InterMat Staff

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)

125: 1. Anthony Zanetta (Pitt, Redshirt) 2. No. 6 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) 3. Cory Clark (Iowa, Redshirt) 4. No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) 5. No. 5 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) 6. Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma, Redshirt) 7. No. 12 Nathan Kraisser (North Carolina) 8. No. 11 Christian Cullinan (Central Michigan) 9. No. 16 Dom Malone (Northwestern) 10. Joe Roth (Central Michigan) 11. No. 17 Mark Rappo (Penn) 12. No. 14 Shane Gentry (Maryland) 133: 1. No. 2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) 2. Dan Dennis (Hawkeye WC, Postgrad) 3. No. 9 (at 141) Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) 4. No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) 5. Ryan Mango (Stanford, Redshirt) 6. Mason Beckman (Lehigh, Redshirt) 7. No. 9 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) 8. No. 15 Levi Mele (Northwestern) 9. No. 10 Daryl Thomas (Illinois) 10. No. 11 Geoff Alexander (Maryland) 11. No. 12 Shelton Mack (Pittsburgh) 12. No. 13 Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa) 141: 1. No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) 2. Devin Carter (Virginia Tech, Redshirt) 3. No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) 4. No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) 5. No. 5 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) 6. No. 7 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) 7. No. 8 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) 8. Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern, Redshirt) 9. No. 13 Luke Vaith (Hofstra) 10. No. 16 C.J. Cobb (Penn) 11. Anthony Salupo (Lehigh) 12. Tyler Small (Kent State, Redshirt) 149: 1. Montell Marion (Unattached, Postgrad) 2. No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) 3. No. 15 Steve Santos (Columbia) 4. No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) 5. No. 11 Nick Lester (Oklahoma) 6. No. 12 Eric Grajales (Michigan) 7. No. 16 David Habat (Edinboro) 8. Josh Wilson (Utah Valley) 9. Shane Welsh (Lehigh) 10. Mike DePalma (Edinboro) 157: 1. No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) 2. No. 3 James Fleming (Clarion) 3. No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) 4. Walter Peppelman (Harvard) 5. No. 9 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) 6. No. 6 Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech) 7. No. 12 Matt Lester (Oklahoma) 8. No. 13 Jake O'Hara (Columbia) 9. Tommy Churchard (Purdue) 10. Taylor Walsh (Indiana) 11. Ian Miller (Kent State, Redshirt) 12. Dillon Bera (UW-Parkside) 165: 1. Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (Golden Eagle WC, Postgrad) 2. No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) 3. No. 5 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) 4. No. 6 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) 5. No. 8 Conrad Polz (Illinois) 6. No. 11 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) 7. No. 12 Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh) 8. No. 17 Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) 9. No. 16 Taylor Massa (Michigan) 10. No. 18 John Greisheimer (Edinboro) 11. Ramon Santiago (Rider) 12. No. 20 Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) 174: 1. No. 5 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) 2. No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) 3. No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern) 4. No. 12 Dan Yates (Michigan) 5. No. 18 Stephen West (Columbia) 6. No. 17 John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) 7. Bryce Hammond (CSU Bakersfield) 8. Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa) 9. No. 19 Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh) 10. Nick Bonaccorsi (Pittsburgh) 11. Kyle Kwiat (Ohio Northern) 12. Austin Gabel (Virginia Tech) 184: 1. No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) 2. No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) 3. No. 6 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) 4. Travis Rutt (Oklahoma) 5. No. 10 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) 6. No. 11 Tony Dallago (Illinois) 7. No. 16 Boaz Beard (Iowa State) 8. Joe Rau (Elmhurst) 9. No. 17 Mac Stoll (North Dakota State) 10. No. 18 Alex Utley (North Carolina) 11. Vic Avery (Edinboro) 12. Ty Vinson (Oregon State) 197: 1. No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) 2. No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) 3. Hudson Taylor (Lions WC, Postgrad) 4. No. 5 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) 5. No. 6 Nate Schiedel (Binghamton) 6. No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) 7. No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue) 8. No. 17 Christian Boley (Maryland) 9. No. 19 Max Huntley (Michigan) 10. No. 16 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) 11. Jackson Hein (Wisconsin) 12. Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) 285: 1. No. 4 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) 2. No. 9 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) 3. No. 6 Zac Thomusseit (Pittsburgh) 4. No. 8 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) 5. No. 12 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) 6. Matt Meuleners (Northern State) 7. No. 11 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) 8. No. 20 Ernest James (Edinboro) 9. Eric Thompson (Grand View) 10. No. 18 Matt Gibson (Iowa State) 11. Ben Apland (Michigan) 12. David Marone (Virginia Tech)

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives. This week's mailbag is a hybrid of your questions, links I'd like to share, and a list of the top moments from 2012. The end of the year necessitates list making of all kinds, but with so many big end-of-year tournaments underway we here at InterMat don't have the editorial space to dedicate an entire column to a recap of 2012. It's fine by me, onward and upward, folks. I trust that everyone had a wonderful holiday break and enjoyed time with their families. If your family is anything like mine, then brothers, fathers and friends were wrestling on the hardwood floors between sips of spiked nutmeg and the ripping open of Santa-themed wrapping paper. All holidays are wonderful, and though Thanksgiving is more of the contact-heavy holiday, I always like testing new moves on unsuspecting blood relatives. If you ever needed a reason to learn jiu-jitsu, try handling a 220-pound younger brother with alien-length fingers and a catcher mitt palm. To your questions ... Q: Do you know if Austin Ormsbee will be back to wrestle for the Cowboys or is he done? -- Raed K. Foley: He will not. I wrote on Oct. 12 that according to Kutztown assistant coach Kriss Bellanca, "Austin Ormsbee, Blair Academy, 2011 has signed a scholarship letter and enrolled in school at Kutztown University, PA ... and will have 4 years of eligibility left." Good luck to Austin and Kutztown! Q: Which do you prefer, Midlands or Southern Scuffle? Are you wrestling this year? -- Eric P. Foley: Absolutely not. I loved competing at Midlands as an undergrad, and even enjoyed the chance to coach my wrestlers, but in two attempts at post-graduate competition I've come away with a torn MCL and week-ruining amount of soreness respectively. The Midlands have always been special to me, and though the Southern Scuffle has a better collection of top teams, I'm partial to the Evanston tournament. I know the guys running the tournament well and can see the hard work they put towards making a quality product. I think there are several incredible matches in Chattanooga, but I also see that there are equally marketable matches being wrestled at Midlands. In addition to 197 with Dustin Kilgore and Matt Wilps, there are several post-grad appearances to follow, including Montel Marion, Dan Dennis and Hudson Taylor. Maybe the most intriguing element of the tournament is the progress of redshirt Cory Clark (Iowa) earning the top pre-seed in a loaded 125-pound weight class. Like every wrestling fan I'll have my eyes on what happens in Chattanooga, and I'm actually so intrigued that there is at least a fifty percent chance I make last minute plans to visit. Dake vs. Taylor II ... Q: Which school has had the most Hodge Trophy winners? Has anyone one it two years or more in a row? Has any freshman won it? -- @gapyonks Foley: The Hodge has been in place since 1995 when WIN Magazine decided to match the hub-bub around the Heisman with an award for college wrestling's most dominant competitor. The first winner was T.J. Jaworsky from North Carolina, who remains the only ACC wrestler to ever win the honor. No freshman has won the award (we're still waiting for our "Johnny Wrestling"), but there have been two back-to-back winners, Cael Sanderson (2000, 2001) and Ben Askren (2006, 2007). Cael won a third award in 2002, and might have been the first freshman winner in 1999 were it not for Stephen Neal's second NCAA title for CSU Bakersfield. Cael's third award gave Iowa State the lead in overall Hodge awards with three. Schools with two include Penn State, Iowa, and Missouri. I've grown partial to InterMat's Wrestler of the Year. We've run it a few years and last year awarded it to Ed Ruth, who our staff believed was the most dominant in the country. We'll need to find a good name to attach to our award. Any ideas? Q: Basically, what are your thoughts on MSG and New York as a host venue for the NCAA tourney? -- @BrantleyHooks Foley: Doable, but unlikely. There are plenty of media opportunities in NYC, but wrestling needs to stay honest about who is traveling to the NCAA tournament and how much we all can budget for a three-day weekend of wrestling. There is probably only a slight difference in the cost of hotel rooms (St. Louis engages in price-gouging that weekend), but food, transportation and entertainment are much more expensive. You won't find me making excuses for adults who "can't handle" NYC, because it is one of the easiest cities in the world to navigate, but I will show some caution is endorsing sending out 330 newly-freed wrestlers into a city of booze and temptation. Atlanta, Boston and Washington DC are all excellent options for the 2015 tournament. My hope is Atlanta. Multimedia Halftime and Links I was interviewed by the Penn State blog Black Shoe Diaries, and was able to discuss several topics you might normally find in a mailbag. It's always odd to be interviewed, and the process refreshed my perspective on the process. The Back Points podcast picks up Jan. 3 with a recap of Midlands, the Scuffle and POWERade tournaments. We've been flattered and humbled by the response of our audience. We are trying to book more guests willing to talk honestly about the state of wrestling and share some stories from their days on the mat. We'll be cutting into some big topics over the next couple of weeks with some A-List guests so be sure to

This weekend Takedown Radio will be live from the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, the 50th anniversary of this historic event. For the 14th consecutive year we'll present our whistle-to-whistle broadcast of the Ken Kraft Midlands. Saturday live audio coverage -- 11 a.m. to first day end. Sunday live audio coverage -- 11 a.m. to finals. The broadcast crew for the coverage will be Scott Casber, Steve Foster, our own Jeff Murphy, Brad Johnson and Greg Zafros. It will be hosted on TheMat.com and TheMat.tv. Below is the Midlands schedule (Central Time): Saturday, Dec. 29 9:30 a.m. -- Session I 7:00 p.m. -- Session II Sunday, Dec. 30 12:00 noon -- Semifinals, Consolations, 7th Place Matches 6:30 p.m. -- Parade of Champions 7:00 p.m. -- Finals (1st, 3rd and 5th Place Bouts) In addition, this Saturday's Fight Now TV Presents Takedown Wrestling's regular radio broadcast is from the mobile Brute studios in Evanston, Ill. Join Scott Casber, Steve Foster, our own Jeff Murphy, Brad Johnson and Greg Zafros.Takedown Wrestling is proudly presented by Kemin, Inspired Molecular Solutions! We'll break it down from 9 to 11 a.m. including The Kemin report with Jeff Murphy. At 11 a.m. the play-by-play presentation starts on TheMat.com.

Seeds | Brackets Midlands Championships

Below is a weight-by-weight look at ranked wrestlers potentially competing at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) and Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2). Midlands Championships 125: No. 3 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) No. 5 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) No. 6 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) No. 11 Christian Cullinan (Central Michigan) No. 12 Nathan Kraisser (North Carolina) No. 14 Shane Gentry (Maryland) No. 16 Dom Malone (Northwestern) No. 17 Mark Rappo (Penn) No. 18 Camden Eppert (Purdue) No. 19 Steve Bonanno (Hofstra) No. 20 Ryak Finch (Iowa State) 133: No. 2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) No. 9 (at 141) Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) No. 9 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) No. 10 Daryl Thomas (Illinois) No. 11 Geoff Alexander (Maryland) No. 12 Shelton Mack (Pitt) No. 13 Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa) No. 14 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) No. 15 Levi Mele (Northwestern) No. 17 Joey Ward (North Carolina) 141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) No. 4 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) No. 5 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) No. 7 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) No. 8 Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) No. 12 Steven Keith (Harvard) No. 13 Luke Vaith (Hofstra) No. 16 C.J. Cobb (Penn) No. 17 Luke Goettl (Iowa State) No. 19 Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) 149: No. 3 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) No. 6 Justin Accordino (Hofstra) No. 8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech) No. 9 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 10 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) No. 11 Nick Lester (Oklahoma) No. 12 Eric Grajales (Michigan) No. 13 Ivan Lopouchanski (Purdue) No. 15 Steve Santos (Columbia) No. 16 Dave Habat (Edinboro) 157: No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) No. 3 James Fleming (Clarion) No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) No. 6 Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech) No. 7 James Green (Nebraska) No. 9 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) No. 12 Matt Lester (Oklahoma) No. 13 Jake O'Hara (Columbia) No. 20 David Bonin (Northern Iowa) 165: No. 3 Peter Yates (Virginia Tech) No. 5 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) No. 6 Steve Monk (North Dakota State) No. 8 Conrad Polz (Illinois) No. 11 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) No. 12 Tyler Wilps (Pitt) No. 13 Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) No. 16 Taylor Massa (Michigan) No. 17 Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) No. 18 John Greisheimer (Edinboro) No. 20 Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) 174: No. 5 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) No. 6 Josh Asper (Maryland) No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern) No. 12 Dan Yates (Michigan) No. 17 John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) No. 18 Stephen West (Columbia) No. 19 Nathanial Brown (Lehigh) 184: No. 3 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) No. 6 Jimmy Sheptock (Maryland) No. 7 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) No. 10 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) No. 11 Tony Dallago (Illinois) No. 15 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) No. 16 Boaz Beard (Iowa State) No. 17 Mac Stoll (North Dakota State) No. 18 Alex Utley (North Carolina) 197: No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pitt) No. 5 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) No. 6 Nate Schiedel (Binghamton) No. 8 Micah Burak (Penn) No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) No. 15 Braden Atwood (Purdue) No. 16 Kyven Gadson (Iowa State) No. 17 Christian Boley (Maryland) No. 19 Max Huntley (Harvard) No. 20 James Fox (Harvard) 285: No. 4 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) No. 6 Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) No. 8 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) No. 9 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) No. 11 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 12 Adam Chalfant (Indiana) No. 18 Matt Gibson (Iowa State) No. 20 Ernest James (Edinboro) Southern Scuffle 125: No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) No. 7 David Thorn (Minnesota) No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) No. 9 Nick Soto (Chattanooga) No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 15 Jerome Robinson (Old Dominion) 133: No. 5 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) No. 6 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) No. 7 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State) No. 8 Nick Arujau (Cornell) No. 16 George DiCamillo (Virginia) 141: No. 6 K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel) No. 11 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) No. 14 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) No. 15 Justin LaValle (Old Dominion) 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) No. 5 Andrew Alton (Penn State) No. 7 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) No. 17 Daniel Young (Army) No. 18 Derek Valenti (Virginia) No. 19 Chris Villalonga (Cornell) No. 20 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 157: No. 5 Dylan Alton (Penn State) No. 8 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State) No. 14 Jedd Moore (Kent State) No. 15 Josh Kreimier (Air Force) No. 16 Bobby Barnhisel (Navy) No. 19 John Nicholson (Old Dominion) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) No. 4 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma State) No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) No. 10 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) No. 15 Zach Toal (Missouri) 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) No. 4 Logan Storley (Minnesota) No. 13 Cole Gracey (Army) No. 14 Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy) No. 16 Jon Fausey (Virginia) No. 20 Cody Walters (Ohio) 184: No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) No. 4 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) No. 9 Mike Larson (Missouri) No. 13 Chris Chionuma (Oklahoma State) No. 19 Kevin Radford (Arizona State) 197: No. 3 Quentin Wright (Penn State) No. 7 Blake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) No. 9 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) No. 12 Brent Haynes (Missouri) No. 13 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) 285: No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) No. 14 Levi Cooper (Arizona State) No. 15 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State) No. 16 Odie Delaney (The Citadel) No. 17 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio)

The winter months are long and dreary, but in the midst of snow and sleet come two of the country's best tournaments, Midlands and Southern Scuffle. Though both tournaments are loaded. It's the Southern Scuffle that will be headlined by two-time defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Penn State as well as No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Minnesota, and No. 7 Cornell. The Midlands will also have several Top 25 programs, including wrestlers from No. 2 Iowa and No. 6 Illinois. Regardless of the teams attending, both tournaments are filled with provocative individual matchups that will give coaches and fans a better perspective on what will happen in March. Below are the ten best matchups from these winter classics, along with point spreads by Brian Muir. (It'll help you make bets your friends will want to take.) I'm trusting you won't gamble anything more than a few dollars, or one very large bar tab. No. 2 Nico Megaludis (Penn State) vs. No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) Weight Class: 125 Event: Southern Scuffle Nico Megaludis (Photo/Bill Ennis)Analysis: Matt McDonough leads the pack at 125 pounds, but with Iowa sitting a majority of their starters this break, it will be Megaludis and Waters headlining the lightweight showdown. Megaludis is the favorite against Waters coming off an NCAA runner-up performance in 2012. His flexibility has allowed him to defend shots in a totally unique way, and increasingly he's finding ways to score from his own offense in addition to his counter offense. As he develops and keeps opponents from getting off good shots, that flexibility will play an even more crucial role in his success by becoming a secondary line of defense, as opposed to a primary. Waters is undefeated on the season with wins over No. 12 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) (twice) and 2011 All-American Nikko Triggas (Ohio State). However, Waters has yet to face off against a top ten opponent and his side of the bracket could include as many as three top ten wrestlers, like Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech), David Thorn (Minnesota), Matt Snyder (Virginia), and Nick Soto (Chattanooga) spread across both sides of the bracket. Waters needs the best tournament of his life to make it past the early opposition with enough gumption left to give Megaludis a run in the finals. Line: Megaludis -1 No. 2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) vs. No. 4 A.J. Schopp (Edinboro) Weight Class: 133 Event: Midlands Analysis: Two-time All-American Scotti Sentes comes into his senior season only ranked behind returning NCAA champion Logan Stieber (Ohio State). Sentes hasn't seen much action this season having wrestled a paltry four times. However, you can expect that his top game and creative defense will be on display for all of Midlands and take him into the finals. Schopp's closest match of the season came in the All-Star Classic when he won a hard fought 2-1 decision over Chris Dardanes (Minnesota). Outside of that decision and a 6-0 performance over Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), the Edinboro sophomore has won by either fall or major decision. Can he dominate Sentes? Will Schopp's top work neutralize Sentes' mat work? Great questions and we'll get answers in what is sure to be one of the week's most exciting matchups. Line: Sentes -3 No. 1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) vs. No. 3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) Weight Class: 141 Event: Midlands Analysis: One of the two rematches on the list. The first meeting at the NWCA All-Star Classic was dominated by Maple who came away the 6-2 winner. Maple's attacks have stayed solid this season and without the pressure of the NCAA tournament he'll perform well and will likely come away with a result similar to the duo's first outing. Futrell has been dominant this season, winning six of his 12 matches by fall. (He actually holds the all-time pin record for the Illini.) It will be interesting to see how the Illini coaching staff prepares for Maple. Will they be able to slow down his attacks, or create counter offense? If not it will be another lopsided affair. But if adjustments work, these two guys are evenly matched. Line: Maple -4 No. 1 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) Weight Class: 149 Event: Southern Scuffle Analysis: He's back! Dylan Ness is scheduled to wrestle at the Southern Scuffle, and should he make his way through the Scuffle field he'll face off with the bigger and better Jordan Oliver. The match will be a good measuring point for both wrestlers and help us answer where Ness stands after a long layoff from competition. And yet he'll be facing Oliver, who might be the best wrestler in the country, winning eight matches by fall and another four by major decision. The Okie State senior has not been challenged, and though it's tough to imagine Ness will beat him, the Gophers' squirrelly style presents the stiffest competition for Oliver at this point in the season. It might also lead to some great viewing. Line: Oliver -4.5 No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) vs. No. 4 Joey Napoli (Lehigh) Weight Class: 157 Event: Midlands Jason Welch enters the Midlands with 93 career wins (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Analysis: Joey Napoli is having himself a nice little season. Though he suffered a six-point loss to top-ranked Derek St. John (Iowa), Napoli has registered wins over Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg) and Dylan Alton (Penn State) and seems poised for a high All-American finish at NCAAs. Welch absolutely destroyed No. 3 James Fleming recently, winning by major decision, 10-1. Should he meet up with Napoli, the undefeated Welch and his funky defense and focus on point scoring should overpower Napoli's more reserved approach to offense. It will be a fun style matchup that we could very easily see again in March. Line: Welch -2 No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 2 David Taylor (Penn State) Weight Class: 165 Event: Southern Scuffle Analysis: Yes, Kyle Dake won their first collegiate matchup, but for many it was not the type of decisive victory that would end the discussion of who is favored in their rematch. Dake's defensive scramble against Taylor in the All-Star Classic was vintage stuff, but could he do it again? Has Coach Cael and company now figured out some weaknesses in Dake's defense that could lead to a Taylor win? What about Dake, does he now understand which angles are open to attack? Does he feel supremely confident in his top game? There are still lots of questions to answer, which means that the wrestling world will be watching. Line: Dake -1.5 No. 1 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Matt Brown (Penn State) Weight Class: 174 Event: Southern Scuffle Analysis: Penn State's Matt Brown comes into the Scuffle undefeated. The sophomore has been one of the most talked about wrestlers since his freshman performance at the tournament the year before, where he bested Logan Storley (Minnesota) on his way to a finals appearance against teammate Ed Ruth. On the other side is Chris Perry who took third at 174 at the 2012 NCAAs and has been winning with ease this season. Most wrestling fans want to see what the guy smashed between David Taylor and Ed Ruth can do with his workout room upper hand. Will he be able to produce in-season results as the starter and become the best in the country? To do that Brown will likely have to make it past Storley in the semifinals. Assuming he repeats his performance from last year, Penn State will either pick up another top-seeded wrestler for NCAAs, or Perry will eliminate doubts about his ability to hold the top spot at 174. Line: Perry -1.5 No. 1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 2 Steve Bosak (Cornell) Weight Class: 184 Event: Southern Scuffle Ed Ruth has been crushing opponents (Photo/Bill Ennis)Analysis: Arguably the most anticipated matchup of the week outside of Dake-Taylor, these two NCAA champions should be facing off in the finals of the Scuffle. Standing in the way is Minnesota's Kevin Steinhaus, who could derail the Big Red senior's quest for a finals matchup against Ruth. Should Bosak make it, fans will likely be treated to the second finals match to feature two returning NCAA champions, which is normally a rarity for even the NCAA tournament, much less a holiday tournament. Ed Ruth has been crushing opponents in 2012, looking every bit the type of wrestler that could win the Hodge Trophy in the spring and repeat as InterMat Wrestler of the Year. Last week, Bosak struggled to get past Okie State's Chris Chionuma in his return to action, winning a close 4-3 match. It's hard to imagine what Bosak will do to slow down Ruth, but seeing him try will be all many fans need in order to make this matchup one of the semester's best. Line: Ruth -3.5 No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. No. 2 Matt Wilps (Pitt) Weight Class: 197 Event: Midlands Analysis: The much-anticipated matchup between undefeated and as yet unchallenged Kilgore and the on-fire Wilps, may never happen. That's because entering this year's Midlands is three-time Maryland All-American and current Columbia assistant wrestling coach Hudson Taylor. Though Taylor hasn't competed in a few years, he claims to be in good shape and ready to compete as a method of bringing attention to his non-profit Athlete Ally. Wilps will likely face Taylor in the semifinals. As for the potential Kilgore-Wilps matchup, it's a battle of similar styles. Unlike Wilps versus Quentin Wright, which pitted opposing styles, Wilps the strict positional aggressor and Q the hip tossing and scramble producing counter wrestler. Kilgore and Wilps are much the same on the mat. It shouldn't be hard for the NCAA champion to find his edge and exploit it, but don't count out Wilps, who is as hard-nosed and tough as anyone in the country and is having an excellent season. Line: Kilgore -4 No. 1 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) Weight Class: 285 Event: Southern Scuffle Tony Nelson defeated Alan Gelogaev earlier this season (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Analysis: Assuming Dom Bradley gets by Alan Gelogaev, the matchup between Bradley and returning NCAA champion Tony Nelson should give wrestling fans a good vantage point on how the rest of the season might play out at heavyweight. Bradley's build could present problems for Nelson, but like most all heavyweight matchups this match will likely go into overtime where it will become a battle to see which wrestler can hold down the other wrestler the longest. Good money has it on the NCAA champion, but don't count out Bradley, who if he's in the match will be coming off a big win against Gelogaev. Line: Nelson -1

Dan Lefebvre is in his seventh season as head wrestling coach at STMA (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Dan Lefebvre is in his seventh season as head wrestling coach at St. Michael-Albertville and 24th season on the coaching staff. During his time at STMA, the Knights have won six state wrestling championships and finished runner-up eight times, including the past three seasons. InterMat caught up with Lefebvre and talked to him about the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, The Clash, Apple Valley, Thorn brothers, Chas Betts, national rankings, and more. St. Michael-Albertville recently won the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, finishing nine points ahead of Apple Valley. How important was that tournament title to the program? STMA won the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, finishing in front of Apple Valley (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Lefebvre: We've won it one other time, which was during the 2005-06 season when we had a real senior-dominated team. Guys like Mike Thorn and Joe Grygelko were on that team. It's a fun thing. It wasn't one of our goals that we put down, but it's nice. We didn't have a heavyweight in the tournament, so we went with 13 weights. Our heavyweight had a concussion, but now he'll be back for The Clash. Apple Valley was without two starters, so that kind of evens out. To be honest with you, we kind of expected to win based on the seeds. We have the guys to do it and we did it. What are your thoughts on the pairings for The Clash? Lefebvre: We figured if we won the Christmas Tournament we would be a No. 1 seed. We have been a No. 1 seed in the past, but we have never made the final bracket. That final bracket is brutal. When you get there it's tough. We could go 3-0, 0-3, 1-2 ... There will be some close duals. We have Oak Park-River Forest (Ill.) if we get to the finals of our pool. They beat Carl Sandburg (Ill.), and yet Carl Sandburg got a No. 1 seed, so that was a little confusing. It will be tough getting there. In the semis we'll probably face either Collins Hills (Ga.) or Lake Stevens (Wash.). Collins Hills beat us a couple years ago, so I know they have a good program. It's fun. I like wrestling out-of-state teams. Different styles. Good challenge for our kids. Do you plan for specific teams or matchups at The Clash? Lefebvre: We do some research on them and see where teams are strong. But we're not going to move guys. We have a solid guy at every weight. If we move a guy that means we're opening up a hole, and we really can't move guys out of the lineup. We're pretty well set. We have a real balanced team. We put out a really, really good kid at almost all the weights. I expect in 12 out of the 14 weights the other teams better bring a top-level guy, otherwise we feel that we have a chance to win most of those weights. Earlier this season you defeated Simley 41-21. What did you learn about your team in that dual meet? Lefebvre: We learned that we're catching up. The past few years we have wrestled them, and even last year, physically we couldn't compete. Our guys put in a lot of time weight training and they've gotten stronger. We have a lot of guys that work hard in the offseason. They're battle-tested and know what it takes to mentally and physically get through duals like that, and get through tournaments like the Christmas Tournament and The Clash with top-level competition round after round after round. Guys are now used to wrestling in pressure situations more than ever. I would say that victory legitimized our program. It gives your kids more confidence when they can beat a team like Simley. At the start of the 2009-10 season your program moved up from Class AA to Class AAA, a class that has been dominated by Apple Valley the past couple decades. You lost to Apple Valley in the state finals the past three seasons. How would you characterize the rivalry between St. Michael-Albertville and Apple Valley? Lefebvre: It's intense. They have a great program. When kids are at Apple Valley they get better. That's why I think kids go to Apple Valley. We feel when kids are in our program they get better year after year too. Each year we have wrestled Apple Valley we've lost by large margins. But last year was the first year I thought that we really competed, and our guys learned that they could physically compete with them, even though we still lost by 25 points. We scored some points on them and we didn't back down. It's been tough. They have been one of the top teams in the nation the last three years. There has been such a disparity in our state in the levels when you go from Apple Valley and then down to the No. 2 team, which happened to be us the last three years. And then there were only about two or three teams that were about at our level, and then there was a big drop again. People didn't want to come and watch the state tournament because they knew the outcome before the tournament started. I think people are now getting a little more excited because we don't know the outcome. It should be exciting. Currently Minnesota has its dual state tournament the day before the start of the individual state tournament. It used to be mixed in with the individual competition. Do you have an opinion on the current structure? Lefebvre: I don't like it the way it is now because mainly it's unfair for all the teams competing. If the wrestlers are also in the individual portion of the tournament it's not a fair setup because the guys are competing in three tough duals on Thursday, and then they have to come back right away the next day and start competing in their individual tournament against guys who are not in the dual tournament who have just been worrying about making weight and worrying about the individual tournament. It's not fair physically or mentally. They need to go back to the way it was or they need to move the dual tournament to Saturday. The reason they're not moving it to Saturday is because of money. They don't think they'll have the attendance. The Minnesota State High School League didn't like when we had the state team finals on Saturday after the state individual finals. Almost the entire arena would empty out and go home. They didn't like that. But we're not really looking out for the kids. I just don't think it's a good system for those individuals. The dual state tournament is now seeded to four teams. Do you feel the individual state tournament should be seeded? Lefebvre: Yes, I do think the individual tournament should be seeded. We just did it for the Christmas Tournament. It's a similar thing. You have some criteria. Most of the top guys wrestle each other at some point or have some common opponents. At least it separates some of the top guys out, at least in the semifinals, and it doesn't have them meeting in the quarterfinals. It needs to happen. It's time. Several of your wrestlers compete in the spring, summer, and fall. How important is that to your team's success? Lefebvre: It's very important. It's a commitment the parents make and the wrestlers make. You can't compete at the top level without that. We've had more and more kids doing that in the last ten years. We won a couple of state titles in 1996 and 1997 with one or two kids doing it, and now we consistently have eight to ten kids doing it. When you get at least half your varsity weights doing that and the other half are playing football or doing other things, we can compete with that. But if they weren't doing that, it would make it difficult to compete at the top level. It's a big commitment for the parents and the wrestlers. Tommy Thorn won a Junior National freestyle title in Fargo (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)One of your wrestlers, Tommy Thorn, has developed into one of the nation's top lightweights. What's it like coaching Tommy? Lefebvre: It's a pleasure. Tommy is one of our hardest workers in our wrestling room. Tommy has had some of the best training in the world. He has gone to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He has been trained by some of the best guys here. His brothers and dad are all phenomenal technical wrestlers. A lot of the stuff we teach, particularly at the beginning to the whole team, is stuff he knows. It's basic. It's our STMA stuff that we do. But he gets back and drills it harder than anybody else in the room. He doesn't say, 'Well, I know this stuff.' He knows the basic things that we do win championships. He has become our leader in the way he goes about his business to be a champion. When everybody else comes in the room and looks around and says, 'If our best wrestler works this hard, then that's what we do here.' So we're lucky in that way. And he's talented. He's physically talented and works extremely hard. People like to compare brothers that compete in the same sport, so it's natural that people compare Tommy to his older brothers Mike and David. Having coached all three brothers, what are some differences you see in Tommy compared to his older brothers? Lefebvre: Tommy has a little bit of both of those guys. Mike was a creative wrestler. You would be watching him wrestle and you'd go, 'Wow, we never practiced that and I've never seen him do that before, but it worked.' It would be like, 'No, no ... wow, way to go.' He was creative. David was extremely technical. He did things by the book and was very successful with it. Mike was a better mat wrestler. David was more of a takedown wrestler. Tommy has both. He is creative and very technical. David Thorn moved down to 125 pounds this season for the University of Minnesota. He is currently 6-1 and ranked No. 7. Do you feel 125 pounds is a better fit for him? Lefebvre: I don't know. Boy, he has to show a lot of discipline to do it. I don't know ... It's tough to say. Yes, if he wins the national title it's the right decision. If not, I don't know. If he becomes an All-American it's probably the right decision. I think it's too early to tell. It's difficult. It's a tough weight cut for him. Hopefully it works out. Mike Thorn has returned to Minnesota after spending some time in New York. Has he been able to work much with Tommy and/or your team? Lefebvre: Mike is trying to get his career started in financial advising, so he just comes up once in a while afterwards and wrestles around with the guys. That's kind of his role. He's going to kind of take on a different role with some of our youth kids for now. He's not officially on our coaching staff. Just when it works into his schedule he comes in, kind of like any other alumni for the time being. He might do some offseason things with our guys. He has a young family. Going forward I project that he'll be part of our coaching staff soon. He's valuable. He teaches wrestling really well and works well with kids. But right now he's not officially on our coaching staff. He's trying to get his career started. Chas Betts, a former STMA wrestler, represented the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)One of your former athletes, Chas Betts, represented the United States at the Olympic Games in Greco-Roman this past summer in London. When you coached Betts at the high school level, did you envision that he could someday become an Olympian? Lefebvre: I could. Greco was his thing. He has always loved it. He is a great athlete. He would want to do Greco-Roman at all times. Particularly when he won a Junior National Greco-Roman title I thought he could do it. He had the drive and enthusiasm for it, but yet the patience for it. His temperament is 'I'm going to keep working and be patient until my time comes.' He had all those things going for him. So it was real exciting. It's neat for our town and our school to have an Olympian. They really got behind him. We had a lot of support for him at his going-away party. It was a neat deal. St. Michael-Albertville is currently ranked in the top five nationally. What do national rankings mean to your program? Lefebvre: National rankings give us some notoriety. It's neat. We work with the kids all the time and help them understand that rankings are based on what we have done and what we are predicted to do. We try to keep them level-headed and help them understand that rankings are not exact predictors of our success. We are going to determine that by the way we prepare to win. How will success be measured this season? Lefebvre: Our first goal that we have as a team every year is to maximize our abilities and effort every time we step on the mat. If we do that, we think we're good enough to win a state title. However, there are a lot of factors that go into that. We're not going to say our season was a total loss if we don't do that. But if everyone is doing everything they can to prepare to reach that goal, then I think that's a successful season, as we do any year. It gets old being runner-up three years in a row. So, yeah, we would like to win a state title. But that's not going to be the end-all either. This story also appears in the Dec. 28 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.

Cody Wiercioch recently won a Walsh Ironman title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) The POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament celebrates its 45th edition on Friday and Saturday at Canon-McMillan High School just to the south of Pittsburgh. For a tournament that has always been superb, in fact ranked the fourth best in the country according to InterMat, some aspects this year make it even more special than normal. It is extremely likely that the most anticipated regular season matchup of the 2012-13 season will happen during Saturday night's finals that start at 7:30 p.m. Junior Chance Marsteller from Kennard-Dale, Pa., is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 170 pounds, and No. 1 overall in the Class of 2014. He also is a two-time state champion, a two-time POWERade champion, yet to lose a match in his high school career. However, in senior Cody Wiercioch from the host school Canon-McMillan, Marsteller might see a true equal. Wiercioch is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 170 pounds, a two-time state champion (three-time finalist), a two-time POWERade champion (three-time finalist), and a two-time Super 32 Challenge champion. His career record is 137-4, with all those losses coming to one wrestler: Travis McKillop, a Burrell graduate who earned NCAA Division II All-American honors as a true frosh at Pitt-Johnstown in 2012 -- as part of a seven match series over two years. Headed into the POWERade this weekend, Wiercioch is working on a 60-match winning streak. Joining Marsteller as top-ranked wrestlers in their weight classes are Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) at 138 pounds and Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.) at 220. Retherford, ranked third overall in the Class of 2013, will be joined by another pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in his weight class: No. 6 Mason Manville (Blair Academy, N.J.), who scored the first takedown against Retherford in the Ironman final but still lost 4-2, and No. 14 Joseph Galasso (Father Judge, Pa.), a FloNationals runner-up and Super 32 placer. Also in the weight class are additional Pennsylvania state placers in Josh Maruca (Franklin Regional), Ethan Kenney (Connellsville), and Brock Zacherl (Brookville). Snyder, ranked second to Marsteller in the Class of 2014, is also undefeated in a high school career that includes two National Prep titles, two Ironman titles, and three Beast of the East titles. His weight class features three other nationally ranked wrestlers: fellow junior Thomas Haines (Solanco, Pa.), a two-time state champion seeking to win back-to-back titles in this event, who is No. 3 in the weight class and No. 6 overall in the Class of 2014; as well as No. 10 Alex Campbell (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), runner-up in this event last year, and No. 20 Chalmer Frueauf (Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio). The nation's top-ranked team, Blair Academy, N.J., is in the tournament for a second straight year and is a strong favorite to repeat as team champion. Their anchor wrestler Brooks Black, ranked No. 2 in the nation at 285 pounds and No. 6 overall in the Class of 2013, will most likely have to battle defending state champion Nazar Mironeko (Mifflinburg, Pa.) in order to win a repeat POWERade title on Saturday night. The other defending Buccaneer champion at the POWERade is senior Russ Parsons, ranked No. 6 in the nation at 152 pounds. However, he will face an extreme challenge from No. 5 Anthony Collica (Solon, Ohio), a two-time state champion, Junior National freestyle champion, and three-time POWERade placer (5th/3rd/4th). Also present here is state placer Heath Coles (Norwin, Pa.), who is likely to meet Collica in the semifinal round. Two past POWERade champions, both of whom are ranked inside the top ten nationally, are featured at 126 pounds. No. 4 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) won the 112 pound weight class in 2010, and is a three-time state finalist; No. 8 Michael Kemerer (Franklin Regional, Pa.) was champion at 113 last year, finished as a state runner-up, and was runner-up at the Super 32 in October. Joining them in this weight are No. 3 Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.), a three-time state champion, and Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, N.J.). McKenna, a two-time National Prep champion and Junior National freestyle runner-up this summer, is a top ten prospect in the Class of 2014; it is his season debut, as he is back earlier than expected from a major injury that occurred while competing at the FILA Cadet freestyle World Championships in August. This quartet at 126 is joined by fellow state placers Cole Walter (Mifflinburg, Pa.) and Matt Welliver (Benton, Pa.). A total of ten past POWERade champions will be competing in this year's event, with an eleventh in Solomon Chishko (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) unable to seek a repeat title at 145 pounds due to an injury sustained during the championship match of the Super 32 Challenge in late October. Already mentioned were Schram, Kemerer, Parsons, Wiercioch, Marsteller, Haines, and Black. Rounding out this group are Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pa.) at 120 pounds, Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell, Pa.) at 182, and Jacob Hart (Hampton, Pa.) at 195; DesLauriers and Hart won their titles last year in the same weight class. Joseph, last year's winner at 106 pounds, faces an absolutely stacked field at 120 pounds with four nationally ranked wrestlers present. No. 3 Matthew Kolodzik (Blair Academy, N.J.) was a Cadet National freestyle champion this summer, and has already finished runner-up at the Ironman and Beast of the East this year; No. 5 Sam Krivus (Hempfield Area, Pa.) finished third at both the POWERade and state tournaments last year, and won the Super 32 Challenge two months ago; No. 11 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) was runner-up at 113 here last year; while No. 18 Brandon Thompson (Solon, Ohio) is a two-time state champion and two-time POWERade placer (3rd and 5th). DesLauriers, a state champion last year and three-time state placer, is the top seed in a weight class with No. 19 Addison Knepshield (Blair Academy, N.J.), who placed fourth at both the Ironman and Beast of the East earlier this month, as the sixth seed. Also present in this weight is state fourth placer Nicholas Shawley (Bellefonte, Pa.). Hart finished runner-up at state last year in Class AAA and placed in the Super 32 two months ago. However, it is No. 3 Frank Mattiace (Blair Academy, N.J.), a National Prep champion last year, and two-time Ironman placer who enters this tournament the favorite. In last year's event, Mattiace was upset the round before he would have met Hart, and reversed that result in consolation on the way to a third place finish. Also present here is National Prep and Super 32 placer Spencer Neff (Good Counsel, Md.). The remaining five weight classes -- 106, 113, 132, 145, and 160 -- also feature nationally ranked wrestlers, meaning that every single weight in this tournament features a genuinely elite level of competition. Two nationally ranked freshmen are featured in the 106 pound weight class: No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Labrobe, Pa.), a two-time Super 32 placer and five-time PJW champion, and No. 8 Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio), who placed fourth at the Ironman. However, neither is seeded, as they do not have a high school based criterion. The top two seeds here are Devon Brown (Saegertown, Pa.), who placed third in Ohio last year and is a Cadet Greco-Roman All-American, and state runner-up Tommy Aloi (Forest Park, Va.) who also was a NHSCA Junior runner-up. State champ, and two-time state finalist, Ethan Lizak (Parkland, Pa.) is ranked No. 7 nationally to anchor the 113-pound weight class. Based on the draw, the other two nationally ranked wrestlers are slated to meet in the quarterfinal round as the two and seven seeds respectively: No. 13 Chaz Tucker (Blair Academy, N.J.), runner-up at the National Prep and Cadet National freestyle championships, and No. 19 Jordan Allen (Huntington, W.Va.), a state champion and POWERade placer. The two nationally ranked wrestlers at 132 are seeded to the top half of the draw: No. 5 Jason Nolf (Kittanning, Pa.), third at the Super 32 and a junior with the only loss in his high school career coming to Diehl in the state semifinals last year, and No. 11 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.) who placed fifth in the Super 32 and was a runner-up at the NHSCA Junior Nationals. Three-time state champion Brandon Brunner (Baylor School, Tenn.) is seeded to hit Nolf in the quarterfinal, while the bottom half of the draw is led by state placer Tyler Smith (Franklin Regional, Pa.), who was a match away from placing at the Ironman; and two-time state placer Mikey Kostandaras (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio). Two-time National Prep runner-up Dylan Milonas (Blair Academy, N.J.), runner-up last year in this 145-pound weight class, is ranked No. 8 nationally and the favorite. He also was a Junior Naitonal freestyle All-American this past summer and has finished third at the Ironman and Beast of the East earlier this month. He is joined by No. 15 Colt Cotton (Benton, Pa.), a three-time state placer and NHSCA Junior runner-up, as a nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class. Also in this weight class is NHSCA Junior National champion Justin Arthur (Huntington, W.Va.), who was a Junior National freestyle All-American this summer. Finally at 160 pounds, No. 11 Zack Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) is the lone ranked wrestler. He placed third at the POWERade and placed eighth at state in this weight class last year. He is joined by a pair of Pennsylvania state placers in Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem, Pa.) and Jeric Kasunic (Benton, Pa.), as well as 2011 state placer Ty Walter (Mifflinburg, Pa.), a two-time Super 32 placer. The robust nature of this field is also reflected in the excellence of the programs that will assemble this weekend. In addition to No. 1 Blair Academy, two other nationally ranked teams are present: No. 6 Canon-McMillan, Pa., and No. 34 Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio; No. 12 Clovis, Calif., and No. 39 Hermiston, Ore., had to pull out of the tournament due to travel logistics. Other teams meriting attention include Franklin Regional, Pa., Good Counsel, Md., Huntington, W.Va., and Parkland, Pa.