InterMat Staff

The countdown has begun. After passing the first obstacle in St. Petersburg, Russia, Olympic wrestling has little more than three months until the full meeting of the IOC Congress in Buenos Aires. What happens from now until then will help decide the future of the sport, and here's some background on each bid, their strengths and weaknesses and what you can expect to see from them in the coming months. Baseball/Softball Not mentioned among the favorites heading into the vote in St. Petersburg, their bid was buoyed by the interest of IOC executive board members Willi Kaltschmitt Lujan of Guatemala and Ching-Kuo Wu of Taiwan. Both are huge supporters of the sport and only needed a few runoff votes in the eighth round of the second ballot to ensure that they rose above the muck to find themselves shortlisted. It was a coup for the sport that was originally only dropped by a single vote in 2005. At the time the sports were the first to be dropped since polo got the axe in 1938. Baseball is a very long shot to be reinstated, but it does have powerful support on the executive committee and among the IOC delegation from Japan, Singapore, Central America and South America. Weaknesses: The largest baseball organization in the world, Major League Baseball, has so far been tepid in their support of the sport's Olympic bid. They have the World Baseball Classic to consider and given their existing contracts with sponsors, it would be economically foolish of them to full on support the competition, thereby weakening their own product. The MLB was all but forced to send a letter to the IOC executive board that declared their professional players would "find a way" to be available for competition. However, when looking at the MLB's talent pool there isn't a wide distribution of talent, and does seeing one or two stars bat every three innings make for compelling television? Also, baseball is expensive and time consuming. Strengths: Many. The governing body is well organized and has deep pockets. It's likely that they will try to outspend their competitors in media ads targeted at IOC voters. The sport also has gender equality, reduced costs and nostalgia working on its side. Overall: Baseball/softball is the sleeping giant of the shortlisted group and one that could cause massive upheaval in the voting process. It's vital to remember that Tokyo, where baseball is huge, will be up for the 2020 host city along with Istanbul and Madrid. The Japanese contingent will be trading baseball votes for city votes, and asking others to do the same. The politics of it all is a dangerous calculus to try and guess, but adding baseball and Japan into the same mix will impact the process. Squash The longtime leader in the bidding process, squash has been most perturbed by the IOC's decision to drop wrestling. Before wrestling was cut, squash was essentially a shoe-in for the 2020 Games due to its diversity of athletes and wild popularity among the executive board. It was assumed in January that by now squash would simply be counting the days to final approval. This setback is testing the sport's resolve, as this is their third attempt at inclusion in the Games. Weaknesses: Though popular among the executive board and members of the IOC, squash is having a difficult time gaining traction with the international media. It's possible that the IOC doesn't care about press, but why then would they have added wresting back into the mix so soon after removal? Also, the sport has been denied twice before, is seen as egalitarian and has no existing professional league that has proven to be economically viable. The IOC has little incentive to add squash, if in doing so they irritate hundreds of millions of wrestlers and nostalgic ball players. Strengths: Squash has the money and organizational composure to continue their Olympic fight, but their biggest asset is experience. They understand exactly how the process works, and the power of PR. When wrestling announced they they'd be hosting an American vs. Iranian dual meet, squash countered with a story about teaching 400 women how to coach the sport to the underprivileged in Tehran. Equally important is the connection many on the committee have to the sport. Many played in college, and still play daily. It's part of their life and that might give the sport an emotional edge they need to progress past the next round. The sport also changed to rally scoring in tie matches, which reportedly builds excitement around the game. Finally, unlike baseball and wrestling, the IOC hasn't already acted to eliminate these sports, meaning it won't have to overcome any bureaucratic face-saving some on the IOC might feel is necessary after the humiliation of cutting popular sports. Overall: The strongest competitor to wrestling, squash has an excellent chance of making it into the 2020 Olympics. They'll be running massive media campaigns both online and in print. Expect to see the glass cube on display at monuments around the world, and their two impossibly attractive spokespersons to be trotted out in front of the cameras in countries with vulnerable IOC voters. They will also likely go under a rebranding campaign to ensure they aren't seen as elitist. Wrestling The last addition to the 2020 candidacy, wrestling has become a darling of the media over the past 106 days. The IOC executive board has long been derided for being out of touch with the wants of the public and the needs of those who watch the Olympics, and the decision to cut wrestling only verified the media's suspicion that politics, more than fair play and equal opportunity, determined the outcome of many important decisions. Wrestling has faced many challenges, including early anger by fans at its governing body for a lack of communication the past several years, and the reemergence of their failed president Raphaël Martinetti. However, the sport made several significant improvements to its governance, electing Nenad Lalovic of Serbia to their presidency and changing the rules to something much more understandable to casual fans. Even though it faced adversity and some challenges to its future wrestling passed on the first ballot by a simple 8-6 majority. A very powerful message to the full body of the IOC and FILA. Weaknesses: Despite some big money donors in America and Russia, wrestling is not necessarily as well funded as their competitors. The spot has also been running their campaign for the shortest amount of time and that lack of time means less lobbying. Fewer contacts and big ideas could hurt the sport's chances to make a significant impact on the voting process, especially since there are no former wrestlers among the entire IOC Congress. Wrestling is also outside of gender equality with 12 spots for men and only 6 for women. There is also some frustration among IOC members about uniforms, the viability of Greco-Roman and the marketing appeal of the sport. More distressing is that with baseball's addition, Japan will likely be split or fully support the baseball bid along with Tokyo. Madrid also isn't playing for special wrestling venues and though they have a serious wrestling tradition, the sport isn't of high value to their administrative bodies. Strengths: Wrestling has without question become the consensus choice among the media to be included back in the 2020 Games. Though in the coming weeks there will be arguments made for other sports, wrestling is uniquely positioned to appeal to the founding principles of athletic competition and the Olympic Games. The organizations running the process are well funded and will likely be receiving more in the weeks following the decision to shortlist the sport. The members responsible for running the ad campaigns will be rebranding their efforts and setting up outreach programs to voters who've so far not seen the sport, or understand it's local and global appeal. Wrestling is the last added which could mean that it'll be last to fatigue the IOC voters. The arguments presented to the full congress will resonate with messaging they've heard in the media, and be difficult to strike down. The sport's image is as one that has been wronged by a political process. Wrestling also has the assistance of the 2014 Games being held in Russia, who has already sank $5.1 billion into those Games and who has consistently supported the idea of wrestling being added back into the Games. Also, Thomas Bach (Germany), the favorite to take over as President of the Olympics, has shown support for the sport. The up-and-coming candidate Sergei Bubka of the Ukraine may also be a fan of wrestling though he's made no public comments. Wrestling's biggest asset is the passion of its fan base. No other sport comes close, and in a race to make an impact the power of the motivated masses might mean more than money. Overall: The IOC is bound by nothing and can make decisions however it sees fit. Right now the only things that matter are messaging in the media and influencing the 101 voting members of the IOC Congress. As a supporter of wrestling I see a bright future filled with media events that are unique and create an impact on voters. Fans will need to stay vigilant and access the information they are given and also share it with members of their social media circles. Continued support of the sport and pushes for change will help the sport make its long and twisting journey to reinstatement. Wrestling needs to close out this process as strong as it opened. No mistakes, no mental lapses, just a positive approach to the process that invites new ideas and room for growth.

On Wednesday, wrestling was one of three sports recommended by the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the final provisional sport spot in the 2020 Olympic Games. Baseball/softball and squash were the other sports recommended. The announcement came at the IOC's meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia. The EB selected the three sports by secret ballot from a list that also included karate, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. The voting took place after 30-minute presentations by the eight International Federations. The full IOC membership will meet for the 125th Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina from Sept. 7-10 and will vote on which of the three sports to add to the Games in 2020. "The Executive Board received excellent presentations today from eight International Federations," said IOC President Jacques Rogge. "It was never going to be an easy decision but I feel my colleagues on the Board made a good decision in selecting baseball/softball, squash and wrestling to be put forward in Buenos Aires. I wish the three shortlisted sports the best of luck in the run-up to the vote in September and would like to thank the other sports for their hard work and dedication."

So UFC 160 saw Cain Velasquez beat Antonio Silva quite handily and Junior dos Santos prove to be just a bit too much for Mark Hunt to deal with. Not surprising, really, nor is it shocking that the two best heavyweights in the world will likely square off for a third time to settle the rivalry. But what's left for the heavyweight division once dos Santos and Cain square off again? Not much. The lightweight division, on the other hand, always seems to be in flux, and TJ Grant stirred things up even more with an upset TKO win over Gray Maynard. How will he fare against current UFC champion Ben Henderson? Lastly, questionable judging surfaced once again on the MMA scene. Richard and John don't know how to fix it, so really they just whine about the ineptitude of the sports official scorers and how fans think every close call is a "robbery." Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

2013 Recruiting Class Rankings 1. Michigan 2. Virginia Tech 3. Pittsburgh 4. North Dakota State 5. Illinois 6. Nebraska 7. Penn State 8. Iowa 9. Missouri 10. North Carolina State 11. Ohio State 12. Stanford 13. Rutgers 14. Clarion 15. Oklahoma State 16. Virginia 17. Arizona State 18. Minnesota 19. Princeton 20. Indiana 21. Harvard 22. Oklahoma 23. Rider 24. Purdue 25. Cal PolyWhen it comes to success in college wrestling -- be it at the team or individual level -- there is no substitute for pure talent and ability. The key driver in team success at the college level is procuring those talented individuals, and rankings are one indicator of that. Rankings include the individual weight class rankings and grade-level rankings, as well as these recruiting class rankings that seek to measure how Division I programs did in procuring the talent of the present class. An analysis of the lineup for Penn State this past year confirms that premise. All ten wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament, and out of that group nine of them won at least one state title; eight of those wrestlers won their titles in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or at National Preps. In terms of how the national finalists from 2013 stood at the end of their senior year, sixteen were ranked inside the top 50 of their grade level, with over half inside the top 20. Without further ado here are the 2013 team recruiting class rankings. 1. Michigan Top 100 recruits: No. 2 Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich.), No. 4 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), No. 11 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 27 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.), and No. 98 Payne Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.) Weight class ranked: George Fisher (Marmion Academy, Ill.) Other notables: Aaron Calderon (Brighton, Mich.) and Cameron Kennedy (Richmond-Burton, Ill.) Commentary: This haul for the maize and blue is bar none the best in the nation this year with four truly elite prospects and two others that appear in the weight class rankings. A second consecutive super strong recruiting class validates the commitment that the administration and boosters have recently put into the wrestling program -- building the Bahna Wrestling Complex, retooling the coaching staff, and launching a rather strong Cliff Keen Wrestling Club RTC program. Now the onus is on the coaches and wrestlers to return the program to top ten and above finishes that the Wolverines had throughout the 2000s, eight consecutive from 2001-2008, including a runner-up trophy in 2005. Read analysis for all 25 teams. Not an InterMat Platinum subscriber? Subscribe now!

2013 Recruiting Class Rankings 1. Michigan 2. Virginia Tech 3. Pittsburgh 4. North Dakota State 5. Illinois 6. Nebraska 7. Penn State 8. Iowa 9. Missouri 10. North Carolina State 11. Ohio State 12. Stanford 13. Rutgers 14. Clarion 15. Oklahoma State 16. Virginia 17. Arizona State 18. Minnesota 19. Princeton 20. Indiana 21. Harvard 22. Oklahoma 23. Rider 24. Purdue 25. Cal PolyWhen it comes to success in college wrestling -- be it at the team or individual level -- there is no substitute for pure talent and ability. The key driver in team success at the college level is procuring those talented individuals, and rankings are one indicator of that. Rankings include the individual weight class rankings and grade-level rankings, as well as these recruiting class rankings that seek to measure how Division I programs did in procuring the talent of the present class. An analysis of the lineup for Penn State this past year confirms that premise. All ten wrestlers qualified for the NCAA tournament, and out of that group nine of them won at least one state title; eight of those wrestlers won their titles in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or at National Preps. In terms of how the national finalists from 2013 stood at the end of their senior year, sixteen were ranked inside the top 50 of their grade level, with over half inside the top 20. Without further ado here are the 2013 team recruiting class rankings. 1. Michigan Top 100 recruits: No. 2 Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich.), No. 4 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), No. 11 Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio), No. 27 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.), and No. 98 Payne Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.) Weight class ranked: George Fisher (Marmion Academy, Ill.) Other notables: Aaron Calderon (Brighton, Mich.) and Cameron Kennedy (Richmond-Burton, Ill.) Commentary: This haul for the maize and blue is bar none the best in the nation this year with four truly elite prospects and two others that appear in the weight class rankings. A second consecutive super strong recruiting class validates the commitment that the administration and boosters have recently put into the wrestling program -- building the Bahna Wrestling Complex, retooling the coaching staff, and launching a rather strong Cliff Keen Wrestling Club RTC program. Now the onus is on the coaches and wrestlers to return the program to top ten and above finishes that the Wolverines had throughout the 2000s, eight consecutive from 2001-2008, including a runner-up trophy in 2005. Read analysis for all 25 teams. Not an InterMat Platinum subscriber? Subscribe now! 2. Virginia Tech Top 100 recruits: No. 8 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 26 Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 42 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.), No. 68 Jared Haught (Parkersburg, W. Va.), and No. 81 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.) Commentary: Five Top 100 recruits as part of this class continue the upward trajectory that head coach Kevin Dresser has going for the Hokie wrestling program. Yet another strong haul in recruiting gets to ride the momentum that an ACC tournament title, and more importantly, a top ten finish at the NCAA tournament with four All-Americans brings to the table. It certainly helps Dresser that neighboring Christiansburg produced two excellent prospects this year, but he's done an excellent job identifying and procuring talent "up-and-down" the eastern third of the country. 3. Pittsburgh Top 100 recruits: No. 14 Cody Wiercioch (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), No. 21 Ryan Solomon (Milton, Pa.), No. 23 Mikey Racciato (Pen Argyl, Pa.), and No. 51 Edgar Bright (St. Edward, Ohio) Other notables: Luke Fleck (Franklin Regional, Pa.), Aaron Rothwell (Sheboygan North, Wis.), and Nick Zanetta (Keystone Oaks, Pa.) Commentary: The Panthers will be making transitions on multiple fronts heading into the 2013-14 season. They move from the EWL to the ACC, and Jason Peters steps in for long-time head coach Rande Stottlemyre. One of Peters' many tasks as a primary assistant at Pitt was the recruiting trail, and during this season he certainly got an A-plus. He landed four of the nation's best seniors, all of them in about a three-hour radius of the campus. If Peters and staff can continue to identify and get commitments from key wrestlers in this area alone, the Panthers will be well on their way to potential top ten in the nation finishes. 4. North Dakota State Top 100 recruits: No. 34 Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.), No. 46 Preston Lehmann (West Fargo, Minn.), and No. 59 Clayton Ream (Holt, Mo.) Impact newcomer: Tyler Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D./OTC) Weight class ranked: Tommy Petersen (Lakeville North, Minn.) Other notables: Mitch Friedman (Oconto Falls, Wis.), Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minn.), Grant Nehring (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.), and Cole Sladek (St. Michael-Albertville, Minn.) Commentary: As Roger Kish comes off his second season as head coach with a maiden All-American in Trent Sprenkle, the Bison seek to make the next step up the ladder in the way of relevance on the national landscape. This recruiting class is certainly one that can provide the necessary pieces to accomplish that goal with three Top 100 Class of 2013 prospects, another in Tyler Lehmann that was a Top 100 prospect his senior year, and multiple other credentialed scholastic wrestlers. Kish and staff have done well in selling their program and vision in a wrestling-receptive area of the country. 5. Illinois Top 100 recruits: No. 5 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.), No. 12 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, N.J.), and No. 25 Kyle Langendorfer (Lincoln-Way East, Ill.) Commentary: What this class may lack in quantity, with only three identified commitments to InterMat at present, it certainly compensates in the quality bucket with three of the nation's top 25 prospects from the Class of 2013. Associate Head Coach Mark Perry tapped into two areas where he has strong relationships -- California and Blair Academy -- to snare Martinez and Black for the Illini; while two-time state champion Langendorfer wrestled at Lincoln-Way East for former Illini wrestler Tyrone Byrd. All three -- Black and Martinez in particular -- will be expected to help the Illini sooner rather than later, and perform at a high level. 6. Nebraska Impact newcomers: Eric Montoya (Campbell/Volcano Vista, N.M.). Anthony Abidin (Nassau Community College/Half Hollow Hills East, N.Y.), Patrick Downey (OTC/Oviedo, Fla./North County, Md.), and Destin McCauley (OTC/ Apple Valley, Minn.) Other notables: Joey Dedick (East Troy, Wis.) and Colton McCrystal (Sgt. Bluff-Luton, Iowa) Commentary: The clear lynchpins in this recruiting class for the 'Huskers are the four impact newcomers. Montoya was a national qualifier this past year at 125 pounds as a true freshman, and brings three remaining years of eligibility to the table; Abidin was a NJCAA national champion in 2012 and also has three remaining years of eligibility; McCauley was the nation's No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2011, while Downey was also a superlative Class of 2011 wrestler and a FILA Junior freestyle world silver medalist in 2012. 7. Penn State Top 100 recruits: No. 3 Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.), No. 49 Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.), and No. 70 Garrett Hammond (Chambersburg, Pa.) Weight class ranked: Cody Law (Forest Hills, Pa.) Other notable: P.J. Steinmetz (Council Rock South, Pa.) Commentary: Cael Sanderson certainly has it all going right in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions have won three consecutive national titles, are well-positioned to make it four in a row; and the Sanderson/Penn State brand continues to be an easy sell. There's an extremely loyal fan base, a strong commitment from athletics and boosters to wrestling, an excellent coaching staff, and the local talent in the Keystone State is second to none. This recruiting class takes clear advantage of that talent, signing four who have won PIAA state titles. While probably not going to be called on for immediate action, these are wrestlers who will be ready to perform -- and perform well -- when their turn comes calling. 8. Iowa Top 100 recruits: No. 32 Aaron Bradley (Nazareth, Pa.), No. 55 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), No. 62 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli, Iowa), and No. 65 Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa) Commentary: Even though this Hawkeye class is not rated number one, and falls outside of the top five in the rankings, it is still a solid group for Tom Brands and staff. The ability to bring in four top wrestlers who combine for eleven state titles between them in the midst of what else is on the roster speaks to the cache of the Iowa brand. Berge and Bradley will provide depth in the upper-weights, while Sorensen and Marlin do the same for the middle-weights. 9. Missouri Top 100 recruits: No. 6 J'den Cox (Hickman, Mo.), No. 72 Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.), No. 74 Barlow McGhee (Rock Island, Ill.), No. 79 Parker Vonegidy (Piedmont, N.C.), and No. 92 B.J. Toal (Troy Christian, Ohio) Other notable: Tim Miklus (Southeast Polk, Iowa) Commentary: In recent years under Brian Smith, the Tigers have been known for balanced quality across all ten weight classes of the lineup. This group will do nothing to deviate from that track, as it addresses the lightest weight (McGhee), middleweights (Lavallee/Miklus/Vonegidy/Toal), and upper-weight (Cox). In the five years of compiling recruiting class rankings at InterMat, this is the best class that Smith has brought in (the 2009 group rated No. 15 overall). Cox is the clear star of the group, and it will be interesting to see if he can develop into a champion in the upper-weights like the Askren brothers, Mark Ellis, and Dom Bradley did before him at Mizzou. 10. North Carolina State Top 100 recruits: No. 54 Peter Renda (Brandywine Heights, Pa.), No. 73 Scott Delvecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.), and No. 77 Peter Santos (Oakmont, Calif.) Other notable: Shayne Brady (Carthage, N.Y.), Brendan Calas (Seton Hall Prep, N.J.), Beau Donahue (Westfield, Va.), Brian Hamann (Jackson Memorial, N.J.), Michael Macchlavello (Sun Valley, N.C.), Micah Perez (Central Union, Calif.), Chad Pyke (Woodward Academy, Ga.), and Chris Wilkes (Whitfield, Mo.) Commentary: This marks the first true recruiting class for Pat Popolizio at the helm of the Wolfpack, and he has scoped the country from top to bottom looking for a group of wrestlers to remake the roster in his staff's image. Three weight-class ranked wrestlers anchor the group, with at least six other additional wrestlers having state titles on the resume. It is a group that marks the commitment to recruiting from Popolizio and staff, and for their sake, hopefully one that is a building block towards contending for ACC titles and more. 11. Ohio State Top 100 recruits: No. 1 Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) and No. 15 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) Other notable: Jake Ryan (Olentangy Liberty, Ohio) Commentary: Typically a recruiting class with just two notable commitments is not going to be ranked this high. However, four-time state champions Jordan and Tomasello are not two typical notable commitments. Jordan is the nation's best recruit in this class, while Tomasello is the best projected 125 in this class, and likely to be that weight for his career as well. Each has the potential to thrive early and throughout their careers, and Jordan in particular may be pressed into service as a true freshman (with Taylor Massa's round of 12 finish this past year kind of an interesting benchmark comparison if you ask me). 12. Stanford Top 100 recruits: No. 24 Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.), No. 41 Garrett Krohn (Arvada, Colo.), and No. 64 Nathan Butler (Leavenworth, Kans.) Other notables: Tommy Pawleski (Montini Catholic, Ill.) and Keaton Subjeck (Oak Ridge, Calif.) Commentary: Jason Borrelli continues the incremental build of his program on "The Farm" with a fourth top 20 recruiting class in five seasons at the helm. Stanford did take a step back this past season, finishing without an All-American after finishing 16th with a pair of medalists in 2012. However, the Cardinal continues to find capable wrestling talent with the academic tools necessary to compete in Palo Alto. This year is no exception with the three Top 100 ranked wrestlers, in addition to a career lightweight with a previous state title and a two-time California state placing middle-weight. 13. Rutgers Top 100 recruits: No. 7 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.), No. 44 Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.) Weight class ranked: Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield, N.J.) Other notables: Nick Gravina (Northern Highlands, N.J.), Taylor Jackson (The Villages, Fla.), Anthony Messner (Franklin, N.J.), Dylan Painton (South Plainfield, N.J.), and Joshua Patrick (Ligonier Valley, Pa.) Commentary: Much has been made about the lack of an All-American while Scott Goodale has been head coach in Piscataway. However, much has been accomplished in his reign -- the program has achieved a degree of relevance unseen previously, the administration has committed resources towards the program's success, and the talent recruited to the roster has seen a massive upgrade. That pattern continues with this year's recruiting haul consisting of the first-ever undefeated four-time state champion in the Garden State, along with a group of other wrestlers that have placed high and/or multiple times in elite state tournaments. 14. Clarion Top 100 recruits: No. 28 Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.) and No. 97 Justin Arthur (Huntington, W. Va.) Impact newcomer: Quinton Muprhy (Holley Central, N.Y./Indiana University) Other notables: Seth Carr (South Fayette, Pa.), Dustin Conti (Jefferson Morgan, Pa.), Cam Cyphert (Cochranton, Pa.), Evan Daley (Fort LeBoeuf, Pa.), and Tim Schaefer (Warsaw, N.Y.) Commentary: This marks the first recruiting class for head coach Troy Letters, who just completed his first year as head coach of the Golden Eagles. As James Fleming finished his career with a second All-American finish, Letters turned his eye towards strengthening the Clarion roster for years to come; something that has been clearly accomplished with this group. It addresses all areas of the lineup, and provides credentialed wrestlers in all areas. The group is anchored by a pair of Top 100 recruits in state champion Matthews and NHSCA Senior National runner-up Arthur, as well as impact transfer Murphy who was a Top 100 recruit in the Class of 2012. 15. Oklahoma State Top 100 recruits: No. 17 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) and No. 20 Anthony Collica (Solon, Ohio) Other notables: Davey Dolan (Berryhill, Okla.), Zac Gentzler (Andover Central, Kans.), and Keilan Torres (Altus, Okla.) Commentary: The five listed commitments here combine for 18 state titles during their high school career; Heil, Dolan, and Gentzler won four each, while Collica and Torres won three respectively. Heil and Collica are elite talents out of Ohio, possibly the first such wrestlers to end up in Stillwater since Alan Fried; while the other three are more local in nature. It's a group of wrestlers that augments the depth already present in the first half of the lineup and provides a couple of potential near-term starters. 16. Virginia Top 100 recruits: No. 56 Tyler Askey (Northgate, Ga.), No. 57 T.J. Miller (Camden Catholic, N.J.), and No. 100 Andrew Atkinson (Liberty Christian Academy, Va.) Weight class ranked: Emilio Martinez (Greeley West, Colo.) Other notables: Addison Knepshield (Blair Academy, N.J.), Richard Robertson, Jr. (Maple Hts, Ohio), and Alex Uhre (St. Thomas Aquinas, Fla.) Commentary: Steve Garland and crew have the Cavaliers on the positive track coming off an NCAA tournament, which featured a pair of All-Americans and two others who lost in the round of 12. This is yet another high quantity recruiting class that also has solid quality with three Top 100 prospects and another ranked wrestler, all who are positioned to help the front half-to-two-thirds of the lineup. 17. Arizona State Top 100 recruits: No. 82 Kaleb Baker (Christian Brothers, Tenn.), No. 94 Mech Spraggins (Belleville West, Ill.), and No. 96 Lawrence Otero (Volcano Vista, N.M.) Impact newcomers: Kyle Colling (Pioneer, N.Y./Oklahoma), Josh DaSilveira (Cardinal Gibbons, Fla./North Carolina State), and Coltin Fought (Benton, Pa./North Carolina State) Other notables: Deshun Brown (West Mesa, N.M.) and Seth Monty (Mesa Mountain View, Ariz.) Commentary: There have been isolated pockets of success in Tempe in recent years with national titles won by Anthony Robles and Bubba Jenkins. However, that has not necessarily translated into solid performances up and down the lineup on a consistent basis. However, head coach Shawn Charles and primary recruiting assistant Lee Pritts hope that this recruiting class is the catalyst to broader success. This group features three Top 100 Class of 2013 prospects and three potential impact transfers; DaSilveira and Colling can fill the back two weights capably, while Fought can potentially make significant contribution at a lower-weight having qualified for nationals as a true freshman. 18. Minnesota Top 100 recruits: No. 22 Nick Wanzek (Simley, Minn.) and No. 30 Jake Short (Simley, Minn.) Other notables: Judson Preskitt (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.), Jordan Rothers (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, Minn.), and Nate Thomas (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) Commentary: Interestingly this is a third consecutive class for the Gophers that is ranked outside the top ten. However, the Gophers at present have a high quality starting lineup, with solid complimentary depth. Coach J. Robinson has perennially done an excellent job of recruiting and developing quality wrestlers, and the group here should fit that bill well. Short and Wanzek are the obvious stars with seven state titles and multiple Fargo AA's between them, while Preskitt, Rothers, and Thomas come in with strong credentials and development potential. 19. Princeton Top 100 recruits: No. 40 Raymond O'Donnell (Saucon Valley, Pa.) and No. 45 Brett Harner (Norristown, Pa.) Other notables: Trey Aslanian (Edgemont, N.Y.), Jordan Laster (Montini Catholic, Ill.), Troy Murtha (Georgetown Prep, Md.), and Jake Moore (Rootstown, Ohio) Commentary: Seeing the Tigers in this type of recruiting position can only be viewed as a good thing. It's not a team that has been viewed as strong on a year-to-year basis, and recruiting wrestlers to Princeton can be a "hard sell," though it's an excellent academic school. However, Chris Ayres and staff have been working hard, and hope that this group can mark a new positive beginning. Harner and O'Donnell are both Top 100 recruits, were both Super 32 Challenge runners-up, and combine for seven PIAA state tournament placements. Aslanian and Laster fit the bill of solid career light-weights, while Murtha and Moore are multi-time state placers and will bolster the upper-weights along with O'Donnell and Harner. 20. Indiana Top 100 recruits: No. 38 Neal Molloy (Danville, Ind.) Impact newcomer: Ethan Raley (Indian Creek, Ind./Lincoln College) Other notables: Luke Blanton (Alexandria, Ind.), Gabriel French (St. Xavier, Ky.), Jake Masengale (Perry Meridian, Ind.), Brant Schafer (St. Johns, Mich.), and Kyle Springer (Davenport Assumption, Iowa) Commentary: This marks a fifth consecutive top 25 class for the Hoosiers, yet the tangible measures of improved performance within the Big Ten and NCAA tournament prism is not apparent to the general fan. It goes to show you that there is more to program success than just recruiting. Hopefully Coach Goldman and staff can find the right formula to retain and develop this group of young men, which is anchored by two-time state champion Molloy and 2012 NJCAA runner-up Raley (also a multi-time Indiana state champion). The other five young men noted here have at minimum appeared in a state final and are multi-time state placers. 21. Harvard Top 100 recruits: No. 16 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) and No. 61 Brad Perkins (Oak Park, Mo.) Weight class ranked: Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y.) Other notable: Colby Knight (Urbandale, Iowa) Commentary: This marks a second consecutive top 25 recruiting class for the Crimson, which will provide another positive injection of talent onto the roster. The top four wrestlers in this class combine for 11 state/National Prep finals appearances between them, with all winning at least one title along the way; anchored by the pair of National Prep titles won by Morris. The group features two among the Top 100 in the Class of 2013 (Morris and Perkins) and an additional weight class ranked wrestler in Grimaldi. 22. Oklahoma Top 100 recruit No. 9 Oliver Pierce (Allen, Texas) Impact newcomer: Danny Chaid (Bellarmine, Calif./OTC) Other notables: Jon Townsend (Comanche, Okla.), Shayne Tucker (Bella Vista, Calif.), and Sean Williams (Lemoore, Calif.) Commentary: Though this might be perceived as a low ranking for the Sooners' recruiting haul, it is still a very positive one for Mark Cody and staff. Pierce has been a two-sport star through his high school career, serving as a key figure on a state title winning football team in Texas's biggest and best classification this past fall in addition to his many wrestling exploits. Chaid was a two-time California state placer, spending this past year at the OTC in Colorado Springs. Among the others, Towsend finished his career as a three-time state champion; while Tucker was a two-time California state runner-up and Super 32 placer, and Williams was also a state runner-up this past year in the Golden State. 23. Rider Top 100 recruits: No. 10 B.J. Clagon (Toms River South, N.J.) and No. 85 Wayne Stinson (Northern Burlington, N.J.) Impact newcomer: Robert Deutsch (Old Dominion/Eastern Regional, N.J.) Other notable: J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Va.) Commentary: With Rider being in such a wrestling rich area, they certainly have the potential to build an excellent program. Even though recent results do not show this to be the case, this is the type of recruiting group that can help turn things around as they move into the EWL. It is anchored by two-time state champion and four-time NHSCA grade-level champion Clagon, as well as fellow Top 100 prospect and New Jersey state champion Stinson. The Broncs also added a pair of impact lightweights in Deutsch, who was an NCAA qualifier this past season; as well as two-time Super 32 Challenge placer Wert, who also won four state titles in his high school career. 24. Purdue Weight class ranked: Aaron Assad (Brecksville, Ohio), Josh Farrell (Greenfield Central, Ind.), Andrew Geers (Neuqua Valley, Ill.), and Jacob Morrissey (Oconto Falls, Wis.) Impact newcomer: Garth Lakitsky (Tamaqua Area, Pa./Lackawanna College) Other notable: Luke Welch (Castle, Ind.) Commentary: Though the Boilermakers' class lacks a true elite wrestler, it is one that possesses a high quantity of quality with four wrestlers that finished their senior season in the weight class rankings. The five Class of 2013 wrestlers listed here all appeared in the state final this past year, with Assad, Farrell, and Morrissey earning championships. Lakitsky was a 2011 state champion and Dapper Dan participant. This class provides head coach Scott Hinkel with talent across the weight classes. 25. Cal Poly Top 100 recruits: No. 36 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.) and No. 89 Luke Wilson (Righetti, Calif.) Weight class ranked: Travis Berridge (Brandon, Fla.) Impact newcomer: Trent Noon (Oakdale, Calif./Clackamas C.C.) Other notables: Tommy Espinoza (Otay Ranch, Calif.), Tyler Hecht (Franklin, Calif.), Nick Johnson (Murietta Valley, Calif.), Sohrab Mohavedi (Granda Hills, Calif.), Colton Schilling (Sweet Home, Ore.), Nick Troquato (Ponderosa, Calif.), and Victor Trujillo (Bella Vista, Calif.) Commentary: This marks a second straight top 25 recruiting class for Brendan Buckley and the Mustangs. The group features a pair of Top 100 recruits in NHSCA Senior runner-up Empey and third place finisher Wilson, along with a weight class ranked wrestler in Super 32 Challenge placer Berridge. Noon was a NJCAA champion this past year, while the five California natives listed in the other notables all finished inside the top four of the single class state tournament this past year, and Schilling is a three-time state champion in Oregon. The talent yet again spans across the lineup, with the bulk focusing on the middle and upper-weights. Honorable Mention: Iowa State, North Carolina, and Northwestern

Olympic Wrestling needs to jump through two sizable hoops which stand between it and its salvation. The first is this week as the IOC executive board meets to tap one to three sports for consideration for addition to the Olympic program. The executive board, if you remember, is the body which, months ago, recommended a revised block of Olympic "core sports" for the 2020 Olympics and beyond. Wrestling was not one of those included in the block. This meant that wrestling got thrown into the hopper with a bunch of non-Olympic sports seeking new admittance into the Games. The executive board will now determine whether one to three of those sports are worthy of Olympic consideration. If wrestling is not among one of those three, it will not be an Olympic sport in 2020, and probably beyond. If wrestling is picked by the executive board this week, its future is still uncertain. It must face the scrutiny of the assembled IOC this September in Buenos Aires. This fall's IOC assembly will pick the host for the 2020 Olympics, pick a new IOC president (Jacques Rogge is on his way out), vote on the executive board's core sport recommendation, and then vote on whether to add one of the sports picked from this week's proceedings. It's the last of those votes which are of particular interest to wrestling. Technically it is possible that the IOC assembly does not ratify the executive board's new core sport block, thus reverting the Olympic program back to its 2012 form. I say technically possible, because this scenario is not likely. All that is required for ratification is a simple majority of IOC members, and if no majority is reached on the first vote, IOC president Rogge may ask for as many re-votes as he sees fit. The procedures really favor the executive board's recommendation. So if wrestling survives past this week, it must beat out the other sports that survive the present cut, and be accepted by the IOC assembly with a majority of votes. There is no guarantee that wrestling will edge its competition, or even that the assembly will choose to add any sports to the newly established program. The assembly, in the past, has declined to add new sports given a similar opportunity. Wrestling will undergo a serious trial in the coming days, and even if it survives, its future is still far from certain. Thoughts on University Nationals ... Tyrell Fortune's wrestling career has certainly been an odyssey with many twists and turns. He may never compete for a Division I national championship, but at least wrestling has afforded him the chance to receive a college education, and to vie for an Olympic spot. He's going to be dangerous come 2016. I guess I simply forgot how special Andrew Howe is. If this tournament truly indicates that he is back and healthy, our country has one of its very best pound-for-pound wrestlers back. Too bad he isn't 20 pounds lighter or heavier. Ed Ruth earned OW honors at University Nationals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Ed Ruth hasn't looked quite as good at senior level freestyle events as I would have expected in the past. Regardless, I still see him as one of the favorites to make the 2016 Olympic Team in 2016 at 84 kilos. Yes, I know it's freestyle, but Cam Simaz was an NCAA champ two weights up from Ed; for Ed to go out and beat him says a ton about his talent level. Speaking of the future, I unabashedly believe that Andy Hrovat has the potential to become one of the brightest freestyle coaching minds in this country. His time spent in Ossetia provides him with a unique and invaluable perspective. It's good to see that he'll be one of our coaches for the University World Team. What the hell is Nebraska going to do with its middle weights next year? I'm not sure if this tournament means that James Green is a 149 next year, but I would think it definitely shows that he's too small for 165. That means that Nebraska has two weights for three very good wrestlers in Green, Destin McCauley and Jake Sueflohn. I guess this is the kind of problem that Mark Manning wants to have in Lincoln. I said it before, Ohio State's Nick Heflin should have gotten the award for the most absurdly oversized wrestler at his weight last year in Division I wrestling. I have no clue how he made 174, and the fact that he was only slightly undersized at 211 pounds this past weekend says a great deal about just how big he actually is. He'll be interesting to watch next year at 197. That duck of his will be more effective when he's not trying to hit it under the arms of someone like Matt Brown, where Nick would be working to fit underneath a space about a foot off the ground. Finally the new rules make freestyle wrestling (I didn't catch much of the Greco) into a fantastic spectator sport. I've heard complaints that there are too many tech falls, but I think that the jury is still out on this, and something that makes wrestling events move faster probably helps the sport in the end. Additionally, I think allowing multiple moves on one hold may be the one wild card which allows for the possibility of some dramatic and unexpected upsets; wrestling needs its Cinderella stories. Overall, though, the new rules felt like a breath of fresh air for a sport that has been buried under the debris of disastrous regulation for far too long. Let's all hope wrestling survives the next couple days.

42 kilos: 1st: Austin Gomez (Illinois) dec. Brent Jones (Minnesota), 9-7 3rd: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) dec. Kirk Johansen (Illinois), 9-7 5th: Randon Miranda (California) dec. Drew Mattin (Ohio), 14-10 *True 2nd: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) tech. fall Brent Jones (Minnesota), 14-4 46 kilos: 1st: Devin Brown (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Ian Parker (Michigan), 13-3 3rd: Matthew Schmitt (Missouri) tech. fall Coltan Williams (Texas), 10-0 5th: Ben Freeman (Michigan) tech. fall Jarod Bronstrup (Ohio), 11-0 *True 2nd: Matthew Schmitt (Missouri) tech. fall Ian Parker (Michigan), 11-0 50 kilos: 1st: Spencer Lee (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Daton Fix (Oklahoma), 13-2 3rd: Jack Mueller (Texas) tech. fall Andrew Mehrholz (Illinois), 15-4 5th: Isaac Jimenez (Texas) tech. fall Noah Baughman (Ohio), 10-0 *True 2nd: Daton Fix (Oklahoma) tech. fall Jack Mueller (Texas), 10-0 54 kilos: 1st: Stevan Micic (Indiana) tech. fall Kaid Brock (Oklahoma), 10-0 3rd: Jens Lantz (Wisconsin) dec. Austin Assad (Ohio), 9-5 5th: Jose Rodriguez (Ohio) dec. Kyle Norstrem (Florida), 15-7 58 kilos: 1st: Sean Fausz (Kentucky) tech. fall Nick Lee (Indiana), 11-1 3rd: Bill Crisco (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Mark Voss (Minnesota), 10-0 5th: Lincoln Olson (Michigan) won by forfeit over Isaiah Locsin (California) *True 2nd: Nick Lee (Indiana) tech. fall Bill Crisco (Pennsylvania), 11-0 63 kilos: 1st: Aaron Pico (California) tech. fall Tyler Berger (Oregon), 10-0 3rd: Logan Massa (Michigan) tech. fall Larry Early III (Illinois), 10-0 5th: Joe Smith (Oklahoma) tech. fall Luke Rowh (Minnesota), 10-0 *True 2nd: Logan Massa (Michigan) dec. Tyler Berger (Oregon), 14-11 69 kilos: 1st: Jon Jay Chavez (Idaho) dec. Nick Reenan (Texas), 7-4 3rd: Anthony Valencia (California) tech. fall Taylor Lujan (Georgia), 11-0 5th: Weston Dobler (North Dakota) dec. Tyler Mann (Arkansas), 7-4 76 kilos: 1st: Bo Nickal (Texas) dec. Mark Hall (Minnesota), 8-6 3rd: Chandler Rogers (Washington) pinned Myles Martin (New Jersey), 2:14 5th: Xavier Montalvo (Illinois) pinned Chris Weiler (Pennsylvania), 6:00 84 kilos: 1st: Angus Arthur (Michigan) tech. fall Bobby Steveson (Minnesota), 12-2 3rd: Andrew Marsden (Illinois) pinned Josh Murphy (Ohio), 2:04 5th: Armani Robinson (Ohio) dec. Andrew Fenton (Ohio), 4-0 *True 2nd: Bobby Steveson (Minnesota) tech. fall Andrew Marsden (Illinois), 20-8 100 kilos: 1st: Lance Benick (Minnesota) dec. Roy Nash (Utah), 16-15 3rd: Connor Tolley (Indiana) tech. fall Christian Jenco (New Jersey), 12-0 5th: Jimmy Russell (Michigan) tech. fall Michael Smith (Maryland), 10-0 *True 2nd: Connor Tolley (Indiana) dec. Roy Mash (Utah), 14-6 125 kilos: 1st: Adam Lemke-Bell (Illinois) pinned Nicholas Nader (Ohio), 2:03 3rd: Cordell Soileau (Virginia) pinned Hunter Toppel (Wisconsin), 1:10 5th: Kevin Vough (Ohio) won by forfeit over Gavan Jolley-little (Indiana)

55 kilos: 1st: Nico Megaludis (Nittany Lion WC) won 2 matches to 1 over Zach Sanders (Minnesota Storm), 0-4, 10-0, 4-0 3rd: Thomas Gilman (Hawkeye WC) dec. Evan Silver (Stanford Unattached), 4-2 5th: Dylan Peters (Panther WC) pinned Dominique Price (Midwest RTC), 1:01 7th: Britain Longmire (San Luis Obispo) pinned Jordan Wigger (Citadel Old Timers Club, Inc.), 4:09 60 kilos: 1st: Tyler Graff (Badger WC) won 2 matches to 0 over Cashe' Quiroga (Midwest RTC), 10-0, 5-4 3rd: Joseph Colon (Panther WC) tech. fall Cory Clark (Pleasant Hill), 10-0 5th: Mark Grey (Finger Lakes WC) tech. fall Jade Rauser (Wolverine WC), 11-0 7th: Shelton Mack (Pittsburgh WC) dec. Erik Spjut (NRV Mat Club), 6-5 63 kilos: 1st: Sam Sherlock (Clarion WC) won 2 matches to 0 over Brandon Wright (Viking WC), pin, 13-3 3rd: Jamel Hudson (Blue & Gold WC) dec. Matthew Rappo (Husky WC), 8-2 5th: Ethan Owens (Hawkeye WC) dec. Mike Labry (NYAC), 5-1 7th: John Meeks (Iowa State) dec. Avery Garner (Wolverine WC), 8-2 66 kilos: 1st: James Green (NWTC) won 2 matches to 1 over Jason Chamberlain (Titan Mercury WC), 4-2, 4-5, 3-0 3rd: Kevin LeValley (Minnesota Storm) won by injury default over Joshua Kindig (Columbus WC), 0:29 5th: Nick Dardanes (Minnesota Storm) dec. Hunter Stieber (Ohio State), 6-4 7th: Josh Dziewa (Hawkeye WC) pinned Colin Johnston (Quest), 4:51 70 kilos: 1st: Justin Deangelis (Oklahoma) won 2 matches to 0 over Brandon Kingsley (Minnesota Storm), 8-1, 6-4 3rd: Michael Hooker (CWC) dec. Thomas Gantt (Wolfpack WC), 12-4 5th: Alexander Richardson (VBRTC) pinned Pat Smith (Minnesota Storm), 3:23 7th: Chris Castillo (Bronco WC) tech. fall Mitchell Minotti (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club), 11-0 74 kilos: 1st: David Taylor (Nittany Lion WC) won 2 matches to 0 over Quinton Godley (Wolfpack WC), 3-0, pin 3rd: Michael Moreno (Iowa State) pinned Ian Miller (Golden Pride WC), 5:14 5th: Nestor Taffur (Boston) pinned Taylor Massa (Michigan WC), 1:56 7th: R.J. Pena (NWRTC) tech. fall Alec Ortiz (Minnesota Storm), 22-11 79 kilos: 1st: Andrew Howe (NYAC) won 2 matches to 0 over Logan Storley (Minnesota Storm), 10-0, 13-3 3rd: Matt Brown (Nittany Lion WC) tech. fall Tyler Wilps (Pittsburgh WC), 13-2 5th: Jesse Shanaman (Cornell) won by injury default over John Staudenmayer (Cardinal WC) 7th: Mark Martin (Ohio State) dec. Duke Pickett (Cornell), 5-1 84 kilos: 1st: Ed Ruth (Nittany Lion WC) won 2 matches to 0 over Cam Simaz (Finger Lakes WC), 6-4, 10-0 3rd: Max Thomusseit (Pittsburgh WC) dec. Kenneth Courts (Ohio State), 3-0 5th: Alex Meyer (Hawkeye WC) dec. Gabe Dean (Finger Lakes WC), 6-5 7th: Jack Dechow (VBRTC) won by injury default over Nathaniel Brown (Lehigh Valley Athletic Club) 96 kilos: 1st: Micah Burak (HWC) won 2 matches to 0 over Dustin Kilgore (Suples WC), 10-6, 5-2 3rd: Travis Rutt (Oklahoma) pinned Taylor Meeks (NWRTC), 0:34 5th: Evan Brown (Cyclone WC) tech. fall Cayle Byers (Titan Mercury WC), 10-0 7th: Nick Heflin (Ohio State) won by forfeit over Timmy McCall (Badger WC) 120 kilos: 1st: Tyrell Fortune (Grand Canyon WC) won 2 matches to 0 over Tony Nelson (Minnesota Storm), 7-2, pin 3rd: Nick Gwiazdowski (NYAC/Wolfpack WC) dec. Austin Marsden (Cowboy WC), 7-5 5th: Connor Medbery (Badger WC) dec. Adam Fager (Wolverine WC), 5-0 7th: Spencer Myers (Terrapin WC) dec. Cole Tobin (Badger WC), 7-0

A strong contingent of Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers competed in the 2013 Asics Freestyle University Nationals, held this weekend at the University of Akron. Four of Penn State's 2013 NCAA finalists placed at the event with three coming home as 2013 University Nationals freestyle champions. Sophomore Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) blazed through the 55 kg weight class, going 5-0 with three technical falls to claim the title, including a 4-0 shutout over top seeded Zach Sanders, former Minnesota Golden Gopher All-American. Junior David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) was untouchable at 74 kg, going 7-0 with four tech falls and three pins to win the championship. He pinned Wolfpack Wrestling's Quinton Godley in the finals. Junior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) was dominating at 84 kg, posting a 6-0 mark to win the championship. Ruth had four tech falls in the tournament, including a devastating 10-0 tech fall over Cam Simaz of Cornell's Finger Lakes Wrestling Club in the finals. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) came back from a third round upset loss to reel off six more wins, going 8-1 overall to take third at 79 kg. Brown had four tech falls and two pins, including a tech fall over Tyler Wilps in the third place match. Four other Nittany Lions competed on day two of the event, capping off solid tournaments in the consolation bracket at the event. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon (Latrobe, Pa.) went 3-2 at 60 kg while red-shirt freshman Mike Waters (Advance, N.C.) was 4-2 at 63 kg. True freshman Zack Beitz (Mifflintown, Pa.) went 4-2 at 66 kg and junior James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) went 3-2 at 74 kg, advancing to the quarterfinals before dropping two straight. A total of 19 Nittany Lions competed at the two-day event, with a number of young Nittany Lions turning in strong performances. In addition to the eight grapplers above who wrestled into day two, 11 other Lions took part in the national championship event. At 60 kg, sophomore Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) went 3-2 and red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway (Abbottstown, Pa.) went 2-2. Freshman Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) went 1-2 at 70 kg and red-shirt freshman Rex Lutz (Easton, Pa.) went 3-2 at 74 kg. Junior Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 2-2 at 79 kg and red-shirt freshman James Frascella (Carmel, Ind.) went 1-2 at the same weight. True freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) and red-shirt freshman Scott Syrek (Chester Springs, Pa.) each went 1-2 at 84 kg while classmate Dylan Dailey (Danville, Pa.) also competed at that weight. Red-shirt freshman Josh Rogers (Pottstown, Pa.) wrestled at 96 kg while sophomore Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) competed at 120 kg.

AKRON, Ohio -- The twelve hours of wrestling over three sessions, two covering all day Saturday and one on Sunday morning, concluded with a set of championship bouts at the FILA Cadet Nationals that were mostly one-sided. Six of the eleven championship bouts ended in technical falls (margin of greater than ten points), five of those not making it out of the first three-minute period; while a seventh match ended in a first period fall. Most notable among the technical fall victories was the one earned by Aaron Pico of California at 63 kilos (138.75 pounds), who was also named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler. It was the ninth such victory for Pico, the nation's No. 1-ranked overall Class of 2016 wrestler, in as many matches over the two-day event. That victory over Tyler Berger of Oregon came by a 10-0 score at the 2:16 mark. Scores for Pico came in the form of a takedown, push-out, takedown, push-out, and one last takedown followed by a turn. Of significance is that just over ten months ago -- obviously under the "old" rules -- these two wrestled in a three-period bout during the round-robin of Cadet freestyle, a match that Pico won 0-2, 1-0, 1-0. "I was able to make some adjustments (from their previous meeting) against this very tough opponent." said Pico, "I got my offensive attacks and pace going, and was able to break down and through him." This finals match was so reflective of all the matches wrestled this weekend, and of all his matches regardless of style: relentless pressure, precise positional execution, and crazy good hand-fighting. "It's something that my coach (Valentin Kalika) works on with me. I feel very comfortable going forward, not as comfortable going backward, so I aim to always attack." A pair of wrestlers from Saegerstown, Pa., made the FILA Cadet freestyle world team with first period technical fall victories in the championship bout. Devin Brown earned the title at 46 kilos (101.25 pounds) with a 13-3 victory over Ian Parker of Michigan, his fifth technical fall out of six matches wrestled in the tournament. "I can't wait to go to Serbia," said Brown. "It's one of the best feelings ever in my life, and such an honor to represent my country." Spencer Lee, ranked No. 1 overall among junior high wrestlers earned his title at 50 kilos (110.25 pounds) with a 13-2 victory at the 1:19 mark against Daton Fix of Oklahoma, who is ranked No. 7 in the junior high group. This cemented a weekend of eight dominant victories, four by fall and four by technical fall. "I'm looking forward to what's ahead of me (as a wrestler, be it Cadet Worlds or high school)," said Lee, who has already finished as a runner-up in high school level competition at the Super 32 Challenge and FloNationals, and won a fourth consecutive PJW championship two months ago. "There is obviously some pressure, but I think I can continue to even improve." Also winning in dominant fashion was Stevan Micic of Indiana at 54 kilos (119 pounds), who won all seven of his matches by technical fall, and also not giving up a point to any opponent. His last three matches against a trio of top 40 Class of 2015 wrestlers lasted under five minutes in aggregate with the point margin being 32-0; those being against No. 36 Jose Rodriguez of Ohio, No. 38 Austin Assad of Ohio, and No. 27 Kaid Brock of Oklahoma (whom he beat 10-0 in the final at the 2:30 mark). The finals match for Micic featured two takedown/lace sequences and a final takedown to end the proceedings. The five matches prior to the Assad match on Sunday morning were all takedowns followed by a series of laces that ended the proceedings in less than 45 seconds each. This was the third placement finish for Micic at FILA Cadet Nationals, as the No. 31 ranked Class of 2014 prospect had finished fifth and second the prior two years in Akron. "I come ready to wrestle hard and perform my best in these big events (FILA Cadets, Fargo, etc.)," said Micic. "I want to get after it and make a name for myself on the national landscape. Going forward, I would love to thrive in college and compete at the senior international level." Joining Micic as a Class of 2014 wrestler to win his final by technical fall was Sean Fausz of Kentucky at 58 kilos (127.75 pounds). He improved upon last year's third place finish with an 11-1 victory at the 1:47 mark over Nick Lee of Indiana, who is ranked No. 5 overall among junior high wrestlers. This was the seventh technical fall for Fausz out of eight matches, the first six matches of which he scored shutout technical falls. "This was my final year as a FILA Cadet, and I was pretty close to making it last year," said Fausz. "So making the team (this year) was a big goal of mine, and it feels great to have gotten it done. "I am so much better at my turns (from par terre). Last year I scored on only one in the whole tournament, while this year I scored in bunches on top." Two of the three tightest finals matches were also won by Class of 2014 prospects. At 69 kilos (152 pounds), Jon-Jay Chavez of Idaho added a freestyle title to the Greco-Roman title that he won on Friday with a 7-4 victory over Nick Reenan of Texas, who is ranked No. 10 in the Class of 2016, in the final. Reenan scored the match's opening takedown, but Chavez was able to respond with a reversal at the edge and a pair of push-outs to take a 3-2 lead after one period. In the second period, Chavez scored a leg-attack finish at the edge of the mat to stretch the lead, Reenan did respond with a takedown to cut it to 5-4, but Chavez sealed the deal with a fireman's takedown finish inside the last 30 seconds. "It feels awesome and is an amazing accomplishment," said Chavez about his double titles, "I really worked hard for them." He also is undecided about which of the two styles (freestyle or Greco-Roman) he will participate in at FILA Cadet Worlds in Serbia come August. The most anticipated match of the tournament came at 76 kilos (167.5 pounds), where Bo Nickal of Texas (ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2014) scored his third victory over Mark Hall (ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2016) in the last calendar year. Last spring, Nickal had victories over Hall at the Cadet Folkstyle and the FILA Cadet freestyle tournaments. Late on Sunday morning, Nickal overcame unfavorable circumstances early in the match to earn a relatively decisive 8-6 victory. "I feel very comfortable going offense verse offense," said Nickal about having Hall's number. "I feel very comfortable working up top (upper-body ties), and that I can beat anyone that I face in any position." About bouncing back from the early 3-2 deficit, a sequence that probably should have been scored as either 3-3 or a 5-3 Nickal lead, "I just kept focused mentally, and felt that I would out-perform him over the six minutes." The bounce back was not immediate, as Hall scored the next takedown to make it 5-2, but then Nickal answered with a takedown of his own to trail 5-4 at the intermission. Then after the intermission, Nickal scored a takedown to gain the lead, and made it 8-5 with a trap-arm gut-wrench right off that. Hall did get a push-out very late in the match for the final margin. Last in this string of matches was a battle of returning Fargo doublers at 100 kilos (220.25 pounds) between Lance Benick of Minnesota and Roy Nash of Utah, Benick also winning Cadet folkstyle last year to earn a triple corwn. On Friday afternoon, Nash earned the finals victory over Benick in Greco-Roman. However, late on Sunday morning, Benick - also ranked No. 6 overall in the Class of 2015 - earned the 16-15 victory in a high-scoring shootout on a takedown with two seconds remaining in the bout. The match went back-and-forth with Benick dominating situations in which he could finish leg attacks, while Nash scored via upper-body-based attacks and the occasional counter. The first period ended in a 7-7 tie. Then with less than a minute to go it was tied at 14-all, Benick having the edge due to scoring the match's only three-point move in the first period via a takedown finished on a gut-wrench. However, Nash scored a pushout to go ahead 15-14 to set up the end of match heroics. "Winning at the buzzer (like I did) feels great," said Benick. "However, I wasn't in shape for the new format (two three-minute periods), and think I could have won by more if in better condition." Rounding out the FILA Cadet World Team members are Austin Gomez of Illinois, champion at 42 kilos (92.5 pounds), and Angus Arthur of Michigan, champion at 85 kilos (187.25 pounds). Gomez scored a 9-7 victory over Brent Jones of Minnesota, the second time Jones lost in the championship match this weekend. He scored the opening takedown, but then trailed 6-2 midway through the first period. That deficit was cut to 7-5 by the intermission. During the second stanza, Gomez tied the match -- going ahead on criteria - as he caught Jones in a scramble for two points. However, that was rendered moot when he scored on a throw, winning the sequence by securing a half-nelson. "I've been waiting for my Cadet year, and the opportunity to make this world team," the freshman-to-be at Glenbard North commented after the match. "I just didn't give up, and listened to my coaches." Arthur joined Chavez in winning both the Greco-Roman and freestyle tournaments this weekend. The nation's No. 47 ranked Class of 2015 wrestler upended Robert Steveson of Minnesota, who is ranked No. 20 in that grade, with a 12-2 technical fall victory at the 3:46 mark. Steveson did earn the match's opening takedown. However, Arthur responded with a takedown ran right into a pair of two-point exposures to make it 6-2 after one. In the second period, Arthur scored four more via a takedown followed by a gut-wrench turn, and finished the deal with a pair of push-outs. "It feels good, and shows that my training has paid off," said Arthur about winning double titles this weekend. "I'm not sure which style I'm going to do (at FILA Cadet Worlds in Serbia) but I know that I can only do one." Rounding out Sunday's titlists was Adam Lemke-Bell of Illinois, who won at 125 kilos (275.5 pounds), a weight class that is not conducted at the FILA Cadet Worlds, with a fall over Nick Nader of Ohio at the 2:03 mark. Of interest here is the fact Lemke-Bell is only a second year wrestler, having picked up the sport during his freshman year of high school at Oak Park-River Forest. "I give all the credit in the world to the OPRF program," said Lemke-Bell. "There is no better coaching staff out there, and I'm incredibly lucky to be in this position to accelerate so quickly." He is also a second-year Cadet in USA Wrestling, and indicated he is looking forward to Fargo this summer, and hopes to make a run at double titles. Finals Results: 42 kilos (92.5 pounds): Austin Gomez (Illinois) dec. Brent Jones (Minnesota), 9-7 46 (101.25): Devin Brown (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Ian Parker (Michigan), 13-3 50 (110.25): Spencer Lee (Pennsylvania) tech. fall Daton Fix (Oklahoma), 13-2 1:19 54 (119): Stevan Micic (Indiana) tech. fall Kaid Brock (Oklahoma). 10-0, 2:30 58 (127.75): Sean Fausz (Kentucky) tech. fall Nick Lee (Indiana), 11-1, 1:47 63 (138.75): Aaron Pico (California) tech. fall Tyler Berger (Oregon), 10-0 2:16 69 (152): Jon-Jay Chavez (Idaho) dec. Nick Reenan (Texas), 7-4 76 (167.5): Bo Nickal (Texas) dec. Mark Hall (Minnesota), 8-6 85 (187.25): Angus Arthur (Michigan) tech. fall Robert Steveson (Minnesota), 12-2 3:46 100 (220.25): Lance Benick (Minnesota) dec. Roy Nash (Utah), 16-15 125 (275.5): Adam Lemke-Bell (Illinois) pinned Nick Nader (Ohio), 2:03 True-Second Match Results: 42 kilos: Kaden Gfeller (Oklahoma) tech. fall Jones, 14-4 46: Matthew Schmitt (Missouri) tech. fall Parker, 11-0 50: Fix tech. fall Jack Mueller (Texas), 10-0 58: N. Lee tech. fall Will Crisco (Pennsylvania), 11-0 63: Logan Massa dec. Berger, 14-11 85: Steveson tech. fall Andrew Marsden (Illinois), 20-8 100: Connor Tolley (Indiana) dec. Nash, 14-6

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. The United 4 Wrestling event in LA attracted 3,500 fans (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Wrestling has never looked better. From the wild success of Rumble on the Rails, to the last-minute heroics that defined the salvation and execution of United 4 Wrestling ever, the cause to save Olympic wrestling had a stellar week in terms of dollars raise, media attention, and showmanship aimed at impressing the IOC. The success of the event wasn't just a much-needed media boost here at home, but a well-timed international publicity coup that corresponded with FILA's Extraordinary Congress. Not only was the media forced to write 1,000-word missives on the innate diplomatic successes of the sport, but also the gains made by a governing body eager to make sweeping changes. There is a long way to go, but if the response of the IOC's Jaques Rogge is an indication, the Congress and President Lalovic did more than enough to impress the executive committee. More needs to be done to spotlight the positive effect wrestling has on women and ethnic minorities in developing countries. If wrestling makes the journey to Buenos Aires we will need to see programs developed to not just profile these individuals, nations and causes, but to make sure they are financially supported. In fact, FILA already operates a Colorado Springs-like facility in Dakar, Senegal that draws in the top six wrestlers from Sub-Sahara Africa to train under the tutelage of a World champion coach -- many of whom are women. FILA, under roi fainéant Raphael Martinetti, did little to sponsor this type of outreach. Under Lalovic that will change, as their PR efforts will be improved and their commitment to the global reach of wrestling expanded and promoted. The wrestling community shouldn't become complacent. We are still weak in many areas and have to do much, much more to adapt our sports to modern times. We need to fix our uniforms in America and abroad, we need to further increase the number of women involved in the sport, and we need better coverage for international events. Oh, and one of you enterprising young readers needs to reach out with the idea of a takedown-only wrestling league. Send me the basics and I'll help you mold that sucker into an attention-grabbing style that would be internationally successful and the next discipline of the soon-to-be-rescued sport of Olympic wrestling. To your questions ... Q: Do you think it would have made sense to invite several members of the Mexican wrestling team to participate in the Beat the Streets event held in LA last week? I know the Mexican team isn't very good, and two of their last three Olympians were born and raised in the U.S., but Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in the United States, and LA County is 48% Hispanic. If USA Wrestling wants to "beat the streets" in the southwest part of the country they might want some help putting a familiar looking face on the product they are selling. -- Dan K. Foley: The Mexican team is a little weak, but there were serious efforts put towards making contact with members of their national team. In the end, time became the primary consideration and the event couldn't afford another no-show. I've been told that next year's event will capitalize on the local demographics. I should also mention that there were plenty of interesting ideas being offered up by interested parties. Without consulting them, I suggested flying in Turtogtokh and Ugi from Mongolia. Ended up that there was little to no chance they would have made it in time. It's a shame, but understandable since my flight from Ulaanbaatar last week was delayed for 36 hours. Can't overstate how impressive it was that CPOW, Beat the Streets-LA and USA Wrestling were able to salvage the event. Very cool stuff. Q: Do you think Logan Stieber has the tools and skills to be the next four-time NCAA champ? -- Gregg Y. Foley: YES! Stieber beat Opan Sat of Russia, the world's No. 1 wrestler at the Rumble on the Rails. On the college mats he seems unchallenged and has the type of focus and certainty of skill that convinces me he can win two more titles without dropping a match. Q: So Jordan Burroughs is 54-0 on the senior level. I believe this is the best starting record of any U.S. wrestler's international career. Has anyone else started out going undefeated for this long? Does anyone else have a comparable streak? John Smith? -- Danny C. Foley: No comparable streak comes to mind outside of the longer runs by both Alexander Karelin and Saori Yoshida. Karelin's number hasn't been accurately recorded, though it was 13 years long, and could be estimated at well north of 200 straight victories. Saori YoshidaRegarding Yoshida, according to Wikipedia, "Until January 20, 2008, Yoshida had never lost an international match at the senior level and held a streak of 119 consecutive victories (until) American Marcie Van Dusen defeated her, 2-0 during the Team World Cup series in Beijing, China." She also went on to have another 58-match winning streak, which was then broken, but didn't preclude her from winning her third Olympic gold medal in 2012. Burroughs is the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the world today. His streak is the longest in the sport and he seems untouchable under the new rules, but it's important to remember that he will, at some point, lose a match. It might be a bad call. It might be to a teammate that has spent years training with him. Hell, it might even come due to injury, but streaks are meant to end and like Karelin's and Yoshida's it won't be only sad -- it'll be a moment for reflection and a celebration of greatness. Multimedia Halftime No kidding, you have to check out FILA on Facebook. I've been helping them build their presence, and there are plenty of awesome photos and videos on their page. Like 'em and be sure to engage with the product. This WILL directly help our cause for reinstatement. Few examples of articles and photo essays I've done for FILA over the past month. Share them! Mongolian Open African Traditional Wrestling Profile of FILA President Nenad Lalovic Somebody got the message that Wrestling is Everywhere, (WrestlingEverywhere.com) and maybe lifted some footage from WrestlingRoots.org. Cool video. Q: I really like your ideas about making the sport of wrestling more understandable. With that in mind, has anyone thought about lining up our weight classes with MMA (lightweight, welterweight, middleweight, etc.)? -- Dave in Norfolk Foley: FILA, at the behest of the IOC, has decided to eliminate their support of grappling and amateur MMA after the 2013 championships. That separation means they need to grow a distance between themselves and these disciplines. Support for MMA and grappling has ALWAYS been an issue between FILA and the IOC. Always. From French wrestling historian Guy Jaouen: The inaugural international Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896 included a small wrestling meet, commonly and incorrectly referred to in history books as Greco Roman style -- which is absolutely wrong. The style of wrestling at these Games was actually arranged in a dirt pit at one end of the Panathenaic Stadium under local Greek rules, called Palema, which had effectively been trialled at the predecessor events of the IOC Olympics, or the Zappas Olympic Games. Not surprisingly, leg takedowns were permitted in these competitions. The Zappas Olympics were held in Athens in 1859, 1870 and 1875 and there is even a thorough sporting record kept of champions at these events. The next IOC Olympics were held in Paris in 1900 as part of the Exposition Universelle and were such a debacle that they did not even include a wrestling meet. Apparently no amateur wrestlers could be found because one of the highlights of the Exposition was the Professional Greco Roman World Championship, which was being held at the same time. The 1904 Olympic Games were then moved across the Atlantic to the USA city of St. Louis as part of the World's Fair and just as in Athens the wrestling was conducted under the rules of the most popular local style, Catch as Catch Can wrestling. The European's were offended because nearly all the wrestling medals were won by Americans. The following year the "Deutsche Athleten-Verband" was formed in Duisburg, in true German fashion they took command of all amateur Greco-Roman wrestling and weightlifting competitions in continental Europe. The DAV conducted an amateur Greco Roman World Championships from 1904 till 1913 but after WW1 the IAWF (now FILA) took over the event. The 1906 Intercalated Olympics returned to Athens and despite protests against it, the wrestling was once again held under the now extinct Greek Palema rules (freestlye). At the 1908 London Olympics an attempt was made to run concurrent competitions in both Greco Roman and Catch as Catch Can at the White City Stadium but this didn't stop the growing sense of rivalry between the popular styles. By the time of the Stockholm Olympics in 1912, only Greco-Roman wrestling competitions were permitted to be held and in a further sub to the organizers of Catch as Catch Can, demonstrations of the Icelandic folk wrestling style called Glima were also conducted. The following year there were plans to create an international body just for wrestling but this was put on hold as it had instead morphed into the "Internationaler Verband fur Schwerathletik" that included not just Greco-Roman wrestling but also Weight Lifting, Boxing and Tug of War, once again with the exclusion of the Anglophone Catch as Catch Can style. The Great War prevented an Olympics in 1916 and stifled any further developments but at the first post war 1920 Antwerp Games & IOC Conference it was decided that each sport should have its own international body and that the International Amateur Wrestling Federation (FILA) should conduct tournaments in the two popular international styles, Greco Roman and Catch as Catch Can, the latter having its rules modified and name changed to Freestyle to apparently make it more appealing as a global sport, or at least not offend the Europeans anymore. All of the submission finishes that gave Catch as Catch Can its unique character were forbidden and the 3-second supine pinfall was replaced by a supine touch fall the same as in Greco Roman. Outside of the control of FILA in the USA, Catch as Catch Can wrestling further evolved into two separate offshoots, the performance art called professional wrestling and the competitive scholastic sport of collegiate folkstyle wrestling.Q: Where is the line? FILA may recommend going to six weights to appease the IOC. Let's remember there used to be 10. Is there a point when being in the Olympics is a loss? -- Matt C. Foley: We have to accommodate for women's wrestling. Don't like it? Too bad. Equality is necessary, and if we improve our product, specifically the dreadfully boring Greco-Roman style, then we can have more medals. Q: Cael Sanderson after winning four NCAA championships went on to win an Olympic gold medal and now is a successful coach. Do you think Kyle Dake will have such a career after winning four NCAA titles? Why or why not? -- Gregg Y. Foley: I find it difficult enough to predict winners and losers on a weekly basis, much less the possible future coaching talents of current wrestlers. My instinct is that he'll stay committed to wrestling through 2016 and become a coach after he meets his on-the-mat needs. After that, he'd certainly be a great addition to any staff, and possibly, one day, a head wrestling coach. Rant of the Week! Q: Hey, you need to start calling out wrestlers/wrestling styles too. Why on earth is Kyle Dake being promoted as some savior? His style is so BORING!! Last week in NYC just showed what he did his entire college career. Attempt no shots and go to overtime. Yawn! I'm done promoting wrestling if that is what is considered wrestling. -- Steve M. Keep this family in your thoughts: Jonathan Kaloust, a Navy Seal and former wrestler at Binghamton died last week during a training exercise in Fort Knox, Ky. He was 23.

The FILA Cadet and University Nationals will be held this coming weekend on the campus of the University of Akron. Greco-Roman competition will be held on Friday, with freestyle competition slated for Saturday and Sunday. Wrestling will start at 9 a.m. ET on each day. Championship matches for Greco-Roman will be held as part of the second session on Friday, which starts at 3 p.m., while freestyle finals will be held during the Sunday morning session. Here are five things to watch across the events. 1. Cadet star gazing If the initial grade level rankings for the 2013-14 season were to be published today, four of the five number one ranked wrestlers would be slated to compete in the FILA Cadet freestyle competition to be held on Saturday and Sunday. The following is a breakdown of each of their respective weight class fields. California native Cade Olivas is projected to be the nation's top junior high wrestler for the 2013-14 season. He is registered at 46 kilo (92.5 pounds) for this weekend's event. His resume could already be an article in and of itself: two Super 32 Challenge middle school titles, multiple Ohio TofC titles, multiple Roller World of Wrestling triple crowns, the 2013 Cadet National folkstyle title, et al. Others in his weight bracket include 2013 Tulsa Nationals champion Austin Gomez (Illinois); Kade Gfeller (Oklahoma), 2012-13 runner-up at Tulsa KOC and Tulsa Nationals to Olivas and Gomez respectively; as well as 2011-12 Tulsa KOC and Tulsa Nationals champion Louie Hayes (Illinois). Spencer Lee (Pennsylvania) is currently the nation's top junior high wrestler, and is projected to be the top Class of 2017 wrestler come next month. This weekend he is registered in the 50 kilo (110.25 pounds) weight bracket. During the 2012-13 season, Lee finished runner-up at both the Super 32 Challenge and FloNationals, and won a fourth consecutive PJW championship. Primary challengers for Lee include Kyle Norstrem (Florida), who is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2016 and is the defending Cadet National and FILA Cadet National champion in Greco-Roman; defending Junior National freestyle champion Tanner Rohweder (Iowa); National Prep champion Jack Mueller (Texas), runner-up at the Preseason Nationals; Cadet freestyle third-place finisher Nolan Hellickson (Iowa); returning FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up Chris Cuccolo (New York); and returning FILA Cadet freestyle third-place finisher Doyle Trout (Nebraska). Zahid Valencia (California) is the nation's top-ranked Class of 2015 wrestler, and has already won a pair of USA Wrestling titles while in high school; a Cadet National freestyle title last summer, and a Junior National folkstyle title this spring. This weekend, he headlines a solid field of wrestlers at 58 kilos (127.75 pounds). Primary challengers include two of the nation's top 50 seniors-to-be (Class of 2014): No. 36 Cole Weaver (Michigan) and No. 48 Coy Ozias (Virginia). Four other notable Class of 2014 wrestlers in this field include three-time state finalist, and 2012 state champion, Isaiah Locsin (California); Sean Fausz (Kentucky), who was third in this event last year; Mark Voss (Minnesota), who was fourth in this event last year; and Jacob Rubio (Texas), who finished fourth in both styles at the Cadet Nationals last summer in Fargo. Others to watch include Julian Flores (California), who is ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2016, and Nick Lee (Indiana), who is ranked No. 5 among junior high wrestlers. Lastly Aaron Pico (California) is the nation's top Class of 2016 wrestlers, and among the best overall high school aged wrestlers. Pico has already won a pair of Cadet National double titles, and this spring added a Junior National folkstyle title and a FILA Junior National double championship. Though one might call Pico a strong favorite, it isn't for a lack of competition with six other grade level ranked wrestlers in the field: Logan Massa (Michigan), ranked No. 8 in the Class of 2015; Ronnie Gentile (New Jersey), No. 12 in the Class of 2015; Joseph Smith (Oklahoma), ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2015; Fredy Stroker (Iowa), ranked No. 17 in the Class of 2015; Tyler Berger (Oregon), ranked No. 38 in the Class of 2014; and Larry Early (Illinois), ranked No. 40 in the Class of 2015. In addition, the list of registrants includes two-time Cadet freestyle champion Seth Gross (Minnesota), who also won a FILA Cadet national title last year; FILA Cadet runner-up Anthony Giraldo (New Jersey); as well as a pair of excellent Michigan natives in Nick Bennett and Justin Oliver. 2. New rules will be in effect Last week, FILA held an Extraordinary Congress in Moscow, Russia as a result of the IOC's decision to remove wrestling from the Olympic Games -- at least tentatively -- effective in 2020. Part of FILA's reaction, in an attempt to keep wrestling in the games, was a revamp of the rules. These new rules go into effect immediately in FILA events, and therefore will be utilized this weekend. Please note that USA Wrestling has yet to decide if these new rules will be adopted during 2013 for domestic competition at the Cadet/Junior levels and below. Much has been stated about the new rules. However, some of the key concepts in freestyle competition are the following: Matches consist of two three-minute periods (as opposed to the old best-of-three format with two minute periods). Matches will have cumulative scoring; end of match ties will be settled by the same criteria that used to decide periods. Passivity has been brought back into play with a warning system, and the eventual placement of the passive wrestler on a "shot clock," where they have 30 seconds to score or else the other wrestler gets a "caution-and-one." If the first period is scoreless, the officials will determine the wrestler whom is more passive, and place them on the "shot clock." The technicall fall, which will end the match, comes at a ten-point advantage (instead of a six-point advantage, a five-point move, or two three-point moves ending a period). Takedowns are to be worth two points (instead of one point) with additional revisions to the scoring structure for higher amplitude moves. While it is my opinion that the wrestlers (and coaches) will -- more or less -- effectively adapt to the new rules, it will still be interesting to see how things play out. Things to watch include potential changes in match techniques and tactics, as well as the flow of the matches. I am also interested to see how effectively the new rules are conveyed to the officials, and how effectively the officials are able to navigate the changes. Fan and spectator perception will also be interesting to track, though I think greater sample size than a couple of events will be needed to determine that. 3. Deep Cadet weight groups At present, 39 wrestlers in the FILA Cadet Nationals freestyle competition are nationally ranked for their grade level. The breakdown by weight classes is as follows: 42 kilos (92.5 pounds): 1 46 (101.25): 1 50 (110.25): 2 54 (119): 4 58 (127.75): 5 63 (138.75): 7 69 (152): 5 76 (167.5): 8 85 (187.25): 3 100 (220.5): 3 125 (275.5): 0 All weight classes but 125 kilos (275.5 pounds) qualify their champion to the FILA Cadet World Championships to be held later this summer. Of particular interest to me is the field at 76 kilos (167.5 pounds). Based on registration, the joint favorites would have to be Mark Hall (Minnesota) and Bo Nickal (Texas), each of whom won Cadet National freestyle titles last summer in Fargo. While one could say Hall has a greater resume, and success against the field at large, Nickal has demonstrated an ability to beat Hall -- pair of victories last year in folkstyle (Cadet Folkstyle Nationals) and freestyle (FILA Cadet Nationals). Three other wrestlers in this field were runner-ups last summer in freestyle at the Cadet Nationals: Myles Martin (New Jersey), Kimball Bastian (Utah), and Chandler Rogers (Washington); Martin lost in the final to Hall, Bastian to Nickal in a battle of Greco-Roman national champions, and Rogers fell to Christensen whom he beat in the Greco-Roman final. Additional nationally ranked wrestlers in the field at 76 kilos include Beau Breske (Wisconsin), second at the Cadet Folkstyle Nationals this spring; Chris Weiler (Pennsylvania) and Xavier Montalvo (Illinois), Cadet National double All-Americans last summer; as well as Jelani Embree (Michigan). 4. Filthy good University Nationals talent Just take a check of the registration list for the University Nationals freestyle competition to be held on Saturday and Sunday. There are national champions and All-Americans through virtually every weight class, in addition the normal crop of younger wrestlers seeking the chance to compete and develop heading into a succeeding season where they'll be seeking spots in lineups and on the NCAA podium. Winners in the University Nationals qualify for competition in the World University Games this summer, and top two finishers qualify for the World Team Trials to be held in late June in Stillwater, Oklahoma. At the 55-kilo (121 pounds) weight class, one can look forward to a possible Nico Megaludis vs. Zach Sanders showdown. In two years of collegiate wrestling, without taking a redshirt, Megaludis has finished as national runner-up in both seasons; while Sanders capped off four All-American honors with a third-place finish in 2012. In fact, it was Megaludis who sent Sanders to the consolation bracket in 2012, his 7-4 quarterfinal victory was at the time viewed as an upset (the seventh seed beating the second seed). Also here will be defending champion Evan Silver. Defending University Nationals champion and NCAA runner-up Jason Chamberlain headlines a field at 66 kilos (145.5 pounds) that features five other past and present All-Americans: Evan Henderson, James Green, Kevin LeValley, Nick Dardanes, and Mike Nevinger. Also in this weight class is the very talented Josh Kindig, who has made significant noise in age group freestyle competition over the course of his career. The friendly rivalry between Kyle Dake and David Taylor has the chance to list another chapter this coming weekend in the 74-kilo (163-pound) competition at the University Nationals. Dake beat Taylor 5-4 in the NCAA final just over two months ago to cement arguably the greatest college career in history; four titles, four years, four weight classes, all without a redshirt. Taylor's collegiate resume is not too shabby either -- three NCAA finals appearances, including a title in 2012 to cement a season in which he won the Hodge Trophy. The two wrestled at the Olympic Trials last year, a match that Dake also won. (Editor's note: It's now being rumored that Dake will not be competing this weekend despite being registered.) To be forgotten in this weight class -- though he really shouldn't be -- is fellow NCAA champion Derek St. John, who won the 157-pound weight class this past year, and has the chance to repeat as national champion next year; St. John was fourth and second (to Dake) in his two prior collegiate seasons. Also present here is Ian Miller, who won the University Nationals at 70 kilos (154 pounds) last year. The next weight class, 79 kilos (174 pounds), features three excellent wrestlers in Andrew Howe, Logan Storley, and Matt Brown. Howe has a trio of top three finishes at the NCAA tournament, including his title in 2010, was runner-up to Burroughs in the 2012 Olympic Trials, and was also a University Nationals champion in 2011. Storley has earned a pair of NCAA All-American honors (sixth and fourth) in his two years of collegiate competition after graduating high school in 2011; while Brown was runner-up at the NCAA tournament this past year in the 174 pound weight class, including a 3-2 semifinal victory over Storley. Ed Ruth, arguably the nation's most talented collegiate wrestler, anchors the field at 84 kilos (185 pounds). He has dominated his way to national titles each of the last two years after finishing third as a freshman. Primary challenger in this weight class is Cayle Byers, who was third at 197 pounds in the 2012 NCAA tournament. Dustin Kilgore is the lead figure at 96 kilos (211.5 pounds), and seeks a repeat University Nationals title. He also was a two-time NCAA finalist at 197 pounds (champion in 2011, runner-up in 2013), finished third in both the 2011 University Nationals and World Team Trials, and finished fourth at the Olympic Trials in 2012. Additionally in this weight class is Taylor Meeks, who finished fourth at the NCAA tournament this year after losing 8-6 to Kilgore in the national semifinals. Lastly the competition at 120 kilos (264.5 pounds) is loaded with collegiate champions from three different divisions: Tony Nelson (Division I), who is also the defending University Nationals champion; Tyrell Fortune (Division II); and Eric Thompson (NAIA). Also present here are a trio of past Division I All-Americans: Nick Gwiazdowski, Spencer Myers, and Jeremy Johnson. Projected favorites in the other two weight classes would be Tyler Graff, a three-time NCAA All-American coming off third-place finishes at the NCAA tournament and U.S. Open, and two-time NCAA fifth-place finisher Tyler Nauman; Graff is registered at 60 kilos (132), while Nauman is entered at 70 (154). 5. Picking FILA Cadet freestyle champions Based on registered participants, the following wrestlers are my picks to win their weight classes … 42 kilo (92.5 pounds): Cade Olivas from California 46 (101.25): Daton Fix from Oklahoma 50 (110.25): Spencer Lee from Pennsylvania 54 (119): Stevan Micic from Indiana 58 (127.75): Zahid Valencia from California 63 (138.75): Aaron Pico from California 69 (152): Mason Manville from New Jersey 76 (167.5): Mark Hall from Minnesota 85 (187.25): Robert Steveson from Minnesota 100 (220.5): Lance Benick from Minnesota 125 (275.5): Gavin Jolley-Little from Indiana Note: Information related to entrants is based on registered wrestlers as of 9 p.m. CT on Tuesday. Josh Lowe will be providing coverage of the FILA Cadet and University freestyle Nationals on Saturday and Sunday with primary focus on the Cadet (high school aged) competition. A recap story will be posted on InterMat about the Cadet tournament, while periodic live updates will be provided through the weekend via twitter (http://www.twitter.com/JoshMLowe).

It's not often you get a UFC pay-per-view card with a fairly lopsided main event that offers a pretty strong card. But UFC 160 does just that, even though there isn't a ton of doubt that heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez will pulverize Antonio Silva's face for the second time in 12 months. Richard and John break down the main card and then discuss other news of the day. Vitor Belfort may have earned the knockout of the year, but his use of testosterone replacement therapy was an equally prominent storyline. Also, it's time for the debut of "Who's the dumber MMA agent?" Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.

Despite there being plenty of rumors about who is applying for which job and why, these lists are difficult to verify. Some coaches will miss out on one position and apply to another, while some will pull their names from contention for personal reasons, or because their current bosses were able to raise their salaries. These are probably not the only coaches in contention for a job, but they are some of the most often mentioned, and well-qualified candidates. Bloomsburg John Hughes: A 1995 NCAA champion or Penn State, Hughes has been on the coaching circuit since 2000 when he took a position with the Pittsburgh Wrestling Club. Since then he's put in a lengthy tenure as the head of the Nittany Lion Wrestling club, as an assistant to Troy Sunderland at Penn State, and just finished his third full season in Lehigh where he's helped head coach Pat Santoro rebuild the Mountain Hawks' winning tradition. Were Hughes to be hired he'd only be 20 minutes from his home in Stillwater, Pa. Brad Dillon: Pat Santoro's most trusted advisor, Brad Dillon has coached with the highly successful head coach for nine years, including four years at Maryland and five at Lehigh. A widely respected coach at 30, Dillon is among the youngest of the coaches to be placing his name in contention for top jobs. Dillon is from Allentown, Pa. Todd Beckerman: A two-time All-American at Nebraska, Todd Beckerman has been with the Maryland Terrapins program for nine seasons. Originally hired away from a two-year coaching stint by then-head coach Pat Santoro, Beckerman remained on staff when Kerry McCoy took over five seasons ago. Not only has Beckerman played a part in creating several All-Americans for the Terrapins, but he's also one of the most active and well-known advocates for social media within wrestling. Josh Moore: Popular and charismatic, Josh Moore is a 2004 NCAA finalist from Penn State. Since graduating Moore has spent the last nine seasons as an assistant coach at Kent State. Moore's arrival sparked that program's turnaround, which has included several All-Americans and the programs first NCAA champion since 1983, Dustin Kilgore. Moore, who is from Western, Pa., had been rumored to be looking at head coaching positions in the past, but has taken few interviews, due to his stated loyalty to the Golden Flashes. What they need: Bloomsburg is replacing an incredible mat coach in John Stutzman. His guys worked hard, stayed (mostly) out of trouble and were able to churn out All-American performances. With that as a base, the program could use an infusion of energy, like Moore's, that might help capture more Pennsylvania recruits, or the confident and well-structured leadership of Hughes and Dillon. Beckerman would bring the program into more national notoriety through his outreach. Whoever they choose, Bloomsburg needs to keep their momentum going forward, and none of these applicants pose much of a risk to the programs stability, though it'll be important to the administration to see which of these candidates provides the clearest, and most economically solvent, plan for the future. Brown Todd Beckerman: See above. Brad Dillon: See above. Jeff Buxton: Arguably the best high school coach of the last fifty years, Jeff Buxton is hoping to parlay his success at Blair into a college coaching career in Providence. A native of Rhode Island, Buxton's six national titles in 30 years at Blair stands as some testament to his overall coaching ability, to say nothing of the dozens of future NCAA champions who wrestled for him at Blair. Jared Frayer: The 2012 Olympian and two-time NCAA All-American for Oklahoma has been on the assistant coaching circuit since 2003. He's put in stints at Harvard, Iowa, Wisconsin and currently Oklahoma. Well-liked by his wrestlers and with a string of successful weight class coaching successes, Frayer is one of the most accomplished wrestlers looking for a head coaching position this spring. John Clark: A two-time All-American for Ohio State, John Clark has been an assistant coach at Brown for the past five seasons. An intelligent guy and capable recruiter, Clark was on staff when the Brown program was close to being dropped in 2011. The campaign to keep it alive was successful. What they need: The Brown program has struggled for many years. There have been few wins, and even less excitement. That tradition doesn't bode well for the incumbent coaching staff, as many athletic directors look for change in these situations. Beckerman's forward thinking and Frayer's status within the community are both awesome, but it's difficult not to be intrigued by the idea of Buxton as head coach. Kevin Dresser (Christiansburg, VA Tech) is an example of how a high school coach can make an immediate impact on a major Division I program. Brown needs a major, substantive spark. Unlike other programs they need to win and win quickly, a thought that will likely guide their hiring process. Lock Haven Technically opens in two weeks Scott Moore: The two-time All-American spent seven seasons as the head assistant coach at Virginia, before taking the assistant coaching position at Lock Haven in 2011. Like his brother, Josh, Scott is well-liked and has name identification in Pennsylvania. He's currently the acting head coach of the program and is from Western Pennsylvania. Dennis Papadatos: Currently an assistant coach under C.D. Mock at North Carolina, Papadatos earned his reputation as an assistant coach at Binghamton under Pat Popolizio for five seasons where he helped coach 16 NCAA qualifiers and two All-Americans. What they need: After the sudden dismissal of Robbie Waller, the Lock Haven fans are looking for a stable leader who can build some excitement around results. Though not well supported by the university the program has massive resources in the area and deep pocketed donors who with winning could be compelled to contribute. Papadatos was part of Binghamton's transformation and has seen what it takes to build a winning program. Moore, who saw the same thing under Garland at Virginia, might look to diversify his application by bringing on a head assistant coach with the same last name. If that happens, then there is little question that they would bring a momentum to the school that would otherwise be impossible to replicate. Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Alex Clemsen: The head assistant wrestling coach at Virginia, Alex Clemsen has been an assistant coach since graduating Edinboro in 2007 splitting time between Oregon State (two seasons) and Virginia (four seasons). The Missouri native was an All-American for Edinboro, and has been pivotal in the development of UVa's upperweights, including the program's first-ever three-time All-American, Chris Henrich. Tony Ersland: An assistant coach for the past 13 seasons, Ersland is the most experienced candidate for any of the open positions. Currently the assistant coach at Nebraska under Mark Manning, Ersland has been the upperweights coach for some of Nebraska's biggest success stories. Matt Lackey: A 2003 NCAA champion for the University of Illinois, Lackey has spent the last three seasons as the assistant coach at Buffalo, but was let go when head coach Jim Beichner was fired. Prior to joining the Buffalo staff, Lackey spent two years as an assistant at Lock Haven. Jeremy Spates: Cornell assistant Jeremy Spates has been assistant coach for nine seasons, with his first five being accumulated at Oklahoma. The 2004 All-American for Missouri, Spates is from coaching royalty, as his father Jack Spates was the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma form more than twenty seasons. In addition to the consul of his father, Spates has the advantage of participating in the inner machinations of the Cornell program, arguably the best run of any Division I wrestling program. What they need: The newest of Division I programs, SIUE needs a coach who knows how to implement the structure of a winning program. It's vital to the school, and to wrestling as a whole that the candidate chosen doesn't just focus on mat success, but also in what it takes to create fundraising and fan support. Spates' pedigree is going to be difficult for other candidates to outclass, but Clemsen has experience in a similar situation and Ersland has a mountain of understanding on how to run a big time college program.

Shane Sparks of BadgerStateWrestling.com catches up with Ohio State's Logan Stieber at the Askren Wrestling Academy. Stieber, a two-time NCAA champion in two seasons, recently notched a win over Russia's Opan Sat, the No. 1-ranked freestyle wrestler in the world at 60 kilos. View the interview on BadgerStateWrestling.com.

Manheim, Pa. -- The National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) has announced its annual Division I All-Academic Top 30 Teams and Individual All-Academic wrestling team for the 2012-13 wrestling season. Harvard University is honored as the nation's top academic wrestling program, while four NCAA Champions (Cornell's 4x Champ Kyle Dake, Oklahoma State's Chris Perry, Penn State's 2x Champ Quentin Wright, and Oklahoma's Kendric Maple) headlined the individual list. Harvard, led by head coach Jay Weiss, had a team Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.418 to take home top honors. The Crimson were champions in 2011 and finished last year second with a 3.37 GPA. This championship finish marked the program's third win in the past four years and the tenth time that the program has finished in the top 10 under Weiss. The runner-up in this year's team competition was the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Following a top finish last year, Mark Manning's squad again delivered a strong performance with a 3.32 team GPA. Rounding out the Top 10 teams was Stanford University (3.25), Indiana University (3.24), University of Virginia (3.24), Brown University (3.23), Lehigh University (3.23), Old Dominion University (3.16), Duke University (3.15), and Penn State University (3.15). There were a total of 10 teams showing up on the All-Academic squad that finished in the top 30 at this year's NCAA Division I Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Leading the way was 3x defending team champs Penn State and runner-up and third place finishers Oklahoma State and Minnesota. The team GPA was determined using a system that includes 12 student-athletes from each program. A total of 10 of these came from the wrestlers that were entries in the NCAA tournament conference qualifier. If teams had less than 10 entries for their respective qualifier, they were allowed to fill those spots with wrestlers that competed in at least one varsity dual during the season. On this year's Individual All-Academic Team there are 82 total athletes, four NCAA Champions, four NCAA Runner-Ups, 21 All-Americans, and 72 NCAA qualifiers. Joining the four NCAA Champions were four runner-ups including Lehigh's Robert Hamlin and Penn State's Matthew Brown, Nicholas Megaludis, and David Taylor. The student-athlete with the highest GPA was Matthew Brown from Penn State University. Brown, who had a 3.97 GPA in Criminology, was also named the NCAA Elite 89 award winner. Rounding out the Top 5 of the individual list were Virginia's Matthew Snyder (3.95), Hofstra's Steve Bonanno (3.77), North Dakota State's Evan Knutson (3.755), and Ohio State University's Cody Magrum (3.745). Virginia had the most individuals on the list as eight of their student-athletes finished on the All-Academic team. Ohio University and Penn State finished second with four student-athletes on the team. "The NWCA All-Academic Team and Individual Team is one of the best acknowledgements that we can give to our coaches and athletes at the end of a physically grueling season� said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. "These young men have proved that they are not only talented competitors but are leaders in the classroom as well. The NWCA Board of Directors and staff look forward to watching these student-athletes continue their success at the collegiate level and eventually as the leaders of the future once they earn their college degrees. For a list of the Top 30 teams, click here. For a list of the individual team, click here. About the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a non-profit organization for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on developing coaches who work in academic environments. The membership embraces all people interested in amateur wrestling. The three core competencies of the NWCA are: coaching development, student-athlete welfare, and promotion of wrestling.

The new rules that came out of the FILA extraordinary congress were a real step in the right direction. Two-point takedowns completely change the dynamic of the sport for the better. Wrestling needs to reward the offensive, chance should favor the bold, and the new rules do just that. The new international wrestling rules were used during Sunday's United 4 Wrestling event in Los Angeles (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)On Wednesday I sent a tweet to the FILA Twitter account imploring whomever manning that account to make that day the last time balls are ever pulled out of a bag to determine the outcome of a wrestling match. Wacky as it sounds, FILA complied with my request. I therefore take full credit for the rule change while gleefully celebrating to an end to one of the most embarrassing chapters in wrestling history. Before the last Olympics I wrote a series of articles previewing the wrestling portion of the Games. When I got to the point explaining the ball pull, I had to channel Dave Barry and preface with "I'm not making this up." I can still hardly believe that the procedure existed. It's almost as if FILA brought in a panel of bad comedy writers to brainstorm on the most madcap way to break a tie in a wrestling match. As mind-numbingly terrible a feature as the ball grab was, it may still not be as bad as the last iteration of the Greco-Roman rules where Olympic gold medals were awarded to the people who were really good at stalling and laying on their bellies. The ball grab turned freestyle into the butt of jokes, enforced par terre turned Greco into an abomination. Now, hopefully we can look forward to brighter days. The new rules possess greater fidelity to the spirit of the sport. They foster more action and should create a visually appealing product. The rules, however, do not make freestyle accessible to the casual fan, and they still demand high levels of knowledge from the highly involved. Jake Herbert fell in the Olympic Games quarterfinals to Sharif Sharifov of Azerbaijan (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Remember the Jake Herbert vs. Sharif Sharifov match from the quarterfinals of the London Olympics? Of course you do. You most certainly recall a sequence where Sharif was in on a double, Jake threw him back and rolled him through with a chest lock, and then Sharif scrambled out and ended up on top of Jake. Nobody knew how the hell to score it, and not just the people watching at home; the judges, ref, and even a FILA official all were at a loss. I've re watched the sequence a few times, and while I can understand a variety way to score it, I'm pretty darn certain the score that got thrown up was the wrong one. This speaks to freestyle's big problem: some situations are totally ambiguous, and in others the rules are terribly difficult to understand. I can foresee a moment in the future where I'm watching some freestyle wrestling with a buddy (just kidding, I can't foresee this, but bear with me) and several questions are raised. Buddy: Hey, why'd they score that 4-2 for the guy getting the takedown? Me: Well, the momentum of the takedown carried the opponent to his back, but then the guy shooting got rolled through and his back was exposed, and so it's two exposure points, plus two points for the takedown, and two exposure points for the other guy. Buddy: Hey! The same thing just happened but they scored it differently. Me: No. See, this time the defensive guy stopped the attacker's momentum before rolling him through, thus making it "his move." Buddy: What gives! That guy just tried a throw and got taken down but they scored no points. Me: No, that's called a slip throw. Buddy: Um … the same thing just happened but they ruled it a take down. Me: No … No … No. He secured the takedown before the other guy fully slipped to the mat. Buddy: All right, I know all the rules, I understand the criteria for exposure, and for takedowns, and for three-point moves, and five-point moves, but that guy right there almost hit a really awesome move that barely didn't work, but it didn't meet any criteria for any of those scores, but they gave him a point anyway. That was wrong, right? Me: No, it was right. It was an appreciation point. Buddy: A WHAT?!!! One of the big complaints about freestyle (and Greco) when it was recommended for exclusion from the Games was that it was a sport only for experts. For better or worse, this is still true, and it always will be. Olympic wrestling is filled with subtlety and nuance and the accompanying controversy, and while that might prevent access to the casual viewer, it is what simultaneously also makes it great. Finally I have some bad news. We are all basking in the glow of a great week for wrestling, albeit one that featured a thorough ass whipping at the hand of an Iranian team before their unscheduled departure, but what came from the FILA extraordinary congress should make us very concerned. It's hard to divine what goes on in the hearts and minds of the members of the IOC executive board, their inner workings are utterly opaque. However, lately I've begun to speculate on a big reason for their initial decision to propose the exclusion of wrestling from the Games. Disregarding the Greco/freestyle distinction and I have a feeling the IOC does, wrestling award 56 medals to men, and a mere 16 to women. Greco-Roman wrestling does not have a women's competition. There's even women's boxing now. I can't, off the top of my head, think of another men's Olympic sport without a female analogue. I understand why we give more medals to men than women at this point in the development in the sport of women's wrestling, but my opinion could not be any more irrelevant. Wrestling's gender inequality undoubtedly weighs heavily on the minds of the IOC board, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was the real culprit in wrestling exclusion in the first place. Because FILA's bureau and member delegations couldn't summon the courage to take the tragic but necessary steps in jettisoning Greco-Roman wrestling, this gender inequality may be the real culprit in Olympic wrestling's demise at the end of this month.

Jordan Burroughs improved to 54-0 in his international career (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LOS ANGELES -- An incredible day for wrestling was capped by an amazing performance by arguably the best pound-for-pound wrestler on the planet. Olympic and World champion Jordan Burroughs put his immense talents of full display to put an exclamation point on the United 4 Wrestling event on Sunday afternoon before a boisterous crowd of 3,500 fans at the L.A. Sports Arena. Read the rest of the story ... Results Senior Level Freestyle: 66 kilos: Jordan Oliver (USA) dec. Magomed Kurbanliev (Russia), 7-6 60 kilos: Opan Sat (Russia) tech. fall John Pineda (Canada), 10-0 66 kilos: Haislan Garcia (Canada) dec. Soslan Ramonov (Russia), 6-3 84 kilos: Jon Reader (USA) tech. fall Tamerlin Tagziev (Canada), 12-2 55 kilos: Artas Sanaa (Russia) dec. Sam Hazewinkel (USA), 5-2 96 kilos: Chris Pendleton (USA) tech. fall Manjot Sandhu (Canada), 11-0 48 kilos: Jasmine Mian (Canada) dec. Victoria Anthony (USA), 4-2 51 kilos: Genevieve Haley (Canada) dec. Jessica Medina (USA), 11-5 63 kilos: Elena Pirozhkova (USA) dec. Danielle Lappage (Canada), 4-2 72 kilos: Brittney Roberts (USA) dec. Justina DiStasio (Canada), 7-2 60 kilos: Opan Sat (Russia) dec. Coleman Scott (USA), 6-2 66 kilos: Jordan Oliver (USA) dec. Haislan Garcia (Canada), 5-2 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech. fall Saba Khubetzhty (Russia), 14-3 Youth: 60 pounds: Patricia Arana pinned Viviana Garcia, 4:30 90 pounds: Cade Olivas pinned Randon Miranda, 2:30 126 pounds: Zander Wick dec. Jimmy Felix, 11-0 126 pounds: Jaden Abas dec. Daniel Long, 6-4 Replay Video Interviews

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. They're taking their ball and going home. The Iranian national team has backed out of their commitment to wrestle against Team USA in Los Angeles. Details are few, but the team has decided to forgo their next match and is heading directly back to Tehran. It's unclear the impact this will have on what was very positive media from Wednesday's Rumble on the Rails event in New York City. However, I expect that this will invalidate at least some of the goodwill messaging put forward by the national media. In the meantime we should all do our best to support the sport on the West Coast and attend the event. Wrestling needs to show it's resiliency. The Russians have agreed to wrestle, the Canadians are on board, and though nothing is confirmed there is rumor that a super match MIGHT be in the works. To your questions ... Q: Any "on the rise" smaller programs to look for in Division I next year? For example Bloomsburg having the strong dual season this year, and F&M with Richard Durso. My other question is what are the chances Louisville makes a program? -- Nathan M. Foley: Bloomsburg has to name a new head coach for me to back their season. I am confident they'll hire the right guy for the job, just no telling what the impact that hire would have on the current team. I'd look out for N.C. State. The Wolfpack's sophomore heavyweight and 2012 All-American Nick Gwiazdowski is coming off redshirt, and under Pat Popolizio they'll be sure to have one or two young wrestlers start transitioning to national success. Northwestern still has two-time All-American heavyweight Mike McMullan, and national finalist candidate Jason Tsirtsis, along with a half-dozen other All-American candidates. Those aren't really smaller programs, but they are the lesser-sized within their conference. I think F&M's Durso is a lock for All-American and that could bring up a few more guys. Brown has talented wrestlers and with a new coach might be in the position to make quick gains. Boston University will have a lot of emotional support and could see some gains. Louisville would be a stretch to start a program. They have plenty of extra cash in the coffers and their athletic director has mentioned funding a new program, but they're not from an area where wrestling is part of the conversation. Also, I haven't heard of any marketing campaigns, or personal appeals being directed at the athletic department to start a program. For Louisville to start a program they'd have to see the financial appeal. It's much more likely they start men's and women's lacrosse programs. Q: Just watched Rumble on the Rails on NBC Sports. Very well done event. Too bad I almost didn't know it was on TV! I was lucky I could set my DVR from work during lunch time. We have to be able to promote these events better! I would bet the viewership would have been great if it was prime time with some good promotional build-up. Also: no USA vs. Russia on TV!? Side note: Now that SU is moving over to the ACC .. .maybe they'll consider bringing their wrestling team back? -- CB, Syracuse Foley: They didn't show the USA v. Russia? Wow. I was at the event and didn't realize there wasn't continued coverage. The event was pretty well publicized, even if the word hadn't trickled down to everyone. I've never seen more media on-hand for a wrestling event in the United States, and as I wrote earlier, I think that the positive messaging coming from the event will make its way to the IOC Executive Board and the rest of the IOC voters. Syracuse could very well start a program, but AGAIN there needs to be a movement to have them change their mind. Why not start a women's program in addition to the men's? Sports are about publicity and if Syracuse came out with an announcement that they were reinstating wrestling during this time of international turmoil AND would become the first Division I team to offer scholarships to female wrestlers, they'd have more media than they could handle. It'd fundamentally change the way their sports program would be seen by outsiders. They'd be innovators. And remember, that the move would also be covered by ESPN, since fifty percent of the staff in Bristol graduated from Newhouse School of Journalism. Who is selling this idea to the school? Who should be? Let's find these people, put together a silent, or public campaign and get wrestling reinstated at the 'Cuse! Q: As a Lock Haven University alumni, I was rather disappointed to see Robbie Waller fired. Given the school's lessened commitment to wrestling, I'm not sure what administrators expected. He barely had one recruiting class get through and yet was beginning to make strides. My only thought is that someone showed great interest in the position that administrators felt was better move. My only thought is that unless it's Cary Kolat himself the program will probably not be better off with the next head coach. I hate to say that, but in my time at LHU the school's support of wrestling seemed very underdeveloped given it is the school's only Division 1 men's sport and, despite its small size, has a history of pumping out talented wrestlers. Who do you see as the next head coach at LHU and, given the school's very low interest in promoting the wrestling program, is there any way the next coach bring any more success that Waller? Or is he just being set up to be fired in four years? -- Ryan P. Foley: It's apparently a long story with twists, turns, hurt feelings and accusations of poor coaching, but Waller's dismissal wasn't surprising to at least some Lock Haven supporters. Waller seems like a nice guy and I don't know all the facts of his firing, just that sometimes change is needed by both parties. Lock Haven won't give up on wrestling, but they do need someone to come through who inspires them to give more attention and funding to the program. They need wins, and in four years Waller had more than other sports, but not enough to necessarily win over the administration. On a personal level, it's difficult for me to not advocate for Scott Moore. We wrestled together and I know that Scott would pour everything into making that program bigger and better. I also think that he'd prefer to bring along his brother Josh Moore from Kent State, a move that if financially feasible would all but guarantee the program massive success. The Moore Brothers are both from western Pennsylvania, have insane name identification and are well-respected, well-rehearsed coaches. They also bring outsized energy to a program that could use a shot of life. I'm very biased in this opinion, but I do think that they are the best, and maybe only coaches for the job. As for being fired in four years? Not these two. Q: The IOC has been clear that FILA was not doing its job as an international governing body. Wouldn't it be fair to say the leaders of USA Wrestling were also not doing their jobs? Also why is it only Martinetti has been forced out at FILA, shouldn't there be more changes than that? -- Zach A. Foley: The King is Dead! Long Live the King! Nobody knows what is going on inside these organizations. Like the IOC itself they are closed off, and when lit have traditionally shown massive organizational failures. USA Wrestling is far from perfect and their leadership shares blame for many of our domestic failures. Like with any organization there is some stagnation in roles, but with both FILA and USA Wrestling the people meant to keep checks on those in power, are, as one very skeptical individual recently described to me, "getting their bread buttered by the bosses." What would be the benefit of a dramatic change in leadership? I think it would make the new body much more beholden to their audience. Because any shakeup at USA Wrestling would cause media attention, the new individuals set in place would be held more accountable. The General installed by coup always has to be worried that the same might happen to him should he not represent the needs of the people. (I saw this first-hand in Chad.) The real question becomes what do we do if wrestling is dropped from the Olympic Games? It would seem apparent that everyone should be fired. Everyone. You cannot let the world's first sport lose representation in the Olympic Games. If you do, and then you run for office, or keep it, then you are essentially telling the world that you value your skill set above the needs of the sport. Imagine something similar happening inside the corporate structure?! The Founder and CEO of JetBlue got tossed by his board of directors after he let passengers get stranded on the runway for 10 hours. The man CREATED the company and yet was still accountable to his board. Why the hell should wrestling be any different? As for FILA you have to imagine that there just won't be any more FILA. The sport will no longer be under the umbrella of the Olympics, which means that competitive governing bodies could emerge. There is REAL potential in a partnerships between the United States, Japan and Abu Dhabi for a governing body that gives all grappling and wrestling sports an equal chance. Those talents and above-the-board operations could lead to a non-Olympic renaissance of all grappling sports. But first, let's try and keep our Olympic status. Q: Is there a magazine or website that has all the state champs from every state? -- Mike C. Foley: I think USA Wrestling Magazine prints a list, but I'm not certain. Readers? Q: Looks like Greco-Roman wasn't a big hit at the Rumble on the Rails. Should they have put their matches before freestyle? -- Mike R. Foley: No. Why would we want to further protect the sport from its failures? This is what is so infuriating about wrestling. The facts are simple, Greco-Roman doesn't intrigue and doesn't sell. Running them last only proved that point. Rumble on the Rails was a raucous affair for most of the five-hour program, but once the Greco-Roman wrestlers appeared on the mat fans, journalists, and even dignitaries FLED Vanderbilt Hall. Silence. Those who did remain began the process of networking and discussing which bars to attend post-match. There were no cheers, no oohs, and no noise, because for 25 minutes there were no takedowns, no action. Wrestling is in a period of self-analysis and adjustment, but it needs to see these next three months as a period of total and complete reconstruction. Greco-Roman is supported by the acting President of FILA and many of the Bureau members, so it is unlikely to be removed. However, the fact remains that it has always been the lesser of the two disciplines in terms of fan involvement and media excitement. But more importantly there are several statements that have been supporting Greco-Roman but are simply not true. Greco-Roman is NOT the traditional form of wrestling. The discipline was developed by a Frenchman in the late 19th century and was added to the Olympic Games because he very intelligently changed the name from "flat hands" wrestling to "Greco-Roman" in a marketing ploy that would recall the original Olympic Games. If anything, Greco-Roman is one the least traditional disciplines in the Olympic Games. Discuss, steeplechase, javelin are all much more traditional that Greco-Roman, and they've stayed totally unchanged. Greco-Roman is wholly and completely different than its original 19th century form. I repeat, Greco-Roman is NOT the traditional form of wrestling. There are dozens of traditional forms that have much more historical resonance, some dating back as many as 7k years. Many of these style are also MUCH more popular and marketable for wrestling. Mongolian bokh, Lucha Canaria, and Lutte Senegalese are all traditional forms that are already more popular than Greco-Roman. There is Indian Kushti (700+) and Turkish Oil Wrestling (652), along with another dozen more that would crush Greco-Roman in terms of antiquity. There is no substantive argument in keeping a sport that has little fan support and that couldn't easily be replaced by a more exciting, more inclusive style. In short, it's time to retire Greco-Roman and guarantee complete competitive equality for women. If wrestling doesn't offer complete equality, we will not make it into the 2020 Games. We should move to seven freestyle weights for men, and seven for women. The final four medals will be broken into takedown-only tournaments: one team, one individual for both men and women. Five on five for the team events (race to three), and a no weight class takedown tourney for the individual tournament. Nation vs. Nation team events draw ENORMOUS crowds on television and in person. We've seen in Senegal and Mongolia that the takedown-only format is both highly competitive and rewards the hardest working, most-technical wrestlers, as evidenced in certain wrestlers winning multiple titles year after year. Takedown-only events would be the ENTRY POINT for sports fans to get interested in the sport. It would allow them the opportunity to get more invested in the sport, because we could describe simple holds and techniques because they always lead to one, simple conclusion: Takedowns. Just like with soccer and basketball, whose sports have advanced metrics and endless analysis, wrestling could enjoy media-saturation if the outcomes were easy to determine. I have visions of analysts sitting around with highlighters circling where Reece Humphrey was able to secure the TAKEDOWN against the Korean wrestler because his foot was placed JUST SO on his inside trip. If a fan knows that falling down first is how you lose, then the media and analysts can give you 100 million reasons it did, or didn't happen. But when it's two guys hand-fighting, with rules that are too complicated for ninety percent of wrestling fans to understand, then we can't do the simple analysis on television. You be the judge. Alexander Karelin loses out on four Olympic titles because he unlocked his hands in a clinch. Is that wrestling? Is that REAL competition? The single biggest upset in wrestling history is a 14-minute long match with only moderate fan cheering, largely because nobody, including then President Juan Antonio Samaranch, understood who won, or why. On the other side, a very briefly edited video of a takedown-only team event in the middle of Africa. More than 10k crazed fans, cheers, and excitement. Please try and imagine what that could be like at the Olympics. Karelin vs. Gardner Chad vs. Central Africa Rant of the Week! In response to Olympian Jake Herbert's accusation that he wasn't donating money to the cause to Save Olympic Wrestling, and that he was personally stiffed $7k, Mike DiSabato of Cage Fighter responded. The clothing salesman who recently acquired Kyle Dake, went to Twitter to call Herbert a "douche bag" among several other less-than-flattering names. Oh, and he goes on to claim that poor sponsorship of athletes led to the murder of Dave Shultz. Here are the screen shots of his Twitter Feed: (THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO BE ON TWITTER!) Herbert antagonizes DiSabato, who he believes owes him $7k, but is currently making enough money to offer Kyle Dake a six-figure contract ... Re: Jake Herbert's intelligence ... Calling Herbert "a(n) arrogant prick" ... On why DiSabato thinks Jake isn't making any financial gains post-wrestling ... Herbert's performance at the 2012 Olympics was deemed subpar by DiSabato ... DiSabato seems to be making the point that John DuPont wouldn't have killed Dave Shultz had there been an apparel company to sponsor wrestlers ... DiSabato believes the UFC's Dana White has acted in the same manner ...

Fight Now TV Presents Takedown Wrestling in the Brute studios. 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. Join Scott Casber, Steve Foster, Terry Cook, our own Jeff Murphy and Brad Johnson live from Des Moines, Iowa. This week Bob Selby takes my place as I announce both the NY and LA Beat The Streets events. This week's guests: 9:03 Reece Humphrey, U.S. men's freestyle wrestler 9:20 Joe Russell, George Mason head wrestling coach 9:40 Patrick Hadley, Adam Frey Film producer 9:50 Tyler Barkley, Max Muscle Sports Nutrition Update 10:00 Scott Hinkel, Purdue head wrestling coach 10:20 Kevin Jackson, Iowa State head wrestling coach 10:40 Jake Herbert, U.S. men's freestyle wrestler 10:50 Amy Ruble, Wildrose Casino and Resort Fans, athletes, coaches: This is your sport. Join in the conversation live. Ask questions. Call 866-333-5966 or 515-204-5966. Takedown Wrestling is available on radio on AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa, online at Livesportsvideo.com, or on your Blackberry or iPhone with the iHeart Radio app. (Click on KXNO under Sportsradio.)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Lutte Licensing Group, LLC (Lutte) announced today an exclusive sponsorship, licensing and marketing agreement with four-time NCAA champion & 2013 Dan Hodge Trophy winner Kyle Dake. Kyle Dake defeated Hassan Tahmasebi of Iran on Wednesday night (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Lutte, which also holds the exclusive licensing and manufacturing rights to mixed martial arts brands Cage Fighter and CF Athletic, entered the authentic athletic mixed martial arts branded apparel business in 2007 and has been a prominent supporter of the mixed martial arts and mixed martial artists at all levels of the sport since entering the Octagon at UFC 74. Dake, who made history in March by becoming the first ever athlete to win four NCAA championships in four different weight classes, is the first athlete in the history of the sport in the United States to receive a multi-year guaranteed contract to endorse both an apparel & shoe brand immediately following the completion of his collegiate wrestling career. In 2011, Lutte also signed two-time NCAA champion, Jordan Burroughs, to a then historic multi-year endorsement agreement to represent the CF Athletic brand's growing wrestling apparel category. The agreement between Lutte and Dake is also historic as Dake will not only wear CF Athletic combat apparel to train and compete in at the international level, but he will also be the first athlete in the history of the sport to put his name on a wrestling shoe immediately following the commencement of his collegiate career. Dake's yearly compensation will likely garner him well over six figures per year as Lutte is the first company in the history of the sport of wrestling to pay an athlete a percentage of sales in line with the rates received by athletes in other major professional sports in the United States. The announcement of this historic business relationship between Lutte (which means Wrestling in French) and Dake comes on the heels of the International Olympic Committee's announcement in February that the IOC executive board recommended the sport of wrestling bedropped from the Olympic program in 2020. "We believe in the sport of wrestling long term and we believe in Kyle Dake," says Lutte's Founder & President Michael DiSabato, a former D1 wrestler at The Ohio State University. "Wrestling is the oldest and greatest sport in the world and has always been the cornerstone of our brand and the athletes we choose to endorse. We believe in wrestling at all levels and our deal with Kyle shows that the numbers are significant enough in our sport to compensate athletes who compete in the sport fairly," says DiSabato. "The name Dake means winner as Kyle has represented himself and our sport at the highest level both on the mat and in the classroom." Kyle Dake won four NCAA Division I championships at Cornell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Lutte is expected to launch its on-the-mat relationship with Dake today as the Ithaca, N.Y. native is scheduled to debut on the international wrestling scene at the Rumble on the Rails event set for the historic Grand Central Station in New York City this afternoon against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Dake will also compete later this year for a spot on the U.S .World Team in Stillwater, Okla., in June. Lutte has already begun work on the first generation CF Athletic KyleDake signature shoe set for release later this year. The CF Athletic Dake signature shoe is to be appropriately named, The Revolution. "One thing is clear to me and many in wrestling, we need to change the way our sport is marketed and the way our athletes are compensated. Look at the UFC, NBA, NASCAR, PGA and the NFL for examples. The athlete story is what builds brands and builds fan interest. The REVOLUTION is coming." Says DiSabato. Lutte Licensing Group, LLC is a boutique manufacturing and licensing company started by Michael H. DiSabato. Lutte Licensing Group owns exclusive licensing rights to prominent mixed martial arts brands including Cage Fighter and CF Athletic. Cage Fighter. CF is worn by undefeated UFC title contender and two-time U.S. Olympian Daniel Cormier. CF has also been worn by some of the finest athletes in mixed martial arts including Chuck Liddell, B.J. Penn, Urijah Faber, Forrest Griffin, Gray Maynard, Mo Lawal, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, Josh Thompson, Phil Davis, Chris Weidman and Mike Swick. DiSabato is also credited for developing the first and only mixed martial arts lifestyle brand, MMA Elite, to be sold to Walmart stores in both the U.S. and Canada.

NEW YORK -- Team USA made a statement on Wednesday night in New York with a convincing 8-1 victory over world wrestling power Russia at the Rumble on the Rails at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal. Jordan Burroughs improved to 53-0 in his international wrestling career (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)All five men's freestyle matches were won by the U.S., as well the lone women's freestyle match. Russia's lone win came in the final match of the dual meet in Greco-Roman. World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs extended his international win streak to 53, but needed three periods to do against Saba Khubetzhty at 74 kilos. The first period went to Khubetzhty 1-1, as the Russian scored the last point in the period with a pushout. Burroughs came back strong to win the second period 5-0, and closed out the match with a 7-3 victory in the final period. Current college stars Logan Stieber and David Taylor came through with big victories for Team USA. Stieber, a two-time NCAA champion in two seasons at Ohio State, stunned world No. 1 Opan Sat, 5-7, 6-0, 3-0, at 60 kilos. Stieber jumped out to a 3-0 lead early, scoring with a takedown and ankle lace. But Sat battled back to win the opening period 7-5, with all of his points coming from a flurry. Stieber was dominant in the second period, winning 6-0. The final period came down to the leg clinch, and Stieber came out on top with a three-point crotch lift. Taylor, a runner-up at this year's U.S. Open, was dominant from start to finish against Magomed Kurbanaliev. After Taylor took the opening period 7-2, he threw Kurbanaliev to his back early in the second period to earn the fall. Olympic bronze medalist Coleman Scott won in three periods over Artas Sanaa at 60 kilos. Scott won the first period 1-0, scoring a one-point takedown. Sanaa came back to win the second period by scoring from the leg clinch. In the third period Scott used a three-point double leg takedown in the final 30 seconds to win the period 3-0 and take the match. Scott Casber interviews Kurt Angle at the Rumble on the Rails (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Brent Metcalf came from behind to defeat Soslan Ramanov, 0-2, 1-0, 7-0, at 66 kilos. In the only women's freestyle match, Helen Maroulis, a 2012 World silver medalist, pinned Irina Kisel (Russia) early in the second period. The U.S. picked up wins in two of the three Greco-Roman matches contested. Kendrick Sanders earned a 1-0, 1-0 victory over Asker Orshokdugov at 66 kilos. Ben Provisor followed up with a three-period victory over Ambako Vachadze, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0. Russia's one win came in the final match of the dual meet, where Evgeni Saleev came from behind to defeat Jordan Holm, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0. Earlier in the day, Iran won six of seven matches against a Team USA squad in men's freestyle. The lone bright spot for Team USA came at 74 kilos, where Kyle Dake, in his first international match since ending his college wrestling career as a four-time NCAA champion, topped Hassan Tahmasebi, 2-0, 1-0. USA 8, Russia 1 Men's freestyle 60 kilos: Coleman Scott (USA) dec. Artas Sanaa (Russia), 1-0, 0-1, 3-0 60 kilos: Logan Stieber (USA) dec. Opan Sat (Russia), 5-7, 6-0, 3-0 66 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Soslan Ramanov (Russia), 0-2, 1-0, 7-0 74 kilos: David Taylor (USA) pinned Magomed Kurbanaliev (Russia), 7-2, 0:16 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Saba Khubezhty (Russia), 1-1, 5-0, 7-3 Women's freestyle 55 kilos: Helen Maroulis (USA) pinned Irina Kisel (Russia), 2-0, 0:35 Greco-Roman 66 kilos: Kendrick Sanders (USA) dec. Asker Orshokdugov (Russia), 1-0, 1-0 74 kilos: Ben Provisor (USA) dec. Ambako Vachadze (Russia), 1-0, 0-1, 1-0 84 kilos: Evgeni Saleev (Russia) dec. Jordan Holm (USA), 0-1, 1-0, 1-0 Iran 6, USA 1 Men's freestyle 55 kilos: Mehdi Taghavi (Iran) dec. Obe Blanc (USA), 0-1, 1-0, 5-2 60 kilos: Masoud Esmailpour Joybari (Iran) dec. Reece Humphrey (USA), 1-0, 6-0 66 kilos: Mehdi Taghavi (Iran) dec. Kellen Russell (USA), 3-1, 0-2 74 kilos: Kyle Dake (USA) dec. Hassan Tahmasebi (Iran), 2-0, 1-0 84 kilos: Ehsan Lashgari (Iran) dec. Keith Gavin (USA), 1-0, 1-0 96 kilos: Hamed Tatari (Iran) dec. J.D. Bergman (USA), 3-1, 1-0 120 kilos: Khomeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Tervel Dlagnev (USA), 1-1, 1-0

USA 8, Russia 1 Men's freestyle 60 kilos: Coleman Scott (USA) dec. Artas Sanaa (Russia), 1-0, 0-1, 3-0 60 kilos: Logan Stieber (USA) dec. Opan Sat (Russia), 5-7, 6-0, 3-0 66 kilos: Brent Metcalf (USA) dec. Soslan Ramanov (Russia), 0-2, 1-0, 7-0 74 kilos: David Taylor (USA) pinned Magomed Kurbanaliev (Russia), 7-2, 0:16 74 kilos: Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Saba Khubezhty (Russia), 1-1, 5-0, 7-3 Women's freestyle 55 kilos: Helen Maroulis (USA) pin Irina Kisel (Russia), 2-0, 0:35 Greco-Roman 66 kilos: Kendrick Sanders (USA) dec. Asker Orshokdugov (Russia), 1-0, 1-0 74 kilos: Ben Provisor (USA) dec. Ambako Vachadze (Russia), 1-0, 0-1, 1-0 84 kilos: Evgeni Saleev (Russia) dec. Jordan Holm (USA), 0-1, 1-0, 1-0 Iran 6, USA 1 Men's freestyle 55 kilos: Mehdi Taghavi (Iran) dec. Obe Blanc (USA), 0-1, 1-0, 5-2 60 kilos: Masoud Esmailpour Joybari (Iran) dec. Reece Humphrey (USA), 1-0, 6-0 66 kilos: Mehdi Taghavi (Iran) dec. Kellen Russell (USA), 3-1, 0-2 74 kilos: Kyle Dake (USA) dec. Hassan Tahmasebi (Iran), 2-0, 1-0 84 kilos: Ehsan Lashgari (Iran) dec. Keith Gavin (USA), 1-0, 1-0 96 kilos: Hamed Tatari (Iran) dec. J.D. Bergman (USA), 3-1, 1-0 120 kilos: Khomeil Ghasemi (Iran) dec. Tervel Dlagnev (USA), 1-1, 1-0

Last week FILA published its first men's freestyle World rankings, which is extremely encouraging. The rankings have some problems, among them is that they seem to lack internal logic as how much to weigh certain events, but what they reveal more than anything is a more systemic problem with wrestling itself. The rankings only look at results from this past year, which makes sense, but in 2013, only six of London's 14 Olympic finalists have competed. I'm willing to bet that not all eight of the remaining finalists have retired, and that we will see at least half of them at the next World Championships. Unfortunately, they have little incentive to participate in the meantime, as these World rankings will have no effect on their draw at Worlds. As of now, these World rankings are replete with faces and names that I guarantee won't be particularly relevant come time for the World Championships. I'm appreciative that FILA has tasked someone like Mr. May with formulating these rankings. I hope that at some point in the future these rankings grow some teeth. Opan SatAt the Beat the Streets Gala this week, also known as "The Rumble on the Rails" we will be treated to seeing the wrestling from some of the names from the newly minted rankings. One of the world's No. 1-ranked wrestlers (and he should be), who will show up this week in New York is Russia's 60-kilo triple European champion Opan Sat. Other than his wrestling, which is superb, a few things jump out about Mr. Sat. First off he has a really cool name; it almost sounds like he's from the future. The second thing you may notice is Opan's appearance. We think of Russia as a European nation, but Sat's features are more paradigmatically Asian. This should remind us that Russia in its vastness is not monolithic, rather, it's a state which is an amalgamation of many different smaller countries. These smaller countries are home to people from hundreds of different ethnicities. While someone who is technically Russian living next to the Baltic Sea may have fair skin and blue eyes, a Russian who grew up on the coast of the Sea of Japan will likely look very different. Opan Sat is from a semi-autonomous republic contained with Russia known as the Tyva Republic, nestled between Siberia and Mongolia. Ethnically, Sat is Tuvan, more closely related to Mongolians than an ethnic Russian. Though wrestling is the national sport of the Tyva Republic, for a Tuvan to ascend to the top in Russia is fairly rare. The landscape of Russian wrestling is dominated by natives of Caucuses mountain republics like Ossetia, Dagestan, or Kabardino-Balkaria. This is what really makes wrestling special. A young man from a forgotten corner of the planet, of a people that almost nobody has ever heard of, will walk step on a mat in the middle of Manhattan, and there he will be a star. Only in wrestling will you see stories like that of Opan Sat. The state of the Iranian wrestling team Komeil GhasemiI heard someone remark on the unfortunate absence of Iran's Olympic silver medalist 74-kilo wrestler Sadegh Goudarzi and 96-kilo World champ Reza "The Panther of Juybar" Yazdani from the Iranian contingent this week for the USA-Iran dual meet. This is still a very good team, essentially the same squad that crushed the USA six matches to one at this past World Cup. Six of its seven wrestlers either have won a World or Olympic medal, or will seriously threaten for one at the next World Championships. If this is indeed Iran's current No. 1 team, I would probably rank it as the third best team in the world, placing the assembled best wrestlers of Russian and Azerbaijan as Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Considering the beating they laid on us the last time we met, I am very concerned about the U.S.'s chances in this dual meet. 55 kilos: Iran's Hassan Rahimi is a World bronze medalist. He's beaten Nick Simmons in the past, and at the World Cup comfortably beat an overmatched Zach Sanders. 60 kilos: Iran's Masoud Esmailpour Jouybari has never placed at a world-level tournament and lost to Coleman Scott at last year's World Cup. This year's World Cup was a different story altogether, as Esmailpour overwhelmed Scott with his physicality, horsing him around with a vicious underhook for several takedowns. The way he wrestled, I half expected him to slip on a black Iowa warmup after he stepped off the mat. 66 kilos: Iran's Mehdi Taghavi Kermani is a multiple-time World champ. This isn't to say he's unbeatable. He's endured some questionable losses over the past couple years and did not place in London. That being said, when he faced Brent Metcalf in Tehran a few months ago, it was pretty ugly, and quick as Taghavi blew Metcalf out of the water. 74 kilos: I'm not going to pretend to know much about the Iranian here. Hassan Tahmasebi should be a nice test for Kyle Dake. 84 kilos: Olympic bronze medalist Ehsan Lashgari is compact, quick, and very, very strong. He has uncanny timing with his snatch singles. 96 kilos: Hamed Tatari beat J.D. Bergman in Tehran, though the match was fairly competitive. Perhaps the U.S. has a chance here. 120 kilos: Komeil Ghasemi now has two wins over Tervel. In the last match in Iran, he hit what appeared to be a super duck on him. I sort of thought that the first win over Tervel was a fluke, but that super duck ... wow. Like I said, seeing how we match up with Iran, our chances don't look too great, but hope springs eternal. There's probably going to be a ton of happy Iranian wrestling fans in New York this week. Hopefully this event gives the sport the showcase it sorely needs ahead of the IOC board meeting.

Mike Moyer