InterMat Staff

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team fell to second-ranked Oklahoma State today, 18-12, at Gallagher-Iba Arena. The Cowboys won six of 10 matches to hand the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes their first dual loss of the season (12-1). Iowa won four of the first five bouts to build a 12-3 lead before Oklahoma State rallied for five straight wins. The Cowboys needed a third-period takedown in four consecutive matches to earn one-point victories beginning at 165 through 197. "Finishing was the difference today," said head coach Tom Brands. "It was the difference between winning the matches and the meet." Matt McDonough (125), Tony Ramos (133) and Mark Ballweg (141) got the Hawkeyes rolling early with three straight decisions to build a 9-0 advantage. McDonough used four takedowns and 1:57 of riding time to earn a 10-4 win, Ramos' takedown in the first period held up for a 3-2 win over No. 5 Jon Morrison, and Ballweg recorded a takedown in all three periods to top Keokuk, Iowa, native Julian Feikert, 8-3. Oklahoma State cut Iowa's lead to 9-3 when top-ranked Jordan Oliver (149) scored a 9-4 win over Michael Kelly, but Derek St. John (157) regained Iowa's nine-point lead with an 8-4 win over No. 9 Alex Dieringer. St. John, the nation's top-rated 157-pounder, scored a takedown in the first period, escaped for a point in the second, and opened the third with two nearfall points to improve to 13-0 this season. The Cowboys began chipping into the Iowa lead when No. 3 Tyler Caldwell scored a 3-2 decision over Nick Moore at 165. Oklahoma State's top-ranked Chris Perry used 1:19 of riding time to top No. 6 Mike Evans, 4-3, at 165, and No. 12 Chris Chionuma scored a takedown with 1:13 left in the third to tie the dual, 12-12, with a 3-2 win over No. 9 Ethen Lofthouse. Nathan Burak nearly scored an upset of No. 5 Blake Rosholt at 197 pounds, but the Hawkeye freshman was unable to finish his shots and Rosholt countered a crackdown with a chest lock that rolled Burak through for a takedown with 20 seconds on the clock. Burak escaped with three seconds left but Oklahoma State held on for the 3-2 win to grab its first lead of the dual, 15-12. Iowa had a chance for the win or force a tiebreaker scenario at 285 pounds, but the Cowboys clinched the dual, 18-12, when third-ranked Alan Gelogaev topped No. 6 Bobby Telford, 7-3. The Hawkeyes return to the mat Jan. 18 when they face No. 11 Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich. The dual will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) inside Cliff Keen Arena. Notes: Attendance was 5,537... McDonough extended his winning streak to 38 matches... Ramos' victory was in his meeting against a ranked opponent this season... McDonough (10-0), Ramos (13-0) and St. John (13-0) remained undefeated this year... Evans' loss was his first this season (9-1). Results: 125: #1 Matt McDonough (IA) dec. Eddie Klimara (OSU), 10-4; 3-0 133: #2 Tony Ramos (IA) dec. #5 Jon Morrison (OSU), 3-2; 6-0 141: #9 Mark Ballweg (IA) dec. Julian Feikert (OSU), 8-3; 9-0 149: #1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. #19 Michael Kelly (IA), 9-4; 9-3 157: #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #9 Alex Dieringer (OSU), 8-4; 12-3 165: #3 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) dec. #19 Nick Moore (IA), 3-2; 12-6 174: #1 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Mike Evans (IA), 4-3; 12-9 184: #12 Chris Chionuma (OSU) dec. #9 Ethen Lofthouse (IA), 3-2; 12-12 197: #5 Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Nathan Burak (IA), 3-2; 12-15 285: #3 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Bobby Telford (IA), 7-3; 12-18

The No. 4 ranked St. Cloud State University wrestling team (11-0, 1-0 NSIC) continued its impressive run by claiming first place at the 2013 NWCA DIvision II National Duals on Jan. 13 in Springfield, Ill. The Huskies earned their second consecutive NWCA National Duals crown with a thrilling 17-15 win over No. 7 Notre Dame (Ohio) in the championship match at the Prairie Capital Center in Springfield, Ill. SCSU earned its berth in the title bout with a 27-9 victory over No. 17 UW-Parkside in the semifinal round match in the morning of Jan. 13. Of note, SCSU stayed in the winners bracket thanks to a 40-7 win over UNC-Pembroke and a 29-12 win over No. 5 Upper Iowa in the opening day of action on Jan. 12. In the championship match, SCSU trailed Notre Dame by one point before a 3-0 victory by senior No. 2 Jacob Kahnke at 285-pounds over ND's No. 5 Orlando Scales provided the needed three points to secure the two-point win and the tournament title. The match opened well for the Huskies as Eric Forde gained a 2-1 decision over ND's Johnny Papesh. No. 2 Andy Pokorny padded the Huskies' lead with a 14-3 major decision win over ND's Marty Carlson at 133-pounds. ND's No. 8 Maurice Miller put his squad on the board with a 7-3 win at 141-pounds over SCSU's Matt Nelson. Senior Jacob D. Horn added three key points at 149-pounds with a 3-0 victory over ND's Jonaton Rivera. Notre Dame gained wins at 157-pounds and 165-points to tie the score at 10-10, before ND gained a 13-10 lead with a victory at 174-pounds. The Huskies gained critical points at 184-pounds with a 12-3 major decision win by No. 2 Shamus O'Grady over ND's Charles Mason. The lead changed hands once more at 197-pounds, as Notre Dame earned a decision to make it 15-14 heading into the decisive bout at 285-pounds. The complete results from the Huskies' final two bouts at the NWCA Duals are listed below. The win over Notre Dame marks the Huskies 37 consecutive dual match victory, as SCSU has not lost in dual meet action since the 2010-11 season. SCSU also owns a nine match win streak at the NWCA Division II Duals dating back to 2011. The last time the Huskies lost a match was on Jan. 27, 2011 against Augustana by a 19-18 score and the last time the Huskies lost a match at the NWCA Duals was an 18-15 setback against Augustana on Jan. 9, 2011. This is the longest team dual match win streak in the history of Husky wrestling. The defending NSIC champs, SCSU will continue its 2012-13 season with a home match against NSIC rival Minnesota State, Moorhead in Halenbeck Hall. The action will get underway at 7 p.m. and tickets may be purchased at the gate for this important contest. As always, all SCSU students with a valid SCSU student ID card get into the game for free. Just show you ID card at the gate and you get into the match for FREE! SCSU 17, Notre Dame 15 125 - Eric Forde (St. Cloud State) over Johnny Papesh (Notre Dame) Dec 2-1 133 - Andrew Pokorny - St. Cloud State) over Marty Carlson (Notre Dame) Maj 14-3 141 Maurice Miller (Notre Dame) over Matt Nelson (St. Cloud State) Dec 7-3 149 Jacob D. Horn (St. Cloud State) over Jonaton Rivera (Notre Dame) Dec 3-0 157 - Jeffrey Pelton (Notre Dame) over Clint Poster (St. Cloud State) Dec 7-6 165 - Joey Davis (Notre Dame) over Gabe Fogarty (St. Cloud State) Maj 18-8 174- Eric Burgey (Notre Dame) over Kurt Salmen (St. Cloud State) Dec 8-2 184 - Shamus O`Grady (St. Cloud State) over Charles Mason (Notre Dame) Maj 12-3 197 Brandonn Johnson (Notre Dame) over Chris Brassell (St. Cloud State) Dec 7-2 285 Jake Kahnke (St. Cloud State) over Orlando Scales (Notre Dame) Dec 3-0 3.00 0 SCSU 27, UW-Parkside 9 125 Eric Forde (St. Cloud State) over Ryan Mcquade (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 7-2 133 Eric Ellington (St. Cloud State) over Jacob Papke (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 8-3 141 Matt Nelson (St. Cloud State) over Arik Yde (Wisconsin-Parkside) Maj 11-1 149 Jacob D. Horn (St. Cloud State) over Dan Argueta (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 6-1 157 Clint Poster (St. Cloud State) over Kory Jauch (Wisconsin-Parkside) TF 17-1 165 Gabe Fogarty (St. Cloud State) over Nick Fishback (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 6-4 174 Kurt Salmen (St. Cloud State) over Josh Anthony (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 8-1 184 Shamus O`Grady (St. Cloud State) over Matt Gille (Wisconsin-Parkside) Dec 9-4 197 Davion Willis (Wisconsin-Parkside) over Mic Berg (St. Cloud State) Dec 4-3 285 James Malechek (Wisconsin-Parkside) WBF

PITTSBURGH -- The 24th-ranked Bloomsburg University swept its two matches on Sunday at the Pitt Duals beating the 12th-ranked Pitt Panthers, 19-18, and Eastern Michigan, 24-9. The win over the Panthers is second straight win over a ranked team for Bloomsburg after knocking off then-20th ranked Maryland on Jan. 5. “Great win for us against Pitt,” said an excited Huskies head coach John Stutzman. “After last year when we were embarrassed at home by them this feels good! However, as I have said before, we need to continue to get better and improve. Next up is Ohio University and they are good, so we need to be battle ready to wrestle.” Against the Panthers the Huskies got off to a quick start picking up a win by forfeit at 125 pounds to go up 6-0. At 133 pounds 18th-ranked Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) and Shelton Mack, ranked 15th, needed overtime to settled their match. After being tied at 1-1 at the end of three periods, Wilcox scored a 5-4 win in overtime to make it 9-0. The Huskies extended their lead to 12-0 when Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) scored a win by decision at 141 pounds. After a scoreless first period Rappo rode out Travis Shaffer and picked up three near fall points. Rappo then went on to post a 6-0 victory. At 149 pounds the Huskies Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood), seeing his first action in about a month, fell by a 4-3 score to Ronnie Garbinsky putting the Panthers on the board at 12-3. At 157 pounds Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney), ranked 11th, earned some revenge with a 15-6 win over Donnie Tasser to add to the Huskies lead. A year ago Tasser snapped Hickman's 19-match winning streak, but this time it was all Hickman. The senior led 5-3 after one period; 8-3 after two periods and went on to the win by major decision to make it 16-3. Bloomsburg made it 19-3 at 165 pounds when Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia), ranked 19th, beat Tyler Wilps, ranked number 11. Veltre led 2-0 after one period before Wilps made it 2-1 after two periods. Veltre went on to a 5-2 win. Pitt began its comeback with wins at 174 and 184 by scores of 5-4 and 3-0 to trim the deficit to 19-9. At 197 pounds Bloomsburg Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown), ranked 16th, faced off with 2nd-ranked Matt Wilps. Perry led late in the match, but gave up a takedown to Wilps and fell in overtime, 6-5 to make it 19-12. With the match clinched for Bloomsburg the final bout of the match was between 9th ranked Zac Thomusseit and16th-ranked Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) with Thomusseit going on to win by fall in 1:54. In the second match of the day the Huskies rolled past Eastern Michigan, 24-9. The Huskies fell behind in the match 6-0 after the first two matches, but rallied by winning the next six bouts. Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) scored a 4-2 win at 141 followed by a win by major decision for Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood) at 149 pounds. Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney) won by decision at 157 followed by a major decision win for Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) at 165 pounds. Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) made it six straight wins for Bloomsburg at 174 pounds when he scored a 6-3 decision to make it 17-6 in favor of the Huskies. After Eastern Michigan picked up a victory at 184, the Huskies closed out the match with wins by Perry at 197 pounds and a major decision by Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) at heavyweight. The Huskies improved to 10-2 with their fourth straight win and will host Ohio University on Sunday, Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. No. 24 Bloomsburg 19, No. 12 Pitt 18 125: Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) (B) wins by forfeit; Bloomsburg leads, 6-0 133: No. 18 Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) (B) dec. No. 15 Shelton Mack (P), 5-4 (SV2); Bloomsburg leads, 9-0 141: Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) (B) dec. Travis Shaffer (P), 6-0; Bloomsburg leads, 12-0 149: Ronnie Garbinsky (P) dec. Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood) (B), 4-3; Bloomsburg leads, 12-3 157: No. 11 Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney) (B) m. dec. Donnie Tasser (P), 15-6; Bloomsburg leads, 16-3 165: No. 19 Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) (B) dec. No. 11 Tyler Wilps (P), 5-2; Bloomsburg leads, 19-3 174: Nick Bonaccorsi (P) dec. Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) (B), 5-4; Bloomsburg leads, 19-6 184: No. 14 Max Thomusseit (P) dec. Andre Petroski (Glenn Mills/Springfield) (B), 3-0; Bloomsburg leads, 19-9 197: No. 2 Matt Wilps (P) dec. No. 16 Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) (B), 6-5 (OT); Bloomsburg leads, 19-12 285: No. 9 Zac Thomusseit (P) pins No. 16 Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) (B), 1:54; Bloomsburg wins, 19-18 No. 24 Bloomsburg 24, Eastern Michigan 9 125: Alexander Calandrino (E) dec. Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) (B), 3-2; Eastern Michigan leads, 3-0 133: Jake Byers (E) dec. Andy Lyman (Selkirk, NY/Ravena Coeymans Selkirk) (B), 3-2; Eastern Michigan leads, 6-0 141: Matt Rappo (Holland/Council Rock South) (B) dec. Seth Schaner (E), 4-2; Eastern Michigan leads, 6-3 149: Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood) (B) maj. dec. Justin Melick (E), 16-6; Bloomsburg leads, 7-6 157: No. 11 Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney) (B) dec. Aaron Sulzer (E), 4-0; Bloomsburg leads, 10-6 165: No. 19 Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia) (B) maj. dec. Jacob Dorulla (E), 12-3; Bloomsburg leads, 14-6 174: Chris Smith (Mineral, Va./Chancelor) (B) dec. Jacob Davis (E), 6-3; Bloomsburg leads, 17-6 184: Phillip Joseph (E) dec. Sam Shirey (Beaver Springs/Midd-West) (B), 4-1; Bloomsburg leads, 17-9 197: No. 16 Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) (B) dec. Nick Whitenburg (E), 6-3; Bloomsburg leads, 20-9 285: No. 16 Justin Grant (Easton/Easton) (B) maj. dec. Anthony Abro (E), 12-3; Bloomsburg wins, 24-9

AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa State wrestling team (4-3 overall, 0-1 Big 12) won two duals on Sunday to wrap up their road trip out East with a 3-0 record. The Cyclones defeated Drexel (5-7 overall, 2-0 CAA) by a score of 31-12 in the morning. They then toppled No. 20 Penn in dominating fashion, 25-9. “We have started winning those close matches,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson said. “We kept trying to score points at the end of the period. We competed like Cyclones. That’s what stood out to me today.” Cyclone wrestlers won 14 out of 20 matches on the day, including eight wins that were accompanied by bonus points. Three Cyclones won both of their matches on the day with John Meeks (133), Mike Moreno (165) and Boaz Beard (184) all going 2-0. For Meeks, the two wins were his first dual victories in a Cyclone singlet, moving his record on the season to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in duals. Perhaps the highlight of the day was No. 11 Kyven Gadson’s upset victory at 197 pounds over Penn’s No. 7 ranked Micah Burak. Gadson scored a takedown in overtime to come away with a 3-1 victory over the senior Burak, who was an All-American at 197 pounds in 2012. “I’m 100 percent confident now that every time we step out on the mat, we will compete at a high level,” Jackson said. “Scoring and seeing guys win matches late is encouraging and we did that today. The Cyclones will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. to take on West Virginia in Morgantown, W.Va. Iowa State 31, Drexel 12 125: Ryak Finch (ISU) mdec. Jacob Goodwin (DU), 11-1 133: John Meeks (ISU) mdec. Clayton Lutzow (DU), 15-5 141: Luke Goettl (ISU) dec. Frank Cimato (DU), 8-7 149: Shane Fenningham (DU) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU), 5-3 157: Austin Sommer (DU) dec. Logan Molina (ISU), 8-6 165: Mike Moreno (ISU) mdec. Connor Moran (DU), 10-2 174: Mikey England (ISU) mdec. Kevin Matyas (DU), 14-6 184: Boaz Beard (ISU) WBF Bryan Sternlieb (DU), (2:36) 197: Brandon Palik (DU) WBF Cole Shafer (ISU), (6:18) 285: Matt Gibson (ISU) WBF Jon Max Wright (DU), (2:16) Iowa State 25, Penn 9 125: Mark Rappo (Penn) dec. Ryak Finch (ISU), 8-2 133: John Meeks (ISU) dec. Geoffrey Bostany (Penn), 8-5 141: CJ Cobb (Penn) dec. Luke Goettl (ISU), 8-2 149: Max Mayfield (ISU) dec. Andrew Lenzi (Penn), 6-1 157: Logan Molina (ISU) dec. Troy Hernandez (Penn), 6-1 165: Mike Moreno (ISU) mdec. Casey Kent (Penn), 11-3 174: Tanner Weatherman (ISU) WBF Harrison Cook (Penn), (2:32) 184: Boaz Beard (ISU) dec. Canaan Bethea (Penn), 4-3 197: Kyven Gadson (ISU) dec. Micah Burak (Penn), 3-1 (SV1) 285: Kyle Cowan (Penn) dec. Matt Gibson (ISU), 7-3

HAMPTON, Va. -- The Virginia Tech wrestling squad captured the 2013 Virginia Duals with a 21-9 victory over in-state rival Virginia Saturday night inside the Hampton Coliseum. The victory moved Tech, ranked 10th in the country, to 9-2 on the season. Things kicked off at 125 pounds with fourth-ranked Jarrod Garnett taking on sixth-ranked Matt Snyder. Snyder got a quick takedown, but Garnett reversed him and picked up another reversal in the second period before icing the match with a takedown late to pick up the big 6-3 win. At 133 pounds, Erik Spjut got a second-period takedown on 11th-ranked George DiCamillo, but was ridden for the whole third period, giving DiCamillo the 3-2 win. It was the second match of the day that Spjut got the lone offensive points against a top-11 opponent, but dropped a one-point decision. At 141 pounds, 13th-ranked Zach Neibert had his way with Jimmy Nehls, using two takedowns and riding time to take a 6-1 win. Sixth-ranked Nick Brascetta used a reversal with 2 seconds left in the tiebreaker to pull the 3-2 shocker over 14th-ranked Derek Valenti at 149 pounds. The two were tied at 1 apiece after regulation and after a scoreless sudden victory, Valenti got the escape in his half of the tiebreaker. With things looking bleak, Brascetta dug deep into his bag of tricks after the restart at 11 seconds to pull out the reversal for the win. At 157 pounds, sixth-ranked Jesse Dong became the eighth member of Virginia Tech’s 100-win club with a tough 9-5 win over Blaise Butler. A second-period takedown and a takedown late propelled him to the win. Fifth-ranked Pete Yates got a first-period takedown and didn’t allow No. 7 Nick Sulzer anywhere close to him as Yates picked up the 3-1 win. Sixteenth-ranked Jon Fausey got the lone escape in the tiebreaker at 174 pounds to down Tech’s Austin Gabel 2-1 after both wrestlers tallied only escapes in regulation. The win by the Cavaliers cut the Tech lead to 15-6 at that point with just three matches left. Zach Nye picked up a 4-2 win over Nick Vetterlein at 184 pounds, using a third-period takedown and riding time to pick up the win. Derrick Borlie picked up a pair of takedowns in the first period and twp more in the third period to down Stephen Doty, 10-4 at 197 pounds and lock up the team title for the Hokies. David Marone used a reversal and two nearfall points to begin the second period, and then a takedown late in the third, as the sixth-year senior beat Pat Gillen 5-2 to wrap up a successful weekend for the Hokies. The win marked the first time in the 33-year history of the Virginia Duals that a Virginia program had won the championship. Tech (9-2) will be back in action next weekend, travelling to Chapel Hill for a match at North Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a home home match on Sunday at 2 p.m. against NC State. Results: 125: #4 Jarrod Garnett (VT) dec. #7 Matt Snyder, 6-3 133: #13 George DiCamillo (VA) dec. Erik Spjut, 3-2 141: #13 Zach Neibert (VT) dec. Jimmy Nehls, 6-1 149: #6 Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. #16 Derek Valenti, 3-2 (TB-1) 157: #6 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. Blaise Butler, 9-5 165: #5 Pete Yates (VT) dec. #7 Nick Sulzer, 3-1 174: #15 Jon Fausey (VA) dec. Austin Gabel, 2-1 (TB-1) 184: Zach Nye (VA) dec. Nick Vetterlein, 4-2 197: Derrick Borlie (VT) dec. Stephen Doty, 10-5 285: David Marone (VT) dec. Pat Gillen, 7-2

ORLAND PARK, Ill. -- The pair of teams favored to win the Illinois Class 3A dual meet state championship met on Saturday afternoon, as No. 13 Carl Sandburg hosted No. 10 Oak Park River Forest. Each squad features excellent balance throughout the lineup, and the 160 pound weight class start would test that. To start the dual meet, No. 18 Davonte Mahomes of Oak Park River Forest was held to a closer than expected 9-6 decision victory by C.J. Brucki. On the other hand, senior Colin Holler -- ranked No. 11 nationally -- took care of business in a second period pin over freshman Al Stallings. Then, dual meet lineup strategy would play a role, as Carl Sandburg flip-flopped from their individual event lineup. At 182 pounds, Carl Sandburg placed senior Chris Pajak against state qualifier Joe Ariola. Ariola, who is having an excellent senior season for the Huskies, tied the dual meet at 6-6 with a 7-3 decision. In the next weight, Eagles senior Ricky Robertson -- ranked No. 3 nationally at 182 -- responded with a 9-4 decision at 195. Returning state qualifier Bill Gore would make it consecutive wins with a 6-0 decision over Malik Broumant at 220 to give Carl Sandburg a 12-6 lead heading into a crucial match at 285. With neither team having a strong wrestler, a potential swing match played to form, as the wrestlers were tied 1-1 through regulation. Then, in the overtime session, Oak Park River Forest got a takedown to the back from Adam Lempke to cut the deficit to 12-9 after a 6-1 win. However, it was short-lived momentum as the Eagles saw Christian Robertson defeat Robert Campos 5-2 in a battle of freshmen at 106 to extend the Carl Sandburg lead to 15-9. The 113 pound match involved wrestlers who split a pair of matches at last month's Rex Whitlach Invitational. Living up to that expectation, it was Huskies freshman Gabe Townsell earning a 6-4 victory over senior Jim Pellegrino, who qualified for state last year. Within the next four matches, missing personnel from each squad would play a role. Oak Park River Forest did not have sophomore Matt Rundell (120), who was a state runner-up last year; while Carl Sandburg was without two-time state finalist Sebastian Pique (120/126), part-time starter in sophomore Tom Slattery (132), and state qualifier John Pellegrino (138). At 120, senior Jake Vales earned a technical fall to stretch the Carl Sandburg out to 20-12 before Oak Park River Forest went on a four-match winning streak. That started with a 14-7 decision from freshman Isaiah White at 126 pounds, beating fellow freshman Brad Krasowski. It was continued with Larry Early's 15-6 major decision, which cut the Carl Sandburg lead down to one at 20-19. A technical fall from senior Jake O'Mara, who was a Junior Greco-Roman All-American, would enable the Huskies to take their first lead since the opening match, 24-19 through 138 pounds. State qualifier Johnny Gahagan would clinch the dual for Oak Park River Forest with a 5-4 victory over Tom Brennan at 145 pounds, while state placer Mitch Cook's 12-4 major decision over Zach Pickering at 152 pounds yielded the final score of 27-24 in favor of the Huskies. Results: 160: No. 18 Mahomes (OP) dec. Brucki, 9-6 170: No. 11 Holler (CS) pinned Stallings, 3:10 182: Ariola (OP) dec. Pajak, 7-3 195: No. 3 (at 182) R. Robertson (CS) dec. Lee, 9-4 220: Gore (CS) dec. Brumant, 6-0 285: Lemkpe (OP) dec. Halpin, 6-1 SV 106: C.Robertson (CS) dec. Campos, 5-2 113: Townsell (OP) dec. Pelligrino, 6-4 120: Vales (CS) tech. fall J. Robles, 5:50 126: White (OP) dec. Krakowski, 14-7 132: Early (OP) maj. dec. Schneider, 15-6 138: O'Mara (OP) tech. fall T.Slattery, 3:12 145: Gahagan (OP) dec. Brennan, 5-4 152: Cook (CS) maj. dec. Pickering, 12-4

NOVI, Mich. -- When four teams among the top fourteen of the InterMat Fab 50 assemble in one place, one is going to see a high level of competition. On Saturday, when that happened at Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) High School, that was absolutely the case. In addition, the DCC Super Duals had its share of drama and lived up to the event name. It all started in the 10 a.m. round with No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill., competing against No. 12 St. Johns, Mich. The Broncos carry the reputation of being the nation's most "balanced" team, while the closer to home Redwings have the perception of being a "tournament team". Adding to the perplexing nature of this match, St. Johns did not have Ben Whitford -- the nation's top 145-pound wrestler -- due to an injury. With the dual meet starting at 285 pounds, Montini Catholic was able to attack a weaker area of the St. Johns lineup and take a 15-3 lead. However, the Redwings would answer back with three consecutive wins to obtain the lead at 16-15. Victories in that stretch came from No. 5 Zac Hall at 125 pounds, who beat two-time state placer Jordan Laster 9-4; No. 6 Jacob Schmitt at 130, who pinned freshman Jose Champagne; and No. 7 Logan Massa at 135, who scored a 9-0 major decision against two-time state placer Chris Garcia. The teams alternated results in the 140 to 160 stretch, so it was 23-21 St. Johns headed to 171 pounds. St. Johns' Angus Arthur won the battle of state placers by fall in the second period against Michael Maduko at 171 pounds, and then No. 11 Payne Hayden scored a 3-1 victory against state placer Jake Turk to clinch the dual meet. Montini's Anthony Ferraro did win the last match, but St. Johns came out with a 32-24 dual meet victory. Also in the opening round, No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio only won nine of the weight classes against Davison, Mich. However, those wins included three pins, two technical falls, and a forfeit; which enabled the Eagles to earn the dominant 43-15 victory. In the second round of wrestling that started a little after 12:00 noon, Montini Catholic came back with a vengeance against the host school, No. 14 Detroit Catholic Central. With the dual meet starting at 103 pounds, the Broncos came out storming to a 19-0 lead against the weakest part of the Shamrocks lineup. It was pins from Jimmy and Tommy Pawleski, followed up by a Vince Turk major decision and Jordan Laster 6-4 victory to do the damage. Detroit Catholic Central hit the board with an 8-5 tiebreaker victory from sophomore Myles Amine, who beat Champagne at 130, and senior Ken Bade who earned a pin at 135. However, any realistic hopes of the Shamrocks bouncing back from their early deficit ended with Chris Garcia's 2-0 overtime victory for over Malik Amine in a battle of state runners-up. Three additional consecutive wins for Montini -- a pair of decisions from Sepke and Fortuna before a Montalvo technical fall -- made it 33-8 after 160 pounds. An additional issue for Detroit Catholic Central was the absence of 2011 state champion Logan Marcicki in this dual meet at 160 pounds, as he was hurt in their opening dual meet. The Shamrocks did get on the board again with a major decision from No. 18 Andrew Garcia against state placer Maduko at 171. Jake Turk scored the Broncos last points with a 7-3 decision, before Jay Peterson's 3-2 decision and Robert Coe's pin in the last two weights against Ferraro and Ruano would limit the Broncos barrage. Final score was Montini 36-21, as the Broncos took nine of fourteen matches. Also in this session was another high drama dual meet involving No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio and No. 12 St. Johns, Mich. Starting at 103 pounds, it marked an area of the lineup where both teams are relatively weak. After Ian Parker scored a 12-3 major decision for St. Johns at 103 pounds, St. Edward was able to get a pair of key falls from L.J. Bentley and Sal Corrao, which meant they led 12-4 heading into the meat of the Redwings lineup. And St. Johns did respond with a 27-14 major decision from No. 5 Zac Hall and a fall from No. 6 Schmitt in the next two weights to lead 14-12 heading into the day's premier bout. No. 3 (at 132) Dean Heil would take to the mat against No. 7 (at 138) Logan Massa at 135 pounds. Heil, for St. Edward, would open the match with a takedown, while Massa escaped and answered with one of his own before the first period ended. In the second period, Heil would score a reversal and then Massa escaped to tie the match at 4-4 headed into the third period. Massa chose down in the third period. After a minute-plus of solid riding, Massa was able to stand up and almost escape, but did draw a stall warning against Heil. In the next sequence, Heil got in a cross-body ride and turked Massa for the fall at the 5:55 mark. With an 18-14 lead, that was the dual meet's turning point, as the Eagles got a pair of successive wins; No. 17 Colin Heffernan got a 4-0 decision at 140, and No. 3 Edgar Bright capitalized on Whitford's absence for a 22-10 major decision over Wixson. St. Johns did cut into that deficit with a Josh Pennell pin against Eagles' reserve D.J. Williamson. However, Markus Scheidel -- ranked No. 9 at 152 nationally - scored a 15-6 major decision against state champion Brant Schafer to give the Eagles a 29-20 lead through 160. Angus Arthur did respond with a St. Johns fall; however, No. 2 (at 182) Domenic Abounader provided a decisive answer for St. Edward with a 6-3 decision victory over future Michigan teammate Payne Hayden -- who is ranked No. 11 nationally at 195 -- in the 189 weight class. A pair of decisions from Gabe Dzuro (215) and Ralph Nichols (285) would formulate the dual meet's final score of 38-26 in favor of St. Edward. Also in this session, No. 17 Brandon Thompson of Solon, Ohio dominated Mitch Rogaliner from Bedford, Mich. 8-2 in a battle of two-time state champions at 119 pounds. In the third session, which started just before 2:30 p.m., it was No. 7 Montini Catholic doing battle against No. 2 St. Edward. Things did not start good for the Broncos, as L.J. Bentley of St. Edward scored the 3-2 upset victory over state champion Tommy Pawleski at 112 pounds on the strength of a first period takedown. In expected fashion, Montini answered back with major decisions from Vince Turk and Jordan Laster at 119 and 125 to take an 8-3 lead. Another disappointment for Montini came at 130 as St. Edward senior Hunter Ladnier -- normally a reserve wrestler -- dominated the first two periods in mustering a 9-2 victory over Jose Champagne, who is ranked nationally in the Class of 2016. The momentum from that result, along with the nature of the matchups, catalyzed the Eagles to four more victories as part of a five match winning streak that saw St. Edward leading 19-8 through 152 pounds. However, key was that only a 19-6 major decision victory from No. 3 Bright against Sullivan, who is also normally a reserve wrestler, at 145 pounds came with bonus points. Keep in mind, this is a stretch where St. Edward put nationally ranked wrestlers on the mat in every match; No. 3 Heil beat two-time state placer Garcia 5-1, No. 17 Heffernan beat state placer Sepke 5-2, and No. 9 Scheidel beat state qualifier Fortuna 9-6. Sophomore Xavier Montalvo stopped the bleeding for Montini Catholic when he rode out senior Robbie Rogers in the ultimate tiebreaker after a 6-6 match. Maduko further dented the St. Edward lead, as the Bronco state placer earned a 5-2 victory over junior Ray Barr with a third period escape and takedown. However, No. 2 Abounader made sure the Eagles lead would stand (for the moment) with a 5-1 decision over Jake Turk at 189 pounds. The Eagles led 22-14 headed into the 215 pound match, where Montini's Edgar Ruano used two third period takedowns to defeat Gabe Dzuro 8-6. Additionally, somewhere in the upper-weight portion of the dual meet, the Broncos were deducted one team point for bench misconduct. This became critical when Anthony Ferraro was able to score a takedown right at the horn to beat Ralph Nichols 4-3, and it cut the St. Edward lead to 22-19 before the last match. Jimmy Pawleski did get the 4-2 victory with a late takedown to tie the match at 22-22. However, on criteria, St. Edward wins the dual meet. In the other big dual meet of the third session, No. 7 St. Johns was able to survive past Davison despite splitting the matches, as they won 35-28 with all the victories having bonus points attached; three pins, three major decisions, and three technical falls. Key to Davison winning seven matches was an overtime victory from Trevor Thomas at 215 pounds and Max Johnson scoring a four-point move at the end of the match to upset Ian Parker 8-7 at 103 pounds. Lastly, a very big individual match came as No. 15 Cole Weaver from Hudson, Mich. upset No. 13 Ken Bade from host Detroit Catholic Central in a rather one-sided 9-3 victory. Weaver scored a takedown in each period, and had near falls in the third period to win the battle of two-time state champions. The fourth round, which was the final round for national implications, saw No. 2 St. Edward wrestling host Detroit Catholic Central, who is ranked No. 14 nationally. With the dual meet starting at 119 pounds, right in the relative weak spot of the Eagles lineup, the host Shamrocks were able to jump out to a 9-0 advantage with decisions from Trevor Zdebski (119), Evan Toth (125), and Myles Amine (130). However, getting right into the meat of the St. Edward lineup, it started with No. 3 (at 132) Dean Heil dominating No. 13 (at 126) Ken Bade by 11-3 major decision at 132 pounds. Four additional Eagles wins meant five consecutive in all, and a 19-9 lead after 160 pounds. Those other victories were a decision from No. 17 Heffernan, a major decision from No. 3 Bright, a technical fall from No. 9 Scheidel, and a 6-2 decision from senior Rogers. The hosts did stop the bleeding, as No. 18 Garcia earned a 23-8 technical fall against Barr at 171 pounds. However, hopes of a rally were ended immediately by consecutive Eagles' victories, a 13-2 major decision from No. 2 Abounader at 189 and an 8-1 decision from Dzuro at 215. Robert Coe got the last win for the Shamrocks in a 5-1 win at 285 pounds over Ralph Nichols, which reversed a Medina Invitational Tournament semifinal result. Mason Daugherty responded with a technical fall, and L.J. Bentley added a major decision to close out the 35-17 victory for No. 2 St. Edward. The other major dual meet of the session had Montini Catholic taking nine of fourteen matches in a 40-22 victory over Davison. In the fifth and final round, Detroit Catholic Central bounced back with a 41-24 victory over Dundee, Mich. The host Shamrocks, ranked first in Michigan's Division 1, took nine matches from the first ranked squad in Division 3.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The George Mason wrestling team dropped two duals in the Patriot Classic against Brown University (20-16) and Cleveland State (20-15) Friday, January 11th. With the losses Mason drops to 2-8 on the season. Brown went undefeated in the Classic and Cleveland State went 1-1. In Mason's first dual of the night, Brown got out to an early 6-0 lead with decision wins in the 125 and 133 weight classes. Sahid Kargbo cut Brown's lead in half with an 8-1 decision win over Zachary Tananbaum at 141. In the next match, Greg Flournoy tied the dual at 6-6 with his 7-4 decision win over Grant Overcashier. Brown regained the lead with an 8-4 decision win over Jaaziah Bethea at 157. Brown now led the dual 9-6. Brown's lead would be short lived after Ty Knepp at 165 pinned Zack Kulczycki four minutes and nineteen seconds into their match. For the first time, Mason now led the dual 12-9. At 174, Giuseppi Lanzi tied the dual up at 12-12 for Brown with his 8-2 decision win over Seth Robertson. Brown gained the lead for the third time of the night with a major decision win from Ophir Bernstein at the 184 weight class. Brown added four points to the board with Sterling Hecox's major decision win over Matt Meadows. With the major decision win at 197 Brown clenched the dual win and the score now stood at 20-12. Jake Kettler added four more points to close the deficit for Mason with his major decision win over Marcos Aranda for a final score of 20-16. Mason squared off against Cleveland State in their second and final dual of the night. Cleveland State took an early 7-0 lead with a major decision and decision win in the 125 and 133 weight classes, respectively. At the 141 weight class, Kargo put Mason on the board for the first time with his 7-4 decision win over Daniel King. Cleveland State forfeited the 149 match giving Mason a 9-7 lead. Cleveland State regained the lead with a decision win at 157. The Patriots now trailed the Vikings by one, 10-9. Cleveland State extended their lead to 17-9 with a decision and major decision win at the 165 and 174 weight classes, respectively. Ryan Hembury added three more points to bring the Patriots within five, with his 5-3 decision win over Robert Blankenship. After a hard fought match that decided the dual, Kettler was eventually defeated by a 5-2 decision by Riley Shaw giving Cleveland State the dual win, 20-15. In a match that riding time was the decider, Meadows pulled out a decision to put the Patriots back in contention for the dual win. Mason now only trailed by two heading into the last match which would decide the dual winner. Mason returns to the mat when they host the Colonial Athletic Association duals at the Field House, January 19th. Brown 20, George Mason 16 125 - Billy Watterson (Brown) dec. Rich Lavorato (GMU) (10-4) (3-0, Brown) 133 - Anthony Finocchiaro (Brown) dec. Zac Isenhour (GMU) (9-3) (6-0, Brown) 141 - Sahid Kargbo (GMU) dec. Zachary Tanenbaum (Brown) (8-1) (6-3, Brown) 149 - Greg Flournoy (GMU) dec. Grant Overcashier (Brown) (7-4) (6-6, Tied) 157 - CJ Howard (Brown) dec. Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) (8-4) (9-6, Brown) 165 - Ty Knepp (GMU) fall Zack Kulczycki (Brown) (4:19) (12-9, GMU) 174 - Giuseppi Lanzi (Brown) dec. Seth Robertson (GMU) (8-2) (12-12, Tied) 184 - Ophir Bernstein (Brown) maj. dec. Ryan Hembury (GMU) (11-0) (16-12, Brown) 197 - Sterling Hecox (Brown) maj. dec. Matt Meadows (GMU) (14-3) (20-12, Brown) 285 - Jake Kettler (GMU) maj. dec. Marcos Aranda (Brown) (14-3) (20-16, Brown) George Mason 20, Cleveland State 15 125 - Ben Willieford (CSU) maj. dec. Rich Lavorato (GMU) (12-4) (4-0, CSU) 133 - Michael Carline (CSU) dec. Zac Isenhour (GMU) (8-3) (7-0, CSU) 141 - Sahid Kargbo dec. (GMU) Daniel King (CSU) (7-4) (7-3, CSU) 149 - Greg Flournoy (GMU) forfeit (9-7, Mason) 157 - Matt Donohoe (CSU) dec. Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) (9-2) (10-9, CSU) 165 - Corey Carlo (CSU) dec. Ty Knepp (GMU) (9-4) (13-9, CSU) 174 - Xavier Dye (CSU) maj. dec. Seth Robertson (GMU) (15-6) (17-9, CSU) 184 - Ryan Hembury (GMU) dec. Robert Blankenship (CSU) (5-3) (17-12, CSU) 197 - Matt Meadows (GMU) dec. Nick Anthony (CSU) (2-1) (17-15, CSU) 285 - Riley Shaw (CSU) dec. Jake Kettler (GMU) (5-2) (20-15, CSU)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- The No. 13/15 ranked Oregon State wrestling team racked up its third victory of the season with a 32-7 decision over No. 25 Air Force, Friday night in Colorado Springs. The Beavers secured victories from eight weight classes en route to the 25-point win. OSU now stands at an even 3-3 on the year and remains 1-1 in Pac-12 competition, while Air Force loses for the first time this season and falls to 3-1 overall and stays at 0-0 in the Western Wrestling Conference. 157 pounder and 10th ranked RJ Pena set the tone for the Beavers with a 5-1 decision over AFA’s Josh Kreimier in the meet’s first match, giving Oregon State an early 3-0 advantage. Following an Air Force major decision in the 165 lb. bout, OSU stormed back with an Austin Morehead pin (00:25) over Falcon 174 pounder Dan Barringer, which gave the Orange and Black the lead back for good at 9-4. Following Morehead’s fall, the Academy would muster just one more victory on the night, coming in the 184 lb. match. Jim Zalesky’s squad would answer the Air Force onslaught by reeling off 21-unanswered points to cruise to his 79th career win as OSU head coach. Other Oregon State wrestlers coming out on top included No. 10 Taylor Meeks (197 lbs.) via major decision, No. 5 Chad Hanke (HWT) from a 6-4 decision, No. 4 Mike Mangrum (141 lbs.) by a tech fall and No. 9 Scott Sakaguchi (149 lbs.), also by major decision. 133 pounder Drew Van Anrooy was another Beaver in the win column, as was Joey Palmer (125 lbs.), who recorded his first collegiate dual win via major decision. Hanke, Mangrum, Meeks and Pena all extended their winning streaks they had intact coming into the meet, with the senior heavyweights being the longest at seven. Hanke has not been defeated since the Reno Tournament of Champions in mid December. The Beavers now have a day to rest before traveling north to Wyoming for a Sunday match-up with the No. 15/20th ranked Cowboys. The Pokes and ‘Beavs are set to square off at 1p.m. Pacific Time in Laramie. Results: 157 – #10 RJ Pena (OSU) dec. Josh Kreimier, 5-1 165 – Jesse Stafford (AF) maj. dec. Alex Elder, 9-0 174 – Austin Morehead (OSU) fall Dan Barringer, 0:25 184 – Konner Witt (AF) dec. Brian Engdahl, 6-2 197 – #10 Taylor Meeks (OSU) maj. dec. Josh Mohr, 15-2 285 – #5 Chad Hanke (OSU) dec. Bentley Alsup, 6-4 125 – Joey Palmer (OSU) maj. dec. Mitch Brown, 15-4 133 – Drew Van Aanroy (OSU) dec. Dylan Hyder, 7-2 141 – #4 Mike Mangrum (OSU) tech fall Carter McElhany, 21-4 (5:53) 149 – #9 Scott Sakaguchi (OSU) maj. dec. Logan Burch, 15-4

GREELEY, Colo. - The University of Northern wrestling team continued its winning streak with a 40-6 win over Northern Colorado. The Panthers recorded four pins, one major decision and two decisions. David Bonin, 157 pounds, won by forfeit. UNI's Ryan Loder set the tone for the team with his major decision win over Keith Johnson, 10-1. He earned 3:06 in riding time. He improves his record to 18-3 and has only given up nine points all season. "He controlled everything. He hit a real good shot," said head coach Doug Schwab. "It was a good start for us." He has the fifth-highest winning percentage among UNI Panthers who have had at least 50 wins and competed at least two seasons. His career record is 83-20. After that, UNI lost its only two matches by decision in the 197-pound and 285-pound weight classes. "Blaize had a match we would like to win," said Schwab. "It was his first time in the varsity lineup. Beale rushed a shot in overtime, but he was aggressive. I liked that. Then we just rolled from there." UNI's four pins came from: 125 - Ryan Jauch, 1:31 (2-2) 133 - Levi Wolfensperger, 1:16 (15-4) 141 - Joey Lazor, 2:39 (20-6) 149 - Bart Reiter, 5:17 (7-2) "Our lower weights came out real aggressive after losing a couple. They responded to that. Jarrett Jensen had a gut check and Jensen. The other guy had the momentum, but he came out with the win." The Panthers look to improve on their 3-1 dual record when they face a second opponent, Air Force (3-0) this weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. All the Falcon wrestlers are undefeated in duals this season. "We have to be ready to go with Air Force," said Schwab. "It helped our confidence to put a string of victories together. We have to do it against Air Force. I think we will be more ready. They have a pretty solid team, we'll be up to that level." USAF beat Dakota Wesleyan, 46-0; Northwestern (Iowa), 53-0; and Augustana (S.D.), 36-0. Standout Cole VonOhlen, 149 pounds, recently was named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week. He currently is ranked fourth in the nation by Intermat. Freshman Josh Martinez is ranked 11th by Intermat. The team is ranked 25th, two places ahead of UNI at 27th. Air Force finished 11th at the Cliff Keen Invite. UNI will return home to host Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Jan. 18. Former Panther and Olympic gold medalist Bill Smith will be recognized for his achievements in wrestling. FINAL TEAM SCORE: Northern Iowa 40, Northern Colorado 6 125: Ryan Jauch (UNI) fall Jesse Meis, 1:31 133: #12 Levi Wolfensperger (UNI) fall Sam Bauer, 1:16 141: #15 Joey Lazor (UNI) fall Michael Luca, 2:39 149: Bart Reiter (UNI) fall Nick Alspaugh, 5:17 157: David Bonin (UNI) wins by forfeit 165: Jarrett Jensen (UNI) dec. Charlie McMartin (NC), 8-6 174: Cody Caldwell (UNI) dec. Jesse Nielsen (NC), 9-3 184: #6 Ryan Loder (UNI) major dec. Keith Johnson, 10-0 197: Cody McAninch (NC) dec. Blaize Cabell, 5-3 285: Henry Chirino (NC) SV-1 Blayne Beale, 3-1

Ann Arbor, Mich. -- Junior Shawn Nagel (133) turned the tide of a back-and-forth dual with his first pin of the season as the No. 17 Nebraska wrestling team defeated No. 11 Michigan, 20-19, on Friday night at Cliff Keen Arena. The Huskers picked up their first Big Ten dual victory of the season after an 0-2 start with the win over the Wolverines. Nebraska improves to 7-3 in 2012-13 and Michigan falls to 6-2 and 0-1 in Big Ten duals. No. 7 James Green (157) made his first appearance for the Huskers since an injury on Dec. 1 in the opening match of the night. The sophomore won an 8-3 decision over Michigan's Collin Zeerip, earning his 13th victory of the season. Green improves to 6-0 in duals. The Wolverines responded at 165 pounds as No. 13 Taylor Massa pinned NU's Austin Wilson in 0:45. Nebraska bounced back at 174 with No. 4 Robert Kokesh's 9-3 decision over No. 11 Dan Yates. The victory marked Kokesh's 18th consecutive as he improved to 23-1 on the season and 9-1 in duals. Senior Josh Ihnen (184) kept the Nebraska momentum going with his technical fall over Chris Heald, 18-3. Ihnen's 16th win of the season gave the Huskers an 11-6 lead. Michigan won the next three matches, however, to take a 16-11 lead. At 197 pounds, No. 18 Max Huntley of Michigan won a 3-1 decision over Caleb Kolb. Sophomore Spencer Johnson (HWT) made his first appearance of the season but lost an 8-3 decision to No. 19 Ben Apland. Freshman Eric Coufal fell by a 15-7 major decision to the Wolverines' Sean Boyle at 125 pounds. Trailing 16-11, Nebraska's Nagel delivered by pinning Michigan's Rossi Bruno at 133 pounds in 2:14. The pin marked Nagel's first of the season and 11th of his career as he gave the Huskers a 17-16 lead. The junior improves to 11-9 on the season and 5-5 in duals. Senior Ridge Kiley (141) extended Nebraska's lead to 20-16 with his 4-3 decision over No. 18 Camryn Jackson of Michigan. Kiley picked up his 10th win of the season and improved to 5-2 in dual competition. At 149 pounds, sophomore Jake Sueflohn fell by a 3-2 decision to No. 12 Eric Grajales. Sueflohn, who is ranked eighth in the InterMat poll, falls to 14-3 on the season and 5-2 in duals. The Huskers will battle No. 18 Northwestern on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Evanston, Ill. The match will be available on Big Ten Digital Network. Results: 157: #7 James Green (NEB) by dec. over Collin Zeerip (MICH), 8-3 (NEB 3, MICH 0) 165: #13 Taylor Massa (MICH) by fall over Austin Wilson (NEB), 0:45 (MICH 6, NEB 3) 174: #4 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #11 Dan Yates (MICH), 9-3 (NEB 6, MICH 6) 184: #8 Josh Ihnen (NEB) by tech. fall over Chris Heald (MICH), 18-3 (NEB 11, MICH 6) 197: #18 Max Huntley (MICH) by dec. over Caleb Kolb (NEB), 3-1 (NEB 11, MICH 9) HWT: #19 Ben Apland (MICH) by dec. over Spencer Johnson (NEB), 8-3 (MICH 12, NEB 11) 125: Sean Boyle (MICH) by major dec. over Eric Coufal (NEB), 15-7 (MICH 16, NEB 11) 133: Shawn Nagel (NEB) by fall over Rossi Bruno (MICH), 2:14 (NEB 17, MICH 16) 141: Ridge Kiley (NEB) by dec. over #18 Camryn Jackson (MICH), 4-3 (NEB 20, MICH 16) 149: #12 Eric Grajales (MICH) by dec. over #8 Jake Sueflohn (NEB), 3-2 (NEB 20, MICH 19)

DEKALB, Ill. -- The Ohio University Wrestling team (4-3) improved to 2-1 in conference action Friday night as it defeated Northern Illinois 32-13 at the NIU Convocation Center to post its fifth straight win over the Huskies. The Huskies claimed the first bout of the evening as Kevin Fanta defeated freshman Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, Ohio) at 141, but the Bobcats responded by winning the next seven matches to secure the win. Sophomore Andrew Romanchik (Independence, Ohio) got the Bobcats on the board as he pinned Robert Jillard to win at 149. Romanchik's pin was one of three registered by the Bobcats. Redshirt sophomore Harrison Hightower (Strongsville, Ohio) and redshirt junior Ryan Garringer (Downers Grove, Ill.) also logged pins at 165 and 184, respectively. Redshirt freshman Cody Walters (Macedonia, Ohio) picked up his team-best 21st win on the year as he defeated NIU's Matt Mougin. Redshirt junior Jeremy Johnson (Broadview Heights, Ohio) and redshirt freshman Phil Wellington (Euclid, Ohio) also chipped in with win as they posted major decision victories at heavyweight and 197, respectively. Ohio returns to action next Friday as it heads to Kent State. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. Results: 141: Kevin Fanta (NIU) dec. Kagan Squire (Ohio), 5-2 149: Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) pins Rob Jillard (NIU), 1:43 157: Spartak Chino (Ohio) dec. Andrew Morse (NIU), 9-3 165: Harrison Hightower (Ohio) pins Dan Burk (NIU), 1:17 174: Cody Walters (Ohio) dec. Matt Mougin (NIU), 5-2 184: Ryan Garringer (Ohio) pins Bryan Loughlin (NIU), 2:39 197: Phil Wellington (Ohio) maj. dec. Arber Bebo (NIU), 13-5 285: Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) maj. dec. Jared Torrence (NIU), 10-1 125: Derek Elmore (NIU) wins by forfeit 133: Nick Smith (NIU) maj. dec. Garret Garness (Ohio), 9-1

COLUMBUS, Ohio- The No. 3 Ohio State wrestling team dropped a 25-9 decision to No. 3 Minnesota Friday night in St. John Arena. Buckeyes Nikko Triggas, Hunter Stieber and Cam Tessari scored wins for the Scarlet and Gray, who drop to 7-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. The Gophers improve to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference. "Our upper weight classes need to have more energy," Tom Ryan, head coach, said. "At the four-in-a- half, five-minute mark, we were slowing down and Minnesota was not. With our light weights like Hunter [Stieber], we tried to move the weight classes up and down to help win matches, but it really didn't work" There are not many positives we can take away for tonight's match. Nikko Triggas did a great job and wrestled hard. Peter Capone did a good job, as well showing energy." Ohio State returns to action Jan. 18 when it travels to Bloomington to face Indiana for a 7 p.m. tilt. Two days later, the Buckeyes will host Wisconsin at 2 p.m. Jan. 20. The match between the Buckeyes and Gophers was a back-and-forth affair through the first five bouts, with Ohio State taking a 9-8 lead heading into intermission. However, five consecutive losses between 165 pounds and heavyweight set Ohio State back in its second league loss of the season. Ryan shuffled the Buckeye lineup as well, moving Tessari and redshirt sophomore Josh Demas up a weight class, while redshirt junior Ian Paddock received the start at 149 pounds. Additionally, senior C.J. Magrum earned the start at 184 pounds for the second-consecutive match. Triggas, a senior from Moraga, Calif., and the Russ Hellickson Wrestler of the Match, gave Ohio State an early 3-0 advantage when he posted a 6-4 decision over No. 13 David Thorn. Holding on to a slim 5-4 lead in the third period, Triggas' final escape of the match secured his 15th win of the season. Once again wrestling at 133 pounds in place of the injured Logan Stieber, Kyle Visconti faced No. 6 Chris Dardanes and suffered a 14-4 setback and Minnesota took a 4-3 lead. However, the Gopher advantage was short-lived as the second-ranked Hunter Stieber decisioned No. 11 Nick Dardanes in the 141-pound matchup to put the Buckeyes out in front, 6-4. Most of the action of this bout took place in the first period with Stieber scoring a pair of takedowns to Dardanes' two escapes. An escape by Stieber in the second period lifted the Buckeye sophomore from Monroeville, Ohio, to a 5-2 lead. Dardanes could only manage an escape in the final period for the 5-3 final. After a quick 4-1 lead, Paddock, a Warsaw, N.Y., native could not overcome No. 5 Dylan Ness' flurry of scores, including a pair of 3-point nearfalls in the first period. Paddock only could come within five points of Ness in the second period before the 15-7 final. With the Gophers holding on to an 8-6 lead, Tessari found himself owning a 4-0 advantage heading into the third period vs. Danny Zilverberg. Tessari, who hails from Monroeville, Ohio, added a final takedown and escape to win, 7-2. In the final five matches, the Buckeyes dropped a trio of close bouts, including a 3-1 overtime loss for Demas. Wrestling No. 12 Cody Yohn, Demas countered with an escape in the third period to tie the score 1-1. However, a takedown by Yohn in the final seconds of sudden victory secured the Gopher victory. Two losses via major decisions by 174-pounder Nick Heflin and the 184-pounder Magrum set Ohio State back, 19-9. Mathematically still able to win the match with two bouts remaining, the Scarlet and Gray's Andrew Campolattano's lone reversal to open the second period for a 2-0 lead was not enough to overcome the 14th-ranked Scott Schiller in a 5-2 loss. Peter Capone also lost a close match, 3-1, to No. 2 Tony Nelson. After both wrestlers traded escapes in the opening of the second and third periods, Nelson took down Capone in the final seconds for the 3-1 win. Results: 125: No. 12 Nikko Triggas dec. No. 13 David Thorn (Minnesota), 6-4 133: No. 6 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) major dec. Kyle Visconti, 14-4 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber dec. No. 11 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota), 5-3 149: No. 5 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) major dec. Ian Paddock, 15-7 157: No. 14 Cam Tessari dec. Daniel Zilverberg (Minnesota), 7-2 165: No. 12 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Josh Demas, 3-1ot 174: No. 2 Logan Storley (Minnesota) major dec. No. 7 Nick Heflin, 12-3 184: No. 5 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) major dec. C.J Magrum, 9-1 197: No. 14 Scott Schiller (Minnesota) dec. No. 9 Andrew Campolattano, 5-2 HWT: No. 2 Anthony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 12 Peter Capone, 3-1

Kevin Tao's pin in the final bout of the night lifted the American University wrestling team to a 21-19 victory over Harvard in its first EIWA dual of the season on Friday. Tao opened the 149 lbs. match with an early takedown and picked up a near fall to take the 5-0 advantage. He was then able to secure the dual for the Eagles, pinning Harvard's Alexis Wagener in 1:17. "Going into the match I felt like we had a pretty good advantage, but in situations like that you never know how those athletes are going to react," said Head Coach Teague Moore. "Kevin was very aggressive, he knew what he was going to be able to score with and win with and he stuck with it to get the victory for the team." Harvard won the first match of the night at 157 lbs. before Phillip Barreiro put American on the board. Harvard's Devon Gobbo took the early advantage but Barreiro responded, tying it at three with a takedown at the end of the second period. Barreiro picked up the escape in the final period for the 4-3 advantage and added the takedown right after as he held on to record the 9-4 decision. Thomas Barreiro led 2-0 after the first period at 184 lbs. before Josh Popple tied it heading into the third. Barreiro scored the takedown but Popple got a reversal to knot it up again. Barreiro was able to secure the victory, getting the escape in the closing seconds for the 5-4 decision to put the team score at 9-6 in favor of the Crimson. Blake Herrin registered a 12-5 decision for the Eagles at heavyweight and David Terao gave American its first team lead of the bout, pinning Jeff Ott in 5:40. Harvard won the next match at 133 lbs. with Ryan Osleeb earning a 4-2 decision over Esteban Gomez-Rivera to take back the overall lead, 19-15, setting up Tao's pin to win the match. "I'm happy for the team, even in our losses tonight we did things that helped keep the team in it," said Moore. "In terms of the conference it's exciting, for us to get the victory at home and the way that it came it's exciting and it feels good. We just want to follow up with two more wins on Sunday." American returns to Bender Arena on Sunday, January 13 for a double-header against Stanford and No. 14 Lehigh. The action kicks off at 12 p.m. against the Cardinal with the Eagles facing its second EIWA opponent, Lehigh, at 2 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on Eagles Vision TV. Results: 157: No. 8 Walter Peppelman (Harvard) tech. fall Mark Cirello (American), 18-0 (5:25); Harvard, 5-0 165: Phillip Barreiro (American) dec. Devon Gobbo, 9-4; Harvard, 5-3 174: Cameron Croy (Harvard) major dec. Keithen Cast (American), 14-6; Harvard 9-3 184: Thomas Barreiro (American) dec. Josh Popple (Harvard), 5-4; Harvard, 9-6 197: James Fox (Harvard) major dec. Devon Bradley (American), 15-2; Harvard, 13-6 HWT: Blake Herrin (American) dec. David Ng (Harvard), 12-5; Harvard 13-9 125: David Terao (American) fall Jeff Ott (Harvard), 5:40; American, 15-13 133: Ryan Osleeb (Harvard) dec. Esteban Gomez-Rivera (American), 4-2; Harvard, 16-15 141: No. 10 Steven Keith (Harvard) dec. John Boyle (American), 4-1; Harvard, 19-15 149: Kevin Tao (American) fall Alexis Wagener (Harvard), 1:17; American 21-19

Piscataway, N.J. -- The Iowa State wrestling team (2-3, 0-1 Big 12) started its east coast road trip with a bang Friday night, scoring a 19-15 victory over Rutgers (10-2, 2-0 EIWA) at the Rutgers Athletic Center. Iowa State won four of its five final matches en route to its second dual win of the season. "Obviously it's always good to get a win," head coach Kevin Jackson said. "We still have a lot of work to do on this trip with two more duals ahead of us. There's little time to celebrate victories, and no time to dwell on defeat." The Cyclones held a 16-15 advantage heading into the final match of the dual. It was all up to No. 20 Matt Gibson again at heavyweight, much like on Dec. 16 against North Dakota State in Ames, to bring home the dual win for the Cyclones. Gibson was victorious in a 7-5 decision over Rutgers' Billy Smith. Gibson trailed late in the match but was able to get a late reversal on the right edge to grab the lead 6-5. Gibson then rode out Smith for the win 7-5 with 1:14 of riding time. Redshirt freshman Tanner Weatherman provided the biggest highlight of the night for the Cyclones as he upset the No. 13 ranked wrestler in the country, Rutgers' Greg Zannetti. Weatherman was able to get a takedown early in the first sudden victory period to seal a 9-7 win in a very entertaining match that went back and forth. "Both Tanner and Matt Gibson were on the bottom down a point with the match on the line, and they both found a way to win," Jackson said. "Tanner is continuing to improve and building his confidence each and every match." No. 20 Luke Goettl dominated his match at 141 pounds, getting a pin at the 2:35 mark over Rutgers' Trevor Melde, who is ranked No. 18 by W.I.N. Magazine. Iowa State trailed 6-0 before Goettl was able to turn the tides and get six points for the Cyclones to knot the team score at 6-6. Other winners tonight included No. 19 Michael Moreno at 165 pounds and No. 10 Kyven Gadson at 197 pounds. Moreno and Gadson both were victorious in convincing fashion. Moreno won by way of an 11-6 decision over Rutgers' Nick Visicaro. Moreno now leads the Cyclones with 15 wins on the year. Gadson won by way of a major decision over Rutgers' Dan Seidenberg 14-6. Gadson is now 5-0 in duals for the Cyclones, as he's posted three major decisions in those five wins. "What I like about this team right now is we're still not wrestling at our best, but we're competing at a high level" Jackson said. "When you compete at high level, you give yourself a chance to win." Iowa State now travels to Philadelphia, Penn. for two duals on Sunday with the Drexel Dragons and the Penn Quakers. The Drexel dual begins at 9 a.m. (CST) with the Penn dual following at 12 p.m. (CST). Results: 125: Joe Langel (RU) dec. No. 20 Ryak Finch (ISU), 5-4 133: Vincent Dellefave (RU) dec. John Meeks (ISU), 7-6 141: No. 20 Luke Goettl (ISU) WBF (2:35) Trevor Melde (RU) 149: Ken Theobold (RU) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU), 4-0 157: No. 17 Scott Winston (RU) dec. Logan Molina (ISU), 4-0 165: No. 20 Mike Moreno (ISU) dec. Nick Visicaro (RU), 6-4 174: Tanner Weatherman (ISU) dec. No. 13 Greg Zannetti (RU), 9-7 (SV-1) 184: No. 13 Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. Boaz Beard (ISU), 1-0 197: No. 11 Kyven Gadson (ISU) mdec. Dan Seidenberg (RU), 14-6 285: No. 20 Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. Billy Smith (RU), 7-5

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The Illinois wrestling team began the Big Ten season with a 29-10 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers in front of 1,069 fans to improve to 54-29-2 all time in the border battle. Seven of the ten Illini posted victories, including bonus points from Tony Dallago (184), B.J. Futrell (141) and Matt Nora (157). "It was a solid performance tonight," head coach Jim Heffernan said. "We started the dual in a good spot, winning the first four weights. We tell our guys everyday, if you wrestle hard, you have a chance to win every match and I think thats what a lot of them did tonight. Tony looked good and was pretty excited all week. Nice to start weekend with a win and gives our guys a few more days to heal. We need our guys to get healthy, its very critical." The dual started at 174 where No. 4 Jordan Blanton faced Chad Welch. Blanton notched his 16th victory of the season after moving past Welch by a 10-2 decision. At 184, No. 11 Tony Dallago got the Illini bonus points with his pin of Andy Wiseman in 1:25 to record his eighth of the season and push the Orange and Blue up 10-0. The Illini continued their success when 197-pounder Mario Gonzalez moved past No. 18 Braden Atwood by an 11-4 decision to give Gonzalez his seventh win of the season. Heavyweight Chris Lopez earned his first collegiate dual meet victory against Purdue's Alex White by a 4-3 decision to push the team score to 16-0. The Purdue Boilermakers got four points on the score board at 125 pounds as Camden Eppert moved past redshirt-freshman Dominic Olivieri by a 12-4 major decision. Purdue got three more points at 133 pounds after Logan Arlis dropped his bout 11-4 to Purdue's Danny Sabatello. The Boilermakers inched closer in the team score, but the Illini held the lead 16-7 with four bouts remaining. B.J. Futrell got the Illini back in action as he notched his 19th victory of the season as he majored Purdue's Brandon Nelsen 13-5 to push the team score to 20-7. At 157 pounds, Matt Nora wrestled Purdue's Tommy Churchard, a returning NCAA qualifier. Nora found himself down 3-0 in the second period but turned Churchard to his back and pinned the Boilermaker to record his 10th overall victory this season and third pin of the year. In the last bout of the night, senior Conrad Polz defeated Pat Robinson 10-3 to close out the Illini's 29-10 victory. "I knew Tommy was a tough competitor and it would be a close match," Nora said. "I had to listen to my coaches and wrestle hard for the entire seven minutes. I wasn't so much worried about the outcome, more so just trying to fill my role on the team. I knew if I competed to my best ability, good things would happen." The Illini will continue their Big Ten season next weekend when they travel to Nebraska on Friday, Jan. 18 and Minnesota on Monday, Jan. 21. Results: 174: #4 Jordan Blanton (ILL) dec. Chad Welch (PUR), 10-2 (3-0) 184: #11 Tony Dallago (ILL) pinned Andy Wiseman (PUR), 1:25 (10-0) 197: #5 Mario Gonzalez (ILL) dec. #18 Braden Atwood (PUR), 11-4 (13-0) HWT: Chris Lopez (ILL) dec. Alex White (PUR), 4-3 (16-0) 125: #18 Camden Eppert (PUR) major dec. Dominic Olivieri (ILL), 12-4 (16-4) 133: Danny Sabatello (PUR) dec. Logan Arlis (ILL), 11-4, (16-7) 141: #3 B.J. Futrell (ILL) major dec. Brandon Nelsen (PUR), 13-5 (20-7) 149: #12 Ivan Lopouchanski (PUR) dec. Caleb Ervin (ILL), 2-0 (20-10) 157: Matt Nora (ILL) pinned Tommy Churchard (PUR), 4:34 (26-10) 165: #7 Conrad Polz (ILL) dec. Pat Robinson (PUR), 10-3 (29-10)

InterMat senior writer T.R. Foley answers reader questions about NCAA wrestling, international wrestling, recruiting, or anything loosely related to wrestling. You have until Thursday night every week to send questions to Foley's Twitter or email account. Do you want to read a past mailbag? Access archives. This week Twitter earned another customer when NCAA oddsmaker Brian Muir opened up account as @MuirOrLess. The entendre should speak to the idea that he more or less gets you the odds you need to bet with your friends. The service is free and for podcast listeners (the ranks are swelling each week!) those numbers come in every Wednesday, which means you have ample time to sucker your friends into a terrible bet. Muir assures me that he'll post the lines for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual on Twitter tomorrow. If you're so inclined to join another social network -- albeit one that you can enjoy voyeuristically and without handing over your high school graduation date -- then look up the InterMat family of Tweeters and read up on wrestling all day long via your mobile device. Last week's articles on Dake and Taylor took a lot of energy out of the wrestling world this week. We're all falling back into our pre-holiday routine and without the Magic Man and Kid Dynamite to talk about many of us have given up on wrestling for a few weeks. It's understandable, the NCAA wrestling season is far too long. We all reach our saturation point. But keep your hopes up for next month. We'll be well inside the conference dual meet schedule, with matches that impact seeding at the conference and national tournament start to materialize. And soon after that the most anticipated NCAA tournament in modern history. Stay tuned, mailbaggers. To your questions ... Q: Iowa vs. Oklahoma State. Who are you picking? -- Brandon H. Foley: Iowa. As podcast listeners know I recently acquired a renewed admiration for Hawkeye head wrestling coach Tom Brands. His post-match news press conference following his team's 11-point win over Ohio State was one for the archives. Not only did he admit to an ANGER MANAGEMENT!! problem, he blamed himself for the team's lack of performance. I know that 99 percent of our coaches look in the mirror when things go awry, but how many would self-diagnose a psychiatric issue? We live in a society where 80 percent of people who show up to a 9-5 office job bite their tongue once a day rather than risk a lawsuit for calling another human a dumbass or for smacking the office print boy for making your cup of coffee too weak. (What's the line on this percentage @MuirOrLess?) Brands is fresh air because he doesn't hold back his emotions. He's like Mike Tyson in that way, nothing inauthentic can pass through his lips. He's honest, and since I started to pay attention, it's become his most endearing quality. In fact, my objective 31-year-old self would send my weakling 18-year-old self to be coached by Brands, I'd have learned how to hand fight and wear yellow without becoming washed out. I know that you can't smack the copier kid, or stomp your boots when things don't go as planned, but there is a sincerity in holding true to your highest value. Brands' highest value is dominating, and when that eludes him or his team, he doesn't skank roll with his emotions, he plods forward and gets it dinged for stalling. Kids still want a slick-haired coach to coddle them and tell them that (insert university) will be the springboard to a beautiful wife, picket fence and job at a Fortune 500 company. I only see Brands telling me that I'd have to work my ass off and zip my lip, because "That's how you learn! ... That's how you get better!" I might poke fun at him on occasion (it's too easy), but I like me some Tom Brands. Iowa wins 17-16. Q: So I signed onto TrackWrestling.com the other day to keep up with things at the Southern Scuffle. I'm really excited to watch (in static red and blue animation) Alan Waters take on the Mega-Nico. But wait. I can't find Waters in the brackets. So I scroll through all the comments about President Obama on the Southern Scuffle blog and see that Waters is out for either grades or an injury (no one seemed to know which, but they all seemed to be pretty sure they hate President Obama). Fine, I think, I'll see what's going on with the Alton brothers. They're always fun to watch. But Holy Smokes, they've weighed in but are not wrestling! From what I find (after a Google search), they've been charged with assault!! (My theory: they've taken to pinning random strangers on the streets.) So, OK, at least I can watch Dake and Taylor go at it ... several days later on Flowrestling.com. Then, last Friday, I kick back with a beer and some popcorn, switch on BTN, ready to watch Tony Ramos attempt to stare down Logan Stieber. What the heck?!? Logan is sitting on the sidelines (looking just fine by the way) and poor Ramos is reduced to putting the stink-eye on some guy who looks like Henry from the comics. What the Sam Hill is going on here? What's the lowdown on all these guys and when will they be back on the mats? And, one more thing, why do I have to go so many different places to figure out what's going on in this sport? -- John G. Foley: I would normally trim a question of this length (cough, cough, rant, cough), but you're a nifty little writer. And you have a point. We here in the wrestling media are still very much in our adolescent phase. There are things that we want to do like the big boys covering the NFL, but budgets are small and therefore our time is limited. As you guys keep buying our services and frequenting the pages, we can make some extra money and send back to you with up-to-the-minute information. I'm sure we here at InterMat could be a faster and more flamboyant with the dispersal of information, but releasing that information has consequences and therefore can't be done without solid sourcing. For example, we might have heard from someone that Waters was out of the lineup because President Barack Obama had asked him to consult on a five star panel to discuss new crop-growing methods for farmers in Latvia. However, if we can't confirm that news with a coach, sports information director, and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, then we can't publish the information. I'd love to be the guy to break the news that Logan Stieber is out 1-2 weeks so that he can complete the final requirements of his Eagle badge, but if I can't get Tom Ryan to confirm the details we are all left to wonder. In the future, if you email me as questions as they are occurring I can put in a few calls and then post the information in the mailbag. I do favor-based journalism and will seek out solid information on behalf of my readers. Why? I'm just that sweet. Q: What's the best wrestling clubs in the U.S.? -- @BrandonfrmNJ Foley: The best wrestling club in the nation is The Edge run by Ernie Monaco. I don't do second places because then I'm forced to do a third and fourth place, which would require me list all ten. To be honest, I don't know the high school clubs all that well. However, I can say that for more than 20 years The Edge has been pumping out megawatt superstars. And here's a little more information. Dave Esposito, one of the smartest wrestling minds I've ever been around, has a second location open in Hoboken, N.J. Along with a staff that includes former DI NCAA qualifier Brandon Kinney I'd expect to see some serious talent finding its way out of The Mile Squared over the next few years. Q: Majority of college "underachievers" are a result of early physical maturity? Man vs. boy? Or is there a better reason? -- @eclipsegut Foley: Recruits can fail for any number of reasons. Your question came after several wrestling pundits on Twitter chirped that we thought Kyle Snyder with be the Harlem Globetrotters of NCAA wrestling. It's always tough to predict how an all-world kid will react once he's in college. In my experience it's as much about psychology as it is talent. No college wrestling team should seek to have thirty No. 1 wrestlers. It's too many egos with no natural balance. Youth, middle school and high school teams breed role wrestlers and all-stars because the natural separation of talent in a pool of athletes occurs naturally and is reinforced in social circles being developed for the first time. There are bit players, role players, major players and the leader. Like a season of the Real World you can see the same cast in every season. However, because college wrestling is so competitive sometimes teams with huge superstars can't socially accommodate the egotistical needs of a talented newcomer. The role has already been cast and filled. You might best recognize this psychological theory in the cliché, "The town ain't big enough for the both of us." It's the lack of recognition by wrestlers and coaches that an athlete can't bear to be out of the spotlight that has ruined DOZENS of careers over the past ten years. (This problem is more prevalent in big men because their physical standing often makes them the most popular person at their entire school. Height matters, George Washington wasn't the best general of the 1770's, but he was just the tallest.) The other reason some all-stars don't work out is their personal inability to deal with defeat. You come from a state where you lost eight or nine times in four years and suddenly the backup two weights down is destroying you in practice. Wrestlers are a strong bunch, but we're very sensitive and it's that vulnerability which can sometimes translate into the cliché known as, "Screw this, I'm out." High school heroes and the inability to adapt to losing are the two big principals, but the third is technical deficiency from bottom. High school kids and first-year college wrestlers are just bad from bottom. When you can't get out from bottom it can use all types of frustrations, and many more losses than the pundits predicted. As for the physical disadvantages, it's certainly possible. It's not far fetched that it could impact these guys, but weightlifting is advanced even in high school and many of these bigger kids might not have MAN STRENGTH quite yet, but they can toss another human about with ease. YOU MUST READ THIS WEBSITE. http://www.outofedenwalk.com Any ideas on how we could do something similar for wrestling?

Steve Garland and Kevin DresserSteve Garland and Kevin Dresser are two of the most well-liked coaches in college wrestling. But the duo doesn't just share affability and a governor. Hired at the same time seven years ago, the pair has seen each other's their squads rise from the ranks of the also-rans into teams filled with All-American talent. On the eve of the Virginia Duals both coaches talked about winning the Commonwealth of Virginia, the direction of their program and much, much more. Coach Dresser and Coach Garland answered the folllowing questions by phone while traveling from their respective schools to the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. Where are you right now? Garland: We're passing through Richmond, which makes no sense because you and I keep dropping calls. Dresser: We just left Blacksburg and we're about four and half hours away, just have to take 81 North to 64 East. There's a few mountains between us and Hampton Who are the big performers for you guys right now, guys that might've impressed you during the first half of the season? Garland: Jedd Moore is wrestling just like you want him to at this time of year. He's won the Scuffle now, but probably the biggest niche is that he's a beast on top, where last year he wasn't a mat wrestler. It's good because he's falling back on old school grinding. That's gonna be the kicker, the deciding factor. We honestly believe he can be a national champion. When you get in on a shot it might be your only chance. He hadn't been finishing but he gets into those positions with Coach Leen and they have to figure 'em out. For whatever reason Jordan's really clicked with Jedd, and I think he works differently, but it's Coach Leen and whatever they're doing is working. I'm not gonna try to fix what ain't broken. Dresser: Nick Brascetta is coming along nicely. Obviously he had a big win against Donnie Vinson. But we have Binghamton in the first round so it's a "boom, boom" kinda thing and he has to prove it wasn't a fluke. I know it wasn't a fluke. Thing is he's one stupid injury timeout away from being undefeated. He dropped a match because there was a forced injury time against Cole VonOhlen early in the season. We don't change positions, Nick wins. What is the team's overall strength heading into Virginia Duals? Garland: Mat wrestling. We're really good from top and bottom. We pride ourselves on top, and our guys like to ride on top. Everybody likes to talk about how funky Snyder is, but he learned that leg series here. I think Sulzer is riding on top. Our goal is to end periods on top, to get that riding time point. You know the other thing is with the bottom we're really good at forcing reversals. Spisak Snyder, Fausey are all good there and Fausey will get big points. And my boy Doty does old school power switches and breaks off people's arms Dresser: We're real healthy right now. I think we have a great dual meet team and improving at the five weights where we aren't ranked in the top twelve. We're doing a lot of individual stuff with the guys this time of years. Confidence is such a big part of the games, and the 97 and heavyweight are coming from ACL and they're just getting back into it. Dong is still recovering from a major shoulder surgery, five staples. We just shot him up last year and dude couldn't even hold his arm up. He's getting better every week this year and though his shoulder is one-hundred percent, he still needs time to build back up. When you look at the preseason goals and what you can accomplish in March, are you feeling optimistic? What are some challenges? Garland: The injuries definitely hurt. I'm not gonna give you some bull about "next guy up," the injuries hurt and they hurt bad. I think it's always affected our program this time of season. Cool thing about that question is that I feel more confident about our guys. Not only am I pleased, I've actually improved our goals after watching what these guys are capable of doing on the mat. I've heard some people say that they wish they could have more injuries throughout the year so that they could've been fresh. So my hope is that we can get these guys through the injuries so they can be fresh and happy and just so, so hungry to get back on the mat for the last third of the season. Dresser: My preseason statement to everyone was that we are going to be the better team in 2013. We have those guys I mentioned coming off huge surgeries and a freshman in the lineup. Everybody knows that some of these guys can wrestle, but we got a lot of guys that can be OW on the team. But even knowing that I expected this I'm more optimistic now than I thought I'd be. Best things are ahead of us. Once we get into January and February we can do some big things with our season. Good tournament team. Why? Carries over to duals? Garland: I think we are a good tournament team. The Virginia Duals mimics the feel of a tournament. I told our guys last night that I want them to feed off that palpable energy. I remember wrestling Oklahoma a few years ago and it was a bloodbath. It was so intense every match. We tend to wrestle better in those situations and I'm hoping our guys will rise to that level. Dresser: I think we are in a good place right now. We as a program got through a lot of crap early on about not finishing the season strong at ACCs and NCAAs. But remember that the guys we were putting into the NCAA tournament were guys we brought up. They weren't blue chippers. Most guys go to nationals and underachieve before they overachieve. We were 11th at NCAAs then fourth at Midlands and then second. Good coaching is having good focus. Work ethic wins in high school and work ethic wins in college. Work ethic wins in business. The biggest thing to remember is that getting second at Midlands doesn't matter all that much. You can never get too high or too low. The emotional swings will break you. As the rivalry has increased it seems like you guys seem to get along more. When you look across the state (figuratively, of course) what are some of the things you admire about their program? Garland: I hope that there's a mutual respect. We got the jobs the same time, Kevin and I, and the respect started out of the season. Our recruiting classes in our first season were about the same, and we were right by each other for the first few seasons. Obviously they are doing something right by constantly, consistently bringing in great kids, from that first year until now. I was there the first year when we wrestled at Rumble on the River, and when we both got those teams they were a shadow of what they are now. No disrespect, but they were at a different level. Look at that dual meet roster from that match and look at the dual meets this weekend. From what we've done I've seen them mimic the same things. We aren't best buddies and we don't go out to dinners together, but I know what he's done is impressive. You hope that he and other coaches see the way you live your life, your belief and passion to see that you're more than just a wrestling coach by name. That's all you can really hope for. We both remember that first ACC meeting looking at each other and saying, "Man, we got a tough road to hoe," and then it was the next year and we're winning 18 matches and they won 20, and it was like, "Wow." Again I don't want to say that he thinks about me all the time, because I don't think he does, but we saw each other's successes and failures all very intimately. Dresser: I think that Steve's done a great job. We got hired at the same time. Look at where we were seven years ago and where they were seven years ago and see the difference. Do we want to wake up every morning and we beat the crap out of 'em when they're good? Yeah, it feels good! I've been around Virginia a long time and there ain't many years we were both in the top 15 in the country. I don't know if that's ever happened. I think it's great for the state to have quality teams. Traditionally, Virginia has done better at ACCs and NCAAs, while Virginia Teach has done better in dual meets. Last year Virginia Tech bested Virginia in the dual and NCAAs. What do you have to do to beat these guys each and every time? Garland: Oh man, I guess I could point to injuries, but they have them it as well. I took it on the chin this year because I felt like I didn't have my guys prepared enough. This year we just didn't wrestle well, flat out. I don't have a concrete answer except say that the time we wrestled them in Virginia in 2011 and it came down to heavyweight, we need to wrestle them with that kind of passion and intensity. Dresser: You don't walk around bragging about how you beat a .500 wrestler. It was nice to put a whooping on Virginia in the dual meet this year because we know that they're a good team. This isn't Iowa, but do you feel that there is a pride about being the best in Virginia? Garland: Well, I've been coach here for seven years and if you add in my time here as a student-athlete, I've been a Virginia resident a long time. I talked to my team yesterday. I told them that we represent the state, and we need to walk around with our heads up and our shoulders back. Seriously, it was my post-practice speech yesterday. I'm big about presence. I'm big about thinking about 'What am I here to do? Why am I here? You always hear the joke about A-Rod being the main character in the movie about himself. Well, I kinda believe in that, dude! I was a nobody but I used to walk around like I was bees knees and it helped me, you know. Our guys should do that, too. Dresser: I think that we recruit Virginia kids and it's nice to say you're the best guy in town. Obviously we aren't hanging our hat on what we do at the Virginia Duals, because our goals are focused on what goes down at nationals. When it comes to recruiting you both have different areas of focus. Explain. Garland: Kevin's old assistant coach is in their backyard. I mean shame on them if they're not getting those kids, right? They have a heck of a pipeline there. Daryl Weber is a great coach. The Jersey connection, I have no idea where that came from, except they have a North Jersey thing. We're Western and Central PA, but mostly Ohio. We like Ohio. Kids don't know squat about college. They know what they know and they know high school. So some kid in Pennsylvania hears Jon Fausey and Matt Snyder are on campus they like it more because they remember reading about them and watching them in the state finals. Dresser: Obviously, my relationships are strong at home. We might look like all-Virginia but we have some other states as well, including starters from Ohio, Delaware, and Georgia. I think we have a little bit of everything. But I do think my background as a high school coach helped me a little bit. I feel like I can make phone calls and get straight answers. I spent a lot of time in hospitality rooms those 18 years as a high school coach. As for Christiansburg, some of them lived there, some of the moved in. But guys like Zach Epperly, I mean I'd watch that kids drill in the basement since he was 4 or 5 years old. When I took over the program in 1996 I was really starting from scratch. So our goal was to get huge numbers out and we finally got 200 and 300 kids. We figured out ways for kids to get to national tournaments. I was happy when I got Daryl in 2000 because now he's doing great things with the program, too. Commonwealth trivia. Speed round. How many Presidents are from the state of Virginia? (Eight) Garland: Five. Dresser: I didn't study history. I went to Iowa and we didn't go to class in the 80s. We won a lot of national titles, though. Who is the most famous celebrity you can name from Virginia? Garland: "Touchdown" Tommy Jefferson and George Washington! Those guys were pretty big. Dresser: Do we have any celebrities from Virginia? One of the guys just told me someone from Glee. Oh, wait, someone else just said Bruce Smith. What was the Commonwealth's leading export in 2011? (Coal) Garland: Leading export? Tobacco. Dresser: Coal. Who is the biggest celebrity you can name from your school and their school? Garland: Virginia Tech: Josh Feldman! (Josh was the older brother to Zack Feldman, who wrestled at Virginia and was Garland's close friend). Virginia: I gotta go with my girl Katie Couric! Dresser: Tech has Mike Vick and Virginia has Heath Miller. All football for ya.'

Ten teams, including three inside the top twelve nationally, will join No. 14 Detroit Catholic, Mich., on Saturday for the DCC Super Duals. The prime attraction to the event will be matchups involving the hosts, those three other ranked teams (No. 2 St. Edward, Ohio, No. 7 Montini Catholic, Ill, and No. 12 St. Johns, Mich.), and perennial state power Davison. All five squads will compete against one another with the exception of Detroit Catholic Central not facing Davison and St. Johns; the Shamrocks beat Davison in a dual meet last month and are on a collision course to see them in next month's dual meet state final, while the hosts have a dual meet against St. Johns scheduled for a week from Friday at the University of Michigan, and beat them in a dual meet last month. Four of the other teams at the event reside among the top eleven teams in Michigan regardless of division per Michigan Grappler rankings from Jan. 7: Temperence Bedford, Dundee, Hudson, and Rochester. Rounding out the field are programs with histories of success in Clarkston, Mich., and Solon, Ohio. The three out of state teams in the DCC Super Duals field have to adapt to the weight classes in Michigan, which did not change with the NFHS rule change of the 2011-12 season, just as a team like Detroit Catholic Central does in their travels to Ohio. For this weekend, it most impacts St. Edward and Montini Catholic, as those two squads are the ones that will be in "high stakes" dual meets. In terms of the St. Edward lineup, it is most likely that Medina Invitational placer Hunter Ladnier will occupy the extra lighter weight (130/135). The impact for the upper half of the lineup is that Domenic Abounader (ranked No. 2 nationally at 182) slides up to 189, while projected state placers Gabe Dzuro, Parker Knapp, and Ralph Nichols share the back two weight classes (215 and 285). Looking at Montini Catholic, the Broncos will be able to eliminate the relative hole at 285 pounds by sliding three other upper-weights up one weight class: Jake Turk, 182 pound runner-up at the Cheesehead, moves up to 189; state qualifier Anthony Ferraro moves from 195 up to 220; and Edgar Ruano, Cheesehead champion at 220, moves up to 285. The extra lower weight, either 130 or 135, most likely gets filled in by junior Austin Pohlman. The following nationally ranked and/or otherwise notable wrestlers are slated to compete in this event: 103: L.J. Bentley (St. Edward), Robby Hamdan (Hudson), Ian Parker (St. Johns), Max Johnson (Davison) 112: Tommy Pawleski (Montini Catholic), Lincoln Olson (Davison), Isaac Dusseau (Hudson) 119: No. 17 Brandon Thompson (Solon), Mitch Rogaliner (Temperence Bedford), Vince Turk (Montini Catholic), Trevor Zdebski (Detroit Catholic Central), Justin Kim (Rochester) 125: No. 5 Zac Hall (St. Johns), Jordan Laster (Montini Catholic), Josh Wood (Rochester), Chance Driscoll (St. Edward), Brendan O'Connor (Dundee), Chris Wymer (Solon) 130: No. 6 Jacob Schmitt (St. Johns), No. 15 (at 126) Cole Weaver (Hudson), Myles Amine (Detroit Catholic Central) 135: No. 3 (at 132) Dean Heil (St. Edward), No. 13 (at 126) Ken Bade (Detroit Catholic Central), Jose Champagne (Montini Catholic), Matthew Miller (Davison), Mark Bozzo (St. Johns), J.D. Waters (Hudson) 140: No. 7 Logan Massa (St. Johns), No. 17 Colin Heffernan (St. Edward), Chris Garcia (Montini Catholic), Malik Amine (Detroit Catholic Central), Dominic Russ (Davison), Kaelan Richards (Rochester) 145: No. 1 Ben Whitford (St. Johns), No. 3 Edgar Bright (St. Edward), Michael Sepke (Montini Catholic), Doug Rojem (Dundee), Thomas Garty (Davison) 152: No. 6 Anthony Collica (Solon), No. 9 Markus Scheidel (St. Edward), Josh Pennell (St. Johns), Nick Vandermeer (Clarkston), Luke Fortuna (Montini Catholic), Aaron Morgan (Rochester) 160: Logan Marcicki (Detroit Catholic Central), Jordan Cooks (Davison), Xavier Montalvo (Montini Cahtolic), Todd Olson (Dundee), Brant Schafer (St. Johns), Dean Vettese (Rochester) 171: No. 18 Andrew Garcia (Detroit Catholic Central), Angus Arthur (St. Johns), Michael Maduko (Montini Catholic) 189: No. 2 (at 182) Domenic Abounader (St. Edward), No. 11 (at 195) Payne Hayden (St. Johns), Jake Turk (Montini Catholic), Chris Calvano (Clarkston), Teddy Warren (Dundee), Schwan Shadia (Rochester) 215: Gabe Dzuro/Parker Knapp (St. Edward), Brandon Sunday (Temperence Bedford), Anthony Ferraro (Montini Catholic), Jay Sroufe (Dundee) 285: Edgar Ruano (Montini Catholic), Ralph Nichols (St. Edward), Zach Rieger (Hudson), Robert Coe (Detroit Catholic Central), John Marogen (Dundee) Wrestling will start on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. The two featured bouts of the opening round place No. 2 St. Edward against Davison and No. 7 Montini Catholic against No. 12 St. Johns. The second-ranked Eagles are favored in ten of fourteen weight classes, while the Montini/St. Johns dual has each squad favored in half the weight classes. In the second round, slated for approximately 11:45 a.m., No. 2 St. Edward battles No. 12 St. Johns, and No. 7 Montini Catholic is in dual meet action against No. 14 Detroit Catholic Central. The battle between the Eagles and Redwings features a boatload of dynamic individual matchups, three where both wrestlers are ranked, but the second ranked team in the nation is favored in eight weight classes. In the other featured dual of this session, Montini is favored in ten weight classes. This session of wrestling also features Solon against Bedford, which means a potential matchup of two-time state champions at 119 pounds, No. 17 Brandon Thompson against Mitch Rogaliner. The third round, slated for about 1:30 p.m., features No. 2 St. Edward against No. 7 Montini Catholic, and No. 12 St. Johns against Davison. Looking at those matches, St. Edward is favored in eight weight classes and St. Johns is favored in nine. Also in this set of matches, Detroit Catholic Central wrestles Hudson, which means a possible match between two-time state champions Ken Bade and Cole Weaver -- both of whom are nationally ranked -- if lineups are shifted to accommodate that. The pair of key dual meets in the fourth round, slated for 3:15 p.m., places No. 2 St. Edward against No. 14 Detroit Catholic Central and No. 7 Montini Catholic against Davison. Both higher ranked teams -- St. Edward and Montini Catholic -- are favored in ten weight classes against their opposition. Also in this round, St. Johns duals Solon, which means two mega-matches should lineups shift to accommodate: Brandon Thompson against Zac Hall, a battle of nationally ranked two-time state champions, and Anthony Collica against Ben Whitford, both Junior National freestyle champions. In last year's dual meet, Thompson upset Hall 4-3, while Whitford won 8-3 though it was 4-3 before a late four-point move. The fifth and final round of matches will involve only the Michigan teams, with no national level matches of note. For host Detroit Catholic Central -- ranked first in Division 1 -- it will be a match against Dundee, who is ranked first in Division 3. InterMat will be providing coverage of the event on Saturday during and after the event. Results will also be available throughout the day on Track Wrestling - direct link, http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=99071

Gopher Athletics announced today that head wrestling coach J Robinson will not travel to Ohio State and Indiana for Minnesota’s dual meets this weekend due to a knee infection. The No. 4 Gophers are scheduled to take on No. 5 Ohio State on Friday in Columbus before traveling to Bloomington to face Indiana on Sunday. Robinson said he is very disappointed to be missing this weekend’s meets, but that he is looking forward to being back coaching the Gophers once the infection is cleared. Robinson is in his 27th season with the Gophers.

South Plainfield's Scott Delvecchio is ranked No. 7 nationally at 132 (Photo/Rob Preston) The Virginia Duals are a long-standing, historic event in the context of amateur wrestling. It was the event to introduce the team advancement concept to wrestling, the fore-runner to the NWCA National Duals in college and the many state associations that have state dual meet tournament champions. The first event in Hampton, Va., occurred all the way back in 1981 with just a National College division. High school teams were first included in the event in 1995 with the National High School Division, champion in that first year was Parkersburg South, W. Va. Two additional divisions were added for high school competition the next year -- an American High School Division that serves as a second tier with a mix of national, regional, and local teams; while the Black and Blue High School Division is a third tier with essentially a "local" field. Over the prior eighteen years, the National Division has featured many elite programs winning the title including the following teams in the last four events: Christiansburg, Va., St. Mark's, Del., Wyoming Seminary, Pa., and Canon McMillan, Pa. Other powers of their time to win titles were Northampton, Pa., Nazareth, Pa., and Great Bridge, Va. This year's event is likely to feature a first-time champion, as the following three Fab 50 teams anchor the National High School Division field: No. 26 South Plainfield, N.J., No. 32 McDonogh, Md., and No. 47 Colonial Forge, Va. These three teams are also the top seeds in the bracket. Other top eight seeds include Christiansburg, Va., Camden Catholic, N.J., Osceola, Fla., Timber Creek, N.J., and Nazareth, Pa. Championship first round matches start on Friday at 9 a.m. ET in the upper bracket and continue with lower bracket matches at 11 a.m. Quarterfinals and consolation first round matches will follow at 1 p.m. (upper bracket) and 3 p.m. (lower bracket). Wrestling will then continue on Saturday at 8 a.m. with a pair of matches involving squads that went 0-2, then at 10 a.m. with the consolation second round. The championship finals will kick-off at 2:00 p.m., two rounds of consolation at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., before the first and third place matches at 8:30 p.m. The following wrestlers in the National H.S. Division are nationally ranked: 106: No. 16 Ariel Dominguez (Osceola, Fla.) 120: No. 9 Coy Ozias (Christiansburg, Va.) 126: No. 1 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.), No. 14 Corey Stasenko (South Plainfield, N.J.) 132: No. 7 Scott Delvecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.), No. 9 Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Va.) 138: No. 2 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) 145: No. 6 T.J. Miller (Camden Catholic, N.J.), No. 9 Fox Baldwin (Osceola, Fla.), No. 11 Troy Heilmann (South Plainfield, N.J.), No. 14 Jack Clark (McDonogh, Md.) 152: No. 12 Chad Walsh (Camden Catholic, N.J.) 160: No. 8 Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.) 170: No. 3 Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.) 285: No. 6 Aaron Bradley (Nazareth, Pa.) As far as the dual meet aspect of the event, South Plainfield is the strong favorite to clear the top half of the bracket and make a maiden appearance in the final after finishing third in two of the last three years. They draw Cave Spring, Va., in the first round before a date against either Ocean Lakes, Va., or Nazareth, Pa., in the quarterfinal. The Tigers should draw Camden Catholic, N.J., or Christiansburg, Va., in the semifinal -- neither of whom are realistic threats to poach an upset. Therefore, from an individual matchup perspective, one should hope for Camden Catholic to advance so fans get a Heilmann vs. Miller showdown that could be coming in the state semifinals (or final). The lower half of the draw is by all measures more competitive. McDonogh is the second seed and should upend Smithfield, Va. in the opening round and see either Forest Park, Va. or Timber Creek, N.J. in the second round. That seven/ten dual should be competitive, but neither team is realistically equipped to challenge McDonogh; therefore, the best individual matchup looms if Timber Creek wins: Jack Clark facing three-time state placer Brandon Keller at 145. In that third quarter, it should end up in a very interesting battle between Colonial Forge, Va., and Osceola, Fla., on Friday afternoon: presuming each clears their first round opposition, the Eagles against New Kent, Va., and the Kowboys against Arvada West, Colo. That is a dual meet which could go either way as Osceola has more guaranteed wins, but Colonial Forge has more balance in the lineup. Looking to the end game, one senses that a South Plainfield against McDonogh final looms, which would be a rematch of the third-place match from last year's tournament. South Plainfield won that match; however, it was close, and could have swung the other way if Jack Clark was not upset by Corey Stasenko. The easiest prediction to make is that South Plainfield wins; however, any one of four teams has a legit shot.

LANCASTER, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall cruised to a 43-8 victory over visiting Gettysburg on Wednesday night at the Mayser Center. The Diplomats improve to 3-2 with the landslide win, while the Bullets drop to 4-6. F&M captured eight of the ten bouts, including the opening six matchups. The Diplomats recorded three pins, a major decision, and a sudden victory decision, while also benefitting from three forfeits by the Bullets. Aaron Moldoff opened the match at 125 with the Diplomats' first pin, taking down Holt Johnson in 1:53. Moldoff registered a takedown halfway through period one, and just seconds later finished off Johnson with his sixth win via fall of the season. Robert Ruiz (133) and Richard Durso (141) followed with wins by forfeit, while Andrew Murano gave F&M a 22-0 edge by handling Eddie Carroll with a 16-6 major decision. Murano took control of the bout from the get-go, delivering two takedowns in period one, one takedown in the second and reeling off four takedowns in the final period to earn the major decision. Eric Norgard added six points to the F&M total with a victory by forfeit at 157, before Colin Lahiff made it six straight Diplomat wins with a 4-2 sudden victory decision over Manny Markantone late in the first overtime. After three tight, low scoring periods, Lahiff and Markantone headed into overtime, with Lahiff coming out on top with a takedown with just three seconds left. Trailing 31-0, the Bullets avoided the shutout with back-to-back major decisions at 174 and 184, but the Diplomats responded with a pair of pins at the final two weights to close out the match. At 197, Isaiah Cromwell took down Marshall Puls by fall in 4:48, while Chuckie Kerkesner pinned Michael Sheehan at 285 in 5:37. Facing a 5-4 deficit in the latter stages of the second period, Cromwell turned what appeared to be a Puls takedown into one of his own, and pinned him shortly thereafter. Kerkesner methodically downed Sheehan as he grabbed the early lead with a trio of first period takedowns and never looked back en route to the pin. F&M wraps up the week with another home dual against Davidson on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Results: 125: Aaron Moldoff (F&M) def. Holt Johnson (GC) Pin 1:53 (6-0) 133: Robert Ruiz (F&M) won by forfeit (12-0) 141: Richard Durso (F&M) won by forfeit (18-0) 149: Andrew Murano (F&M) def. Eddie Carroll Major Dec. 16-6 (22-0) 157: Eric Norgard (F&M) won by forfeit (28-0) 165: Colin Lahiff (F&M) def. Manny Markantone (GC) SV1 4-2 (31-0) 174: Zach Thomson (GC) def. Colin Gironda (F&M) Major Dec. 8-0 (31-4) 184: Lukas Iorio (GC) def. Brad Bailey (F&M) Major Dec. 9-1 (31-8) 197: Isaiah Cromwell (F&M) def. Marshall Puls (GC) Pin 4:48 (37-8) 285: Chuckie Kerkesner (F&M) def. Michael Sheehan (GC) Pin 5:37 (43-8)

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- After starting the 2012-13 season with five straight tournaments, the NC State wrestling team competed in its first dual meets of the season Wednesday night. The Pack got the season off to a 2-0 start, first defeated VMI 35-6 and then downing host Campbell 27-13 at Gore Arena in Buies Creek. In the Pack’s two victories, NC State collected two falls and eight major decisions in winning 16 of the 20 matches on the evening. NC State (2-0) started its evening winning nine of 10 matches in its 35-6 win over VMI (0-4) . The Pack recorded one fall and five major decision wins in its nine wins for six bonus point victories. The Pack got off to a fast start against VMI, winning its first four matches and jumping out to an 18-0 lead, with all four matches being controlled by NC State wrestlers from the start. The meet started at 149 pounds, with sophomore Thomas Gantt getting the scoring started with a fall at 2:36 and giving the Pack a quick 6-0 lead and a lead it would never surrender. The Pack then recorded three straight major decisions, and five in the next seven matches overall. 2012 NCAA qualified Matt Nereim recorded a 15-5 major decision at 157 pounds, then redshirt-freshman Mardel Gabriel jumped up one weight class to 165 pounds and brought home a 13-4 major decision, followed by freshman Patrick Davis’ 16-5 major decision win at 174 pounds to give the Pack an 18-0 lead. Redshirt-freshman Bret Peltier, at 184 pounds, suffered the Pack’s first set-back, getting pinned and VMI was on the board at 18-6. Sophomore Bill Cook got the Pack going again at 197 pounds, winning 7-4 to increase the Pack’s lead to 21-6. NC State then recorded back-to-back major decisions. Feshman Mike Kosoy earned a 12-2 major decision at 285 pounds, and then junior Joe DeAngelo made his Wolfpack debut with a 16-4 major decision at 125 pounds. The Pack closed out the win over VMI with freshman Sam Speno winning 8-3 at 133 pounds, and classmate Tyler Hunt also making his Wolfpack debut with a 8-2 win at 141 pounds. NC State and Campbell (2-5) also opened at 149 pounds, with NC State’s Gantt started the Pack off strong once again with his 15-6 major decision to give the Pack an early 4-0 lead. Nereim at 157 pounds also picked up his second win of the night, with a 6-4 win pushing the lead up to 7-0 after two bouts. Campbell got on the board with a major decision at 165 pounds over Gabriel, 14-4 to close the score to 7-4. The Pack answered with back-to-back wins. Davis also recorded his second win of the night at 174 pounds, a 15-5 major decisions. Junior Nijel Jones jumped up two weight classes to 184 pounds, and won 8-4 to push the Pack’s lead to 14-4 after five bouts. Campbell would record a fall at 197 pounds over State’s Cook and close the gap to 14-10. At 285 pounds, Kosoy continued the Pack’s winning ways with a 2-1 win in extra time. After no takedowns in overtime, Kosoy earned an escape to pick up three team points and push the lead up to 17-10. Campbell answered right back with a 4-3 win at 125 pounds over DeAngelo to bring the score to 17-13. Speno clinched the match for the Pack with a 14-3 major decision increasing the Pack’s lead to 21-13. NC State closed out the evening just as it start, with Hunt picking up a fall at 4:58 for the decisive score of 27-13. The Pack will return to action this Saturday, traveling to Gardner-Webb for a dual meet against the Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. NCSU 35, VMI 6 149: Gantt (NCSU) pin Stewart; 2:36 157: Nereim (NCSU) MD Gottwald; 15-5 165: Gabriel (NCSU) MD Darr; 13-4 174: Jones (NCSU) MD Dommert; 16-5 184: Jones (VMI) pin Davis; 3:29 197: Cook (NCSU) dec. Garcia; 7-4 285: Kosoy (NCSU) MD LaPrade; 12-2 125: DeAngelo (NCSU) MD Herrera; 16-4 133: Speno (NCSU) dec. Onufruyenko; 8-3 141: Hunt (NCSU) dec. Goodsell; 8-2 NCSU 27, Campbell 13 149: Gantt (NCSU) MD Jorge; 15-6 157: Nereim (NCSU) dec. Rex; 6-4 165: Duggan (Cam) MD Gabriel; 14-4 174: Davis (NCSU) MD Cox; 15-5 184: Jones (NCSU) dec. McGiffen’ 8-4 197: Merickel (Cam) pin Cook; 1:04 285: Kosoy (NCSU) SV3 Nolan, 2-1 125: Montoya (Cam) dec. DeAngelo; 5-4 133: Speno (NCSU) MD Bidelspach; 14-3 141: Hunt (NCSU) pin Dahlstrom; 4:58

If you mapped out the journey of Mike Benefiel's college wrestling career, it might resemble the travel itinerary of a frequent flier ... or the globe-hopping path taken by contestants on the popular CBS series The Amazing Race. The Illinois native started at Northwestern ... then transferred to St. Louis Community College in Meramec, Missouri ... then headed west to Stillwater, Oklahoma, first to Northern Oklahoma College, then across town to Oklahoma State University. Last leg of the journey: back to his native Chicagoland, where, after sitting out from classes and wrestling for an entire year, Benefiel is now enrolled at Elmhurst College. By any measure, Mike Benefiel's journey is one of the most extensive of any collegiate wrestler, in terms of the number of schools ... number of years ... and miles traveled. This may be even more surprising for a young man whose high school credentials were as blue chip as any in recent memory. After all, Benefiel won four Illinois high school state titles, along with a number of national titles. A blue chip prep career Mike Benefiel grew up in Aurora, Illinois, about 45 minutes straight west of the Chicago Loop, and not too far from his new college home at Elmhurst College. Introduced to wrestling at age 6, Benefiel attended Montini Catholic, a suburban prep powerhouse, where he compiled a 200-4 record. In the 75 years of Illinois high school state championships, Benefiel became only the ninth individual to win a state title in each of his four years at Montini, bringing home championships at 119, 140, 152, and 171 pounds. Benefiel's prep-era accomplishments went well beyond the Land of Lincoln. He was crowned champ at the Walsh Ironman in 2004. That same year, Benefiel became a Cadet National freestyle champion in 2004, then won the 171-pound title in the Junior National freestyle competition in Fargo in 2007. Benefiel was also honored with the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, presented to the top high school senior in the nation who demonstrates excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, character, citizenship and community service. All these achievements did not go unnoticed by the national wrestling media. Benefiel had been named by InterMat as the top high school prospect at 160 pounds -- and sixth overall, when considering all weight classes. Starting college close to home When it was time to pick a college, Benefiel remained within the Chicago area, choosing Northwestern University. Competing unattached, Benefiel racked up a 19-4 record as a Wildcat wrestler. When asked about his time at the Big Ten school located in Evanston, Benefiel said, "While I was there, I really enjoyed wrestling. However, I failed two drug tests for marijuana use, and was released from the team." In 2009, Mike Benefiel won a University Nationals freestyle title (Photo/Kevin Schlosser, BuckeyeWrestling.com)Eager to continue his academic and wrestling careers -- and set the stage for transferring to another Division I school -- Benefiel headed south on I-55 to enroll at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. In a May 2009 interview with InterMat's Andrew Hipps -- conducted sixth months after Mike Benefiel's separation from Northwestern -- his father Dan said that his son had talked to a number of top Division I mat programs, including Oklahoma State, Minnesota, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Oregon State, and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. After considering his options, Mike Benefiel said in the InterMat interview for this feature, "While at Meramec, I got in touch with John Smith and Eric Guerrero, who encouraged me to come to Oklahoma State." Two seasons in Stillwater Before stepping out onto the mat at the school that's the home of the Cowboys, Benefiel had to first enroll at Northern Oklahoma College, also in Stillwater ... all because of the complex transfer rules that are unique to each conference, and each school. Mike Benefiel won the Reno Tournament of Champions as a Cowboy during the 2009-10 college season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Mike Benefiel spent two years at Oklahoma State, where he compiled an impressive 51-14 overall record, 22-7 in dual-meet competition. Eleven of his victories were by pin, 13 by major decision, and five were technical falls. Despite those stats, all was not happy for Benefiel as a Cowboy. When asked what challenges he faced at Oklahoma State, Benefiel listed a number of aspects, starting with his analysis of his on-the-mat performance. "I could feel the pressure of being at a big university in a big-time program, especially one like Oklahoma State," Benefiel disclosed. "I really tried to put aside expectations but, when it really counted, I failed, missing out on a Big 12 title, and just missing out on All-American." (Benefiel was a two-time runner-up at the conference championships, losing to Nebraska's Stephen Dwyer in the 174-pound finals at the 2010 Big 12s ... then, the following year, he fell to Iowa State's Jon Reader in the Big 12 title bout.) In 2010, Mike Benefiel lost in the NCAA quarterfinals to Virginia's Chris Henrich, 5-4, and was eventually eliminated from the competition in the round of 12 (Photo/Larry Slater)"At the end of the year, not achieving your goals is devastating." Benefiel also cited other aspects of life at Oklahoma State that were challenging. "I wasn't doing as well I should have been in the classroom," Benefiel continued. "I think being at Oklahoma State was a bit of a culture shock for me. Stillwater is so different than the area where I grew up." "Because I really wasn't happy with where I was, I was also still thinking about what happened at Northwestern, and having regrets about that." After spending the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons at Oklahoma State, Benefiel decided it was time to take a break from wrestling -- and from college. "I took the year off," said the four-time Illinois high school mat champ. "I wasn't doing very well in wrestling, or school-wise." Taking a break, back home "For the past year, I worked for my dad. He's a veterinarian ... I also volunteer coached a kids' program at an MMA (mixed martial arts) gym run by Carlton Gracie. He has four Chicago area locations." Benefiel described the responsibilities of each day, saying, "First thing in the morning, I'd open up dad's office, work there for the first part of the day, then coach in the afternoon. There was lots of responsibility involved in both jobs. People were counting on me to do my job at both places. It helped me grow up real quick." "When you go to school, if you miss a class, it hurts just you. If you miss work, you can hurt others." After nearly a year being away from a college campus, Mike Benefiel had a revelation. "Toward last spring, I decided that I wanted to finish up my degree, especially when I realized how close I was to finishing school." My brother and mother had both gone to Elmhurst (College)," Benefiel continued. "I knew Steve Marianetti. I gave him a call. Started to take some classes last summer, and, now, I'm a full-time student." "I've known Mike for a long time," said Marianetti, who has been head wrestling coach at Elmhurst College for the past dozen seasons, earning NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors in 2007. "His brother Joey wrestled here. I had coached Mike at Team Illinois (the Illinois National Championship Junior Dual team, in 2006)." "I had known he had left Oklahoma State," added Marianetti, a three-time All-American wrestler at the University of Illinois who won the 150-pound title at the 1995 NCAAs. "In talking to him, I realized he had one year of wrestling eligibility left. In terms of academics, he's a senior." "We're all trying to leave a legacy," Marianetti continued. "Mike left a great legacy as a wrestler here in Illinois. I told him, 'This is your opportunity to add to that legacy. Let's conclude your career on a high note.'" At home at Elmhurst When asked how Mike Benefiel is doing so far in the young season, Marianetti responded, "He's had his share of hurdles to clear and adjustments to make. He came in a bit heavy. He really wanted to wrestle at 174. Per NCAA rules, he's had to slowly make his way back to 174." Steve MarianettiWhy 174? "We talked about what weight he would rather compete at," said the man at the helm of the Elmhurst Bluejay wrestling program. "He feels more confident there. It's where he's been for a number of years." "He hasn't done a ton of wrestling for us yet," Marianetti continued. "Right now, he's 5-1 (8-1 at the time of publication). The one loss was in a dual; he won the other dual match. His other matches had been at a tournament, the Concordia Open two weeks ago, where he wrestled aggressively." "In his one loss, he realized how tough Division III is," said Marianetti. "That loss woke him up in a positive way." Speaking of positives, Marianetti sees Benefiel as a positive influence on the entire Elmhurst wrestling squad. "He's a great example for the rest of the room. He's already serving as a mentor to some of the younger guys. He has a good work ethic, and a deep knowledge of the sport. He's in there helping to teach the young guys." Marianetti openly addressed the fact that Mike Benefiel attended four other schools before coming to Elmhurst. "Everybody has his own unique journey. Mike has had some struggles in the past, but he's one of the great wrestlers of our state. I told him, 'Let's finish off your wrestling career and have fun. Take the pressure away.'" "I'm definitely not a high-pressure coach." Marianetti, a four-time Academic All-American at Illinois, also commented on what he sees as Elmhurst's more favorable academic setting for Benefiel, saying, "The environment here is lower-key. We typically have about 15 students per class." Mike BenefielIn a separate interview, Benefiel echoed his new coach's sentiments. "After going through five years of other schools, I really appreciate Elmhurst College. Smaller schools like Elmhurst tend to have profs you can talk to, ask questions. They seem to be more approachable, more caring. It's a lot more intimate atmosphere." said Benefiel, who is now a history major. Benefiel added, "I really like coach Marianetti. He's so approachable." "His program is a lot less pressure-filled than in Division I. Here we have 7-8 workouts per week, compared to a dozen or more in D1." Benefiel's feeling of reduced pressure at Elmhurst goes beyond fewer workouts. "At Oklahoma State, it's all about how you perform," said the former Cowboy 174-pounder. "If you don't perform, you get replaced in the lineup. Here, it's all about getting back to the reasons why I love wrestling." "In Division I, you can easily lose the love of the sport," Benefiel continued. "Coach Marianetti has stressed, 'Go out there and have fun.'" "I think this is the kind of environment I need to conclude my college career." Interestingly, Elmhurst was not on Benefiel's radar back in high school. "Going into college, I wouldn't have thought of going to a Division III school," Benefiel continued. "I took a roundabout journey to get here." Steve Marianetti used similar language to describe how Mike Benefiel came to Elmhurst. "When we sat down and talked, I said, 'We don't judge the voyage by leaving port, but how we finish the voyage.'" Where will Mike Benefiel's voyage take him once he's graduated from Elmhurst in 2013? "I'm still thinking about that. I've thought a lot about going into coaching. I think I can break down technique and get through to others," said the wrestler who spent part of his year off teaching kids interested in MMA the fine points of the oldest and greatest sport. As for whether he might enter MMA competition, Benefiel responded, "I can't see myself doing that. I really enjoy the instruction, though, helping students see the interrelationships among the various martial arts." Whatever path he chooses, the knowledge and experience gained on Mike Benefiel's life journey so far should serve him well.

And then it was gone. Strikeforce burst onto the scene in 2006 and quickly emerged as a powerful regional show on the west coast, even setting the North American record for attendance with its Shamrock vs. Gracie debut card. The promotion appeared on NBC in 2008 and, after buying up EliteXC's assets, became a strong national show aiming to compete with the UFC. However, with the need for new investors to sustain its entertaining but costly model, Strikeforce ended up under the Zuffa banner. Before we knew it, the show's best talent gradually began migrating to the UFC, and suddenly a promotion known for putting on exciting, top-notch cards was struggling to hold an event. Fitting of its recent struggles, Strikeforce will hold a final show this Saturday; it was supposed to feature three title fights, but injuries and other planning snafus turned it into a card with one title fight and several odd mismatches. For one last time, Richard and John break down a Strikeforce card and look back at the promotion's history. Do you want to listen to a past episode? Access archives.