InterMat Staff

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State wrestling team, holding the No. 1 spot on Intermat's TPI, racked up four pins on its way to a decisive win over visiting Lock Haven. The Nittany Lions won nine of ten bouts to roll to a 42-3 win in a sold out Rec Hall. The day was highlighted by by four military heroes being honored at halftime of Military Appreciation Day. With nearly 6,300 fans once again in attendance, the Nittany Lions of head coach Cael Sanderson's team dominated the competition. All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, got things started in fast fashion by pinning LHU's Bobby Rehm at the 4:10 mark. Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) remained unbeaten in duals for Penn State, picking up a 13-3 major over Matt Bryer at 133. Lock Haven then picked up its lone win over the dual when Dan Neff posted a 9-4 decision over Nittany Lion senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) at 141. No. 5 Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) notched a hard-fought 10-6 win over LHU's Mac Maldarelli at 149 to put Penn State up 13-3. All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 157, then downed Lock Haven's Jake Kemerer 5-2 to send Penn State into the halftime break leading 16-3. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 2 at 165, got a second period pin over Lock Haven's Aaron McKinney, getting the fall at 4:41. Taylor's pin was followed up by sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah). Brown, ranked No. 3 at 174, got a pin at the 1:37 mark over Zach Heffner to up Penn State's lead to 28-3. All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, posted a dominating 17-2 technical fall (4:55) over Fred Garcia. Senior All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 197, pinned Phil Sprenkle at the 6:10 mark and Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 15 at 285, downed LHU's Harry Turner 5-1 to close out the dual and give Penn State the 42-3 win. Penn State rolled up a 27-6 edge in takedowns in winning nine of ten bouts. The Lions' four pins, tech fall and major gave the team 15 bonus points. Penn State is now 4-0 on the year, 1-0 in Big Ten duals. Lock Haven falls to 1-2. The Nittany Lions will now prep for defense of their Southern Scuffle title. Penn State will take part in the 2013 Southern Scuffle, featuring perhaps the nation's strongest field in a team-scored in-season tournament, on Jan. 1-2, 2013, at UT-Chattanooga. Penn State's next home dual is set for Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. Penn State's full season of home duals was sold out prior to the season opener, but limited SRO 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. #1 Penn State 42, Lock Haven 3 December 15, 2012 - University Park, Pa. - Rec Hall 125: #2 Nico Megaludis PSU, WBF Bobby Rehm LHU (4:10) 6-0 133: Jordan Conaway PSU, 13-3 maj. dec. Matt Bryer LHU 10-0 141: Dan Neff LHU 4-9 dec. Bryan Pearsall PSU 10-3 149: #5 Andrew Alton PSU, 10-6 dec. Mac Maldarelli LHU 13-3 157: #5 Dylan Alton PSU, 5-2 dec. Jake Kemerer LHU 16-3 165: #2 David Taylor PSU, WBF Aaron McKinney LHU (4:41) 22-3 174: #3 Matt Brown PSU, WBF Zach Heffner LHU (1:37) 28-3 184: #1 Ed Ruth PSU, 17-2 tech fall Fred Garcia LHU (TF; 4:55) 33-3 197: #3 Quentin Wright PSU, WBF Phil Sprenkle LHU (6:10) 39-3 285: #15 Jimmy Lawson PSU, 5-1 dec. Harry Turner LHU 42-3 Attendance: 6,292 Records: Penn State 4-0, 1-0 Big Ten; Lock Haven 1-2 Up Next for Penn State: At 2013 Southern Scuffle, Jan. 1-2, 2013, Chattanooga, Tenn. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 125, took on Lock Haven's Bobby Rehm. Rehm opened up the scoring with a takedown at the 2:15 mark, taking a 2-0 lead. Megaludis escaped quick and then immediately worked his way into a low single. Megaludis forced a scramble that led to a takedown and a 3-2 lead. Megaludis rode Rehm out and led 3-2 after one period. Megaludis chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 4-2 lead. Another quick takedown and the Lion sophomore led 6-3 after cutting Rehm loose. Megaludis added another takedown and then quickly turned Rehm to his shoulders for a pin at the 4:10 mark. 133: Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) looked to stay undefeated in duals for Penn State, taking on Lock Haven's Matt Bryer at 133. Conaway scored first with a takedown nearly a minute into the bout and led 2-1 early. Conaway continued to press Bryer and grabbed a second takedown midway through the period to lead 4-1. The Lion freshman maintained control long enough to build up a 1:04 riding time edge before Bryer escaped. Conaway added a third takedown and then turned Bryer to his back for two near fall points as the period ended to lead 8-2. Bryer chose down to start the second and Conaway added to his riding time edge. Bryer escaped to an 8-3 deficit after giving up a stall warning. Conaway gained control of Bryer's shoulders low on the mat and scrambled around for a late takedown to lead 10-3 after two periods. Conaway chose neutral to start the third period. Conaway exploded through a high double off a reset and upped his lead to 12-3 with 1:00 left in the bout. Having clinched the riding time point, Conaway then put together a strong ride, working all the time off the clock on his way to a 13-3 major with 3:54 in riding time. 141: Senior Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) took to the mat against LHU freshman Dan Neff at 141. Neff got the bout's firs takedown to lead 2-1 at the 1:20 mark. The Lion senior fought off another solid Neff shot to stay within a point after the opening period. The duo battled evenly for the next minute with neither wrestler managing a scoring opportunity. Pearsall fought off another Neff shot and was then called for stalling. After a scoreless second period and trailing 2-1, Pearsall chose down to start the third stanza. He steadily worked his way to an escape and a 2-2 tie, but Neff shot low and added another takedown to lead 4-2 at the 1:25 mark. Pearsall escaped and trailed 4-3 with 1:07 on the clock. The Nittany Lion senior worked for a tying takedown, but Neff countered for a late-takedown and, with the riding time point posted the 9-4 win. 149: Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 149, faced off against junior Mac Maldarelli. Alton scored early, taking Maldarelli down and lead 2-1 within the first minute. Maldarelli picked up a takedown of his own and took a brief lead, but Alton quickly escaped and then took t he Bald Eagle junior down again. Two near fall points gave Alton a 7-3 lead. Maldarelli escaped before the period ended and Alton led 7-4 after one period. Maldarelli chose down to start the second period and Alton quickly cut him to neutral, looking for another takedown. But Maldarelli was able to fight off Alton for the bulk of the period, keeping the bout close. Alton used a low single at the :20 mark to force a late scramble and pick up a last second takedown and led 9-5 heading into the third. Alton chose down to start the third period and Maldarelli controlled the action for the first minute-plus of the period. Alton was hit with a stall warning while Maldarelli built up over a minute's worth of riding time. Alton escaped to a 10-5 lead and then wound out the clock. Maldarelli picked up riding time but Alton walked away with the 10-6 decision. 157: All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 157, took on Bald Eagle Jake Kemerer. Alton and Kemerer battled evenly for the first minute-plus but Alton finally broke through Kemerer's defense. The Lion sophomore used a shoulder throw to turn Kemerer to his back on the edge of the mat, picking up the takedown at the 1:05 mark. Action moved out of bounds before back points could be called and Alton led 2-1 after a Kemerer escape. Leading 2-1, Alton chose down to start the second period. A quick escape gave the Lion a 3-1 lead. The duo traded shots for the remainder of the period with neither wrestler scoring. With Alton leading 3-1, Kemerer chose down to start the third period. He quickly escaped to cut the lead to 3-2 and then began pressuring Alton on the edge of the mat. Alton got called for stalling and then gained control of Kemerer's shoulders, forcing a scramble that ended in a stalemate at the :40 mark. The Lion sophomore countered a Kemerer shot for a clinching takedown at the :20 mark and posted the 5-2 win. 165: Two-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 2 at 165, met Lock Haven's Aaron McKinney. Taylor came out fast, notching a quick takedown to lead 2-0 at the 2:42 mark. Taylor then put together a strong ride and built up :43 in riding time before McKinney escaped to a 2-1 score. Taylor exploded off a reset through a double leg to up his lead to 4-2 lead after cutting McKinney loose. This time, a high single leg led to a third Taylor takedown and this time Taylor maintained control long enough to build up over a minute in riding time. Taylor cut McKinney loose at the :30 mark and within seconds added a fourth takedown to lead 8-3 at the :20 mark. This time, Taylor rode McKinney out to carry that lead, with 2:01 in riding time, into the second stanza. McKinney chose down to start the second period and Taylor made him pay for the choice. He turned the Bald Eagle to his back for three near fall points. After resetting himself, Taylor adjusted, turned McKinney's shoulders to the mat and picked up the pin at the 4:41 mark. 174: Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah), ranked No. 3 at 174, battled Zach Heffner. Brown, like Taylor, scored quickly, getting a takedown less than :20 into the bout. Heffner escaped to a 2-1 deficit but Brown was relentless offensively, using a high double for a second takedown and a 4-1 lead. After allowing Heffner out, Brown gained control of the Bald Eagle's shoulders, quickly turned him to his back and picked up a quick pin (1:37). 184: Two-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, met LHU junior Fred Garcia. Ruth scored quickly, cut Garcia loose and led 2-1 early. The Nittany Lion junior fought off a low Garcia shot and used the ensuing scramble to get his second takedown and lead 4-1 with 1:30 on the clock. Ruth put together a strong ride, building up over a minute's worth of riding time before turning Garcia to his back for two near fall and a 6-1 lead. Ruth turned him one more time before the period ended, this time for three, and led 9-1 after one period. Ruth chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 10-1 lead. Ruth used a low single to pick up another takedown and then added three back points to lead 15-1 with :40 on the clock. Garcia escaped and tried to score a takedown of his own, but Ruth countered late, rolled the Bald Eagle over and ended the bout with takedown, getting a 17-2 technical fall (4:55). 197: Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 197, battled LHU freshman Phil Sprenkle. Wright used an early shoulder throw to try and end the match early, nearly getting a quick pin. But Sprenkle was able to roll out of trouble without even giving up a takedown and the bout remained scoreless. Wright and Sprenkle then wrestled evenly for the entire period and action moved to the second stanza tied 0-0. Wright chose down to start the second and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. The Lion senior steadily worked himself into control of Sprenkle's upper body then tripped him to the mat for at 3-0 lead with 1:10 on the clock. Wright then rode Sprenkle out to lead 3-0 with 1:16 riding time after two periods. Sprenkle chose neutral to start the third period but Wright had the answer. Wright used a low single to take Sprenkle down and then turned him to his back. After resetting himself, Wright got the fall at 6:10 mark to put Penn State up 39-3. 285: Sophomore Jimmy Lawson (Tom's River, N.J.), ranked No. 15 at 285, met LHU senior Harry Turner in a rematch of this year's Mat-Town Open title bout (won by Lawson in early December). Lawson almost picked up the first points of the match, lifting Turner off the mat and working for a takedown. But momentum took both wrestlers off the mat and onto the floor and the bout remained scoreless two minutes in. The duo traded shots over the last minute and action moved to the second tied 0-0. Turner chose down to start the second period and Lawson was able to control the action for :46 before Turner escaped to a 1-0 lead. Lawson used his quickness to work his way behind Turner on their feet and then pulled the Bald Eagle down for a takedown to lead 2-1 with :15 on the clock. A short ride-out later allowed Lawson to carry that lead into the third period. Lawson chose down to start the third and worked his way to an escaped and a 3-1 lead at the 1:35 mark. Lawson stepped away from one low Turner shot and then countered another for a final takedown and a 5-1 win.

Related Content: Team Scores | Brackets RENO, Nev. -- It has sometimes been said, "To be the man, you've got to beat the man." Two grueling days of wrestling at the Reno Tournament of Champions virtually came down to the 170-pound final between No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) and Steve Cervantes (Poway, Calif.), who placed seventh at state and Reno last year. Cody Wiercioch (Photo/Rob Preston)With Poway leading in the team battle, 219.5 to 217.5, and the match extended to overtime, Wiercioch dug deep and got a match-winning takedown to give Canon-McMillan the lead in the standings for good. Earlier in the evening, the Big Macs had fallen short in two other championship match battles between ranked opposition. No. 11 Dalton Macri saw an Ironman victory reversed by No. 12 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) 2-1 in the 120-pound final. While at 132 pounds, No. 16 Jed Mellen (Payson, Utah) upset No. 5 Connor Schram with a pin at the 3:14 mark. Third place finishers for Canon-McMillan included Brendan Price (106), No. 9 Alex Campbell (220), and Angelo Broglio (285). In order for Broglio to place third, he had to win eight straight matches -- the first five of which were necessary just to place period after losing in the second championship round. The No. 6 team in the nation truly stepped up as a whole to win the team title, scoring 225.5 points. They also did it without No. 3 Solomon Chishko (145) on the mats, as the four-time Super 32 placer was out due to injury. Second place in the standings was Poway with 221.5 points. The Titans continued their history of being unheralded heading into the Reno TOC, yet leaving the event having impressed the masses. Their lone champion was senior Tirso Lara (106), who had five pins and a major decision in the tournament; that included a pin in the final over No. 19 Joey Cisneros (Redwood, Calif.). Cervantes was the lone runner-up, Janrad Fikinges (113) finished third, Ralphy Tovar (138) and Victor Lopez (145) took fourth, while Tim Classen (220) in fifth rounded out the Titans placers. Two other teams tied Canon-McMillan and Poway with sixth placers, which was most among any team in the tournament -- Pomona, Colo. and No. 17 Broken Arrow, Okla. Pomona finished fourth in the standings with 158.5 points, while Broken Arrow was ninth with 142. Pomona was led by Travis Torres, who took second at 113, and Lucas Vagher, who was fourth at 126; two other wrestlers finished fifth and seventh respectively. Broken Arrow went 0-6 in the medal round, with Marcus Simmons (120) and Carlos Taylor (285) taking fourth, a single wrestler in sixth, and three more in eighth. Third place in the team standings went to No. 50 Maple Mountain, Utah, who had five placers and 173.5 points. This was in spite of their best wrestler, No. 8 Grant LaMont taking seventh at 152 pounds with two totally head-scratching losses. Kimball Bastian (160) led the way with a second place finish, Jon Wixom (195) took third, Kieffer Taylor (170) was fourth, while freshman Taylor LaMont (113) finished in fifth. The lone teams with multiple champions in this year's tournament -- Green Valley, Nev., and Centennial, Idaho -- took fifth and sixth place respectively. Led by titles from Sean Cannon (113) and Ryder Newman (182), Green Valley finished with 155 points when a sixth and eighth place finish were added into the equation. Centennial had 152 points, anchored by titles from No. 4 Hayden Tuma (138) and Jon-Jay Chavez (145), though with only one additional placer in fifth. For the tournament, Tuma earned five falls and a 7-4 decision victory; this included a second period fall over state runner-up Paul Fox (Gilroy, Calif.) in the championship match. While Chavez had an impressive 5-1 victory in the final over No. 16 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.), one match after Villarreal upended defending champion No. 19 Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) by a 3-2 decision. Additional champions were Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West, Calif.) at 126 pounds, No. 12 Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Calif.) at 152, No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.) at 160, Jeremy Sweany (Vacaville, Calif.) at 195, No. 4 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.) at 220, and Zac Dawe (Pleasant Grove, Utah) at 285. Martinez had an impressive tournament with three falls, a technical fall, and 11-5 decision leading to his 12-3 major decision over Kimball Bastian in the final. Empey had five pins and a 17-0 technical fall on the way to his title, this included a first period pin over Cody Anderson (Lowry, Nev.) in the final; Anderson had five pins prior to the final, including one against No. 9 Alex Campbell (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) in the semifinal round. Dawe had five pins and a 13-7 decision in the semifinals on the way to his title. Team Standings (Top Ten): 1. No. 6 Canon-McMillan, Pa. 225.5 2. Poway, Calif. 221.5 3. No. 50 Maple Mountain, Utah 173.5 4. Pomona, Colo. 158.5 5. Green Valley, Nev. 155 6. Centennial, Idaho 152 7. Easton, Pa. 151.5 8. No. 43 Vacaville, Calif. 142.5 9. No. 17 Broken Arrow, Okla. 142 10. Box Elder, Utah 139 Others: 12. No. 42 Bakersfield, Calif. 117.5 21. No. 45 Shenendehowa, N.Y. 83 Finals Results: 106: Tirso Lara (Poway, Calif.) pinned No. 19 Joey Cisneros (Redwood, Calif.), 3:24 113: Sean Cannon (Green Valley, Nev.) dec. Travis Torres (Pomona, Colo.), 3-0 120: No. 12 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) dec. No. 11 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), 2-1 126: Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West, Calif.) dec. Matt Findlay (Alta, Utah), 12-8 132: No. 16 Jed Mellen (Payson, Utah) pinned No. 5 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), 3:14 138: No. 4 Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho) pinned Paul Fox (Gilroy, Calif.), 3:49 145: Jon-Jay Chavez (Centennial, Idaho) dec. No. 16 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.), 5-1 152: No. 12 Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Calif.) dec. Reed Van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.), 3-2 160: No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.) maj. dec. Kimball Bastian (Maple Mountain, Utah), 12-3 170: No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) dec. Steve Cervantes (Poway, Calif.), 3-1 SV 182: Ryder Newman (Green Valley, Nev.) dec. Kyle Pope (Bakersfield, Calif.), 18-14 195: Jeremy Sweany (Vacaville, Calif.) dec. John Morin (Hillsboro, Ore.), 6-4 220: No. 4 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.) pinned Cole Andersen (Lowry, Nev.), 1:48 285: Zac Dawe (Pleasant Grove, Utah) pinned Brandon Dominguez (Hood River, Ore.), 1:17

Related Content: Results | Photos (The Guillotine) St. Michael-Albertville claimed the team title (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Despite an absolutely disastrous championship semifinal round, in which No. 5 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., went 3-6 with four of those losses coming by either one or two points, the Knights overcame to win the Minnesota Christmas Tournament on Saturday night. They bounced back with a 5-2 record in consolation semifinals, and then went 7-3 in placement matches. Championships from No. 2 Tommy Thorn (120) and Cole Sladek (138) led the way for St. Michael-Albertville on the way to 256.5 points. Michael Kessler (220) placed second; Aaron Dick (106), No. 10 (at 106) Mitch McKee (113), and Ricky Briggs (195) placed third; while another pair each finished in fourth and fifth place. Mark Hall won his third straight Minnesota Christmas Tournament title (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Despite the absence of nationally ranked Seth Gross (126/132), a two-time state champion and two-time Cadet National freestyle champion, Apple Valley, Minn., still had a solid performance in taking second place. The Eagles were led by a trio of champions: Gannon Volk (113), No. 1 Mark Hall (152), and Paul Cheney (220): on the way to 247.5 team points. They were also bolstered by runner-up finishes from Dayton Racer (160) and No. 7 (at 160) Daniel Woiwor (170), a third-place finish from Malou Woiwor (120), and two sixth-place finishes. Even with a tournament-high five weight class titles, No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn., was only able to finish in third place with 245 points. Champions for the KoMets were Gabe Shea (106), Nate Thomas (126), Brady Berge (132), No. 5 Broc Berge (195), and No. 4 Sam Stoll (285); Colton Laganiere (138) placed in second; while another KoMet took sixth, and two others finished eighth. Jake Short and Brady Berge shared Outstanding Wrestler honors (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Impressive about Brady Berge, who is the nation's No. 2-ranked junior high wrestler, is the fact he is winning against juniors and seniors despite being in eighth grade. A state champion last year at 106, Brady Berge moves up four weight classes this year, defeats two-time state placer Mark Voss 6-4 in the semifinals, and then knocks off two-time state champion Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.) 4-3 in the finals, scoring a last-second takedown to claim the victory. Broc Berge was extended to overtime in a championship match battle of state champions, as he beat No. 15 (at 182) Lance Benick (Totino-Grace, Minn.) by a 5-3 score. Stoll also had a nationally ranked opponent in the finals, but he was much more dominant in a 9-1 major dec. over No. 15 Michael Burckhardt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). Fourth in the team standings with 177.5 points was No. 14 Simley, Minn. The Spartans were led by a pair of weight class champions: No. 1 Jake Short (145) and No. 4 Nick Wanzek (170). In the final, Wanzek earned an 11-2 major dec. over fellow ranked opponent Daniel Woiwor. As mentioned earlier, Gliva came in second, while additional Spartans wrestlers finished fourth and fifth. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 9 Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.) at 160 and No. 7 (at 195) Preston Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D.) at 182. Team Standings (Top Ten): 1. No. 5 St. Michael-Albertville 256.5 2. No. 4 Apple Valley 247.5 3. No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville 245 4. No. 14 Simley 177.5 5. Cambridge-Isanti 161 6. West Fargo, N.D. 160.5 7. Albert Lea 144.5 8. Prior Lake 137 9. Scott West 129.5 10. Owatonna 127 Finals Results: 106: Gabe Shea (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. Kael Knowlen (Bismarck, N.D.), 4-2 SV 113: Gannon Volk (Apple Valley) dec. Garrett Wangsness (Albert Lea), 6-4 120: No. 2 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville) maj. dec. Tanner Johnshoy (Prior Lake), 13-4 126: Nate Thomas (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. Jordan Shearer (West Fargo, N.D.), 6-5 132: Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.), 4-3 138: Cole Sladek (St. Michael-Albertville) dec. Colton Laganiere (Kasson-Mantorville), 9-4 145: No. 1 Jake Short (Simley) pinned Travis Holt (Cambridge-Isanti), 1:13 152: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) pinned Andrew Fogarty (Scott West), 1:42 160: No. 9 Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.) dec. Dayton Racer (Apple Valley), 7-3 170: No. 4 Nick Wanzek (Simley) maj. dec. No. 7 (at 160) Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley), 11-2 182: No. 7 (at 195) Preston Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D.) dec. Porter Secrist (Wabasha-Kellogg), 5-0 195: No. 5 Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) dec. No. 15 (at 182) Lance Benick (Totino-Grace), 5-3 SV 220: Paul Cheney (Apple Valley) dec. Michael Kessler (St. Michael-Albertville), 4-3 285: No. 4 Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville) maj. dec. No. 15 Michael Burckhardt (Coon Rapids), 9-1

Related Content: Results KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After finishing second by a single point to Edmond North last weekend at the Mid-America Nationals, No. 20 Collinsville, Okla., traveled north for the Kansas City Stampede and came away with the championship. They used five top three placements, an additional wrestler in sixth, plus three more inside the top ten to score 460.5 points. Their lone champion was Christian Moody (106), while Will Steltzen (132) was the other finalist. Despite having a tournament-high four champions, No. 33 Blue Springs, Mo., only finished in second place. The titles from No. 15 Daniel Lewis (138), No. 20 Darick Lapaglia (145), No. 15 Cain Salas (152), and No. 17 Michael Pixley (182) augmented by an additional fourth place finisher were enough for 430.5 points. In the finals, Lewis pinned No. 9 Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa); Lapaglia beat Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo) 7-3 one round after Leeth upset No. 12 Clayton Ream (Holt, Mo.) 8-5; while Pixley upset No. 10 Lance Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) by a 3-1 score. With four top three finishers, which tied Blue Springs for second most in the tournament: Collinsville had the most with five, No. 26 Edmond North, Okla., scored 418 points to finish third place. They were led by titles from Joel (195) and No. 5 Andrew (220) Dixon, while Lance Dixon (182) took second, and Josh Breece (120) finished third; an additional fifth place finish gave them five overall in the top eight. Fourth place in the tournament was unranked Park Hill, Mo., with 413.5 points, and they had seven top eight place-winners, which was most in the tournament. Their lone champion was No. 7 Ke-Shawn Hayes, who upset No. 4 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Mo.) 3-1 in overtime at 113 pounds. Hayes defeated No. 9 Davion Jeffries (Collinsville, Okla.) 10-3 in the semifinal round, and Jeffries would go on to finish third with a 5-0 victory over No. 13 Jaret Singh (Kearney, Mo.) in the consolation final. The Trojans had a runner-up in John Erneste (120), and other top eight finishers in third, fourth, sixth, and two in eighth. Three finalists and six inside the top eight: the others taking fifth, seventh, and seventh: propelled unranked Neosho, Mo. to a fifth place finish with 407.5 points. Their championship came from Nate Rodriguez (132), while runner-up finishes came from Kyle Rea (106) and Christian Lopez (220). Despite being in a three-way tie for second most top eight finishers, No. 30 Kearney, Mo. was all the way back in sixth place with 386 points. The Bulldogs highest placer was Grant Leeth, second at 145; Singh finished fourth at 113; while other top eight finishers were fifth, sixth, seventh, and seventh respectively. A pair of championships from No. 5 Zach Beard (170) and Nathan Jackson (285) propelled No. 23 Tuttle, Okla. to a seventh place finish with 366.5 points. They had four overall inside the top eight, with other placers taking fourth and sixth. No. 38 Bettendorf was led by a title from No. 20 Fredy Stroker (126) on the way to an eighth-place finish with 358.5 points. Three other Bulldogs finished in the top eight: Logan Ryan (132) and Malique Hudson (160) in third, and Alex Hernandez (145) in fourth. Bo NickalRounding out the nationally ranked contingent was No. 13 Allen, Texas, finishing ninth with 352 points. However, No. 3 Bo Nickal (160) earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors as he pinned all seven of his opponents, only the championship match opponent lasted past the first period. In fact, Nickal was on the mat for a total of 6 minutes and 28 seconds for the whole tournament. The Eagles saw Matt Meyer (182) place third and had others in sixth and seventh. However, they were without a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in No. 4 Oliver Pierce (152), No. 16 Nick Cobb (195), as they participated in the state football semifinals on Saturday night. In that game, they upset the nation's No. 1 high school football team -- DeSoto, Texas -- and will be playing for a Class 5A Division 1 title at Cowboys Stadium on December 22. Rounding out the weight class champions was No. 7 Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.), who won the 120 pound title. Team Standings (Top Ten): 1. No. 20 Collinsville, Okla. 460.5 2. No. 33 Blue Springs, Mo. 430.5 3. No. 26 Edmond North, Okla. 418 4. Park Hill, Mo. 413.5 5. Neosho, Mo. 407.5 6. No. 30 Kearney, Mo. 386 7. No. 23 Tuttle, Okla. 366.5 8. No. 38 Bettendorf, Iowa 358.5 9. No. 13 Allen, Texas 352 10. Arkansas City, Kan. 313.5 Finals Results: 106: Christian Moody (Collinsville, Okla.) dec. Kyler Rea (Neosho, Mo.), 3-1 113: No. 7 Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo.) dec. No. 4 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.), 3-1 SV 120: No. 7 Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.) dec. John Erneste (Park Hill, Mo.), 8-2 126: No. 20 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) pinned Joseph Velliquette (Nixa, Mo), 1:02 132: Nate Rodriguez (Neosho, Mo.) dec. Will Steltzen (Collinsville, Okla.), 8-2 138: No. 15 Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) pinned No. 9 Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa), 2:21 145: No. 20 Darick Lapaglia (Blue Springs, Mo.) dec. Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.), 7-3 152: No. 15 Cain Salas (Blue Springs, Mo.) pinned Brennan Johnson (Exclesior Springs, Mo.), 2:31 160: No. 3 Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) pinned Tony Clinesmith (Exclesior Springs), 2:16 170: No. 5 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.) dec. Nathan Marek (Southmoore, Okla.), 6-3 182: No. 17 Michael Pixley (Blue Springs, Mo.) dec. No. 10 Lance Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.), 3-1 195: Joel Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) dec. Keaton Hulett (Creston, Iowa), 3-0 220: No. 5 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) maj. dec. Christian Lopez (Neosho, Mo.), 9-0 285: Nathan Jackson (Tuttle, Okla.) dec. Jacob Semple (Waynesville, Mo.), 2-1 TB

Grapple at the Garden

A pair of pins in the last two matches gave the Chattanooga Mocs a 27-10 road victory over Princeton tonight. Senior Niko Brown and sophomore Kevin Malone posted falls at 197 and 285, respectively, to close out a tightly contested match with the Ivy League Tigers (0-7). UTC (4-2, 0-0 SoCon) was only up 12-10 when senior Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) found himself in overtime against Scott Gibbons at 184. Prigmore went up 5-2 in the first period, but Gibbons evened the match at 7-7 with a pair of takedowns and riding time in the third. Prigmore would win the match 9-8 to give UTC at 15-10 lead. Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) put the contest out of reach with a first-period pin against Charles Fox at 2:44. It was his ninth win in a row and sixth fall of the year, improving to 15-1 overall and 5-0 in dual matches. Malone also had a first period pin. He put Cole Lampman on his back at the 1:35 mark to improve to 6-4 overall. It was his second pin of the season. "It was good to get the win, but we need to get a lot better before our next matches on Sunday," stated Head Coach Heath Eslinger. "Prigmore had a good win at 184 and we rallied with the two pins late, but it was a poor performance overall." Chattanooga started the match with three straight decisions. Sophomore Nick Soto, ranked as high as No. 7 at 125, improved to 11-3 with a 9-3 win over Max Rogers. Freshman Alex Ward (Chattanooga, Tenn.) scored his first collegiate win with an 8-6 overtime victory against Andrew Hirai at 133. Senior Dean Palvou (Cleveland, Tenn.) gave UTC a 9-0 lead with his 11-5 decision over Kevin Moylan at 141. Freshman John Lampe (Fairdale, Ky.) also won today. He defeated Judson Ziegler 10-4 at 165. The Mocs will now head to New York City for Sunday's Grapple in the Garden, presented by Suplay.com. UTC will face No. 2 Oklahoma State (10:30 a.m. (E.S.T.)) and Rutgers (12:30 p.m.) in the first collegiate duals in Madison Square Garden. Links for live scoring both matches and Oklahoma State's subscription radio broadcast for the contest with the Sooners are available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. Results: 125: Nick Soto (UTC) - Dec. 9-3 - Max Rogers (Princeton) - UTC 3-0 133: Alex Ward (UTC) - Dec. 8-6 (OT) - Andrew Hirai (Princeton) - UTC 6-0 141: Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 11-5 - Kevin Moylan (Princeton) - UTC 9-0 149: Zachary Bintliff (Princeton) - MD 14-4 - Alex Hudson (UTC) - UTC 9-4 157: Kyle Roddy (Princeton) - Dec. 9-7 - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - UTC 9-7 165: John Lampe (UTC) - Dec. 10-4 - Judson Ziegler (Princeton) - UTC 12-7 174: Ryan Callahan (Princeton) - Dec. 3-2 - Jake Young (UTC) - UTC 12-10 184: Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Dec. 9-8 (OT) - Scott Gibbons (Princeton) - UTC 15-10 197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Fall 2:44 - Charles Fox (Princeton) - UTC 21-10 285: Kevin Malone (UTC) - Fall 1:35 - Cole Lampman (Princeton) - UTC 27-10

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Behind seven victories, the fourth-ranked Ohio State wrestling team downed Kent State, 27-10, Friday night in St. John Arena. Hunter Stieber, Logan Stieber and Nikko Triggas scored bonus points for Ohio State as the squad moves to 4-0 in dual competition. At 125 pounds, Triggas, a senior from Moraga, Calif., lifted Ohio State to a quick 6-0 lead following his 1:59 pin over Steve Mitchell. Triggas earned the 43rd pin of his career which ties him for fourth all-time in the Ohio State records book. Stieber, the Buckeyes' No. 1 ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, remained undefeated (13-0) when he recorded an 18-1 technical fall over Kyle Bauer. Twelve of the redshirt-sophomore's 13 wins have been bonus point victories (92 percent) - two major decisions, three technical falls and seven falls.) Hunter Stieber, also undefeated with a 16-0 record at 141 pounds, propelled the Scarlet and Gray to a 15-0 advantage following his 13-5 major decision vs. Lukas Kern. Backed by a trio of takedowns in the first period, Stieber owned a 6-2 advantage heading into the second period. Stieber, a sophomore from Monroeville, Ohio, added another pair of takedowns, two escapes and a riding time of 1:15 for the final score. After sophomore Cam Tessari dropped a 10-3 decision to Nicholas Carr at 149 pounds, the Buckeyes won back-to-back matches at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Josh Demas edged Mallie Shuster, 3-2, at 157 pounds before freshman Mark Martin beat Caleb Marsh, 2-1. An escape by Demas in the third period broke a 2-2 tie and the Buckeye from Westerville, Ohio, was able to hold on the remaining 1:54 seconds for the victory. After a scoreless first period, Martin trailed Marsh, 1-0, entering the final period, but a reversal by Martin with 37 seconds remaining sealed the Ohio State victory. Sophomore Craig Thomas, who started at 174 pounds for the Buckeyes, lost a close 4-1 decision to Sam Wheeler before Kenny Courts scored a 6-4 overtime victory vs. Casey Newburg. An escape in the third period by Courts leveled the match to send it into overtime. With 26 seconds left, Courts scored a takedown and lifted Ohio State to a 24-6 lead. At 197 pounds, sophomore Andrew Campolattano faced No. 1 Dustin Kilgore and suffered a 10-1 setback. Redshirt junior Peter Capone concluded the evening with a 2-0 victory over Keith Whitt. Fourteen of the top collegiate wrestling programs in the nation will participate in the inaugural Grapple at the Garden in historical Madison Square Garden Sunday. Eight of the14 teams, including Ohio State are ranked in the Top 25 of the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll released Dec. 11. Postmatch Quotes Tom Ryan, Ohio State head coach On the match overall "Overall the energy by the Buckeyes was not high enough. We had some bright spots like Mark Martin, in the 165-weight class. He needed to find a way out to win the match and he did with a reversal. " On the Buckeyes' individual performances "On a day-to-day basis, we have to ask ourselves what are we willing to do to make sure when it is time for us to perform, we fight until the end. Some of the weight classes did not have the energy we needed." Mark Martin, 165 pounds On being down 1-0 before winning the match "I knew I needed to find away to win being down in the third period. I tried my hardest to win and was able to score with 37 seconds left with a reversal." On the team over all "In two different weight classes we were down, but came back to win. Over all I know we can do a lot better as a team than what we displayed tonight." Kenny Courts, 184 pounds On his mentality going into the match "Winning the match was all I was thinking about going into it. This was a big win for me being a freshman against a ranked opponent." On his win in overtime "It's not easy to win matches in college; it's a lot different than high school. In college every point matters and I am learning to make them all count towards my win." Results: 125 Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) pin Steve Mitcheff (Kent State) 1:59 6 0 133 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) tech fall Kyle Bauer (Kent State) 0:00 18-1 5 0 141 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) maj. decision Lukas Kern (Kent State) 13-5 4 0 149 Nicholas Carr (Kent State) decision Cam Tessari (Ohio State) 10-3 0 3 157 Josh Demas (Ohio State) decision Mallie Shuster (Kent State) 3-2 3 0 165 Mark Martin (Ohio State) decision Caleb Marsh (Kent State) 2-1 3 0 174 Sam Wheeler (Kent State) decision Craig Thomas (Ohio State) 4-1 0 3 184 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) decision Casey Newburg (Kent State) 6-4ot 3 0 197 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) maj. decision Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) 10-1 0 4 HWT Peter Capone (Ohio State) won by decision Keith Witt (Kent State) 2-0 3 0 Total 27 10

West Fargo's Jordan Shearer is the top seed at 126 pounds (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) Come mid-December every year, the Minnesota Christmas Tournament serves as a rigorous early season examination within the Gopher State. Four nationally ranked teams and 13 ranked wrestlers will be part of the excellent field that convenes upon the UCR Regional Sports Center on the campus of Rochester Community & Technical College. Leading the field is No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 5 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., No. 14 Simley, Minn., and No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. This tournament field features all the top ten in Minnesota Class 3A per The Guillotine -- Apple Valley and St. Michael-Albertville leading that division in the rankings; four of the top five teams in Class 2A -- Simley and Kasson-Mantorville the top two in that division; Jackson County Central, the top-ranked Class 1A (small-school) team; West Fargo and Bismarck, the best two teams in North Dakota; and Lancaster, the top ranked team in Wisconsin Division III (small-school). Wrestling starts this afternoon (Dec. 14) at 2 p.m. CT. Saturday morning wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. CT with the quarterfinals, semifinals and all of consolation wrestling also in that session, with the medal matches for first through eighth place slated for a 4:30 p.m. CT start. Weight-by-Weight Breakdown: 106: Leading the way here is the top seed Kael Knowlen (Bismarck, N.D.), fourth last year in the state tournament at 113 pounds and third in Junior Greco-Roman at 106 pounds. State qualifiers Aaron Dick (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) and Cortez Arredondo (Simley, Minn.) are the second and fourth seeds. 113: 2011 Cadet Triple Crown winner Gannon Volk (Apple Valley, Minn.) is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second is Mitch McKee (St. Michael-Albertville), a state runner-up last year as an eighth grader who is ranked No. 17 at 106 pounds. State qualifier Garrett Wangsness (Albert Lea, Minn.) is the third seed, Cadet Triple Crown winner Hunter Marko (Amery, Wis.) is the fourth seed 120: A pair of nationally ranked two-time state champions leads the way in this weight class, No. 2 Tommy Thorn (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) and Doug Miner (Spirit Lake Park, Iowa). Two-time state runner-up Jared Johnshoy (Prior Lake, Minn.) is the third seed, and state champion Maolu Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.) is the fourth seed. Two additional state runners-up, Trevor Westerlund (Albert Lea, Minn.) and Cole Martin (Lancaster, Wis.) are the five and six seeds; while two-time state placer Nick O'Brien (Wayzata, Minn.) is the seventh seed. 126: The top seed in this weight class is three-time state champion Jordan Shearer (West Fargo, N.D.). Freshman Griffin Parriott (New Prague, Minn.), a state runner-up in eighth grade last year and a placer at the Preseason Nationals last month, is the No. 2 seed. Two-time state finalist, and 2010 state champion, Nate Thomas (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) is the third seed, state fourth-place finishers James Pleski (Forest Lake, Minn.) and Zach Siegle (Scott West, Minn.) are seeded fourth and fifth, while state third placers Kyle Mezara (Lancaster, Wis.) and Tanner Mills (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) are sixth and seventh seeds respectively. Keep in mind that even with the absence of two-time state champion Seth Gross (Apple Valley, Minn.), a two-time Cadet National freestyle champion ranked No. 12 nationally at 126 pounds, both the 126 and 132 weight classes possess excellent depth. 132: Two-time state champion, and three-time state finalist Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.) is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second here is eighth grader Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), who was a state champion last year at 106 pounds. Two-time state placer Mark Voss (St. Michael-Albertville), who was a state runner-up last year, is the third seed in this weight. Voss is also a two-time JJ Classic placewinner, finishing fifth in 2011 and runner-up this year. State fifth-place finishers Luke Rowh (Hastings, Minn.) and Elliott Jurries (Jackson County Central, Minn.) are the fourth and fifth seeds. 138: State champion Colton Laganiere (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second here is three-time state placer Cole Sladek (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.). 2011 state champion Brett Stolarczyk (Stewartville, Minn.) is the third seed. State placer Weston Droegmuller (Wayzata, Minn.) is the fourth seed. Also to note are state runner-up Kolin Kragnes (West Fargo, N.D.) and 2010 state placer Wayne Voss (Simley, Minn.), the sixth and eighth seeds. 145: The nation's No. 1 ranked wrestler Jake Short (Simley, Minn.) leads the way in this weight class. Primary challengers to the three-time state champion in this weight class are two-time state placer Travis Holt (Cambridge-Isanti, Minn.), who is seeded second; Trenton Cornell (Lancaster, Wis.), a state runner-up seeded third; third in the state Lincoln Mallinger (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.), who is seeded fourth; and state runner-up Weston Dobler (West Fargo, N.D.), who is seeded sixth. 152: Yet another national No. 1 ranked wrestler is present in this tournament, and that is two-time state champion Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), who is only a freshman. He leads the way in this weight class. Rounding out the top seeds in this weight class are state fourth placer Mack Short (Simley, Minn.), state third placer Andrew Fogarty (Scott West, Minn.), state runner-up Hartman Katz (Huron, S.D.), state fourth placer Luke Norland (Jackson County Central, Minn.), and state fifth placer Kyle Kragnes (West Fargo, N.D.) 160: Two-time state champion Ryan Blees (Bismarck, N.D.), a Preseason Nationals runner-up and Super 32 Challenge placer who is ranked No. 9 nationally, is the top seed and favorite in this weight class. Second seed here is state runner-up, JJ Classic champion, and Preseason Nationals champion Dayton Racer (Apple Valley, Minn.). Two-time state placer Cody Skog (Cambridge-Isanti, Minn.) is the third seed, former state champion Anjelo Shepherd (West Fargo, N.D.) the fourth seed, and state champion Ethan Soderstrom (Lancaster, Wis.) is the fifth seed. 170: Two-time state champion and Junior National freestyle runner-up Nick Wanzek (Simley, Minn.), who is ranked No. 4 nationally, is the top seed and favorite in this weight class. State champion Darick Vancura (Jackson County Central, Minn.) and 2010 state champion Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.) -- ranked No. 7 nationally at 160 -- are the second and third seeds. State fifth placer Tommy Longendyke (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and state fourth placer Jordan Joseph (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) are the fourth and fifth seeds, while state qualifier Korben Hansen (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) is the sixth seed. 182: Two-time state champion Preston Lehman (West Fargo, N.D.), who is ranked No. 7 nationally at 195 pounds, is the top seed and favorite in this weight class. State runner-up and FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Drew Kary (Bismarck, N.D.) is the two sed. 195: Two-time state champion Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville), a Junior National freestyle runner-up ranked No. 5 nationally, is the top seed and favorite in this weight class. However, nipping at his heels will be second seed Lance Benick (Totino Grace, Minn.), a state champion and Cadet Triple Crown winner who is ranked No. 15 nationally at 182 pounds. Seeded third is state runner-up Ricky Briggs (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.). 220: State qualifier Paul Cheney (Apple Valley, Minn.) is the top seed in this weight class. Seeded second is state qualifier Michael Kessler (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.). The third seed is Jackson Ryan (Simley, Minn.), a returning state qualifier. 285: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, two-time state placer Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) and state champion Michael Burckhardt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). Top seeded Stoll is ranked No. 4, while second seeded Burkhardt is No. 15 nationally. State champion Joe Schiller (Totino-Grace, Minn.) is the third seed.

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. Q: It seems like every year there are several new high school freshmen "phenoms" that are winning state and national titles and people rave about their accomplishments as freshmen. However, so many of these kids have been held back now and are 15 or 16 years of age as freshmen. While winning a state or national title at any age or grade level is impressive, should 15 and 16-year-old freshmen be praised as phenoms because they are winning as freshmen? More importantly, isn't this incredibly unfair? One of the greatest things about wrestling is that one can experience success in the sport without a whole lot of innate physical ability if they have the right work ethic. Unfortunately, if parents continue to hold their children back to gain an athletic advantage, an incredible work ethic may not be enough to overcome the physical advantages that come with age. What is the solution to prevent this from happening? -- Ricky T. Foley: I think you are asking two questions. First, why are recent freshman so good? Second, if their development has something to do with redshirting your high school kid, how can that be prevented. There is some overlap, but likely not as much as you assume. The normal high school kid is scheduled to graduate at 18 years old. Some, like me, are summer birthdays and don't turn 18 until just before college. It's a seemingly small differential, and would have remained a small causality had it not been for New Yorker columnist and New York Times bestselling author's book "Outliers." In that book Gladwell goes to great lengths to describe why so many Canadian hockey players have the same birth month, and after pages and pages of analysis, presents the fairly straightforward opinion that the birth month (January in this case) had helped because in the Canadian system those boys had been bigger earlier, which in turn lent itself to several dozen secondary benefits like better coaching and more opportunity to make travel teams. Moms and dads around the world read Gladwell's piece and immediately stuck their kids in preschool until they were old enough to drive. Why? Because your job as a parent is to give yourself every opportunity they need in order to help them succeed. Some parents give their kids cars, pay for college, and set up cushy internships and others simply tell Johnny that it's not time for first grade. From the viewpoint of the child it works wonders, but the problem comes when EVERY parent starts holding their kid back a year or two. What happens then is a fundamental shift in the equation. School districts have started to address the problem of redshirting little kids. In Chicago a law was passed forcing every kid to be in school by his 6th birthday. Parents sued for the right to hold them back, but have yet to change the law. It's not surprising to learn that Texas parents were the worst offenders, largely because of the state's obsession with football and the need for children to excel at the game. Looking around the current landscape of NCAA wrestling studs I'm not seeing too many who are obscenely over-age. One possible exception is Undrakh (Ugi) from The Citadel who immigrated from Mongolia last year while firmly in his mid-twenties. Another would be Ed Ruth, but he accumulated his years as a post-graduate and later as a redshirt at Penn State. He's a 22-year-old junior. Logan Stieber is about to become a 22-year-old sophomore. I don't know the details except that he redshirted. I'm sure some of the readers will explain. Penn State's Matt Brown is also in his young twenties as a sophomore, though he spent two years on an LDS mission in Africa. The young guys are getting better because they have more access to information. Though it seems like it's been out forever. YouTube debuted in February of 2005, roughly the same time that many of our collegiate seniors were entering high school. Think about the impact of that much technique? They could suddenly access matches that used to only be found in your crazy assistant wrestling coach's garage. Those videos went mobile. Then came Flo. Add on to that an appreciation among parents for the value of college scholarships and the need for more individualized coaching and you have the perfect storm. There aren't a ton of secrets about what you need to do to get better in wrestling, but the techniques you needed used to be difficult to find. Now they're essentially in the ether. The younger wrestlers will continue to make an impact in college wrestling. And while some are doing it because they're 25, most will just be adapting and specializing in the sport of wrestling from a younger age. In many ways this type of youth explosion signals something that most curmudgeon wrestling fans would never admit: Right now we are in the Golden Era for our sport. Be thankful. Q: What do you think of Iowa's 125-pound backup, Cory Clark, beating Jesse Delgado 6-1 this last weekend? -- Justin H. Cory Clark (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Foley: Cory Clark went out against the then-No. 2-ranked kid in the country and beat him 6-1. That's not an altogether close score, so I'll assume he can repeat the feat against Delgado, but I don't think he's the second best. That honor belongs to Alan Waters, in my opinion. However, Clark does prove that if you have to wrestle with that maniac McDonough every day you will get better. You have to get better. McDonough is his reality and being that he's wrestling at Iowa and is likely walking up Carver-Hawkeye on his hands right now, he's a tough little monster. He's not breaking for McDonough. I wonder if that win will be enough to make him the preseason No. 1 in 2013. That would make Ricky T. (first question above) lose his mind! Q: My son is a 12-year-old sixth-grader and has been wrestling for the past three years. What do you think the appropriate level of involvement in the sport should be for a kid his age? (I believe in a previous mailbag you addressed this topic and if so, I apologize, I cannot find it). We live in New Jersey and the best kids at his age wrestle year-round. That said, I question whether success at the youth level has a high correlation with success at the high school level. Moreover, burnout and overuse injuries seem to be significant risks with year round training in any sport, particularly in a sport such as wrestling. -- Tom C. Foley: Jim Harshaw believes that his kid should run wind sprints after practice, so ... (Subscribe on iTunes!). I'm kidding. My favorite J-School professor -- the man for whom Aaron Sorkin indirectly used as inspiration for his Newsroom character Charlie Skinner -- once gave our class the best piece of advice I've ever heard about how to handle a moral conundrum. Find a friend. Make that friend your lifelong ally when matters of the morality come up. Call that friend and lay out what's bothering you and then when you ask their opinion, don't listen to their response. Instead, pay attention to what YOU are actually saying to that friend. The best advice is your own, and it sounds to me like you're letting the pressure of the NJ system influence future decisions, or make you doubt older ones. Wrestling isn't easy. I'm not a parent, but unless my kid is flinging himself at a wrestling mat and sleeping in a headgear, I'd rather him stick to ball sports until his 11th birthday. I think -- and maybe this is where you should tune me out -- it's silly to push your kids into too many practices and summer camps at too young an age, especially if he's uncertain if he likes the sport. Wrestling is right for some kids, but the high school and college wrestling seasons are awfully long and filled with injuries and frustrations. Why put that on a kid who probably just wants to hang out with his friends and kick a soccer ball? Wrestling is a contact-heavy sport. Oddly, I'd recommend jiu-jitsu for young kids interested in grappling. There is a ton of discipline, kids stay humble, and it stretches a child's problem-solving skills. He or she will also be able to defend themselves for a lifetime, increase their flexibility, and be a monster on top should they ever choose to wrestle. Whatever you decide, don't allow this to happen ... More Multimedia Halftime Videos ... Cutting weight? Jesse Thielke (Wisconsin) posted this on Facebook. It looks like the Japanese women's team is helping one of their athletes lose the last bit of weight via hip toss. I don't know how that works, but it brings up two very interesting discussion topics. Should 16-year-olds of any nationality or gender be cutting this much weight? And what does this video tell us about why the Japanese are the best in the world? Lots of good judo grips on display. The Ukraine: Pretty much one of the worst countries to find yourself in a parliamentary brawl. Q: Do you think the MHSAA's (Michigan High School Athletic Association) restricted mile rule of 300 miles (including no team can be at the event that traveled over 300 miles) hurts their wrestler's scholarship potential at all? With so many large tournaments in the Midwest with teams from all over the country (that Michigan teams cannot attend) it seems like wrestlers from other states have a better chance at being seen. -- Tom B. Foley: Restricting the travel of high school teams to out-of-state tournaments, or placing mileage limitations on travel absolutely hurts their chances of earning a scholarship. The rule exists across the country, and it seems inspired by Footloose, where memory of long ago car accidents and rumors of bad stuff happening impacts the child's ability to expand their boundaries. Is there an appeal process? Q: You have featured questions about how deep 165 and 184 are going to be this year. Here is a link about how deep 285 is going to be this year. Perhaps an argument could be made how deep every weight is, every year. -- Eugene L. Foley: You can certainly make an argument for any weight you like, but 165, 184 and 197 stick out to readers because they have more than one NCAA champion at the weight. And in the case of the first two weights they also have very deep rosters filled with multiple-time All-Americans and NCAA finalists. Q: In past years the Big Ten Network's (BTN) coverage of wrestling was somewhat respectable and seemed to get better each season. However, this season's coverage by BTN is pretty pathetic; two PSU matches, two Iowa matches, and only one or two Minnesota matches (others included but only those for the top tier programs of the conference). Sure, they have an online package, but it costs additional money, even if you upped your TV package to get BTN (more money for something they should televise anyway). It's crazy that I have to see other sports so overdone (basketball, football, and women's volleyball), but the sport that the Big Ten dominates year after year gets such little respect from its own network. Is there any way to organize a coordinated effort to lobby BTN to up their coverage? -- Ryan P. Foley: I posted your question on Twitter and received several types of responses. Many thought that the BTN should air more coverage on the broadcast channel, and most scoffed at the idea of paying more for the online coverage. The BTN is a big company that's driven by profits. When I reported this story last season their PR person made some salient points about viewership numbers across sports and how the viewing habits of wrestling fans impact their need to show matches live. Unfortunately, it seems like not much has changed over the past year. The sports that make money are still given first run and after that they spread the remaining time slots fairly evenly across the sports. Wrestling is not going to be covered in prime time on any cable or satellite channel, with the notable exception of the NCAA tournament. We need to be realistic about what we can achieve and then develop a plan to cater to that market. Is spending an extra $10 per month for three months ideal? No. But you get what you want relatively cheaply. Also, I know that BTN's Student U broadcasts can be atrocious. The journalism kids aren't always wrestling junkies, but on the level they do a good job, and since part of the deal is to have the students run some of the broadcasts, they aren't going anywhere soon. We should voice our displeasure in a respectful way and see where that takes us. But for now lets be understanding of the learning curve, appreciate the access we do have, and find new ways to enjoy our favorite teams compete. Q: Boehner v Obama? -- Tom C. Foley: "Charisma" and "Big Balls."

Fight Now TV Presents Takedown Wrestling from the Brute studios in Des Moines, Iowa at 1460 KXNO. Takedown Wrestling is proudly presented by Kemin, Inspired Molecular Solutions! This Saturday it's Takedown Wrestling Radio from 9 to 11 a.m. CT/ 10 a.m. to noon ET. Scott Casber will be in New York at the Grapple at the Garden. Texas Bob Selby takes the helm joined by Steve Foster and our own Jeff Murphy and Brad Johnson. This week's guests: 9:03 Drew Pariano, Northwestern head wrestling coach 9:15 Kerry McCoy, Maryland head wrestling coach 9:35 Mike Fusilli, World Wide Sports Supply Sales Director 9:50 Tyler Barkley, Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Update 10:03 Jim Zalesky, Oregon State head wrestling coach 10:15 JohnMark Bentley, Appalachian State head wrestling coach 10:35 Jeff Murphy, Kemin Report 10:50 Amy Ruble, Wildrose Casino and Resort, Emmettsburg, Iowa

Jim Harshaw, former head wrestling coach at Slippery Rock University and All-American wrestler at Virginia, joins Foley to talk about where the money comes from in college wrestling and what he thinks needs to be done to improve visibility. He also talks about the stress of coaching your 7-year-old on the mats. Muir sets lines and talks Christmas parties. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa -- A four-match stretch between 157 and 184 pounds gave Augustana the lift it needed on Wednesday as Eric Juergens' team picked up a 27-20 win at Cornell. The dual meet featured a pair of teams ranked in the top 20 of the latest NCAA Division III national poll as the Vikings were 19th and the host Rams came into the contest rated 13th. Results: 125: No. 3 Jacob Scholten (Augustana) maj. dec. Ben Rosen, 14-4. 133: Zachary Henning (Cornell) dec. Jimmy Panozzo, 5-1. 141: Hector Ruiz (Augustana) dec. Todd Murakawa, 6-2. 149: Trevor Engle (Cornell) pinned Walter Piech, 5:35. 157: Kevin Sundberg (Augustana) pinned Danny Klema, 2:38. 165: Torey Welch (Augustana) maj. dec. Bryce Lightner, 8-0. 174: Matt Burns (Augustana) pinned Brent Hamm, 5:47. 184: Jordan Richardson (Augustana) maj. dec. Kevin Stahmer, 11-3. 197: No. 4 Alex Coolidge (Cornell) tech fall Jake Melik, 22-7 (5:33). 285: Carl Gaul (Cornell) inj. def. Abe Duran, 5:13.

The No. 3 St. Cloud State University wrestling team (2-0) brought home a big 33-6 non-conference victory from No. 27 St. John's University on Dec. 12, in Collegeville, Minn. The Huskies rolled to five consecutive wins to open the match and then capped the night with wins at 184-pounds, 197-pounds and 285-pounds to bring home the victory. The night started with a 3-2 victory by Eric Forde at 125-pounds. Jared Kust followed with a 5-1 win at 133-pounds and then Matt Nelson gained a 14-3 major decision at 141-pounds. Brady Johnshoy scored a close 7-6 win at 149-pounds for the Huskies and Clint Poster chalked up the Huskies' first fall with a drop at 2:52 against SJU's Ryan Arne. The Huskies lost matches at 165-pounds and 174-pounds before three-time All-American Shamus O'Grady rolled to a tech fall win at 3:00 (16-0) at 184-pounds. Chris Brassell gained his second dual win of the season with a 5-3 victory at 197-pounds. Jacob Kahnke ended the night with a fall at 2:17 against John Scepaniak of SJU at 285. SCSU will continue its season on Dec. 15 with a 2 p.m. dual match at home against Minot State. The match has been designated as Youth Day and all youth (grades K-12) will be admitted for just $1 to the match at Halenbeck Hall. Tickets are available at the gate or by visiting www.scsutickets.com Results: 125: Eric Forde (SCSU) dec. John Wells, 3-2 [0-3] 133: Jared Kust (SCSU) dec. Dalton Sowers, 5-1 [0-6] 141: Matt Nelson (SCSU) major dec. Evan Guffey, 14-3 [0-10] 149: Brady Johnshoy (SCSU) dec. Cody Goldschmidt, 7-6 [0-13] 157: Clint Poster (SCSU) pinned Ryan Arne, 2:52 [0-19] 165: No. 10 Chris Stevermer (SJU) dec. Jack Barnes, 13-6 [3-19] 174: Nick Schuler (SJU) dec. Ben McPhail, 9-3 [6-19] 184: No. 3 Shamus O'Grady (SCSU) tech. fall No. 6 Mitch Hagen, 16-0/3:00 [6-24] 197: Chris Brassell (SCSU) dec. Ryan Michaelis, 5-3 [6-27] 285: No. 2 Jacob Kahnke (SCSU) pinned John Scepaniak, 2:17 [6-33]

It's early, but wrestling fans are already noticing that there are new wrestlers to watch in 2013. Here's a look at ten NCAA Division I wrestlers who are turning in surprising results. Nahshon Garrett is currently ranked No. 10 at 125 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Nahshon Garrett (Cornell, 125) A fast-starting freshman with a record of 17-1, Garrett has 11 wins coming by way of bonus points. His only loss came in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational to Alan Waters, a guy who can challenge Matt McDonough for the NCAA title in 2013. The one caveat to Garrett's season is that he only has one high-profile win, a 13-9 decision over All-American Steve Bonanno of Hofstra. However, he's a tenacious competitor and will be in positioning to place come March. Not bad for a freshman in a loaded weight class. Cody Brewer (Oklahoma, 133) Most surprises on this list will be freshmen, and there's no difference at 133, where Cody Brewer has sprinted up the rankings with marquee wins over ranked opponents and dominating performances over those he's supposed to beat. Though he recently dropped matches to Nick Arajau of Cornell and Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State, Brewer is 8-2 with a win over Geoff Alexander of Maryland, who recently defeated Shelton Mack of Pitt. Devon Lotito placed third at the CKLV Invitational (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Devon Lotito (Cal Poly, 133) The best-dressed wrestler on the list, the Pennsylvania native has been one of the most surprising wrestlers in the country. The freshman suffered a loss in the first weekend of the season (which he later avenged), but since then has been racking major decisions, tech falls, and falls. Lotito knows how to score lots of points, which means he's got offensive options, and those options will give him more ways to win as the season drags on. Oh, and his only other loss is to Logan Stieber, a guy who could very well end up a four-time NCAA champion. K. Undrakhbayar (The Citadel, 141) The Citadel is becoming synonymous with recruiting Mongolian wrestlers (See: Turtogokh), and if Undrakh and his success this season are any indication Coach Hjerling and his staff might be onto something. Undrakh, one of the very best neutral wrestlers in the NCAA, has learned to limit his vulnerability on the mat. Though he recently suffered a loss to fellow studly newcomer Evan Henderson (North Carolina), he has a marquee win over Zach Neibert (Virginia Tech) and has certainly come from seemingly nowhere (Ulaanbaatar) to become a legitimate All-American candidate. Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech, 149) With a 10-1 start to the season, Brascetta has earned a top ten national ranking as a sophomore. Like several other highly ranked wrestlers at the weight, the Hokie has a loss to Air Force's Cole VonOhlen, but he's recently earned wins against All-Americans Cam Tessari (Ohio State) and Derek Valenti (Virginia). Joey Napoli turned some heads when he topped Dylan Alton (Photo/Lehigh Sports Information)Joey Napoli (Lehigh, 157) No, he wasn't able to beat top-ranked Derek St. John of Iowa, but that shouldn't detract the Mountain Hawks junior's solid start to the 2012-2013 campaign. Unlike most wrestlers who have ten-plus matches after the first month, Napoli is on the lower end with only six. However, two of those wins are over top ten opponents Dylan Alton of Penn State and Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg. Given Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro's reputation to improve the output of his wrestlers come NCAAs, it's easy to envision Napoli standing on the podium in March. Who knows ... maybe he'll even earn a trip to the finals and a rematch against St. John. Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State, 157) Maybe wrestling fans expected the big recruit to make an impact, but it's always impressive to see consistent and dominating performances from redshirt freshmen. Dieringer is a perfect 9-0 with wins over Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) and Matt Lester (Oklahoma). He'll be tested more in the coming weeks and at the very tough Southern Scuffle and a Jan. 13 date with top-ranked Derek St. John of Iowa. But to start the season Dieringer has looked every bit the role of freshman phenom. Chris Chionuma (Oklahoma State, 184) The oldest wrestler on the list, Chionuma is wrestling in his last season of eligibility. An NAIA champion transfer from Lindenwood, where he spent three seasons, he redshirted last season. His debut season as a starter for the Cowboys has been productive with an overall record of 7-2 with close losses to All-Americans Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) and Travis Rutt (Oklahoma). Those are tough matches for anyone, but it's Chionuma's wins that are impressive with the majority coming with extra points tacked on. He's not new to the sport or a starting lineup, but the Missouri native is someone to watch develop as the season progresses, with a possible coming-out party at the Southern Scuffle. Jake Meredith is undefeated and ranked ninth at 197 (Photo/Larry Slater)Jake Meredith (Arizona State, 197) The Temecula, Calif. native has always been a tough competitor with excellent top work. His long, lanky but tough frame created problems for wrestlers at 184 last season, but now up at 197 they've become an even more potent weapon. The 2012 Pac-12 champion is undefeated and only time and competition will tell if he'll be on track to make another appearance at the NCAA tournament. He recently majored Ohio State sophomore Andrew Campolattano, 8-0. J.T. Felix (Boise State, 285) A national qualifier in 2011, Felix's career seemed to be heading in the wrong direction after a disappointing fourth-place finish at the Pac-12s last season. Though he's 11-5, many of his losses have come at the hands of the very best wrestlers, including Oregon State's Chad Hanke, Minnesota's Tony Nelson, and Missouri's Dom Bradley. Despite those setbacks the junior is making a name for himself with wins over Connor Medbery of Wisconsin, Peter Capone of Ohio State, and Levi Cooper of Arizona State. Should he keep it up the surprise heavyweight could find himself standing on the podium in March.

When: Friday, Dec. 14 and Saturday, Dec. 15 Schedule: Wrestling on Friday starts at 9 a.m. PT (noon ET) and sets up the quarterfinals and consolation round of 16; Saturday morning wrestling starts with the quarters at 9:00 a.m. PT (Noon ET), semifinals to follow, with medal matches for first through eighth starting at 5:00 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) Nationally ranked teams: No. 6 Canon-McMillan, Pa., No. 17 Broken Arrow, Okla., No. 42 Vacaville, Calif., No. 43 Bakersfield, Calif., No. 45 Shenendehowa, N.Y., and No. 50 Maple Mountain, Utah Other teams to watch: defending champions Easton, Pa., Columbia, Idaho, Green Valley, Nev., and Roseburg, Ore. Weight-by-Weight Breakdown: 106: Two-time state placer Gionn Peralta (Vacaville, Calif.) is ranked No. 4 nationally, while No. 15 Joey Cisneros (Redwood, Calif.) is a Junior National Greco-Roman All-American. 113: The field does not feature a nationally ranked wrestler, but key contenders in this weight class include state champion Sean Cannon (Green Valley, Nev.), last year's Reno TOC champ at 106, as well as freshman Jeremy Thomas (Santiago Corona, Calif.) Isaiah Locsin (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)120: Two nationally ranked wrestlers are present in this field: No. 11 Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan), as well as last year's Reno TOC champion at 113 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) who is ranked 12th. Others meriting attention include three-time state champion Britain Carter (Maple Mountain, Utah); two-time state champion Matt Findlay (Alta, Utah); state champions Markus Simmons (Broken Arrow, Okla.), Dusty Hone (Cedar City, Utah), and Jared Brathor (Green Valley, Nev.); along with Kasey Klaus (Vacaville, Calif.) 126: The field does not feature a nationally ranked wrestler, but wrestlers to watch include state placer Victor Trujillo (Bella Vista, Calif.), Cadet Greco All-American Joshua Temple (Green Valley, Nev.), and Michael Knoblauch (Clovis West, Calif.) 132: There is a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, No. 5 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) and No. 16 Jed Mellen (Payson, Utah). Others to watch include Cadet Greco-Roman runner-up Brady O'Keefe (Carson City, Nev.) and Cadet Greco-Roman All-American Jesse Porter (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) 138: There is a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, No. 4 Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho): last year's Reno TOC champion at 132 -- and No. 14 Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa, N.Y.). Others meriting attention include three-time state champion and two-time Fargo All-American Jared Johnshoy (Melba, Idaho), state placer and NUWAY Vegas champion Christian Pagdilao (Santiago Corona, Calif.), two-time state placer Paul Fox (Gilroy, Calif.), state runner-up Brody Faas (Roseburg, Ore.), and state placer Chris Garcia (Clovis West, Calif.) 145: Two defending Reno TOC champions -- No. 14 Coleman Hammond (Bakersfield, Calif.) and No. 19 Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) -- anchor this extremely deep weight class. A third nationally ranked wrestler in this weight is two-time Cadet freestyle All-American No. 16 Nikko Villarreal (Gilroy, Calif.). Other wrestlers to watch include two-time state placer and Junior freestyle All-American David Almavia (Shenendehowa, N.Y.), state champion and Super 32 placer Reed Van Anrooy (Roseburg, Ore.), Junior Greco-Roman All-American and state champion Jesse Carlisle (Maple Mountain, Utah), two-time state champions Alex Aniciete (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Tristan Jarboe (Columbia, Idaho), Cadet freestyle All-American John Leal (Chester, Calif.), state runner-up Tanner Bailey (Broken Arrow, Okla.), and Tyler Zimmer (Clovis West, Calif.) 152: Yet another pair of nationally ranked wrestlers is slated to compete in this weight class, No. 8 Grant LaMont (Maple Mountain, Utah) -- a two-time state champion and Junior Greco-Roman champion -- and No. 12 Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Calif.), a returning Reno TOC champion and two-time state placer. Others to watch in this weight class include state champion Drew Smith (Damonte Ranch, Nev.), 2011 state champion and NUWAY Vegas champion Seth Monty (Mesa Mountain View, Ariz.), FloNationals placer and Junior Greco-Roman All-American Jon-Jay Chavez (Centennial, Idaho), as well state runners-up Paden Bailey (Broken Arrow, Okla.) and Ian Thomas (Roseburg, Ore.) 160: No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.), a two-time state champion, and winner of a litany of other major events, is the lone nationally ranked wrestler in this weight class. Others to watch include two-time state champion Raston Yeates (Box Elder, Utah), state runner-up and Cadet National double finalist Kimball Bastian (Maple Mountain, Utah), and Colin Navickas (Marina, Calif.) 170: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers is slated to compete in this weight class, No. 2 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) a two-time state champion and two-time Super 32 champion, as well as state placer and FloNationals placer No. 9 Peter Santos (Oakmont, Calif.). Others to watch in this field include state champion Nick Sorenson (Box Elder, Utah). 182: There are no nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class. However, some wrestlers to watch include two-time state placer Brock Warren (Broken Arrow, Okla.), state runner-up Kyle Pope (Bakersfield, Calif.), and two-time state finalist Ryder Newman (Green Valley, Nev.) 195: Despite no nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class, some of the key contenders include state champion Breckin Gunter (Box Elder, Utah), state placer and NHSCA Junior Nationals placer Tyler Greene (Easton, Pa.), state champion and Preseason Nationals placer Jon Wixom (Maple Mountain, Utah), along with state placer and Junior Greco-Roman All-American Jeremy Sweany (Vacaville, Calif.) 220: Two nationally ranked wrestlers feature in this weight class: defending Reno TOC champion Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.), who is ranked No. 4, along with state placer and Ironman runner-up No. 9 Alex Campbell (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) 285: Though without a nationally ranked competitor, some of the notable contenders include state champions Caleb Green (Bartlett, Ak.) and Cole McGinnis (Gooding, Idaho).

Regardless of the event's name over the last few years ... and lord knows there's been a new one almost every year, the field has always been excellent and it continues to grow in quality. Thirty-six of the finest teams from the central part of the United States will assemble in Kansas City on Friday for two days of excellent wrestling. This includes seven teams currently in the InterMat Fab 50: No. 13 Allen, Tex., No. 20 Collinsville, Okla., No. 23 Tuttle, Okla., No. 26 Edmond North, Okla., No. 30 Kearney, Mo., No. 33 Blue Springs, Mo., and No. 38 Bettendorf, Iowa. Also in the field are three other teams that won state championships this past year -- Arkansas City, Kan., champions Collins Hill, Ga., and Skutt Catholic, Neb. Other teams meriting attention this weekend are Christian Brothers, Tenn. and Park Hill, Mo. Five wrestlers that won titles in last year's tournament return, and seek to win yet another title at the Kansas City Stampede (formerly the Kansas City Wrestling Classic): No. 4 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Ga.) at 113 pounds, No. 20 Fredy Stroker (Bettendorf, Iowa) at 126, No. 15 Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Mo.) at 138, No. 11 Kaleb Baker (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) at 145, and No. 5 Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.) at 170. In addition, four other wrestlers in the field this weekend also won championships in either 2009 or 2010 at this tournament: No. 13 Jaret Singh (Kearney, Mo.) at 113, Noah Teaney (Oak Park, Mo.) at 120, No. 7 Brad Perkins (Oak Park, Mo.) at 126, and No. 15 Cain Salas (Blue Springs, Mo.) at 152. Weight-by-Weight Breakdown: 106: No nationally ranked wrestlers. However, the field is led by Junior National freestyle champion Tanner Rohweder (Dowling Catholic, Iowa), Preseason Nationals placer Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf, Iowa), state runner-up Christian Moody (Collinsville, Okla.), Cadet National double All-American Matthew Schmitt (Platte County, Mo.), and Beau Guffey (Tuttle, Okla.) 113: Four nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this field led by defending champion Russell, the Super 32 runner-up who is ranked fourth nationally. Two-time Cadet freestyle third placer Ke-Shawn Hayes (Park Hill, Mo.) is ranked No. 7, Preseason Nationals champion Davion Jeffries (Collinsville, Okla.) is ranked No. 9, and 2010 champion Singh is ranked No. 13. Others to watch include state champions Joey Defore (Arkansas City, Kan.) and Devan Richter (Timberlane, Mo.), state runners-up JT Sloboth (Skutt Catholic, Neb.) and Weston Basler (Seckman, Mo.), along with state champion and Preseason Nationals placer Elijah Oliver (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) 120: The lone nationally ranked wrestler in the field is 113 pound Super 32 champion No. 7 Ryan Millhof (Collins Hill, Ga.). Others to watch include Junior National freestyle All-American Seth Brayfield (Kearney, Mo.), two-time state champion Teaney, state champion Reese Cokeley (St. James Academy, Kan.), two-time state placers John Erneste (Park Hill, Mo.) and Andrew Wallace (Timberlane, Mo.), NHSCA Junior All-American Zac D'amico (Southmoore, Okla.), and Josh Breece (Edmond North, Okla.) 126: Two past champions of this tournament are the nationally ranked wrestlers: two-time state champion Perkins, ranked No.7, and state runner-up Stroker, ranked No. 20. Others to watch in this weight include state champion Joseph Velliquette (Nixa, Mo.), along with state placers Wyatt Jordan (Collinsville, Okla.) and Nick Gray (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) 132: Even though this field lacks a nationally ranked wrestler, it does not lack for depth. It is led by a pair of two-time state champions in Will Steltzen (Collinsville, Okla.) and Nate Rodriguez (Neosho, Mo.). Also present here are state champions Gunner Laffoon (Tuttle, Okla.) and Brock Wingbermuehle (Seckman, Mo.), state runner-up Brock Clevenger (Kearney, Mo.), two-time state runner-up and Cadet double All-American Jacob Rubio (Canyon Randall, Tex.), as well as two-time state placer and Preseason Nationals runner-up Logan Ryan (Bettendorf, Iowa). 138: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers reside in this weight class in three-time state champion and Junior Greco-Roman All-American Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa), who is No. 9, and defending champion Lewis, a state champion who is ranked No. 15. Other wrestlers to watch include two-time state champion Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville, Okla.), state champion Kevin Kinney (Kearney, Mo.), three-time state placers James Krischke (Fort Zumwalt West, Mo.) and Anthony Baker (Oak Grove, Mo.), and Cadet freestyle All-American Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf, Iowa). 145: Three nationally ranked wrestlers lead the way in this absolute beast of a weight class, led by defending champion Baker, who is No. 11 nationally. Other nationally ranked wrestlers include No. 12 Clayton Ream (Holt, Mo.), a three-time state placer, and No. 20 Darick Lapaglia (Blue Springs, Mo.), a two-time state champion and Junior National freestyle All-American. Others to watch include state champion and Super 32 champion Grant Leeth (Kearney, Mo.), two-time state champion Dylan Helm (Collinsville, Okla.), three-time state runner-up Russell Coleman (Park Hill, Mo.), two-time state runner-up Dakota Head (Tuttle, Okla.), three-time state placer Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa), and Preseason Nationals third place finisher A.J. Hinkle (Allen, Tex.) 152: 2011 state champion and 2010 tournament champion Cain Salas is the lone ranked wrestler in this weight class, he stands No. 15 nationally. Others to watch include state champion Brennan Johnson (Exclesior Springs, Mo.), 2011 state runner-up Austin Elam (Tuttle, Okla.), and Cadet Greco-Roman All-American Colston DiBlasi (Park Hill, Mo.) 160: No. 3 Bo Nickal (Allen, Tex.), a Cadet Triple Crown winner, is the lone ranked wrestler in this weight class. He is also a two-time Preseason Nationals champion. Others to watch include three-time state placer Taylor Brinegar (Oak Grove, Mo.); state runner-up David Thomas (Perry, Okla.); two-time state placers Wyatt Villers (Arkansas City, Kan.), Isaac Beard (Tuttle, Okla.), and Tony Clinesmith (Exclesior Springs, Mo.); along with Cadet Greco-Roman All-American Dustin Gray (Timberlane, Mo.) 170: Two-time defending tournament champion Zach Beard is ranked No. 5 nationally in this weight class, and the Preseason Nationals champion is the lone ranked wrestler here. Others meriting attention include state champions Matt Meyer (Allen, Tex.) and Nathan Marek (Southmoore, Okla.); two-time state placers Barrett Walthall (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) and Zach Abkemeier (Collinsville, Okla.); state runners-up Blain Drescher (Kearney, Mo.) and Trent Salsbury (St. James Academy, Kan.); Cadet freestyle All-American Chance Cooper (Timberlane, Mo.); and Derek White (Edmond North, Okla.) 182: A pair of nationally ranked wrestlers anchor this weight class in No. 10 Lance Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.), a two-time state placer, and Cadet freestyle champion Michael Pixley (Blue Springs, Mo.), who stands No. 17 nationally. Others to watch include two-time state placer Ryan Wadlow (Farmington, Mo.) and state placer Jake Anderson (Creighton Prep, Neb.) 195: There are no nationally ranked wrestlers in this weight class. Anchoring the field are state runner-up Keaton Hulett (Creston, Iowa), state third place finishers Joel Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.) and Riley Fielder (Tuttle, Okla.), and two-time state placer Corbin McOlgan (Christian Brothers, Tenn.) 220: The lone ranked wrestler here is No. 5 Andrew Dixon (Edmond North, Okla.), a Junior freestyle All-American and two-time state placer. Others to watch are state placers Kyle Varley (Perry, Okla.) and Austin Reyes (Blue Springs, Mo.) 285: No nationally ranked wrestlers here. Those meriting attention include state champion Nathan Jackson (Tuttle, Okla.), state placer Jesse Nelson (Stoughton, Wis.), Junior Greco-Roman All-American Jacob Semple (Waynesville, Mo.), Cadet Greco-Roman All-American Xyah Ra (Nixa, Mo.), and Cole Whitford (Granite City, Ill.)

The Dynamic nature of rankings With two weekends of the high school wrestling season gone in most parts of the country, and coming off of the Walsh Jesuit Ironman this past weekend, an update to the individual weight class rankings is in order. This update reflects weight class changes from the preseason rankings, as well as the early season results. There are three weight classes with a new No. 1 wrestler. At 106 pounds, freshman Nick Suriano (Bergen Catholic, N.J.) -- previously third nationally after winning the Super 32 Challenge -- has moved up to the No. 1 position after the top two ranked wrestlers suffered losses at the Walsh Ironman. Former No. 1 Austin Assad (Brecksville, Ohio) drops down to third place after finishing third place, with a loss to Jack Mueller (Trinity Christian Academy, Tex.) in the quarterfinals. Former No. 2 Jordan Kutler (Blair Academy, N.J.) falls to ninth in the rankings after failing to place, losses coming at the hands of Alex Mackall (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) and Brandon Price (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) on the first day. At 132 pounds, freshman Aaron Pico (St. John Bosco, Calif.) -- previously third nationally after a runner-up finish at the Super 32 Challenge and a pair of Cadet National double championships -- ascends to the top position due to his Walsh Ironman title. On the way to the title, Pico beat three-time state finalist Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) in the quarterfinal and previous No. 4 Micah Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) in the final. Jordan, a two-time state champion, had defeated previous No. 1 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) in the semifinal round. At 195 pounds, senior Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.) -- a state champion and two-time Super 32 Challenge champion -- moved up from the fourth position to No. 1. Previous No. 1 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio) will be competing at 182 pound this season. Previous No. 2 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) suffered defeat in a midweek dual meet up at 220 pounds, 8-5 against Clay Broze (Cannon Falls, Minn.); Broze is an unheralded wrestler, ranked ninth in Class 2A at 220 pounds. Triple the pleasure Additionally, the InterMat Fab 50 national team rankings are updated on a week-to-week basis. This week, three new teams appear in the rankings: No. 26 Edmond North, Okla., No. 28 Marmon Academy, Ill., and No. 48 Brecksville, Ohio. Edmond North enters the rankings after winning the Mid-America Nationals this past weekend, a tournament that featured three additional nationally ranked teams in the field. They are led by a trio of triplets -- Lance, Joel, and Andrew Dixon. The three juniors were among four champions for Edmond North in the tournament. Lance is ranked No. 10 nationally at 182 pounds, Joel placed third at state last year and is at 195 this year, and Andrew is ranked No. 5 nationally at 220. Marmion Academy entered the national fray during 2010-11 with Jered Cortez and Bryce Brill as freshmen, and Ben Whitford in his sophomore year. The Cadets had five state champions that year. However, after that season, Cortez and Brill moved to different schools in the Chicago-land area, while Whitford returned to his native St. Johns in Michigan. Despite that turmoil, the program has stabilized, and is a force to be reckoned with going forward. This year, the Cadets are led by new head coach Ryan Cumbee, a former Northwestern University wrestler and assistant coach at Providence Catholic. They have seven freshmen that placed at the IKWF state tournament last year, including four that won championships. Four of those freshmen are starters this year, while three (including two of the IKWF champions) are reserves. They ascend into the rankings after an eighth place finish at the Walsh Ironman, a championship at the Moeller Duals, and a dominant title at the Barrington Invitational. Brecksville enters the rankings coming off a ninth place finish at the Walsh Ironman, with four wrestlers earning a placement finish. Those placing for the Bees were No. 3 Austin Assad (106), No. 14 Aaron Assad (113), Quentin Hiles (170), and Josh Murphy (195). Big events in the coming week Over the next two days, event-specific previews will be posted for three major tournaments to be held on Friday and Saturday. The Minnesota Christmas Tournament features four teams in the Fab 50: No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn., No. 5 St. Michael-Albertville, Minn., No. 14 Simley, Minn., and No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. The Reno Tournament of Champions has six teams in the Fab 50 rankings: No. 6 Canon-McMillan, Pa., No. 17 Broken Arrow, Okla., No. 42 Vacaville, Calif., No. 43 Bakersfield, Calif., No. 45 Shenendehowa, N.Y., and No. 50 Maple Mountain, Utah. The Kansas City Stampede field includes seven nationally ranked teams: No. 13 Allen, Tex., No. 20 Collinsville, Okla., No. 23 Tuttle, Okla., No. 26 Edmond North, Okla., No. 30 Kearney, Mo., No. 33 Blue Springs, Mo., and No. 38 Bettendorf, Iowa. Intrigue at the Five Seasons Duals The Five Seasons Duals, hosted by multiple high schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, featured a 16-team field. Six of those schools were among the best in the state of Iowa. No. 35 West Delaware Manchester beat Alburnett, the preseason No. 1 team in Iowa’s small-school division, 43-28 in the quarterfinal. Then in the semifinal, they needed wins in seven of the last eight matches against Linn-Mar to recover from a 27-0 hole (120-152) in their 34-31 dual meet victory. The championship final was a 37-36 victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie, keyed by wins in the last six weight classes (195-285, 106-120). This included wins by fall at 195, 220, 285, 106, and 113 after trailing 36-4 in the dual meet. In order to reach the final, Cedar Rapids Prairie scored a 39-29 upset over No. 38 Bettendorf in the semifinal. Part of the challenge for Bettendorf was the absence of state placer Jacob Woodard from the lineup -- the Bulldogs lost that match by 12-8 decision. Additionally, Bettendorf without their starter at 285, a match they lost by 4-0 decision. Then, in the third place match, Bettendorf upended Linn-Mar 38-37. Broken Arrow sweeps ranked teams in Thursday tri meet Now ranked No. 17 nationally (was No. 21 last week), Broken Arrow, Okla., swept dual meets against Tuttle, Okla. and Allen, Tex. Those squads were ranked No. 16 and No. 22 respectively at the time. Broken Arrow opened the evening with a 36-22 victory over Tuttle, and closed the evening with a 38-21 victory over Allen. In between, Allen scored a 36-30 victory over Tuttle. Bear in mind that Allen was still without four starters, three of whom are impact wrestlers, due to their football team’s playoff run. The Eagles won their quarterfinal this weekend and play in the semifinals. Football players include Oliver Pierce (152), Nick Cobb (195), and Stone Drulman (220). Detroit Catholic Central, Marmion Academy to be tested this weekend Due to the tragic death of a Detroit Catholic Central student last Monday overnight, the assembly dual meet originally scheduled for last Wednesday between the No. 16 Shamrocks and No. 47 Davison, Mich., has been re-scheduled for Friday afternoon. In addition, the Shamrocks will travel to Holland on Saturday for the Tim Horn Duals, where they could also see No. 9 St. Johns, Mich., in dual meet competition. New to the national rankings, No. 28 Marmon Academy, Ill., will most certainly not have a soft landing this week. The Cadets travel to No. 10 Montini Catholic, Ill. for a Thursday evening dual meet. Most notable among the individual matchups in that meet comes at 120 pounds between No. 6 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion) and No. 19 Jordan Laster; Jimenez won a 5-3 overtime decision on Saturday at the Ironman. On Saturday, the Cadets will host No. 21 Marist, Ill., team and individual state champions Luxemburg-Casco, Wis., and Plainfield Central, Ill. Potential showdowns at King of the Mountain This coming Friday and Saturday, Central Mountain High School near Lock Haven, Pa., will host the King of the Mountain Tournament. The field includes a pair of nationally ranked teams -- No. 27 Bethlehem Catholic, Pa., and No. 36 Colonial Forge, Pa., It also includes ten nationally ranked wrestlers, anchored by a potential match at 120 pounds between No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) and No. 5 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.); which would be a rematch of the 103 pound championship matches from the Super 32 Challenge and Walsh Jesuit Ironman that the wrestlers split back in the fall of 2010. Other nationally ranked wrestlers include No. 2 Luke Pletcher (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) at 106, No. 6 Ethan Lizak (Parkland, Pa.) at 113, No. 8 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.) at 126, No. 6 Jason Nolf (Kittanning, Pa.) at 132, No. 7 Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl, Pa.) at 145, No. 7 Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) at 152, along with No. 11 Zach Zavatsky (Greater Latrobe, Pa.) and No. 17 T.C. Warner (Cumberland Valley, Pa.) at 160. There should be a new champion this year, as defending champion Erie McDowell, Pa., is not expected to be part of the team title puzzle. Leading that should be nationally ranked Bethlehem Catholic and Colonial Forge. However, CVCA, Ohio and Parkland, Pa., should also contend for the title, and defending big-school dual meet champions Phillipsburg, N.J., are in the tournament. Additional highlights of the coming week No. 12 Oak Park River Forest, Ill., and No. 15 Carl Sandburg, Ill., will both be in the Rex Whitlach Tournament hosted by Hinsdale Central, Ill. However, due to injury Carl Sandburg is without two-time state finalist Sebastian Pique at 120, and will be that way until mid-to-late January. The most interesting individual matchup could be at 126 pounds between defending state champion Jordan Northrup (Machesney Park Harlem, Ill.) and freshman sensation Isaiah White (Carl Sandburg). The Battle of Waterloo is this weekend in Iowa, and is a "Clash-style" dual meet tournament, four eight-team brackets on the first day and then eight four-team round-robins on the second day based on first day placement. No. 35 West Delaware Manchester is the top seed and likely advancer from Pool A; Cedar Rapids Prairie and Waverly-Shell Rock would seem to be even money in Pool B; Linn-Mar the slight favorite over North Scott in Pool C; and No. 41 Davenport Assumption anchors Pool D. For those in the Garden State, the time has finally come, wrestling season will start this weekend. Come Tuesday, Dec. 18, there will be an intriguing dual in-state meet as No. 32 South Plainfield hosts No. 40 Bergen Catholic. The defending Group 3 champion Tigers are anchored by four middle-weight studs in No. 18 Corey Stasenko (126), No. 8 Scott Delvecchio (132), No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (138), and No. 18 Troy Heilmann (145). Also, keep an eye on Dylan Painton (152), who is finally at a reasonable weight class, and state qualifier Troy Russell (220). The visiting Crusaders come in as defending non-public big-school champions and are led by state champion No. 7 Johnny Sebastian (182), Cadet National double All-American Christian Jenco (195), and a loaded freshman class anchored by No. 1 Nick Suriano (106). No. 37 Hermiston, Ore., will travel to North Idaho College for the Tri-State Invitational to compete against a solid field featuring many of the best teams from the Pacific Northwest. No. 49 Omaha Burke, Neb., participates in what probably is their biggest in-season test this weekend at the Flatwater Fracas hosted by Grand Island, Neb. It is the host Grand Island squad that should battle with Omaha Burke for the championship.

This week on the show John interviews UFC lightweight Mike Rio, who competed on The Ultimate Fighter Live earlier this year. After battling some injuries, Rio will finally make his return at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale on Dec. 15 against John Cofer. After interiewing Cofer, John gives a brief solo recap of the UFC on FOX 5 show, which more than lived up to the hype last weekend at least in the entertainment department. There were plent plenty of finishes and impressive knockouts, but UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson made the biggest statement with his one-sided win over Nate Diaz. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Reno, Nev. -- The 18th annual Reno Tournament of Champions will be held at the Reno Events Center from Dec. 14-16. The tournament will feature a two-day high school tournament followed by a one-day college tournament. A number of area schools will compete against the nation's best in what is dubbed the "Toughest Tournament in the U.S.A." Ticket prices are $15 per day for the high school tournament and an additional $15 for the high school finals. The college tournament ticket prices are $20 all day. Floor passes are $25 and provides access to the floor only but you will still need to purchase a ticket for each day to get into the building. This year, Poway (Calif.) High School enters as defending high school team champions and have won two of the last three team titles. This year, however, they will face an uphill battle to defend their team title as seven teams enter the tournament ranked by InterMat's Fab 50 in the nation, including Canon-McMillan (Penn.) and Broken Arrow (Okla.), ranked Nos. 6 and 20, respectively. The high school tournament features 11 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes (according to InterMat's rankings published on Dec. 4), including three wrestlers in the top three in their respective weights. Canon-McMillan boasts a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top three in their respective weights in 145-pounder Solomon Chishko at No. 3 and second-ranked Cody Wierciech at 170 pounds. They also have Connor Schram at No. 4 at 126 pounds. Lemoore's Isaiah Martinez comes in as the second-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds. The senior has already committed to Illinois and will be looking to cap off his senior campaign with a tournament victory. Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, Calif.) and Hayden Tuma (Centennial, Idaho) each enter the tournament ranked No. 4 at 120 and 138 pounds, respectively. The college tournament will feature eight Division I schools in the Top 50 according to InterMat's rankings as of Dec. 4 as well as 21 individually ranked wrestlers in the nation's top division. Mark Branch's Wyoming Cowboys will look to win their second team title in three years, while Oregon State and Boise State both enter the tournament ranked in the Top 20 and look to capture their first team title. This year's tournament will feature five wrestlers ranked in the top 20 at heavyweight, including Oregon State's Chad Henke and Mike McClure of Michigan State each coming in ranked in the top 10. Henke came in as the tournament's runner-up last year as an Olympic redshirt and will look to capture an individual title in the toughest weight class at the tournament this year. The college tournament will also feature wrestlers from the NAIA, NJCAA and Division 2 ranks as they will look to knock off the wrestlers and teams from D-1. To date, no team from a non D-1 school has won the tournament.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Tournament Committee for the 2012 Midlands Championships has announced that the upcoming event has reached its maximum capacity for competitors and is closed to additional entrants. "We've had an overwhelming response regarding team and individual entries for the 50th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships," Northwestern head coach Drew Pariano said. "The field is deep and in several weight classes, you will see between 12 and 15 nationally-ranked wrestlers compete for a coveted Midlands title. We are looking forward to hosting this historic event." This year's field includes more than 30 Division I teams, including 14 that placed in the top-25 at the 2012 NCAA Championships. A complete list of participating teams can be found here. Tickets to the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, which takes place Saturday, Dec. 29-Sunday, Dec. 30, are available now by calling 888-GO-PURPLE.

Tony Nelson of Minnesota edged Chad Hanke of Oregon State on Saturday (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) Though this past week featured marquee matchups with Minnesota vs. Oregon State and Bedlam, this is the quiet before the storm that is the massive events of December. Dual Meets Sunday, Dec. 9: Binghamton 26, Boston U. 13 Franklin & Marshall 45, Sacred Heart 6 Wisconsin 19, Nebraska 17 Wisconsin gets its first win over a ranked opponent since the 2010-11 season. Oregon State 26, North Dakota State 11 Ranked wrestlers appear in eight of ten matches, but none meet. Maryland 23, American 21 Penn State 52, Indiana 0 Penn State's defending national champ David Taylor "only" majors 18th-ranked Ryan LeBlanc, 8-0. Don't look now, but PSU's other heavyweight Jon Gingrich beats a top eight wrestler in Adam Chalfant, 6-5. This is bad news for the rest of the nation's wrestling teams. Oklahoma State 26, Oklahoma 9 Tons of big time matches here. At 133, eighth-ranked Cowboy Jon Morrison (OSU) notches a nice win over a tough 10th-ranked Cody Brewer, 9-4. 141 saw Kendric Maple, the No. 1 wrestler in his weight class, pin OSU's 20th-ranked Julian Feikert. Top-ranked 149-pounder Jordan Oliver majors Oklahoma's seventh-ranked Nick Lester, 14-5 In the 157-pound weight class, ninth-ranked Alex Dieringer of OSU bests 10th-ranked Matt Lester, 8-5. It takes overtime for third-ranked 165-pounder of OSU, Tyler Caldwell, to beat sixth-ranked Bubby Graham. Saturday, Dec. 8: Boston U. 25, Franklin & Marshall 16 Brown 24, Franklin & Marshall 12 Eastern Michigan 30, Duke 9 Michigan 30, Duke 14 Michigan 32, Eastern Michigan 3 Michigan State 25, Northern Illinois 9 Navy 33, George Mason 4 Ohio 28, Appalachian State 10 South Dakota State 27, SIU-Edwardsville 16 Central Michigan 28, Buffalo 7 Second-ranked 133-pounder Scotti Sentes sticks 19th-ranked Bull Erik Galloway in the second period. Defending 165-pound MAC champ Mike Ottinger beats 12th-ranked Mark Lewandowski of Buffalo, 2-1. Rutgers 25, Rider 5 157 saw 11th-ranked Scarlett Knight Scott Winston fall to Zac Cibula, 6-4. Minnesota 21, Oregon State 18 Beavers vs. Gophers. The fur flies as rodents collide and only one thing is for certain: somebody is gonna get gnawed on and no shrubbery will be safe. That is actually two things. At 141, OSU's fourth-ranked Michael Mangrum wins a thriller against 14th-ranked Nick Dardanes, 7-6. OSU's 11th-ranked 197-pounder Taylor Meeks beats 13th-ranked Scott Schiller, 8-2. And in the match of the week (in my opinion), defending heavyweight king Tony Nelson of Minnesota beats sixth-ranked Chad Hanke in tiebreakers, by a differential of eight seconds of riding time. Rutgers 30, Princeton 6 Princeton's Kevin Moylan upends 17th-ranked 141-pounder Trevor Melde 7-5 in sudden victory. Nebraska 18, Arizona State 12 Ranked Cornhuskers beat ranked Sun Devils at 174 and 184. Eighth-ranked Robert Kokesh beats 14th-ranked Blake Stauffer, 8-3, and sixth-ranked Josh Ihnen defeats 20th ranked Kevin Radford, 6-2. Oklahoma State 31, Wyoming 8 A bunch of Cowboys. It's a miracle they were able to pry them away from their smokey ol' poolrooms and clear mountain mornings long enough to have a wrestling match. Oklahoma State's ninth-ranked 157-pound freshman Alex Dieringer is having an excellent season. Here he soundly beats 16th-ranked Andy McCulley, 14-5. Friday, Dec. 7: Binghamton 23, Princeton 12 Pittsburgh 23, Maryland 12 An Aper-less Maryland team falls to Pitt, but not without two big Maryland wins. First, Maryland's 14th-ranked 133-pounder, Geoff Alexander beats sixth-ranked Shelton Mack, 3-2. Jimmy Sheptock, who has looked great this season and is currently ranked 10th, beat Max Thomusseit, Pitt's 15th-ranked 184-pounder, 3-2. Finally, second-ranked 197-pound Panther Matt Wilps, whom I believe may be at least part cyborg, beat 16th-ranked Christian Boley, 7-2. Wyoming 25, Oklahoma 13 Upsets are a family affair as both of OU's Lesters fall. At 149, seventh-ranked Nick Lester drops a match to Brandon Richardson, 4-3. And at 157, 10th-ranked Matt Lester is the victim of 16th-ranked Andy McCulley, 8-1. Minnesota 33, Northwestern 7 David Thorn, the No. 8 125-pound wrestler, downs tough 18th ranked Northwestern frosh Dom Malone, 2-0. At 165, ninth-ranked Gopher Cody Yohn outlasts 10th-ranked Pierce Harger, 3-2. Wisconsin 19, Michigan State 12 Tough heavyweight Badger newcomer, 14th-ranked Connor Medbery defeats 19th-ranked Spartan Mike McClure, 6-2. Thursday, Dec. 6: Army 22, Drexel 15 The Citadel 32, Davidson 12 Iowa 26, Lehigh 9 The nation's top 157-pounder, Iowa's Derek St. John, puts the red-hot fourth-ranked Joey Napoli on ice, 6-0. At 184, third-ranked Mountain Hawk Robert Hamlin handles seventh-ranked Ethen Lofthouse, 9-4. Tuesday, Dec. 4: Appalachian State 21, Gardner-Webb 19 Tournaments Saturday, Dec. 8: UNI Open Cory Clark125: Iowa redshirt studs on parade. Cory Clark beats second-ranked Jesse Delgado of Illinois, 6-1. That's right, the nation's second best 125-pound wrestler might be practice partners with the No. 1, Matt McDonough. Another Iowa redshirt, Thomas Gilman, beats Purdue's 17th-ranked Camden Eppert, 14-4. Eppert also falls to UNI redshirt Dylan Peters, 7-6. 157: Purdue's 20th-ranked Tommy Churchard suffers losses to UNI's David Bonin and Illinois' Zac Brunson. 165: In the "yes this is not a typo upset of the week," All-American and fifth-ranked Conrad Polz of Illinois drops a match to ISU's Michael Moreno, 3-1. 197: Purdue's 15th-ranked Braden Atwood wins by injury default over ISU's 17th-ranked Kyven Gadson. PSAC Championships 165: Bloomsburg's Josh Veltre beats 16th-ranked Johnny Greisheimer of Edinboro, 6-3. 285: Another non-Division I standout heavyweight, Ziad Haddad (Kutztown), beats Edinboro's 20th-ranked Ernest James, 4-2.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The 17th-ranked Maryland wrestling team (5-2) got two pins and two major decisions to edge American, 23-21, Sunday evening at Bender Arena. For the seventh straight season, the Terps defeated the Eagles in ‘The Battle of the Beltway.’ The Terps were led by No. 16 Christian Boley (197) and TJ Guidice (157), who each picked up a fall, and No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander (133) and No. 10 Jimmy Sheptock (184), who earned major decisions. The bonus points proved vital as the Eagles scrambled to get a pin in the final match of the night at 141. At 184, Sheptock took to the mat following consecutive pins by the Eagles, which gave American a 15-6 advantage. Needing bonus points, Sheptock went right to work. The Northampton, Pa., native took the Eagles’ Thomas Barreiro to the mat four times in the first period to seize control of the match. Sheptock added seven more takedowns to earn a 21-7 major decision. Following intermission, Boley gave the Terps a one-point advantage with a pin of American’s Devon Bradley. Boley quickly took Bradley to the mat for two points and finished the match at the 1:38 mark. American regained the lead at 285 after Blake Herrin defeated Dallas Brown, 5-2. But the Eagles’ advantage was short-lived. Shane Gentry delivered an 8-4 decision over David Terao at 125 setting the stage for Alexander’s vital victory. Leading by one point and seeking to seal the win with a pin, Alexander attacked the Eagles’ Esteban Gomez-Rivera scoring a takedown and a 3-point near fall in the opening period. Alexander added a takedown in the second and third periods to earn a 13-2 major decision. In the final match of the night at 141, the Terps needed to avoid a pin to secure the victory. The Eagles’ John Boyle could only deliver a 5-0 decision as Maryland extended its winning streak in the annual rivalry. Maryland received an important victory at 157 from Guidice. After surrendering a takedown to Mark Cirello, Guidice was able to get Cirello on his back and close the match out at 2:51. The victory gave the Terps an early 6-3 lead. Results: 149: Kevin Tao (AU) dec. Lou Mascola (MD), 4-2 (0-3) 157: TJ Guidice (MD) fall over Mark Cirello (AU), 2:51 (6-3) 165: Phillip Barreiro (AU) fall over Josh Snook (MD), 5:45 (6-9) 174: Keithen Cast (AU) fall over Aaron Norris (MD), 4:47 (6-15) 184: No. 10 Jimmy Sheptock (MD) maj. dec. Thomas Barreiro (AU), 21-7 (10-15) 197: No. 16 Christian Boley (MD) fall over Devon Bradley (AU), 1:38 (16-15) 285: Blake Herrin (AU) dec. Dallas Brown (MD), 5-2 (16-18) 125: No. 14 Shane Gentry (MD) dec. David Terao (AU), 8-4 (19-18) 133: No. 14 Geoffrey Alexander (MD) maj. dec. Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU), 13-2 (23-18)

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-- CSU Bakersfield won 7-of-10 matches on their way to a 32-9 victory over San Francisco State Sunday afternoon. Tyler Iwamura (R-Sr., San Diego, Calif., Santa Fe Christian HS) got the dual off on the right foot for the Roadrunners as he posted a 12-0 victory over Bakersfield native Marc Collier. Ian Nickell (R-Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) followed up with a second straight major decision for CSUB as he defeated Isaiah Hurtado 10-2. Navaeed Bagheri, who is ranked No. 5 in Division II at 141 pounds, defeated Jose Mendoza (R-Jr., Selma, Calif., Selma HS) 5-1 to break the seal for the Gators. Dalton Kelley (R-Jr., Alamosa, Colo., Alamosa HS) rallied from an early 4-1 deficit to defeat Conrad Snell 11-6 at 149 pounds. Adam Fierro (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) defeated Daniel Flores by technical fall (20-4) in the 157-pound bout. Isaiah Jimenez, San Francisco State's other nationally ranked wrestler (No. 6) defeated David Meza 6-5 in the 165-pound match. Bryce Hammond (R-Fr., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) tied Timmy Box (R-Fr., Bakersfield, Calif. Bakersfield HS) for the team lead in pins when Hammond stuck AJ Simon 2:06 into the 174-pound matchup. Reuben Franklin (So., Murrieta, Calif., Vista Murrieta HS) tallied a 16-2 decision against Calvin Nichols for the victory at 184. Thomas Martin recorded the final Gators' victory of the day when he defeated Frankie Hurtado (So., Bakersfield, Calif., Liberty HS) 3-2 in the 197-pound match. Sammy Cervantes (R-Jr., Chula Vista, Calif., Palomar College) closed the day when he pinned Zac VomSteeg at the 3:19 mark of the heavyweight bout. The Roadrunners travel to the Reno Tournament of Champions next Sunday. Results: 125 Tyler Iwamura (CSUB) def. Marc Collier, 12-0 133 Ian Nickell (CSUB) def. Isaiah Hurtado, 10-2 141 Navaeed Bagheri (SFST) def. Jose Mendoza, 5-1 149 Dalton Kelley (CSUB) def. Conrad Snell, 11-6 157 Adam Fierro (CSUB) def. Daniel Flores by TF (20-4) at 5:23 165 Isaiah Jimenez (SFST) def. David Meza, 6-5 174 Bryce Hammond (CSUB) pins AJ Simon at 2:06 184 Reuben Franklin (CSUB) def. Calvin Nicholls, 16-2 197 Thomas Martin (SFST) def. Frankie Hurtado, 3-2 285 Sammy Cervantes (CSUB) pins Zach VomSteeg,@3:19

FARGO, N.D. -- The No. 13 ranked Oregon State wrestling team flexed their muscles against No. 22 North Dakota State Sunday, using seven victories from five ranked wrestlers to defeat the Bison 26-11, in Fargo. NDSU got out to a quick 3-0 lead with a close 13-12 win from No. 5 Trent Sprenkle over OSU freshman Joey Palmer in the 125 lb. bout. That slim Bison advantage would not last for long as the Beavers would reel off four straight victories and five in the next six weight classes to open up a sizeable 20-8 lead. That winning stretch was headlined by No. 8 Scott Sakaguchi's pin (4:07) over North Dakota State's Joey Garner in the 149 lb. match, which gave six crucial points to the Orange and Black. Other OSU victories during the streak included No. 4 Mike Mangrum with a major decision (17-5) in the 141 lb. match, preceded by redshirt freshman Drew Van Anrooy's first collegiate dual win, coming via a 9-6 decision in the 133 lb. bout. 157 pounder and No. 10 ranked RJ Pena made it four Oregon State wins in a row and stretched the Beaver lead to a commanding 17-3 advantage, with his major decision (13-2) over Bison wrestler Hayden Zillmer. Rounding out the action for Head Coach Jim Zalesky and his victorious Beavers on Sunday was Cody Weishoff (174 lbs.), wrestling in his first dual of the season, who added a 4-0 decision of his own, along with No. 10 Taylor Meeks (197 lbs.), who brought home his second straight dual victory with a 14-9 decision. OSU Heavyweight and No. 6 rated Chad Hanke took to the mats with his team leading 23-11 and refused to let NDSU get any closer as he put away the Bison's Evan Knutson with a 10-4 decision to give the No. 13 ranked team in the nation a hard earned 15-point victory. With the win, Oregon State moved to 2-2 on the year and remained 1-2 in Pac-12 play, while North Dakota State fell to 2-3 overall, yet to compete in a conference match. Between Sunday's meet with NDSU and Saturday's match-up with Minnesota, there were a number of OSU wrestlers who had a perfect weekend on the mats. They included Mangrum, Sakaguchi, Pena and Meeks who all went 2-0 in competition between the two duals. Among the quartet of wrestlers, Sakaguchi has the longest winning streak with four straight, dating back to the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite (Nov. 30-Dec.1), while he and Pena hold the best records on the team with a pair of 12-1 marks. The Beavers, who are now finished with dual competition for the 2012 calendar year, will take part in the Reno Tournament of Champions next Sunday, Dec. 16 before traveling to the Land of Lincoln to compete in the Midlands Championships from Dec.29-30 in Evanston, Ill. OSU's next dual will be the sequel to the 2012-13 edition of the Border War as the Beavers play host to Boise State, Saturday, Jan. 5 at 4:30 pm on the Pac-12 Networks. Tickets to home Beaver wrestling events can be purchased online by going to beavertickets.com or by calling 1-800-GO-BEAVS. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Oregon State ticket office inside Gill Coliseum, which is open from 9a.m. - 5p.m., Monday through Friday. POST MEET NOTES --Wrestling in their first dual meets of the year Sunday, were 174 pounder Cody Weishoff and Joe Latham (165 lbs.) --A total of five OSU wrestlers have won 10 or more matches this season, they include Mike Mangrum (12-2), Scott Sakaguchi (12-1), RJ Pena (12-1), Chad Hanke (12-2) and Taylor Meeks (10-2) --Scott Sakaguchi won his 80th career match this weekend, with his two victories he now stands at 81-21, a staggering 60 wins over the .500 mark Results: 125 - No. 5 Trent Sprenkle (NDSU) dec. Joey Palmer (OSU), 13-12 / NDSU 3, OSU 0 133 - Drew Van Anrooy (OSU) dec. Josh Rodriguez (NDSU), 9-6 / NDSU 3, OSU 3 141 - No. 4 Mike Mangrum (OSU) maj. dec. Mark Erickson (NDSU), 17-5 / OSU 7, NDSU 3 149 - No. 8 Scott Sakaguchi (OSU) fall Joe Garner (NDSU), 4:07 / OSU 13, NDSU 3 157 -No. 10 RJ Pena (OSU) maj. dec. Hayden Zillmer (NDSU), 12-2 / OSU 17, NDSU 3 165 -No. 7 Steven Monk (NDSU) tech. fall Joe Latham (OSU), 16-0 (3:55) / OSU 17, NDSU 8 174 - Cody Weishoff (OSU) dec. Julson (NDSU), 4-0 / OSU 20, NDSU 8 184 - No. 16 Mac Stoll (NDSU) dec. Ty Vinson (OSU), 7-2 / OSU 20, NDSU 11 197 - No. 10 Taylor Meeks (OSU) dec. Kallen Kleinschmidt (NDSU), 14-9 / OSU 23, NDSU 11 Hwt - No. 6 Chad Hanke (OSU) dec. Evan Knutson (NDSU), 10-4 / OSU 26, NDSU 16

NORMAN -- The No. 2 Oklahoma State Cowboys picked up their second win this weekend as they defeated the No. 10 Sooners in Norman on Sunday, 26-9. OSU (4-0) won eight of the 10 bouts with three wins coming with bonus points attached, giving the Cowboys a 131-26-10 advantage in the Bedlam series. “I thought we did OK,” coach John Smith said. “I was pleased with the scoreboard. There were a few things that I didn’t like as far as discipline. I liked the grind-out wins at 133, 157 and 165. I also liked the bonus points at 149, 174 and 184. I think we did a pretty good job.” Freshman Eddie Klimara started his first dual for the Cowboys at 125 pounds but fell to Kyle Garcia, 3-2. Eighth-ranked Jon Morrison recovered the points with his exciting 9-4 decision over No. 10 Cody Brewer. After a fall from OU’s Kendric Maple at 141 pounds, the Cowboys steamrolled through the final seven bouts. Jordan Oliver and Chris Chionuma grabbed major decisions at 149 pounds and 184 pounds, respectively, while Chris Perry picked up a technical fall over Matt Reed in 6:10. At 157 pounds, Dieringer picked up his second upset of the weekend when he defeated No. 9 Matt Lester, 8-5, in thrilling fashion. OU transfer Tyler Caldwell wrestled his first bedlam match in an orange singlet and took No. 6 Bubby Graham into sudden victory where Caldwell came out victorious, 5-3. “I took it as just another match,” Caldwell said. “I knew it was going to be tough and could get close if I allowed it to be. I didn’t compete to my fullest, but I grinded it out and got the win.” Rosholt took the 197 match over Brad Johnson, 11-9, and Alan Gelogaev finished off the dual for the Cowboys defeating Keldrick Hall, 11-4. During the heavyweight match, a point was taken from the Cowboys because of a warning on the OSU bench. Next week, the Cowboys will travel to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the Grapple at the Garden event and will take on No. 8 Cornell and Tennessee-Chattanooga. Results: 125: Kyle Garcia (OU) dec. Eddie Klimara (OSU), 3-2 133: No. 8 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 10 Cody Brewer (OU), 9-4 141: No. 1 Kendric Maple (OU) fall over No. 20 Julian Feikert (OSU), 5:57 149: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD No. 7 Nick Lester (OU), 14-5 157: No. 9 Alex Dieringer (OSU) dec. No. 10 Matt Lester (OU), 8-5 165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) dec. No. 6 Bubby Graham (OU), 5-3 SV1 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (OSU) TF4 Matt Reed (OU), 22-6 184: No. 17 Chris Chionuma (OSU) MD Greg Wilson (OU), 17-7 197: No. 14 Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Brad Johnson (OU), 11-9 285: No. 2 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Keldrick Hall (OU), 11-4