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Depth beats out aces at Cheesehead Invitational The much anticipated collision between defending national champion Apple Valley, Minnesota (currently ranked first nationally) and perennial national champion Blair Academy, New Jersey (ranked third nationally) happened on the last two days of 2010. Even with five champions, including the season debut of Evan Silver (ranked No. 1 in the preseason at 119 pounds) down at 112 pounds, Blair Academy was not able to overcome the surreal depth of Apple Valley. Champions for Blair included No. 6 Joey McKenna (103), Silver at 112, No. 3 Mark Grey (125), No. 2 Austin Ormsbee (135), and No. 5 Brooks Black (285). The Buccaneers also had a runner-up finish from No. 9 Todd Preston at 130 pounds, and five other wrestlers place inside the top nine (third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and ninth) in totaling 652 points. However, the entry match, pool, and then bracket format emphasizes the overall depth that a team possesses. In a field with 29 nationally-ranked wrestlers and eight teams ranked inside the top 25, to have 13 wrestlers finish in the top six of their weight class (and all in the top nine) would be beyond impressive and almost surreal. None the less, that is what Apple Valley did to close out 2010. Even though No. 1 Destin McCauley (152) was the only champion for the Eagles, eight other wrestlers finished as runners-up: No. 13 Dakota Trom (125), No. 12 Mark Hall (130), No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (140), Daniel Woiwor (145), No. 4 Steven Keogh (160), No. 6 Jake Waste (171), and Matt Hechsel (189). Other place finishes for Apple Valley were a pair in fifth, a pair in sixth, and one in ninth -- as the squad totaled 734-1/2 points. Finishing third in the team standings was No. 8 Simley, Minesota with 559-1/2 points anchored by their lone champion Micah Barnes, who knocked off No. 4 Keogh 2-1 in the final at 160 pounds. Nine other wrestlers finished inside the top eight, including a trio each in third and fourth place -- among those were No. 16 Kyle Gliva (103) finishing third and No. 6 Jake Short (140) taking fourth. A relatively close fourth place with 526-1/2 points was No. 14 Clovis, California anchored by their pair of finalists in Zach (171) and Nick (285) Nevills. Zach, a junior ranked 12th nationally, upended No. 6 Waste 3-2 in the tiebreaker; while Nick, a freshman, lost to No. 5 Black 2-1 (this was the second one-point win for Black over Nick Nevills in the tournament). Eight other wrestlers also finished inside the top nine (third, fourth, two fifth, two sixth, seventh, and ninth). There was a rather close battle for places five through seven in the standings between No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, No. 5 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania, and No. 12 Marmion Academy, Illinois. Finishing fifth was Wisconsin Rapids with 491-1/2 points anchored by tournament champion No. 4 Devin Peterson (189); eight other wrestlers finished in the top nine (two third, fourth, fifth, sixth, two seventh, and ninth). Sixth place went to Wyoming Seminary with 477 points, anchored by champion No. 8 Dominick Malone (119) along with runner-up finishes from No. 19 Eric Morris (152) and AJ Vizcarrando (215). Seven other Blue Knights finished in the top nine (two third, fifth, seventh, and three ninth). Despite having the third most finalists in the tournament, it was not enough for Marmion Academy to finish above seventh place. The Cadets were led by champion No. 3 Ben Whitford (130); while No. 17 Johnny Jimenez (103), No. 6 Jered Cortez (112), and George Fisher (119) earned runner-up finishes. Only five other Marmion wrestlers had a top eight finish (fourth, two seventh, and two eighth). Rounding out the tournament champions were a trio of Badger State natives -- No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (140) of Arrowhead, No. 1 Alex Dieringer (145) of Port Washington, and Jordan Gruettner (215) of Muskego. Also of note was that No. 25 Montini Catholic, Illinois finished ninth with 300-1/2 points; the Broncos are still without state champion Kevon Powell (119) and a couple of other starters. Full Results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=1233009 Unkind hosts at the POWERade The convergence of seven nationally-ranked teams and 22 ranked teams upon Canon-McMillan High School just outside of Pittsburgh did its part to answer questions about where teams and individuals stood after the first part of the scholastic season. However, in attempting to answer questions, the 44th annual POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament seemed to create more chaos. Twelve days after finishing second at North Canton to No. 41 Wadsworth in a weaker tournament, the hosts Canon-McMillan (ranked 42nd nationally) asserted its strength to distance themselves from one of the strongest tournament fields that will be seen all year long. The Big Macs used six placers, including five inside the top three, to assert their dominance with 194-1/2 points. Champions were Colt Shorts (103), No. 3 Conner Schram (112), and Cody Klempay (285); No. 20 Solomon Chisko (130) finished second; while No. 17 Nick Catalano (145) took home third place. The next two teams in the standings tied for a tournament high seven placers. No. 16 Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania had won this event the three prior years. However, with only three of those finishing in the top three, the Rams fell slightly short of the title finishing second with a total of 182 points. No. 5 Kenny Courts (189) was their lone champion, and was truly dominant with three technical falls and a pin among the five victories. Even without a champion, No. 28 Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania used an impressive showing by their middle-weights and upper-weights to finish third with 161-1/2 points. From 140 pounds on back, the Vikings had placers at every weight except 171 pounds led by runner-up finishes from Eric Nutter (145) and Lorenzo Thomas (152). No. 2 Jason Luster (160) and Perry Hills (189) finished third, a pair of wrestlers took fifth, while another took seventh. A pair of unranked teams with four placers each finished in fourth and sixth place. Walsh Jesuit, Ohio took fourth led by championships from No. 5 Johnni DiJulius (130) and No. 3 Nate Skonieczny (135). Solanco, Pennsylvania had four place-winners in the top five, including Super32 Challenge runner-up Dan Neff (140) taking second and Thomas Haines (215) -- ranked 16th among Class of 2014 wrestlers -- earning a fifth place finish. Three nationally-ranked teams each had five medalists to finish fifth, seventh, and eight respectively. No. 35 Burrell, Pennsylvania -- led by No. 12 Travis McKillop, champion of the 160 pound weight class -- took fifth with 141-1/2 points. They also had another champion in Brian Beattie (215), while Dakota DesLauriers (171) earned a runner-up finish. McKillop had one of the more impressive tournanment runs with two pins, an 8-1 victory over state runner-up Aaron McKinney (West Allegheny, Pennsylvania), a 7-4 victory over No. 2 Luster, and then a 4-3 victory over No. 3 Cody Wiercioch (Charleroi, Pennsylvania). Defending tournament champion Wiercioch had not given up a point in the tournament prior to the final. No. 30 Christiansburg, Virginia was led by a pair of runners-up in finishing seventh with 132-1/2 points. No. 9 JR Wert (112) lost a razor thin 1-0 decision to No. 3 Schram; while No. 7 Joey Dance (119) lost another ultimate tiebreaker match to No. 1 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, Pennsylvania), this time the score was 2-1. Finishing in eighth place was No. 21 Collins Hill, Georgia with 123 points; the Eagles had medalists finishing in third, fourth, and a trio taking sixth place. Rounding out the nationally-ranked teams in the standings was No. 32 LaSalle, Pennsylvania with 114-1/2 points anchored by tournament champion No. 18 Matt Cimato (140), whose tournament was sparked by a 6-4 semifinal victory over No. 3 Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania). Other weight class champions included No. 1 Gulibon (119); No. 1 Nico Megaludis (125) of Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania; No. 7 Pete Baldwin (145) of Osceola, Florida; No. 10 Chance Marsteller (152) of Kennard Dale, Pennsylvania; and Nick Bonnacorsi (171) of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. With his fourth POWERade championship -- this one coming on the strength of three technical falls, a 16-3 major decision, and an 8-1 victory over No. 9 Geoff Alexander (Shady Side Academy, Pennsylvania) in the final -- Megaludis joined an elite club of two others and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler. Full Results: http://poweradewrestling.com/2010/Brackets.pdf Upsets mark Granite City Holiday Tournament No. 47 Neosho, Missouri out-pointed No. 44 Minooka, Illinois to win the Granite City Holiday Tournament. Without three starters, including No. 9 Terrell Wilbourn (140), No. 39 Francis Howell Central, Missouri struggled to an eleventh place finish with 303-1/2 points. Led by three champions -- Nate Rodriguez (119), Blake Stauffer (171), and Dallas Smith (189) -- Neosho scored 616 points to win the tournament. They also had eight other wrestlers finished in the top seven; Riley Plew (285) took second, one took third, one in fourth, three in fifth, and two in seventh. Minooka had one champion in upset specialist Kalvin Hill (160), who defeated No. 17 Dylan Reel (Washington, Illinois) 8-5 in the semifinals. Corbet Oughton (112) and Jake Residori (152) finished as runners-up, while eight others finished in the top nine of this pool-to-bracket event. The featured finals match of the tournament saw No. 8 Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois) defeat No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oak Park, Missouri) 9-3 at 130 pounds in a battle of wrestlers with very strong Fargo resumes. The Northmen from Oak Park had three other wrestlers in the finals at this tournament, after having five champions in their last major event at the Kansas City Wrestling Classic; Noah Teaney (103) and Hashem Omari (215) won titles, while Cain Salas (135) earned a runner-up finish. The other team with multiple champions was West Aurora, Illinois, who had Nicholas Drendel (125) and Greg Jacquez (140) earn top of the podium finishes. Rounding out the tournament champions were James Krischke (112) of Fort Zumwalt West, Missouri; Jacob Gregerson (135) of the host school, Granite City, Illinois; Devonte Mahomes (145) of Oak Park River Forest, Illinois; Mike Kissell (152) of Whitfield, Missouri; and Nick Tufts (285) of Northwest, Missouri. Full Results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=1315009 Red Wings rule roost at Goordich TOC No. 14 St. John’s, Michigan asserted their dominance in what is arguably Michigan’s best in-season tournament. The Red Wings were led by six champions in scoring 224 points: No. 12 Zac Hall (103), No. 8 Jacob Schmitt (112), Josh Pennell (125), Travis Curley (145), Jordan Wohlfert (152), and No. 1 Taylor Massa (160). Finishing second were No. 38 Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan with 201 points on the strength of five finalists and four third place finishes. Champions for the Shamrocks were TJ Fagan (119) and Alec Mooradian (135). Dundee, Michigan finished in a relatively close third place with 186-1/2 points on the strength of five finalists, including three champions -- No. 17 Joe Rendina (130), Chris Rau (140), and No. 15 Justin Heiserman (189). Other tournament champions were No. 7 Jordan Thomas (171) and Justin Zimmer (285) from Greenville, and Chris Nash (215) from Roseville. Outstanding Wrestler for the lower-weights went to Rendina, as he became a four-time tournament champion; while Massa was OW for the upper-weights, as he won for the third time in as many years. Full Results: http://michigangrappler.com/files/High_School/HS1011/results/Dec29/2010GOODRICHTOC.pdf More upsets in the Land of Lincoln While the absolute dominance of No. 33 Crystal Lake Central, Illinois at the Lincoln Holiday Tournament last week came as no surprise, the championship finals matchup of state champions at 152 pounds did provide a somewhat major one. It was a collision between two-time state champion No. 7 Joey Kielbasa (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois) and two-time state finalist No. 4 Max Schneider (Chicago Lane Tech, Illinois), who had not lost since the state final his freshman year in 2009. Both wrestlers came into the finals with falls in their three prior matches. After a scoreless first period, Schneider chose the down position; after securing near fall points earlier in the second period, Kielbasa would score the fall right at the midpoint of the second period. With that result, Kielbasa earned Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament, as well as most falls in the least time with four in 6:25. Full Results: http://www.illinoismatmen.com/2010-11/tournaments/lincoln/lincoln.pdf In dual meet action, Carl Sandburg, Illinois traveled to No. 26 Glenbard North, Illinois this past Wednesday and left with a 30-22 upset victory. The Eagles came home with victories in eight of the fourteen matches, including a 3-1 record in one-point matches. Carl Sandburg was runner-up last year in the state dual meet tournament, while Glenbard North has finished third in the last two years. It is likely that these two teams will be in the same half bracket at dual meet state Full Recap: http://www.illinoismatmen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34258 Tone set for Buckeye State wrestling during the holidays Both of the major holiday wrestling tournaments in Ohio served as strong statements for the teams that emerged as champions. At the Medina Invitational, No. 6 St. Edward used a 13-3 record in championship semifinal and finals matches to create 80 points of separation from No. 15 Massillon Perry in the team standings (288 to 208). The Panthers were 1-7 in the semifinal round, including a 0-5 mark against St. Edward; their lone championship came from Zach Dailey at 140 pounds. The six St. Edward champions were Edgar Bright (112), No. 19 Dean Heil (119), Matt Van Curen (145), Domenic Abounader (152), Ty Walz (215), and No. 11 Greg Kuhar (285). Heil came up with a key 5-4 victory over No. 18 Mitch Newhouse of Massillon Perry in the semifinal round on a late reversal. Outstanding wrestler honors went to No. 2 Ian Miller (152) of Oak Harbor and No. 8 Alex Utley (189) of CVCA. Other weight class titles went to No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (103) of CVCA, Dillon Campbell (125) of Harrison, Josh D’Urso (130) of Springboro, Dan Mirman (135) of Medina Highland, and Jake Cramer (171) of Oak Harbor. At the Brecksville Holiday, team championship honors went to St. Peter Chanel, Ohio -- which was able to upend two-time defending tournament champions Wadsworth, Ohio by a 191-167 team point score. Finishing second or third at the state tournament seven times in the last ten years, the Firebirds are looking for their first state title since 1988; while No. 41 Wadsworth won the big-school state title last season, ending the 13 year grip that St. Edward had on the title. Key to the tournament title for Chanel was a 7-2 record in championship semifinal and final matches, along with having six of their seven medalists finishing inside the top three. Champions for Chanel were Aaron Assad (103), Danny Orrill (145), and Cody Walters (160); Joey Keifer (152) finished second; while Jon Schafer (189) and Kennedy Smith (215) finished third. Wadsworth had a pair of champions in No. 8 Kagan Squire (125) and No. 6 Nick Tavanello (215). Tavanello won the premier match of the finals 3-1 on a late takedown against No. 9 Logan Erb of Wapakoneta, Ohio, in a battle of defending state champions. While Wadsworth had seven placers, like Chanel; their other five place-winners finished fourth or below. The terrific trio for Monroeville all dominated the competition at their weight classes on the way to championships. No. 1 Hunter Stieber (135) had three pins, a technical fall, and a 10-0 major decision; No. 3 Chris Phillips (171) was held to decisions in his last three matches, but still did not give up an offensive score; while No. 2 Cam Tessari (140) scored pins in his last four matches after a 16-0 technical fall in the opening match to become only the third four-time champion in tournament history. Tessari also left with two other big pieces of hardware, most falls in the least time (4 in 6:46) and Outstanding Wrestler honors. Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 4 George DiCamillo (112) of St. Ignatius, Vinny Pizzuto (119) of Jackson-Milton, No. 18 Brent Fickel (130) of Padua, Jimmy King (152) of Lake Catholic, No. 13 Ian Korb (189) of Cincinnati Elder, and Garrett Gray (285) of Oregon Clay. Korb earned a 3-1 victory in overtime against No. 18 Chaz Gresham of Goshen in the championship final. Medina Results: http://www.baumspage.com/medina/res10.htm Brecksville Results: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B17ZUASlYiliODk3YWEyM2ItODE5MC00M2Y0LWE0OGItNDVjYjhmMWExMDZi&hl=en Lehigh Valley rivals dominate pair of holiday tournaments Perennial favorites in Pennsylvania’s District XI, No. 17 Easton and Nazareth dominated their respective holiday tournaments, each taking home four championships on the way to tournament titles. Easton made their 27th trip to the Manheim Lions Holiday Wrestling Tournament, and came home with their 17th title -- including 11 in the last 12 years. Winning weight classes for the Red Rovers were Kyle Baker (103), Joey Rizzolino (140), No. 13 Mitch Minotti (145), and Jalal Paige (285); while Peter Stanley (112), Ricky RIzzolino (125), and Anthony Minotti (152) finished as runners-up. It was a close battle for second place between Robinson, Virginia and Reynolds, Pennsylvania as each had four finalists. Robinson earned that position with 157 points on the strength of weight class titles from Dallas (112) and Jake (119) Smith as well as Wes Jones (160); Santiago Valdez (130) finished in second place. Reynolds was third place with 151 points anchored by championships from No. 2 Mason Beckman (125) and Dylan Durso (130), while Adam Matthews (135) and Justin Rhodes (145) finished in second place. With four wins by technical fall, Beckman was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the second straight year. Rounding out champions at Manheim were Michael DePalma (135) of Jeanette, Tyle Parsons (152) of Erie Cathedral Prep, Jake Taylor (171) of Bald Eagle Area, Matt McCutcheon (189) of Kiski Area, and Brandon Bradney (215) of Fort LeBeouf. Using the return of two of their star wrestlers, Nazareth traveled to the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Tournament and dominated the field with four champions and seven other place-winners in totaling 220 points. Champions for the Blue Eagles were No. 2 Zach Horan (130) and Aaron Bradley (285), along with Franco Ferraina (125) and Ryan Krecker (160) who was each making their season debuts. There was a close three team battle for second place between Northampton, Pennsylvania; St. Mark’s, Delaware; and Council Rock South, Pennsylvania. Despite just a single finalist in champion John Lambert (152), and only seven other placers, the Konkrete Kids were able to muster 177-1/2 points to finish in second place. With nine total placers, and three finalists, St. Mark’s finished in third place with 168 points. Josh Snook (171) was the sole champion for the Sparants, while Tyler Pendergast (130) and Patrick Cassidy (285) each were runners-up. Fourth place in the standings, despite ten total medalists, went to Council Rock South with 166 points. Matt Martoccio (145) was their sole champion, while Connor Moore (140) finished as runner-up. Other weight class champions included Brett Martino (103) and Anthony Cabrera (112) of Bethlehem Liberty; Chad Walsh (119) and TJ Miller (140) of Camden Catholic, New Jersey; No. 6 Steve Spearman (135) of Erie McDowell; Tyler Mauger (189) of Boyertown; and No. 2 (at 189) Andrew Campolattano of Bound Brook, New Jersey. Manheim Brackets: http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/sports_impact/other/mFinal%20Brackets.pdf Bethlehem Holiday Classic Brackets: https://sites.google.com/site/hurricaneholidayclassic/brackets Oviedo outlasts field to win home tournament No. 49 Oviedo, Florida was able to outlast 25 other teams, including eight that finished inside the top ten at their state tournaments last year, in winning the 9th annual Zac Jarzynka Memorial Ironman in front of its home crowd. Four Lions wrestlers -- No. 15 Geordan Speiller (160), Lee Wildes (171), Carlos Martinez (215), and No. 9 Doug Vollaro (285) -- earned weight class titles among their group of ten medalists as Oviedo scored a total of 260-1/2 points. Despite six finalists, No. 27 Springstead, Florida was only able to earn a second place finish in the tournament with 245-1/2 points. This was due to two reasons -- the Eagles only had nine total placers, and they were only able to earn a split from their championship matches. Winning weight class titles were Virgil Toms (130), Nick Soto (135), and Shawn Landgraff (152); while No. 3 Richie Bliss (103), Cody Ross (140), and John Dreggors (285) finished as runners-up. In fact, the three second place finishers lost to wrestlers that were selected as Outstanding Wrestlers for the tournament. Dylan Lucas, an eighth-grader for Tampa Bay Christian, earned a fall over Bliss in the final, and was named Outstanding Wrestler among lower-weights; Austin Trott of Camden County, Georgia scored a 4-3 decision over Ross, and was named OW for middle-weights; while Vollaro defeated Dreggors 3-2 in overtime, and was named OW for upper-weights. Gray Jones (189) joined Trott as a weight class champion for the Camden County, Georgia -- which finished in third place as a team with 242-1/2 points. They also had runner-up finishes from Nigel Hamilton (119) and Tim Gilbert (160) among their ten total placers. Rounding out the weight class champions were Lucas at 103; Zach Whitmire (112) of Dr. Phillips, Florida; Mark Gulesian (119) of Christopher Columbus, Florida; Taz Torbit (125) of Parkview, Georgia; and Ramiro Rojas (145) of Braddock, Florida. Full Results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=1263009 High Point dominates weather-delayed Mustang Classic The best individual bracket event during the regular season in New Jersey was delayed almost one full week due to extreme winter weather conditions. However, this did not change the fact that No. 20 High Point is clearly the state’s best team (excluding No. 3 Blair Academy, which competes among National Prep teams). The Wildcats were dominant at the Mustang Classic hosted by Brick Memorial with six finalists, five of whom emerged as champions. And that came with No. 14 John Guzzo (160) not wrestling, and with No. 14 Nick Francavilla (125) leaving the tournament with an injury default in the quarterfinal round. Standing atop the podium for High Point were Justin Bellis (112), Bill Hagany (119), Joe Gaccione (145), No. 19 Ethan Orr (171), and No. 17 William Smith (285), while Drew Wagnehoffer (140) earned a runner-up finish. On the other hand, it was a disappointing tournament for No. 48 Timber Creek, New Jersey, which was only able to muster three wrestlers in the top four -- Nick Virgilio (125) and Brandon Keller (125) finishing third, and Kevin Birmingham (135) taking home fourth place. Rounding out the weight class champions were Michael Bohling (103) of Sayreville; Kyle Casaletto (125) of Southern Regional, who was named Outstanding Wrestler; Anthoy Perrotti (130) and Frank Marotti (152) of West Essex; No. 5 Jeff Canfora (135) and No. 11 Devon Gobbo (140) of Delbarton; Anthony Dawson (160) of Paulsboro; No. 10 James Fox (189) of St. Peter’s Prep; and Adrew Marr (215) of Wall.
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EDINBORO, Pa. -- Edinboro’s Chris Honeycutt (North Ridgeville, OH/St. Edward) has been named the Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Week following his outstanding performance at the Southern Scuffle. Honeycutt repeated as the 184 lb. champion, winning all six of his matches, with two coming against ranked opponents. The junior entered the tournament ranked second by both InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News and boosted his record to 11-0. Honeycutt missed the first month of the season while rehabbing following offseason shoulder surgery. A year ago Honeycutt competed unattached while redshirting. He won the 184 lbs. title with an upset of top-seeded Dustin Kilgore of Kent State. This time around he had to defeat third-ranked Steve Bosak of Cornell in the finals. He handed Bosak (18-1) his first loss of the season with a 7-2 decision. Following a scoreless first period Honeycutt started the second period in the down position. He would take a 2-0 lead with a reversal, with Bosak escaping with just over a minute remaining. Honeycutt added a takedown with thirty seconds remaining and ended the second period with a 4-1 lead. Bosak cut the lead to 4-2 with an escape with a minute left, but Honeycutt registered his second takedown off a Bosak shot with approximately 20 seconds to go to clinch the win. With a point for riding time Honeycutt prevailed 7-2. Honeycutt opened the Southern Scuffle with a 7-5 decision over Antonio Giogio of North Carolina. In the second round he pinned Campbell’s John Merickel at 2:02. That was followed by a 13-2 major decision over John Dickson of Virginia Tech. In the quarterfinals he bested Keith Witt of Kent State 6-0, and a 6-4 decision over 15th-ranked Luke Rebertus of Navy set up the finals bout with Bosak. Edinboro is back in action on Friday, January 7 and Saturday, January 8, competing in the Virginia Duals.
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Mark Hall turns 14 years old in January, but you would never know it from talking to him or watching him wrestle. He's mature beyond his years both on and off the wrestling mat. Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Hall grew up Michigan, spent part of last year in Kentucky, and moved with his father to Minnesota this past November. He is a seventh-grader at Falcon Ridge Middle School, but wrestles varsity at 130 pounds for the nation's No. 1 high school wrestling program, Apple Valley. Minnesota got its first look at the seventh grade phenom at this year's annual Minnesota Christmas Tournament, which took place Dec. 17-18 at the UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester. Hall, who is ranked as the No. 1 junior high school wrestler in the country by InterMat, stole the show at an event filled with Division I prospects, state champions, and state placewinners. Hall dominated the competition en route to winning the title at 130 pounds. His most notable victory, the one that that had state and national wrestling forums buzzing, came in the semifinals when he crushed Forest Lake junior Ben Morgan, a state champion, Junior National freestyle All-American, and nationally-ranked wrestler. After a scoreless first period, Hall put Morgan on his back early in the second period to go up 5-0 before cruising to a 10-0 shutout victory. Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"When I say this I mean no disrespect to Ben Morgan because he's a cool kid," prefaced Hall. "But when I put Ben on his back, the whole crowd went silent. When it went silent, I knew that I had him beat because he's not used to being down 5-0 and eventually 8-0 going into the third period. After winning, I was like, yeah, I won, but I'm going to have to keep working hard because I know he's going to be working hard to beat me." Apple Valley coach Jim Jackson believes that it's an intangible quality that has allowed Hall to be so successful at the high school level at such a young age. "I think his demeanor has really helped him," said Jackson. "It's a calm confidence. Nothing rattles him. His demeanor blows me away." Growing up in Michigan Mark Hall grew up in Davison, Michigan, a suburb of Flint and located 50 miles north of Detroit. Davison High School became a wrestling powerhouse in Michigan under the direction of head coach Roy Hall (no relation to Mark Hall), a Davison alum and former Michigan State wrestler who took over the program in 1997. The Davison wrestling program has produced NCAA Division I champions and All-Americans, including Brent Metcalf (Iowa), Paul Donahoe (Nebraska/Edinboro), and Jon Reader (Iowa State). "Roy (Hall) is a great coach," said Mark Hall's father, who is also named Mark. "You don't produce the people that he has without being a great coach and a great person. He'll do anything for you." Mark Hall's love for wrestling was fostered at a young age by one of his first coaches in the Davison youth program, Chase Metcalf, older brother of two-time NCAA champion and U.S. World Team member Brent Metcalf. Mark Hall with Chase Metcalf and Brent MetcalfChase was a two-time state champion, NHSCA Nationals champion, and Junior Nationals champion. Many believe Chase was a more talented wrestler than Brent, but didn't have the drive of his younger brother at the college level. After spending two years at the University of Michigan where he wrestled for the Wolverines, Chase Metcalf returned home and began coaching wrestling in Davison. Chase Metcalf became much more than a youth wrestling coach to Mark Hall. "We had practice at my house and then afterwards we would just hang out and play Xbox," said Hall. "He always took me out to eat with his family. Chase was a brother to me, or even like a second father to me. I was always hanging around him. I just loved him." On Sept. 8, 2005, Mark Hall's world was shaken when Chase Metcalf, who had just turned 21 years old, died in an automobile accident. Some of Chase's wrestling belongings were passed onto Hall, including his Fargo (Junior Nationals) stop sign, and wrestling bag, which Hall uses to this day. Hall, who was 8 years old at the time, took a month and a half off from wrestling. According to his father, "That was a hard time for Mark. He just couldn't get over it for a little bit." Mark HallWhen Hall did return to the mat, his attitude toward training had changed. "Chase pushed me one hundred and ten percent every single practice," said Hall. "Once he died, I started pushing myself even harder every single practice. It hurt to know that he wasn't there to push me anymore, so I had to it myself. It was sort of like a maturity thing. I can't have people watching out for me. I have to do things myself sometimes." Hall continued to progress as a wrestler in Michigan. His father took him to wrestling events and wrestling camps all over the country. He was getting 250-plus matches a year. Often times he would compete in older age groups, in addition to his own age group, just for more competition. He won virtually everything there was to win as a youth wrestler, including Tulsa Nationals, Tulsa Kickoff Classic, Reno Worlds, Liberty Nationals, Border War Nationals, and Ohio Tournament of Champions. "We always tried to get him the toughest kids to wrestle," said his father. "It doesn't matter if you win or lose. If you lose, that's a good learning tool. It makes you work harder because it shows that you're not the best out there." Moving to Kentucky and wrestling varsity Last year, Hall began his seventh-grade year at Davison Middle School, where he played football. In the winter, Hall moved to Union, Kentucky, located near Cincinnati, to wrestle for Ryle High School. The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) prohibits seventh and eighth-graders from competing at the high school varsity level, but the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) allows it. "Going to junior high tournaments wouldn't have benefited him," said Hall's father. The Halls chose Ryle not only for the opportunity to compete at the high school varsity level, but also because of the workout partners and wrestling schedule. Mark Hall wrestling Myron Bradbury"He had great workout partners there at the time, plus eighty percent of Ryle's matches were in Ohio," said Mark's father. "They went to tough tournaments. They went to two tournaments that had 48 teams and saw teams like Graham." Hall finished last season with a 42-3 varsity record at Ryle. He was a Kentucky state runner-up at 119 pounds, losing in the state finals to Myron Bradbury, a senior. Hall had split matches with Bradbury, an NHSCA Nationals runner-up, during the regular season, but lost the final meeting. The Halls returned to Michigan after the wrestling season. Last spring and summer, Hall continued to raise eyebrows with his performances. He defeated two-time California state champion and nationally-ranked Alex Cisneros at America's Cup last June. Moving to Minnesota and wrestling for Apple Valley In November, the Halls made another move, this time from Michigan to Minnesota to allow Mark Hall the opportunity to wrestle for the nation's No. 1 high school wrestling program, Apple Valley. Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The primary reason for coming to Apple Valley, according to Mark Hall's father, was the workout partners. Apple Valley has several nationally-ranked wrestlers who are close to Hall in weight. "After I got a job in Minnesota and we decided to come to Apple Valley, we didn't even know if he would be in the lineup," said Hall's father, a former wrestler himself who finished as a state runner-up in Michigan. "But we knew that he would have all these great workout partners to practice with all year. If he didn't ever step on the mat as a varsity wrestler, he would still be so much better." Hall's first live-go when he arrived at Apple Valley was with Destin McCauley, the nation's No. 1 recruit by InterMat. "That was a real eye-opener for me," Hall said of wrestling McCauley. "It showed me that I have a lot of things that I need to work on." Hall admits that he took some poundings in the Apple Valley wrestling room when he first arrived, battling nationally-ranked wrestlers like McCauley, Dakota Trom, Matt Kelliher, and Brandon Kingsley. But he knew immediately that Apple Valley is where he needs to be to accomplish his wrestling goals. "I knew right from the get-go that as soon as I stepped on the mat with all these ranked wrestlers that I had to be here to get to where I want to be," said Hall. Initially, the plan was for Hall to wrestle at Davison High School in Michigan when he reached ninth grade. But that plan, at least for now, has changed. "I'm almost one hundred percent sure that we're going to stay here at Apple Valley," said his father. "You can't get better competition. You can't get better workout partners. There are so many great coaches on staff working with the kids. Plus, all the Apple Valley wrestlers and coaches are great people." Jackson has noticed improvements in Hall even in the short time he has been at Apple Valley. Jim Jackson talks to Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)"I really believe he has already improved," said Jackson. "I don't know how to say that because people think that I'm trying to take credit. I'm not trying to take any credit. It's his workout partners. That makes a huge difference. You're only as good as the people around you." If there is one thing that people need to know about Mark Hall's father, it's that he will do whatever he feels is best for his children, regardless of what other people think. He has moved his son all over the country to give him the best opportunities to succeed. He also held his son back in school to help ensure that he's ready for college when the time comes. "I did that because I don't want my son going to college at 17 years old," said his father. "I even held my daughter back. I don't want my son 600 miles away, being 17 years old, doing stupid stuff, or being led around by older kids. I want him to be mature enough to handle it." With success comes scrutiny. There are those who question Hall's father's motives for moving his son all over the country to wrestle or holding him back in school. These things happen everywhere. But Mark Hall's situation is magnified even more because it's happening at Apple Valley, a highly-successful program that has benefited from transfers over the years. Jackson understands the animosity toward the Apple Valley program, but it's the animosity toward individuals, like Mark Hall and his father, that really bothers him. "People are going to do what they think is best for their son or daughter," said Jackson. "To me, there's absolutely no one in a position to judge anybody at all. It's not their right to do that. You don't have to agree with it. And you have a right to your opinion. But to pass judgment on a family is not right. That's one thing that will bother me all the time." Mark Hall (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)The truth is ... those who choose to focus on whether Mark Hall should be in seventh grade or eighth grade, or on something negative, are missing a great story about a great kid. "He's very humble," said Jackson. "Very hard working. Very respectful. The teachers love him. He's just a great kid." As for his talents on the wrestling mat, they're freakish. "At the Christmas Tournament he really opened people's eyes," said Jackson. "People were like, 'Holy cow. Now what?'" Mark Hall's story is just getting started. Jackson believes the sky is the limit for what he can accomplish in the sport. The soon-to-be 14-year-old has high goals in the sport. "I want to be a six-time state champion," said Hall. "I want to win Fargo six or eight times, however many times I can win it. I want to be the next four-time NCAA champion. I want to wrestle in the Olympics too." This story also appears in the Dec. 31 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering amateur wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote amateur wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. Subscribe to The Guillotine.
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TEMPE, Ariz. -- Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith became the first coach in OSU’s storied history to hit the 300-win mark for his career after leading the Cowboys to a 40-4 win over No. 24 Arizona State at Wells Fargo Arena Sunday. The win improved Smith’s career record to 300-44-5 in his 20 years at the helm of his alma mater. With the win, OSU improved to 4-0 on the year. Arizona State dipped to 3-2 on the season. Sunday’s win improved the Cowboys to 3-0 against opponents ranked in the top 25 this year. The Sun Devils never had a chance in the dual, as they forfeited the 149 and 157-pound weight classes, resulting in a 12-0 Cowboy lead before the dual even started. Including the two wins by forfeit, the Cowboys won nine of the 10 bouts and bagged 22 takedowns in the dual to Arizona State’s three. Returning Oklahoma State All-Americans Clayton Foster (16-3 major decision over Luke Macciaroli) and Jordan Oliver (4:39 pin over David Prado) were both bonus-point winners, as was Luke Silver, who dominated Kalin Goodsite before finishing a 3:11 pin. In addition to the bonus-point wins, other highlights were provided by freshman heavyweight Blake Rosholt, who toppled Levi Cooper by a 4-3 score; freshman 165-pounder Dallas Bailey, who won a wild 6-5 decision over Te Edwards and junior 174-pounder Mike Benefiel, who was a 6-3 winner over Eric Starks. “Another good win at heavyweight for Blake Rosholt, but I do think he shut it down a little bit when he had the lead,” Smith said. “I loved Dallas Bailey’s match,” Smith said. “He, Mike Benefiel and Jordan Oliver all wrestled from start to finish. I really liked those three matches. Jordan put on a clinic by pushing hard with takedowns and I liked that Dallas Bailey and Mike Benefiel took the action to and scored the key points against pretty good wrestlers.” The Cowboys return to action when they compete at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 8-9. Oklahoma State will not know who it will face until seedings for the event are released later this week. Results: 184: No. 11 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Jake Meredith (ASU); 5-4 197: No. 4 Clayton Foster (OSU) MD Luke Macciaroli (ASU); 16-3 285: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Levi Cooper; 4-3 125: No. 3 Anthony Robles (ASU) MD No. 6 Jon Morrison (OSU); 11-0 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall David Prado (ASU); 4:39 141: No. 19 Luke Silver (OSU) fall Kalin Goodsite (ASU); 3:11 149: No. 4 Jamal Parks (OSU) won by forfeit 157: Neil Erisman won by forfeit 165: No. 9 Dallas Bailey (OSU) dec. Te Edwards (ASU); 6-5 174: No. 9 Mike Benefiel (OSU) dec. Eric Starks (ASU); 6-3 Bout Play-by-Plays 184: No. 11 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. Jake Meredith (ASU); 5-4 With the dual starting at 184 pounds, Oklahoma State’s Chris Perry opened things with a 5-4 win over Jake Meredith. Perry opened the scoring with a takedown in the waning moments of the first period. The two had gone back and forth for the final minute of the first period before Perry was eventually credited with the takedown. Perry started the second period in the down position and worked to get a reversal to increase his lead to 4-0. He cut Meredith loose to bring the score to 4-1. Perry started the third position in the top position, but a Meredith reversal brought the score to 4-3. Meredith mounted up enough riding time to send the bout to overtime, but Perry worked his way free for an escape with 11 seconds remaining to open up a 5-3 advantage. Meredith’s 1:17 of riding time brought the final to 5-4. 197: No. 4 Clayton Foster (OSU) MD Luke Macciaroli (ASU); 16-3 It didn’t take fifth-ranked Clayton Foster long to impose his will on Arizona State freshman Luke Macciaroli during his 16-3 major decision victory, as Foster stormed in for a double-leg takedown in the early-going, then followed that up with a two-point nearfall to race out to a 4-0 lead in the first minute of the bout. He added another two-point nearfall just before the period ended to take a 6-0 advantage into the second period. Foster started the second period in the down position and escaped quickly, then bagged another takedown to go up, 9-0. Foster worked aggressively for the pin, but Macciaroli escaped late in the period to bring the score to 9-1. Macciaroli elected to start the third period in a neutral position, but Foster added two more takedowns and a two-point nearfall plus 3:41 of riding time to seal his 16-3 major decision win. 285: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Levi Cooper (ASU); 4-3 Surrendering approximately 45 pounds to his opponent, Cowboy freshman Blake Rosholt was a 4-3 upset winner over No. 20 Levi Cooper of Arizona State. Rosholt opened the scoring with a takedown on the edge of the mat in the first period, but was unable to mount any real riding time as Cooper powered his way up for an escape to bring the score to 2-1. With Rosholt in the top position to start the second period, Cooper connected on a Granby roll to score a reversal and take a 3-2 lead. Rosholt escaped to tie the score at 3-3. Rosholt was in the down position to start the third period and escaped to regain the lead at 4-3. Cooper threatened a single-leg takedown late in the third period, but Rosholt fought hard enough to prevent the scoring bid from Cooper and secure his second win over a ranked opponent in as many tries. 125: No. 3 Anthony Robles (ASU) MD No. 6 Jon Morrison (OSU); 11-0 Oklahoma State freshman Jon Morrison lost an 11-0 major decision to No. 3 Anthony Robles in the featured bout of the dual. One of the favorites to win the NCAA title this year, Robles showed why with an early takedown and an overwhelming rideout in the first period. Along the way, Morrison was slapped for stalling to bring the score to 3-0 in favor of Robles. Morrison chose a neutral start to the second period, but Robles just added to his lead with another takedown and rideout to take his advantage to 5-0. Morrison started the third period in the top position and was powerful in his ride of Robles, but let up for just a moment, and Robles turned back into him for a reversal, then added a three-point nearfall as the clock hit zeroes to extend his lead to 10-0. When Robles’s 2:17 of riding time was tacked on, the Sun Devil All-American was an 11-0 winner. 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall David Prado (ASU); 4:39 After watching his teammate get majored in the previous bout, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver responded by pinning David Prado in 4:39. Oliver was the man from the start, bagging a whopping five takedowns and a two-point nearfall in the first period alone to take a 12-4 lead after the first three minutes. Oliver added five more takedowns in the second period before locking Prado up in a cradle and scoring the fall at the 4:39 mark. Including his win over Prado on Sunday, Oliver now has 27 takedowns in his four dual bouts this season. 141: No. 19 Luke Silver (OSU) fall Kalin Goodsite (ASU); 3:11 In perhaps the most explosive showing of his career, Luke Silver scored two takedowns, a two-point nearfall and a three-point nearfall in the first period alone in his demolition of Kalin Goodsite. Silver started the second period in the down position and exploded through to get a reversal and turn it into a pin at the 3:11 mark. 149: No. 4 Jamal Parks (OSU) won by forfeit 157: Neil Erisman (OSU) won by forfeit 165: No. 9 Dallas Bailey (OSU) dec. Te Edwards (ASU); 6-5 Oklahoma State freshman Dallas Bailey continued his trend of wild matches with a 6-5 win over Te Edwards of Arizona State. After a wild scramble in the first period, Edwards scored a takedown, only to be reversed by Bailey. With Bailey in control, Edwards nearly scored a defensive fall, but Bailey fought it off before being reversed himself to fall behind, 4-2. Bailey started the second period in the down position and escaped to bring the score to 4-3. After another wild flurry, Bailey scored his first takedown of the bout to seize a 5-4 lead. The third period started with Bailey on top and the Cowboy freshman built his riding time advantage up to over 1:00 before Edwards got free for the escape to tie the score at 5-5. Bailey’s 1:27 of riding time made the Cowboy was a 6-5 winner. 174: No. 9 Mike Benefiel (OSU) dec. Eric Starks (ASU); 6-3 Oklahoma State’s Mike Benefiel put a cap on the dual with a 6-3 win over Eric Starks. Benefiel connected on a fireman’s carry to score a takedown early in the first period. Starks got free for an escape to bring the score to 2-1. With Benefiel in the down position to start the second period, he escaped, then scored another takedown to go up, 5-1. Starks escaped again to trim Benefiel’s advantage to 5-2. Starks escaped to start the third period, but Benefiel’s 2:05 riding time advantage sealed the Cowboy’s 6-3 win.
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Event: UFC 125: Resolution Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas) Date: January 1, 2011 Let's get this New Year off to a rockin' start with a plateful of winners as we try to find weaknesses in the Vegas betting line. It is the UFC Monster's mission to help readers make a profit from mixed martial arts wagering. Because of the narrow base of MMA bettors and the difficulty in oddsmakers staying ahead of the fans, investment opportunities often present themselves for the astute handicapper. So let's get to work and break down the Vegas line as it pertains to tonight's UFC 125 card. The UFC starts out this New Year with a very competitive fight card featuring the lightweight title match between two former collegiate wrestling standouts, champion Frankie Edgar (13-1) from Clarion and Gray "The Bully" Maynard (10-0) from Michigan State. Edgar's only loss was a non-title affair with Maynard two years ago. In that fight, the Bully earned his nickname as he used his size and power to dominate in a clear decision victory. That's why oddsmakers have made Maynard the favorite despite the fact that he's the challenger. Maynard's style isn't a good fit for Edgar, or so the bettors believe. But we know how hard a worker Edgar is, as he outscored the legendary B.J. Penn in two consecutive fights, and that may be the case here, as well. Of the combined 23 wins that these two fighters have, 16 have been by decision. Neither fighter is a finisher, and the UFC likes finishers. The value may actually lie with the champion here, but I see it being very difficult for Edgar to use his technical boxing skills for five rounds to avoid a collision course with Maynard. Maynard will eventually bring Edgar to the mat and that's when it gets ugly. A close decision goes the way of Maynard as he covers the –145 impost. Bet the prop bet that this fight goes the distance. Middleweight Chris "The Crippler" Leben (25-6 with the orange hair) is a crowd favorite. Winning three in a row, Leben has looked like a Zombie unable to be stopped by a human being. His hands of lead work well with his head of stone. Surprising, this banger is amazingly good on the ground and can lock a submission up in seconds. Brian "The All American" Stann (9-3) will have his hands full. The Iraq War veteran has shown a determination and striking ability that makes for an interesting fight. A tattooed punk against a clean-shaven, patriot ex-Marine. Hmmmmm. I like Leben here despite the –160 price, which I think is fair. Leben owns the Octagon experience, and his confidence has grown recently with his impressive wins. This exciting fight will end in the second round when Leben connects with a powerful left hook that ends it. Light heavyweight Brandon Vera (11-5) has lost five of his last eight fights, and most recently to Jon Jones and Randy Couture. He is fighting for his UFC life tonight, and his first class Muay Thai skills give him a chance. But Thiago Silva (14-2) will be more than happy to oblige a slugfest. Silva slits your throat with his powerful and sudden knockout abilities. And the Brazilian is also a black belt in jui-jitsu. His only losses have been to Lyota Machida and Rashad Evans. Nothing to be ashamed of. In what could be a very exciting and active fight, I think Thiago will have the inside edge to win this, if he can avoid the relentless leg kicks that Vera will administer. I'm looking for a third-round KO from Silva, but a judge's decision for Vera wouldn't surprise me. Thiago will have to fight a smart fight to win. Vera is a cagey veteran fighting for relevance in a deep weight class of fighters. Take Thiago Silva and lay the –135. Nate Diaz (13-5 with 9 submissions) is moving up in weight again to fight as a welterweight against undefeated Dong Hyun Kim (13-0-1), a dirty boxing striker, who effectively controls his opponent's body. But doing that with Diaz won't be easy. This is a classic striker against submission fight. But Diaz likes to paw as well. His awkward looking striking is getting better and his lanky frame and long reach create problems. The key here is for him to realize that his best shot is with a takedown to the mat and some of that Cesar Gracie jui-jitsu. Ego often gets in the way and makes good fighters forget their strengths as they try to stand and strike with a macho flair. I like Diaz here at +110 underdog odds. The weight won't matter as Diaz's game is all arms and legs. I hope to see a third round submission by triangle choke. Lightweight and former Pride champion Takanori Gomi (32-6) is coming off a stunning first-round KO over Tyson Griffin, the first man to put him out. Tonight, Gomi is matched up with the very popular crowd-pleasing Clay "The Carpenter" Guida (27-11), whose moppy hair and aggressive attacking make him a UFC icon. You get your money's worth when Guida fights, and this should be no exception. This should be everybody's favorite for "Fight of the Night." Make that prop bet if you can. I think Guida's 12 fights inside the Octagon (7-5) will be the difference here. Gomi is on foreign soil. Guida wins a decision. At –150 I think the price is reasonable. That finishes up the main card, now let's take an abbreviated look at the undercard. If you can figure out how to get ION TV, you can watch the next two fights for FREE. No lightweight hits harder than Jeremy Stephens (18-6). And his opponent Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" Davis (17-7) will stand and trade punches with him. Davis is a great boxer, but Stephens wrestling will be the difference here. Stephens by second round ground-and-pound TKO. Lay the –255 on Stephens. Former WEC fighter Josh Grispi (14-1) should show a stronger skill set in beating another WEC fighter Dustin Poirier (8-1). Grispi by second-round choke to cash at –260. Veteran Phil "The New York City Badass" (13-12) Baroni has lost his last five fights in the Octagon. He is lethal early with devastating punching power, but easily gases as the fights wear on. He has become gold for those who bet against him. Brad Tavares (6-0) is a green unkown, and hopefully good enough to get Baroni into the empty zone. Tavares at –210 by third-round TKO is the play here. Dan Roberts (11-1 with 8 submissions) will lock one up on Greg Soto as a slight –110 'dog. Roberts wins by rear-naked choke in the first round. Former WEC champion Mike Brown (24-6) was on quite a run, including beating Uriah Faber twice, before getting dethroned by the amazing Jose Aldo. Tonight's task isn't easy against 15-1 Diego Nunes, but I believe Brown has the wrestling savvy to control where this fight takes place. Brown –260 by decision. Chiropractor and former three-time AA from Minnesota Jacob Volkmann (11-2) should outwrestle 40-year old veteran Antonio McKee (25-3-2, with 18 decisions), who is making his UFC debut. Volkmann wins a decision as a generous +190 underdog. Now let's see what we can do with our "fictitious" $1000 bankroll. Let's lay $116 to win $80 on "The Bully" Gray Maynard. Let's lay $96 to win $60 on Chris "The Crippler" Leben. Let's lay $95 to win $70 on Thiago Silva. Let's lay $60 to win $66 on Nate Diaz, Nick's younger brother. Let's lay $90 to win $60 on Clay "The Carpenter" Guida. Let's lay $102 to win $40 on Jeremy Stephens. Let's lay $130 to win $50 on Josh Grispi. Let's lay $105 to win $50 on Brad Tavares to send the NY Badass packing. Let's lay $44 to win $40 on Dan Roberts. Let's lay $130 to win $50 on Mike Brown and wish we bet more! Let's lay $30 to win $57 on the Minnesota chiropractor, Jacob Volkmann. So, in all we are risking $998 to try and win $623. We will need some luck and we will need some fighters to simply fight to their form. I like our chances of showing a profit! Don't forget to share your profits with your local youth wrestling program, where tomorrow's champions are born. Enjoy the fights. I know I will.
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Wisconsin finishes runner-up at Midlands, Rutt wins title
InterMat Staff posted an article in Big 10
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Led by titles from redshirt sophomore Tyler Graff (133 lbs.) and junior Travis Rutt (184 lbs.) the No. 4 Wisconsin wrestling team placed second at the 48th annual Midlands Championships on Thursday. Also helping the Badgers’ to a second-place finish was redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt (149 lbs.) and junior Andrew Howe (165 lbs.), who each took second in their respective weight classes at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Wisconsin (95.5 points) was just eight points short of the first place title, obtained by Missouri with 103.5 points. The Cardinal and White’s second-place finish at this year’s Midlands Championships is tied for best finish at the event in school history. Wisconsin also placed second in 1987 with 70.50 points behind top finisher Sunkist Kids WC (105.75 points). Entering the championship round, the Badgers had four wrestles in the finals, the most of any team in the tournament. To kick off the day, No. 3 seed Graff advanced to the 133 lbs. championship after defeating Central Michigan’s No. 4 seed Scotti Sentes, 7-2. Graff captured his second-straight Midlands title at 133 lbs. after defeating Illinois' No. 2 seed BJ Futrell, 13-6, in the championship match. With the title, Graff is the only Badger on the 2010-11 roster to have won back-to-back Midlands titles. As the No. 3 seed, Rutt came out big in the semifinals when he defeated No. 2 seed Lehigh's Robert Hamlin, 6-4, at 184 lbs. In the championship match, Rutt captured the Midlands title for the first time in his career after defeating No. 4 seed Josh Ihnen (Nebraska), 4-3. With titles from Graff and Rutt, the Badgers have now garnered two top individual finishes at the last three Midlands Championships. At 165 lbs., No. 1 seed Howe cruised to a 12-3 major decision over Missouri’s No. 5 seed Zach Toal in the semifinal match. However, Howe competed in one of the most anticipated matches of the night against Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs (No. 2 seed), the defending 2009 NCAA Champion at 157 lbs. Heading into the match, Howe was riding a 51-0 winning-streak, but his impressive run came to an end when he fell to Burrough’s, 10-7. The last time Howe dropped a collegiate match was on March 21, 2009 when he came up short in a 3-2 decision against Edinboro’s Jarrod King to finish second at the 2009 NCAA Championships at 165 lbs. Wrapping up the Badgers in the championships was Schmitt at 149 lbs. In Thursday morning’s semifinals, No. 6 seed Schmitt upset Northwestern’s No. 2 seed Andrew Nadhir, 9-4 to earn him a trip to the title match for the first time in his career. In a hard-fought battle, Schmitt walked away with second place after dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 1 seed Kevin LeValley (Nebraska) in the final match of the day. The lone Badger still in the wrestlebacks on Thursday, No. 10 seed Ben Jordan's journey to third place came to an end after he fell to No. 6 seed Rutgers' Alex Caruso, 6-2 at 174 lbs. Jordan finishes the 2010 Midlands with a 3-2 record. Wisconsin hits the mat once again when the squad travels to the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa Jan. 8-9. -
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Cal Poly junior Boris Novachkov captured the 141-pound championship while his brother, senior Filip Novachkov, settled for fourth place at 133 pounds on the final day of competition in the 46-team Midlands Championships on Thursday night in Northwestern University's Welsh-Ryan Arena. Boris Novachkov won by medical forfeit in the championship final as his opponent, top-seeded Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois, was injured in his semifinal-round match and could not answer the bell. In the semifinals, second-seeded Boris Novachkov scored a reversal in overtime to beat Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh. After a scoreless first period, Novachkov earned 1 minute, 23 seconds of riding time before Nauman escaped in the second period. Novachkov escaped in the third period, but lost his riding time advantage, forcing overtime. The first period of overtime again was scoreless. Nauman escaped in the second period but Novachkov's reversal in the final period proved decisive. Novachkov is now 17-1 on the year. Filip Novachkov, trying to avenge two earlier losses this season to Central Michigan's Scott Sentes, instead dropped a 5-1 decision in the consolation finals. Earlier in the day, Filip Novachkov earned a trio of wins in the wrestlebacks. Seeded fifth at 133 pounds, Novachkov pinned No. 10 Nathan McCormick of Missouri in 3:30, decisioned Ridge Kiley of Nebraska 7-0 and earned a spot in the consolation final with a 10-7 win over third-seeded Tony Ramos of Iowa. Novachkov is now 6-4 for the season, with three of the losses to Sentes -- a 7-2 decision in the Las Vegas Invitational earlier this month, a fall in overtime (7:55) in Wednesday's quarterfinals and Thursday night's 5-1 setback. At 165 pounds, Mustang junior Ryan DesRoches lost his fifth-round wrestleback match against Aaron Janssen of Iowa, 13-8, and was eliminated Thursday afternoon. DesRoches is 24-4 on the year. Cal Poly finished 11th in the team standings with 56.5 points. Missouri claimed the team title with 103.5 points, followed by Wisconsin (95.5), Lehigh (93), Iowa (91) and Pittsburgh (82.5). Fifteen of the nation’s top 24 college wrestling teams (NWCA Coaches Poll) were entered in the two-day tournament, including No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 7 Iowa, No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Illinois. In addition to Cal Poly, the Pac-10 Conference was represented by No. 24 Arizona State (which finished 35th) along with Stanford (16th) and Cal State Bakersfield (24th). A total of 26 teams in the Midlands field had 97 ranked wrestlers (Amateur Wrestling News individual rankings), including four top-ranked matmen, five ranked No. 2 and 51 in the top 10.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Zach Rey became the third Lehigh wrestler to win a Midlands Championship as he defeated Jarod Trice of Central Michigan 2-1 to capture the heavyweight title at the 48th Midlands, which wrapped-up Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Rey led a contingent of six Mountain Hawks who placed in the event and his finals win propelled the Lehigh to a third-place team finish. Lehigh entered the day as the leaders in the team race, but the Mountain Hawks won just one of four semifinal bouts while two of the three Mountain Hawks in the round of 12 won to give Lehigh a school record-tying six Midlands place winners for the second straight year. Rey, the No. 1 seed and top-ranked heavyweight in the country, defeated Trice for the second time in a three-week span and moved to 14-0 on the season with a 5-0 performance in the two day tournament. Riding time was the difference in the championship bout as Rey escaped early in the second period and then rode Trice for over a minute before yielding a third-period escape. The New Jersey native becomes Lehigh’s third undergraduate Midlands Champion joining Darryl Burley (1981) and Jon Trenge (2002 and 2004). In the semifinals, Rey reversed American’s Ryan Flores onto his back for two-and-two in the second period and went on to win 5-2, avenging a loss to Flores in the 2009 EIWA finals when Flores wrestled for Columbia. Sophomore Robert Hamlin suffered his first loss of the season, but rallied to earn Lehigh’s next highest place with a third place showing at 184. Hamlin fell 6-4 to Trevor Rutt of Wisconsin in the semifinals but rallied to win his next two bouts, winning decisions over Ryan Loder of UNI and Mike Larson of Missouri. One of the top stories from Wednesday was the performance of freshman Austin Meys who had three wins by fall on the tournament’s open day. Meys wasn’t fully able to continue the momentum into day two as he dropped a 6-0 decision to Ben Bennett of Central Michigan. In the consolation semifinals, Meys downed Ethen Lofthouse of Iowa 5-2 to earn a rematch with Stanford’s Nick Amuchastegui, who he pinned on Wednesday. The rematch went to the Stanford grappler by a 5-4 score as Meys had to settle for fourth place. Meys’ big day on Wednesday did garner him one of the post-tournament awards, as he earned the Most Falls award after recording three in a total time of 10:44. At 197, junior Joe Kennedy was relegated to the fifth place match after two losses, but managed to defeat Nathan Patrick of Sunkist Kids 3-0 to place fifth. In the semifinals, Kennedy gave up five points in an early scramble and dropped a 10-2 decision to eventual champion Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh. Thursday’s third session began with consolations where three Mountain Hawks had a chance to enter the top eight with wins. Freshman Stephen Dutton overcame an early 2-0 deficit with a five point move to defeat Mike Koehnlein of Nebraska 10-3. Dutton lost in the consolation quarterfinals and had to settle for eighth place after dropping a 5-4 decision to Nick Dardanes of Minnesota in the seventh place match. Lehigh’s sixth place winner was senior Kadeem Samuels who took seventh at 184. Samuels won his way onto the podium with a 7-4 win over Stanford’s Dan Scherer. After losing to Loder 7-2, Samuels won a 3-2 decision over Nebraska’s James Nakashima to claim seventh place. Of the seven Mountain Hawks to compete on Thursday only junior Brandon Hatchett failed to place. Hatchett ran into the No. 3 seed, Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma, who prevailed by a 2-0 score. Missouri surged past Lehigh, Iowa and Wisconsin to claim the team title. The Tigers had zero finalists, but placed six wrestlers and powered by bonus points put up 103.5 team points, eight points ahead of second place Wisconsin. Rey’s finals win lifted Lehigh (93) past Iowa (91) into third place. Northwestern’s Brandon Precin, the 125 pound champion was voted the Art Kraft Champion of Champions, while Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs, the winner at 165 was named the Dan Gable Outstanding Wrestler and the high point scorer. Lehigh will return to action at the Virginia Duals, January 7 and 8 in Hampton, Virginia. Brackets for the two-day dual tournament will be released early next week.
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After two days of wrestling and 958 matches, the No. 3 Minnesota wrestling team claimed a fifth place finish at the Southern Scuffle while top-ranked Cornell and Penn State each claimed a share of the 2010 team title. Minnesota listed six place-winners in the open event with three grapplers coming posting runner-up finishes, two third place finishers and one fourth place finish. The Gophers totaled 126.5 points at the Southern Scuffle while Cornell and Penn State both led the event with 151.5. After picking up wins in each of his first four matches of the Scuffle, No. 7 Zach Sanders dropped a 4-2 decision to Old Dominion's Nicholson, ranked fourth nationally, in the 125 lbs. championship match while fellow All-American Gopher Mike Thorn, ranked second in the nation at 133 lbs., lost to the only man in the country ranked higher in Michigan's Kellen Russell. Thorn, who had blown through the competition in his first five matches of the meet, came up on the losing end of a 6-2 decision for his first loss of the season. The Gophers tallied their third runner up finish of the event when No. 7 Cody Yohn dropped a 6-4 decision to No. 4 Justin Kerber of Indiana after Yohn had gone 5-0 to reach the 165 lbs. finals. Minnesota also found a pair of third-place winners at the Southern Scuffle in Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson. Steinhaus, ranked eighth in the nation, scored a 2-0 decision over No. 15 Luke Rebertus of Navy in the 185 lbs. consolation finals while Nelson, the ninth ranked heavyweight according to Intermat, scored a fall at 6:28 over VMI's Josh Wine in the 285 lbs. consolation finals. No. 8 Scott Glasser recorded the Gophers final placing of the event at 174 lbs. when the grappler finished fourth after dropping a 13-0 battle to top-ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell. Notes: Full results are attached; All-American Sonny Yohn forfeited his opening match due to injury; the Gophers return to action next weekend at National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Senior/junior captain Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) captured the 141-pound individual title to confirm his No. 1 national ranking and pace the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team to fourth place (132 points) on the second and final day of the Southern Scuffle on Thursday (Dec. 30) at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Wolverines, who boasted eight total placewinners, finished just a half point behind third-place Oregon State, while Cornell and Penn State shared the team honors with 147.5 points. Russell defeated a pair of top-10 opponents en route to the 141-pound crown, including a 6-2 decision -- his most lopsided win of the day -- against Minnesota's No. 2-ranked Mike Thorn in the championship bout. Russell struck quickly, converting on a duck under about a minute into the first period before riding out the frame. He escaped in the second to pad his lead to 3-0 and scored on a double leg in the third to ice the match. Russell won a nailbiter in the semifinal round, using a late takedown to overcome an early deficit against No. 9-ranked Andrew Alton of Penn State. The Nittany Lion earned a second-period takedown and, after a quick escape in the third, held onto a one-point advantage until the final 25 seconds when the Wolverine captain hit a winning duck under and rode out the match to claim a 4-3 decision. Russell is a perfect 16-0 on the season. Junior/sophomore Ben Apland (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) lost a heartbreaker in the heavyweight championship, falling to Penn State's sixth-ranked -- and top-seeded -- Cameron Wade, 4-2, on a late turn. Apland entered the final period in the driver's seat after countering a Wade shot in the first and scrambling for the initial takedown. Down by one, Wade chose top to start the third and rode out the period, earning a two count in the final 15 seconds for a pair of back points and the win. In the morning session, Apland pinned VMI's Josh Wine at 3:41 in his semifinal match to earn his second fall of the tournament, taking Wine over with a cradle before settling back into a Grapevine with two legs in and a half. He won a closer affair against Indiana's 20th-ranked Ricky Alcala in the quarterfinals, using a second-period rideout and a third-period escape to eke out a 2-0 decision. It was Apland's second win over Alcala of the season. Sophomore/freshman Brandon Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) made an impact in his varsity debut, posting a 5-2 record en route to fourth place at 157 pounds. He dropped his placing bout to Penn State's James Vollrath, 6-5, on a takedown in the final 20 seconds but picked up a pair of big wins with a 7-3 decision over Cornell's Craig Eifert in the quarterfinals and a 12-7 decision over North Carolina's Colton Palmer in the consolation semifinals. Zeerip scored on whip-overs in the first and third to control the former bout and combined a high crotch and a cradle to blow up the latter with a five-point move in the second. High school teammates sophomore/freshman Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS) and senior/junior Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) claimed fifth place at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. Yates split his day-two matches to earn his third placing effort of the season, securing a pair of wins against Appalachian State's fifth-seeded Kyle Blevins, including a 9-2 decision in the fifth-place contest. The Wolverine rookie lost a heartbreaker in the semifinal round, falling to Cornell's fourth-ranked and top-seeded Justin Kerber, 6-5, on a late takedown. Yates was up late after a first-period single, escape and an illegal call stall on Kerber, but the Cornell wrestler stole away the match on a takedown in the final 15 seconds. Zeerip racked up big points coming back through the consolation bracket, earning a fall -- his second of the season -- and a pair of forfeit victories to add an extra six points to U-M's team total. He stacked up Kent State's Brandon Johnson -- after an early takedown -- to pin the Golden Flash wrestler at 2:45 to follow an earlier 6-3 decision against Virginia's Stephen Doty on a pair of takedowns and riding time. At the lowerweights, sophomore Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy) and junior Zac Stevens (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) both claimed seventh place at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Boyle earned bonus points with an injury default win and a forfeit but kicked off the day with his most impressive effort -- a 12-6 decision against Penn State's Brad Pataky. Boyle converted on two takedowns and a pair of near falls in the first period to claim the dominant early advantage against the Nittany Lion wrestler. Stevens split four matches on the day, losing on a late takedown to Old Dominion's 11th-ranked Kyle Hutter, 4-1, in the quarterfinals before rebounding with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks to place. Stevens edged out Virginia's Erik Spjut, 4-1, off a takedown and riding time before using four takedowns -- two apiece in the first and third periods -- to cruise past Army's eighth-seeded Jordan Thome, 8-4, in the seventh-place contest. Fifth-year senior captain Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) rounded out Michigan's placers with an eighth-place finish at 197 pounds. Biondo went 1-2 on the day, earning an 8-2 decision against UNC Greensboro's ninth-seeded Caylor Williams, before withdrawing from his last match. Michigan will return to dual-meet competition next weekend (Jan. 7-8) at the 31st annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. First-round pairings will be announced on next week.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team crowned eight placewinners Thursday night at the 2010 Midlands Championships to place fourth with 91 points. Missouri won its first Midlands team title with 103.5, while Wisconsin placed second (95.5) and Lehigh placed third (93) at the 48th annual event in Evanston, IL. Portions of the event will be broadcast Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. (CT) and Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. (CT) on the Big Ten Network. Hawkeye sophomore Matt McDonough was Iowa's top finisher, placing second at 125 pounds. The tournament's top seed and the defending Midlands champion at 125, McDonough lost a 3-1 decision to No. 2 seed Brandon Precin of Northwestern in the championship finals. Precin scored a first-period takedown and added an escape in the second period to take a 3-0 lead in the match. McDonough scored an escape in the third period, but could not get the takedown to force overtime. The loss was McDonough's first of the season, and only the second of his career. "I didn't wrestle my best match," said McDonough." He (Precin) wrestled a really good match. Credit to him for wrestling his match, and there's the problem right there. I gotta make it my match. I gotta stick it to him, and I'm still looking forward because it's not the end of the season yet." Also placing for the Hawkeyes were junior Tyler Clark (133-5th), seniors Aaron Janssen (165-5th) and Luke Lofthouse (197-7th), redshirt freshmen Ethen Lofthouse (174-5th) and Tony Ramos (133-6th), and sophomores Mark Ballweg (141-6th) and Grant Gambrall (184-6th). Clark (No. 11 seed), Janssen (unseeded) and Ethen Lofthouse (No. 9 seed) all wrestled above their seeds with their fifth-place finishes. Clark and Ramos met twice during the two-day tournament, with each posting one victory. Ramos scored a 3-1 decision in the championships quarterfinals Wednesday, while Clark scored a 2-1 decision in the first tiebreak period in the fifth-place match Thursday night. The sixth-ranked Hawkeyes (7-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will host Southern Illinois Edwardsville (1-6) Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual has been designated Autograph and Half-Price Concessions Night. After the dual, Iowa wrestlers will sign autographs at tables around the Carver-Hawkeye Arena concourse.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Oregon State wrestling team wrapped up competition at the Southern Scuffle on Thursday, and the Beavers took third place out of 34 teams at the tournament. Additionally, eight Beavers finished in the top six places in their respective weight classes, with Garrett Drucker highlighting the group by taking third at 133 pounds. "This was a good second day, as we expected," Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky said. "Some guys had some good days and I am impressed with the way this team competed. We had to travel the farthest of any team in the tournament and our guys battled tough." The Beavers finished with 132.50 total points, edging out No. 4 Michigan, which tallied 132 points. Cornell and Penn State tied for the team championship with 151.50 points apiece. Minnesota rounded out the top five with 126.50 points. Those five teams were easily ahead of the pack as the No. 6 team, Kent State, finished with 76 team points. Drucker went 4-1 on Thursday, winning his last four bouts to take third at 133 pounds. He won his last four bouts, including an 8-2 decision over teammate Kelly Kubec. He defeated Kyle Hutter of Old Dominion, 3-2, to take third. Kubec, meanwhile, finished in sixth after going 1-3 on Thursday. His lone victory came over Minnesota's David Thorn, 7-5. Jason Lara went 2-2 at the 125-pound class to take fourth on Thursday. He defeated Virginia's Matthew Snyder and Cornell's Frank Perelli but lost to Utah Valley's Ben Kjar in the battle for third. Scott Sakaguchi also took fourth, tallying four consecutive victories at the 149-pound class to start the day. He posted two falls to open, then a major decision and decision before losing to Edinboro's Thorsten Gillespie, 6-4, in the battle for third. Brice Arand (184 pounds) and Clayton Jack (heavyweight) each took fifth in their respective weight classes. Arand, like Drucker and Sakaguchi, also went 4-1 Thursday, taking down his first three opponents before losing his fourth bout of the day. He took fifth after defeating Virginia's Jonathan Fausey via medical forefeit. Jack had just four bouts on Thursday, going 2-2. He racked up a fall over Kent State's Joe Tymosuzuk in just 29 seconds to claim fifth place. Rounding out the day for the Beavers were Mike Mangrum (141) and Chad Hanke (197) who each took sixth place. Mangrum went 1-3 on the day, while Hanke tallied a 2-3 mark.
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Evanston, Ill. -- Senior Jordan Burroughs captured the 165-pound title at the 48th Annual Midlands Championship in Evanston, Ill., after upsetting the No. 1 wrestler in the country Andrew Howe (Wis.) by decision,10-7, on Thursday. Also wrestling in the finals was No. 10 Josh Ihnen (184), but the sophomore couldn't pull off the upset falling to No. 6 Travis Rutt (Wis.), 4-3, to capture a second place finish. Burroughs, who entered the tournament as the 2nd-rated wrestler at 165-pounds, was named the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament and improved his record to a perfect 18-0 on the season. Burroughs' victory snapped Howe's 51-match winning streak entering the finals. The senior advanced to the finals after defeating Chris Spangler (Iowa St.) in the semifinals. Burroughs gained an edge early in the match after recording two takedowns in the first period to go up 4-1. After an early escape by Burroughs to take a 5-1 lead in the second period, Howe responded with his own takedown to close the score to 5-3, but Burroughs closed the period out with a reversal to stretch his lead to 7-3 heading into the third period. After choosing down to open the third period, Howe was able to escape and gain a takedown to make the score 7-6. Burroughs was able to escape to extend his lead to two points, and finished off the match by gaining a penalty point and the riding time to make the final score, 10-7. Howe was awarded a stalling point in the third period for his seventh point. In the 184-pound semifinal match, No. 10 Ihnen upset No. 4 Grant Gambrall (Iowa) in the sudden-victory period to take the match, 4-2. Ihnen's tournament run came to an end in the finals against Rutt, who was able to hold off Ihnen for the 4-3 victory. Ihnen improved his season record to 16-4. Ridge Kiley (133) and James Nakashima (184) were both able to capture eighth place finishes for the Huskers. Nebraska returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 15, when they travel to Grand Prairie, Texas, to take part in the Lone Star Duals. The Huskers will dual Stanford, Brown and Utah Valley in triple-header action. Full results from the Midlands Championships are listed below.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- With just an 8-4 record in dual meets this season, Missouri's young squad limped up to Chicago ranked 23rd in the country, behind nine other teams competing at the 48th Annual Midlands Tournament. But when the dust settled, the Tigers used a balanced scoring effort to win the overall team title with 103.5 points despite not having any wrestlers in the championship matches. "We grew up a little this weekend," Smith said. "It's a young team (only one senior), so we have to keep improving. We had some losses in dual meets, but every time we come into practice, I see guys wanting to get better. We had a terrible second session last night, lost a lot of tight matches. I wanted to see us wrestle today, and they showed up. Everybody scored points for us. It was a total team effort." Freshman Alan Waters avenged his only loss of the season by reversing Stanford's Ryan Mango late in the period to place third. Todd Schavrien (fifth at 141), Zach Toal (fourth at 165), Mike Larson (fourth at 184), and Brent Haynes (fourth at 197) all finished on the podium for the Tigers. Even an ex-Tiger had a good day. In a very entertaining "super-match" exhibition (available to watch on Flo), former Missouri National Champion Ben Askren funked his way to a 12-6 decision over former Northwestern National Champ Jake Herbert. The individual finals kicked off with a highly anticipated dual between defending Midlands and NCAA champion Matt McDonough (Iowa) and No. 2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern). It was the first time these two squared off, with Precin having redshirted last season. On Saturday night, Precin used a throw-by to get a takedown late in the first period. Then he just stayed solid defensively, tying up McDonough and not allowing him to strike for his deadly low single. He eventually prevailed 3-0, much to the delight of the hometown crowd. "I was excited for the opportunity to compete against him," Precin said. "I knew he was going to be a bull, so I had to fight fire with fire. He has an amazing single, so I had to make sure he didn't grab my leg." The marquee matchup of the night, however, featured a pair of NCAA champions, No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) against No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska). Trying to defend his Midlands crown, Howe forced the action throughout. But Burroughs stayed out of the collar ties and struck with his powerful double leg early. Howe did get a few takedowns near the edge of the mat (the first allowed by Burroughs this season). But Burroughs used his speed to counter at the right times and rode tough, eventually emerging with a 10-7 decision in a match that had Welsh-Ryan Arena buzzing. "I just tried to score as many points as I could," Burroughs said. "I knew he was going to come hard, so I just had to pick and choose my spots." Despite Howe's loss, Wisconsin got a repeat title from Tyler Graff at 133, as well as one from Travis Rutt at 184, to finish in second place with 95.5 points. "Well, it's something to build off of," Wisconsin coach Barry Davis said. "Last year, we had three in the finals; this year, four. We're making progress. We'll continue to move forward and try to peak for March." The tournament, which will be renamed the Ken Kraft Midlands Championship next year, proved to be as tough as ever. "From an organizational standpoint, I have some of the best people in the country helping put on this event," Northwestern coach Drew Pariano said. "We'll be bringing more good matchups to you, too. We're going to keep finding the best teams and individuals in the country." Finals Match Summaries Numbers before wrestler's name indicate InterMat national ranking 125: No. 2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) dec. No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa), 3-1 Precin defended his home turf with an early takedown and some solid defense to pull the upset, and deny McDonough his second Midlands crown. 133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) dec. No. 5 B.J. Futrell (Illinois), 13-6 Graff put on a takedown clinic, notching five of them to down Big Ten rival B.J. Futrell of Illinois by a 13-6 decision, and win his second straight Midlands title. 141: No. 4 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) won by injury default over No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) One of the most anticipated matchups never came to pass. Novachkov got his hand raised after Kennedy medically forfeited the title to him. No information about Kennedy's injury was available at press time. 149: No. 3 Kevin LeValley (Bucknell) dec. No. 18 Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin), 4-0 LeValley forced the action for most of the match. He got a takedown near the edge of the mat, then racked up huge riding time while Schmidtt looked helpless on bottom. The Bison takes the title comfortably, 4-0. 157: No. 20 (at 165) Chase Nelson (Oklahoma) dec. Kyle John (Maryland), 11-7 Not the matchup that everyone predicted, with the seven and eight seeds making the title match. But Nelson stunned Jake Patacsil, and rode the momentum to a title. Nelson got several takedowns, and was athletic enough to avoid John's low single attempts. Up 8-4 in the third, Nelson hung on for an 11-7 decision. 165: No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) dec. No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin), 10-7 See recap above. 174: No. 3 Jon Reader (Iowa State) dec. No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 9-4 Reader got a quick takedown, then rode tough the rest of the way. He looks ideal at this weight, and though Bennett battled, Reader skated to a 9-4 decision. A two-time Midlands runner-up is now a champion. 184: No. 6 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) dec. No. 10 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska), 4-3 Rutt lost the Cliff Keen title earlier, but got a quick takedown here. Rutt forced most of the action. Lot of collar ties, but Rutt eventually hung on for a 4-3 win. 197: Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) dec. Byron Tate (Wartburg), 5-4 Perhaps the most unexpected final, with the defending DIII champ Tate taking on the unattached Wilps. The Pitt Panther got the first takedown, rode tough and led 4-3 into the third. A second stall call tied the match at 4, but Wilps won the match on ride time advantage to hand Tate, who was 25-0, his first defeat this season. 285: No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. No. 8 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 2-1 In a match that got pretty chippy at the end, Rey traded escapes (and head slaps) with Trice, but held on for the 2-1 ride time win.
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EVANSTON, ILL. -- Wartburg College’s top-ranked NCAA Division III 197-pound and heavyweight wrestlers each made strong runs at the 2010 Midlands Invitational Dec. 29 and 30. Byron Tate of Clinton, the Orange and Black’s defending national champion at 197, finished runner-up. John Helgerson of West Union, a two-time All-American at heavyweight, placed fifth. They combined for 27 team points, tying American University for 19th. “I couldn’t be prouder of the way these two battled through these two days,” co-head coach Eric Keller said. “The fought hard in each match and both got some great wins. “There is still work to be done,” he added. “This will definitely help both of them get ready for some big competitions ahead.” Tate worked his way into the finals on the heels of four tightly-contested wins. He defeated Mike Wagner of Rutgers 6-3 in the opening round, upended Alex Polizzi of the host Wildcats who was competing unattached by a 13-11 score in the second round, defeated Riley Oroczo of Cal State-Bakersfield 6-4 in the quarterfinals and toppled Nathan Patrick of the Sunkist Kids Club 9-6 in the semifinals. In the championship, Pittsburgh’s Matt Wilps used a riding time point to stop his title hopes just short by a 5-4 final. “I was happy with how I came out and was focused on executing in the early rounds, the quarterfinals and on down the line,” he said. “Obviously, I would have loved to have won it, but I’ve got something to work on now and move towards some other goals as the season continues.” Helgerson was on a similar roll early. He upended Tucker Lane of Nebraska 5-4 in the second round and Kyle Simonson of Iowa State 3-1 to reach the quarterfinals. American University’s Ryan Flores dropped him into the consolation bracket with a 6-2 decision, but he rebounded and defeated Matt Gibson of Iowa State 4-3 and Christian Brantley of Northern Iowa 3-1 to get to the consolation semifinals. An overtime thriller against Pittsburgh’s Ryan Tomei, where he was stopped 5-3, sent him to the fifth-sixth place match. He ended his Midlands’ appearance with a 6-4 win over D.J. Russo of Rutgers. Wartburg takes its No. 1 team ranking into the 2011 Cliff Keen/National Wrestling Coaches Association’s Division III National Duals Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 8 and 9. The tourney brackets will be released next week. NOTES – Tate, who had his personal 32-match win streak snapped in the championship, ended the two-day event at 25-1 for the year. … Helgerson’s season record went to 24-3. He stands just three wins shy of 100 career victories. Tate, Helgerson place in top five at Midlands
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Despite a career which has featured two trips to the Round of 12 at the NCAA Championships and an EIWA title, Rollie Peterkin entered the 2010-11 season as somewhat of an unknown quantity due to his season away from the mat in 09-10 and a new weight class of 133 pounds this season. After the Southern Scuffle, Peterkin's without question showed he is ready to compete and contend at 133. Against a field filled with serious competition, Peterkin put together a great run to the final, claiming the championship with a 6-0 win over top seed – and national No. 4 – Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra. Peterkin was one of two Quakers to place at the Scuffle, joined by No. 7 Micah Burak (fourth at 197 pounds) and Zack Kemmerer (fifth at 141 pounds) as the Red and Blue finished 7th of 34 teams with a score of 71.5. Last year, Penn finished 11th of 31 teams with 62.5 points. In the final bout, contested atop a center podium under the spotlight, Peterkin survived a tough second period ride from top-seeded Ruggirello to escape late in the middle frame and carry a 1-0 lead into the final period. In the third, Peterkin chose neutral, ,hoping to get a takedown and tie the match rather than risk any tilts from the tough-on-top Ruggirello. Roughly midway through the period, Peterkin found himself tangled in an underhook tie with Ruggirello and used the leverage on the tie to throw the three-time CAA champ to his back for a five-point move. Peterkin finished strong in top position, erasing his riding time deficit and scoring a 6-0 win. Burak is another Penn wrestler who has quietly went about his business this year en route to a No. 7 ranking entering the tournament. However, after a 6-4 win over top seed – and national No. 1 – Dustin Kilgore of Kent State in the consolation semifinals, Burak may no longer be under the radar. That win was just one of six in the tournament for Burak, as he went 6-2 en route to his fourth place finish. After being knocked out of the championship bracket by Oregon State's Chad Hanke, 3-1 in sudden victory, Burak stormed back though the consolation bracket. He won his next four bouts by a combined score of 41-7 before his close win over Kilgore. In the third-place bout, Burak gave up an early takedown to sixth seed (and national No. 14) Matt Powless from Indiana and couldn't recover for a 4-0 loss. The third Quaker to put together a fantastic run in Greensboro was Zack Kemmerer at 141 pounds. Kemmerer has hovered around the national rankings all year while leading the Red and Blue in wins. He entered the tournament with two firsts and a second at his three previous tourneys to open the season and can add a fifth after a 6-2 run through the Scuffle. Kemmerer's chance at a championship went by the wayside after a 10-3 loss to second-seeded (and national No. 2) Michael Thorn of Minnesota in the quarterfinals to open the day. However, Kemmerer rallied with two wins over Bloomsburg's Derek Shingara (5-2) and Virginia's Augustus Sako (4-2) to stay alive. In the consolation semifinals, Kemmerer met up with Penn State's super frosh Andrew Alton. Undefeated in his freshman season before a loss to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan in the semis, Alton was looking to replicate his quick pin (0:39) of Kemmerer in the final of the Nittany Lion Open in early December. Kemmerer had other ideas, however, going toe-to-toe with Alton throughout the first two periods, keeping the match square at 4-4 late. A somewhat controversial four-point move for Alton late in the bout was the difference, with the backpoints being counted before the takedown actually appeared to be secured. Kemmerer worked his escape and pushed the action in the waning seconds, but couldn't find the score as time ran out on a frustrated Penn grappler. Undeterred, Kemmerer came back in his medal match, defeating national No. 11 – and sixth seed – Michael Mangrum of Oregon State, 6-5, to end his tournament on a high note. After a run of early tournaments and duals away from The Palestra, Penn finally has its first home dual of the 2010-11 season ahead of them as the Quakers host Bloomsburg Jan. 9 at 1 p.m.
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Greensboro, NC -- Senior Lou Ruggirello placed second and junior P.J. Gillespie finished fourth to lead the Hofstra Wrestling team to a ninth-place finish at the 2010 Southern Scuffle at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center Thursday night. The 18th-ranked Pride finished in a ninth place tie with #25 Virginia with 65.5 points. #7 Penn State and #1 Cornell shared the team title with 151.5 points each. Oregon State was third with 132.5 points, #16 Michigan was fourth with 132 and #4 Minnesota was fifth with 126.5 points in the 34-team field. Ruggirello, the top seed and fourth ranked overall at 133 pounds, dropped a 6-0 decision to second-seed and ninth-ranked Rollie Peterkin from Pennsylvania in the 133-pound championship match Thursday night. Ruggirello opened the second day with an 11-0 major decision over Edinboro's Eric Morrill in the quarterfinals. He followed that match with his second pin of the tournament in 32 seconds over Oregon State's 14th-ranked Kelly Kubec. Ruggirello is now 14-3 on the season. Junior P.J. Gillespie placed fourth at 165 pounds, posting a 2-2 record on Thursday to boost his season mark to 13-4. He opened the day with a 2-1 victory over Penn State's Jake Kemmerer in the quarterfinals before losing to Minnesota's Cody Yohn, ranked seventh by InterMat, 4-0 in the semifinals. He posted a 3-2 win over Appalachian State's Kyle Blevins in the consolation semifinals before dropping a 4-3 decision to Turtogtokh Luvsandorj from The Citadel in the third place match. Five other Pride wrestlers were in action on day two of the Scuffle. Junior Vince Varela, Hofstra's third and final championship bracket competitor at 141 pounds entering Thursday's competition. He dropped a 3-2 decision to top-seeded and top-ranked Kellen Russell from Michigan in the quarterfinals and then dropped a 3-2 decision to Ohio's 14th-ranked Germaine Lindsey in the consolations. Varela is now 10-8 on the season. Sophomore Steve Bonanno posted a 1-1 day at 125 pounds in the consolation bracket Thursday. He opened the day with a 4-2 victory over Navy's Aaron Kalil before being eliminated by Cornell's 13th-ranked Frank Perrelli, 10-4. Bonanno is now 11-7 on the year. Junior Ben Clymer also posted a 1-1 mark in the 184-pound consolations Thursday. He defeated VMI's John Dommert, 7-0, before dropping a 5-2 decision to Virginia's 17th-ranked Jon Fausey. Clymer is now 5-5 on the season. Sophomores Tyler Banks (157 pounds) and Paul Snyder (285) both went 0-1 Thursday morning and were eliminated. Banks dropped a 6-2 decision to Michigan's Aaron Hynes in the fourth round of the consolations. He is now 11-6 on the year. Snyder was pinned by Ohio's Andy Hartshorn in 2:33 in the third round of the consolations. Snyder is 10-9 on the season. The Pride will return to action on Saturday, January 8 when they host the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- No. 4 James Nicholson scored a first period takedown of No. 7 Zach Sanders of Minnesota and held on for a 4-2 victory and claim the 125 pound championship at the Southern Scuffle. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Nicholson was dominant in the two-day event, giving up no more than two points in his five victories. He beat No. 20 Jason Lara of Oregon State 8-1 in the semifinals before dispatching Sanders in the finals.. Kyle Hutter took fourth place at 133 pounds while Joey Metzler earned a sixth place finish at 149. Senior Kyle Hutter (133) made a run to the semifinals before falling to No. 9 Rollie Peterkin of Pennsylvania, 6-4. The senior defeated No. 19 Zac Stevens 4-1 to reach the final four. Hutter Came back from the loss to beat Edinboro's Aaron Schopp 11-6. He lost a hard fought 3-2 overtime decision to Oregon State's Garrett Drucker to take fourth. Metzler dropped a 9-4 decision to No. 14 Ivan Lopouchanski of UNC Greensboro to take sixth place. Metzler (149) knocked off his second-straight ranked wrestler this morning, beating Lopouchanski of 5-4. He defeated No. 10 Kurt Kinser of Indiana 2-1 in his previous match. Metzler fell in the semifinals to No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell, 7-0. Metzler dropped an 11-6 decision to Scott Sakaguchi and now moves to the fifth place match where he will once again face Lopouchanski. Brennen Brumley won his first match in the consolation bracket at 141 with a first period pin over Army's John Belanger. He lost his next match 5-1 to Augustus Sako of Virginia. Brumley finished the tournament with a 3-2 record. Chad Lowman lost his first match at 157 to No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana 11-2. He came back with a strong 16-0 tech. fall over VMI's Nicholas Emison before falling to Liberty's Julian Colon in his next match, 7-3. Senior Dan Rivera went 2-2 overall, dropping his first match before pinning Eli Sanchez of Liberty in the first period. He beat VMI's Joeseph 2-1 in overtime before falling to Bloomsburg's Josh Veltre, 6-3. Tristan Warner wrestled Byron Sigmon of UNCG for the second time this season, and for the second time wrestled into overtime, falling 3-1. He came back with a 9-3 triumph over Chris Hrunka of Edinboro and a 5-2 win over VMI's Matt Brock. He fell 4-0 to Justin Zeerip of Michigan. Jacob Henderson picked up a 5-3 win over Indiana's Tanner Kriss before bowing out with a 5-2 loss to Navy's Greg Prioleau. Grant Chapman also earned a win with a 4-2 win over Daniel Miller, also of Navy, before losing to James Payne of UNC, 8-6.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team continued its outstanding early season run, claiming the Co-Championships of the 2010 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Penn State, ranked No. 4, tied No. 1 Cornell for the team crown. The Nittany Lions sent four wrestlers to the finals in front of a rowdy crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and crowned three champions. Red-shirt freshmen David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) won titles at 157 and 165 while junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) forged the tie with a title winning decision in the tournament's final bout at heavyweight. Ruth's sizzling title-run at 174 earned him the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) almost made it four for four in the finals for Penn State with a one-point loss to the nation's top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 149. The Nittany Lions sent 15 wrestlers into action at the two-day event and eight placed. True freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) bounced back from a loss in his first bout yesterday to reel off six straight wins before a loss in the consolation semifinals. Martellotti, ranked No. 16 nationally at 125, would end the event with a 6-3 record and a sixth place finish and is 18-3 on the year. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) had a solid return to the mat after missing the first semester with an injury. Pataky went 3-2 with a major and a tech fall. While not placing at 125, Pataky's first action of the year should spur him on to more action at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 7-8. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 4-2 at 133. The Lion went 1-1 today, picking up crucial bonus points with a pin in his first bout before losing in the sixth round of consolations. Pearsall had two pins during the tournament for the Nittany Lions and is now 13-6 overall. At 141, true freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) gave up a last-second takedown to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan and dropped a 4-3 decision in a thrilling upset bid in the semifinals. The 9th-ranked 141-pounder rebounded for two wins in wrestle-back to take third place. Alton went 6-1 on the day with three pins and a major. He is now 19-1 on the year. Senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) lost to No.11 Michael Mangrum of Oregon State in his quarterfinal match-up and then lost again in wrestle-backs to finish one win shy of placing. Lynch went 3-2 with a pin and a major at the tourney and is 7-3 overall. After a quarterfinal win, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 149, crushed No. 15 Torsten Gillespie 9-1 That win moved him into the finals where he met No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell. Molinaro set the offensive tempo, taking shot after shot in the finals but Dake was able to spend the match on the edge of the mat and used a third period escape to post the 1-0 win. Molinaro went 6-1 on the day with three majors and a technical fall. Molinaro improves to 14-2 on the year. Sophomore James English (York, Pa.) capped off an outstanding performance for the Nittany Lions by taking 7th place. English posted a 1-1 mark on day two and went 5-2 at the tournament with a pin. He is now 13-4 overall. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, continued to dominate the field with a 23-6 technical fall over Michigan's Brandon Zeerip in the semifinals. The win moved him into the finals where he took on No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana. In another dominating performance, Taylor made short work of the Hoosier senior, turning the veteran Big Ten grappler numerous times on his way to a decisive 18-2 technical fall at the 4:06 mark. Taylor was simply unchallenged at the event, going 6-0 with four technical falls and two pins. Taylor is still undefeated on the year with a 19-0 mark. Classmate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) continued his hot run. After losing in the first round yesterday, Vollrath won nine straight matches to take third place. Included in his run was a 5-3 victory over No. 7 Bryce Saddoris of Navy. Vollrath now sports 21-4 record. Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) took No. 6 Paul Gillespie to the limit as the Hofstra grappler needing riding time to win 2-1 in the quarters at 165. Kemerer then lost his first wrestle-back and bowed out of the tournament with a 3-2 record, one win shy of placing. Kemerer is 11-5 on the year. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) bowed out of the tournament after a 3-2 showing yesterday. Ranked No. 10 at 174, red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) gave notice to the country with a thorough 11-5 win over No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the semifinals. Ruth then took on No. 2 Chris Henrich of Virginia in the finals. In a feat rare for any wrestler, yet alone a freshman, Ruth dominated the second-ranked Cavalier on his way to a 7-2 win. In beating the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the same afternoon, Ruth won the Scuffle crown with a 5-0 record (including two pins and a major). Ruth will head to the Virginia Duals with a 17-1 record. With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from an injury at 184, red-shirt freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 0-2 yesterday and was Penn State's only competitor at that weight. Red-shirt freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) went 1-2 at 197 yesterday and was eliminated as Penn State's only wrestler at that weight as well. Junior heavyweight Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 nationally, continued to roll and beat No. 12 Clayton Jack 7-4 in the semifinals, setting up a finals bout against No. 7 Ben Apland of Michigan. Wade needed a win to force a tie in the team race and he gave the packed house all they could handle. Down 2-1 with time running out, Wade turned Apland for two back points as the Lion faithful roared and, with a riding time point, notched a 4-2 thriller to take the title at heavyweight. The win allowed Penn State to forge a tie in the team race as well. Wade went 6-0 with three pins to win the title and now has a 16-2 overall record. The Nittany Lions and Big Red each had 151.5 points while Oregon State was a distant third with 132.5. Michigan claimed fourth with 132 while Minnesota wrestled to a fifth place finish with 126.5 points. Penn State went 65-22 on the day with 36 of those bouts earning bonus points. Penn State had 15 pins, six technical falls and 15 majors while placing eight wrestlers in the top eight. Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions return to action at the Virginia Duals on January 7-8 in the new year. The two-day dual meet tournament takes place in Hampton, Virginia. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.
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Evanston, Ill. -- The No. 14 Nebraska wrestling will have two wrestlers in the semifinal round of the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill., as the Huskers competed in the first two sessions of the annual tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 29. Senior Jordan Burroughs and sophomore Josh Ihnen both won the first three matches at their respective weight classes to advance to the semifinals, and helped the Huskers climb to No. 9 in the team-standings after two sessions. Burroughs (NU), who is the 2nd-ranked wrestler at 165-pounds in the country, won his first two matches by technical fall over Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) and Robert Nash (Michigan State) to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Burroughs improved his season record to 16-0 by defeating No. 15 Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly), 20-8. Burroughs will wrestle Chris Spangler (Iowa St.) in the semifinals. Ihnen (NU) reached the semifinals after collecting three straight decisions to open the tournament at 184-pounds. Ihnen defeated over Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh) and Joe Barczack (Illinois) in the first two rounds, before taking down over Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers) in a tight 3-2 decision. 10th-ranked Ihnen will take on 4th-rated Grant Gambrall (Iowa) in the semifinals. Mike Koehnlein (NU) and Andy Johnson (NU) were the other Huskers who were able to reach the quarterfinals before being knocked to the wrestleback bracket. Koehnlein was most impressive after defeating his first two opponents by major decision in the 141-pound bracket, including an upset of No. 20 Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern). In the quarterfinals, the senior fell No. 4 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) in a tough 3-1 decision. Johnson's run to the quarterfinals also included an upset of a nationally-ranked opponent after he defeated No. 20 Brent Haynes (Missouri) , 6-3, in the second round, but wasn't able to pull the upset off in the quarterfinals falling to No. 13 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh), 6-2, in the 197-pound bracket. Along with Koehnlein and Johnson, Nebraska will have Ridge Kiley (NU) and James Nakashima (NU) competing in the wrestleback bracket during session III on Thursday. Session III of the Midlands Championships will begin at Noon on Thursday, Dec. 30. Championship, third and fifth-place matches will start at 7:15 p.m. Championship matches will be aired on the Big Ten Network on tape delay on Jan. 8, at 3 p.m. Full results and next round's opponents are listed below.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Six Oregon State wrestlers are alive in the championship round of the Southern Scuffle and the Beavers are fourth out of 34 teams after day one of competition on Wednesday. The Beavers saw 14 wrestlers compete on Wednesday, including three unattached entries, with each winning at least two bouts apiece. Jason Lara (125 pounds), Kelly Kubec (133), Garrett Drucker (133), Mike Mangrum (141), Chad Hanke (197) and Clayton Jack (heavyweight) all go into the final day of competition on Thursday with the chance at taking first. “This was a very good day of competition,” Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky said. “Every one of our wrestlers competed well and we’re in very good standing with a number of guys who could accomplish some great things on Thursday. We have one day remaining of competition in 2010 and our guys will go out strong.” Lara wrapped up two major decisions to remain in competition for first at the 125-pound class. He downed Brett Boston of Appalachian State an Zach Huxford of George Mason and will open Thursday against Virginia’s Matthew Snyder. Kubec went 3-0 Wednesday, earning one via fall and one via major decision. He opened with a 2:06 fall against Campbell’s Gabe Gardner, and defeated Navy’s Ben Levin, 10-2. He capped off his day with a 6-4 win over Bloomsburg’s Nick Wilcox, and will square off with Minnesota’s David Thorn to open competition Thursday. Joining Kubec at the 133-pound class was Drucker, who also went 3-0 with wins over Indiana’s Matt Ortega, Lock Haven’s John Trumbetti and Edinboro’s Aaron Schopp. He will face Penn’s Rollie Peterkin to start Thursday. Kubec and Drucker could square off for first on Thursday if both go 2-0 to start the day. Mangrum is the fourth Beaver to remain in the championship round. He picked up decisions over North Carolina’s Darius Little and Liberty’s Kurtis Becker and a pin over Army’s Casey Thome. He goes against Penn State’s Adam Lynch on Thursday. Hanke and Jack needed just two victories to remain in contention for their respective weight class titles. Hanke defeated North Carolina’s KaRonne Jones over technical fall then downed Penn’s Micah Burak and will take on George Mason’s Cayle Byers Thursday. Rounding out the six is Jack, who opened with a pin of Edinboro’s Michael Horton in 6:07. He went on to take down Lock Haven’s Henry Turner via major decision. He will open Thursday with Minnesota’s Benjamin Burhow Thursday. Scott Sakaguchi (149 pounds) paced the Beavers in the consolation round with a 4-1 record. He will be joined Thursday by RJ Pena (unattached at 157 pounds with a 3-1 record), Jon Brascetta (3-1 at 165 pounds), Brice Arand (3-1 at 184 pounds), Taylor Meeks (unattached at 184 pounds with a 3-1 record) and Taylor Johnson (2-1 at 197 pounds). Alex Elder (3-2 at 157 pounds) and Ty Vinson (2-2 at 184 pounds) also competed Wednesday but were knocked out of the Southern Scuffle. The Beavers will go into Thursday’s competition fourth out of 34 teams, just one point shy of No. 3 Michigan, which has 49.5 points. Cornell leads the pack with 54 points and is followed by No. 2 Penn State (50.5 points), Michigan, Oregon State and Kent State and Minnesota, which are tied for fifth with 43.5 points. Live stats for day two are available on uncgspartans.com. Visit osubeavers.com Thursday afternoon for a full recap and list of results for the Oregon State wrestlers.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Iowa State sent three wrestlers through to the semi-finals of the 2010 Midlands Championships. It was a very positive second session Wednesday as the Cyclones went 9-3 and finished the day in fifth place with 49 points, despite leaving several starters at home. Lehigh leads the team scoring with 65 points. Iowa State seniors Jon Reader (174) and Chris Drouin (141), along with sophomore Chris Spangler (165) will all be looking for another victory to send them to the finals. Drouin got revenge against Mark Ballweg of Iowa for his dual loss (Dec. 3) with a 5-3 victory in overtime in their 141-pound bout. Drouin found himself down 3-1 late in the third period, but scored a late takedown and then the decisive takedown in overtime to defeat the Hawkeye grappler. Drouin will wrestle top-seeded Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in his semi-final match. Carr Jr. found himself in a difficult match with Minnesota freshman Dylan Ness in the 149-pound weight class. Ness, who is the younger brother of 2010 Hodge Trophy recipient and national champion Jayson Ness, just managed to out-scramble Carr en route to a 4-2 decision in favor of Ness. Spangler hit yet another last-second takedown to defeat Ethan Headlee of Pittsburgh at 165 pounds and move into the semi-finals Thursday. Spangler won 3-2 and will face 2009 national champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in the semis. “I really wanted to dominate a little more than I did,” Spangler said. “But I managed to get wins in two difficult situations, which means a lot because coach Jackson preaches to us to do whatever it takes to get the victory, and I feel like that is what I did.” Reader earned his 14th bonus point victory in 16 matches. The Cyclone senior racked up over five minutes of riding time in an 11-2 major decision over Iowa’s Ethen Lofthouse at 174 pounds. Reader will wrestle fourth-seeded Mike Letts of Maryland in the semi-finals. Cole Shafer notched an impressive victory on the bottom side of the bracket by pinning Michigan State’s eighth-seeded Ian Hinton with only one minute remaining in the match at 184 pounds. Shafer jumped out to an early lead over Ryan Loder of UNI, but could not hold on as Loder staged a furious comeback to win 8-6 in overtime. Kyle Simonson racked up the riding time in a 4-0 victory over Marty Smith of Illinois. Simonson was in a close match with Mike McClure of Michigan State before McClure caught him in a cradle and ended the match with only 40 seconds left. Matt Gibson earned a tough 7-4 victory against David Wade of Eastern Michigan. Gibson was down early to Wisconsin’s Eric Bugenhagen before locking up a cradle and earning the pin at the 2:17 mark. Michael Moreno rode tough en route to a pin over Robert Nash of Michigan State. Moreno then scored a takedown in the sudden victory period to beat Trevor Hall of Cal St. Bakersfield by a score of 6-4. The true freshman is only one victory away from becoming a Midlands placewinner. Chris Drouin, Chris Spangler and Jon Reader will wrestle in the semi-finals tomorrow, while Nate Carr Jr., Michael Moreno and Matt Gibson look to wrestle all the way to third place on the bottom of the bracket.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With six quarterfinalists and four more individuals alive in the consolation bracket, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team sits in third place (49.5 points) after the first day of competition at the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday (Dec. 29) at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Wolverines benefited greatly from bonus points, totaling 10 pins -- including four in their first five bouts of the tournament -- and eight major decisions to surge into the team race. Michigan will be represented in the quarterfinals at the lowerweights and upperweights as junior Zac Stevens (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS), senior/junior captain Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy), sophomore/freshman Brandon Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS), sophomore/freshman Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS), fifth-year senior captain Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) and junior/sophomore Ben Apland (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) all posted perfect records through the preliminary rounds. Stevens dominated his opening-day opposition at 133 pounds, single-handedly earning eight team points with two pins -- his second and third of the season -- and a major decision. Stevens, ranked No. 19 in the latest InterMat poll, cruised into the quarterfinals with a quick first-period pin against North Carolina's Pat Owens in his final match of the day, catching Owens in a cradle off a roll attempt at the 1:52 mark. The Wolverine junior earned a quicker fall in his first contest, using a head scoop with a half finish to pin Campbell's Dominique Whitfield at the 48-second mark. Russell, the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, similarly made little work of his day-one competition, securing a first-period fall before outscoring his latter two opponents by a combined 20-0 margin. Russell rolled past Ohio's Darrin Boing, 14-0, to advance into the quarterfinals, converting on three takedowns and earning six back points off an arm bar and subsequent power half. He collected his second pin of the season in the pigtail round, using a half to stick Gardner-Webb's Richie Spicel at 1:51. Making his U-M varsity debut, Zeerip claimed a series of decision victories to earn his spot in the 157-pound quarterfinals, including an 8-3 decision against Hofstra's Tyler Banks in his final match of the day. Zeerip benefited from a big move in the match's first 30 seconds, shooting in deep on a high crotch and locking up a cradle out of the ensuing scramble to take a quick five-point advantage. The Wolverine rookie added a counter takedown in the second and riding time to ice the match. Yates rallied from an early deficit to knock off The Citadel's fourth-seeded Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, 4-2, to advance into the 165-pound quarterfinals. After a second-period escape knotted the score at two apiece, the Wolverine rookie struck deep on a late single leg and, when Luvsandorj tried to kick out, wrapped up the other ankle for the winning takedown. Yates earned his second fall of the season in the opening round, using a Cobra to pin George Mason's James Kaden at 4:15. Advancing to the Southern Scuffle's 197-pound quarterfinals for the second consecutive year -- he placed third in 2009 -- Biondo earned two falls and a major decision to contribute eight team points. His pins came in similar fashion, combining quick single legs and a pair of match-ending crossface cradles to defeat Army's Daniel Milly (0:52) and Hofstra's Matt Loew (1:18). The Wolverine captain, ranked 15th nationally, scored four takedowns and a first-period cradle for three back points to roll past Lock Haven's Derek Caldwell, 13-2, in his second bout. Apland, ranked seventh nationally, also earned bonus points in both of his day-one matches, reversing Navy's Mike Landis straight to his back to earn a 3:23 fall before rolling to an 8-0 major decision -- behind three counter takedowns -- over Viriginia's Derek Papagianopolous to advance into the heavyweight quarterfinals. Sophomore Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy), fifth-year senior Aaron Hynes (Mt. Morris, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS), senior/junior Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) and fifth-year senior Chad Bleske (Washington, Mich./Romeo HS) remain active in the wrestlebacks at 125, 157 and 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, and will need to win two more matches to guarantee a top-eight finish. The Wolverines return to the mats Thursday (Dec. 30) for the second and final day of competition at the Southern Scuffle. The morning session, featuring the quarterfinals and continued wrestlebacks, is slated for a 9 a.m. start at the Greensboro Coliseum.
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team is in third place with 52.5 points after the first day of competition at the 48th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Lehigh leads the team race with 65.0 points, and Wisconsin is in second with 58.5. Hawkeye sophomores Matt McDonough (125) and Grant Gambrall (184), and redshirt freshman Tony Ramos (133) all posted 3-0 records on the day to advance to Thursday's championship semifinals. Of the 17 Hawkeyes that started the tournament Wednesday morning, nine are still competing in the event. McDonough, who is the tournament's top seed and defending Midlands champion at 125, helped the Hawkeye team score with three bonus point victories. He opened the tournament with a match-ending 18-2 technical fall in 5:58 over Triton's Jose Torres. McDonough ended the day with two pins, sticking Northern Illinois' Nick Smith in 6:04 and #8 seed Frank Lomas of Cal Bakersfield in 4:54, to remain undefeated at 10-0 this season. The Marion, IA, native will face #5 seed Ryan Mango of Stanford in the semifinals. McDonough scored a 12-4 major decision over Mango in his first match of the 2009 Midlands Championships in the pair's only collegiate career meeting. Ramos, who is the #3 seed at 133, posted a 14-3 major decision over American's Kevin Tao in his opening bout and a 7-4 win over Nebraska's Ridge Kiley in the second round. He then beat Hawkeye teammate Tyler Clark, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, to remain undefeated at 7-0. Ramos will face #2 seed B.J. Futrell of Illinois in the semifinals in the pair's first collegiate career meeting. Gambrall, who is seeded #1 at 184, recorded three major decisions in a solid first day of competition. The Hawkeye sophomore beat Cleveland State's Corbin Boone (16-3) in the opening match, Central Michigan's Chad Friend (9-1) in the second round and Stanford's Don Scherer (9-0) in the quarterfinals. Gambrall will face #4 seed Josh Ihnen of Nebraska in the semifinals. The Iowa City, IA, native has a 1-1 collegiate career record against Ihnen, losing a 7-4 decision at the2009 Brand Open and winning a 6-1 decision at the 2009 Grand View Open, while competing unattached at both events. Still alive for the Hawkeyes in the consolation bracket are seniors Luke Lofthouse (#2 seed at 197) and Aaron Janssen (165), junior Tyler Clark (#11 seed at 133), sophomore Mark Ballweg (#4 seed at 141), redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse (#9 seed at 174) and true freshman Mike Evans (174). Evans is competing unattached. Thursday's championship semifinals and consolation matches are set to start at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans can listen to a live broadcast at hawkeyesports.com using the XXL All-Access subscription. Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, is in second place after the first day of the 2010 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Penn State is just behind pre-tournament favorite Cornell heading into the second day of the event, hosted by North Carolina-Greensboro, which concludes tomorrow. Penn State sent 15 wrestlers into action at the Scuffle with two at 125, one at 133, two at 141, two at 149, two at 157, two at 165, and one each at 174, 184, 197 and heavyweight. The Nittany Lions had an outstanding day with all but three wrestlers staying alive through nearly 12 hours of wrestling. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) and No. 16 Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) both wrestled at 125 for the Nittany Lions, with Pataky making his season debut. Pataky shook the rust off early picking up two impressive wins before dropping a last second 5-4 decision to No. 13 Frank Perrelli of Cornell in the third round. He bounced back in fine fashion, however, with 7-1 win in his first consolation bout and he moves into the consolation's fifth round with a 3-1 mark. Martellotti got a first round bye then dropped a touch decision into Penn's Mark Rappo in the second round. The loss to Rappo was Martellotti's first of the year and the true freshman bounced back to win three straight with two majors to stay alive and move into tomorrow's fifth round of wrestle-backs. He went 3-1 on the day. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) was Penn State's lone entrant at 133. Pearsall was solid, winning his first two bouts before dropping a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Edinboro's Eric Morrill in the third round. He closed out the first day with a pin of Navy's Allen Stein to go 3-1 on the day and move into tomorrow's fifth round of consolations. New Nittany Lion Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) was not able to wrestle at the event due to NWCA weight certification guidelines. He will make his Nittany Lion debut at the Virginia Duals. True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 9, and senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) both wrestled at 141 for Penn State. Both Lions were superb and combined to go 6-0 with each advancing to the quarterfinals. Alton was stunning, going 3-0 with three pins. His pins came at 6:24, 0:22 and 1:23 giving him a 16-0 record as a true freshman with 13 pins. His 13 pins have him tied for sixth on Penn State's all-time pins-in-a-season list. Lynch was equally impressive, rolling to three wins, including a first round pin of No. 14 Germaine Lindsey of Ohio. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 nationally, and teammate James English (York, Pa.) both wrestled at 149. Like 141, both of Penn State's entries at 149 were perfect on the day, combining for a 6-0 record with each advancing to the quarterfinals. Molinaro notched a major and a technical fall on his way to a 3-0 day and a date in tomorrow's quarterfinals. English matched Molinaro's record, picking up a pin and a major on his way to a 3-0 mark and a quarterfinal appearance. Freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 3 nationally, and teammate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) wrestled at 157. Taylor was dominating, picking up two technical falls and a pin on his way to a 3-0 mark. Taylor is 16-0 on the year with four pins, five tech falls and six majors heading into his quarterfinal date tomorrow morning. Vollrath dropped a tough first round decision and then roared back with four straight wins, including two majors, to stay alive and move into tomorrow's fifth round of wrestle-backs. Freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) returned to action for Penn State after an illness earlier in December and sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) both wrestled at 165. Kemerer was perfect on the day, going 3-0 with a major and two decisions to move into tomorrow's quarterfinals. Fischer won his first bout, then dropped his second bout. He then won two consolation bouts before bowing out of the tournament with a tough 4-3 loss to Navy's Mason Bailey. Fischer went 3-2 on the day for Penn State. Freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 10 nationally, was Penn State's entrant at 174. Ruth got a first round by and then pinned Army's Robert Doyle in the second round. He followed that up with an 11-3 dismantling (including 5:28 in riding time) of Michigan's Justin Zeerip to go 2-0 on the day and move into the quarterfinals. With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from an injury, freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) got the call at 184 for the Nittany Lions. Church lost two tough decisions on day one and was eliminated in the consolations, going 0-2 on the day. Freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) took to the mat for Penn State at 197. He had a first round bye and the lost his second round match-up to North Carolina's Caylor Williams. Ruggear bounced back for a strong win in the third round of consolations before bowing out of the tournament in the next conso round. Ruggear went 1-2 on the day. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 nationally, was Penn State's entrant at heavyweight. Wade dominated his first three opponents, getting two pins and a decision to go 3-0 and move into tomorrow morning's quarterfinals. Penn State is second in the team race with 50.5 points (using only one scorer per weight). Pre-tourney favorite Cornell is in first with 54.0 while Michigan is in third with 49.5. Oregon State follows with 48.5 with Kent State and Minnesota tied for fifth with 43.5 each. The Nittany Lions went 40-10 overall with 10 pins. Penn State continues action in the Southern Scuffle beginning tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.