InterMat Staff

Jason Bryant and Scott Siepker will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, Sept. 25. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at 1650thefan.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. A podcast of the show is available on theopenmat.com. E-mail dgmstaff@nwhof.org with any questions or comments. Bryant is the editor for Amateur Wrestling News. He will provide a report on the 2013 World Championships that took place in Budapest, Hungary. Known as the Iowa Nice Guy, Siepker provides weekly football updates for ESPN. He made a video about wrestling’s inclusion in the Olympics called “Wrestling Nice” prior to the International Olympic Committee’s decision in August.

Guests: Kevin Jackson Bryan Hazard Geno Zannetti Jack Roller Brian Smith Jake Agnitsch Glen Lanham Hour 1 Hour 2

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The United States fell short of the medal round on the final day of the World Wrestling Championships on Sunday at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers Ellis Coleman, Andy Bisek and Robbie Smith each fell short of the medal round on the final day of the seven-day event in Budapest. U.S. heavyweight Robbie Smith reached the quarterfinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Smith, appearing at his first Senior Worlds, dropped a 7-0 quarterfinal match to World champion Riza Kayaalp of Turkey in the quarterfinals. Kayaalp hit two quick arm throws to end the match in the first minute. Smith opened with a 3-1 win over Xiaoming Nie of China at 120 kilos/264.5 pounds. Smith pushed the pace and wore Nie down, putting it away with a second-period takedown. Smith was eliminated when Kayaalp was upset by Iran’s Amir Aliakbari in the semifinals. Kayaalp needed to reach the finals to pull Smith back in for the repechage. Smith charged out strong with an early three-point arm throw en route to defeating Iosif Chugoshvili of Belarus 5-0 in the second round. Chugoshvili was fifth in 2012 Olympics. Read complete story ...

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The United States fell short of the medal round at the World Wrestling Championships on Saturday at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Jesse Thielke (Photo/Larry Slater)American Greco-Roman wrestlers Jesse Thielke, Jordan Holm and Caylor Williams suffered losses and were not pulled back in for the repechage. All three wrestlers were competing in their first Senior Worlds. Thielke overcame an early 3-0 deficit to roll to a 9-4 win over Greece's Christos Theodorakis in his opening match at 60 kilos/132 pounds. Thielke followed by building a 3-0 lead before headlocking and pinning India's Ravinder Singh in the second period of the second round. Thielke then dropped a 7-4 decision to Korea's Jae-Seung Woo in the quarterfinals. Thielke took a brief 4-3 lead with a gut wrench midway through the first period before Woo came back to regain the lead. Thielke tried two headlocks late in the match, but was unable to score. Read complete story ...

55 kilos: Gold: Won Choi Yun (North Korea) Silver: Gyu-Jin Choi (Korea) Bronze: Roman Amoyan (Armenia) Bronze: Peter Modos (Hungary) 5th: Spenser Mango (USA) 5th: Ivan Tatarinov (Russia) 60 kilos: Gold: Ivo Angelov (Bulgaria) Silver: Ivan Kuylakov (Russia) Bronze: Jae-Seung Woo (Korea) Bronze: Elmurat Tasmuradov (Uzbekistan) 5th: Edward Barsegjan (Poland) 5th: Almat Kepispayev (Kazakhstan) 66 kilos: Gold: Han Su-Ryu (Korea) Silver: Islam-Beka Albiev (Russia) Bronze: Tulsia Yadan Sandeep (India) Bronze: Frank Staebler (Germany) 5th: Aleksandar Maksimovic (Serbia) 5th: Hasan Aliyev (Azerbaijan) 74 kilos: Gold: Hyeon-Woo Kim (Korea) Silver: Roman Vlasov (Russia) Bronze: Arsen Julfalakayan (Armenia) Bronze: Emrah Kus (Turkey) 5th: Mark Madsen (Denmark) 5th: Veli-Karri Suominen (Finland) 84 kilos: Gold: Taleb Nematpour (Iran) Silver: Saman Ahman Tahmasebi (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Javid Hamzatau (Belarus) Bronze: Viktor Lorincz (Hungary) 5th: Damian Janikowski (Poland) 5th: Rami Hietaniemi (Finland) 96 kilos: Gold: Nikita Melnikov (Russia) Silver: Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) Bronze: Balasz Kiss (Hungary) Bronze: Shalva Gadabadze (Azerbaijan) 5th: Mahdi Aliyarifeizabadi (Iran) 5th: Norikatsu Saikawa (Japan) 120 kilos: Gold: Amir Aliakbari (Iran) Silver: Heiki Nabi (Estonia) Bronze: Numakhan Tinaliyev (Kazakhstan) Bronze: Riza Kayaalp (Turkey) 5th: Mihaly Deak-Bardos (Hungary)

48 kilos: Gold: Eri Tosaka (Japan) Silver: Mayellis Castillo (Venezuela) Bronze: Alyssa Lampe (USA) Bronze: Cheng Xu (China) 5th: Anna Lukasiak (Poland) 5th: Melanie LeSaffre (France) 51 kilos: Gold: Yanan Sun (China) Silver: Erdennechimeg Sumiya (Mongolia) Bronze: Sim Hyang So (North Korea) Bronze: Jessica MacDonald (Canada) 5th: Victoria Anthony (USA) 5th: Yuliya Blahinya (Ukraine) 55 kilos: Gold: Saori Yoshida (Japan) Silver: Sofia Mattson (Sweden) Bronze: Emese Barka (Hungary) Bronze: Valeria Koblova (Russia) 5th: Maya Hristova (Bulgaria) 5th: Iryna Husyak (Ukraine) 59 kilos: Gold: Marianna Sastin (Hungary) Silver: Taybe Yusein (Bulgaria) Bronze: Muhktuya Tungalag (Mongolia) Bronze: Yuliya Ratkevich (Azerbaijan) 5th: Ayaka Ito (Japan) 5th: Tetyana Lavrenchuk (Ukraine) 63 kilos: Gold: Kaori Icho (Japan) Silver: Battsetseg Sornzobold (Mongolia) Bronze: Elena Pirozhkova (USA) Bronze: Yekaterina Larionova (Kazakhstan) 5th: Anastasia Bratchikova (Russia) 5th: Jackeline Renteria (Colombia) 67 kilos: Gold: Alina Stadnik (Ukraine) Silver: Stacie Anaka (Canada) Bronze: Nasanburmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia) Bronze: Sara Dosho (Japan) 5th: Zhangting Zhou (China) 5th: Aline Focken (Germany) 72 kilos: Gold: Fengliu Zhang (China) Silver: Natalia Vorobeva (Russia) Bronze: Adeline Gray (USA) Bronze: Burmaa Ochirbat (Mongolia) 5th: Yasemin Adar (Turkey) 5th: Svetlana Saenko (Moldova)

Related: Schedule STILLWATER -- John Smith and the Oklahoma State wrestling squad announced their opponents for the 2013-14 season, which is highlighted by visits to Penn State and the University of Iowa. “I believe, in every way, that this year’s schedule will help develop and prepare us for the best regular season and postseason that we can have,” Smith said. The Cowboys, coming off a 20-1 season and a second-place finish at NCAAs, will begin the season at home on Nov. 17 against Bucknell. The Pokes will make a trip to Norman to take on in-state rival Oklahoma on Dec. 1 before returning to Stillwater for a battle against Minnesota on Dec. 8. The 2013 Big 12 champions will be on the road from Dec. 14 through Jan. 19 to visit Wyoming, Northern Colorado, Iowa, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, respectively. During that time, the Pokes will make their second appearance at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Cowboys return to Gallagher-Iba Arena on Jan. 24, beginning a four-dual home stand, including duals against Iowa State, former Big 12 rival Missouri, Cal State-Bakersfield and Oklahoma. Traveling to State College, Pa., for the first time since 1996, the Cowboys will take on the Nittany Lions of Penn State led by Cael Sanderson on Feb. 16. They will also wrestle Clarion that same weekend. The Pokes will return home to finish the dual season in Stillwater with matchups against Arizona State on Feb. 21 and American University on March 2. For the postseason, the Cowboys will stay close to home as they compete for their 47th conference championship in Norman, Okla., and their 35th national title in Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Three straight years, three straight medals. Adeline Gray earned a World bronze medal at 72 kilos (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)American Adeline Gray earned her third straight medal at the World Wrestling Championships, collecting a bronze medal on Friday night at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Gray registered a convincing 8-2 win over Turkey’s Yasemin Adar in her women’s freestyle bronze match at 72 kilos/158.5 pounds. "I really wanted to get that gold for my team," Gray said. "I feel a little disappointed. I'm definitely ready to go back to the drawing board and make sure this doesn't happen again." Gray won her third straight World medal after earning a gold medal in 2012 and a bronze in 2011. Read complete story ...

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. Half-man, half-amazing. Many wrestling fans are searching for context to help them understand Jordan Burroughs' accomplishments on the mat. His winning streak of 65 straight matches is nowhere near that of Alexander Karelin's and is even short of still active wrestlers Kaori Icho and Saori Yoshida. Three straight titles is significant, but doesn't rank among the top 30. At home Jordan is still far from matching John Smith's six consecutive World titles ('87-'92). Through Burroughs isn't the most impressive among his peers in any single category, he does well to combine all these measurements in an overall packaging that feels more substantial. Burroughs is winning his matches at 74 kilos, which is one of freestyle wrestling's most competitive weight classes. In Budapest, Burroughs not only wrestled talented newcomers like Akbari of Iran, but also veterans like Jabrayil Hassanov of Azerbaijan who came up from 66 kilos where he was a two-time World bronze medalist. Being in the middle of the lineup, where some of the most-talented world-level wrestlers linger for years means that every time Burroughs steps on the mat, he's facing one of the best overall wrestlers in the tournament. For those who tend to watch a lot of wrestling, it's also obvious that Burroughs is at a higher athletic level than his opponents, able to find angles with an authority and speed that is almost unstoppable. His double legs attacks are often so fast, and so low, that it's become an accepted fact among some photographers that catching these moments of brilliance requires as much luck as skill. When it comes to defense perhaps no wrestler is more creative in providing a stingy reaction to aggressive moves. The streak, titles, weight class, and athletic ability are all significant factors for why Burroughs is so compelling, but they aren't what are propelling him into athletic stardom. Burroughs' career is being analyzed during a time of increased media attention on the sport of wrestling. Twitter, Facebook, live streams to the mainstream media that followed the #SaveOlympicWrestling campaign, have all contributed to more people watching and caring about the sport. Forget Karelin, John Smith, Jordanov, and Cael Sanderson, no wrestler in the history of the sport has had their name written/typed on more occasions. The ability to watch Burroughs' matches online, discuss his talents in an open forum and even follow his personal life on Twitter, makes him a star of the 21st Century, that makes his accomplishments feel bigger and brighter than all those that came before him. Burroughs' brand is hotter than ever. The monetization of his image and ability has led to a television commercial and various endorsement deals. He makes a fantastic living from his wrestling ability. He's charming. He's considerate. He's media-capable. And yet after what he did on Wednesday all those attributes and all those outside considerations will fade, because Burroughs now has what the true greats all possess -- his own legend. Like Curt Schilling, Burroughs has a bloody sock moment that will be chatted about for decades -- the World and Olympic champion wrestled with a broken foot. The athletic canonization of Burroughs and his accomplishments is underway. No matter what happens in 2014 and beyond, the story of Burroughs' career was written in Budapest. He's half man, half amazing. To your questions ... Q: First of all, disappointing first couple of days at the Worlds. I happened to tune in for the streaming of Tervel's quarterfinal match, and it was really exciting! My heart was racing, and then Gatsalov came out, did his thing in like 30 seconds, which put Tervel back on the mat only like 10 minutes. I still felt tired from watching Tervel in the quarters, and then he was back up; I can't imagine that for him, he wasn't still feeling that quarterfinal. Do you think fatigue played a factor in Tervel's semifinal? It just seems like the guy can't catch a break. Also (unrelated) what's your take on Flip wrestling and why should or shouldn't I buy a pair of their headphones? -- BJ Foley: The single-day format favors those that are in shape and can wrestle with some limitation on physical output. The problem facing scramble-first wrestlers is that the 15-minute rest window isn't enough to make a full recovery. That's even worse for wrestlers who weigh 260 lbs. Dlagnev forces funky situations and shoots plenty of low singles, which is exciting and fun, but can't be good for lung capacity late in the tournament. So, yes, I do think it played a factor. However I also think that Alen Zasieiev was the favorite to win the weight, and was the best heavyweight at the tournament. It bears mention that Gatsalov and Zasieiev have known each other for years as members of the same wrestling club. They have the same coach. As for the second part of your question: Yes, FLIPS Wrestling is marketing to the wrestling community and if you want to buy a set of headphones that go over your ear, you'd be doing the sport a favor by purchasing FLIPS Wrestling before Dre Beats, since the good Doctor isn't sponsoring Burroughs. Q: In this day and age of equality, FILA is essentially sticking its neck out for Greco Roman in the 6-6-6 format. While I hate to ruin anyone's dream, let's not potentially sacrifice the great sport of Olympic freestyle wrestling for the most boring & confusing version of our ancient sport. You should go 8 & 8 for weights for freestyle and then do the team format (both genders) of takedown only. Equality and casual fan growth is what the IOC needs to see from wrestling. -- Tom B. Foley: Plenty of Americans hate Greco-Roman, and many for a good reason: Lack of sction. The highlight films might be filled with big throws and fun action, but when it comes to consistent action, and perceivable advantages Greco-Roman is exceedingly difficult to follow both by the average fan and the newbie. I'm learning to like the sport more. Today at World's will be two women's weights and a Greco-Roman weight. There are some Swedes and Fins in attendance with matching shirts, but otherwise it's a fairly similar crowd to what we've seen the past several days. That written, I'd imagine that tonight's finals will have more fans due to it being Friday. Same for Saturday. In the eyes of the IOC membership Greco-Roman is at-risk because there is no offsetting style for women. It seems unlikely that FILA would start a Greco-Roman style for women, since men are so embattled. However, it's not implausible that women's wrestling could hit the beach. That would protect Greco-Roman in the future, but would require a lot of political maneuvering within the IOC, and that's not an easy task. On a related note, many of the FILA members have mentioned their love for Greco-Roman and there understanding that "we all want more weights and more medals." However, wrestling's partner is the IOC, and they have as much say in what happens in Olympic years as FILA. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Burroughs beats Akbari Sastin beats Yusein Byamba goes big Q: What are some of the longest undefeated streaks in international wrestling? Is Burroughs' one of the longest? -- Tim R. Foley: Alexander Karelin had 13 years of undefeated wrestling, and despite the renewed attention the Russian Wrestling Federation has been reluctant to produce any records on the length of his winning streak. As mentioned in the opening Yoshida and Icho each have winning streaks of more than 150 matches. There are also bound to be some other records by guys like Valentin Jordanov that have been preserved in the Bulgarian archives, but less reported by the American media. All that written, just focus on the fact that Burroughs currently owns the longest winning streak in men's wrestling. Q: I know you have been against this previously, but what are your thoughts about overtime now? Watching the Worlds this week I think we need it. The rules are still a bit confusing overall and FILA refs are painful, but most importantly how is the casual fan going to understand someone winning 8-8? Sudden death overtime would be exciting and is easy to understand and explain. If a match goes too long we could do a shot clock after two minutes, or have a smaller circle on the mat that could be used for overtime so pushouts are more common. What you think? Or any better ideas? -- Rob H. Foley: For me one of the most painful moments of the World Championships happened on Tuesday when 66-kilo wrestlers Lopez (Cuba) and Mandrakhnaran (Mongolia) had their match ended by criteria. My problem wasn't that the match ended on criteria, but that the scoreboard operator placed the small white triangle signifying the winner into the WRONG box. Mandrakhnaran and his coaches ended the match thinking they were headed to the finals, only to have a final review of the scorecard show that the last twenty seconds of action were built on the false premise that the Mongolian was winning. FILA took heat for the slip from none other than Asashoryu, who is the head of the Mongolian Wrestling Federation. They also got an earful from some fans and reporters who were just plain confused by the white triangle and what it meant. I'd expect an improved form of presentation, and a better check by the coaches as the rules become more consistent. I'm not sold on overtime. Criteria is kinda stupid because the score ends the same (I'm all for adding a point at the end to make it more clear to fans), but there are obvious advantages. First, in a one-day format an overtime match like you saw with Howe and Dake would have spelled defeat for the winner going forward -- with only 15 minutes of recovery time the chances of making a recovery are pretty slim. Also, with television you have to guarantee them the length of your event, and that becomes MUCH more difficult when there is a possibility of a-15 minute overtime. I know extra time feels like you're solving the issue of who is better, but at this point I prefer the flurry of action at the end of the match to the slow winding down of a match that is headed to unlimited overtime. They just need to fix the white triangle. Q: What are your top five college venues for watching a match and why? -- Mike C. Foley: I haven't been to that many college wrestling venues, so I'll make this list taking into account all that has been written about some of these venues and balance them against my personal experiences. 1. Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa) 2. Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.) 3. Friedman Center (Ithaca, N.Y.) 4. Grace Hall (Bethlehem, Pa.) 5. Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) COMMENTS OF THE WEEK By @NHoughSnee I'm going to say it: unsurprisingly, the women's bouts have been as action-packed as the men's at the World Championships. Wrestling is only going to grow if people embrace that our women go harder than those in any other sport on earth. By Mike S. Not sure if you have ever seen or read this but I highly suggest you do. It's a blog from a man named Todd Tarpley. It follows his personal choice and subsequent struggle to define his life, and eventually reach his goal of being an All-American, by selling out, going for broke and moving to Iowa to wrestle for the HWC in the late 80s early 90s. The names thrown around are a who's who of wrestling greats: Brands, Steiner, Alger, Zaputil, Lewis and shows event cards with winners like Mark Coleman, Smith, Baumgartner, and is especially great to see the Foxcatcher Club with the upcoming movie and documentary. It reads as a blog and follows his daily progressions of getting physically and mentally beat ... until his dreams start to turn into reality. The man himself, from what I could find, has returned to New York and is extremely successful, including writing a few children's books I believe ... as if his wrestling and determination doesn't encapsulate you, maybe his writing will. It may take a while to read, so set aside some time, but it will be worth it. I promise. Link.

Now that the men's freestyle portion of the 2013 FILA Wrestling World Championships has ended, I'd like to provide a bit of perspective on Team USA's performance. We come home with only one medal, which is less than optimal, but we have plenty of positives to take away. As a team we managed fifth place, which is not quite where we want to be, but still far from a disaster. I think the best case scenario for this American team would have been third. Iran and Russia are too tough at the moment, so while things could be better, they could also be far worse. Below I have provided thoughts on each freestyle wrestler. As always, I write from the perspective of a fan with the highest level of respect for each athlete, so I strive to stay positive. 55 kilos: Angel Escobedo I'm sure he would like another crack at the Turk for the bronze, but all things considered, Escobedo acquitted himself well. I wonder if now that he has had some success on the highest level, if he will now have the necessary confidence boost to push himself to the top of the ladder domestically and stay there. 60 kilos: Reece Humphrey/Franklin Gomez I've included both because I view Gomez as a bonus American wrestler. Interestingly, both found themselves eliminated from the tournament in similar situations. Both received questionable calls from the ref, and both surrendered late takedowns to lose to tough competition. The Russian was far and away the best wrestler in this weight. I'm at peace with the fact that neither American would beat him, but with the way brackets were drawn up, either Humphrey or Franklin could have won a bronze. Leaving questionable scoring out of the discussion, both seemed to lose due to bad tactical choices in the second period. Sometimes, wrestling with the lead can be just as hard as wrestling from behind. Both will probably find themselves at another World championship, and both know they have what it takes to medal. (Gomez already has a medal.) They just need to polish up their match closing abilities. 66 kilos: Brent Metcalf Metcalf's style, which makes him successful in the new cumulative scoring format, ironically cost him a shot at a World medal. In his defeat to Iran's two-time World champion, Mehdi Taghavi, which was far more competitive than their last meeting, Metcalf tired out the Iranian so severely that he lost in the next round to an inferior opponent, thus eliminating Metcalf. I will make the bold prediction that Metcalf will win a World level medal before all is said and done. He just cannot lose before a semifinal, or better yet, not lose at all. 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs With the news that Burroughs bad barely recovered from a broken leg and had spent most of last month's training on a stationary bike, it's hard to feel anything but awe at his performance. Jordan Burroughs (74 kilos) won a World gold medal, but was the lone medalist for Team USA in men's freestyle (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)I'm sure that Mark Manning and other Burroughs supporters had to do a good bit of arguing to prevent Burroughs from getting replaced on the American roster, but it looks like the right decision was made. In the past, Burroughs wrestling dazzled with its spectacular display of speed and power. The performance at this year's World Championships saw a slightly more understated performance from Burroughs, but no less impressive, largely due to his tactical mastery and truly clever wrestling in tight spots. Jordan has said he wants one more gold in a row than John Smith. He might be capable of it, but it this goal sits a long way off, and Burroughs finds himself beset on all sides by forces which can derail him. A single great opponent, injury, or questionable reffing decision can end his streak at any time. I just hope that, in the meantime, we really appreciate what he has accomplished already. Finally, I'll take this time to discuss a problem I've noticed with passivity warnings at this year's World Championships. A lack of scoring does not necessarily indicate passivity on either side, yet refs feel obligated to issue passivity cautions whenever the scoreboard stands still. Also, circling out of an underhook does not equate to passivity. If a wrestler underhooks, is the other wrestler obligated to stand there and wait for his opponent to work something off the hook? Wrestlers have a right to progress to a more advantageous position where they can initiate offense. 84 kilos: Keith Gavin Georgia's Dato Marashgavili seems to have the ability to beat, and to lose to anyone. Gavin ran into the best version of the Georgian, and this spelled the end to any medal hopes on Gavin's behalf. I like Gavin, and I hope he gets another bite at the apple on the world's highest level, but I fear he might not represent Team USA's future at 84kg. 96 kilos: J.D. Bergman J.D. Bergman wrestled well for most of a match, but he hung out in double unders for too long and found himself on his back. That is international-level wrestling in a nutshell -- one momentary lapse can rob you of your dreams. It's hard to wrestle with the lead in the current incarnation of freestyle. If you sit back on your heels, you possibly put yourself in a situation to Reece Humprey in his last match. If you stay aggressive, you can end up on your back like Bergman. The current rules seem to force a wrestler to continue to outwrestle his competition until the final whistle. There is a silver lining. While I do not yet think that Bergman is at a level with the two wrestlers we saw in the finals, I think on most days he has the skill to put himself in position to win a bronze medal in a World championship. 120 kilos: Tervel Dlagnev In the last three years Dlagnev has beaten both World champions and the Olympic champion, but in that time he has no world medals himself. Some years ago, probably after his 2009 World bronze, I predicted that he would go on to become the second greatest American heavyweight ever. Had a few matches gone the other way over the last few years, this prediction would have come true. Fortunately, Dlagnev is still young enough to make me correct. I'm a huge fan of every Team USA wrestler, but none more so than Dlagnev. It breaks my heart to see him keep falling short of his goals. I think that this year he suffered a serious adrenaline dump after finally beating Iran's Ghasemi in the quarters, and he never recovered. The happenstance of the World Championships format hurt him. I hope beyond all hopes that Dlagnev can obtain a gold medal or two (preferably one at Rio) before he leaves his shoes on the mat, though it does not appear things will get any easier. Turkey, Ukraine and Georgia possess young elite talent, Russia has a revitalized Gatsalov, and Azerbaijan and Iran still have great heavies in Magomedov and Ghasemi. Dlagnev has shown that he can beat anyone at any time. Now he needs to show he can beat everyone at one time.

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Elena Pirozhkova added a bronze to her impressive medal collection at the World Wrestling Championships. Elena Pirozhkova has now won World gold, silver, and bronze medals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Pirozhkova scored a first-period takedown and completely shut down Junior World champion Anastasia Bratchikova of Russia in a 2-0 win in the bronze match Thursday night at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. "I'm just really happy I got a medal," Pirozhkova said. "I felt really good. I could've opened up a little more, but I got the job done. I wanted to win the gold, but I was happy to come back and win a bronze. I just need to keep building for the 2016 Olympics." Pirozhkova now owns World medals of every color. She captured a World silver medal in 2010 and a World gold medal in 2012 in women's freestyle wrestling at 63 kilos/138.75 pounds. "Elena looked really solid," U.S. Coach Terry Steiner said. "Her positioning was very good and she did a good job of pressuring her opponent." The U.S. women now have two bronze medals in this event after Alyssa Lampe won bronze on Wednesday. The U.S. is in third place in the team standings with 28 points. Japan leads with 38 points and Mongolia is in second with 31 points with two weight classes left to be contested on Friday. Americans Helen Maroulis and Alli Ragan fell short of the medal round on Thursday. Maroulis lost by first-period fall to Bulgaria's Maya Hristova in the repechage to come up one match short of the bronze-medal bout at 55 kilos/121 pounds. Ragan dropped a 3-2 decision to Japan's Ayaka Ito in the quarterfinals at 59 kilos/130 pounds. Ragan was eliminated when Ito was pinned by Hungary's Marianna Sastin in the semifinals. Champions crowned on Thursday were Japan's Saori Yoshida at 55 kilos/121 pounds, Japan's Kaori Icho at 63 kilos/138.75 pounds and Hungary's Marianna Sastin at 59 kilos/130 pounds. Yoshida captured her record 11th World title. She owns three Olympic gold medals. Icho won her eighth World title. She also has won three Olympic titles. Day 5 of the seven-day event is set for Friday in Budapest. World champion Adeline Gray and Junior World silver medalist Veronica Carlson are set to take the mat for the U.S. in women's freestyle along with two-time Olympian Spenser Mango in Greco-Roman.

UFC 165 is finally here, and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones faces a riveting matchup against ... another really tall guy! At least that is how the powers that be are hyping up his fight with contender Alexander Gustaffson. Yes, Jones will win. But you'd think they'd at least play up Gustaffson's striking ability, or maybe that one time Machida hit Jones and made the champion seem human. All of that aside, this weekend's pay per view card features a good lineup, with a co-main event with bantamweight interim champion Renan Barao against dangerous striker Eddie Wineland. Along with previewing the fight card, Richard and John make random inside jokes. Enjoy. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Jordan Burroughs won his third straight World or Olympic title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)BUDAPEST, Hungary -- The legend of Jordan Burroughs continues to grow. Not only did the unflappable Burroughs continue his incredible run by winning a gold medal at the World Wrestling Championships. He did it on a left ankle that he broke less than a month ago. Burroughs kept his composure in earning a gritty 4-0 win over Iran’s Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei in the men's freestyle finals at 74 kilos/163 pounds on Wednesday night at the Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Burroughs captured his third straight gold medal after striking gold at the 2011 Worlds and the 2012 Olympics. Burroughs turned in an amazing performance considering he broke his ankle less than a month ago during a practice at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. He broke his ankle Aug. 22, had surgery the next day and said he didn’t resume live wrestling until arriving in Budapest less than a week ago. "The doctor put five screws in my left ankle," Burroughs said. "I’m like Iron Man now. I was running sprints at the OTC and tried to jump off the wall to stop my momentum and snapped it. The doctor made it extra stable for me to be able to compete. He said he could do the type of surgery that would guarantee I would be able to compete. I was on crutches and I couldn’t walk for a couple weeks. I rode the bike and lifted and stayed in great shape when I couldn’t wrestle. I have only wrestled live once in the last four weeks and that was here. "It's definetly the biggest win of my career. It's special, real special." Burroughs scored on pushouts in the first and second periods to build a 2-0 lead against his defensive-minded finals opponent from Iran. He then spun behind for a huge takedown with 40 seconds left for the final margin. He outscored his five opponents by a combined 34-3 total on Wednesday. "My ankle felt good," he said. "I don’t have the full range of motion. I was about 75-80 percent. I tried to compete hard and give my all. I believed I could do this. It’s a testament to my willpower. I knew I could compete at a high level." Burroughs beat the Iranian for the second time this year after defeating him in the 2013 World Cup in Tehran, Iran. Burroughs is now a perfect 65-0 on the Senior level since starting his international career in 2011. He beat another Iranian, Sadegh Goudarzi, in the 2011 World and 2012 Olympic finals. Burroughs becomes the first U.S. men’s freestyle wrestler to win back-to-back World titles since John Smith in 1990 and 1991. Burroughs becomes only the second U.S. men’s freestyle wrestler to win three straight World or Olympic titles. John Smith won six straight World or Olympic titles from 1987-92. The U.S. finished fifth in the men’s freestyle standings with 25 points. Iran edged Russia 46-44 for the team title. Alyssa Lampe captured a World bronze medal with a quick 46-second pin over Melanie LeSaffre of France in women’s freestyle at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. Lampe earns her second straight World bronze after taking third at the 2012 Worlds at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. "I knew I had to come back strong to win a medal," Lampe said. "I just had to keep focused and stay on my offense." Victoria Anthony dropped an 8-0 decision to Sim Hyang So of North Korea in her bronze-medal match in women’s freestyle at 51 kg/112.25 lbs. Anthony, a two-time Junior World champion, fell just short of a medal in her first trip to the Senior World Championships. Day 4 of the seven-day event is set for Thursday in Budapest. World champion Elena Pirozhkova, World silver medalist Helen Maroulis and World University silver medalist Alli Ragan are set to take the mat for the U.S.

Tervel Dlagnev (Photo/Larry Slater)BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Tervel Dlagnev's quest for a second World medal came up short. Dlagnev placed fifth at the World Wrestling Championships in freestyle wrestling at 120 kilos/264.5 pounds on Tuesday night at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Dlagnev was unable to generate any offense in a 3-0 loss to Taha Akgul of Turkey in the bronze-medal bout. Akgul, ranked No. 1 in the World, scored a first-period passivity point and a second-period takedown to prevail. "I just got to get better," Dlagnev said. "It's hard to put my finger on it. I felt like I was wrestling well, but I didn't have a lot in the tank in the semis and I don't know if it carried over." Dlagnev wrestled for a bronze medal at a World or Olympic competition for the fourth time in the past five years. He won a World bronze medal in 2009 before placing fifth in the 2011 Worlds and 2012 Olympics. Dlagnev won his first three matches Tuesday before falling to Ukraine's Alen Zaseev 6-2 in the semifinals. Zaseev led 1-0 before shooting in for a takedown early in the second period and gaining additional exposure points to take control. Dlagnev opened with a quick 9-0 technical fall over Antonie Jaoude of Brazil in the first round. He followed with an 8-0 technical fall over Nobuyoshi Arakida of Japan in the second round. Dlagnev turned in a huge quarterfinal win when he knocked off Iran's Komeil Ghasemi by a 7-0 technical fall. Ghasemi had beaten Dlagnev three straight times in the last 13 months, including the bronze-match at the 2012 Olympics. Reece Humphrey came out strong, but fell short in his quest to win a medal at 60 kilos/132 pounds. He finished eighth. Humphrey dropped a wild 9-8 decision to Iran's Masoud Esmailpourjouybari in the quarterfinals. Humphrey led 5-0 late in the first period before the Iranian stormed back. Down 8-7, Esmailpourjouybari shot in on a leg attack and finished for a takedown with four seconds left in the match to prevail. The Iranian won a gold medal at the 2013 World Cup. He was seventh in the 2012 Olympics. Humphrey was eliminated when the Iranian lost to Russia's Bekhan Goigereev in the semifinals. Esmailpourjouybari needed to reach the finals to pull Humphrey back into medal contention in the repechage. Humphrey opened by locking up Ukraine's Mykola Aivazian of Ukraine and throwing him to record a first-period fall in 1 minute, 37 seconds. Humphrey trailed 3-0 after being thrown to his back, but quickly regrouped to gain the dramatic fall. Humphrey followed with a 7-0 win over Erhan Bakir of Turkey. Bakir is a two-time Cadet World champion. Humphrey also reached the quarterfinal round of the World Championships in 2011. "When I got the draw, I knew it wasn't a great draw," Humphrey said. "To be the champion you've got to beat everybody. The Iranian had beaten me before and I knew it was a huge match for me. I was ready and I came out strong. We got into a crazy match. I was in position, but he kept pushing and it just didn't happen for me today." Keith Gavin went 1-1 in his first World Championships at 84 kilos/185 pounds. Gavin opened with a 9-2 win over Michael Tsotselashvili of Israel before falling to Georgia's Dato Marsagishvili 8-0 in the second round. Gavin was eliminated when Marsagishvili lost in the third round and fell short of the finals. Marsagishvili, ranked No. 1 in the World, is a past Olympic and World bronze medalist. "Obviously, it didn't go the way I wanted it to," Gavin said. "I tried to step over his gut wrench, but it didn't happen and that was the beginning of the end." Puerto Rico's Franklin Gomez, a member of the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, won his first two matches before falling to Russia's Bekhan Goigereev 13-5 in the quarterfinals at 60 kilos/132 pounds. Gomez fell one match short of the bronze-medal match. He came back to win a match in the repechage before falling 6-4 to Armenia's Artur Arakelyan. Gomez, a 2009 NCAA champion for Michigan State, was second in the 2011 Worlds. Champions crowned on Tuesday were Russia's Bekhan Goigereev at 60 kilos/132 pounds, Ukraine's Ibragim Aldatov at 84 kilos/185 pounds. and Russia's Khadshimourad Gatsalov at 120 kilos/264.5 pounds. Gatsalov won his fifth World title and first at 120 after bumping up from 96 kilos/211.5 pounds. He also owns an Olympic gold medal. The U.S. is still looking for its first freestyle medal at the 2013 Worlds with just one weight class remaining in that style. Day 3 of the seven-day event is set for Wednesday in Budapest. Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs will take the mat in freestyle for Team USA along with World bronze medalist Alyssa Lampe and Junior World champion Victoria Anthony.

55 kilos: Gold: Hassan Rahimi (Iran) Silver: Amit Kumar (India) Bronze: Sezer Akgul (Turkey) Bronze: Nariman Israpilov (Russia) 5th: Angel Escobedo (USA) 5th: Rassul Kaliyev (Kazakhstan) 60 kilos: Gold: Bekhan Goigereev (Russia) Silver: Vladimir Dubov (Bulgaria) Bronze: Barjang Barjang (India) Bronze: Masoud Esmailpourjouybari (Iran) 5th: Nyam-Ochir Enkhsaikhan (Mongolia) 5th: Artur Arakelyan (Armenia) 66 kilos: Gold: David Safaryan (Armenia) Silver: Livan Lopez (Cuba) Bronze: Magomed Kurbanaliev (Russia) Bronze: Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (Mongolia) 5th: Levan Kelekhsashvili (Georgia) 5th: Jim Hyok Kang (North Korea) 74 kilos: Gold: Jordan Burroughs (USA) Silver: Ezzatollah Akbarizarinkolaei (Iran) Bronze: Ali Shabanov (Belarus) Bronze: Rashid Kurbanov (Uzbekistan) 5th: Narasingh Yadav (India) 5th: Jakob Markarashvili (Georgia) 84 kilos: Gold: Ibragim Aldatov (Ukraine) Silver: Reineris Salas (Cuba) Bronze: Istvan Vereb (Hungary) Bronze: Ehsan Lashgari (Iran) 5th: Murad Gaidarov (Belarus) 5th: Taimuras Naskidaeva (Spain) 96 kilos: Gold: Reza Yazdani (Iran) Silver: Khetag Gazyumov (Azerbaijan) Bronze: Anzor Boltakaev (Russia) Bronze: Pavlo Oliynik (Ukraine) 5th: Alexey Krupnyakov (Kyrgyzstan) 5th: Dato Kerashvili (Georgia) 120 kilos: Gold: Khadshimourad Gatsalov (Russia) Silver: Alen Zaseev (Ukraine) Bronze: Taha Akgul (Turkey) Bronze: Geno Petriashvili (Georgia) 5th: Tervel Dlagnev (USA) 5th: Zhiwei Deng (China)

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Angel Escobedo gave a determined effort, but came up just short of winning a medal at the World Wrestling Championships. Angel Escobedo (Photo/Larry Slater)Turkey's Sezer Akgul shot in on a leg attack and finished for a second-period takedown en route to edging Escobedo 2-1 in their bronze-medal freestyle match on Monday night at Papp Laszlo Sports Arena. Escobedo led 1-0 after scoring a first-period passivity point against Akgul, a 2009 World silver medalist. But Akgul came back with a two-point takedown with 1 minute, 30 seconds left in the second period to prevail at 55 kilos/121 pounds. Escobedo tried valiantly to get to Akgul's legs in the closing minute, but was unable to score against the Turk’s strong defense. Escobedo, a past NCAA champion, placed fifth in his first World Championships. Read complete story ...

The 2013 World Wrestling Championships concluded on Sunday in Budapest, Hungary. Check out the results, photos, and stories from the seven-day event. Links: Live Video Stream | Schedule | Matches List | Predictions Results: Men's Freestyle | Women's Freestyle | Greco-Roman Placewinners: Men's Freestyle | Women's Freestyle | Greco-Roman USA Wrestling Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 Blogs/Journals: Tony Rotundo | Craig Sesker Photos: Tony Rotundo | Larry Slater | Robbert Wijtman

Monday, Sept. 16 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: FS 55 kilos, 66 kilos, 96 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: FS 55 kilos, 66 kilos, 96 kilos Tuesday, Sept. 17 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: FS 60 kilos, 84 kilos, 120 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: FS 60 kilos, 84 kilos, 120 kilos Wednesday, Sept. 18 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: FS 74 kilos, FW 48 kilos, 51 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: FS 74 kilos, FW 48 kilos, 51 kilos Thursday, Sept. 19 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: FW 55 kilos, 59 kilos, 63 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: FW 55 kilos, 59 kilos, 63 kilos Friday, Sept. 20 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: FW 67 kilos, 72 kilos, GR 55 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: FW 67 kilos, 72 kilos, GR 55 kilos Saturday, Sept. 21 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: GR 60 kilos, 84 kilos, 96 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: GR 60 kilos, 84 kilos, 96 kilos Sunday, Sept. 22 7 a.m. ET - 12 p.m. ET: Elimination rounds and repechage: GR 66 kilos, 74 kilos, 120 kilos 1 p.m. ET - 3 p.m. ET: Finals and awards ceremonies: GR 66 kilos, 74 kilos, 120 kilos

Links: Coverage Section | Matches List Results: Men's Freestyle | Women's Freestyle | Greco-Roman Mat A Mat B Mat C Mat D

Belleville, Ill. -- Lindenwood University-Belleville has announced the hiring of Kyle Jahn as head coach of the men's and women's wrestling programs. Jahn comes from Sacred Heart University, where he was a volunteer assistant with the wrestling program since 2011. Prior to his time at Sacred Heart, Jahn was an assistant coach at Appalachian State University from 2009-11. His main responsibilities at Appalachian State included overseeing recruitment and practice organization. Jahn is very excited to get his first head coaching position at Lindenwood-Belleville. "I am very excited to take over the Men and Women's wrestling program at Lindenwood-Belleville," stated Jahn. "This is a great opportunity for me to take over these two programs and further grow them into good men and women, on and off the mat." Jahn graduated from McKendree University in 2009 with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. While at McKendree Jahn was a NAIA National Champion in 2008 in the 141 pound weight class. Jahn ranked in the top six nationally in 2007 and was a three time NAIA finalist. Jahn joined the coaching staff at McKendree after he graduated. On a national level Jahn took seventh at the 2009 US Open Freestyle competition. In 2013 Jahn finished top five at the Dave Schultz Memorial Freestyle and top ten in the US Open Freestyle in the 60-kilo weight class. "I am living my dream getting to be a head wrestling coach at the college level and looking forward to this amazing opportunity that has been given to me."

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. Wrestling just stole back its spot in the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, and the sporting future of little wrestlers from N'Djamena is once again brightened by the glow of the Olympic rings. But as the million-dollar consultants melt back into a life free from spandex-clad warriors and trolling masses, it's wrestling's new leadership who will dictate the sport's Olympic future. That leadership class will consist of everyone from FILA president Nenad Lalovic to the captain of the Polk High junior varsity team, and all of it will need to be focused on creating a new wrestling. New ideas and fresh leadership in the post-Olympic fight can take any form. It might be the high school wrestling coach who wants a more modest competition outfit, or you could be the youth coach who challenges the idea that 10-year-old kids should ever cut an ounce of weight. It might even be the team captain who demands the end of the initiation of younger athletes. Key to that change is the acceptance of women. As one IOC voter told me after the vote in Buenos Aires, "Without changing to 6-6-6 wrestling would never have had a chance." You might not like to hear it, but the International Olympic Committee made it plainly obvious that without improved gender equity, and soon gender equality, wrestling has no chance of returning to the core sports. That might cause traditional fans some consternation, to think that women need half the spots in the Olympic Games. Oh well, we wanted back in the Olympics and this is the cost of admission. Women are the future of our sport, and not just in "taking" spots from men. You only have to look at Ronda Rousey, her impact on the UFC's PPV sales, and those vicious arm bars to realize that women are tough and women sell. Embrace newness and support women's wrestling. To your questions ... Q: Can you talk about the effect the new IOC president will have on international wrestling, if any? What is the process for wrestling to be considered a core sport in the Olympics again? How important is it for wrestling to be a core sport in the Olympics? ESPN expanded coverage of the NCAA Championships since the news of wrestling in the Olympics (related or not), do you see other networks making wrestling a priority? How does wrestling carry this momentum from the vote and grow even more? Kind of loaded ... Sorry!! -- Jake K. Foley: There is nothing more endearing than a question sent from the jittery, drunken fingers of a former wrestler. Why apologize? Your inebriation in a world with Olympic wrestling is forgivable, especially with such exceptional grammar and sentence structure. I normally write this sober and can rarely find equal clarity. You threw out a few questions so I'll go point-by-point. Thomas Bach was elected as the new IOC president two days after wrestling was put back into the Olympic Games in 2020 and 2024. Bach has always been a very popular IOC member and was among the first presidential candidates to support the sport after its fateful removal by the IOC Executive Board. To clarify, his decision to support wrestling was about as controversial as the idea of supporting clean water in third-world countries. The IOC president has immense powers to legislate how the games are operated, to include which sports receive which medals. As of now Bach's platform is "Unity through Diversity," which is to say that he wants more countries included and more sports. Like many other members of the IOC he's looking reduce the number of disciplines in some sports (swimming and track and field) in order to welcome new sports like squash). It's a good deal for wrestling, since there is some belief that the only way he would add squash into the Games would be by sliding wrestling into the core and leaving squash as a provisional. Overall, he supports the idea that wrestling shouldn't be eliminated from the Games, and after the backlash that came from that move in 2013, it'll never again happen. However, the window for PR-savvy moves like adding wrestling to the core, is closing by the day. ESPN added their coverage because they planned to do so in 2012, but never got around to doing so, and adding the day after the decision was -- you guessed it -- PR-savvy. Wrestling should be in the core, but for now, and likely the next four years it could be argued that the purgatory of being left out might help drive positive changes in the sport's presentation, rules and governance. The sport's momentum will be decided by the fans (as noted in the introduction) and by FILA president Nenad Lalovic. Should he decide to use his political capital to make necessary changes, there could be significant alterations made to several areas of the sport. Should he relax or get caught up fighting off the persistent attacks of former president Martinetti and those already displaced by his reform-based leadership, then the spring to the core will be slowed. The core is the goal, but more important is that FILA and all the membership start to believe in the idea that there can be a new sport of wrestling that is much better than the old. How could it be much worse? Q: With the NFL season kicking off and everyone feeling their fantasy team is el número UNO, it got me thinking ... what about a fantasy wrestling league? We are looking for more innovative and creative ways to increase the following of our great sport, especially after this morning's crucial decision, and we need to think of the spectators. I am telling you this because I am sitting here watching intently the Packers-49ers game (of which I am a fan of neither squad) purely because Vernon Davis is on my team vs. my Green Bay defense. I'm in a tough spot. Why not start an NCAA fantasy wrestling league? Fantasy leagues are based on individual statistics and performance aren't they? It would seem our sport would be perfect. -- Justin L. Foley: I think you might also have been intoxicated. Verdad, mi amigo? Fantasy wrestling exists! Be calm. As far as I know there is no current formula for a yearlong fantasy wrestling site, only those that are set up for the NCAA Championships. This should have been accomplished a LONG time ago, but there is a major problem. The NCAA would eat a hind-quarter of a horse before they let some site run a fantasy league with their participation. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of an established a fantasy league for NCAA football? That written I know there is at least one guy out there with the keys to kiskstarting this idea and I'd love to see it up and running by November. Just don't be shocked if it's not there in December. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME Boston University wrestling ... FILA wrestling's presentation to the IOC (Daniel Igali at 13:00) ... Q: I am thrilled PSU and Iowa will meet in non-conference action; PSU has to run the gauntlet of Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio State and Oklahoma State in dual action. It is a fitting challenge for the senior class that put the Lions on top. However, I am confused on one point: what is going on with National Duals this year? PSU verbally committed to participate after sitting out last year -- though they did add the caveat that they may bow out if the format didn't fit. We know what Cael thinks about the format. But isn't the Oklahoma State dual the same weekend as National Duals? Both the Lions and Cowboys are sitting out this year?!?! -- Brad B. Foley: Iowa, Penn State and Oklahoma State are all sitting out the National Duals this year. There are a variety of motivations for not scheduling the National Duals, but as you said that Nittany Lions are already wrestling a pretty tough schedule. Also, I'd guess that some of these coaches don't want to prop up the National Duals format in 2013-2014 if they are fighting to ensure it won't be part of the NCAA National Championship in 2016. And you're correct that the Penn State seniors deserve to go out on this type of tough schedule. The fans should appreciate how much Brands and Cael put into making this happen. #TwitterWars Q: What is the deal with 2015 NCAA site? They announcing the next several years as well? -- Frank C. Foley: Got some solid confirmation on the facts of the case. The bids are due Sept. 16 with three finalists announced on Oct. 30 (three finalists per site, per year). The final award will be announced on Dec. 11. The variation of finalists and bid years doesn't mean that wrestling won't have an official semi-permanent location, only that there will be a variety of bid options available to the committee on NCAA Championships. I've also heard that the NCAA has never received more bids than they have in this cycle. Some of that has to do with the profitability of the sport, and some with the recent press about the Olympic decision. Either way, it's great news for the sport. Q: How does our celebration/commitment to folkstyle impede further success at world competition levels? If Brent Metcalf wrestled only in freestyle growing up, how much better would he be? Or does the grueling grind of folkstyle fuel the success that we in the U.S. do achieve internationally? -- Mr. Juice Foley: I don't know. What I do know is that traditional wrestling shouldn't be sacrificed in preference of the international styles. Americans understand the rules of American wrestling and as we've seen with ESPN's recent commitment to the sport, they are willing to watch more and more on national television. Metcalf and others grew up wanting to be NCAA champions probably more than they wanted to be Olympic champions. The rules and style difference necessary to compete in each are so similar that they are effective cousins. The Women's College Wrestling Association chose to make freestyle their rule set because there was no established women's-only style in America. That was smart. However, in countries like Senegal where women's folkstyle is a huge draw, they'd never consider adopting freestyle rules in the hopes of winning a few more medals. Traditional wrestling is a the physical representation of a societies connection to it's values and history. The Olympics, while an important personal achievement, isn't worth the elimination of any traditional style. I'll be giving a talk about this very topic next week at the FILA Scientific Congress. There are several ways in which traditional wrestling can help grow the Olympic styles without infringing on their important role within society, and I think FILA is uniquely positioned to enhance traditional styles around the world while also benefiting in terms of creating new national governing bodies and inking endorsement deals. COMMENT OF THE WEEK By Brad H. On the subject of female wrestling, it is clear to me that the IOC was not impressed with raising the female medal count by fifty percent. They want more. You have often written in this column about a college starting a women's wrestling program and gaining a great deal of publicity for it. Sorry sir, but you think too small. Who would they wrestle? Men? NAIA teams? Clubs? Get real. If you really want to instill female grappling into the hearts of Americans you must go bigger. In my opinion there is only one clear path to achieve this goal quickly. Three words sir: Big Ten Conference! Think about it. Which is the strongest wrestling conference in the USA? Who has the most money? Who has a television channel fully at their own disposal to promote such a unique idea? Who is growing and adding new members? Who covers a large demographic of the country, including many wrestling hot spots? Who has excellent academic schools? Picture a high school girl in her own living room trying to convince her parents that she should be allowed to wrestle. What is her sales pitch? I can go to this one university which has female wrestling and wrestle ... ??? Or, I can get a FULL scholarship to one of the best academic universities in the country and wrestle on television!!! I think you would need the Big Ten to get eight schools signed up. Create league matches and of course a conference tournament. This would probably have to suffice until some other schools would catch on and an NCAA tournament would be created at which point it would be a 'real' sport for all to recognize. This is no small task of course but think of the amount of publicity THAT would create. Fully-funded female wrestling programs in the heart of the USA. I don't know who the president of the Big Ten is but if I knew his wife, I would be in her ear.