 8-3 decision over Jackson Stabile to make it 15-4 after the 149-pound bout. Kutztown got a first-period pin from Matt Martoccio at 157 and Bo Candelaria received a forfeit at 165 for KU's first and only lead of the night. ESU went back in front at 174, where redshirt senior Brendan McKeown, ranked No. 5 in DII, posted a 10-5 decision over Justin Heller. McKeown improves to 13-2 on the season and has won 10 straight since returning to the mat on January 5. His 10-0 dual mark this year is ESU's best since Jason Peters went 18-0 in 1996-97. The Warriors two biggest wins came at 184 and 197. DeLuise trailed 1-0 but had a riding time edge of 1:08 entering the third period against Giovanni Ortiz, ranked No. 5 in the region. Ortiz rode DeLuise for almost a minute before a reversal and two back points gave DeLuise a 4-1 lead, and he finished it with a fall at exactly 6:00 to put the Warriors in front 24-16. Sophomore Tyson Searer, ranked No. 3 in the region, sealed it with a 4-1 decision over Brandan Clark, ranked No. 2 in the region, at 197 pounds. It was scoreless after one period, but Searer gained a reversal six seconds into the second period and led 2-0 with a 1:48 riding time advantage going to the third. The only scoring in the period was an escape from Searer, and a stalling point awarded to Clark, with Searer locking up the 4-1 decision with a riding time edge of 1:40. At 285, Kutztown's Ziad Haddad, ranked No. 1 nationally, improved to 18-0 with an 11-2 major decision over freshman Tyler Richardson. The Warriors concluded their dual schedule and will compete at the Super Region 1 Championships on March 1-2 at Pitt-Johnstown to determine the region's national qualifiers, with the top three at each weight class advancing. ESU has three returning national qualifiers in Turner, McKeown and Searer. Turner and McKeown are both two-time qualifiers and have earned All-America honors – Turner in 2012 at 157, and McKeown at 174 last year. Results: 125 - Anthony Marino (ESU) pinned Nick Lamoreaux, 1:55 ... ESU 6-0 133 - Nick Kaiser (ESU) won by forfeit ... ESU 12-0 141 - Mitch Voelker (KU) maj. dec. Joey Kratochvil, 8-0 ... ESU 12-4 149 - Eric Howey (ESU) dec. Jackson Stabile, 8-3 ... ESU 15-4 157 - Matt Martoccio (KU) pinned Joseph Hoy, 2:48 ... ESU 15-10 165 - Bo Candelaria (KU) won by forfeit ... KU 16-15 174 - #5 Brendan McKeown (ESU) dec. Justin Heller, 10-5 ... ESU 18-16 184 - Luke DeLuise (ESU) pinned Giovanni Ortiz, 6:00 ... ESU 24-16 197 - Tyson Searer (ESU) dec. Brandan Clark, 4-1 ... ESU 27-16 285 - #1 Ziad Haddad (KU) maj. dec. Tyler Richardson, 11-2 ... ESU 27-20

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Baldwin Wallace University wrestling team defeated Ohio Athletic Conference and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University, 29-11, tonight in an OAC dual match in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center. This was the final regular season match for BW. With its win, the Yellow Jackets end their dual match season at 8-3 overall and 3-2 in OAC duals. JCU is 3-7 overall and 1-3 in the OAC. The Yellow Jackets grabbed a 4-0 lead when sophomore 125-pounder Jesse Gunter (Akron/ Coventry), ranked eighth by the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) in NCAA Division III, earned a 9-1 major decision win against JCU's John Cobos. Gunter improved to 24-3 this season. The lead grew to 10-0 when BW's lone senior, 133-pounder Andrew Taylor (Worthington/ Kilborne) pinned JCU's Sal Corrao in 6:49 to improve to 25-14 this season. The lead grew to 13-0 at 141 pounds when BW freshman Josh Decatur (Akron/ Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) won an 11-6 decision against the Bue Streaks' Anthony Trocchia to improve to improve to 15-18 this winter. JCU then closed the gap to 13-7 with a major decision win at 149 pounds and a decision at 157. BW freshman Graham Montague (Independence) dropped to 19-18 with the loss at 149 and sophomore 157-pounder Garrett Chase (Erie, Pa./ Cathedral Prep) dropped to 24-7. Sophomore 165-pounder David Shapiro (Beachwood) increased BW's lead to 16-7 with a 9-7 victory against JCU's Tom McNulty to improve to a team-best 36 wins and a 36-10 record. Sophomore 174-pounder Ben LeBrun (Strongsville) made it 20-7 with an 11-2 major decision win against JCU's Matt Tusick to improve to 25-10. The Blue Streaks closed the gap to 20-11 when BW freshman 184-pounder Paul Rallis (Ringers, N.J./ Hunterdon Central) lost a major decision and fell to 7-17 overall. Freshman 184-pounder Andrew Shackelford (Worthington/ Thomas Worthington) clinched the match for BW and increased its advantage to 23-11 with a 6-1 win against JCU's Brad Beattie. Shackelford is now 15-13 overall. Sophomore 286-pounder Joe Belford (Berea/ Lakewood St. Edward) put the finishing touches on the match when he pinned JCU's Kyle Kratman in 2:45. Belford improved to 9-6 this season. The Yellow Jackets are back in action on Saturday and Sunday, March 1-2 when they travel to York, Pennsylvania to compete at the 2014 NCAA Division III East Region Tournament at York College. Results: 125 Jesse Gunter (Baldwin Wallace) won by major decision over John Cobos (John Carroll) 10-1. 0 4.00 133 Andrew Taylor (Baldwin Wallace) won by pin over Sal Corrao (John Carroll) 6:49. 0 6.00 141 Joshua Decatur (Baldwin Wallace) won by decision over Anthony Trocchio (John Carroll) 11-6. 0 3.00 149 Daniel Mirman (John Carroll) won by major decision over Graham Montague (Baldwin Wallace) 17-7. 4.00 0 157 Terner Gott (John Carroll) won by decision over Garrett Chase (Baldwin Wallace) 10-4. 3.00 0 165 David Shapiro (Baldwin Wallace) won by decision over Tom McNulty (John Carroll) 9-7. 0 3.00 174 Ben Lebrun (Baldwin Wallace) won by major decision over Matt Tusick (John Carroll) 11-2. 0 4.00 184 Isen Vajusi (John Carroll) won by major decision over Paul Rallis (Baldwin Wallace) 20-11. 4.00 0 197 Andrew Shackelford (Baldwin Wallace) won by decision over Brad Beattie (John Carroll) 6-1. 0 3.00 285 Joe Belford (Baldwin Wallace) won by pin over Kyle Kratman (John Carroll) 2:45. 0 6.00