InterMat Staff

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Mike Nevinger and Kyle Dake won individual titles as the Big Red wrestling team placed fifth at the Southern Scuffle. Dake was only the second wrestler in history to win four titles. At 184 pounds, senior Steve Bosak placed second, while freshman Nahshon Garrett was third at 125 pounds. Also placing were Chris Villalonga (5th, 149), Marshall Peppelman (8th, 174) and Jace Bennett (7th, 197). At 141 pounds, Nevinger faced No. 4 Undrakhbayar Khishignaym of the Citadel in the finals. The two were scoreless after the first period. The Citadel wrestler reversed Nevinger from his starting down position in the second, but the Big Red grappler escaped to come within a point. Khishignaym chose to start the third at neutral. Khishignaym tried to throw Nevinger, but Nevinger flipped him and came out on top to win a 3-2 decision. No. 9 Nevinger faced No. 11 Nick Dardanes of Minnesota in the semifinals. Dardanes shot right off the whistle for a double leg takedown. The two wrestlers traded reversals, and Nevinger added an escape to come within a point. Nevinger chose down to start the second and rolled out for a quick escape. Dardanes chose neutral to start the third. Nevinger notched a takedown, but Dardanes escaped. With 1:25 in riding time, Nevinger won a 7-5 decision. Kyle Dake (Photo/Cornell Sports Information)At 165 pounds, Dake shot at No. 2 David Taylor of Penn State right off the whistle and looked to have a takedown, but Taylor caught hold of his leg at the last second. After a scoreless first period, Dake chose to start the second at neutral. Dake almost worked his way to a reversal two different times, but settled for a one point escape. Taylor started the third down on the mat. The Nittany Lion wrestler twisted Dake's leg and came out on top to take a 1-2 lead with a reversal. Taylor had over a minute of riding time. Dake would reverse him again and wound down the riding time to win a 3-2 decision. Dake made quick work of his No. 7 ranked opponent in the semifinals. He grabbed Virginia's Nick Sulzer around the waist and took him down to the mat early in the period. Dake immediately went to work turning the Cavaliers' wrestler and won by fall in 1:21. At 184 pounds, No. 2 Bosak faced No. 1 Ed Ruth of Penn State. Ruth won the 2012 NCAA title at 174 pounds. Ruth converted two double leg takedowns in the first to hold a 4-1 lead. Ruth reversed Bosak from his starting down position in the second, but Bosak twisted free for an escape. Bosak escaped from his opening down position in the third. Bosak shot numerous times in the third looking to score, but with 2:55 in riding time, Ruth won a 7-3 decision. In the semifinals, Bosak faced third ranked, Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus. Bosak was close to a takedown off a leg sweep at the end of the first, but time ran out before he was able to put points on the board. Steinhaus chose to start the second period down, but Bosak muscled his way to two minutes in riding time. Bosak almost reversed the Golden Gophers' wrestler to start the third, but Steinhaus managed to only allow an escape. With 1:49 riding time, Bosak won a 2-0 decision to advance to the finals. In the match for third place, No. 10 Garrett took on Josh Martinez of Airforce. Garrett racked up takedowns and back points on his way to a 17-5 major decision. In the semifinals, Garrett faced No. 2 ranked Niko Megaludis of Penn State. Megaludis shot early, but Garrett's strong defense kept the match at 0-0. With 26 seconds left in the period, the Penn State grappler finished a takedown to take a two point lead. Garrett quickly twisted to his feet to start the second. The Big Red rookie took lots of shots late in the period, but Megaludis evaded him. Megaludis escaped midway through the period to win 3-1. In the consolation semifinals, Garrett racked up back points and takedowns on his way to a 17-3 major decision over Jerome Robinson of Old Dominion. At 149 pounds, Chris Villalonga took on Oklahoma State's Jordan Oliver in the semifinals. The No. 1 ranked Oliver racked up takedowns and back points, and with riding time won by an 18-3 technical fall. In the consolation semifinals, Villalonga injury defaulted to Drake Houdashelt of Missouri in 3:21. Villalonga placed fifth after his opponent forfeited out of the tournament. Cornell will be back in action on Sunday when the Big Red takes on Lehigh in Bethlehem, Pa. for a 2 p.m. start.

Mark Hall defeated Jake Short at the 2011 Minnesota Christmas Tournament (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Some great individual showdowns loom at the 15th annual Cheesehead Invitational this coming Friday and Saturday in Kaukauna, Wis. This includes the 152 pound weight class, where two No. 1-ranked wrestlers in the nation will be in the weight class -- Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.) and defending tournament champion Jake Short (Simley, Minn.) moving up one weight class from 145 pounds. In last season's Minnesota Christmas Tournament final, it was Hall upending Short by a 3-0 score. However, it is no guarantee that these two wrestlers will even get to meet. Also present here is Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.), a three-time top three finisher at state and three-time Fargo freestyle All-American who is ranked No. 3 nationally. Others part of the puzzle in this weight class are state champion and three-time placer Nick Georgean (Davenport Assumption, Iowa), two-time state placer Mitch Berenz (Arrowhead, Wis.), state placer Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), state qualifiers Notay Jackson (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) and Luke Fortuna (Montini Catholic, Ill.), along with freshman Beau Breske (Hartford, Wis.). Three other defending tournament champions, for a total of four -- and fourteen other nationally ranked individuals, for a total of 17 -- are featured in this field. In addition, seven Fab 50 teams are a part of this event, which was ranked the fifth best regular season tournament in the country by InterMat this summer. At 120 pounds, Maolu Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.) was tournament champion last year at 106 pounds. However, he is not the favorite in this year's event, as two nationally ranked wrestlers are present in a pair of two-time state champion juniors: No. 8 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Ill.) and No. 19 Jens Lantz (Ellsworth, Wis.). Joining those three in the field are Cadet Greco-Roman champion Vince Turk (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and state placer Jon Marmolejo (Glenbard North, Ill.), a two-time Cadet Greco-Roman All-American. Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa), ranked No. 16 nationally at 126 pounds, won the 113 weight class last year. However, it is No. 2 Jered Cortez (Glenbard North, Ill.) who is the tournament favorite. Cortez, only a junior, is already a two-time state champion and top ten overall in the Class of 2014. Others meriting attention are two-time state placers Jordan Laster (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and Nick Nasenbenny (Plainfield Central, Ill.), state runner-up Tony Devriese (Davenport Assumption, Iowa), along with Brock Morgan (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Dan Radcliffe (Lockport, Ill.). Last among the defending champions is No. 6 Newton Smerchek (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.) at 285 pounds. He is a two-time state finalist, and was state champion last year. Joining Smerchek in this weight class are No. 13 Jake Scanlan (Southeast Polk, Iowa), a Junior National freestyle All-American, state placer Jesse Nelson (Stoughton, Wis.), two-time state qualifier Alex Fritz (Marmion Academy, Ill.), and state qualifier Sean Easler (Davenport Assumption, Iowa). The other weight in this tournament with multiple nationally ranked wrestlers is 195 pounds, which features No. 8 Jordan Ellingwood (Plainfield Central, Ill.) and No. 14 Blake Blair (Edwardsville, Ill.). Ellingwood is a state placer and was champion at the Preseason Nationals, while Blair finished as state runner-up last year. At the Dvorak two weekends ago, it was Ellingwood winning by 13-5 major decision in the final. Others meriting attention are state placer Adam Walther (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), state qualifier and Ironman placer Cody Snodgrass (Marmion Academy, Ill.), state qualifier Anthony Ferraro (Montini Catholic, Ill.) along with Luis Montoya (Lockport, Ill.) and David Johnson (Apple Valley, Minn.) However, clearly the tournament's deepest weight class is at 132 pounds, which features No. 14 George Fisher (Marmion Academy, Ill.), a two-time state finalist and Preseason Nationals champion two months ago, as the lone ranked wrestler. Others to watch include state champions Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.), Seth Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.), and Robert Lee (Kaukauna, Wis.); 2011 state champion Andrew Crone (Arrowhead, Wis.); 2010 state champion Kyle Springer (Davenport Assumption, Iowa); two-time state placers Logan Ryan (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Johnny Gosinski (Glenbard North, Ill.); state placers Bryce Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) and Austin Strzelczyk (Lockport, Wis.); state qualifier Briar Dittmer (Southeast Polk, Iowa); and freshman Jose Champagne (Montini Catholic, Ill.), a Cadet freestyle All-American. Other nationally ranked wrestlers in the event include No. 20 Nolan Hellickson (Southeast Polk, Iowa) at 106 pounds, No. 2 Bryce Brill (Mt. Carmel, Ill.) at 145, No. 20 Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.), No. 4 Nick Wanzek (Simley, Minn.), and No. 6 Preston Lehman (West Fargo, N.D.) Hellickson leads a 106 pound weight class that also features Preseason Nationals placer Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf, Iowa), state qualifier Cortez Arredondo (Simley, Minn.), along with freshmen Dylan Duncan (Marmion Academy, Ill.) and Aidan Yde (Arrowhead, Wis.). At 145 pounds, the primary challenge for Brill will come from three-time state placer Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa). Others to watch include state runner-up Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.); state placers Michael Sepke (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and McKinnon Short (Simley, Minn.); along with Colin Strickland (Southeast Polk, Iowa) and Adam Warachek (Luxemburg-Casco, Wis.) For Woiwor at 160, primary challenges will come from a pair of state qualifiers in Xavier Montalvo (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and Tim Miklus (Southeast Polk, Iowa). Montalvo was a Cadet National double All-American, while Miklus placed seventh at the Preseason Nationals. Challengers to Wanzek at 170 include state runner-up Dylan Blackford (Southeast Polk, Iowa), state placer Mike Maduko (Montini Catholic, Ill.), and state qualifier Gabe Frandsen (Ellsworth, Wis.). Lehmann is the anchor at one of the tournament's thinner weight classes, where the lone notable challenger would be state placer Jake Turk (Montini Catholic, Ill.) Three weight classes in this field do not have a nationally ranked wrestler -- 113, 138, and 220. State champion Tommy Pawleski (Montini Catholic, Ill.) leads the way at 113, with primary challengers coming from state placers Brian Rossi (Lockport, Ill.) and Brendan Gould (Davenport Assumption, Iowa), as well as Gannon Volk (Apple Valley, Minn.) and Zach Smith (Port Washington, Wis.). Leading the way at 138 is two-time state placer Chris Garcia (Montini Catholic, Ill.), a returning runner-up at this event; others to watch include two-time state placer Eric Clarke (Davenport Assumption, Iowa), state placers Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Andrew Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa), as well as state qualifier Dylan Buchheit (Southeast Polk, Iowa). Finally, there is a lot of balance at 220 pounds, including state placers David Denne (Mt. Carmel, Ill.), Edgar Ruano (Montini Catholic, Ill.), and Bryce Fisher (Southeast Polk, Iowa); state qualifiers Kaleb Staack (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) and Paul Cheney (Apple Valley, Minn.); along with freshman Lucas Warren (Marmion Academy, Ill.). In terms of the team dynamic, the defending champion is Apple Valley, Minn. The Eagles are ranked No. 14 nationally, but coming off a disastrous performance at The Clash, though the potential to be much better is there as shown by their performance at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. The leader in the national rankings is No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill., who has an extremely balanced lineup, which was validated in their runner-up finishes at The Clash and Dvorak tournaments in December. Other nationally ranked teams include No. 24 Southeast Polk, Iowa, No. 25 Marmion Academy, Ill., No. 37 Simley, Minn., No. 47 Bettendorf, Iowa, and No. 48 Glenbard North, Ill. Additional teams to note are West Fargo, N.D., Davenport Assumption, Iowa, and Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa.

Back from the holiday break, Richard and John take a look back at UFC 155 and some of the New Year's Eve hijinx in Japan. After that, WEC veteran Chad George joins the show to talk about his career and starring role in the recent MMA documentary Occupation: Fighter. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Mitch Bengtson won his fifth straight Rumble on the Red title (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Clash Chaos The Clash XI National High School Wrestling Duals, ranked as the No. 3 event in scholastic wrestling per InterMat last summer, was one filled with drama and intrigue. Moving up one position to fourth nationally was the tournament champion St. Michael-Albertville, Minn. However, the Knights faced significant challenges along the way. This included a Bracket "A" final against Oak Park River Forest, Ill., that they won 28-26, splitting the fourteen dual meets 7-7. The first dual meet in the Championship Pool was against Carl Sandburg, Ill., one that ended in a 26-26 tie which required a third period pin from Lincoln Mallinger at 145 to make it come down to the eighth criteria, most first match points scored. On the other hand, the next dual meet was a 34-21 victory over Montini Catholic, Ill. Then, the last dual meet was a 33-21 loss against Brandon, Fla., including an upset where Brandon's James Flint upended Tommy Thorn 7-6 at 120 pounds; previously ranked No. 2 nationally, Thorn drops down to sixth. Both Brandon and Montini Catholic scored wins over Carl Sandburg, Ill; for Brandon it was 25-23 as they also won eight matches, while Montini Catholic scored a 30-22 winning nine matches. However, Montini Catholic upended Brandon in their opening championship pool dual meet 33-18, winning nine of fourteen matches. With St. Michael-Albertville, Brandon, and Montini Catholic all tied at 2-1 records, it came down to the tiebreaker, which was most match points in the dual meets against one another; St. Michael-Albertville won, Montini Catholic took second and moves up to seventh, while Brandon finished third moving to sixth. Probably the fourth-best team at the Clash was Oak Park River Forest, and they move up from No. 14 to No. 8 in the nation this week. The Huskies dominated Blue Springs, Mo. 58-14 in the bracket semifinal, though Blue Springs is not much of a dual meet team, and was without one of their four nationally ranked wrestlers -- Cain Salas (152) all weekend. After falling short against St. Michael-Albertville, they dominated through the second place pool with a 39-19 win over Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., a 44-27 win over Apple Valley, Minn., and a 40-16 win over Marist, Ill. The Huskies went a combined 29-13 in those three dual meets. Champion of the third bracket was Bound Brook, N.J., which moves into the Fab 50 this week at No. 29 after coming into The Clash unranked. In the bracket semifinal against Apple Valley, Minn., they split the fourteen weight classes but lost the dual meet 30-27. The Crusaders bounced back with a decisive 38-21 win over nationally ranked Kearney, Mo., winning ten of fourteen matches to take third. Then on Saturday, they went undefeated averaging nine victories per dual meet in wins over three nationally ranked squads -- 42-28 over Simley, Minn., 45-19 over Blue Springs, Mo., and 42-18 over Pope, Ga. Impossible to figure out was the total underperformance of Apple Valley, Minn. this past weekend. The Eagles entered as the No. 4 team nationally. As previously mentioned, they strugged in the bracket semifinal against Bound Brook, were then blown out by Montini Catholic 40-14 in the bracket final, and then went 1-2 in the day two second place pool; losses to Marist 31-25 and Oak Park River Forest 44-27, before beating Kasson Mantorville 29-28, a team they beat by 20 points earlier in the month. Though essentially wrestling without Seth Gross (132) and Dayton Racer (145-160) all weekend, the Eagles move down to No. 14 nationally, and have the Cheesehead this weekend to confuse us even more. Main events this weekend Separate event-specific previews are being published for the Cheesehead Invitational and Doc Buchanan Invitational events that will be wrestled on Friday and Saturday. The Cheesehead field includes seven nationally ranked teams: No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill., No. 14 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 24 Southeast Polk, Iowa, No. 25 Marmion Academy, Ill., No. 37 Simley, Minn., No. 47 Bettendorf, Iowa, and No. 48 Glenbard North, Ill. The Doc Buchanan field features a quartet of nationally ranked teams: No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa., No. 15 Clovis, Calif., No. 19 Poway, Calif., and No. 45 Bakersfield, Calif. St. Paris Graham travels to Blair Academy A relatively recent development is the rivalry between St. Paris Graham, Ohio and No. 1 Blair Academy, N.J. This is the fourth consecutive year the perennial national powers have competed in a January dual meet against one another, with the No. 9 Falcons making the trip this year to New Jersey. Though the dual meet in and of itself will be non-competitive due to the lineup holes St. Paris Graham has, most notably beyond 160 pounds, isolated individual matchups will intrigue. The following are the projected matchups, St. Paris Graham first followed by Blair Academy: 106: No. 5 Eli Stickley vs. Matt Deehan: Stickley was champion at the Walsh Ironman, while Deehan failed to place at both the POWERade and Beast of the East. 113: Eli Seipel vs. No. 20 Chaz Tucker: Seipel placed fourth at state last year and sixth at the Ironman; while Cadet freestyle runner-up Tucker failed to place at the Ironman, finished third at the Beast, and seventh at the POWERade. 120: Brent Moore vs. No. 2 Matthew Kolodzik: The freshman Moore failed to place at the Ironman, but did split matches with Kolodzik nine months ago at the Ohio Tournament of Champions; Kolodzik, a Cadet freestyle champion was runner-up to No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) at the Ironman and Beast before winning the POWERade. 126: Chase Crabtree/Mario Kastl vs. No. 4 Joey McKenna/Michael Monica: Crabtree was the starter at Ironman, failing to place, while the freshman Kastl stepped in during Graham's most recent competition; two-time National Prep champion, and Junior freestyle runner-up, McKenna finished third at POWERade in his season debut. 132: No. 2 Micah Jordan vs. Monica/McKenna: Jordan finished as runner-up at the Ironman and is a two-time state champion, while Monica failed to place at Ironman or Beast at 126 and POWERade up at 132. 138: Nate Henkle vs. No. 6 Mason Manville: Henkle has yet to make the state tournament, while freshman sensation Manville has been runner-up at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade. 145: Garrett Jordan vs. No. 12 Dylan Milonas: Jordan is a freshman who did not place in their local tournament this past weekend, while Milonas is a two-time National Prep runner-up who has been top three at the Ironman, Beast of the East, and POWERade. 152: No. 8 Alex Marinelli vs. No. 5 Russ Parsons: These two wrestled in the Ironman final, with Parsons needing a late takedown to score a 3-2 decision over the freshman sensation. 160: No. 1 Bo Jordan vs. Jack Wedholm: Bo Jordan is the nation's best senior, a three-time state champion, and three-time Ironman champion; while Wedholm placed at the Ironman, Beast, and POWERade. 170: Lane Thomas vs. Patrick Coover: Thomas has yet to make the state tournament, while Coover is a defending National Prep champion and placed in all three of Blair's competitions season to date. 182: Josh Couchman vs. Addison Knepshield: Couchman has yet to make the state tournament, while Knepshield has placed in all three of Blair's competitions this season. 195: Cole Thedor vs. No. 4 Frank Mattiace: Thedor is in his first year as a Graham starter, while Mattiace is a defending National Prep champion and won titles at the Ironman and POWERade already this season. 220: Anthony Welty vs. David Showunmi: Welty has yet to make the state tournament, while Showunmi has placed in all three of Blair's competitions season to date. 285: Cabel Courtwright vs. No. 2 Brooks Black: Courtwright is in his debut season as the Graham starter, while Black is a three-time Ironman and Beast of the East champion. POWERade packs a punch The nation's fourth best wrestling tournament also took place this past weekend at Canon-McMillan High School just south of Pittsburgh. With the much anticipated finals match between No. 1 Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale, Pa.) and No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) at 170 pounds on everyone's mind, the event had much to live up to in terms of expectation. Even though Marsteller won 3-2 in the ultimate tiebreaker, and there were no offensive points scored, the match was intensely contested and reflected the elite nature of the two competitors. However, what should not be forgotten is the excellent competition that occurred across all the weight classes. Freshman Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.), ranked No. 2 nationally, dropped to 106 pounds for the first time and emerged as the dominant weight class champion. Defending state champion Ethan Lizak (Parkland, Pa.), ranked No. 5 in the nation, earned the 113-pound title with a 5-2 victory over No. 12 Jordan Allen (Huntington, W.Va.), who impressed especially with his quarterfinal win over Tucker. Four nationally ranked wrestlers, along with defending POWERade champion Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) stole the show at 120 pounds; though the order went to chalk per the rankings: Kolodzik won, No. 4 Sam Krivus (Hempfield, Pa.) took second, No. 11 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) took third, and No. 17 Brandon Thompson (Solon, Ohio) finished fourth. Four nationally ranked competitors took the mat at 126 pounds, with No. 3 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) earning the title after a 3-1 semifinal victory over No. 7 Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.) and an injury default in the final against No. 6 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.), a match in which he led 4-2 prior to its early end. The other semifinal saw Kemerer upset McKenna 2-1, while McKenna upended Diehl 3-0 for third place. No. 5 Jason Nolf (Kittanning, Pa.) won the 132-pound weight class, though he had to outlast No. 10 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.) 5-4 in a tightly contested semifinal bout. No. 1 Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) emerged as champion at 138 pounds, though he was pushed in a 2-0 finals victory over Manville and was extended to overtime in a 5-3 victory over No. 11 Joseph Galasso (Father Judge, Pa.) during the semifinal round. At 145 pounds, unranked Josh Shields (Franklin Regional, Pa.) won the weight class with wins over ranked opposition in the semifinal (2-1 over Colt Cotten of Benton, Pa.) and the final (4-3 over Dylan Milonas). Shields entered the rankings at No. 13 this week, while Milonas dropped to No. 12 and Cotten slid back to No. 18. No. 5 Russ Parsons (Blair) earned a 2-1 tiebreaker victory over No. 6 Anthony Collica (Solon, Ohio) to win a second consecutive POWERade title at 152 pounds. The two wrestlers flipped positions in the rankings from last week; No. 12 Zach Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) won the title at 160 pounds; while Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell, Pa.) repeated as POWERade champion with a 3-1 victory over the formerly ranked Knepshield at 182. At 195, No. 4 Frank Mattiace (Blair) won a tightly contested 3-2 ultimate tiebreak match against defending champion Jake Hart (Hampton, Pa.). Despite the loss, Hart moves into the rankings at No. 19. No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.) absolutely manhandled No. 3 Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.) by 16-6 major decision. Haines, the defending champion in this tournament, was the first opponent to last the full six minutes against Snyder this year. While at 285 pounds, No. 2 Brooks Black earned a repeat championship. In the team standings, No. 1 Blair Academy dominated their way to 299 points and the team title. Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio moves up from No. 34 to No. 20 after their second place finish (161 points). Despite being without defending tournament champion Solomon Chishko (145), No. 5 Canon-McMillan, Pa. finished just a point back of Moeller in third place led by champion Schram and five other place-winners. Other highlights of the coming weekend The nation's oldest continuous high school wrestling tournament happens on Friday and Saturday in Geary, Okla. It is a unique event in that there is no seeding, there are no advancement points (only bonus and placement are scored), and challenges for true second can occur. Three nationally ranked teams are featured in the field -- No. 23 Broken Arrow, Okla., No. 30 Edmond North, Okla., and No. 35 Tuttle, Okla. No. 8 Oak Park River Forest, Ill., travels to Iowa City West, Iowa for the Leipic Duals on Saturday. They are in a pool with the event's second best team, Grand Island, Neb. No. 27 South Plainfield, N.J., travels to St. Peter's Prep, N.J., on Friday night for what could be an intriguing dual meet. The Tigers were upset in the corresponding match at home last year for their only in-state dual meet loss of the season. No. 36 Blue Springs, Mo., is scheduled to travel to No. 44 Kearney, Mo., for a dual meet this evening. No. 40 Hermiston, Ore., travels to one of the showcase tournaments in the Northwestern United States, the Rollie Lane Invitational in Idaho. No. 46 Colonial Forge serves as host of the Battlefield Duals on Saturday. The event has ten teams present, so there will be two pools of five with a cross-over match at the end. Other teams in the event include Christiansburg, Va., Connellsville, Pa., Forest Park, Va., Georgetown Prep, Md., and Huntington, W.Va. Odds and ends of the previous weekend No. 4 Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.) made it five straight championships at the Rumble on the Red with a closer than expected 3-2 victory in the 138-pound final against Weston Droegemueller (Wayzata, Minn.). An upset special occurred in the 113-pound final where Junior National freestyle champion Paul Mascarenas (Cleveland, N.M.) fell by 4-3 decision to Garrett Wangsness (Albert Lea, Minn.); as a result, Mascarenas drops from No. 3 to No. 16 nationally. Then, at 195 pounds, No. 10 Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.) beat a pair of nationally ranked opponents to win the title; 7-3 over No. 20 Chase Morlock (Morehead, Minn.) in the semifinal and then 6-1 over No. 13 Nate Rotert (Spearfish/Lead-Deadwood, S.D.) in the final. Sharing the team title with 166-1/2 points were Albert Lea and West Fargo, N.D., while Jackson County Central, Minn. finished third with 160. Christian Brothers, Tenn. jumps back into the rankings at No. 49 after their title at the Red Schmitt Holiday Tournament in Granite City, Ill. They scored 665 points to distance themselves from Lincoln-Way Central, Ill. (598), Archer, Ga. (594.5), and previously ranked Neosho, Mo. (478.5). Championships for CBHS were won by Tanner Tidswell (106), Elijah Oliver (113), Nick Gray (126), No. 14 Kaleb Baker (152), and James Walthall (170). Highlighting the individual matchups was the 132-pound final where No. 15 Chris Wilkes (Whitfield, Mo.) needed a late reversal with near falls to defeat No. 20 Nate Rodriguez (Neosho, Mo.) 5-2 at 132 pounds. Even without three-time state champion Dean Heil (132), who is ranked No. 3 nationally, No. 3 St. Edward, Ohio came away with a decisive tournament victory at the Medina Invitational Tournament. The Eagles had five champions -- No. 17 Colin Heffernan (138), No. 3 Edgar Bright (145), No. 10 Markus Scheidel (152), No. 2 Domenic Abounader (182), and Ralph Nichols (285) -- on the way to 286 points. Second in the standings was No. 13 Massillon Perry, Ohio with 237 points, led by lone champion No. 6 Jose Rodriguez (106); a pair of Panthers placed second in David Bavery (120) and Joe Tayse (195), both of whom lost to nationally ranked opponents; while four others earned third place. Finishing third was No. 11 Detroit Catholic Central, Mich. with 225 points despite missing a pair of state placers at 132 and 138 pounds. The Shamrocks were led by a trio of titles from Trevor Zdebski (113), No. 13 Ken Bade (126), and No. 18 Andrew Garcia (170). Despite a lineup that one would have to describe as jumbled and a "mish-mosh," No. 2 Wyoming Seminary, Pa. emerged with a decisive title at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic. Led by titles from Nicky Hall (170), No. 1 Eric Morris (182), No. 15 Garrett Ryan (220), and No. 9 Michael Johnson, Jr. (285), the Blue Knights came away with 245 points. That total was more than enough to dominate No. 31 Central Dauphin, Pa. (163) and Phillipsburg, N.J. (157.5) who finished second and third respectively. An individual final of note came at 195 pounds, where for the second straight weekend No. 2 Ryan Solomon (Milton, Pa.) defeated No. 3 Raymond O'Donnell (Saucon Valley, Pa.), this time by a 7-2 score. No. 42 Bergen Catholic, N.J., won the Bergen County Coaches Association Tournament this past weekend, in a field that also included No. 50 Don Bosco Prep, N.J. In the marquee match, it was a battle of freshmen at 106 pounds, as No. 1 Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic) upended No. 9 Kyle Bierdumpfel (Don Bosco Prep) 2-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker. Also, at 160 pounds, No. 8 Nick Gravina (Northern Highlands, N.J.) won his fourth title at this tournament.

Related Content: Brackets | Placement Match Results The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the latest InterMat TPI, used a complete team effort to claim its third straight Southern Scuffle crown. Penn State ran away from second place Oklahoma State, posting 178.5 points to 158.0 for the Cowboys. The Nittany Lions used a dominating 5-1 performance in the semifinals to set up a 3-2 run in the finals, crowning three champions. In all, 11 of Penn State's 17 competing wrestlers placed at the event. Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, began his day with a 3-1 win over No. 10 Nashon Garrett in the semifinals. He then took on No. 8 Matt Snyder of Virginia in the finals and rolled to an 8-4 victory. Megaludis used two takedowns and a reversal in the finals to grab the crown. The Lion freshman gave up all four of his points in the first period and dominated action from there Megaludis went 4-0 over the course of the tournament, improving his record to 12-1. Junior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) entered the tournament as the fifth-seed at 157 and notched the biggest upse4t of the finals, grabbing a 2-1 (tb) win over top-seeded Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State, ranked No. 8 nationally. Vollrath moved into the finals to face No. 14 Jedd Moore of Virginia. Like his prior bout against a ranked foe, Vollrath took the ranked Tiger into extra time before dropping a hard-fought 3-1 (sv) decision. The second place finish came courtesy of a 4-1 record with two majors. Vollrath is 20-5 overall. Junior All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 2 at 165, majored No. 4 Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma State 11-0 in the semifinal, setting up a match-up with No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell in the finals. The duo battled through an even first period, Dake took down to start the second and escaped for a 1-0 lead after two. Taylor chose down in the third and worked his way to a reversal and a 2-1 lead. With just under 1:00 left, the duo rolled out of bounds and Dake was given a reversal by the official after action moved out of the circle. Taylor then worked to escape, while maintaining a riding time edge to grab the win. Dake held on for most of the bout and Taylor was not awarded an escape at the end of the match (and his riding time fell to :59), giving Dake a 3-2 decision. Taylor went 4-1 with two pins and a tech fall to take second. His record now stands at 13-1. Junior All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, dominated No. 9 Mike Larson of Missouri in the semis, posting an 11-0 major. He moved into the finals where he took on No. 2 Steve Bosak of Cornell. Ruth wasted no time in establishing his dominance over Bosak, using two first period takedowns to bolt out to a 4-1 lead. He then added a reversal and 2:55 in riding time to coast to the 7-3 win and claim yet another Southern Scuffle title. Ruth went 6-0 at the tournament, notching three pins and two majors. He remains undefeated with a 15-0 record. Senior All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) downed No. 13 Scott Schiller of Minnesota 9-5 in his semifinal bout and met No. 9 Jake Meredith of Arizona State in the finals. After giving up a takedown in the first period on a throw attempt, Wright steadily waited for his chance to pounce. Tied 2-2 in the second, and with Meredith taking down, Wright used a split-scissors to turn the Sun Devil to his back and get the pin at the 5:33 mark to claim the Scuffle crown. Wright was superb on the weekend, going 5-0 with two pins. He improves his undefeated record to 14-0 overall. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) rolled through his first three consolation bouts, picking up a tech fall and a major over No. 16 George DiCamillo in the process. Gulibon, wrestling unattached as the sixth seed, then lost to No. 6 Nathan McCormick of Missouri in the third place bout and took fourth place. He finished the tournament with a 5-2 mark (including one win over a non-collegiate grappler) with three tech falls and a major. Senior James English (York, Pa.) also won his first three bouts of the day in consolation action and, as the 10th-seed, advanced to the bronze medal match where he met Missouri's Drake Houdashelt. English used two takedowns and relentless pressure to post the 5-2 win and take third place. The senior went 6-1 overall at the tournament with a pin and a forfeit victory. English is now 13-2 on the year. Senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) entered the tournament unseeded but had a fine showing. Pearsall went 4-3 overall, including a win over No. 15 Justin LaValle of Old Dominion in consolation action, and placed eighth at 141. Red-shirt freshman Luke Frey (Montoursville, Pa.), also unseeded, was superb at 149 for Penn State, posting a 4-2 mark with three majors and placing seventh. Sophomore Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.) split his opening consolation bouts and wrestled for seventh place. He met No. 14 Levi Cooper of Arizona State for seventh and rolled to an 11-7 win, going 4-2 and taking seventh. In addition to those top performances, the entire Nittany Lion contingent picked up wins at the event. Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) was Penn State's scoring wrestler at 133. Conaway lost his first consolation bout of the day and ended his initial Southern Scuffle run with a 1-2 mark. True freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) did not compete in consolation action on day two, taking a medical forfeit (non-loss) as a precaution. Beitz, wrestling unattached, finished his first Scuffle with a 3-1 mark at 141. Senior Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) dropped his first conso bout, losing 7-0 to No. 15 Zach Toal of Missouri. Fischer ended his tournament with a 3-2 mark. Sophomore Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) dropped a tough 9-3 decision to No. 17 Jeremy Johnson of Ohio in his conso bout today and ended his tourney run with a 2-2 mark. Yesterday, freshman James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) went 1-2 at 174 and Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) went 2-2 at 285. Penn State went 5-1 in the semis, setting up its 3-2 run in the finals. In consolation action, the Nittany Lions combined to go 14-8, giving the team a 22-11 mark on day two. Penn State's 11 placers (of 17 competing wrestlers) included three champs, two second placers, two third place finishers, a fourth place finisher, two sevenths and an eighth. Penn State posted a 63-24 overall record through the two-day tournament with 12 pins, four tech falls and 13 majors as well as two forfeits. 31 of Penn State's 63 wins were for bonus points. Penn State's third straight team title makes it the third team in Scuffle history to win (or share) three crowns (joining Minnesota and Cornell). Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, when Michigan State invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. meeting. Penn State's full season of home duals is sold out but limited Standing Room Only tickets are available for select dual meets. For information on which duals have a limited number of SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. 2013 SOUTHERN SCUFFLE FINAL TEAM STANDINGS TOP FOUR TEAMS: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 - Chattanooga, Tenn. 1: PENN STATE - 178.5 2: Oklahoma State - 158.0 3: Missouri - 147.5 4: Minnesota - 139.5

125: 1st: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia), 8-4 3rd: No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. Josh Martinez (Air Force), 17-5 5th: No. 13 Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion) dec. Rob Deutsch (Old Dominion), 4-2 7th: Eric Montoya (Campbell) dec. No. 20 David Terao (American), 4-2 SV 133: 1st: No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 5 Christopher Dardanes (Minnesota), 3-2 3rd: No. 7 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) pinned Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 4:44 5th: No. 15 George DiCamillo (Virginia) won by medical forfeit over Zach Watson (Virginia) 7th: Mark Grey (Unattached) dec. Jordan Thome (Army), 2-0 141: 1st: No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) dec. No. 4 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel), 3-2 3rd: No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion University), 10-4 5th: Connor Hanafee (Army) dec. Julian Feikert (Oklahoma State), 7-4 7th: Dean Pavlou (Chattanooga) dec. Bryan Pearsall (Penn State), 4-2 149: 1st: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) maj. dec. No. 5 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force), 21-8 3rd: James English (Penn State) dec. No. 18 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri), 5-2 5th: No. 17 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) won by medical forfeit over No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) 7th: Luke Frey (Penn State) dec. Dustin Walraven (South Dakota State), 4-3 157: 1st: No. 16 Jedd Moore (Virginia) dec. James Vollrath (Penn State), 3-1 SV 3rd: No. 8 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Kyle Bradley (Missouri), 3-2 5th: Daniel Zilverberg (Minnesota) dec. Spartak Chino (Ohio), 11-8 7th: Robert Burg (Navy) dec. Matthew Frisch (The Citadel), 7-6 165: 1st: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State), 3-2 3rd: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 5-2 5th: No. 12 Zach Toal (Missouri) pinned Zachary Strickland (Appalachian State), 2:12 7th: No. 10 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Harrison Hightower (Ohio), 5-2 174: 1st: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota), 7-6 3rd: No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. No. 16 Jon Fausey (Virginia), 10-3 5th: Todd Porter (Missouri) won by medical forfeit over No. 14 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) 7th: No. 18 Cody Walters (Ohio) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Cornell), 4-1 184: 1st: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) dec. No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell), 7-3 3rd: No. 3 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. No. 10 Mike Larson (Missouri), 7-3 5th: No. 12 Chris Chionuma (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Kevin Radford (Arizona State), 9-3 7th: John Eblen (Missouri) dec. Mason Bailey (Navy), 6-3 SV 197: 1st: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) pinned No. 8 Jake Meredith (Arizona State), 5:34 3rd: No. 13 Brent Haynes (Missouri) dec. Phillip Wellington (Ohio), 4-3 5th: No. 14 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 8-3 7th: Jace Bennett (Cornell ) dec. Joshua Mohr (Air Force), 9-3 285: 1st: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) dec. No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota), 2-1 TB 3rd: Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State) won by medical forfeit over No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) 5th: No. 17 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) won by medical forfeit over No. 16 Andrew Delaney (The Citadel) 7th: No. 15 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) pinned No. 14 Levi Cooper (Arizona State), 6:11

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) Previous Meetings: Megaludis defeated Snyder 4-1 on Jan. 1, 2012. 133: No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) Previous Meetings: Dardanes defeated Morrison 3-1 SV on Dec. 2, 2012. 141: No. 4 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) vs. No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) Previous Meetings: K. Undrakhbayar and Nevinger have not met in college. 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 5 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) Previous Meetings: Oliver and VonOhlen have not met in college. 157: No. 16 Jedd Moore (Virginia) vs. James Vollrath (Penn State) Previous Meetings: Moore and Vollrath have not met in college. 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) Previous Meetings: Dake defeated Taylor 2-1 TB on Nov. 3, 2012. 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) Previous Meetings: Perry defeated Storley 4-0 on Feb. 19, 2012. 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) Previous Meetings: Ruth and Bosak have not met in college. 197: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) Previous Meetings: Wright and Meredith have not met in college. 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) Previous Meetings: Nelson and Bradley have not met in college.

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell), 3-1 No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) pinned Josh Martinez (Air Force), 1:40 133: No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. No. 15 George DiCamillo (Virginia), 3-1 SV No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 7 Nathan McCormick (Missouri), 3-1 141: No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) dec. No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 7-5 No. 4 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) dec. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion), 3-1 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) tech. fall No. 17 Chris Villalonga (Cornell), 18-3 No. 5 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) dec. No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota), 10-5 157: James Vollrath (Penn State) dec. No. 8 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State), 2-1 TB No. 16 Jedd Moore (Virginia) dec. Kyle Bradley (Missouri), 2-0 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) pinned No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia), 1:21 No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State), 10-0 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) won by medical forfeit over No. 14 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) pinned No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State), 4:06 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 10 Mike Larson (Missouri), 11-0 No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. No. 3 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota), 2-0 197: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. No. 14 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 9-5 No. 8 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) dec. Phillip Wellington (Ohio), 4-2 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State, Unattached), 4-1 No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) dec. No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State), 2-1

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) vs. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 133: No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) vs. No. 15 George DiCamillo (Virginia) No. 7 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) vs. No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) 141: No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) vs. No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) No. 4 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) vs. Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 17 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) vs. No. 5 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) 157: No. 8 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) vs. James Vollrath (Penn State) No. 16 Jedd Moore (Virginia) vs. Kyle Bradley (Missouri) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) vs. No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 14 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 10 Mike Larson (Missouri) No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) vs. No. 3 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 197: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) vs. No. 14 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) No. 8 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) vs. Phillip Wellington (Ohio) 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State, Unattached) No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State)

125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) dec. No. 20 David Terao (American), 9-3 No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) maj. dec. Rob Deutsch (Old Dominion), 11-2 No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) pinned No. 13 Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion), 3:44 Josh Martinez (Air Force) dec. No. 7 David Thorn (Minnesota), 13-9 SV 133: No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Joseph Martinez (Unattached, Virginia), 11-5 No. 15 George DiCamillo (Virginia) dec. Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 6-5 No. 8 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) dec. Jimmy Gulibon (Unattached, Penn State), 9-5 No. 7 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) dec. Mark Grey (Unattached), 6-1 141: No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) maj. dec. Dean Pavlou (Chattanooga), 10-0 No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) dec. Tyler Rauenzahn (Army), 7-4 Chris Mecate (Old Dominion) dec. Julian Feikert (Oklahoma State), 3-1 SV No. 4 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) dec. No. 14 Justin LaValle (Old Dominion), 5-3 SV 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. James English (Penn State), 12-6 No. 17 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) dec. Thomas Gantt (North Carolina), 6-0 No. 5 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) dec. No. 18 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri), 9-7 No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. Luke Frey (Penn State), 9-4 157: No. 8 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) dec. Nestor Taffur (Boston), 6-4 James Vollrath (Penn State) maj. dec. Matthew Frisch (The Citadel), 11-3 Kyle Bradley (Missouri) dec. No. 17 Joshua Kreimier (Air Force), 3-2 No. 16 Jedd Moore (Virginia) dec. Dallas Bailey (Oklahoma State), 7-2 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) pinned Nijel Jones (North Carolina State), 3:50 No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) dec. Cody Yohn (Minnesota), 8-5 No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) dec. Zach Toal (Missouri), 3-1 No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) pinned Paul Hancock (Army), 4:38 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) dec. Todd Porter (Missouri), 8-3 No. 14 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) pinned No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy), 5:00 No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) maj. dec. No. 18 Cody Walters (Ohio), 16-8 No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) pinned Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel, Unattached), 6:29 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) maj. dec. Stephen Doty (Virginia), 13-4 No. 10 Mike Larson (Missouri) dec. No. 12 Chris Chionuma (Oklahoma State) No. 3 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) pinned No. 15 Kevin Radford (Arizona State), 1:23 No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. John Eblen (Missouri), 4-1 197: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) dec. Conner Hartmann (Duke), 9-2 No. 14 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. Paul Rands (Navy, Utttached), 9-4 No. 8 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) dec. Nikolas Brown (Chattanooga), 7-5 Phillip Wellington (Ohio) dec. No. 13 Brent Haynes (Missouri), 5-2 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 16 Odie Delaney (The Citadel), 4-2 Nick Gwiazdowski (North Carolina State, Unattached) tech. fall No. 14 Levi Cooper (Arizona State), 17-1 No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) dec. No. 15 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 8-1 No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) dec. Jon Gingrich (Penn State), 3-2

This is the Midlands edition of my weekly roundup. Please note that this is a tool for tracking the results of wrestlers currently ranked by InterMat. As this is the case, I am not afforded the luxury of discussing the results of redshirts and post grads. This is best used as a companion to the Midlands final brackets sheet. 125: Personally, I am a big Jarrod Garnett fan and I hope that his win, via whirly bird, over Jesse Delgado in the finals here is a signal that he will be standing on the NCAA podium at the end of the year. Great finals match, even if it was low scoring. Third-ranked Jesse Delgado, Illinois -- runner-up Fifth-ranked Trent Sprenkle, NDSU -- fifth Sixth-ranked Jarrod Garnett, VT -- champion 11th-ranked Christian Cullinan, CMU -- third 12th-ranked Nathan Kraisser, NC State -- DNP 14th-ranked Shane Gentry, Maryland -- DNP 16th-ranked Dom Malone, Northwestern -- DNP 17th-ranked Mark Rappo, Penn -- DNP 133: The finals here between Ryan Mango and Daniel Dennis was the match of the night, too bad it is outside the focus of my roundup. Tons of tough wrestlers didn't place at this weight class. Second-ranked Scott Sentes, CMU -- eighth Fourth-ranked AJ Schopp, Edinboro -- fifth Ninth-ranked Cody Brewer, OU- DNP 10th-ranked Daryl Thomas, Illinois -- DNP 11th-ranked Geoff Alexander, Maryland -- DNP 12th-ranked Shelton Mack, Pitt -- DNP 13th-ranked Levi Wolfensperger, UNI -- DNP 15th-ranked Levi Mele, Northwestern -- DNP Kendric Maple (Photo/OU Sports Information)141: Kendric Maple is really, really good and he handles B.J. Futrell again. Futrell may be the second best 141-pounder in the country. Top-ranked Kendric Maple, OU -- champion Third-ranked B.J. Futrell, Illinois -- runner-up Fourth-ranked Mitchell Port, Edinboro -- fifth Fifth-ranked Evan Henderson, UNC -- DNP Seventh-ranked Mike Mangrum, Ore St -- third Eighth-ranked Zach Neibert, VT -- DNP Ninth-ranked Tyler Graff, UW -- third at 133 13th-ranked Luke Vaith, Hofstra -- DNP 16th-ranked C.J. Cobb, Penn -- DNP 19th-ranked Ridge Kiley, Nebraska -- DNP 149: Nick Brascetta is for real. The Virginia Tech sophomore upends Montell Marrion in the semis, then he puts together a nice match in the finals, beating the No. 3 149-pounder in the country, Donnie Vinson. Third-ranked Donnie Vinson, Binghamton -- runner-up Eighth-ranked Nick Brascetta, VT -- champion 11th-ranked Nick Lester, OU -- fifth 12th-ranked Eric Grajales, Michigan -- sixth 15th-ranked Steve Santos, Columbia -- fourth 16th-ranked David Habat, Edinboro -- DNP 157: Jason Welch takes care of business against a very tough Joey Napoli. Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin wrestles to a shocking 3rd place finish. Second-ranked Jason Welch, Northwestern -- champion Third-ranked James Fleming, Clarion- DNP Fourth-ranked Joey Napoli, Lehigh -- runner-up Sixth-ranked Jesse Dong, VT -- fifth Walter Peppelman, Harvard- DNP 12th-Matt Lester, OU -- seventh 13th-ranked Jake O'Hara, Columbia -- DNP 165: Bubby Graham, who has been quietly good for a while, is now a Midlands champion. Third-ranked Pete Yates, VT -- third Fifth-ranked Bubby Graham, OU -- champion Sixth-ranked Steven Monk, NDSU -- fourth Eighth-ranked Conrad Polz, Illinois -- fifth 11th-ranked Pierce Harger, Northwestern -- DNP 12th-ranked Tyler Wilps, Pitt -- DNP 16th-ranked Taylor Massa, Michigan -- seventh 17th-ranked Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo -- sixth 18th-ranked Johny Greisheimer, Edinboro -- DNP 20th-ranked Mike Ottinger, CMU -- DNP 174: Roger Kokesh keeps cranking out the quality results. He's having a great year. Nice run to the finals by Nate Brown. Fifth-ranked Jordan Blanton, Illinois -- third Eighth-ranked Roger Kokesh, Nebraska -- champion Ninth-ranked Lee Munster, Northwestern -- fifth 12th-ranked Dan Yates, Michigan -- sixth 17th-ranked John Martin Cannon, Buffalo -- fourth 18th-ranked Stephen West, Columbia -- DNP 19th-ranked Nate Brown, Lehigh -- runner-up 184: Ben Bennet reminds us why he is a four time All American. He is my pick to make it to the NCAA finals against Ed Ruth. Third-ranked Robert Hamlin, Lehigh -- runner-up Fifth-ranked Ben Bennett, CMU -- champion Sixth-ranked Jimmy Sheptock, Maryland -- fifth 10th-ranked Ryan Loder, UNI -- fourth 11th-ranked Tony Dallago, Illinois -- DNP 16th-ranked Boaz Beard, ISU -- DNP 17th-ranked Mac Stoll, NDSU -- DNP 197: No. 1 and 2 wrestlers were on a collision course, but in the end Dustin Kilgore shows why he is a national champ. Nice tournament for ISU's Kyven Gadson who gets fourth. That program needs the good news. Top-ranked Dustin Kilgoe, Kent State -- champion Second-ranked Matt Wilps, Pitt -- runner-up Fifth-ranked Mario Gonzalez, Illinois -- fifth Sixth-ranked Nate Schiedel, Binghamton -- DNP 11th ranked Taylor Meeks, Oregon State -- third 15th-ranked Braden Atwood, Purdue- DNP 16th-ranked Kyven Gadson, ISU -- fourth 17th-ranked Christian Boley, Maryland -- DNP 285: Chad Hanke makes good on all the potential he has shown as a redshirt and during the freestyle season, he is now a Midlands champion. Fourth-ranked Jarod Trice, CMU -- co-fifth Sixth-ranked Zach Thomusseit, Pitt -- runner-up Eighth-ranked Chad Hanke, Oregon State-- champion Ninth-ranked Mike McMullan, Northwestern -- co-fifth 11th-ranked Connor Medbery, Wisconsin -- third 12th-ranked Adam Chalfant, Indianna -- DNP 18th-ranked Matt Gibson, ISU -- DNP 20th-ranked Ernest James, Edinboro -- DNP

The Golden Anniversary Midlands tournament is in the books. What did we learn? Who were the big winners and losers? Here are four takeaways from the weekend. New year's freshman class The weekend's attention centered around top-ranked wrestlers like Dustin Kilgore and Kendric Maple, but the real studs were the unattached freshman who were wrestling well in their first Midlands. We already knew that Corey Clark of Iowa had the ability to compete at the highest level after his 6-1 decision win over Jesse Delgado two weeks ago, but it was unclear how he'd handle a difficult two days of wrestling. Though he dropped a close match to eventual Midlands champion Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech, Clark showed fans that he'll be a top three ranked wrestler next season ready to compete for the NCAA title, by handling fellow redshirt and All-American Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma). He's poised and with a year of coaches focused on his progress it's evident he'll be one of the nation's best in 2013-2014. No less impressive was Jason Tsirtsis, Nothwestern's stud 141-pound redshirt and former top recruit. The eighth-seeded Tsirtsis knocked off fifth-seeded Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 10-1 and gave Kendric Maple all he could handle in a 7-5 quarterfinals loss. He then beat Virginia Tech's Zach Neibert 5-3 before losing to fifth-ranked Evan Henderson of North Carolina, and falling again to take eighth. Though Tsirtsis didn't finish his tournament strong, it was his first appearance on the mats at 141 pounds and only his third collegiate tournament overall. Coaching matters One the favorite gripes among collegiate wrestling coaches and media had been the attention Illinois assistant coach Mark Perry had earned since he started his coaching career a few years ago with Cal Poly. "Why does everyone think this guy is worth the money/time?" Well, those naysayers have capitulated to the idea that Perry, though at times still abrasive, is one of the very best assistant coaches in the country. Mark Perry is in his second season as associate head coach at Illinois (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Looking at Cal Poly during his stint as assistant, and the guys who stayed loyal to him and transferred to Champagne-Urbana, are both good signs that he inspires his wrestlers to perform their very best every weekend. Add to his accomplishments a top five recruiting class and now a Midlands team title and it's easy to see Perry becoming the first name on every AD short list in April. This isn't to take ANYTHING away from Jim Heffernan, who was not only a stud wrestler, but who is managing his team with expertise and stoic leadership. I talked to a former two-time Illini All-American and former coach recently who told me that his career was made by Heffernan and that his deepest loyalties in the sport are with him. Perry is earning a lot of the attention, but Heff also deserves a hat tip or two. Pat Santoro's Lehigh Mountain Hawks also wrestled well at Midlands, putting three into the finals. Nathaniel Brown wrestled into the finals from the No. 9 seed knocking off two-time All-American Jordan Blanton in the quarterfinals and Michigan's Dan Yates in the semifinals before falling to Nebraska's Robert Kokesh in the finals. Brown shows that the in-the-room development Santoro is known for has persisted and we can expect his team to once again compete for a top ten finish at NCAA's. Other programs whose coaches are making a noticeable positive impact: Carl Fronhofer's Columbia squad finished in 15th, ahead of a few Big Ten schools. Steve Santos is an All-American candidate, but his entire team performed, earning the most bonus points of any school in the first two rounds of the tournament. Central Michigan's Tom Borrelli is a Hall of Fame coach. Every year he makes it work, and this year is no different. His team finished fifth despite some late setbacks. Kevin Dresser's Virginia Tech team is one of the most consistently impressive in college wrestling. They improve every year and each season fans are treated to the emergence of another star. The 2013 campaign is about Nick Brascetta whose counter offense is among the best in the country. Against Donnie Vinson, Brascetta found three counter high crotches, two on the edge that not only allowed him to score, but made Vinson's future attacks limited to one for fear of losing position and being exposed to yet another counter attack by the VT star. Overall the team finished runner-up, two points out of the championship and with two champs: Garnett and Brasccetta. Take top If you didn't think riding tough on top mattered before Midlands, it was impossible to deny after watching the finals. Kendric Maple put a saddle on B.J. Futrell, racking up more than four minutes of non-stalling ride time. "You can't get out, you can't score," and when your opponent has the match's only takedown it's impossible to even the odds. The riding extended to 157 where Jason Welch used a low ankle bow and arrow ride to look for a turk and keep Lehigh's Joey Napoli's chest flat on the mat. That alone ran out the second period and tacked on to the two-point takedown at the end of the first was essentially a four-point margin (no escape, plus ride time). At 174 Kokesh was first being ridden before earning a reversal and grinding out Brown for three minutes of ride time. It happened throughout the tournament as it has throughout the entire season. Riding is the new difference maker. The long and lanky guys who once were told to ride legs as their advantage have diversified their attacks and are working a half ride from the side (as opposed to the riskier crab ride) and keeping opponents knees and hips tight to the mat. Once flat we're seeing more turk attempts and better pressure. Look at the body type and styles of many of the top wrestlers this season: Matt McDonough, Kendric Maple, Derek St. John, Kyle Dake/David Taylor, and Ed Ruth all focus on their top games, have longer bodies and can score from their feet. It's a total game approach that's become necessary to win at the next level. Sure, there are still your stout wrestlers like Chris Perry and Logan Stieber, but they are now the exception. Oh, and Stieber ain't bad from top, either. Televised finals Unbelievable. Though the HD came without sound via Comcast, the Big Ten Network aired the finals LIVE to more than 50 million households around the country. Ben Askren and Jordan Burroughs, states apart, were tweeting their same joy, that they could watch an incredible finals LIVE on television. Wrestling is always looking for validation that we've made an impression, and last night we received our validation that on a Sunday night when they could have played college basketball against the most-watched NFL game of the season (Redskins vs. Cowboys), but instead chose to air Midlands. It's unclear right now what the share was, but it was nice to see the evening dedicated to wrestling with ads by Asics, Cliff Keen and J. Robinson camps. Keep up the good work, wrestling fans!

The preseeds were released for the 2013 Southern Scuffle, which takes place Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga. 125: 1. Nico Megaludis -- Penn State 2. David Thorn -- Minnesota 3. Matt Snyder -- UVa. 4. Nahshon Garrett -- Cornell 5. Nick Soto -- UTC 6. Jerome Robinson -- ODU 7. Josh Martinez -- AFA 8. Dominic Parisi -- Appalachian State 9. David Terao -- American 10. Brian Bokoski -- UNC 133: 1. Chris Dardanes -- Minnesota 2. Nick McCormick -- Missouri 3. Jon Morrison -- Oklahoma State 4. George Dicamillo -- UVa. 5. Scott Festejo -- ODU 6. James Guilbon -- Penn State 7. Mark Grey -- Unattached 8. Jake Smith -- Appalachian State 9. Joey Ward -- UNC 10. Joe Martinez -- UVa. 11. Jordan Thome -- ARMY 12. Brandon Gambucci -- DUKE 141: 1. Michael Nevinger -- Cornell 2. K. Undrakhbayar -- The Citadel 3. Julian Feikert -- Oklahoma State 4. Nick Dardanes -- Minnesota 5. Nick Hucke -- Missouri 6. Chris Mecate -- ODU 7. Justin Lavalle -- ODU 8. Dean Pavlou -- UTC 9. Nick Flannery -- Ohio 10. Joe Spisak -- UVa. 149: 1. Jordan Oliver -- Oklahoma State 2. Dylan Ness -- Minnesota 3. Cole VonOhlen -- AFA 4. Daniel Young -- Army 5. Derek Valenti -- UVa. 6. Chris Villalonga -- Cornell 7. Justin Gonzalez -- Northern Colorado 8. Drake Houdashelt -- Missouri 9. Gus Sako -- Unattached 10. James English -- Penn State 11. Seth Lange -- Minnesota 157: 1. Alex Dieringer -- Oklahoma State 2. Jedd Moore -- Uva. 3. Joshua Kreimier -- AFA 4. Bobby Barnhisel -- Navy 5. James Vollrath -- Penn State 6. Jesse Shanaman -- Cornell 7. Kyle Bradley -- Missouri 8. David Zilverberg -- Minnesota 165: 1. Kyle Dake -- Cornell 2. David Taylor -- Penn State 3. Tyler Caldwell --Oklahoma State 4. Nick Sulzer -- UVa. 5. Cody Yohn -- Minnesota 6. Zach Toal -- Missouri 7. Josh Condon -- UTC 8. Corey Mock -- UNC 9. Nijel Jones -- NC State 10. Peyton Walsh -- Navy 11. Gabe Martinez -- AFA 174: 1. Chris Perry -- Oklahoma State 2. Logan Storley -- Minnesota 3. Matt Brown -- Penn State 4. Matt Miller -- Navy 5. Blake Stauffer -- Arizona State 6. Cody Walters -- Ohio 7. Turtogtokh Luvsandorj -- The Citadel 8. Todd Porter -- Missouri 9. Jon Fausey -- UVa. 10. George Pickett -- Cornell 11. Marshall Peppelman -- Cornell 12. Coleman Gracey -- Army 184: 1. Ed Ruth -- Penn State 2. Steve Bosak -- Cornell 3. Kevin Steinhaus -- Minnesota 4. Mike Larson -- Missouri 5. Chris Chionuma -- Oklahoma State 6. Kevin Radford -- Arizona State 7. Mason Bailey -- Navy 8. Konner Witt -- AFA 197: 1. Quentin Wright -- Penn State 2. Brent Haynes -- Missouri 3. Jake Meredith -- Arizona State 4. Scott Schiller -- Minnesota 5. Jace Bennett -- Cornell 6. Niko Brown -- UTC 7. Michael Salopek -- UVa. 8. Conner Hartman -- Duke 9. Craig Scott -- Cornell 285: 1. Tony Nelson -- Minnesota 2. Dom Bradley -- Missouri 3. Alan Gelogaev -- Oklahoma State 4. Nick Gwiazdowski -- NC State 5. Levi Cooper -- Arizona State 6. James Lawson -- Penn State 7. Jonathan Gingrich -- Penn State 8. Odie Delaney -- The Citadel 9. Jeremy Johnson -- Ohio 10. Stryker Lane -- Conrnell

Related Link: Results Southern Scuffle

The University of Oklahoma wrestling team placed third overall and claimed two individual champions this weekend at the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Sooners finished third after they scored 85 points in two days of wrestling. Illinois claimed first with 99.5 points, while Virginia Tech placed second with 97.5 points. Oregon State (81.5) and Central Michigan (76.5) rounded out the top five at fourth and fifth, respectively. Top-ranked 141-pounder Kendric Maple continued his undefeated 2012 campaign with a 5-1 decision over B.J. Futrell from the University of Illinois. The victory also marked Maple's second-straight Midlands victory, following a championship title in 2011. The championship bout was the second time that the pair has met on the mat this season, and the second time that Maple claimed a win after he took home a 6-2 decision over Futrell at the NWCA All-Star Classic in November. OU’s second championship of the night came from Bubby Graham in the 165-pound bracket. Before his final bout Graham upset Virginia Tech’s No. 2 seed Pete Yates in the semifinals and was set to face the top-seeded Bekzod Abdurakhmanov of Clarion in the final before he was forced to take an injury forfeit to Graham. The Sooners also gained points from Nick Lester, who finished fifth in the 149-pound bracket, and twin brother Matt Lester, who finished seventh in the 157-pound bracket. The Sooners will return to action on Saturday, Jan.5 at 7 p.m.against the Iowa State Cyclones in historic McCasland Field House.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Fighting Illini wrestling team won the 2012 Midlands Championships after totaling 99.5 points and placing five wrestlers during the two day tournament. This is the first time Illinois has won the Midlands championships since the 2005-06 season. Five wrestlers placed in the top seven, including Jesse Delgado (125) and B.J. Futrell (141) finishing second, Jordan Blanton (174) third, and Conrad Polz (165) and Mario Gonzalez (197) placing fifth. "It's always nice to win," head coach Jim Heffernan said. "More importantly, these guys had to fight to win every match we could. It was great experience for everyone. Jordan, Conrad and Mario faced adversity and the pressure to win. The fact that all of them won is a good thing." Delgado started the day against Central Michigan's Christian Cullinan and pinned him in 3:28 to advance to the finals. During his first Midlands championship bout, Delgado wrestled against No. 2 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech. In the first, Delgado had multiple shots into Garnett's leg but were eventually called as stalemates, making the score 0-0 heading into the second. Delgado chose down and escaped to making the score 1-0 after the second period. Garnett started down in the third and escaped to tie the score 1-1. Delgado had the Hokie in a cradle but Garnett scrambled out into a stalemate to push the bout into overtime. The Illini grappler had Garnett in a single leg on the edge of the mat, but was put onto his back and fell 5-1 to place second. Futrell moved into the finals of the Midlands by moving past No. 2 Devin Carter (Unt. Virginia Tech) by an 8-5 decision earlier this afternoon. In the finals, the senior took on the defending tournament champion and No. 1 seed Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. Futrell warded off a single leg before Maple got in on a double leg shot. Both were pushed off the mat for a scoreless first period. Maple chose down in the second and immediately scored a reversal on Futrell for the only points of the period. In the third, Maple scored a takedown to push the score to 4-0 and collected the riding time point. Futrell escaped, but time ran out as Maple defeated the Illini wrestler 5-1. The top-seeded Blanton finished third for the second consecutive year. The 174-pounder dropped his only match of the tournament in the championship quarterfinals against Lehigh's Nate Brown. The Richmond, Ill., native fought back to take third place by moving past John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) by a 5-3 SV1 decision. The fifth-place finishes for both Polz and Gonzalez are career-bests for the duo. Polz came into the championships as the fifth seed as Gonzalez grabbed the fourth seed. The 165-pounder Polz defeated No. 8 Mark Lewandowski of Buffalo, 3-1 in the final match while Gonzalez moved past Kevin Beazley (Unt. - Old Dominion), 7-3 to take fifth place. "It's good to have that kind of depth to win championships," Heffernan said. "The guys who placed, really did some good things. It was a total team effort." The Illini will begin the 2013 year when they compete against the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga on Sunday, Jan. 6.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern senior Jason Welch captured his second Midlands title at the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Wrestling in the 157 lbs. finals for the second time in as many years, top-seeded Welch shut out No. 3 seed Joey Napoli of Lehigh, 4-0, to capture back-to-back titles. The Walnut Creek, Calif., native joins elite company as he is just the third Northwestern wrestler to win two Midlands titles. Jake Herbert won three titles for the Wildcats in 2004, 2005 and 2008 while Brandon Precin captured two in 2008 and 2010. Welch was one of eight Northwestern wrestlers to place at this year’s Midlands. Sophomore Lee Munster finished fifth at 174 lbs. after a medical forfeit for Michigan’s Dan Yates and fellow sophomore Mike McMullan also placed fifth at heavyweight with a medical forfeit to Central Michigan’s Jarod Trice. Sophomore Alex Polizzi placed eighth at 197 lbs. in his first trip to the Midlands and true freshman Jason Tsirtsis, who wrestled unattached, also took eighth at 141 lbs. Welch was a perfect 5-0 at Midlands with three shutouts, including his finals bout against Napoli. He took the 2-0 lead with a takedown late in the third period and rode Napoli for the entire second period to carry the 2-0 lead and 2:01 of riding time into the third. Welch started the final period down, registered an escape and hung on for the 4-0 win with 1:57 of riding time. With the win, Welch now has 98 career victories, needing two more to reach the 100-win milestone. He also posted his 25th career victory at Midlands in his fifth year of competition at the tournament. Complete results can be found in the bracket link up top and finals results, along with award winners, are listed below.

EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 13 Pitt wrestling team saw a pair of wrestlers, Matt Wilps and Zac Thomusseit, advance to the finals to pace the squad at the 50th Midlands Championships on Sunday at Welsh Ryan Arena. As a team, the Panthers finished in 10th place in the standings. At 197 pounds, Wilps started his day with a convincing 7-0 decision over Taylor Meeks of Oregon State in semifinal action. In the finals, Wilps met up with Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore and dropped a 4-2 decision for his first loss on the season. In heavyweight action, Thomusseit made the finals where he dropped a tight 3-2 decision to Chad Hanke of Oregon State. In addition to Wilps and Thomusseit finishing second, Anthony Zanetta also found the podium for Pitt placing eighth at 125 pounds. The Panthers will return to the mats on Sunday, Jan. 13, when they welcome Bloomsburg, Eastern Michigan and Davidson to Fitzgerald Field House for the Pitt Duals beginning at 10 a.m.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Ryan Mango recoded a takedown in the final seconds of the 133-pound title match, Sunday, at the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. The win gives him his third tournament championship of his redshirt season. Mango captured his first Midlands title with an 8-7 decision over Iowa’s Daniel Dennis, who was also wrestling unattached. Mango trailed 7-5 going into the final period. Dennis chose down to start the third and Mango cut the lead to one with an escape. He then registered a takedown in the final seconds of the period to seal the victory. Mango reached the finals on Sunday by posting a 5-3 decision over Wisconsin’s Jesse Theilke in the semifinals. The Cardinal returns to The Farm to host the Stanford Duals on Sunday, Jan. 6. The duals will begin at 2 p.m. PT in Burnham Pavilion.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Ben Bennett finally grabbed the Midlands Championships title that has been eluding him through his prestigious Central Michigan career, defeating No. 1 seed Robert Hamlin of Lehigh Sunday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Bennettt entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and a three-time Midlands runner-up, but breezed his way through the bracket before eventually earning a slim 1-0 decision over No. 3 Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland to set up a rematch of last year’s final with Hamlin. The win of Sheptock also made Bennett the 16th member of the Chippewas’ 100-win club. The championship bout came down to riding time and it was Bennett who had a 1:30 advantage, earning him the 2-1 victory and avenging the championship loss from a year ago. Bennett was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. The Chippewas tallied 76.5 points to finish fifth as a team, thanks in part to four top-eight finishes. Senior Christian Cullinan also found his way to the podium Sunday, defeating No. 3 seed Cory Clark of Iowa to finish third at 125 pounds. Cullinan defeated Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma, 4-0, in the consolation semifinals to earn a bid to the third-place match. Junior Joe Roth finished started his day with a 5-3 decision over Dom Malone of Northwestern, but fell to Patterson in the consolation quarterfinals to fall into the seventh-place match. The No. 10 seed was able to defeat No. 1 seed Anthony Zanetta of Pittsburgh to finish seventh at 125 pounds. Senior Scotti Sentes (133) and junior Craigh Kelliher (174) both finished eighth for the Chippewas. After each winning their first bouts of Sunday’s sessions, the two Chippewas fell in the consolation quarterfinals. Sentes then fell by major decision to Randy Cruz of Lehigh in the seventh-place match, 10-0, while Kelliher conceited his bout with No. 7 Bryce Hammond of CSU Bakersfield. Senior Jarod Trice fell short in his bid for his third Midlands title at 285, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion No. 4 Chad Hanke of Oregon State, 3-2 in the first tiebreaker. Trice went on to finish tied for fifth as the fifth-place match versus No. 2 Michael McMullen did not take place.

Evanston, Ill. -- Virginia Tech wrapped up competition Sunday night at the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University after a very impressive showing, finishing in second place with 97.5 points, two points back of Illinois and 12.5 points clear of Oklahoma. The Hokies went two-for-two in championship matches on the night as both Jarrod Garnett at 125-pounds and Nick Brascetta at 149-pounds earned the first Midlands titles of their careers. After knocking-off No. 3 seed Cory Clark of Iowa, 10-6, with five quick points right the end of the third period to advance, Garnett needed extra time to defeat No. 4 seed and No. 3-ranked Jesse Delgado of Illinois in the championship bout after the two were tied at 1-1 after the third period. Garnett won the match in sudden victory after getting the Illini wrestler into a cradle and forcing him onto his back to earn the 5-1 win. With the victories today, the redshirt senior moves into sole possession of sixth place in career wins at Tech with 107 and moves to 13-1 on the season. Brascetta had an impressive meet as well, picking up a pair of major decisions in the early rounds before notching wins over three former All-Americans on his way to the 149-pound title. To reach the finals, the sophomore bested the No. 1 seed and former three-time All-American and two-time NCAA runner-up, Montell Marion who was wrestling unattached. Against the No. 2 seed and No.3-ranked Donnie Vinson of Binghamton, Bracsetta earned a takedown late in the first period and held on for the 3-1 victory. To cap off his tournament, the sophomore was named Art Kraft Champion of Champions which is voted on by the 10 champions. Brascetta is now 16-1 on the year. Pete Yates took third at 165-pounds, while Devin Carter, who was competing unattached, finished fourth at 141-pounds and Jesse Dong was fifth at 157-pounds.

125: No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. No. 6 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) Past Meeting(s): Garnett defeated Delgado by fall in quarterfinals of 2011 Midlands (12/29/11, Evanston, Ill.) in 6:35. 133: Ryan Mango (Stanford, Redshirt) vs. Daniel Dennis (Hawkeye WC, Postgrad) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition. 141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) Past Meeting(s): Maple defeated Futrell 6-2 at the 2012 All-Star Classic (11/3/12, Washington, DC). 149: No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) vs. No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition. 157: No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition. 165: No. 5 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) vs. Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Golden Eagle WC, Postgrad) Past Meeting(s): Abdurakhmonov defeated Graham 9-4 in WB R-8 of 2010 Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic (11/13/10, Brockport, N.Y.), Abdurakhmonov defeated Graham 3-1 in third-place match of 2011 Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic (11/12/11, Brockport, N.Y.), Abdurakhmonov defeated Graham 5-3 in WB R-6 of 2011 Midlands (12/30/11, Evanston, Ill.). 174: No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 19 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition. 184: No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) vs. No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) Past Meeting(s): Bennett defeated Hamlin 4-2 TB1 in first round of 2010 NCAA Championships (3/18/10, Omaha, Neb.), Hamlin defeated Bennett 5-2 in final of 2012 Midlands (12/30/11, Evanston, Ill.), Hamlin defeated Bennett 3-1 SV in 2011-2012 dual meet (1/27/12, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.). 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition. 285: No. 6 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 8 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) Past Meeting(s): Have never met in collegiate competition.

125: No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) pinned No. 11 Christian Cullinan (Central Michigan), 3:28 No. 6 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) dec. Cory Clark (Iowa, Redshirt), 10-6 133: Ryan Mango (Stanford, Redshirt) dec. Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin, Redshirt), 5-3 Dan Dennis (Hawkeye WC, Postgrad) dec. No. 9 (at 141) Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 5-3 141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) dec. No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro), 14-11 No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) dec. Devin Carter (Virginia Tech, Redshirt), 8-5 149: No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) dec. Montell Marion (Unattached, Postgrad), 5-4 No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) dec. No. 15 Steve Santos (Columbia), 6-1 157: No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) dec. Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 9-3 No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) dec. Taylor Walsh (Indiana), 4-3 165: Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Golden Eagle WC, Postgrad) dec. No. 6 Steven Monk (North Dakota State), 5-3 No. 5 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) dec. No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech), 7-2 174: No. 19 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) dec. No. 12 Dan Yates (Michigan), 5-2 No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) maj. dec. No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern), 10-2 184: No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. Travis Rutt (Oklahoma, Redshirt), 3-2 No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) dec. No. 6 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland), 1-0 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) tech. fall No. 5 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois), 19-4 7:00 No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) dec. No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State), 7-0 285: No. 8 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) dec. No. 4 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 3-2 TB No. 6 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) won by injury default over No. 9 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)

Related Content: Results LOCK HAVEN -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team put on a dominating performance in winning the 2012 Brute Invitational on Saturday at Lock Haven University. The Huskies captured five first place titles and had a total of 12 placewinners to easily win the team race totaling 198.5 points to 154.5 for second place Kent State. Capturing individual crowns for the Huskies were Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) at 133 pounds; Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney) at 157 pounds; Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) at 165 pounds; Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) at 197 and Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) at 285 pounds. “It is a good feeling to perform at high level,” said Huskies head coach John Stutzman. “It was a great team win, but like anything else, the only that matters most is our next competition. We need to start preparing for Maryland in a week.” Wilcox got the championship parade started for the Huskies at 133. Trailing 2-1 to Mackenzie McGuire of Kent State in the third period, Wilcox scored a late reversal, then, added a point for riding time to post a 4-2 victory. In his first three matches of the tournament Wilcox allowed just one point. The junior had wins by scores of 8-0, 7-1 and 8-0 to reach the title bout. At 157 pounds Hickman scored his second win over Wally Maziarz of Buffalo in the last 11 days. In the finals Hickman ended the match with four takedowns and a point for riding time to post a 11-2 victory. Hickman rolled to the finals with wins by fall (opening round) and two by major decision. Veltre scored a 2-1 win at 165 pounds over Caleb Marsh of Kent State. Veltre got a second period takedown, then, held on for the win allowing just a third period escape. Veltre won his first two matches by decision to reach the finals. At 197 pounds Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) won the title with a 3-1, sudden victory over Jacob Henderson of Old Dominion. Perry had pinned his way to the finals picking up a second period fall in his opener and a first period fall in the semi-finals. Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) won the 285-pound title with a first period pin of Keith Witt of Kent State. The pin was the second of the day for Grant who had a second period fall in his opening match, then had a 9-2 decision in the semi-finals. Along with those five champions, the Huskies also had six other placewinners: Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) was third at 125; Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) third at 141; Dan Gaylord (Vestal, NY/Vestal) fifth at 141; Kevin Hartnett (Staten Island, NY/Monsignor Farrell) third at 165; Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) third at 174; and Andre Petroski (Glenn Mills/Springfield) fifth at 184. The Huskies are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 5 hosting nationally-ranked Maryland at 5 p.m. at the Nelson Field House.

Related Content: Results EVANSTON, Ill. -- The semifinal matches are set at the 50th Midlands Championships (matchups below). Illinois leads the team race after the quarterfinal matches. InterMat is providing a live blog throughout the Midlands. Sunday's action gets underway at 12 p.m. CT with semifinals, consolation matches, and seventh-place matches. The finals will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network at 7 p.m. CT. Semifinal Matchups 125: No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) vs. No. 11 Christian Cullinan (Central Michigan) No. 6 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) vs. Cory Clark (Iowa, Redshirt) 133: Ryan Mango (Stanford, Redshirt) vs. Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin, Redshirt) No. 9 (at 141) Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. Dan Dennis (Hawkeye WC, Postgrad) 141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) vs. Devin Carter (Virginia Tech, Redshirt) 149: No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) vs. Montell Marion (Unattached, Postgrad) No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) vs. No. 15 Steve Santos (Columbia) 157: No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) vs. Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 165: No. 6 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) vs. Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Golden Eagle WC, Postgrad) No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) vs. No. 5 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) 174: No. 12 Dan Yates (Michigan) vs. No. 19 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern) 184: No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) vs. Travis Rutt (Oklahoma, Redshirt) No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) vs. No. 6 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. No. 5 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 285: No. 4 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) vs. No. 8 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) No. 6 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 9 Mike McMullan (Northwestern)