InterMat Staff

125: No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. 11 Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Devon Lotito (Cal Poly) No. 8 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) vs. No. 17 George DiCamillo (Virginia) 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) vs. No. 8 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) 149: No. 10 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) vs. No. 17 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 5 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 13 Cam Tessari (Ohio State) 157: Jedd Moore (Virginia) vs. Gabe Martinez (Air Force) No. 18 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) vs. Andy McCulley (Wyoming) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 15 Zach Toal (Missouri) No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. No. 8 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) 174: No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy) No. 13 Dan Yates (Michigan) vs. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) 184: No. 6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) vs. No. 12 Jake Swartz (Boise State) No. 7 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 9 Mike Larson (Missouri) 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) vs. No. 5 Brent Haynes (Missouri) 285: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. No. 15 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 6 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) vs. No. 18 Peter Capone (Ohio State)

Peter Capone was one six Buckeyes to reach the semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com) LAS VEGAS -- Cam Tessari entered this week's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with little pressure. The true sophomore returning All-American from Ohio State suffered two losses in the first month of the season, which he chalked up to nerves and having a target on his back. Those losses caused Tessari's ranking to drop from No. 5 to No. 13. He came into this week's event seeded sixth at 149 pounds. Cam TessariBut after a 3-0 day on Friday, Tessari now finds himself in the semifinals, two wins away from a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational championship. "I feel like I've been wrestling pretty well this weekend," said Tessari, who advanced to Saturday morning's semifinals by pinning surprise quarterfinalist Tanner Hiatt of Northern Iowa. "After my first tournament this year I didn't get what I expected, so I've been working real hard. I've been real pleased with the way I've been wrestling so far this tournament." Tessari will now face All-American Jason Chamberlain of Boise State in the semifinals. Chamberlain was a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion in 2010 and redshirted last season. "I've never wrestled Chamberlain, but I've watched him wrestle," said Tessari. "He's a great athlete." Tessari and the Buckeyes lead the team race after Day 1 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and have six wrestlers in the semifinals. Two of those wrestlers are Tessari's high school teammates from Monroeville (Ohio), Logan Stieber (133) and Hunter Stieber, both top seeds. Tessari said he feeds off the Stieber brothers. "It's a competition," said Tessari. "If they go out there and do well, and I don't, I'm going to get crap for that. But I'm going to do the same thing if it's the other way around." Ohio State's three other semifinalists are Nikko Triggas (125), Andrew Campolattano (197), and Peter Capone (285). Missouri finished the day in second place, 4.5 points behind Ohio State and 27 points in front of third place teams Cornell and Oregon State. The Tigers, like the Buckeyes, advanced six wrestlers to the semifinals. Missouri's Alan Waters cruised to the semifinals at 125 pounds with a pin and two major decisions despite not feeling well. "I'm not feeling the greatest, but I've been getting some good wins and pushing through it," said Waters. So I think I'm doing fine with how I'm feeling, but hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow." Waters will now face Ohio State's Nikko Triggas, a 2010 All-American, which will be a critical match from a team standpoint with both wrestlers being on the top two teams. "I think that will be a big match to get some teams point and help our team out," said Waters. "We're not very far behind Ohio State. It's real close." Missouri's other semifinalists are Nathan McCormick (133), Zach Toal (165), Mike Larson (184), Brent Haynes (197), and Dom Bradley (285). Two No. 1 seeds were upset on Friday night: Oregon State's Scott Sakaguchi (149) and Nebraska's James Green (157). Sakaguchi fell to Nebraska's Jake Sueflohn 9-7 in sudden victory, while Green suffered a 7-6 loss to Virginia's Jedd Moore. Jedd MooreMoore fell behind early, but battled back to win on the strength of his top wrestling. "I knew I had to ride him," said Moore, who entered the tournament seeded ninth. "That's been a big problem with me in the past. I don't know ... for whatever reason I get bored on top sometimes. I was pretty diligent on top. I just tried to keep the pressure on him and keep the pace high. That's where I'm best." Moore, a senior, failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament last season after a disappointing ACC tournament, which he described as a "bad day on the wrong day." Now Moore just wants to finish his college wrestling career strong. "So far this year I've been doing a good job of not putting pressure on myself," said Moore. "I just wrestle and have fun and let the score take care of itself. I would rather go hard and lose than be conservative." Team Standings (Top Ten) 1. Ohio State 85 2. Missouri 80.5 3. Cornell 53.5 3. Oregon State 53.5 5. Nebraska 50 6. Virginia 49 7. Air Force 42 8. Boise State 39.5 9. Wyoming 34.5 10. Wisconsin 32.5 Semifinal Pairings 125: No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. 11 Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Devon Lotito (Cal Poly) No. 8 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) vs. No. 17 George DiCamillo (Virginia) 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) vs. No. 8 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) 149: No. 10 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) vs. No. 17 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 5 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 13 Cam Tessari (Ohio State) 157: Jedd Moore (Virginia) vs. Gabe Martinez (Air Force) No. 18 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) vs. Andy McCulley (Wyoming) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 15 Zach Toal (Missouri) No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. No. 8 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) 174: No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy) No. 13 Dan Yates (Michigan) vs. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) 184: No. 6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) vs. No. 12 Jake Swartz (Boise State) No. 7 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) vs. No. 9 Mike Larson (Missouri) 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) vs. No. 5 Brent Haynes (Missouri) 285: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. No. 15 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 6 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) vs. No. 18 Peter Capone (Ohio State)

LAS VEGAS -- The quarterfinals are set at the 2012 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Tonight's session gets underway at 6 p.m. PST and will include the quarterfinals and two rounds of consolation matches. Ranked Wrestlers to Lose in Opening Session First Round: 141: Naveed Bagheri (San Francisco State) tech. fall No. 12 Camryn Jackson (Michigan), 16-1 141: Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) dec. No. 14 Nick Hucke (Missouri), 4-2 174: Magi Fraizier (San Francisco State) dec. No. 20 Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa), 7-5 Second Round: 125: Val Rauser dec. No. 13 Sean Boyle (Michigan), 12-7 133: Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) dec. No. 10 Brian Owen (Boise State), 3-2 133: Kyle Bauer (Kent State) dec. No. 18 Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield), 4-1 149: Tanner Hiatt (Northern Iowa) dec. No. 9 Eric Grajales (Michigan), 13-6 174: Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) dec. No. 9 Jon Fausey (Virginia), 6-4 285: Stryker Lane (Cornell) dec. No. 10 Ben Apland (Michigan) Consolation First Round: 141: John Boyle (American) dec. No. 12 Camryn Jackson (Michigan), 6-4 SV Quarterfinal Pairings 125: No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. David Terao (American) 11 Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) vs. Jeff Ott (Harvard) Val Rauser vs. Josh Martinez (Air Force) No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) vs. Tyler Cox (Wyoming) 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) vs. Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa) Devon Lotito (Cal Poly) vs. Kyle Bauer (Kent State) No. 17 George DiCamillo (Virginia) vs. Josh Rodriguez (North Dakota State) No. 8 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) vs. No. 20 Colin Johnston (West Virginia) 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 20 Nathan Pennesi (West Virginia) No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) vs. Tim Box (CSU Bakersfield) No. 8 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. No. 15 Steven Keith (Harvard) No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) vs. Ridge Kiley (Nebraska) 149: No. 4 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) vs. No. 17 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 10 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) vs. No. 12 Derek Valenti (Virginia) No. 13 Cam Tessari (Ohio State) vs. Tanner Hiatt (Northern Iowa) No. 5 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 16 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) 157: No. 6 James Green (Nebraska) vs. Jedd Moore (Virginia) No. 14 David Bonin (Northern Iowa) vs. Gabe Martinez (Air Force) No. 17 George Ivanov (Boise State) vs. No. 18 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) No. 15 Josh Demas (Ohio State) vs. Andy McCulley (Wyoming) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. Holden Packard (Boise State) No. 10 Taylor Massa (Michigan) vs. No. 15 Zach Toal (Missouri) No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) vs. Peyton Walsh (Navy) No. 8 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) vs. Joseph Brewster (South Dakota State) 174: No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) vs. Scott Liegel (Wisconsin) No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy) vs. No. 18 Todd Porter (Missouri) No. 13 Dan Yates (Michigan) vs. Ray Hall (Northern Colorado-Pueblo) Duke Pickett (Cornell) vs. Blake Stauffer (Arizona State) 184: No. 6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) vs. No. 20 Kevin Radford (Arizona State) No. 12 Jake Swartz (Boise State) vs. No. 15 Casey Newburg (Kent State) No. 9 Mike Larson (Missouri) vs. No. 18 Ty Vinson (Oregon State) No. 7 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) vs. Craig Scott (Cornell) 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) vs. Jace Bennett (Cornell) No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) vs. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) No. 5 Brent Haynes (Missouri) vs. No. 19 Max Huntley (Michigan) No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) vs. No. 17 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) 285: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. Atticus Disney (Cal Poly) No. 15 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) vs. Stryker Lane (Cornell) No. 11 Levi Cooper (Arizona State) vs. No. 18 Peter Capone (Ohio State) No. 6 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) vs. Blake Herrin (American)

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? View archives. The Mailbag is the most fun I have writing all week, but sometimes it's a bear to deliver on time. I'll normally write on Thursday night and send it to my editor to review, format and post. He'll then post it up around 5 a.m. on Friday. But sometimes, like this week, we are both traveling and the mailbag ends up being delayed by circumstance until mid-day Friday. We'll keep aiming to do better, but understand we're a skeleton crew and sometimes delays occur. Thanks for your patience! The Cliff Las Vegas Invitational is this week and InterMat will be providing coverage with articles and a live blog. For those of you who need to watch, you can stream parts of the tournament on Flo. They're charging, but hey if you weren't able to cancel after the All-Star Match you might as well enjoy some wrestling with the money from your forced investment! I kid, I kid. If you haven't already, please check out this week's podcast featuring Columbia University head wrestling coach Carl Fronhofer. I know he looks intimidating, but he's an excellent conversationalist with sharp insights into the sport. Also, please remember to SUBSCRIBE to the podcast. We've been pleasantly shocked at the number of new subscribers, but we aren't satisfied. Our goal is to have 10k by New Years, it's lofty but I know we can do it. To subscribe, you simply go into iTunes, search "Back Points" and then hit Subscribe on the bottom of the page. You'll then be sent new episodes directly. Kinda nifty, eh? To your questions ... Q: How well do you think Shawn Bunch will do in his MMA debut? I'm unsure of who his opponent is, but it's kind of nuts that he'll be debuting in arguably the second best promotion. One thing is certain … I will be cheering him on! -- Nick B Shawn Bunch (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Foley: I recently traveled to San Jose to profile Daniel Cormier for the cover of FIGHT! Magazine, and spent some time watching Bunch train at American Kickboxing Academy (AKA). What struck me most was how dedicated he was to making a quick, but solid transfer from wrestling to MMA. He lives with Mo Lawal in San Jose and from all my conversations that weekend with Bunch and later with Mo, it's apparent that he and Bunch spend all their free time watching old fights. Lawal is the most well-educated, well-versed fighting expert I've ever met (not just "for a fighter," I mean overall). He has instant recall of 4k fights and with many of them on video he's showing Bunch that to win you have to be a student of the sport. Bunch's standup seemed to be coming along. Like many wrestlers he'll go out and at least look like he can throw a punch, but without more time in the cage I'd expect that Bunch's first match with be a few jabs, a few parries and a big double leg attack. From there I'd expect some ground and pound and possibly a choke. He's a talented competitor and should do really well in the sport. Q: I saw Taylor Massa wrestle a number of times throughout his high school career. He dominated most of his high school competitors ... but will have to get quite a bit better to be a top-flight college wrestler. I see he lost earlier this season to a then-unranked wrestler. Have you seen him wrestle? -- Jim C. Foley: Only on video. Taylor Massa is the future and wrestling fans are always excited about young talent challenging the more seasoned competitors. I commend Massa and the Michigan staff for keeping the kid at 165. I know there was probably a little temptation to see him bump to 174 and take on a less crowded field, but instead they've chosen to let him hash it out in arguably one of the toughest weight classes in the history of the sport. If Massa responds and finds a place anywhere on the podium, it'll signal the real possibility that Michigan will have another three-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion-caliber wrestler on their roster. Q: Is Kevin Jackson on the hot seat this year? The Cyclones do not appear to have gotten much better under his tenure and I would think a loss to ODU wouldn't help his cause. Is Steve Martin a coach who could be considered for other openings at bigger programs based on what he's done at ODU? -- Daniel L. Foley: The wrestling community is tight knit and talking with coaches and wrestlers there is an army of top-flight wrestlers that are loyal to Kevin Jackson and point to him as the man who led them to success on and off the mat. He's got a great reputation as a leader, so it's tough to write, but you're probably correct. The 2012-2013 season would need to turn around in a hiccup from Jackson to have any real chance of keeping his job for another season. The life of a college wrestling coach is no longer just technique and discipline. The CEO coach is the new norm, and though I have no idea how Coach Jackson conducts the business of Iowa State wrestling, I can see plainly that the product they're producing isn't up to the level that many Cyclone fans have come to expect. However, it is totally possible that he's been able to create a wider, more proactive fundraising base giving himself more time to sort out the on-the-mat issues the team seems to be enduring. He also may not have done that type of work. Like with any sport that receives media attention, it never seems too early to speculate on who might replace a head coach, but I don't want to trek that path right now. Coach Jackson deserves the rest of the season to focus on creating a competitive team for the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. MULTIMEDIA HALFTIME I can't post the following video of my appearance on MMA Live without acknowledging it's totally self-aggrandizing. However, it's about wrestling so it's relevant to the mailbag. We rundown Chuck's list of the top five MMA wrestlers as a way to introduce my article on the top ten MMA wrestlers. It's an ESPN Insider piece, which means it costs about the same as an InterMat Platinum subscription to sign up, but with it you get access to all types of info on baseball, football, betting, etc. If you decide to invest, make sure to sign up from the landing page of my article -- makes me look good to the higher-ups. I CHOOSE not to take the stairs ... Q: Any word on the fate of the EWL after the departure of Pitt and WVU? Joining the MAC would make some sense. -- S. Greida Foley: The EWL might be in some trouble. When Pitt leaves next season the EWL will have five teams remaining: Bloomsburg, Clarion, Cleveland State, Edinboro and Lock Haven. That's enough for the NCAA but in the times of mega-conferences and consolidating overhead costs, it might be prudent for the EWL to fracture and send teams shopping or new organizations. Though I'll try and predict where each goes, know that there are internal dynamics at work in the athletic administrations of most colleges. The athletic directors or school president might be besties with a conference president, or more likely wrap the wrestling team into a larger deal to find profits in football and basketball. It's an almost impossible Jenga to solve with so many pieces missing. Cleveland State should go to the MAC. It's a regional affiliate and will help boost their recruitment of local talent by giving them a more competitive conference affiliation. Lock Haven and Clarion should join the EIWA. Edinboro and Bloomsburg should head to the SoCon. Yes, you read that last part correctly, the Southern Conference. Adding a few Pennsylvania schools to the mix will increase the national competitiveness of the conference. It's a regional nightmare, but with prestige comes attention, comes money. It's a bold move, but it could really work well to distribute talent across the eastern seaboard. Q: First: I have noticed that another Rosholt brother has broken the barrier of the top 20 national rankings. Seeing this an opinion-based question came to mind (kind of with a static and factual answer), but who would you say is the most successful wrestling family in most recent years? Second: Seeing the success of so many families/brothers in recent years in the sport, who would you say is the most successful group of wrestling twins competing today? -- Christian O. Foley: The Rosholts are a good choice. I know that right now there are a few dozen of them sitting in house for John Smith to call and give 'em a pre-match slap on the rear. Though there are actually only three Rosholt men (Jake, Jared, and Blake), I think that an All-American performance or two by Blake would make them the most successful family in terms of numbers of family members. However, in terms of All-American and NCAA titles the top family from the past 15 years is the Sandersons family, led by Cael (four time NCAA champion), Cody (two-time NCAA runner-up), Cyler (two-time All-American), and Cole (four-time NCAA qualifier). Twins? Oy. Let's go with the Trent and Travis Paulson. I like 'em and they're still on the freestyle circuit! Q: Do you know anything about an Illinois high school wrestler named Ronnie Sribniak? I see on YouTube Ronnie had quite a spladle move (which I enjoyed seeing Nick Simmons use during his college career). I wonder if Ronnie has since gone on to college to wrestle? I know he was a pretty good pole-vaulter as well. Just wondering. -- Jim C. Foley: I don't think I've heard of Ronnie. However, I do love a spladle! At Virginia our starting 141-pounder decked dozens of guys with his own version of a spladle. In fact, it was such a popular move that head coach Lenny Bernstein even named his dog Spladle. Q: Just curious about what has happened with Pat Downey? I am a wrestling fan in Maryland and he was quite the hot topic on the forums. Last I heard, he was done at OTC and committed to Nebraska. I looked on their roster and he is not there. I also heard Oregon State was in the mix, but do not see him there either. Is he staying at OTC or becoming wasted talent? -- Joe P. Foley: He committed to Nebraska last week.

125: 1. Alan Waters (Missouri) -- No. 4 2. Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) -- No. 10 3. Sean Boyle (Michigan) -- No. 13 4. Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) -- No. 11 5. Tyler Iwamura (CSU Bakersfield) 6. Josh Martinez (Air Force) 133: 1. Logan Stieber (Ohio State) -- No. 1 2. Nathan McCormick (Missouri) -- No. 8 3. Brian Owen (Boise State) -- No. 10 4. Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) -- No. 18 5. Devon Lotito (Cal Poly) 6. George DiCamillo (Virginia) -- No. 17 7. Colin Johnston (West Virginia) -- No. 20 8. Levi Wolfensperger (Northern Iowa) 141: 1. Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) -- No. 2 2. Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) -- No. 4 3. Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) -- No. 8 4. Mike Nevinger (Cornell) -- No. 9 5. Camryn Jackson (Michigan) -- No. 12 6. Steven Keith (Harvard) -- No. 15 7. Nick Hucke (Missouri) -- No. 14 8. Nathan Pennesi (West Virginia) -- No. 20 149: 1. Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) -- No. 4 2. Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) -- No. 5 3. Eric Grajales (Michigan) -- No. 9 4. Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) -- No. 10 5. Derek Valenti (Virginia) -- No. 12 6. Cam Tessari (Ohio State) -- No. 13 7. Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) -- No. 16 8. Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) -- No. 17 9. Dustin Walraven (South Dakota State) 10. Daniel Young (Army) -- No. 20 157: 1. James Green (Nebraska) -- No. 6 2. Josh Demas (Ohio State) -- No. 15 3. R.J. Pena (Oregon State) -- No. 18 4. Bobby Barnhisel (Navy) 5. David Bonin (Northern Iowa) -- No. 14 6. George Ivanov (Boise State) -- No. 17 7. Andy McCulley (Wyoming) 8. Kyle Bradley (Missouri) 9. Jedd Moore (Virginia) 10. Cody Pack (South Dakota State) 165: 1. Kyle Dake (Cornell) -- No. 1 2. Steven Monk (North Dakota State) -- No. 8 3. Nick Sulzer (Virginia) -- No. 7 4. Zach Toal (Missouri) -- No. 15 5. Taylor Massa (Michigan) -- No. 10 6. Austin Wilson (Nebraska) 7. Joseph Brewster (South Dakota State) 8. Holden Packard (Boise State) 174: 1. Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) -- No. 8 2. Jon Fausey (Virginia) -- No. 9 3. Dan Yates (Michigan) -- No. 13 4. Matt Miller (Navy) -- No. 15 5. Todd Porter (Missouri) -- No. 18 6. Austin Morehead (Oregon State) 7. Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa) -- No. 20 184: 1. Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) -- No. 6 2. Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) -- No. 7 3. Mike Larson (Missouri) -- No. 9 4. Jake Swartz (Boise State) -- No. 12 5. Casey Newburg (Kent State) -- No. 15 6. Ty Vinson (Oregon State) -- No. 18 7. Craig Scott (Cornell) 8. Kevin Radford (Arizona State) -- No. 20 197: 1. Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) -- No. 1 2. Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) -- No. 4 3. Brent Haynes (Missouri) -- No. 5 4. Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) -- No. 11 5. Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) 6. Max Huntley (Michigan) -- No. 19 7. Jake Meredith (Arizona State) -- No. 17 8. Jackson Hein (Wisconsin) 9. Jace Bennett (Cornell) 285: 1. Dom Bradley (Missouri) -- No. 2 2. Chad Hanke (Oregon State) -- No. 6 3. Levi Cooper (Arizona State) -- No. 11 4. Ben Apland (Michigan) -- No. 10 5. Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) -- No. 15 6. Peter Capone (Ohio State) -- No. 18 7. Blake Herrin (American) 8. Tanner Harms (Wyoming) 9. Atticus Disney (Cal Poly)

Columbia University head wrestling coach Carl Fronhofer joins to talk about wrestling in NYC and the truth and fiction behind his pre-match diet as a competitor. Brian Muir takes us through a few of the weekend's most interesting matchups. Do you want to listen to a past episode? View archives.

Related Links: Seeds | Brackets Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational

The top-ranked Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team will send the bulk of its roster into action at the 2012 Nittany Lion Open, hosted by the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, on Sunday, Dec. 2. The action begins in Rec Hall at 8:30 a.m. The event is not part of Penn State's season ticket package and tickets for the event are available at the door. Penn State is coming off a super start to the 2012-13 season two weekends ago. The Nittany Lions downed No. 24 Lehigh 29-6 on Nov. 16 and then won at West Virginia, 44-3, two days later in Morgantown. Penn State out-scored its first two opponents 73-9, won 17 of 20 bouts and posted a 58-8 edge in takedowns through 20 dual meet bouts. The Nittany Lions will send nearly their entire line-up into Sunday's tournament. While no team scores are kept, there are 10 individual titles up for grabs. Eight ranked Lions will take part, including No. 2 Nico Megaludis at 125, No. 19 Bryan Pearsall at 141, No. 6 Andrew Alton at 149, No. 5 Dylan Alton at 157, No. 2 David Taylor at 165, No. 3 Matt Brown at 174, No. 1 Ed Ruth at 184 and No. 3 Quentin Wright at 197. In all over 30 Nittany Lions are set to take part. The event, run by the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club, will feature upwards of perhaps 500 wrestlers from over 30 teams from around the East Coast and the Midwest. Penn State looks to have over 30 wrestlers compete. The Nittany Lions return to action in their Big Ten opener against the visiting Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday, Dec. 9, at 2 p.m. Penn State's full season of home duals is sold out. For information on which duals have a limited number of SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows beginning at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 6. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. #1 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (2-0, 0-0 B1G) WT NAME EL HT/HS REC 125 #2 Nico Megaludis So. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 2-0 133 Jordan Conaway Fr. Abbottstown, Pa./New Oxford 1-0 Frank Martellotti Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side 0-0 141 #19 Bryan Pearsall Sr. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 2-0 149 #6 Andrew Alton So. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 0-0 OR James English Sr. York, Pa./Central York 2-0 157 #5 Dylan Alton So. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 1-1 165 #2 David Taylor Jr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 2-0 174 #3 Matt Brown So. West Valley City, Utah/Cyprus 2-0 184 #1 Ed Ruth Jr. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township 2-0 197 #3 Quentin Wright Sr. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 2-0 285 Jimmy Lawson So. Tom's River, N.J./Manchester Township 3-0 Jon Gingrich So. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 4-1 PLEASE NOTE THAT THE MAJORITY OF PENN STATE'S ROSTER WILL BE COMPETING IN THE NLO! All Rankings are Intermat as of 11/27/12 HEAD COACH Cael Sanderson Cael Sanderson, last year's Intermat National Coach of the Year, is in his fourth season as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team. The veteran head coach now has two straight NCAA and Big Ten titles in hand as the 2012-13 season unfolds. THE PENN STATE YEARS... In his first year at Penn State (2009-10), he guided the Lions to a 13-6-1 dual meet mark, 5-3 in Big Ten action, and crowned his first Big Ten Champion. The Lions finished No. 10 in the final USA?Today/Coaches dual meet poll and placed ninth at NCAAs. In 2010-11, Sanderson guided the Nittany Lions to its first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship and its first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991. In guiding Penn State to a 6-1-1 conference mark, Sanderson equaled the most Big Ten dual meet wins in Penn State history in just his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions (Penn State won six Big Ten duals in 1998). Sanderson led Penn State to the school's first ever Big Ten Championship on March 5-6 and was named 2011 Big Ten Coach of the Year. Saving the best for last, he led the Nittany Lions to the 2011 NCAA?National Championship in Philadelphia on March 17-19, Penn State's first since 1953 and Sanderson's first as a collegiate head coach. Last year, Sanderson led Penn State to a school record 7-1 Big Ten dual record and a share of the 2012 Big Ten dual meet championship. Sanderson then made it two in a row by leading Penn State to the 2012 Big Ten Championship at Purdue on March 3-4 and was named 2012 Big Ten Coach of the Year, earning the honor for the second straight season. Two weeks later, Sanderson led Penn State to a second straight NCAA crown, helping Penn State to become just the fourth team in NCAA history to win back-to-back titles. In three years as Penn State's coach, Sanderson has led the Nittany Lions to two-straight conference titles, two straight national titles, collected 14 All-Americans, three national champions, two Gorriaran winners, one NCAA tourney OW and one Hodge Trophy winner. This year, Penn State is 2-0 overall. Coach Sanderson now sports an 89-18-2 dual meet mark in this, his seventh year as a head coach. He is 45-8-2 and in his fourth year at Penn State. THE IOWA STATE YEARS... Sanderson came to Penn State after three extremely successful years as the head coach at his alma mater. Sanderson's teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship tournament. In 2007, Sanderson's rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finished in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national championship and Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. The next year, Sanderson led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals. Iowa State's seven All-Americans in 2008 were the most at the school since 1993. In his final year at ISU, Sanderson's team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis (just 12 points out of first place). The Cyclones also crowned another national champion. In three years, Sanderson's teams went 44-10, won three conference crowns, qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-America awards and two individual national titles. LAWSON CLAIMS MAT-TOWN TITLE Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Jimmy Lawson was the lone Penn Stater competing at the 2012 Mat-Town Open at nearby Lock Haven University. Lawson stormed through the field to claim the heavyweight title at the event. The sophomore heavyweight began the day with two wins over unattached non-collegiate wrestlers (meaning the results do not count towards his official record). Lawson posted a first period pin (1:11) and a quick tech fall in those two bouts. He then downed Penn's Steven Graziano 5-1 in the semifinals before beating Lock Haven's Harry Turner 4-1 in the finals. Lawson went 2-0 on the day officially plus picked up a pin and tech fall against non-collegiate wrestlers. PENN STATE USES FOUR PINS TO HAMMER WEST VIRGINIA 44-3 IN ROAD DUAL The Nittany Lion wrestlers used four pins to coast to a 44-3 road dual win at West Virginia on 11/18. Penn State got falls from Nico Megaludis at 125 (5:53), Dylan Alton at 157 (2:28), Matt Brown at 174 (4:10) and Quentin Wright at 197 (0:25). The Lions also got majors from Jimmy Lawson at 285, Ed Ruth at 184 and James English at 149 as well as a tech fall from David Taylor at 165. PEARSALL TAKES DOWN #19 PENNESI IN WIN AT WVU Senior Bryan Pearsall picked up an impressive win in Penn State's 44-3 dual victory at West Virginia on 11/18. The 141-pounder used an impressive third period ride-out (along with a second period escape) to post the 2-0 win over #19 Nathan Pennesi in the win. LAWSON WINS IN NITTANY LION DEBUT AT WVU Sophomore heavyweight Jimmy Lawson was impressive in his first bout in the Blue and White singlet. Lawson beat West Virginia senior Phil Mandzik handily in PSU's 44-3 win at WVU on 11/18, posting a convincing 9-0 major to cap off Penn State's lopsided win in Morgantown. BROWN AND RUTH LEAD NITTANY LIONS OVER #24 LEHIGH IN SEASON OPENER The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team won eight of ten bouts on its way to a 29-6 win over #24 Lehigh in the season opener for Cael Sanderson's Lions. Wrestled in front of a sold-out Rec Hall crowd over nearly 6,500, Penn State got two tech falls (Nico Megaludis and David Taylor) and a major (Matt Brown) in the win. All-American Ed Ruth posted a strong 11-9 win over #3 Robert Hamlin and Brown majored #18 Nathaniel Brown 12-1 at 174. CONAWAY WINS DUAL MEET DEBUT Red-shirt freshman Jordan Conaway made his Penn State dual meet debut against Lehigh on 11/16 and grabbed an impressive win in the process. Conaway got a takedown with just :07 left to post a 3-2 win over Laike Gardner in Penn State's 29-6 win over Lehigh in front of a sold-out Rec Hall crowd. ENGLISH DOWNS #18 WELSH IN SEASON OPENER Senior James English got the nod at 149 in Penn State's season opening dual against Lehigh on 11/18 and answered with a strong performance. English dominated #18 Shane Welsh of Lehigh on his way to a 5-2 win, helping spur Penn State on to a 29-6 win in Rec Hall. McINTOSH AND VOLLRATH WIN TITLES AT ESU OPEN Fifteen members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the East Stroudsburg Open, which concluded late last evening. Red-shirting sophomore Morgan McIntosh and junior James Vollrath each claimed titles at the event in which most Lions wrestled unattached. McIntosh was unstoppable, going 4-0 with three majors and a technical fall to win the 197 pound crown. Vollrath was equally impressive, going 4-0 with a pin and a major to win the championship at 157. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon took second at 133, going 4-1 with two majors. Red-shirt freshman James Frascella had an outstanding tournament, going 4-1 with a tech fall to place second at 174. Also placing for Penn State were the Beitz brothers. Sophomore Seth Beitz went 5-2 with a major to take fourth at 149 while true freshman Zack Beitz was 7-2 with two majors at 141 to take fifth. GINGRICH WINS HWT CROWN AT BINGHAMTON OPEN The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team sent 17 wrestlers to the Binghamton Open at Binghamton University. Seven Nittany Lions placed at the event, which featured over 300 wrestlers, led by sophomore heavyweight Jon Gingrich who won the crown at 285. Most of the Nittany Lions competing were wrestling unattached. Gingrich was a perfect 4-0 on the day, including a 9-1 major decision over Lock Haven's Harry Turner in the finals. Gingrich was one of seven Nittany Lions to place. Penn State had champ (Gingrich), four third-place finishers, a fourth-place finisher and a fifth-place finisher. True freshman Jimmy Gulibon went 6-1 with two majors at 133 to take third place. Sophomore Seth Beitz was 6-1 with two pins and two majors at 149 and also placed third. Junior James Vollrath went 7-1 with a major, a tech fall and a pin, and finished third at 157. Sophomore Morgan McIntosh posted a 4-1 mark at 197 with a pin and a major and finished third as well. Senior Nick Fischer was 6-1 with a tech fall and two majors and placed fourth at 165 and red-shirt freshman James Frascella was 5-2 with a pin to finish fifth at 174. REGULAR SEASON SOLD OUT! ONLY LIMITED SRO TIX ARE AVAILABLE HEADING INTO 2012-13 SEASON The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team has, for the first time in school history, sold out its entire season in advance of the first dual. A limited number of Standing Room Only tickets will go on sale, on a single dual basis, beginning Tuesday at 10 a.m. for select events. For information on which duals have SRO tickets available and to purchase tickets, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, will host seven home duals in front of what will be sold out Rec Hall crowds. The Nittany Lions host Indiana on Dec. 9 at 2 p.m., Lock Haven on Dec. 15 at 2 p.m., Michigan State on Jan. 13 at 2 p.m., Wisconsin on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., Nebraska on Jan. 27 at 2 p.m. and Rider on Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. FOUR LIONS COMPETE AT CLARION KNIGHT POINT OPEN Four members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team opened up the 2012-13 open tournament season at the Knight Point Open at Clarion University on Sunday. Each grappler wrestled unattached at the event which concluded late yesterday evening. Junior Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) posted a 4-2 record at 174, advancing to the consolation quarterfinals. True freshman Wes Phipps (Grove City, Pa.) debuted at 184 and 2-2, advancing to the consolation semifinals. Phipps tallied two majors. Red-shirt freshman David Owens (Derry, N.H.) wrestled at 149 and went 0-2 and true freshman Caleb Livingston (Drexel Hill, Pa.) went 1-2 at 165 with a pin (a 2:59 pin over Kent State's Mike Crawford). SEVEN NITTANY LIONS RANKED IN TOP 6 BY INTERMAT AS PENN STATE HOLDS #1 SPOT IN TEAM TPI Seven members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team remain ranked nationally by Intermat, all of whom now appear in the top six at their respective weights. In addition, head coach Cael Sanderson's two-time defending NCAA and Big Ten Champions are the No. 1 team on Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). The full list of national rankings is available at www.intermatwrestle.com. Sophomore Nico Megaludis is No. 2 at 125, senior Bryan Pearsall is No. 19 at 141, sophomore Andrew Alton is No. 6 at 149, sophomore Dylan Alton is No. 5 at 157, junior David Taylor is No. 2 at 165, sophomore Matt Brown is No. 3 at 174, junior Ed Ruth is No. 1 at 184 and senior Quentin Wright is No. 3 at 197.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The fifth-ranked Ohio State wrestling team will participate in the 31st Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The Buckeyes won the event a season ago, collecting 129 points behind six Top 5 finishes, including 133-pound champion Logan Stieber. Tournament Schedule Friday, Nov. 30 Noon – Pigtails, Rounds 1-2, Consolation Pigtails and Consolation Round 1 10 p.m. – Quarterfinals and Consolations Rounds 2-3 Saturday, Dec. 1 Noon – Consolation Round 4 1 p.m. – Semifinals and Consolation Round 5, Consolation Semifinals and Consolation Finals 6 p.m. – Championship Finals *Eastern Times This and That • So far, Ohio State has outscored its opponents 89-26 – (W, 40-3 at Davidson; W, 23-10 at No. 12 Virginia Tech; W, 26-13 vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh). • After three dual matches, Ohio State has scored 56 points on bonus points. In all, the Buckeyes have tallied five pins, two technical falls and four major decisions. • Among starters, sophomore Hunter Stieber (141 pounds) has recorded the fastest fall time at 23 seconds vs. William Honer of American International in the opening round of the UB Invitational. Stieber also leads the team in recorded major decisions with four. • Among the starting 10, redshirt freshman Kenny Courts (184 pounds) leads the team in wins with 11. Freshman Mark Martin (165 pounds) and sophomore Hunter Stieber (141 pounds) are not far behind with 10 victories each. • Senior Nikko Triggas continues to add to his falls record total. Triggas now has three this season and 39 for his career, which is fifth all-time at Ohio State. Quick Review Ohio State is 3-0 after impressive wins at Davidson and No. 12 Virginia Tech and vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh. Opening the dual season in Davidson, N.C., Nov. 15, the Buckeyes downed Davidson, 40-3. Nikko Triggas, Randy Languis and C.J. Magrum provided six points each to the team score with pins. Logan Stieber added a technical fall at 133 pounds, while freshman Mark Martin and redshirt junior Peter Capone scored major decisions at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively (recap). The following day, Ohio State beat the Hokies, 23-10, in Blacksburg, Va. Trailing only once after the opening match at 125 pounds, the Buckeyes held a narrow 8-7 advantage following the 149-pound bout before clinching their second dual win of the season on Magrum’s 7-4 decision over Derrick Borlie in the 197-pound matchup (recap). In their home opener Nov. 18, the Buckeyes secured a 26-13 win vs. Pittsburgh in St. John Arena. A fast start that included two pins and a pair of major decisions in the first four matches helped lift the Buckeyes to 3-0 record on the season. In all, Ohio State won six of 10 matches and had a 23-0 lead at the halfway mark (recap). Bonus Time With four of his 10 wins earned via a major decision and one by fall, half of sophomore Hunter Stieber’s victories this season have been bonus point wins. In all, Stieber has garnered 22 bonus points. Just as impressive, Stieber’s older brother Logan Stieber has compiled 32 bonus points courtesy of one major decision, two technical falls and three pins. Eighty-six percent of Logan’s wins have been bonus point victories as he has recorded a 7-0 record so far this season. Collecting 10 wins vs. four losses in his freshman campaign so far, Mark Martin has scored three major decisions, one technical fall and two pins, placing his bonus point win percentage at 60 percent. Fifty-five percent of redshirt freshman Kenny Courts' wins have come via bonus points – three major decisions and three technical falls. Courts currently has an 11-3 record. Grapple at the Garden Fourteen of the top collegiate wrestling programs in the nation will participate in the inaugural Grapple at the Garden in historical Madison Square Garden Dec. 16 (tickets). Eight of the 14 teams, including Ohio State are ranked in the Top 25 of the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll released Nov. 27. Harris Open Champion Freshman heavyweight Nick Tavanello is having a productive open-tournament season after collecting his second championship and third Top 3 finish at the Harris Open Nov. 17 in Ashland, Ohio. Wrestling unattached for the Buckeyes, Tavanello won the Michigan State Open title Nov. 11 and prior to that finished third at the UB invitational Nov. 4. Up Next Ohio State will host No. 23 Kent State at 7 p.m. Dec. 15 in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series vs. the Golden Flashes, 12-6, including a 22-15 win in Kent, Ohio, last season.

AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa State wrestling team (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) will travel to Iowa City on Saturday to take on instate rival No. 3 Iowa (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at 7:30 p.m. in Carver Hawkeye Arena. Saturday night's dual will be a part of the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, which Iowa State currently leads, 9-2. "It's a great environment to compete in," Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson said. "We will embrace the challenge. This dual always informs us where we are at early in the season.” The Hawkeyes come into the match with a 6-0 dual record, including a 3-0 mark at home after defeating SIUE (49-0), Cornell College (49-3) and Iowa Central CC (45-6) in the Iowa City Duals on Nov. 24. The Hawkeyes' lineup features eight ranked wrestlers, including two that are No. 1 in their respective weight classes in Matt McDonough (125) and Derek St. John (157). A number of notable matches will feature ranked wrestlers from each squad. At 125 pounds, No. 19 Ryak Finch will face top-ranked McDonough as he looks to bounce back after losing a 5-4 decision to No. 17 Jerome Robinson of Old Dominion in the Cyclones’ season opening dual. Other hotly contested matches are expected at 141 pounds between Iowa State's No. 18 Luke Goettl and No. 13 Mark Ballweg of Iowa, as well as at 184 pounds where No. 16 Boaz Beard will face No. 8 Ethen Lofthouse. Beard, of Iowa State, is 1-0 on the season and is coming off a 10-2 major decision victory over Old Dominion’s Austin Coburn. Lofthouse is currently 5-0. At 285, reigning Big 12 heavyweight champion Matt Gibson is ranked No. 16 by Intermat and will wrestle Iowa's Bobby Telford, currently ranked No.5. Gibson will look to build on his 4-3 win over Old Dominion’s Matt Tourdot. Who: Iowa State (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. No. 4 Iowa (6-0, 0-0 Big Ten) Where: Iowa City, Iowa - Carver Hawkeye Arena When: Saturday, Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. (CST) TV: Mediacom Live stats: Live stats will be available at www.trackwrestling.com Live blog: Join in on a virtual press row for Sunday’s meet with an interactive live blog put on by members of the Iowa State athletics communications department. Fans are encouraged to participate by asking questions on

The 31st annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, one of the nation's premier college wrestling events, takes place on Friday and Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year's field includes 11 of the nation's Top 25 NCAA Division I college wrestling programs. In addition, approximately 70 ranked wrestlers are expected to compete, including three NCAA champions: Logan Stieber of Ohio State (133), Kyle Dake of Cornell (165), and Dustin Kilgore of Kent State (197). Four champions from last year's event will be looking for back-to-back titles: Stieber (133), Michael Mangrum of Oregon State (141), Eric Grajales of Michigan (149), and Dake (165). Jason Chamberlain of Boise State (149) was a Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion in 2010, but redshirted last season. InterMat will be providing coverage from Las Vegas, which will include a live blog for fans to follow the action and interact, as well as written content. Wrestling gets underway at 9 a.m. PST on Friday. Top 25 Teams No. 5 Ohio State No. 7 Missouri No. 8 Cornell No. 12 Oregon State No. 16 Nebraska No. 18 Northern Iowa No. 19 Kent State No. 21 Boise State No. 21 Virginia No. 24 North Dakota State No. 25 Michigan Ranked Wrestlers 125: No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) No. 5 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) No. 8 Matt Snyder (Virginia) No. 10 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) No. 11 Nikko Triggas (Ohio State) No. 13 Sean Boyle (Michigan) 133: No. 1 Logan Stieber (Ohio State) No. 8 Nathan McCormick (Missouri) No. 10 Brian Owen (Boise State) No. 11 Nick Arujau (Cornell) No. 17 George DiCamillo (Virginia) No. 18 Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) No. 20 Colin Johnston (West Virginia) 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) No. 8 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) No. 9 Mike Nevinger (Cornell) No. 12 Camryn Jackson (Michigan) No. 14 Nick Hucke (Missouri) No. 15 Steven Keith (Harvard) No. 20 Nathan Pennesi (West Virginia) 149: No. 4 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) No. 5 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) No. 9 Eric Grajales (Michigan) No. 10 Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) No. 12 Derek Valenti (Virginia) No. 13 Cam Tessari (Ohio State) No. 16 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) No. 17 Jake Sueflohn (Nebraska) No. 20 Daniel Young (Army) 157: No. 6 James Green (Nebraska) No. 14 David Bonin (Northern Iowa) No. 15 Josh Demas (Ohio State) No. 17 George Ivanov (Boise State) No. 18 R.J. Pena (Oregon State) 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) No. 7 Nick Sulzer (Virginia) No. 8 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) No. 10 Taylor Massa (Michigan) No. 15 Zach Toal (Missouri) 174: No. 2 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) No. 8 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska) No. 9 Jon Fausey (Virginia) No. 12 Dom Kastl (Cal Poly) No. 13 Dan Yates (Michigan) No. 14 Cole Gracey (Army) No. 15 Matt Miller (Navy) No. 18 Todd Porter (Missouri) No. 20 Cody Caldwell (Northern Iowa) 184: No. 6 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) No. 7 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) No. 9 Mike Larson (Missouri) No. 12 Jake Swartz (Boise State) No. 15 Casey Newburg (Kent State) No. 17 Mac Stoll (North Dakota State) No. 18 Ty Vinson (Oregon State) No. 20 Kevin Radford (Arizona State) 197: No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) No. 4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming) No. 5 Brent Haynes (Missouri) No. 11 Taylor Meeks (Oregon State) No. 16 C.J. Magrum (Ohio State) No. 17 Jake Meredith (Arizona State) No. 19 Max Huntley (Michigan) No. 20 James Fox (Harvard) 285: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) No. 6 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) No. 10 Ben Apland (Michigan) No. 11 Levi Cooper (Arizona State) No. 15 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin) No. 18 Peter Capone (Ohio State)

The Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational has become one of college wrestling's premier tournaments. Every season recently plumped wrestlers from across the country descend on Sin City to test their mettle against the nation's best. Every year the tournament has some surprising results, or must-see scrambles, and this year should be no different. The matches below are five that I'd like to see and who I think will come out victorious. And just a note for any of you who are traveling out to Vegas ... The tournament is excellent fun, and though the casinos and lounge acts might compel you and your wallet at 3 a.m., remember that the city wasn't built on winners. If you want to keep your money try sitting at a low-limit poker game or betting on some games at the sports book. Blackjack is for suckers, and in spite of what you think there is NO SYSTEM that can beat roulette. If you're betting on wrestling, I have a tip for you. Keep an eye on Cal Poly freshman Devon Lotito. Three weeks ago at the Keystone Classic the upstart bested then-No. 10 Levi Mele Northwestern. He's a big scorer and someone to make a bet on if you can find a sucker who doesn't know his name ... or his style. 125: No. 4 Alan Waters (Missouri) vs. No. 5 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) Both wrestlers are undefeated this season and have been wrestling well with some impressive results. Waters has a win over Oklahoma's Jarrod Patterson this year, while Sprenkle just defeated Minnesota's David Thorn. These two did meet last season with Waters winning 4-2. It's less objective, but with Sammie "The Bull" Henson in Waters' ear, it's tough to imagine he won't improve on last year's result and earn a few more takedowns and a set of back points. Prediction: Waters dec. Sprenkle, 8-3 141: No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) vs. No. 4 Michael Mangrum (Oregon State) A rivalry from last season, Stieber and Mangrum should renew the rivalry they formed last season. The two wrestlers met three times during the 2011-2012 season, with Mangrum earning a victory in the first match, in the finals of the Cliff Vegas Invitational. Stieber earned the equalizer, before falling to the Oregon State wrestler during their rubber match at the NCAA tournament. Both earned All-American status. Though they've both found their way into this year's starting spot, it wasn't easy, with both Mangrum and Stieber both losing their team's wrestle-offs. Prediction: Stieber dec. Mangrum, 3-1 149: No. 4 Scott Sakaguchi (Oregon State) vs. No. 5 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) Whoever says the Pac-12 doesn't have its fair share of wrestling talent hasn't been paying much attention to 149 pounds, where the No. 4 and No.5 wrestlers in the country have been building a nice rivalry. Sakaguchi and Chamberlain face off for the second time this season. The opening salvo tilted in Sakaguchi's favor, but Chamberlain, who had a monster year off in 2012, won all five of their matches two seasons ago, each by three points or less. Prediction: Chamberlain dec. Sakaguchi, 5-3 SV 165: No. 1 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. No. 10 Taylor Massa (Michigan) Anyone who knows anything about wrestling has by now heard of Kyle Dake and his push to become only the third ever four-time NCAA Division I champion. To add to that feat he's attempting to do it at four different weight classes -- weight classes that have traditionally been the most stacked with talent. Massa, a true freshman from St. Johns, Mich., is the wrestler of the future, a thoroughbred of a human with ample coaching and workout opportunities in Ann Arbor. Though Massa took an early-season loss to Pitt's Tyler Wilps, it could very well have just been some freshman jitters or a mismanaged weight cut. Also remember that when Dake has lost, it has typically been early in the season. Could Massa pull the biggest upset of the tournament, and maybe the biggest upset of the season? No. Prediction: Dake dec. Massa, 9-2 285: No. 2 Dom Bradley (Missouri) vs. No. 6 Chad Hanke (Oregon State) The almost always entertaining Bradley was underwhelming at the Northeast Duals, winning in tiebreaker over Stanford's Dan Scherer. The Mizzou wrestler sat out the 2011-2012 season in hopes of making the Olympic squad, so his early fumblings might just be a repatriating to the folkstyle season. Hanke, who is also coming off an Olympic redshirt, is only wrestler to defeat Oklahoma State's Alan Gelogaev in the past 12 months. Look for both wrestlers to be aggressive on their feet (for heavyweights), but look for most of the points to come via escapes and riding time. Prediction: Hanke dec. Bradley, 3-1

The Walsh Ironman is one of the nation's premier high school wrestling events (Photo/Rob Preston) Saturday marks the first day of December, and it is this weekend that the high school wrestling regular season will begin in true earnest. No. 25 McDonogh, Md., hosts its annual Ray Oliver Wrestling Tournament on Friday and Saturday, and the 20-team field features many elite wrestlers from the Mid-Atlantic region. Nationally ranked wrestlers in the field include Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, Del.), seventh at 113 pounds; Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.), eighth at 138 pounds; Jack Clark (McDonogh, Md.), eighth at 145; Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.), 10th at 152; Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.), fifth at 160; Troy Murtha (Georgetown Prep, Md.), 16th at 182; and Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.), champion at 220. Mt. Carmel, Ill., hosts a quad on Saturday that also includes Machensey Park Harlem, Ill.; No. 10 Montini Catholic, Ill.; and No. 13 Marist, Ill. The host Caravan is anchored by the Bryce Brill, who is ranked No. 2 nationally at 145 pounds; and Harlem features state champion (also a two-time state finalist) Jordan Northrup at 120, along with two-time state placer Zac Denny at 126. Even though Montini will be without three returning state qualifiers/placers due to playing in the state football title game this past weekend, and Marist is without returning state placer Peter Andreotti (160) due to football injury, both lineups are littered with talent. The featured matchup would be at 120 pounds, with two-time state placers Jordan Laster (Montini) and Mark Duda projected to compete. Arguably the best individual bracket tournament of the season in the Southeastern United States will be held this Friday and Saturday outside of Tampa at the Strawberry Festival Grounds. The Durant Cougar Invitational does not have any nationally ranked teams, but features regional powerhouses such as Collins Hill, Ga.; Lake Highland Prep, Fla.; Osceola, Fla.; and South Dade, Fla. No. 38 West Delaware Manchester, Iowa hosts a tournament on Saturday that will also include No. 36 Davenport Assumption, Iowa as well as a formidable Linn Mar, Iowa squad that returns five state placers. The other event of the weekend featuring multiple nationally ranked teams is Saturday's Dick Shiels Invitational in Faribault, Minn., which includes No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn. and No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. However, this is but one weekend of the season. Below is a calendar of key events to be held throughout the rest of the high school season. December: Dec. 6: Allen, Texas and Tuttle, Okla., at Broken Arrow, Okla. Dec. 7: Simley at St. Michael-Albertville,-Kasson-Mantorville at Apple Valley (Minnesota Showdowns) Dec. 7-8: Mid-America Nationals (Tulsa, Okla.); Walsh Jesuit (Ohio) Ironman Invitational Dec. 14-15: Battle of Waterloo (Iowa); Kansas City (Mo.) Wrestling Classic; King of the Mountain (Central Mountain, Pa.); Minnesota Christmas Tournament (Rochester, Minn.); Reno (Nev.) Tournament of Champions; Tri-State Invitational (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) Dec. 22: Kyle Maynard Duals (Collins Hill, Ga.) Dec. 22-23: Beast of the East (Newark, Del.); Dvorak Memorial Invitational (Machesney Park, Ill.) Dec. 28-29: Bethlehem (Pa.) Hurricane Classic; Granite City (Illinois) Invitational; Medina (Ohio) Invitational; POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament (Canon-McMillan, Pa.); The Clash XI – National High School Wrestling Duals (Rochester, Minn.) January: Jan. 4-5: Cheesehead Invitational (Kaukauna, Wis.); Doc Buchanan Invitational (Clovis, Calif.); Geary (Okla.) Invitational Jan. 5: St. Paris Graham, Ohio at Blair Academy, N.J.; Marines.com Battlefield Duals (Colonial Forge, Va.) Jan. 11-12: Basheor (Kan.) Tournament; Virginia Duals (Hampton, Va.) Jan. 12: Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.) Super Duals; NHSCA Festival of Wrestling (York, Pa.) Jan. 18: Detroit Catholic Central, Mich., vs. St. Johns, Mich., at the University of Michigan Jan. 18-19: Clinch Gear Battle for the Belt (Temecula Valley, Calif.); Oklahoma City University Duals; Top Gun Wrestling Tournament (Alliance, Ohio) Jan. 19-20: Escape the Rock Wrestling Tournament (Council Rock South, Pa.) Jan. 23: Montini Catholic, Ill., at Oak Park River Forest, Ill. Jan. 25-26: Reser's Tournament of Champions (Portland, Ore.) February: Feb. 2: Blair Academy, N.J., at St. Edward, Ohio State Championships Individual Dec. 7-8: Alaska (Class 123A) Feb. 1-2: Alaska (Class 4A) Feb. 7-9: Arizona Feb. 8-9: Montana, Nevada Feb. 13-16: Utah Feb. 14-16: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee Feb. 15-16: Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Dakota, Virginia, Washington Feb. 21-23: Colorado, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin Feb. 22-23: Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, National Prep Championships, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Wyoming Feb. 23-24: South Dakota Feb. 28-March 2: Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio March 1-2: California, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, New England Regional March 7-9: Pennsylvania March 8-10: New Jersey Dual Meet Jan. 11-12: Georgia Feb. 1-2: Tennessee Feb. 7-9: Pennsylvania Feb. 9: Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina Feb. 12: Delaware Feb. 13: Iowa Feb. 14: North Dakota Feb. 16: North Carolina Feb. 17: New Jersey Feb. 22-23: Michigan Feb. 23: Illinois, Nebraska Feb. 28: Minnesota March 1-2: Wisconsin Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, we saw the opening weekend of competition in the Land of Lincoln. Highlighting that docket was a 26-25 victory for No. 13 Oak Park River Forest on the road at No. 12 Marist. Both squads were able to win seven matches in this tightly contested dual meet. Key individual matches came at 195 pounds, where OPRF junior Andre Lee upset returning state placer Josh Pruitt with a takedown in overtime; at 220 pounds, with Marist junior Mark Duda upending sophomore Matthew Rundell 11-6 in a battle of returning state runners-up; at 138 with Marist junior Mario Leveille beating Junior Greco-Roman All-American Jake O'Mara 6-5; and at 145 with Marist senior Matt Sears defeating state qualifier Johnny Gahagan 6-4. However, Marist was without state placer Peter Andreotti at 160, and Oak Park River Forest used a fall in that match to seal the dual meet. Despite sliding back slightly last season, then again who wouldn't given the personnel that left the program, Marmion Academy showed they are back and a forced to be reckoned with at the season opening Moore-Prettyman Wrestling Invitational. The Cadets dominated the 28-school field at Barrington with seven finalists, including four championships from Anthony Bosco (106), No. 11 Johnny Jimenez (120), No. 14 George Fisher (132), and Cody Snodgrass (195). They scored 274 points, while runner-up Libertyville had 185.5 points.

Fresh off the Thanksgiving break, Richard and John get back into the MMA discussion with a preview of UFC on FOX 5, focusing on the busy preliminary card and most of the main card. Next week get ready for a detailed breakdown of the UFC lightweight title bout between champion Benson Henderson and challenger Nate Diaz, as well as a conversation with The Ultimate Fighter alum and Bellator competitor Jimmie Rivera. Do you want to listen to a past episode? View archives.

Tommy Pawelski (right) was a Junior National Greco-Roman runner-up in Fargo (Photo/Dave Jedlicka) One weekend after losing a 26-25 home dual against No. 13 Oak Park River Forest (Ill.), No. 12 Marist (Ill.) will travel to Mount Carmel for a quad meet on Saturday that also includes No. 10 Montini Catholic, Ill., and Machesney Park Harlem, Ill. Even without state qualifier Anthony Ferraro (195) and state placers Michael Maduko (170) and Edgar Ruano (220/285), five-time defending state champion Montini Catholic will present a more than formidable team on the mat. The Broncos will be anchored by state champion Tommy Pawelski (113), along with a pair of two-time state placers in Jordan Laster (120) and Chris Garcia (138). They are also prohibitive favorites to win a sixth consecutive state title this year in Class 2A (medium-school). The other three teams in this quad meet are Class 3A (big school) squads. Marist was ranked first in the preseason rankings per Illinois Matmen, Harlem entered the season fourth, while Mount Carmel was 13th. Harlem features four wrestlers with state tournament experience: state champion Jordan Northrup (120), two-time state placer Zac Denny (126), state qualifier Tanner Anthony (132), and two-time state qualifier Sage Hecox (195). Mount Carmel is anchored by Bryce Brill (145), who is ranked No. 2 in the nation at this weight class, along with state qualifier Notay Jackson (160) and state placer David Denne (220). Here is a breakdown of the potential individual matchups within the featured dual meet, Montini Catholic vs. Marist. 106: Jimmy Pawelski (MON) vs. Nick Lukanich (MAR) The sophomore Lukanich was a Cadet National freestyle runner-up at 94 pounds this summer. 113: Tommy Pawelski (MON) vs. Mullaney (MAR) The Stanford-bound Pawleski was a state champion last year and runner-up at 106 pounds in Greco-Roman this summer at the Junior Nationals. 120: Jordan Laster (MON) vs. Mark Duda (MAR) Both wrestlers are two-time state placers: the Princeton-bound Laster fifth and third, while Duda has finished fifth and second in his first two high school campaigns. 126: Vincent Turk (MON) vs. David Kasper (MAR) Turk was a reserve wrestler during his freshman season, but was a Cadet National Greco-Roman champion this summer; while Kasper placed sixth at 106 pounds in his freshman campaign. 132: Jose Champagne (MON) vs. Nick Gasbarro (MAR) Champagne ranks as the nation’s 12th best freshman overall and was eighth in freestyle at the Cadet Nationals. Gasbarro started for portions of his freshman season, including placing 6th in the Dvorak Invitational at 106 pounds. 138: Chris Garcia (MON) vs. Mario Leveille (MAR) The junior Garcia is a two-time state placer, finishing third and second in his first two state tournament campaigns. Fellow junior Leveille qualified for state last year at 120 pounds, and had a 6-5 upset win over Junior Greco All-American Jake O’Mara (Oak Park River Forest) this past weekend. 145: Michael Sepke (MON) vs. Matt Sears (MAR) Sepke placed fourth at 126 pounds as a junior, while Sears was one match from state in his junior campaign. This past weekend, Sears upended state qualifier Johnny Gahagan (Oak Park River Forest) 6-4. 152: Xavier Montalvo (MON) vs. Ray Hodorowicz (MAR) Montalvo qualified for state as a freshman and was a Cadet National double All-American this past summer, third in Greco-Roman and fourth in freestyle. Hodorowicz was one match away from state in his junior campaign. 160: Luke Fortuna (MON) vs. D. Drew (MAR) Fortuna qualified for state last year in his freshman campaign. 170: TBD (MON) vs. Alex Benoit (MAR) Benoit placed fifth at state as a freshman last year. 182: Jake Turk (MON) vs. Ethan Benoit (MAR). Turk placed fourth at state in his junior campaign, while Benoit was one match away from state in his junior season. 195: TBD (MON) vs. Josh Pruitt (MAR) The senior Pruitt placed fourth at state last season. 220: TBD (MON) vs. Josh Hickey (MAR) The senior Hickey placed sixth at state last year in the 285 pound weight class. 285: TBD (MON) vs. Tom Howell (MAR) The senior Howell is a two-time state qualifier.

PHOENIX -- Grand Canyon University announced today it has accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference and will begin the process of reclassification from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I status in athletics during the 2013-14 academic year. "This is an historic day in the life of Grand Canyon University,” said Brian Mueller, the University's president and chief executive officer. "We have made a commitment to excellence in athletics, just as we have academically, and that commitment has been recognized by the invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference, a conference with a storied past. NCAA Division I status will raise our university's profile and illuminate the great things happening at Grand Canyon.” "We welcome Grand Canyon University to the WAC and look forward to helping them make the transition in becoming a highly competitive Division I institution,” said WAC Interim Commissioner Jeff Hurd. "This is another important step in the rebuilding process of the WAC as we continue to strengthen the conference.” GCU is currently a member of the NCAA Division II Pacific West Conference and will remain eligible for all PacWest Championships as well as NCAA Division II postseason play in 2012-13. GCU's athletic teams will begin competing as Division I programs beginning next year. Reclassification to Division I athletics is a four-year process, during which time GCU will not be eligible for NCAA Championships. Following the transitional four-year period, providing the University has met all NCAA standards, GCU will become a full Division I member. "Grand Canyon University is extremely grateful and thankful that this day has come,” said Director of Athletics, Keith Baker. "This is obviously not an overnight process. We are appreciative that the Western Athletic Conference Board has presented this invitation of membership, permitting GCU the opportunity to apply for reclassification of our athletics program to NCAA Division I, a process that we have already begun.” The Antelopes are coming off of an impressive 2011-12 campaign that saw them crowned as winners of the Division II Learfield Sports Directors' Cup, which recognizes the top university based on athletic performance. GCU won a national title in men's indoor track and field and saw 16 teams make a postseason appearance. "We owe special thanks to so many,” said Baker. "Our fellow Pacific West Conference member schools have been patient with us in this process. We will continue our devotion to furthering the significance of that association of schools over the coming months. The PacWest has provided a great platform from which to launch the next phase of our own institutional development.” The 2012-13 season has started off well, too. The men's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16, while the women's volleyball team is preparing to compete in the NCAA West Regional. The Antelopes also had representation in the NCAA Division II Men's Cross Country Championships. Winter sports programs, consisting of men's swimming, women's swimming, wrestling and women's basketball, are all nationally-ranked. "We have a great group of student-athletes at GCU,” added Baker. "The process that we are about to enter will provide them with a new competitive environment. We are committed to helping them continue to have successful student-athlete experiences.” GCU also boasts some of the finest athletic facilities in the nation, including the newly built 5,000-seat Grand Canyon University Arena, home to the men's and women's basketball teams, and a state-of-the-art Recreation Center, a 55,000 sq. foot building that features three basketball courts and practice facilities for both wrestling and volleyball. About Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU offers degree programs for both traditional undergraduate students and the working professional in seven colleges: the Ken Blanchard College of Business, the College of Education, the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Theology, the College of Fine Arts and Production, and the College of Doctoral Studies. GCU offers traditional programs on its growing campus, as well as online bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs. The University's curriculum fuses academic and clinical rigor with Christian values to prepare its students to be skilled, caring professionals. For more information about GCU, visit www.gcu.edu. About The Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference was formed in 1962 and will be comprised of the following six universities for the 2013-14 season: Cal State University, Bakersfield; Grand Canyon University; University of Idaho; New Mexico State University; Seattle University and Utah Valley University. The WAC crowns team and individual champions in 19 sports – eight men's and 11 women's. The WAC office is located in Denver, Colo. For more information on the conference, visit www.wacsports.com.

Fredy Stroker (right) is a two-time JJ Classic finalist and one of the nation's top sophomores (Photo/David Peterson) The annual Keith Young Invitational held in Cedar Falls, Iowa serves as an excellent season opening event for high school wrestling in the Hawkeye State. This year, half of the 16 teams in the field are ranked in the top ten of their respective classification per The Predicament. Additionally, there are six wrestlers in the field ranked number one in their respective state tournament weight classes, with the 132 and 145 pound weight classes featuring two top ranked wrestlers. In all, 58 participants in the field are state ranked. Leading the way from a team standpoint is defending Class 3A state champion Bettendorf, a program that opens the season ranked No. 30 nationally. The other two Iowa state tournament champions are also in this field: Denver-Tripoli and Don Bosco. They are joined by additional preseason ranked teams in Waverly-Shell Rock, Pleasant Valley, North Scott, Dowling Catholic, and Charles City. The showcase individual match of the tournament is likely at 145 pounds, where No. 7 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli) and Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf) are the likely finalists. Three-time state champion Sorensen was champion at the Preseason Nationals and earned his third Fargo freestyle All-American honor this summer at the Junior Nationals. Hernandez is a three-time state placer, having finished fourth, fifth, and third at the state tournament. Three other ranked wrestlers are projected to compete in the weight class: Harrison Farrell (Dowling Catholic), Corey Abernathy (Waverly-Shell Rock), and Alex Mitchell (Charles City). The other weight with two top ranked wrestlers is at 132 pounds, where Logan Ryan (Bettendorf) and Dylan Rhoads (Don Bosco) lead the way. Both wrestlers placed fifth at state last year, while that was a second state placement for Ryan who was also a runner-up at the Preseason Nationals in early November. Four other state ranked wrestlers are projected to compete in this weight class: Bryce Steiert (Waverly Shell-Rock), J.D. Ruzicka (Cedar Rapids Kennedy), Tad Chapin (Denver-Tripoli), and Christian Foote (Pleasant Valley). Kaz Onoo (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Like the 132-pound weight class, the 113-pound class also has six state ranked wrestlers, which is joint most in the tournament. That group is led by state placer Kaz Onoo (Mason City), who also finished fourth in freestyle at the Junior Nationals this summer. Other ranked wrestlers here include Clayton Eicher (West Des Moines Valley), Jonah Eide (Dowling Catholic), Johnny Etherington (Charles City), Alex Lemus (Iowa City High), and Logan Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids Kennedy). Other than three-time state champion Sorensen, the only other nationally ranked wrestler in the field is Freddy Stroker (Bettendorf), who is ranked No. 20 at 126 pounds. Stroker is ranked No. 1 in Iowa's Class 3A at the weight class, and four other state ranked wrestlers join him in this field. They are Charlie Jones (Waterloo Columbus), last year a state champion in Class 1A, Jonathon Eide (Dowling Catholic), Justin Reiher (Waverly-Shell Rock), and Michael Mancivaris (Cedar Rapids Jefferson). Additional top ranked wrestlers in the state among the field are Tanner Rowheder (Dowling Catholic) at 106 pounds and Jake Hogan (Don Bosco) at 160. Four ranked wrestlers will be among the challenge pack for Rohweder at 106: Jacob Schwarm (Bettendorf), Brenden Baker (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), Jack Koethe (West Des Moines Valley), and Jordan Schmitz (Don Bosco). The three ranked challengers at 160 for Hogan are Bret McKinney (North Scott), Andrew Bartel (Mason City), and Grant Rosenboom (Pleasant Valley). The following are ranked wrestlers in the remaining weight classes: 138: Randy McPhee (Pleasant Valley) Andrew Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) Jacob Woodard (Bettendorf) 152: Jesse Etherington (Charles City) Spencer Derifield (Waverly-Shell Rock) Stone Sturges (Mason City) Kelly May (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) 170: Bradey Letney (Pleasant Valley) Chase Shedenheim (Denver-Tripoli) Nick Hagedorn (Cedar Falls) Mitch Bowman (North Scott) Matt Collins (Dowling Catholic) 182: Justin Kreiter (North Scott) Reed Flood (Dowling Catholic) 195: Adam Waltner (Waverly-Shell Rock) Marcus Harrington (Waterloo West) Colin Kreiter (North Scott) Luke Johnson (Charles City) 220: Kaleb Staack (Waverly-Shell Rock) Tim Schiffer (Mason City) Devin Allbee (Pleasant Valley) Zach Goodall (Cedar Rapids Kennedy) 285: Cegan Long (North Scott) Ryan Maas (Iowa City High)

Slated to compete in dual meet competition one week from Friday, No. 4 Apple Valley, Minn. and No. 18 Kasson-Mantorville, Minn. both open their season on Saturday at the Dick Shiels Invitational in Faribault, Minn. The 11-team field essentially reduces to a showdown between these two squads, which between them feature 11 wrestlers ranked either first or second in their division per the preseason rankings from The Guillotine. The best potential matchup of the tournament is a head-on battle between these two nationally ranked squads at 126 pounds where defending state champion Seth Gross (Apple Valley), who is ranked 12th nationally, could meet 2010 state champion Nate Thomas. There is a potential No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in Class AA at 195 pounds between two-time state champion Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville), ranked second nationally, and Paxton Jordahl (Hutchinson). The following is a list of wrestlers potentially in this tournament field that appear in the preseason rankings published by The Guillotine: 106: Gannon Volk (Apple Valley) Tanner Cole (Owatonna) Gabe Shea (Kasson-Mantorville) 113: Malou Woiwor (Apple Valley) Brandon Mora (Owatonna) 120: Ryan Erdman (Kasson-Mantorville) 126: No. 12 Seth Gross (Apple Valley) Nate Thomas (Kasson-Mantorville) Brandon Peters (Faribault) 132: Brady Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) Eric Madson (Hutchinson) Brock Morgan (Apple Valley) 138: Colton Laganiere (Kasson-Mantorville) Bowen Schultz (Owatonna) Chris Schmidt (Hutchinson) 145: Dayton Racer (Apple Valley) Brandon Schorr (Kasson-Mantorville) Marcus Riggle (Fariabult) 152: No. 1 Mark Hall (Apple Valley) 160: No. 8 Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley) Lucas Roe (Grand Meadow) 170: Jackson Graham (Apple Valley) Corben Hansen (Kasson-Mantorville) Corey Parsons (Andover) 182: David Johnson (Apple Valley) Cole McAdams (Faribault) 195: No. 2 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) Paxton Jordahl (Hutchinson) Paul Cheney (Apple Valley) Logan Hartop (Fairbault) 220: No ranked wrestlers 285: No. 4 Sam Stoll (Kasson-Mantorville) Spencer Sorenson (Owatonna) Jake Filk (Hutchinson)

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling head coach Heath Eslinger announced the signing of a pair of student-athletes to National Letters of Intent today. Kevin Cooper and Michael Pongracz both recently inked their NLIs in the early signing period and will join the Mocs in the fall of 2013. "We are very excited about the two individuals we signed in the early period," stated Eslinger. "They both like what we are doing with Chattanooga Wrestling and have committed to help our program's continuous improvement, academically, athletically and socially." Cooper, a native of Morning View, Ky., is a two-time state champion at Simon Kenton High School and is expected to compete at 157 pounds on the collegiate level. He went 68-0 as a junior and is currently ranked No. 17 in the nation at 145 by InterMat. Pongracz hails from Milford, N.J., where he is a senior at Delaware Valley High School. He finished fifth in the New Jersey State Championships, posting a 38-4 overall record as a junior in 2012. He is expected to compete at 133 pounds at the collegiate level. "Kevin and Michael both had outstanding junior years," added Eslinger. "Kevin went undefeated while Michael placed fifth against some tough competition. We will eagerly watch them strive for their goals at the prep level as they prepare to join our program next fall." Kevin Cooper - 157 - Morning View, Ky. (Simon Kenton HS) Two-time Kentucky State Champion ... went 68-0 at 145 as a junior at Simon Kenton High School in Independence, Ky. ... team captain ... wrestled for head coach Nathan Gilbert ... has a 171-5 record in high school ... state champ and 55-3 mark at 135 as a sophomore ... runner-up and 56-2 record at 125 as a freshman ... Honor Roll student ... also lettered in football, track & field and cross country ... placed fifth in the 2012 Fargo Nationals and third at the Flo Nationals ... earned the 2012 Kentucky National Guard Warrior Award ... 2012 Kentucky Enquirer All-Star Wrestler of the Year ... PERSONAL ... full name is Kevin M. Cooper ... son of Mack and Jeanne Cooper ... born July 24, 1995 ... has three older brothers, Craig, Brad and Neil, and an older sister Shari ... Brad wrestled at the University of the Cumberlands ... plans to major in business. Michael Pongracz - 133 - Milford, N.J. (Delaware Valley HS) Placed fifth at the New Jersey state championships as a junior at Delaware Valley High School in Frenchtown, N.J. ... went 38-4 as a junior for head coach Andy Fitz ... has a 113-14 career record ... Garden State Tournament champion ... John Goles and Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Tournament champion and most outstanding wrestler ... 2012 Express-Times All-Area Wrestling Team ... PERSONAL ... Son of Dan and Monica Pongracz ... born July 18, 1995 ... has three sisters, Jennifer, Christine and Kimberly ... undecided on a major.

The InterMat Recruiting Notebook includes all the latest wrestling recruiting news from across the country. Recruiting Links: College Commitments Report a Commitment Get a Recruiting Profile Top 100 Seniors & Senior Recruiting Profiles Recruiting Notebook Junior National freestyle champ Mascarenas to SDSU Oct. 30, 2012: South Dakota State first-year head coach Chris Bono got a big name verbal commitment on Tuesday in Junior National freestyle champion Paul Mascarenas (Cleveland, N.M.). He is also a three-time state champion with a career record of 130-5, was fifth in the Junior Greco-Roman, and a Preseason Nationals champion. Mascarenas projects as a 125-pound wrestler at the college level. Perkins serves as second Top 100 verbal for the Crimson Oct. 30, 2012: Two-time state champion Brad Perkins (Oak Park, Mo.) made the decision to attend Harvard next fall on Tuesday evening. Ranked No. 60 overall in the senior class, Perkins is undefeated during his high school career with state titles in his freshman and junior campaigns, and projects as a 125/133 in college. Unable to compete as sophomore due to injury, Perkins has career record of 78-0. Perkins also joins No. 21 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) as a verbal commitment to Harvard. Multi-time state champ Empey chooses Cal Poly Oct. 30, 2012: Late Monday evening Spencer Empey (Reed, Nev.) became the first verbal commitment for Cal Poly in the Class of 2013. Ranked No. 81 overall in the senior class, Empey has won state in each of the last two years and finished second at the NHSCA grade-level nationals. In addition, he was third at this year's FloNationals. Empey projects as a heavyweight in college. Columbia snares elite upper-weight prospect in No. 76 Ryan Oct. 29, 2012: Garrett Ryan (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) made a verbal commitment this afternoon to Columbia University. Coming off a 53-2 state championship season at 170 pounds in Arizona, Ryan had a significant growth spurt and elevated his performance this off-season at 220 pounds. At the FILA Cadet National championships, he swept the titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Then, at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, Ryan was fourth in Greco-Roman and fifth in freestyle. With a three-year record of 127-19 in Arizona, including a state title and two fifth place finishes, Ryan made the choice to compete at Wyoming Seminary, Pa. for his senior year. He is ranked No. 76 overall in the Class of 2013, and projects as a 285 at the college level. Bison amassing Ream(s) of talent Oct. 29, 2012: North Dakota State secured their third Top 100 senior verbal commit for the Class of 2013 this afternoon, as Clayton Ream (Holt, Mo.) is the newest member of this year's recruiting class. Ream, ranked No. 56 overall in the senior class, was 42-3 this past year and a state runner-up. He also won the Junior National folkstyle championship in early April, and is a projected 149/157 at the collegiate level. In earlier years, Ream was a FILA Cadet freestyle All-American and a Cadet National freestyle All-American. Joining Ream as Top 100 verbal commits to North Dakota State are No. 20 Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.) and No. 47 Preston Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D.). Another three-time state champ stays home, Sorensen chooses Iowa Oct. 25, 2012: Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli, Iowa) made a verbal commitment to the University of Iowa this evening. The No. 37 overall recruit in the Class of 2013 enters his senior year as a three-time state champion with a career high school record of 147-3. Sorensen took sixth place in Junior freestyle this past summer at 145 pounds, and was a Cadet freestyle All-American in both 2009 and 2010. He joins Junior freestyle runner-up Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) and fellow three-time state champion Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa) as Top 100 verbals for Iowa in the Class of 2013. Junior National freestyle All-American Parsons chooses Army Oct. 25, 2012: National Prep champion Russell Parsons (Blair Academy, N.J.) made his intentions known to attend Army this evening. Ranked No. 34 overall in the Class of 2013, Parsons was a National Prep champion in February, a POWERde Christmas Tournament champion this past December, and took seventh at the Junior National freestyle championships in the 152 pound weight class. He projects as a 165 in college. Three-time state champ Ashnault makes it three Top 100 verbals for Rutgers Oct. 25, 2012: Seeking to become the state's first-ever four-time undefeated state champion, Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) removed one distraction prior to the start of his senior wrestling season. This evening, he made a verbal commitment to join the Rutgers University recruiting class of 2013. With an 130-0 high school record through three seasons, two Super 32 Challenge championships, and five All-American finishes in Fargo - Ashnault is ranked No. 10 overall in the Class of 2013. This past off-season, he finished third at the FILA Cadet National freestyle championships in the 138.75 weight class, and was fourth at 138 pounds in the Junior National freestyle championships. Joining Ashnault as Top 100 verbals to Rutgers are No. 41 Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.) and No. 95 Taylor Jackson (The Villages, Fla.). Ashnault projects as a 141/149 for Rutgers. National Prep champion Morris chooses Harvard Oct. 25, 2012: Already a three-time National Prep Championships finalist before his seniors season, Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pa.) made his college choice known this evening. The 2012 National Prep champion, who is ranked No. 21 overall in the Class of 2013, verbally committed to Harvard. Morris, projected as a 184 pound wrestler in college, was also a Beast of the East champion in December 2011 and a champion in both styles at the Pan-Am FILA Cadet championships this summer. He is also a two-time FILA Cadet double All-American, and earned three All-American honors at the Cadet Nationals in Fargo - including a Greco-Roman title in 2011. Stanford gets verbal from star Kansas heavyweight Oct. 24, 2012: After procuring a couple of lower-weight wrestlers last week, Stanford this week picked up the services of an excellent upper-weight in two-time state champion Nathan Butler (Leavenworth, Kan.). The FILA Cadet freestyle champion ranks No. 73 overall in the Class of 2013. Three-time state champion Marlin to stay home and become a Hawkeye Oct. 24, 2012: Three-time state champion Jake Marlin (Creston, Iowa) made his college commitment earlier this afternoon, making the decision to attend the University of Iowa. Ranked No. 79 overall in the Class of 2013, Marlin enters his seniors year with a career record of 143-5. He also placed fourth at 138 pounds in the Junior Greco-Roman competition this summer. Marlin joins No. 25 Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.) as Top 100 verbal commits to Iowa in the Class of 2013. Four-timer Norstrem makes it three Top 25 commits for Hokies Oct. 22, 2012: Already with four state titles headed into his senior year of high school, Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Fla.) made his college decision this evening. The 12th-ranked Class of 2013 prospect will be joining No. 15 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Va.) and No. 24 Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, Va.) as Virginia Tech Hokies next fall. Norstrem has finished the last two seasons with a record of 124-0, while amassing a record of 59-2 as a freshman, to make his three year "high school" record 183-2. However, when combined with a 45-1 eighth grade year competing against high school competition, he is 228-3 in his career. Additionally, Norstrem is a three-time double All-American (Juniors in 2010 and 2011, Cadet in 2009) in "Fargo". This includes a Junior National Greco-Roman championship at 130 pounds in 2011. He projects as a 133/141 pound wrestler in college. Two-time state champ Torres commits to Oklahoma State Oct. 19, 2012: Oklahoma State has landed its third InterMat Top 100 recruit from the Class of 2013: Keilan Torres (Altus, Okla.), the nation's No. 49 recruit. Torres is a two-time state champion and Cadet National freestyle runner-up in 2011. He was undefeated at the 2012 Junior National Duals in freestyle. He projects at 157 pounds. Cardinal get verbals from two lightweights Oct. 17, 2012: Three-time state finalist, and 2010 state champion, Connor Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pa.) verbally committed to Stanford earlier this afternoon. Ranked No. 31 in the Class of 2013 overall, Schram has a career high school record of 114-8, and was fourth at 126 pounds in freestyle at the Junior Nationals this summer. He projects to be a collegiate 125 pound wrestler. Joining Schram as a verbal commit for the Cardinal today was Tommy Pawleski (Montini Catholic, Ill.), who also projects as a collegiate 125 pound wrestler. Pawleski was a state champion this past year at 106 pounds, and is a two-time Junior National runner-up; this past summer in Greco-Roman at 106 pounds, and in the summer of 2011 in freestyle at 98 pounds. Junior National freestyle runner-up Berge to become a Hawkeye Oct. 17, 2012: Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville, Minn.), ranked No. 25 overall in the senior class, made a verbal commitment to the University of Iowa this morning. An undefeated state champion at 48-0 at 195 pounds during his junior season, Berge followed that up with a Junior National freestyle runner-up finish this summer. Already a two-time state champion, and fourth at state as a freshman, Berge has amassed a career record of 126-6, including an 88-1 mark over the last two years. During both of those seasons, he was a champion of the Minnesota Christmas Tournament as well. Berge is the initial verbal commitment to the Hawkeyes in the Class of 2013. Lavallee makes it four-pack of Top 100 commits for Mizzou Oct. 16, 2012: Three-time state champion Joey Lavallee (Reno, Nev.) makes it a fourth commitment to Missouri from the InterMat Class of 2013 Top 100. Ranked No. 61 in the senior class, Lavallee was fifth in the 2011 Junior National freestyle competition, a FILA Cadet National freestyle champion in the spring of 2011, and fifth at the FloNationals this past spring. Lavallee is joined by No. 6 J'den Cox (Hickman, Mo.), No. 71 Parker Vonegidy (Piedmont, N.C.), and No. 99 Nick Kee (Scotland, N.C.) as Top 100 seniors to verbal to Missouri prior to the early signing period. Wyoming lands three-time Oklahoma state champion Beard Oct. 15, 2012: Three-time Oklahoma state champion Zach Beard (Tuttle, Okla.) gave his verbal commitment to Wyoming. Ranked No. 32 in the Class of 2013, Beard carries a career record of 122-9. He was a Cadet National freestyle champion at 160 pounds in 2011, and a FILA Cadet freestyle runner-up at 167.5 pounds this past spring. Beard projects as a 165/174 at the college level. Wiercioch stays close to home, gives Pitt third Top 100 commit Oct. 15, 2012: Ranked No. 9 overall in the Class of 2013, Cody Wiercioch (Canon McMillan, Pa.) verbally committed to Pittsburgh this evening. Already a two-time POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament and Pennsylvania state champion, Wiercioch enters his senior year with a 123-4 career record. Also a 2010 Super 32 Challenge champion, he projects as a 174/184 pound wrestler in college. Joining Wiercioch as Pitt verbals in this class are No. 18 Edgar Bright (St. Edward, Ohio) and No. 33 Ryan Solomon (Milton, Pa.). Junior freestyle runner-up Eads makes it Top 100 trifecta for ODU Oct. 15, 2012: Three-time state placer Austin Eads (Blue Springs South, Mo.) made a verbal commitment this evening to Old Dominion. Having finished fourth, second, and third in the state, Eads has a career record of 144-14. Coming off of a runner-up finish at 145 pounds in the Junior National freestyle championships this summer, he ranks No. 65 overall in the Class of 2013. Eads, who projects collegiately as a 157/165 pound wrestler, is the third InterMat Top 100 recruit to verbally commit to Old Dominion prior to the early signing period. He is joined by No. 17 Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.) and No. 84 Jake Velarde (North Kitsap, Wash.) in the Monarchs' Class of 2013. Two-time Junior freestyle champ chooses Scarlet and Gray Oct. 11, 2012: Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, Ohio) made it a second top 25 prospect to choose Ohio State in the Class of 2013. Ranked No. 23 overall in the senior class, Tomasello has won 112 consecutive high school matches, has a career record of 127-5, and is a three-time state champion. He also is a two-time Walsh Ironman champion, two-time Junior National freestyle champion, and a two-time Super 32 Challenge runner-up. Tomasello joins Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio), the nation's number one senior, as Buckeye commits in the Class of 2013. Jackson makes it two Top 100s for Rutgers this week Oct. 10, 2012: Taylor Jackson (The Villages, Fla.), ranked No. 95 in the Class of 2013, made a verbal commitment to attend Rutgers University this evening. Jackson, a two-time state champion and gold medalist at this summer's AAU Disney Duals, joins No. 41 Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.) as a member of the Scarlet Knights prospective recruiting class for this year. Bison snare Lehmann bros. Oct. 10, 2012: Preston and Tyler Lehmann (West Fargo, N.D.) both chose North Dakota State as their next destination for collegiate wrestling. Preston is ranked No. 47 in the Class of 2013, as a three-time state finalist with a career record of 125-11. State champion the last two years, Preston was also a Cadet freestyle All-American in 2010. Tyler graduated from high school in 2010, winning state titles during his sophomore and junior years at Apple Valley, Minn. He returned home to West Fargo for his senior year where he won a third state title. In the interim, Tyler has spent time at the United States Olympic Training Center, including winning gold medals in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2011 FILA Junior Pan-Am Championships. Bright makes it pair of Top 100 commits for Pitt Oct. 10, 2012: Two-time state runner-up Edgar Bright (St. Edward, Ohio)verbally committed to Pitt on Wednesday. Placing sixth as a freshman and second at state each of the last two years, Bright has a career record of 96-15 heading into his senior year. The 2011 Cadet National freestyle runner-up was also a runner-up at the Walsh Ironman last December with a key victory in the semifinal round over three-time California state champion, and two-time Super 32 Challenge champion, Alex Cisneros. Bright is ranked No. 18 in the Class of 2013, and projects as a 141/149 in college. He is the third verbal commit to Pitt for this class, and joins No. 33 Ryan Solomon as a Top 100 recruit in the Panthers' stable. New York standout Grimaldi commits to Harvard Oct. 9, 2012: Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West, N.Y), one of New York's top senior wrestlers, committed to Harvard on Tuesday. He projects at 157/165 pounds. Grimaldi earned All-American honors in the NHSCA Junior National competition in Virginia Beach and the Junior National freestyle competition in Fargo. He was a state runner-up as a junior. Read Matt Diano's feature on NewYorkWrestlingNews.com. No. 84 Velarde a second Top 100 commitment for ODU Oct. 9, 2012: Three-time state champion and two-time Junior National Greco-Roman All-American Jake Velarde (North Kitsap, Wash.) gave his verbal commitment to Old Dominion this morning. Velarde finished eighth this summer at 138 pounds, after finishing second at 130 this summer before in Junior Greco-Roman. He joins No. 17 Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.) and Jordan Marshall (Troy Christian, Ohio) as early commitments to the Monarch wrestling program. Rutgers snares No. 41 Dippery Oct. 8, 2012: NHSCA Junior and Sophomore Nationals champion Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pa.) verballed to Rutgers University on Monday afternoon. The two-time PIAA Class AAA state placer (third and second the last two years) has a career record of 136-12, and is ranked No. 41 in the Class of 2013. This summer Dippery finished as the runner-up at 132 pounds in the Junior National Greco-Roman Championships. He has also finished in third place at the Beast of the East each of the last three years, and is a three-time top three finisher at the POWERade Christmas Tournament, including a championship at 103 pounds during his freshman season. Talented upperweight Hayden to Michigan Oct. 6, 2012: The University of Michigan added to an already strong recruiting class with the addition of talented upperweight Payne Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.), who announced his commitment to the Wolverines on Saturday. He projects at 184/197 pounds in college. His commitment comes two days after Michigan received a commitment from No. 20 senior Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio). Hayden (St. Johns, Mich.) is a three-time state placewinner, finishing runner-up last season and third in each of the previous two seasons. Last season he was runner-up at the Grappler Fall Classic and placed fourth at the Super 32 Challenge. Hayden has been an All-American at the Cadet and FILA Cadet levels. So far Michigan's Class of 2013 recruiting class includes four top 20 recruits -- No. 2 Adam Coon (Fowlerville, Mich.), No. 4 Ben Whitford (St. Johns, Mich.), No. 11 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Ill.), No. 20 Abounader -- plus Hayden. Abounader makes it four top 20 commits for Michigan Oct. 5, 2012: Two-time state champion Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio) has verbally committed to the University of Michigan. Ranked No. 20 in the Class of 2013, the projected 184/197 has been a champion at the NHSCA grade level nationals in each of the last three years. Abounader enters his senior season with a career record of 99-8; but first he'll be playing safety and serving as captain of a football team that is 6-0 and nationally ranked headed into this weekend's play. He joins Adam Coon, Ben Whitford, and Brian Murphy as top 20 verbal commits for the Wolverines from the Class of 2013. Northwestern gets commitment from No. 36 Sliga Oct. 2, 2012: For the second time in two days Northwestern received a commitment from an InterMat Top 100 recruit. On Tuesday, Mitch Sliga (Fishers, Ind.), the nation's No. 36 recruit, informed InterMat that he has committed to the Wildcats. He projects at 184/197 pounds in college. Sliga joins No. 74 Jacob Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.), who committed to Northwestern on Monday. Sliga is a state champion and three-time state placewinner in Indiana. He has resume filled with national and even world credentials in the international styles. He earned a spot on this year's Cadet World Team this year after winning FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle. He placed fifth at the FILA Cadet World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan at 85 kilos. Sliga is a two-time Cadet National double champion, and 2010 Cadet National Triple Crown winner. No. 28 Matthews chooses Clarion Oct. 1, 2012: Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pa.), a two-time state runner-up who has been highly productive at major national events, has chosen to stay close to home and attend Clarion. During the 2011-12 season, Matthews was runner-up at the Super 32 Challenge, Walsh Ironman, Pennsylvania Class AA state tournament, and NHSCA Junior Nationals. Ranked No. 28 in the Class of 2013, Matthews in prior years placed eighth at the Super 32 Challenge in 2010, as well as being a NHSCA freshman and sophomore national champion. Placing eighth, second, and second in three state tournaments, he has a high school career record of 135-16 to date. No. 40 Climmons commits to the Air Force Academy Oct. 1, 2012: Coming off a runner-up finish in the Junior National Freestyle Championships this summer at 182 pounds, Brooks Climmons (Pope, Ga.) has verbally committed to the Air Force Academy. Ranked No. 40 in the Class of 2013, he was also a state champion in 2011 and a Super 32 Challenge runner-up later that year. No. 74 Schmitt commits to Northwestern Oct. 1, 2012: Three-time state finalist, and two-time state champion, Jacob Schmitt (St. Johns, Mich.) has verbally committed to attend Northwestern University. Ranked No. 74 in the Class of 2013, Schmitt has a career record of 148-5. Additionally, Schmitt is a five-time All-American in Fargo, doubling in both appearances as a Cadet and placing eighth in Greco-Roman as a Junior in 2011. He also placed second at the FILA Cadet Nationals in freestyle in both 2010 and 2011, while placing eighth at the FILA Junior Nationals in freestyle this past year. At the Super 32 Challenge, Schmitt placed fifth in 2010 at 112 pounds. No. 99 Kee is third Top 100 commitment for Mizzou Sept. 30, 2012: Two-time state champion Nick Kee (Scotland, N.C.) has decided to join fellow North Carolinian Parker Vonegidy (Piedmont) and J'Den Cox (Hickman, Mo.) as top 100 Class of 2013 prospects to verbally commit to Missouri in the early period. During the 2011-12 season, Kee finished as runner-up in the Super 32 Challenge at 152 pounds and runner-up at the NHSCA Junior Nationals at 160, while winning a second state title at 170. Ranked 99th in the senior class, he projects as a 165/174 at the collegiate level. No. 59 Hammond will stay home, become a Roadrunner Sept. 29, 2012: Coleman Hammond (Bakersfield, Calif.), a two-time state placer and two-time NHSCA grade-level champion (three-time placer) verbally committed to stay home and compete for the Roadrunners of Cal-State Bakersfield. Hammond placed third at both the state tournament and NHSCA Junior Nationals this past year at 152 pounds. Ranked No. 59 in the Class of 2013, Hammond pojects as a 149/157 pound wrestler in college, also finished fourth place in freestyle at the 2011 Junior National championships. No. 38 recruit Molloy commits to Indiana Sept. 27, 2012: Neal Molloy (Danville, Ind.), a 2011 high school state champion, and fifth in the Junior National freestyle competition at 138 pounds this past summer, has verbally committed to Indiana University. Projected to wrestle 149 for the Hoosiers in college, he is their initial Class of 2013 commitment. For his high school career, Molloy has an overall record of 135-4; and also placed fifth in this past year's state tournament, losing his only match of the season in the state tournament quarterfinal round. Pitt Panthers land No. 33 recruit Solomon Sept. 26, 2012: Ryan Solomon (Milton, Pa.), champion in Greco-Roman at the Junior Nationals this summer, has verbally committed to Pittsburgh. He is the second commitment for the Panthers from the Class of 2013. State champion this past year, Solomon is a three-time Class AA state placer (sixth, second, and first) in Pennsylvania with a career record of 102-14. In each of the last three summers, he has earned All-American honors in both freestyle and Greco-Roman during the Cadet and Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. A projected 197 in college, he was also 35-1 in his junior campaign and a Silver Medalist at the AAU Scholastic Duals this summer. Cornell lands No. 50 recruit Taylor Sept. 23, 2012: Jake Taylor (Bald Eagle Area, Pa.), the nation's 50th-ranked senior recruit, committed to Cornell University. He becomes the Big Red's first recruit from the Class of 2013. Taylor is coming off a season in which he went 38-2 and finished third at 170 pounds in the PIAA Class AAA Championships. He was FloNationals champion this past spring at 170 pounds. He projects 174/184 pounds in college. No. 3 recruit Martinez commits to Illinois Isaiah Martinez in Fargo (Photo/John Sachs)Sept. 22, 2012: Last year Illinois signed two of California's top high school wrestlers in recent years, Jesse Delgado (Gilroy), a transfer from Cal Poly, and Nikko Reyes (Clovis West), a multiple-time national champion. On Saturday, Illinois landed yet another top prospect from California: Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, Calif.), the nation's No. 3 senior recruit. Martinez is a two-time California state champion and three-time state placewinner. He has compiled a record of 95-1 over the past two season, with his only blemish coming to No. 1 senior recruit Bo Jordan (St. Paris Graham, Ohio) last December at the Walsh Ironman. Martinez has won numerous national events throughout his career, including Junior Nationals (freestyle) this past summer in Fargo. He finished his junior season ranked No. 2 nationally at 152 pounds. He projects as a 157-pounder in college. No. 17 recruit Jeske to Old Dominion Brandon JeskeSept. 22, 2012: Brandon Jeske (Cox, Va.), the nation's No. 17 senior recruit, announced on Saturday that he will be staying in his home state of Virginia for college and wrestling at Old Dominion University for head coach Steve Martin. Jeske's wrestling resume is littered with national titles and placements in national events. He projects as a 125-pounder for the Monarchs. Missouri lands Top 100 recruit VonEgidy Sept. 22, 2012: Missouri has landed InterMat Top 100 recruit Parker VonEgidy (Piedmont, N.C.). VonEgidy is a two-time state champion who has compiled a record of 119-2 over the past two seasons. He was a Cadet National freestyle runner-up in 2011. He projects at 174 pounds. VonEgidy joins J'den Cox (Hickman, Mo.) and B.J. Toal (Troy Christian, Ohio) as early commits to Missouri. Three-time placer Pennell commits to Bucknell Josh PennellSept. 18, 2012: Josh Pennell (St. Johns, Mich.), one of Michigan's top senior wrestlers, gave a verbal commitment to Bucknell University. Pennell is a three-time state placewinner with a career record of 159-8. He has been an All-American at the Cadet, FILA Cadet, and Junior levels. He also placed at last year's Super 32 Challenge. No. 93 recruit Kelley commits to Binghamton Nick KelleyAug. 31, 2012: Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa, N.Y.) announced that he will be staying in his home state of New York and attending Binghamton to wrestle for Matt Dernlan. Kelley, the nation's No. 93 recruit, becomes the latest InterMat Top 100 recruit to commit to a college. Kelley earned All-American honors this summer in Fargo, finishing fourth in the Junior National freestyle competition at 132 pounds. He was a state third-place finisher this past season. He projects as a 141-pounder for the Bearcats. No. 55 senior recruit Cruz to join older brother at Lehigh Darian Cruz is a two-time Beast of the East champion (Photo/Rob Preston) Aug. 24, 2012: Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pa.), the nation's No. 55 senior recruit, will be joining older brother Randy at Lehigh University. Cruz is a two-time Beast of the champion, two-time Cadet National double All-American, Super 32 Challenge champion, and two-time state placewinner, winning a state title this past season at 106 pounds. Five-time state placewinner Woiwor commits to ISU Daniel Woiwor with ISU coach Kevin Jackson (right) and his father Aug. 19, 2012: Iowa State has landed its first recruit from the Class of 2013: Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley, Minn.). Woiwor is ranked as the nation's No. 51 overall senior recruit. He projects as a 157/165-pounder for Iowa State. Woiwor cited the "brotherhood-type environment" and "possibility of starting four years" as factors in his decision to wrestle for Iowa State. He also has complete faith in his future coach, Kevin Jackson, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion. "Kevin Jackson is not only a great coach but also a great man," said Woiwor, whose goal is to be a four-time All-American. "He is someone I would trust with my future." Woiwor is a five-time state placewinner, winning a state title as a freshman. Zupan discusses commitment to Binghamton By Betsy Veysman, New York Wrestling News Aug. 12, 2012: Zack Zupan celebrated his commitment to Binghamton this weekend by getting some much needed, and rare, time off. "One of my buddies has a camp up North with a big fishing area," he said. "We went up there and hung out a little bit. It's nice to go away and do some relaxing activities because my schedule has been pretty jam-packed." It would be fair to say that Zupan has been busy. Five days a week this summer, he's been doing speed sessions and weight training for five hours, beginning at 8 o'clock in the morning, under the guidance of Todd Cutrie. When he's finished, he heads to work on a nearby farm for several hours before either teaching pee wee wrestling or participating in football practice in the evening. The work he's put in has been obvious on the mat throughout his high school career, as he has made his presence felt both in New York and on the national scene. His accolades include a national title at the NHSCA Freshman tournament in 2010 at 160 pounds and two other All-America finishes at national events. He also placed at the New York states on three occasions, including a championship at 170 pounds in 2012, which he believes had a lot to do with the training he put in with Cutrie. While Zupan was happy to get his first New York crown in February, his performance in the title bout against Nick Mitchell of Frewsburg [a 3-2 decision] left him less than totally satisfied. "I was a little disappointed with my finals match," Zupan said. "I didn't wrestle the entire six minutes like I could have. I definitely hesitated on some opportunities and could have scored more points than I did. I'm looking to put on a better show next year." Before he takes the mat for Canastota, however, he has some business to take care of on the gridiron. He is excited to begin double sessions with the football squad shortly, as he hopes to reach some milestones this fall. He said if things go as planned, he believes he can break the state record for tackles and go over 5,000 yards rushing in his last days wearing his helmet and shoulder pads. "I've played football for a long time and it's not easy knowing I won't be able to play anymore," he said. "I know it's hard to get recruited in New York as a 5-10, 200 pounder. But you have to realize what you were given and commit to the amazing opportunities you have and make the most of them." That's what Zupan plans to do. He expects to compete at 182 pounds on the mat as a senior, wrestling for his father Nick (also a Section 3 champion), his coach who has taught him so much in the sport. "My father went about it the right way," he said. "He didn't force me to wrestle. He was busy coaching high school and getting back late on Saturdays from tournaments. He told me if I really wanted to wrestle, I should set an alarm and wake him up on Sundays. That way, it was my choice. I always set the alarm. We traveled all over the country and he coached me all the way through." So, do father and son still go toe-to-toe in the room? "I wrestled with him a lot when I was younger, but he knows what's good for him now," Zack Zupan said. "He knew when the day would come and he retired when he was undefeated against me." When he goes off to college, Zupan feels he will be surrounded by familiar instruction. In fact, similarities between his father's Canastota staff and the Bearcat coaches contributed heavily to Zupan's commitment. "I think the coaching staff at Binghamton has the same philosophy," Zupan said. "They believe in training smarter, not harder. I think I'll have a nice adjustment to college with the staff they have in place." Head coach Matt Dernlan took the reins of the program a few months ago and Zupan takes pride in being the first recruit of the Dernlan era. "It's absolutely significant to me," he said. "I feel like I'm going to help start a great thing. I get to be one of the first stepping stones in where this program wants to go. The coaches believe there is so much talent in New York and they want to keep the best in state and win national titles that way. I'm excited to be part of that." Zupan added that he chose the Bearcats over schools like Cornell, Virginia, North Carolina State and Lehigh for other reasons as well. "I took an unofficial visit and liked that it's not huge," he said. "I mean, 16,000 people is a lot to me — it's more people than are in my town. But it's on the smaller side for college and I feel like I'll be taken care of there and I'll be one of their main guys and I really appreciate that. I don't think I'll be just another piece of meat which sometimes happens in Division I wrestling." He also is excited to follow the path of Section 3 alum Justin Lister, an All-American for Binghamton. "I watched [Lister] a lot growing up," he said. "He was coming out of high school when I was coming in. I just liked the way he wrestled. What I always remembered about him was that he was a really mean kid on the mat. Off the mat, he was polite and nice. But when it came to wrestling, he wasn't shy. He was a Section 3 All-American and I think it will be cool wrestling at the same school as him." But first things first. Before he tackles the college scene, Zupan has a few more wrestling honors in mind. "I want to be a dominant state champion and then win FloNationals," he said. "Then, I can't wait to go to college. I'm really looking forward to working toward a national title at Binghamton." This story was originally published on NewYorkWrestlingNews.com. NDSU lands three-time state champion Bengtson Mitch Bengtson was a Junior National runner-up in Greco-Roman (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine) July 31, 2012: Mitch Bengtson (St. Cloud Apollo, Minn.), a three-time state champion and the No. 20 overall senior recruit verbally committed to North Dakota State on Tuesday. Before his state finals loss this past year, 2-1 against University of Minnesota bound Sam Brancale, Bengtson had not lost since the opening tournament of his eighth grade year. That winning streak of over 170 matches is part of a 221-6 career record heading into his senior year. Bengtson was fourth and second the last two summers in the Junior National Greco-Roman competition, and third at the FILA Junior Nationals in Greco-Roman this spring as well. Additionally, he was a Cadet All-American in both styles during the summer of 2010. Simley's Wanzek joins teammate Short as Gopher recruit Nick Wanzek, a two-time state champion, is the nation's No. 33 overall senior recruit (Photo/The Guillotine)July 16, 2012: Nick Wanzek (Simley, Minn.), a two-time state champion, Junior National folkstyle state champion, and Cadet National folkstyle champion, has given a verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota. He is ranked as the nation's No. 33 overall senior recruit. "Minnesota could offer me everything," said Wanzek, who also considered Cornell, North Dakota State, and Stanford. "It's a top-notch program in wrestling. It's a great academic school. And it's close to home, which is always a plus. It was just the right fit for me. I've always wanted to go there." Wanzek becomes the second Simley wrestler to commit to the Gophers in the last week, joining teammate Jake Short. "I'm excited to wrestle with him in college," Wanzek said of Short. "He's a great teammate. We've grown up together, drilled, and wrestled together. So it will be nice having him with me in college." Wanzek will wrestle in the Junior National freestyle competition in Fargo later this week, and has his sights set on winning the title at 160 pounds. He has team and individual goals for his senior season at Simley. "I definitely want to help my Simley team win our sixth straight championship," said Wanzek, who projects as a 165/174-pounder in college. "I've been on the team since seventh grade, and we won it that year and have won it ever since. So I want to finish up my career with a team championship and then win an individual championship." Listen to Scott Casber's interview with Nick Wanzek. Fellow Super 32 Challenge champ Diehl to Maryland July 13, 2012: A day or so after releasing their 2012 recruiting class, the University of Maryland got an initial verbal commitment for the Class of 2013 from three-time state champion Ryan Diehl (Trinity, Pa.). Ranked No. 30 overall in the class, Diehl won his first two state titles competing at Berkeley Springs H.S. in West Virginia, where he went 93-2 overall, including a 50-0 mark his sophomore year. Diehl was fourth at the 2010 Super 32 in the 103-pound weight class, and placed third at the 2011 FloNationals at 103, before winning the 120-pound title at the 2011 Super 32 Challenge. That victory came over George DiCamillo, who would end the year as the No. 1 wrestler in the country at 120 pounds. This past high school season, he was an undefeated 41-0, including a 6-4 victory in the semis over defending state champion Jason Nolf -- who had been undefeated in high school prior to that match. Super 32 Challenge champ McCutcheon to Penn State Matt McCutcheonJuly 13, 2012: Two-time defending national champion Penn State landed one of the nation's top upperweights from the Class of 2013, Matt McCutcheon (Kiski Area, Pa.), the nation's No. 39 overall senior recruit. McCutcheon compiled a 41-1 record this past season en route to winning a PIAA state championship at 182 pounds in Class AAA. He became the first wrestler from his school to win a state wrestling title. McCutcheon has a career record of 121-12. He claimed a Super 32 Challenge title in the fall. McCutcheon projects as a 184-pounder in college ... Listen to Scott Casber's interview with Matt McCutcheon. No. 7 senior recruit Short commits to Minnesota Jake Short is a three-time state champion for Simley (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine) July 11, 2012: Jake Short (Simley, Minn.), a three-time state champion, gave a verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota. Short is ranked as the nation's No. 7 senior by InterMat. He has been a Cadet and Junior National folkstyle champion. He has also won a Cadet National freestyle title, and was runner-up in the Junior National freestyle competition last summer. His father Will and uncle Chris were All-American wrestlers for the Gophers. InterMat caught up with Short and talked to him about his decision to commit to Minnesota and more. Why did you feel that Minnesota was the best fit for you? Short: The guys there. They felt like family. The coaches made me feel at home. It was close to home. I've been working out with those guys, like the Dardanes brothers. They're just great guys. I just knew that was the right place. Your father and uncles wrestled at Minnesota. How much did that factor into your decision? Short: Actually, to be honest, that didn't have anything to do with it. I talked to coaches. I gave everybody a shot. I look at what was best. It just so happens that Minnesota was the right fit for me. Jake Short pinned Tim Ostby in the state championship match at 145 pounds in Class AA (Photo/Mary Christen)What other schools did you consider? Short: I looked at Iowa and Nebraska as well. I got it down to three pretty early. The early signing period is in November. Why did you want to make your decision so soon? Short: It just relieved all the pressure. Even just telling them that I was verbally committing, everything was relieved. I think I'll go out and have a great Fargo tournament because of it. I've just been wrestling nonstop with those guys. All the pressure is relieved. I don't have to worry about it. That's my college. That's my team. What was the hardest part about the recruiting process? Short: Just having to listen to guys who wanted you real bad. It was hard because this is a life decision. I had to think about it and really consider all the information the coaches were giving me and then decide. I'm just happy I found the right place this early. Where do you see yourself weight-class wise in college? Short: I think I'm going to be a 149-pounder. You also play running back on the Simley football team. How does your interest in football compare to your interest in wrestling? Short: I've always loved wrestling. Football was just another sport that I've enjoyed playing. I've been playing football just as long as I've been wrestling, but it hasn't been the same. Football is more just a game to me. I'm a tennis player too. Both those sports are fun ... and they're a little relief from wrestling. But wrestling is what I've always wanted to do. How would you describe your wrestling style? Short: What I've been working on to keep coming and scoring. That's what I've been talking to (Brandon) Eggum about. Instead of just winning matches by one, getting to the point where I'm beating guys by four or five. I think I'm strong. I'm well balanced. I keep great position. I'm heavy with my hands. Jake Short is coached by grandfather Jim (left), who serves as an assistant coach at Simley, and father Will (right), who serves as head coach (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Do you see any similarities between the way you wrestle and the way your father wrestled? Short: With my dad and me, it's interesting. He was a little bit lengthier than I was. We both kind of have that quick and kind of flashy look to some of our shots. He actually says that he looked more like my cousin Mack, and that I look more like my uncle John. We do have some similarities, but there are definitely differences in our wrestling styles. Are there any wrestlers you looked up to besides your father and uncles growing up? Short: Yeah, I've always looked up to Cael Sanderson. I have posters of Cael in my room. Just the way he went undefeated in his college career, got it done at the Olympics ... I've always looked up to him. You were a Fargo champion in the Cadet freestyle competition in 2011. You were runner-up in Junior freestyle last summer. How important is it to you to get that Fargo title this summer? Short: It's what I've wanted so bad. Last year I got so close. Usually I wrestle my best under pressure when it's the finals. But I feel like I tensed up a little bit. I missed open opportunities last year when I had an open shot on (Jason) Tsirtsis when we were going back and forth. I let it go to the flip. I think that was the wrong decision. I didn't go after it. I just tried to hold position. I was nervous. I've actually never felt like that before in a match. This year I'm going to be pressure-free and I'm coming hard at these guys. If I'm winning, I'm going to try to win big ... and I'm going to make sure no one thinks they're even close with me this year. What weight will you be wrestling in Fargo? Short: 145 Jake Short was a Junior National freestyle runner-up last summer in Fargo (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Are there any wrestlers specifically you hope to face in Fargo? Short: I'm hoping to see Ben Whitford. I think we would have a good match. I don't know if he's going, or if he's going my weight. But I would love to see Whitford in the finals. He's a good wrestler. He's fast, strong, and flashy. I think he would be fun to wrestle. You have been a national champion in both freestyle and folkstyle. Do you favor one style over another? Short: I think I'm a little bit better at freestyle as of now. But I think over time I will get better at folkstyle. But right now I'm pretty explosive and I think I have a pretty mean gut wrench on top, so right now I think I favor freestyle a little bit ... but soon it might be folkstyle. The high school wrestling season is still a few months away from starting, but what are you most looking forward to your senior season of high school wrestling? Short: Being with the guys, being with my friend Nick Wanzek, who I'm hoping also ends up at the U with me. Just enjoying my senior year with my cousin and the guys. I want to get it done ... That will be our sixth team title in a row and I want to get my fourth individual

This week, the third week of my aggregated and annotated college wrestling results, the plot begins to thicken. Certain wrestlers are starting to grab the spotlight and announce themselves as true national title contenders. Some freshman are taking the bull by the horns, and are showing that success does not have to wait, while others are faltering in the face of their lofty high school credentials. This week even saw a weight switch which may end up altering the landscape of the national title race. As always all questions and comments are welcome. Dual Meets Sunday, Nov. 25 Oklahoma State 35, Penn 10 No Jordan Oliver here, which saddens me, I never get enough Oliver. OSU looks tough. Old Dominion 22, Iowa State 13 Not that long ago, had you told me that ODU beat mighty Iowa State in wrestling twice in three years, it would have induced an instant spit take; I would have dropped the newspaper I was reading and sprayed my mouthful of coffee all over you. But here we are, in a weird universe where Old Dominion regularly beats Big Ten and Big 12 teams. My mother, an alumna of ODU and Great Bridge High School, would be incredibly proud of Coach Martin, if she cared about wrestling in the slightest. At 174, a nice upset 7-3 win for ODU's Billy Curling over 17th-ranked Mikey England. Struggles continued for ranked Cylcone wrestlers as 15th-ranked Ryak Finch went down to 18th-ranked Jerome Robinson of ODU, 5-4. The 141-pound weight class saw ODU's 16th-ranked Justin LaValle defeat 18th-ranked Luke Goettl in sudden victory, 5-3. Virginia Tech 25, Virginia 6 Tech surprisingly breezes by the Wahoos in a matchup two of the commonwealth's toughest teams. VT's eighth-ranked 125 pounder Jarrod Garnett overwhelmed fifth-ranked Matt Snyder, 11-2. 12th-ranked Nick Brascetta notched another win over an All American, this time beating UVA's ninth-ranked Derek Valenti, 3-2. At 165, Tech's fifth-ranked Pete Yates beat 8th-ranked Nick Sulzer, 7-2. Tournament Saturday, Nov. 24 Jimmy Lawson (Photo/Bill Ennis)Mat Town Open At 285, Penn State's Jimmy Lawson takes the title. Lawson will develop into a national level wrestler. The only question is will it be in time to earn points for the Nittany Lions at NCAAs? If he can grab a couple wins at the big show in March, that could be all PSU needs for the three-peat. Dual Meets Saturday, Nov. 24 Note: I haven't subdivided the duals from Saturday’s Northeast Duals. They have simply been listed as dual meets. Army 16, Binghamton 15 With all the attention paid to the Dan Gable coaching tree, not enough is said about the Bobby Douglas coaching tree, which is really starting to assert itself. Coach Joe Heskett has those Army Black Knights coached up and they earn a nice win over in-state rival Binghamton. Here, fourth-ranked Donnie Vinson ekes out a win over Army's 20th-ranked Daniel Young, 1-0, at 149 pounds. Bloomsburg 33, Drexel 6 Bloomsburg's 17th-ranked Richard Perry wins 4-2 over Drexel's 19th-ranked Brandon Palik at 197 pounds. Bloomsburg 24, Hofstra 10 A small upset occurred here as Bloomsburg's unranked 133-pounder Nick Wilcox beat Hofstra's 17th-ranked Jamie Franco, 8-2. Bloomsburg 31, Princeton 10 Bloomsburg just keeps on cranking out dual meet wins. I am going to be proud to say that I knew Bloomsburg was a great wrestling team before they were cool. Central Michigan 24, Hofstra 9 Hoftra's 125-pound All American Steve Bonanno seems to be losing quite a bit already this year. This time he falls to Central Michigan's Christian Cullinan, 5-1. Meanwhile, second-ranked Chippewa Scotti Sentes wins 8-2 over Hofstra's 17th-ranked Jamie Franco at 133 pounds. Columbia 29, Drexel 9 Cornell 17, Central Michigan 15 Cornell's top-ranked 165-pound wrestler Kyle Dake earns a comfortable 12-point win over 18th-ranked Mike Ottinger. At 125, there was a showdown of two soon to be highly ranked youngsters as Cornell's Nahshon Garrett beats Chritian Cullinan. Cornell 40, Drexel 0 We don't know how far new Cornell 197-pound starter Jace Bennett will go, but he looks good so far. This dual sees him defeat 19th-ranked Brandon Palik as Cornell blanks the Dragons. Cornell 25, Oklahoma 13 This match, the marquee showdown of the Northeast Duals, was a bit more lopsided than expected due to a surprising result at 133. Technically Cornell's 12th-ranked Nick Arujau defeating OU's 13th-ranked Cody Brewer is not an upset, but Brewer has looked awesome so far, and I definitely did not expect him to get pinned by Arujau in 34 seconds. At 141, Kendric Maple, ranked No. 1, continues his reign of terror at this weight as he dismantles reigning All American Mike Nevinger of Cornell, 13-1. Cornell superstar Kyle Dake puts on a vintage performance as he shuts down Oklahoma's seventh-ranked 165-pounder Buddy Graham, 5-0. Eastern Michigan 18, North Dakota State 17 Illinois 39, Binghamton 10 Nate Schiedel and Mario Gonzales did not wrestle at 197. Darn it, I was looking forward to that one. Illinois 32, Maryland 6 At 174, sixth-ranked Illini wrestler Jordan Blanton exacts revenge on third-ranked Terp Josh Asper. This match went the other way at the NWCA All-Star Classic a few weeks ago. Jimmy Sheptock of Maryland, now ranked tenth, has been doing well at 184. Here he downs 11th-ranked Illini Tony Dallago, 9-2. Illinois 46, Princeton 0 Iowa 49, SIU-Edwardsville 0 Wow! It appears that Mike Evans may be moving up to 174 for good, leaving Grant Gambrall as the odd man out. This is a risky move for the Brands brothers, but maybe a necessary one, as Evans was quite lean at 165, and may look more like the Blair Academy Mike Evans, at 174. Maryland 27, Columbia 10 Third-ranked Maryland 174-pounder Josh Asper beats the Lions' 18th-ranked Stephen West, 9-3. Maryland 20, Purdue 19 Maryland relies on timely upsets from its lower weights to propel them to a narrow victory over a Big Ten foe. Terp 125-pounder Shane Gentry beats 18th-ranked Camden Eppert, 5-4, and 15th-ranked 133 pounder Geoff Alexander downs Purdue's eighth-ranked Cashe Quiroga, 9-3. In a surprising development, Maryland's tenth-ranked 197 pound wrestler, Christian Boley, who barely lost last year en route to a third seed at the NCAA tournament, loses here to Purdue's 18th-ranked Braden Atwood, 11-5. Minnesota 36, Eastern Michigan 4 Minnesota 22, North Dakota State 12 This dual saw two important upset wins for NDSU. At 125, 13th-ranked NDSU wrestler Trent Sprenkle upended the Golden Gophers' sixth-ranked David Thorn. This match may cast some doubt on Thorn's ability to stand on the podium at the end of the year, but don't forget that Sprenkle is very good and twice has been one match away from placing at NCAAs. In a low-scoring affair at 165 pounds, 11th-ranked Steven Monk edges 9th-ranked Gopher, Cody Yohn, 1-0. Missouri 36, South Dakota State 3 One moderate upset here as SDSU's unranked Joe Brewster tops 13th-ranked Zach Toal, 6-3, at 165 pounds. Missouri 31, Stanford 3 Another ranked Mizzou wrestler falls to an unranked opponent, this time at 157. The Cardinal's Kyle Meyer beats 18th-ranked Kyle Bradley, 3-2. Oklahoma 24, Central Michigan 14 At 133, Scotti Sentes sits for this dual. His absence is keenly felt as CMU falls to OU. The 165-pound weight class saw OU's seventh-ranked Buddy Graham beat 18th-ranked Mike Ottinger, 4-1. Oklahoma 36, Hofstra 6 Excellence has been the norm so far for OU's Cody Brewer. Here he majors Hofstra's 17th-ranked Jamie Franco, 14-6. Current king of the 141 pound mountain, Kendric Maple, blanks 10th-ranked Luke Vaith of Hofstra, 4-0. Oregon State 21, Boise State 16 The sparks fly in an early season Pac-12 showdown. At 184, 12th-ranked Bronco Jake Swartz earns bonus points against 18th-ranked Beaver Ty Vinson, 19-6. In what was probably college wrestling's match of the week, 5th-ranked Scott Sakaguchi stakes his claim as a serious national title threat as he downs BSU's second-ranked Jason Chamberlain, 3-2. BSU's 157 pounder George Ivanov helps make this match interesting as he beats OSU's 11th-ranked R.J. Pena, 10-5. Purdue 23, Army 12 This match featured an interesting contest at 149 as Purdue's 14th-ranked Ivan Lopouchanski beat Army's Daniel Young, 3-0. Purdue 32, Hofstra 8 19th-ranked 125-pound Boilermaker Camden Eppert registers a win over 10th-ranked Pride wrestler Steve Bonanno, 5-2. Also, eighth-ranked Cashe Quiroga topped 17th-ranked Jamie Franco, 8-4 Purdue 37, Princeton 6 Rutgers 26, Army 15 Rutgers 30, Binghamton 6 I was looking forward to writing about Mario Mason's match against Donnie Vinson and then I realized that due to Mason's recent rash of defeats, he is neither ranked nor in the national discussion. Here is to hoping that Mason can return to form. He is fun to watch when he is on. Rutgers 30, Columbia 6 I truly believe that Coach Goodale's Scarlet Knights' best shot at the NCAA podium this year is with Greg Zanetti. He has performed at a consistently high level and against Columbia this weekend he beat the Lions' 18th-ranked 174-pound wrestler Stephen West, 1-0. Stanford 22, South Dakota State 11 Wrestling brings together some random schools, I wonder if this is the first time these two schools have competed against each other in anything ... ever? Wisconsin 24, Northern Iowa 13

STILLWATER -- The No. 3 Oklahoma State wrestling squad opened its 2012-13 season with a 35-10 win over Pennsylvania, highlighted by pins at the 157, 197 and 285 weight classes. Seven Cowboys entered the match ranked nationally and each picked up a win, all with bonus points attached. “It was a good win for us,” coach John Smith said. “Bottom line, if you go out, give the effort and don't just sit around and do nothing, then you're in every match.” The Cowboys had a rough start, losing three of the first four matches. At 133 pounds, Jon Morrison picked up the first points for OSU with an 11-3 major decision over Geoffrey Bostany. Providing the momentum needed for the Cowboys was 157-pounder Alex Dieringer, who, in his first starting performance for OSU, pinned Mark Pinero in just 49 seconds. He was followed by Tyler Caldwell’s 15-4 major decision over Casey Kent and top-ranked 174-pounder Chris Perry’s 21-6 technical fall over Ian Korb. Chris Chionuma also had his first start for the Cowboys and claimed an 18-3 technical fall over Canaan Bethea in 5:06. The final two matches resulted in pins when Blake Rosholt finished his opponent in 4:23 and Alan Gelogaev rolled Kyle Cowan in 5:18. The Cowboys will be back in action when they travel to Minnesota to take on the No. 1 Gophers on Dec. 2. Results: 125: No. 17 Mark Rappo (Penn) dec. Tyler Dorrell (OSU); 9-2 133: No. 10 Jon Morrison (OSU) maj. dec. Geoffrey Bostany (Penn); 11-3 141: C.J. Cobb (Penn) maj. dec. Julian Feikert (OSU); 10-2 149: Andrew Lenzi (Penn) dec. Michael Martin (OSU); 10-5 157: No. 10 Alex Dieringer (OSU) pinned Mark Pinero (Penn); 0:49 165: No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (OSU) maj. dec. Casey Kent (Penn); 15-4 174: No. 1 Chris Perry (OSU) tech. fall Ian Korb (Penn); 21-6; 7:00 184: Chris Chionuma (OSU) tech. fall Canaan Bethea (Penn); 18-3, 5:06 197: No. 8 Blake Rosholt (OSU) pinned Mike Steltenkamp (Penn); 4:23 285: No. 3 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) pinned Kyle Cowan (Penn); 5-18

AMES, Iowa -- The No. 25 Old Dominion University wrestling team won five straight matches late on Sunday afternoon to overcome an early 10-3 deficit and hand Iowa State a 22-13 loss in front of 2,055 fans at the Hilton Coliseum. This is the third consecutive year the two squads have faced one another as the Monarchs now move to 2-1 all-time in the series as ODU dropped the 18th-ranked Cyclones in Norfolk last season, 21-16. “We are proud of the way our guys are competing right now,” said head coach Steve Martin. “Our goal was to wrestle hard the entire match and to put points on the board. We beat a Big Ten team last week in Wisconsin and a Big 12 team this week in Iowa State. You have to be ready to go when you are competing with a program that has won NCAA titles.” Sunday started off with an upset for the Monarchs as redshirt junior Billy Curling upended ISU’s No. 17 Mikey England at 174 pounds, 7-3. The Cyclones (0-1) were then able to reel off three straight wins in the upper weights behind three nationally ranked wrestlers. No. 15 Boaz Beard at 184 pounds and No. 15 Kyven Gadson at 197 pounds both came out victorious, as did heavyweight No. 17 Matt Gibson after redshirt sophomore Matt Tourdot pushed the reigning Big 12 champion to the brink before falling in a tight one, 4-3. With the line-up turning over, 125 pounds was one of two matches where both wrestlers entered the day ranked nationally as No. 17 Jerome Robinson used a first period takedown and a second period reversal to defeat 15th-ranked Ryak Finch. The Monarchs would then take the lead for good at 133 pounds when 19th-ranked Scott Festejo battled back to double up John Meeks, 6-3. In the other battle featured two nationally ranked foes, Old Dominion (2-2) again come out victorious this time at 141 pounds as No. 16 Justin LaValle won a thriller in sudden victory overtime, 5-3. The redshirt junior was down 3-0 after the first two periods but escaped and earned a takedown with 15 seconds left in regulation to force overtime where he earned a takedown of No. 18 Luke Goettl for the win. Freshman Alexander Richardson and No. 19 John Nicholson earned bonus team points for the Monarchs in the next two matches as Richardson pinned Iowa State’s Matt White at the 1:15 mark in the 149-pound bout. Wrestling for the first time collegiately in his home state of Iowa, Nicholson had no problems handling Logan Molina at 157 pounds as he earned the 12-3 major decision behind five takedowns. The Cyclones ended the day scoring a 7-2 win at 165 pounds behind Michael Moreno over redshirt sophomore Adrin Taylor. #25 Old Dominion 22, Iowa State 13 174: Billy Curling (ODU) dec. No. 17 Mikey England (ISU), 7-3 184: #15 Boaz Beard (ISU) major dec. Austin Coburn (ODU), 10-2 197: #15 Kyven Gadson (ISU) dec. Jacob Henderson (ODU), 4-2 HWT: #17 Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. Matt Tourdot (ODU), 4-3 125: #17 Jerome Robinson (ODU) dec. #15 Ryak Finch (ISU), 5-4 133: #19 Scott Festejo (ODU) dec. John Meeks (ISU), 7-3 141: #16 Justin LaValle (ODU) dec. #18 Luke Goettl (ISU), 5-3 149: Alexander Richardson (ODU) fall Matt White (ISU), 1:15 157: #19 John Nicholson (ODU) major dec. Logan Molina (ISU), 12-3 165: Michael Moreno (ISU) dec. Adrin Taylor (ODU), 7-2 Old Dominion returns to action next weekend at the Nittany Lion Open in State College, Pa. The next dual for the Monarchs takes place on Friday, Dec. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Ted Constant Convocation Center when American University comes to town.

BLACKSBURG -- The 12th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team won eight of 10 matches contested, including six over ranked opponents, to roll to a 25-6 win over 17th-ranked Virginia Sunday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum. “I felt like if we came out and wrestled good, we had that potential [to win big],” head coach Kevin Dresser said. “They were obviously favored at 133 and 174, the weight classes we lost, but the other eight bouts had a lot of toss-ups on paper. Early in the year, this is good. This is what these guys need. One of the things we’re shooting for this year is consistency and being consistently good and so far we’ve done a pretty good job of that this first month.” Things opened up at 125 pounds with eighth-ranked Jarrod Garnett dominating No. 7 Matt Snyder, picking up an 11-2 major decision. He used four takedowns and a reversal, plus over a minute of riding time to give Tech a quick 4-0 lead. For Garnett, it was his 100th career victory, making him the seventh member of Tech’s 100-win club in program history. At 133 pounds, Virginia’s George DiCamillo, ranked 17th, got a takedown in the third period to ice a 5-2 victory over Tech’s Erik Spjut. At 141 pounds, 10th-ranked Zach Neibert got all he could handle from Joe Spisak, but a takedown and back points early, plus riding time, were enough to overcome a later reversal by Spisak as Neibert won 5-3. At 149 pounds, 11th-ranked Nick Brascetta pulled off yet another upset, beating sixth-ranked Derek Valenti 3-2. The two were tied at 1-1 in the third period before Valenti got in deep on a leg. But Brascetta fought it off on the edge of the mat and eventually got Valenti’s ankle and converted it to a takedown for the only offensive points of the match. At 157 pounds, eighth-ranked Jesse Dong got a takedown in the second period and held on for the 3-0 win over 19th-ranked Jedd Moore to give Tech a 13-3 lead at the halfway mark. Pete Yates, ranked fourth at 165 pounds, fell behind early to ninth-ranked Nick Sulzer, but battled back with a takedown in the first period, rode Sulzer for the whole second period and then got an escape and a takedown late to pick up a 7-2 win. Virginia got a hard-fought victory at 174 pounds with No. 9 Jon Fausey picking up a 4-2 win despite not scoring any offensive points. Fausey got a penalty point off two Gabel stalls, a pair of escapes and a point for riding time. Gabel, a redshirt freshman, got a takedown with under 20 seconds to go, but couldn’t get the tying points against the ranked Fausey. Nick Vetterlein controlled the action against 16th-ranked Stephen Doty at 184 pounds, picking up three takedowns en route to the 7-4 upset win. Derrick Borlie fell behind to Zach Nye early on, but used a pair of takedowns in the second period to propel him to a 9-4 win at 197 pounds. Sixth-year senior David Marone used a pair of takedowns to pick up his first win of the season, a 7-1 win over Derek Papagianopoulos at heavyweight. The Hokies have now won the last seven matches against UVa to take a 37-26-1 lead in a series that dates back to 1922. The last time Virginia beat the Hokies was in 2008 in the ACC dual match. Tech has won 20 of its last 21 ACC dual matches dating back to 2008 The win completes a weekend sweep of Virginia as the volleyball and football teams also won at home this weekend. Tech (3-1) will be back in action next weekend, taking on No. 18 Pittsburgh Friday night and No. 20 Edinboro on Saturday, both on the road. Several wrestlers will also compete at the Nittany Lion Open, hosted by Penn State. Results: 125: #8 Jarrod Garnett (VT) maj. dec. #5 Matt Snyder, 11-2 133: #19 George DiCamillo (VA) dec. Erik Spjut, 5-2 141: #7 Zach Neibert (VT) dec. Joe Spisak, 5-3 149: #12 Nick Brascetta (VT) dec. #9 Derek Valenti, 3-2 157: #7 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. Jedd Moore, 3-0 165: #5 Pete Yates (VT) dec. #8 Nick Sulzer, 7-2 174: #8 Jon Fausey (VA) dec. Austin Gabel, 4-2 184: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec. Stephen Doty, 7-4 197: Derrick Borlie (VT) dec. Zach Nye, 9-4 285: David Marone (VT) dec. Derek Papagianopoulos, 7-1

Opening the 2012-13 wrestling season in its home gym, No. 25 McDonogh, Md., is a strong favorite to repeat as champion in the 40th annual Ray Oliver Wrestling Tournament, which takes place Friday and Saturday. Though there is not likely to be much of a team battle among the 20 schools competing, the individual competition will be excellent. The tournament features seven nationally ranked wrestlers, as well as eight defending tournament champions and ten wrestlers in all that have won the event in the past. Myles Martin (Photo/Dave Jedlicka)With a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers, a two-time state champion, and a two-time National Prep placer, the 160-pound weight class looks to be the tournament's toughest. Leading the way is Junior National freestyle champion Josh Llopez (St. Mary's Ryken, Md.), the two-time Super 32 Challenge finalist who is ranked No. 5 in the nation. Ranked tenth nationally at 152, but projected to compete up in this weight class, is Cadet National freestyle runner-up Myles Martin (McDonogh, Md.). Two-time state champion Beau Donahue (Westfield, Va.) is a senior who has placed fourth at the NHSCA grade-level nationals each of the last two years. Bryce Pappas (St. Mary's, Md.) placed seventh and fourth at the National Prep Championships and was one match away from placing at the Super 32 in late October. The 145 and 195 weight classes also feature a quartet of notable wrestlers. The field at 145 is led by defending tournament champion Toby Hague (McDonogh, Md.), a National Prep runner-up this past season at 160 and seventh at the Super 32 this October. Also in this field are two-time state placers Max Wilt (Caesar Rodney, Del.) and Daniel Downes (St. Mark's, Del.), who was also a state champion, as well as National Prep placer Cole Graves (Archbishop Spalding, Md.). Leading the way at 195 is returning National Prep placer Spencer Neff (Good Counsel, Md.), who placed third at the Super 32 in October. Also in this weight are 2011 National Prep placer Shane Cockerlie (Gilman, Md.), state placer Anthony Mancini (Salesanium, Del.), and state runner-up Tyler Cox (Smyrna, Del.). Two past event champions anchor the field at 152 pounds in Jack Clark (McDonogh, Md.) and Logan Breitenbach (Archbishop Spalding, Md.). Seeking a third consecutive title in this tournament, National Prep champion Clark is ranked eighth nationally at 145, but is projected to be here for this event. Breitenbach won a title in the 2010 Ray Oliver Tournament, was sixth at National Preps this past year, and placed fourth in the Preseason Nationals earlier this month. Also seeking to become three-time champions in this event is a trio of juniors, No. 7 Brent Fleetwood (Smryna, Del.) at 113 pounds, Micah Hight (Caesar Rodney, Del.) at 126, and No. 1 Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Md.) at 220. Fleetwood is most likely to see a nominal challenge from 2011 state runner-up Zach Howell (Caesar Rodney, Del.); Hight's primary challenge would come in the form of a state finals rematch against Tyler Carney (Smyrna, Del.); while Snyder has nominal challengers in state runner-up D.J. Johnson (Caesar Rodney, Del.) and National Prep placer Wyatt Cook (McDonogh, Md.). Three other wrestlers seeking a second Ray Oliver Wrestling Tournament title are Daniel Sanchez (Georgetown Prep, Md.) at 132 pounds, No. 8 Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Md.) at 138, and Tyler Patrick (McDonogh, Md.) at 170. Sanchez, a Junior National Greco-Roman All-American and two-time National Prep placer, won his tournament title as a freshman in 2009. His primary challenge in this tournament is likely to come in the form of 113-pound National Prep champion Corey Huntley (Archbishop Curley, Md.). Bannister's primary challenge in this event is likely to come from two-time National Prep placer Xavi Ramos (McDonogh, Md.), while Patrick will have to battle state champion Zach Boyles (Smryna, Del.) in order to repeat as tournament champion. The last of the nationally ranked wrestlers in this field is No. 16 Troy Murtha (Georgetown Prep, Md.) at 182 pounds, who placed fifth at the Super 32 and third at the National Prep Championships. An additional weight class showdown is likely to come in the opening weight class, as the top three 106-pound wrestlers in Maryland are slated to compete: Jake Vosburgh (St. Mary's Ryken), Michael Doetsch (Severn), and Adam Whitesell (Good Counsel).