InterMat Staff

OREM, Utah -- As voted by its coaches, the Western Wrestling Conference has announced postseason award winners for the 2010-11 season. Utah Valley senior 125-pounder Ben Kjar was named WWC Wrestler of Year, 184-pound Northern Iowa redshirt freshman Ryan Loder was the unanimous WWC Freshman of the Year and Wyoming head man Mark Branch was chosen by his peers as the WWC Coach of the Year. The Wrestler of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards were voted on by the league's head coaches this past week, while the Coach of the Year balloting was determined after the West Regional Tournament. Wrestler of the Year: Ben Kjar (Utah Valley), 125 lbs., Sr., Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS) Following up on a dominant career at UVU, Kjar became the underdog story of the NCAA Championships as he went from unseeded to place fourth at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. With the placement Kjar became Utah Valley's first-ever All-American. On his way through the bracket, he upset No. 4 seed James Nicholson (Old Dominion), No. 5 seed Zachary Sanders (Minnesota) and No. 7 seed Ryan Mango (Stanford) at Nationals. Kjar also found himself in the semifinals against the No. 1 seed and eventual champion Anthony Robles (Arizona State) and Kjar gave his undefeated opponent his closest match of the season at 4-2. At the West Regional the No. 2 seeded Kjar was upset in his first bout of the tournament and almost didn't even make it to Nationals as he had to wrestle all the way back to earn his qualifying spot. Kjar did just that however as he went on to win his next four matches in a row. He finished the season with a 30-8 overall record. Kjar also posted an 8-1 dual mark and also went a solid 11-2 versus WWC opponents on the year. Kjar was ranked No. 11 in the final NCAA Coaches Rankings at 125 pounds and was No. 8 in the final RPI. He was named the WWC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 5 after he placed third at the Southern Scuffle with a 5-1 record. Kjar won the Cowboy Open, placed second at the Kaufman-Brand Open and seventh at the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. He will leave UVU as its most winningest wrestler in school history as he's compiled a career 129-35 mark. He was also recently named the 2010-11 D1CollegeWrestling.net WWC Wrestler of the Year. Freshman of the Year: Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa), 184 lbs., RFr., Granite Bay, Calif. (Granite Bay HS) Loder was the Panthers' standout performer during the 2010-11 season, finishing as the West Regional champion at 184 pounds to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. In the finals of the regional tournament, Loder defeated now three-time All-American and No. 1 seed Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) 4-3 to win his first regional crown. Loder entered the NCAA championships as the No. 6 seed and advanced to the round of 12 before bowing out to eventual All-American and No. 4 seeded Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) by a narrow 4-2 margin. He finished the season with a 30-11 overall record, which lead UNI in wins. Loder also finished his Western Wrestling Conference dual season with a 4-1 record, falling only to Wyoming's LeBlanc by a narrow 6-5 margin. He also won 23 of his last 28 matches, including a string of 12 straight wins that included victories over six ranked opponents. A three-time WWC Wrestler of the Week, Loder recorded six wins by fall, six by major decisions and three by technical falls while having none of those verdicts scored against him. Loder placed fifth at the prestigious Midlands Championships and posted three consecutive wins over ranked opponents during the 2011 National Duals, upsetting No. 12 Mike Larson (Missouri), 3-1, Ohio State's No. 20-ranked Cody Magrum, 6-4, and No. 11 Chris Perry (Oklahoma State), 8-2. He was also recently named the 2010-11 D1CollegeWrestling.net West WWC Freshman of the Year. Coach of the Year: Mark Branch (Wyoming) Branch, who just completed his third season as the Cowboys' head coach, was named the 2010-11 WWC Coach of the Year. The honor is Branch's second during his tenure at Wyoming, as he was previously named the Coach of the Year following his first season, 2008-09. Branch led his team to their second consecutive West Regional/WWC Tournament Championship as his Cowboys led the way at the qualifying tournament with 93 points, finishing six points ahead of UNI who placed second. He also led Wyoming to a second place WWC regular season finish with a 5-1 dual record in league matches. He also helped Wyoming qualify six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships -- three more than any other school in the conference -- and coached two more All-Americans as 165-pounder Shane Onufer placed fifth and 184-pounder Joe LeBlanc finished sixth at the championships. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. The conference formed in April 2006.

Joe Tiboni, Jack Childs, and Bill Zadick will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, April 6. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM CST on AM 1650, The Fan. An archive of the broadcast is available on USA Wrestling's website www.themat.com. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Tiboni co-wrote the recently released wrestling movie “Win Win.” The movie, which has received extremely positive reviews and was featured at the Sundance Film Festival, stars Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, and Bobby Cannavale. Tiboni wrestled for four years at New Providence High School in New Jersey. Childs recently retired as the head wrestling coach at Drexel after serving 35 years in the position. His 510 dual meet wins was the most among all active Division I wrestling coaches. He coached two All-Americans during his tenure. Zadick currently serves as the developmental freestyle wrestling coach as USA Wrestling. He was a 2006 World champion and a 1996 NCAA champion for the University of Iowa. Zadick will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on Saturday, April 16.

Mike Mendoza

David Taylor is the very definition of "freshman phenom." In his first year wrestling for Penn State, the Ohio native was a near-perfect 38-1, scoring bonus points in 34 of those victories, grabbing the 2011 Big Ten title, and making it to the 157-pound finals at the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships. For all these reasons, Taylor is the unanimous choice for 2011 InterMat Freshman of the Year. 2011 InterMat Freshman of the Year 1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1 Total Votes/(First-Place Votes) 1. David Taylor, Penn State, 126 (14) 2. Ed Ruth, Penn State, 94 3. Derek St. John, Iowa, 33 4. Kevin Steinhaus, Minnesota, 27 5. Andrew Alton, Penn State, 19 6. Tony Nelson, Minnesota, 17 7. Tony Ramos, Iowa, 14 8. Spencer Myers, Maryland, 9 9. Eric Grajales, Michigan, 5 T10. Devin Carter, Virginia Tech, 3 T10. Alan Waters, Missouri, 3Each year, this honor is awarded to the nation's top freshman wrestler across all divisions of college competition, and is determined by a vote of InterMat writers and executives. Taylor received all 14 first-place votes, for a total of 126 points. In second place was Penn State teammate Ed Ruth (winner of the Gorriaran Award for most pins in the shortest time at the 2011 NCAAs), with 94 points. Derek St. John of the University of Iowa placed third in the balloting, with 33 points. (Of the 11 freshmen who received votes, eight wrestle in the Big Ten.) Taylor joins a stellar list of InterMat Freshman of Year honorees. Last year, Kyle Dake of Cornell University received the award. Others include Wisconsin's Andrew Howe (2009), Cornell's Mike Grey (2008), Iowa State's Jake Varner (2007), and Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter (2006). In his first season as a Nittany Lion, Taylor had captured the imaginations of wrestling writers and fans. Back in January, Craig Sesker of TheMat.com said, "Taylor has taken the college wrestling world by storm as a redshirt freshman." Just prior to the NCAAs, Tim Leone of the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News described Taylor as "a precocious redshirt freshman with supernatural skill and supernatural cool." David Taylor gave American's Steve Fittery his only loss this season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"David Taylor was the most dominating individual in college wrestling all season, save for one match," said InterMat staff writer T.R. Foley. "Winners win and make those around them perform better, and Taylor was able to impact those around him in a positive way all season." David Taylor's credentials were well established long before setting foot in the Penn State wrestling room. The product of St. Paris, Ohio was a four-time state champ for St. Paris Graham High School, one of the powerhouse prep programs in the nation. He compiled a phenomenal 180-2 record in high school, winning four Beast of the East and a like number of Ironman championships. Taylor also garnered three Cadet and two Junior National titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman competition. He completed his prep career by being named the recipient of the 2009 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award.

Related Link: Brackets Related Link: Video Coverage CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The FloNationals were one of the three major events on this end of season championship weekend for high school folkstyle wrestling. A pair of No. 1-ranked wrestlers won second consecutive championships this afternoon at the second-year event hosted by Walsh Jesuit High School just outside of Akron, Ohio. Both wrestlers are also currently ranked second in their respective graduating classes. Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, California), a senior 189 pound wrestler bound for Penn State, won his three matches prior to the final by technical fall, 23-9 major decision over a state runner-up, and 24-11 major decision over a state champion. In the championship final, McIntosh faced No. 8 Gabe Dean (Lowell, Michigan), and emerged with a convincing and controlling 11-6 victory. After getting just one takedown in the first period, despite dominating the leg attack activity, McIntosh turned up the pressure and intensity in the second period to extend the 2-1 lead to a 9-4 lead with three takedowns. "I changed up my attacks, just opening it up to get in low," McIntosh said. "The big thing was to continue pushing the pace, as I had in the first period." With the order of matches being random for the finals, McIntosh's match was seventh, which made him the first ever two-time FloNationals champion. "It is great," said McIntosh. "I've done a lot of winning over the last three years." Joining McIntosh as a two-time champion was junior Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana), who won the 135 pound weight class after competing in the regular season at 140 pounds. The two-time Super 32 Challenge runner-up wrestled Super 32 champion Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) in the last match of the afternoon. A first period takedown and a whole bunch of riding time was enough to see him emerge with the 4-2 victory. "It's a great tournament, and it feels good to win it," Tsirtsis commented. "I love the riding time and college out of bounds rules. It makes the matches more fun and technical." Jason also indicated that he will be wrestling this coming weekend in the FILA Junior freestyle event at 132 pounds, and will seek to make the world team at the trials in Franklin, Indiana in the middle of May. The other wrestler seeking to defend his FloNationals title, No. 4 Conor Youtsey (Mason, Michigan) fell short in the championship match against No. 16 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) by a 4-3 score. In the second last match of the afternoon, Heil came back from giving up a late third period takedown to get an escape and a takedown of his own to win the match. In trying to counter Youtsey's control of the ties through the front headlock and underhooks, Heil knew he had to "catch (my) opponent off guard" and "right after the escape was my best opportunity." And that is how he got in on an open double leg to score the match-winning takedown." Despite some struggles during the regular season, Heil came on strong in the post-season and at the FloNationals, where he had three major decisions and a 7-1 victory over No. 9 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Virginia) prior to the final. "I finally got my weight under control, and changed up my approach to the matches (and the other aspects of the sport)." One of the more exciting finals matches was the first one of the session at 140 pounds, where Super 32 Challenge champion (with a victory over Tsirtsis) Roger Wildmo (Durand, Michigan) emerged with a 9-8 victory over No. 13 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California). Trailing 4-2 after one period, giving up a pair of leg attack takedowns, Wildmo -- ranked No. 2 at 152 nationally -- was able to surge back some mid-match adjustments. "I just defended my legs a bit better, worked hard to get some more attacks and improve my positions," was Wildmo's response when asked about those adjustments. He cut the deficit to 7-6 after the second period, as he scored a pair of takedowns in that period. An escape and late takedown in the third period gave Wildmo his first lead of the match. Then, despite a late escape from Martinez, he held on for the victory. "I haven't had to scramble so much in a long time, but I wasn't uncomfortable, though I'd just rather control the match," commented the Michigan State bound Wildmo. The theme of the next match was complete domination, as junior Elijah Hull (Lewis County, West Virginia) earned a 15-0 technical fall in 3:16 against Austin Maneese (Clear Fork, Ohio). Despite it being the middle of baseball season for Hull, he was able to score from an array of attacks on his feet and in the top position. "I won the state tournament on a Saturday (Feb. 26), and that Monday I was at baseball conditioning," said Hull. Even though Hull is the starting catcher this year for his baseball team, after not playing last year due to injury, wrestling is clearly his focus for college. "Right after baseball ends, I'm going to start training for Fargo (for the first time)." Next to the mats was a pair of nationally ranked heavyweights, who traded a pair of escapes. However, it was No. 9 Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, Florida) who emerged with a 2-1 victory over No. 17 Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) due to accruing greater than a one minute riding time advantage in the match. Vollaro scored an early escape in the second period, before riding Lopez for over 90 seconds in the third period. "The key was that first breakdown," said Vollaro. "Once I got him down to his base that first time, I felt confident that I could hold him down to get the (advantage) point." From big to small the finals went, as next to the mats were a pair of freshman 103 pound wrestlers. Third in the state Emilio Saavedra (Pitman, California) earned a 5-2 victory over state champion Nathan Boston (Lawrence North, Indiana). Key to the match was a two-point near fall off his staple two-on-one tilt while riding Boston for the majority of the second period. After getting reversed before period's end, Saavedra came back in the third period with one of his own and rode Boston out to earn the victory; the advantage point making the score 5-2. "It's my go to move in the top position," said Saavedra about that tilt. The FloNationals title caps off a season in which he had just two losses -- one in the state semifinal and then one up at 119 pounds in a dual meet where he weighed in at 112 pounds. "After the semifinal loss, I've been working even harder for this tournament." Another wrestler seeking to bounce back from state tournament defeat was the champion of the 125 pound weight class, No. 18 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth). After finishing third and second the prior two years, the junior entered state as a clear favorite but had some struggles -- barely surviving his semifinal in the ultimate tiebreaker before losing the final in overtime. However, in this tournament, Squire had two pins, a technical fall, and a 10-2 major decision prior to the final. "After state I took a week off," Squire said. "While upset about the outcome, I wasn't going to let it define me as a person." To earn this title, he beat No. 6 Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois) 2-1. Squire rode Richards out in the second period, scored a relatively early escape in the third period, and then fended off some Richards attacks. Though penalized for stalling two times, the riding time advantage point earned him the victory. "My strong top position and defense usually wins me these close matches," observed Squire. Bouncing back from state tournament disappointment continued to be the theme, as Nick Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) earned the title at 171 pounds with a 3-1 victory over two-time state champion Blake Stauffer (Neosho, Missouri), after upsetting No. 13 (at 189) Brandon Griffin (Sprauge, Oregon) 2-0 in the semifinal. In both of those matches, one of the points that Bonaccorsi scored came due to the riding time advantage being greater than one minute. After qualifying for state in his first three years of high school, with just a pair of eighth place finishes, he entered this year's state tournament undefeated. However, Bonaccorsi drew another undefeated wrestler (John Staudenmayer, ranked No. 19 nationally), fell short in that match and finished third. "I wasn't satisfied after state," said Bonaccorsi. "I wanted to keep wrestling, was hungry for some more, and heard that this was a good tournament. It also helps me out with the riding time at the next level (having signed to wrestle at the University of Pittsburgh)." Close matches continued to be the order of the day, as a pair of Ohio juniors took to the mat at 112 pounds, with No. 4 George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius) facing off against Cory Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit). The unranked Stainbrook reached the final with a 3-2 win over No. 18 J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Virginia) and 6-4 win over No. 15 Jarred Brooks (Warsaw, Indiana). Like in his semifinal against Godwin Nyama (Brashear, Pennsylvania) and his final three matches at the Ironman, DiCamillo had to rally back from a deficit to emerge as champion in the Walsh Jesuit gym for the second time in 2010-11. Ridden out in the second period, DiCamillo rode his opponent for more than a minute of the third period before giving up the escape, which gave Stainbrook a 1-0 lead. Inside the last 30 seconds of the match, DiCamillo shot in on a sweep single to the right, scrambled to reach the far leg and score the go ahead takedown right on the edge of the mat. "It's just a tradition that I have to make it exciting in this gym," said DiCamillo. DiCamillo and Stainbrook wrestle with each other a lot in the off-season, competing for the same club program at events such as the Disney Duals. "It's hard to go up against such a good friend, someone I work with a lot," DiCamillo added, "however, I got the win and hopefully kept the audience intrigued." After pulling off the upset of the tournament in the semifinals, a 2-1 victory over two-time state champion Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, California) -- ranked No. 5 nationally -- junior Matt Meadows (CVCA, Ohio) was unable to muster another victory of similar ilk in the final. Like Meadows, senior Logan Erb (Wapakoneta, Ohio) upended a nationally ranked wrestler by a point in the semifinal round -- a 3-2 victory over No. 12 Michael Kroells (Scott West, Minnesota). The pair of Buckeye State wrestlers that did not win a state title this year traded escapes in the regulation portion of the final at 215 pounds. In the overtime period, Erb earned a takedown right before time was up at the edge of the mat to win 3-1. When asked about always seeming to wrestle in low scoring matches, Erb responded, "It's really hard to explain, but I'm fine with it as I win most of them." The 2010 state champion is currently unsigned, not sure what his college plans are, except for that he'll be competing down at 197 pounds. After a string of close matches, No. 3 (at 135) Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) absolutely took it to his finals opponent at 130 pounds, three-time state champion Quentin Murphy (Holley Central, New York). Murphy is ranked No. 13 nationally at 135 pounds, and earned a freestyle win last spring over Skonieczny at the FILA Cadet Nationals. However, in this match the Walsh Jesuit junior took it to Murphy scoring nine takedowns on the way to a 21-6 technical fall victory. It was three single legs and six double leg scores. "He left it open for me, so I just kept taking advantage of it," said Skonieczny about his double leg takedown scoring. "Why change something that's working so well." Ending the three finals match victory string for Ohio wrestlers was No. 19 Joey Davis (Santa Fe, California) when he upended No. 6 Ian Miller (Oak Harbor) 11-9 in a battle of two-time state finalists. State champion this year, Davis used four takedowns -- mostly open double leg attacks -- to secure the victory over the Ironman and 2010 state tournament champion Miller. "It's the same exact open space double leg as (NCAA champion, Dan Hodge Trophy winner and InterMat Wrestler of the Year Jordan) Burroughs," said Davis about his primary scoring move. Rounding out the champions was No. 13 Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Florida), who earned a 4-2 victory over Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) at 160 pounds on the strength of two inside trips -- one in the first period, and one in the third period. All this coming despite his a major cut/opening over his right eye that came during his first match of the tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The finals are set at FloNationals and will take place at 3 p.m. ET. The matchups are listed in the order in which they will take place. 140: No. 2 (at 152) Roger Wildmo (Durand, Michigan) vs. No. 13 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California) 145: Austin Maneese (Clear Fork, Ohio) vs. Elijah Hull (Lewis County, West Virginia) 285: No. 9 Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, Florida) vs. No. 17 Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) 103: Nathan Boston (Lawrence North, Indiana) vs. Emilio Saavedra (Pitman, California) 125: No. 6 Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois) vs. No. 18 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, Ohio) 171: Nick Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) vs. Blake Stauffer (Neosho, Missouri) 189: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, California) vs. No. 8 Gabe Dean (Lowell, Michigan) 112: No. 4 George DiCamillo (St.Ignatius, Ohio) vs. Cory Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) 215: No. 5 Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, California) vs. Logan Erb (Wapakoneta, Ohio) 130: No. 3 (at 135) Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) vs. No. 13 (at 135) Quinton Murphy (Holley Central, New York) 152: No. 6 Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) vs. No. 19 Joey Davis (Santa Fe, California) 160: No. 13 Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Florida) vs. Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) 119: No. 4 Conor Youtsey (Mason, Michigan) vs. No. 16 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) 135: No. 1 (at 140) Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana) vs. Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania)

EDMOND, Okla. -- Western State 197-pound standout Donovan McMahill has been selected as the 2010-11 NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year, it was announced Saturday. McMahill capped an unbeaten senior season by capturing his second straight Division II national championship on March 12 in Kearney, Neb., earning tournament Outstanding Wrestler honors in the process. McMahill is the fourth winner of the award, sponsored by the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches’ Association and voted on by eight regional representatives from around the country. Nebraska-Kearney heavyweight Tervel Dlagnev took the inaugural award in 2008, with Nebraska-Omaha 157-pounder Todd Meneely winning in 2009 and Pittsburgh-Johnstown 133-pounder Shane Valko last year. Each of the four regions nominated a candidate, with McMahill the Super Region Four nominee. He collected seven of the eight first-place votes cast and finished with 31 points to easily claim the coveted honor. Nebraska-Omaha 141-pound national champion Mario Morgan of Super Region Two was runner-up in the voting. St. Cloud State 157-pounder John Sundgren was the Region Three representative and Gannon 174-pounder Zack McKendree the Super Region One nominee. “When I think back I couldn’t have dreamed up any better a season,” McMahill said. “It was unbelievable. I’m so honored.” McMahill finished a perfect 34-0 with 21 bonus-point wins this season as the only undefeated wrestler in Division II -- and the first at WSC since 1965. He won titles at the Wyoming Cowboy Open Elite Division and Fort Hays State Bob Smith Open during the regular season before taking the Super Region Four and national crowns. A product of Weld Central High School in Lochbuie, Colo., McMahill was a three-time Super Region Four champion and a three-time All-American for the Mountaineers. He was the national runner-up at 197 in 2009 before winning back-to-back titles the last two years. McMahill ended his career with a 51-match winning streak and won a school-record 137 matches, finishing with a 137-20 career record.

Related Link: Brackets Related Link: Video Coverage CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio -- The semifinals are set for 2011 FloNationals. Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. ET with finals at 3 p.m. ET. 103: Nathan Boston (Lawrence North, Indiana) vs. Tristan Manderfield (Foley, Minnesota) Aaron Assad (St. Peter Chanel, Ohio) vs. Emilio Saavedra (Pitman, California) 112: No. 4 George DiCamillo (St.Ignatius, Ohio) vs. Godwin Nyama (Brashear, Pennsylvania) No. 15 Jarred Brooks (Warsaw, Indiana) vs. Cory Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) 119: No. 4 Conor Youtsey (Mason, Michigan) vs. No. 18 Ryan McQuade (Appleton West, Wisconsin) No. 9 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Virginia) vs. No. 16 Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) 125: No. 6 Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois) vs. Alfredo Gray (Wadsworth, Ohio) No. 18 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, Ohio) vs. Jeffrey Ott (Belmont Hill, Massachusetts) 130: No. 3 (at 135) Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) vs. Matt Nelson (Big Lake, Minnesota) No. 13 (at 135) Quinton Murphy (Holley Central, New York) vs. Kyle Bauer (Wheeling Park, West Virginia) 135: No. 1 (at 140) Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana) vs. Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvaia) No. 13 (at 130) Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minnesota) vs. Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) 140: No. 2 (at 152) Roger Wildmo (Durand, Michigan) vs. Kyle Burns (Milan Edison, Ohio) No. 13 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California) vs. Ethan Davis (Monett, Missouri) 145: Austin Maneese (Clear Fork, Ohio) vs. Tanner Lemon (Massillon Perry, Ohio) TJ Fox (Field, Ohio) vs. Elijah Hull (Lewis County, West Virginia) 152: No. 6 Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) vs. Tyler Askey (Northgate, Georgia) No. 19 Joey Davis (Santa Fe, California) vs. Dylan Reel (Washington, Illinois) 160: No. 13 Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Florida) vs. Kalvin Hill (Minooka, Illinois) Geno Morelli (Dubois, Pennsylvania) vs. Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) 171: No. 13 (at 189) Brandon Griffin (Sprague, Oregon) vs. Nick Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) Blake Stauffer (Neosho, Missouri) vs. Travis Mallo (Mason City, Iowa) 189: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, California) vs. Kody Sorensen (Frazee, Minnesota) No. 5 Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) vs. No. 8 Gabe Dean (Lowell, Michigan) 215: No. 5 Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, California) vs. Matt Meadows (CVCA, Ohio) No. 12 Michael Kroells (Scott West, Minnesota) vs. Logan Erb (Wapakoneta, Ohio) 285: No. 9 Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, Florida) vs. Orry Elor (College Park, California) No. 17 Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) vs. David Ng (Plainedge, New York)

BLOOMSBURG -- Bloomsburg University wrestler Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) has been named the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Freshman of the Year in voting by the conference coaches. Boylan posted a record of 20-13 on the year for the Huskies wrestling at the 125-pound weight class. He finished second at the PSAC championships helping Bloomsburg to a second place finish and was third at the Eastern Wrestling League championships as the Huskies took third there. During the season he pinned then-33rd ranked Nick Hyatt of Lock Haven in the Huskies win over the Bald Eagles and overall was 13-7 in dual completion. He ended the season winning five of his final six bouts. Head coach John Stutzman is thrilled for his wrestler. “(Sean) Boylan had a great season for us,” said Stutzman, who was named the EWL Coach of the Year. “As a true freshman he emerged as a team leader winning 20 matches. I am excited for him and his future.” “Sean just missed out on qualifying for NCAA's and I think this will help him gain the confidence to reach his individual goals,” Stutzman added.

Lock Haven, Pa. -- Fifth year Clarion head wrestling coach Teague Moore was named the PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) Wrestling Coach of the Year today for the 2010-11 season in a vote by the PSAC head coaches. Moore led the Golden Eagles to its first PSAC Team title in 16 years on December 3, 2010 when the Golden Eagles totaled 135.5 teams points and crowned three individual champions. The Eagles outdistanced Bloomsburg who had 110.5 and Edinboro who had 109 points. The team title was the first for the Golden Eagles since 1994. James Fleming (157), Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (165) and “OW” Alex Thomas (197) were crowned individual champions. “I’m really honored and humbled to receive this award from the PSAC coaches,” said Clarion’s Moore. “The wrestlers and our entire staff have worked very hard to get us to this point and they deserve all the credit,” he continued. “We have a very dedicated and hard-working group here and we’re all proud of that.” The Golden Eagles qualified two wrestlers, James Fleming (So. West Mifflin) at 157-pounds and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Jr. Tashkent, Uzbekistan) at 165-pounds to the NCAA Division I Nationals, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia March 17-19. Fleming was 1-2 and had a season record of 31-4. while Abdurakhmonov was 3-2 and missed being an All-American by one win. He was 38-11. “We have tremendous wrestling tradition here at Clarion and the support here for wrestling is a big part of our success,” commented Moore. “We receive great support from the athletic department, faculty and staff, the community and of course our dedicated pin club. We’re a family and I accept this award on behalf of everyone involved with Clarion wrestling.” The Golden Eagles were 4-10 in dual meets against a very strong Division I schedule and 2-4 in the EWL. Clarion also finished a very strong fourth in team scoring at EWL’s with all ten wrestlers earning a place. James Fleming was an EWL champion and co “OW”. CLARION NOTES: Former Clarion wrestling coach Jack Davis was named PSAC “Coach of the Year” in 1994 – the last time Clarion has taken the wrestling coaches award … Moore is the third Clarion coach to receive PSAC “Coach of the Year” honors this year including Rob Eaton (Women’s Soccer) and Jennifer Harrison (Women’s Volleyball)… Moore took over the Clarion wrestling program on May 15, 2006 following an 0-17 season in 2006 … The program itself has a proud D-I Wrestling tradition including 8 NCAA D-I individual national titles won by Kurt Angle (1990, 92), Wade Schalles (1972, 73), and Sheldon Thomas (1996), Garry Barton (1972), Don Rohn (1973) and Bill Simpson (1973) ... Clarion also has 43 NCAA Div.I All-Americans 2005 was also the year that Clarion stood tall at the 75th Anniversary of the NCAA Wrestling Championships ... 15 wrestlers were named the best of All-Time.. Clarion’s Kurt Angle and Wade Schalles were named 2 of the top 15 collegiate wrestlers of All-Time...... Moore led the Golden Eagles to an exciting season in 2009-10 placing third at PSAC’s and EWL’s, plus was 8-8 in dual meets and 4-2 in the EWL… Clarion was 3rd at PSAC’s, 7th at EWL’s and 8-14 in duals in 2009; 10-15-1 overall 3rd at PSAC's, 6th at EWL's in 2008 and 7-13 in 2007 placing 4th at PSAC’s and 7th at EWL’s. Moore is 35, a 1995 graduate of North Allegheny High and was an NCAA Div. I National Champion at Oklahoma State in 1998 … He came to Clarion from Harvard University, where he was an assistant coach for one season. He was an assistant at Oklahoma State in 2003-04, at Oklahoma in 2002-03 and at Pitt from 2000-01. At North Allegheny High School Teague was a three-time PIAA placewinner including a runner-up in 1993, a third place ending in 1994 and State Champion in 1995. He also was a three-time Pennsylvania State Freestyle Champion (1993-95), a three-time Junior National Freestyle Champion (1993, 94, 95) and National High School Champion in 1995. Heading to Oklahoma State to wrestle under coach John Smith, Teague was a four-year starter at 118-pounds for the Cowboys. A 4-time NCAA Division I National Qualifier, he was a three-time Division I All-American (1997-99), including an NCAA National Championship in 1998. He pinned Michigan State’s Dave Morgan in the finals to win his title. He also placed third at nationals in 1999 and 4th in 1997. Teague was a Big 12 Champion in 1997 and 98 and runner-up in 1999. He posted a career record of 118-25 and was 15th in career wins at Oklahoma State at that time. Teague was inducted into the Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame in April of 2009. Teague and wife Mary Alice have three daughters, Talen Josephina, Maryn Sophia and Madigan Jane, as well as a son Maximus Tobias and resides in Clarion.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa sophomore Matt McDonough has been named winner of the Mike Howard Most Valuable Player Award for the Iowa wrestling team. The announcement was made tonight at the team’s annual awards banquet. McDonough is a 125-pounder from Marion, Iowa. He captured his first Big Ten title this season and was runner-up at the NCAA Championships. He has advanced to the NCAA 125-pound in each of the last two years, winning the championship as a freshman in 2010. He scored bonus points in 22 of his 27 wins, leading the team in dual points scored while posting a 16-0 dual record. McDonough was also the recipient of the All-American Award and Most Pins Award. His team-high 14 falls included a streak of six consecutive pins in Big Ten dual competition. He also scored a team-best 80 points in dual competition. McDonough was one of five winners of the All-American Award. Senior Luke Lofthouse, junior Montell Marion, sophomore Grant Gambrall and redshirt freshman Derek St. John were also recipients of the ward. Gambrall posted a 25-8 overall mark and 14-2 dual record en route to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. A native of Iowa City, Iowa, the 184-pounder placed sixth at the Midlands Championships and fifth at the Big Ten Conference meet before running off six wins in seven bouts at the NCAA Championships. Gambrall owned a 7-1 mark in Big Ten duals and tied for the team lead with eight major decisions. St. John was named the winner of the Most Improved Award. A native of Parnell, Iowa, St. John recorded a 24-6 overall record en route to a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. He registered a 15-1 record in dual competition at 157 lbs. and earned a No. 6 seed at the NCAA Championships, where he placed fourth. He scored 55 points in dual competition, the third-highest total on the team. The John and Dorothy Sill Award for most dedicated wrestler went to Luke Lofthouse. A native of Avon, Utah, Lofthouse arrived on campus in 2004 and earned the Coaches Appreciation Award as a freshman. He then left the program from 2005-07 to complete a Mormon mission in Africa. He rejoined the Hawkeyes in 2007 and completed his senior season with a 25-7 record, runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships, and a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The 197-pounder posted a 13-2 dual record this season and shared the team lead with eight major decisions. Marion, a 141-pounder from Des Moines, Iowa, was named winner of the Mike J. McGivern Award for most courageous wrestler. Marion rejoined the Hawkeye lineup in January following a seven month suspension. He returned to post a 13-5 overall record that included five major decisions and one fall. He placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships and fourth at the NCAA Championships. His NCAA finish earned him his second All-America honor is as many years. The Coaches Appreciation Award was given to senior Aaron Janssen. A native of Emmetsburg, Iowa, Janssen led all Hawkeyes with 28 wins in 2010-11. He placed third at 165 lbs. at the Big Ten Championships and earned a No. 11 seed at the NCAA Championships. He completed his Hawkeye career with a 57-23 overall record and 9-5 mark in Big Ten duals. Ethan Sebert was the recipient of the J. Donald McPike Senior Award, given annually to the Hawkeye senior with the highest grade-point average. A native of Clarion, Iowa, Sebert is a journalism/health sports studies major. He has competed at 141 and 149 pounds since joining the Hawkeyes in 2007. The Hawkeyes finished the 2010-11 season with five All-Americans and two Big Ten Champions. Iowa earned its fourth straight Big Ten regular season title with a perfect 8-0 conference record and extended its unbeaten dual winning streak to 77 by posting a 15-0-1 overall dual mark. The Hawkeyes' perfect 8-0 home record marked the program's 19th undefeated season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 2010-11 University of Iowa Wrestling Team Awards Mike Howard Award (Most Valuable): Matt McDonough All-American Award: Luke Lofthouse, Montell Marion, Matt McDonough, Grant Gambrall, Derek St. John. J. Donald McPike, Sr. Award (Highest G.P.A.): Ethan Sebert John & Dorothy Sill Award (Most Dedicated): Luke Lofthouse Mike J. McGivern Award (Most Courageous): Montell Marion Most Pins Award: Matt McDonough Most Improved Award: Derek St. John Coaches Appreciation Award: Aaron Janssen

MINNEAPOLIS --InterMat has announced the creation of SnowNationals, a national wrestling tournament that will take place in the snow. SnowNationals is the first tournament of its kind in the U.S. and the second wrestling event started by InterMat. Last year, InterMat launched the JJ Classic, a preseason high school wrestling tournament. The inaugural SnowNationals will take place outdoors on Feb. 25, 2012, at Kerry Park in International Falls, Minn. SnowNationals will have high school, college, and senior divisions. The event will be governed by scholastic style rules. Matches will be four minutes in length with a 2-1-1 format. SnowNationals is expected to attract some of the nation's top wrestlers, including two-time U.S. World Team member Jake Clark and four-time U.S. National Team member Nate Gallick. The 31-year-old Clark, a South St. Paul, Minn. native, is thrilled about SnowNationals coming to his home state. "Minnesota is without question the best Greco-Roman wrestling state in the country, but now we get a chance to prove that Minnesota is also the best snow wrestling state in the country," said Clark, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the U.S. at 84 kilos in Greco-Roman. Gallick, a 2006 NCAA champion and three-time All-American at Iowa State, has been hampered by injuries. He has not competed since the 2010 U.S. World Team Trials last June, but jumped at the idea of competing at SnowNationals. He feels it will be easier on his body than wrestling freestyle, plus he feels that he and other Iowa State competitors have a leg up on the competition. "I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, so I didn't have much experience with snow until I got to college at Iowa State," said Gallick, a University Games World champion in 2005. "My college coach, Bobby Douglas, used to have us wrestle live in the snow quite a bit to prepare us for uncomfortable environments like Carver-Hawkeye Arena. I learned that snow wrestling is great for developing balance and conditioning, but I also learned that it is much more enjoyable and easier on your body after a fresh snowfall. Wrestlers with previous snow experience are likely to come out on top at this event." Steve Elwood, head recruiter of The Clash, will serve as head recruiter and assistant tournament director of SnowNationals. According to Elwood, snow wrestlers living in Canada will be eligible to compete at SnowNationals if they live within 350 miles of the host city. "With SnowNationals taking place in Northern Minnesota, some of Canada's top juniors will be competing, which will certainly strengthen the field," said Elwood. "As most people know, Canada is a world force in snow wrestling, much like Russia is a world force in freestyle wrestling." Snow wrestling incorporates challenges that wrestlers typically do not have to face in an indoor environment such as snow depth and sub-zero temperatures. The average temperature for International Falls in February is 23 degrees with an average monthly snowfall of over 10 inches. To protect against the elements, wrestlers will be encouraged to wear layers underneath their singlets. "The overwhelming success of beach wrestling was a big eye-opener for us," said InterMat president Jeremy Hipps. "We believe snow wrestling will be very successful, especially in northern climates like Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The amount of support and excitement for this event has been fantastic." Registration details will be announced closer to the event.

The NHSCA Nationals finals matchups in three divisions are set and will take place on Friday. The Senior National finals will take place on Sunday. NHSCA Junior Nationals: 103: Jan Rosenberg (Morris Knolls, New Jersey) vs. Javier Vieyra (Salina South, Kansas) 112: Vito Pasone (Meyers, Pennsylvania) vs. Max Hvolbek (Blair Academy, New Jersey) 119: No. 17 Nick Herrmann (Amarillo Tascosa, Texas) vs. Martin Ramirez (Elk Grove, California) 125: No. 9 (at 130) Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Florida) vs. Chris Caton (Northside Christian, North Carolina) 130: Anthony Finocchiaro (Canastota, New York) vs. Luke Zeiger (Glasgow, Montana) 135: Alenick Richardson (St. Peter’s Prep, New Jersey) vs. No. 20 (at 130) Natrelle Deminson (Bakersfield, California) 140: No. 16 Mitch Minotti (Easton, Pennsylvania) vs. Tony DeAngelo (Southern Alamance, North Carolina) 145: No. 8 (at 140) Jacob Crawford (Millbrook, Virginia) vs. Jared Reis (Napoleon, North Dakota) 152: Brett Pfarr (LeSeur-Henderson, Minnesota) vs. No. 12 Clark Glass (Brandon, Florida) 160: No. 9 Kyle Crutchmer (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma) vs. Ben Sullivan (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 171: No. 8 Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, California) vs. Robert Marchese (Oak Hills, California) 189: Tim Dudley (Irmo, South Carolina) vs. Taylor McGiffen (Alton, Illinois) 215: Ty Walz (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. Dawson Peck (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania) 285: Travis Morgan (Stillwater, Oklahoma) vs. John Dreggors (Springstead, Florida) NHSCA Sophomore Nationals: 103: No. 4 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania) vs. No. 15 Zach Gantzler (Andover Central, Kansas) 112: Deshaun Brown (West Mesa, New Mexico) vs. A.J. Rees (Discovery Canyon, Colorado) 119: Dennis Gustafson (Forest Park, Virginia) vs. Emilio Martinez (Greeley West, Colorado) 125: George Weber (John Carroll, Maryland) vs. Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania) 130: Grant Lamont (Maple Mountain, Utah) vs. Justin Arthur (Huntington, West Virginia) 135: Dominic Ruggiero (Timber Creek, New Jersey) vs. Bryant Clagon (Toms River South, New Jersey) 140: Austin Matthews (Reynolds, Pennsylvania) vs. Cain Salas (Oak Park, Missouri) 145: Coleman Hammond (Bakersfield, California) vs. Zach Voytek (Greensburg Salem, Pennsylvania) 152: Travis Berridge (Brandon, Florida) vs. Nick Kee (Scotland, North Carolina) 160: Jadaen Bernstein (Voorhees, New Jersey) vs. Nicholas Zak (Jackson Liberty, New Jersey) 171: Domenic Abounader (St. Edward, Ohio) vs. Zach Zupan (Canastota, New York) 189: Tyler Greene (Easton, Pennsylvania) vs. Nate Rotert (Spearfish/Lead-Deadwood, South Dakota) 215: No. 20 Spencer Empey (Reed, Nevada) vs. Nicholas Lupi (Huntington, New York) 285: Joe Bexley (Bremen, Georgia) vs. David Moore (Dudley, North Carolina) NHSCA Freshman Nationals: 103: Ryan Millhof (Archer, Georgia) vs. William Koll (Lansing, New York) 112: Cam Timok (Hermitage, Virginia) vs. Paul Fox (Gilroy, California) 119: Brandon Womack (Scottsboro, Alabama) vs. P.J. Klee (Blair Academy, New Jersey) 125: Clay Walker (Eastside, South Carolina) vs. Josh Ortman (Parkland, Pennsylvania) 130: Ian Shannon (Carlisle, Pennsylvania) vs. Alfred Bannister (Bishop McNamara, Maryland) 135: Drake Pilgrim (Amarillo Tascosa, Texas) vs. Aaron Hartman (Palm Harbor University, Florida) 140: Jack Bass (Robinson, Virginia) vs. Josh Van Slooten (St. James, South Carolina) 145: Shay McCurdy (Green River, Wyoming) vs. Nathan Marek (Southmoore, Oklahoma) 152: Josh Llopez (La Plata, Maryland) vs. Cory Daniel (River Hill, Maryland) 160: Daniel Bannister (Lexington, South Carolina) vs. Chip Ness (Buford, Georgia) 171: Burke Paddock (Warsaw, New York) vs. Jose Ortiz (Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania) 189: Nathan Rose (Sibley East, Minnesota) vs. Johnny Loflin (Baca County, Colorado) 215: Justin Blobe (Notre Dame, Pennsylvania) vs. Trent Allen (South Brunswick, North Carolina) 285: Jed Rich (Uintah, Utah) vs. Jesse Webb (Mt. Anthony, Vermont)

Morrisville State College will be discontinuing its sponsorship of men's wrestling as an intercollegiate sport effective the 2011-2012 academic year, according to Greg Carroll, the college's director of athletics. Carroll said the decision to drop wrestling came after careful consideration of all aspects of the sport's place within the colleges' National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Department. “We have seen a general decline in the popularity of wrestling at the high school level, and as a result colleges at all levels have been forced to look at the sport's place in their own programs,” he said. “Many of those schools who were traditional rivals of Morrisville State in years past have discontinued their programs and we have found it difficult to transition the sport to the four-year level,” Carroll said. Since Morrisville State's main conference affiliation does not sponsor wrestling (North Eastern Athletic Conference), the Mustangs were a member of the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference along with RIT, Brockport, Cortland, Oneonta, Ithaca, Lycoming, and Messiah College. Morrisville State will continue to offer football, soccer, cross country, ice hockey, basketball and lacrosse for men at the intercollegiate level, fielding a total of 15 sports for the athletics program

Top coaches, top wrestlers and more -- plus the announcement of the 2011 NCAA Division II Wrestler of the Year -- are all the lineup for Takedown Wrestling this Saturday from 9-11 a.m. CDT. Join hosts Scott Casber, Steve Foster, Jeff Murphy, Geoff Murtha and Ryan Freeman as they welcome a great roster of guests: 9:01 -- Mark Cody -- Head Coach at American University, and NWCA Coach of the Year 9:20 -- Jeff Bowyer -- Dir Sports Marketing Henson Group, Brute Adidas Nationals April 8-10 in Independence, Mo. 9:40 -- Lonnie Morris -- Head Coach at Johnson and Wales, the top academic wrestling team, according to the NWCA (National Wrestling Coaches Association) 9:50 -- Tyler Barkley -- Max Muscle Minute 10:01 -- Mark Manning -- Head Coach at Nebraska 10:20 -- Brad Pataky -- Penn State's 125 pound Senior 10:40 -- Mike Kirk -- announcing the 2011 NCAA Div. II Wrestler of the Year 10:50 -- Maureen Roshar (Wildrose) Takedown Wrestling incorporates radio and television. Listen to Takedown Radio -- America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show -- live on 9-11 a.m. CDT every Saturday morning on AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa, online at Livesportsvideo.com, or on your Blackberry or iPhone with the I Heart Radio App. (Click on KXNO under Sportsradio.) Or listen Saturday evening at 7 p.m. EST on Supertalk 1570 in Michigan, or anytime online at Livesportsvideo.com. Watch the latest episode of TDR TV, brand-new and now available on more than 30 top web sites and cable systems around the country, including Mediacom Cable Systems Channel 22 in Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Nebraska Tuesday 5 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m... Time Warner Cable Sports Ch. 813 in New York State Saturday at noon... CCN in Pennsylvania's Central Susquehanna Valley Friday at 5 p.m... Comcast Cable Tennessee Ch. 96 Friday 5 p.m... in northeast Ohio, Western Reserve Ohio Cable Ch. 9 Friday at 5:30 p.m, Saturday 10 p.m, and Tuesday 11 p.m... and, now, Long Lines Cable Ch. 75 in NW Iowa, NE Nebraska and SE South Dakota Friday 6 p.m., Sundays 4 p.m., and Monday at 7 p.m.

In a tight three-way race that featured head coaches from two NCAA championship teams as well as the 2011 NWCA Division I Coach of the Year, Mike Denney of the University of Nebraska-Omaha was voted InterMat Coach of the Year for 2011. 2011 InterMat Coach of the Year 1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1 Total Votes/(First-Place Votes) 1. Mike Denney, UNO, 76 (7) 2. Cael Sanderson, PSU, 75 (5) 3. Mark Cody, American, 71 (2) 4. Steve Costanzo, SCSU, 22 5. Tom Brands, Iowa, 21 6. Shawn Charles, ASU, 20 7. Rob Koll, Cornell, 17 8. Jason Borrelli, Stanford, 15 9. Jim Miller, Wartburg, 10 T10. Archie Randall, OCU, 7 T10. Pat Santoro, Lehigh, 6 12. Barry Davis, Wisconsin, 5 T13. Jim Andrassy, KSU, 1 T13. Drew Pariano, Northwestern, 1 T13. Frank Romano, Notre Dame, 1 T13. Greg Randall, Boise State, 1 T13. Josh Rhoden, Clackamas, 1Denney, who led his Mavericks to a third straight NCAA Division II team title, edged out Cael Sanderson of 2011 NCAA Division I champion Penn State, and American's Mark Cody, based on results of balloting among InterMat writers and executives to determine the top college wrestling coach for the year across all divisions. Denney garnered 76 points -- including seven first-place votes -- to earn InterMat Coach of the Year honors. Sanderson received 75 points and five first-place votes to place second. Cody was close behind in third place with 71 points and two first-place votes. With this honor, Denney joins past InterMat Coach of the Year honorees Rob Koll of Cornell University (2010), Ohio State's Tom Ryan (2008 and 2009), Cael Sanderson (as Iowa State head coach, 2007), and Oklahoma State's John Smith (2006). The award is bittersweet. Three weeks ago, hours after taking his wrestlers to their third consecutive Division II championship with three Mavericks winning individual titles, Denney was told by UNO administrators that the wrestling program was being eliminated, effective immediately. Mike Denney (Photo/Tim Tushla)Denney has coached wrestling at UNO for 32 years, leading the Mavericks to a total of seven NCAA team titles, six of those in the past eight years. He is a three-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year honoree, and, in 2006, was named Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year, and WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine) Dan Gable Coach of the Year. Over the years, Denney, a graduate of Dakota Wesleyan, has seen over 40 of his wrestlers earn Academic All-American honors. More than 60 mat Mavs have become wrestling coaches. "Mike Denney is the best coach, and the best man, I've worked with in more than 20 years in the communications business," said USA Wrestling's Craig Sesker, who covered Denney and the Mavericks writing for the Omaha World-Herald. "He is a man of the highest integrity, values and principles. He's given hundreds of young men an opportunity to wrestle for a first-class program. He's an unbelievably selfless and generous man who always puts his athletes first. He treats every kid on his team, from the national champions to the redshirts and backups, with the highest level of respect. He's a total class act all the way."

The pre-seeds have been released for 2011 FloNationals, which takes place Saturday and Sunday at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Criteria for seeding: All wrestlers nationally ranked in their weight class per InterMat All wrestlers that either placed at Flonationals in 2010, or were 2010-11 Flo Major champions Tournament committee discretion to meet thresholds of 8 or 12 seeds, depending on if there were 32 wrestlers in the weight class or less than that 103: 1. Coy Ozias (Southern Garrett, Maryland) -- No. 20 - State champion 2. Emilio Saavedra (Pitman, California) -- Flo Major champion, State 3rd 3. Aaron Assad (St. Peter Chanel, Ohio) -- Flo Major champion, 2x state placer (3rd/2nd) 4. Tristan Manderfield (Foley, Minnesota) -- Flo Major champion, State 3rd 5. Zach Siegle (Scott West, Minnesota) -- Flo Major champion 6. Jordan Amine (Brighton, Michigan) -- Flo Major champion 7. Adam Connell (McCallie, Tennessee) -- Flo Major champion 8. Ryan Diehl (Berkeley Springs, West Virginia) -- 2x State champion 9. Dalton Macri (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) -- CN double AA 10. Nathan Boston (Lawrence North, Indiana) -- State champion 11. Luis Gonzalez (North Bergen, New Jersey) -- State 2nd 12. Mitch Rogaliner (Bedford, Michigan) -- 2x State finalist (2010 SC) A. Bobby Nachreiner (Hartford Union, Wisconsin) -- 2x State 3rd, JN GR AA 112: 1. George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, Ohio) -- No. 4 - Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, 3x state placer (2011 SC) 2. Jared Brooks (Warsaw, Indiana) -- No. 15 - 2x State placer (5th/2nd), PSN 2nd 3. J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Virginia) -- No. 18 - 2x State champion, NHSCA frosh champion 4. Justin Oliver (Davison, Michigan) -- Flo Major champion, State champion 5. Gordon Nyama (Brashear, Pennsylvania) -- Flonationals placer, State 7th 6. Cory Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) -- 3x State placer (6th/3rd/2nd) 7. Luke Bell (Decatur, Michigan) -- 2x State champion 8. Artem Timchenko (Massillon Perry, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (7th/5th) 9. Stephen Ireland (Richmond, Michigan) -- 2x State placer (2010 SC) 10. Anthony Giraldo (North Bergen, New Jersey) -- State 4th 11. Ryan Murdock (Dublin Coffman, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (5th/6th) 12. Tyler Foley (South Lyon East, Michigan) -- JN folkstyle champion A. Bryce Gainer (Parkersburg South, West Virginia) -- 2x State 2nd 119: 1. Conor Youtsey (Mason, Michigan) -- No. 4 - Flonationals champion, JN FS AA, 3x State champion 2. Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Virginia) -- No. 9 - Flonationals placer, JN GR AA, 2x State champion 3. Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) -- No. 15 - JN FS AA, 4x State placer (2010/2008 SC) 4. Dean Heil (St. Edward, Ohio) -- No. 16 - Flo Major champion, 2x State champion 5. Ryan McQuade (Appleton West, Wisconsin) -- No. 18 - Flonationals placer, JN GR AA, 2x State champion 6. Stevan Knoblauch (Clovis West, California) -- Flo Major champion, 2x State 2nd 7. Grant Greene (St. Anthony's, New York) -- Flonationals placer, 2x State finalist (2008 SC) 8. David Jeffrey (Parkersburg South, West Virginia) -- Flonationals placer, 3x State champion 9. Jake Goodwin (Bishop Lynch, Texas) -- Flo Major champion, 2010 National Prep 3rd 10. Vinnie Pizzuto (Jackson Milton, Ohio) -- Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (6th/4th/3rd) 11. Brenden Campbell (New Castle, Indiana) -- 2x State placer (3rd/2nd) 12. Ken Bade (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) -- 2x State placer (2011 SC) A. Garrison White (Robinson, North Carolina) -- 3x State finalist (2010/2011 SC) 125: 1. Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois) -- No. 6 - CN double AA (GR champion), 2x State finalist (2011 SC) 2. Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, Ohio) -- No. 18 - Flo Major champion, 3x State placer (3rd/2nd/2nd) 3. Jeffrey Ott (Belmont Hill, Massachusetts) -- Flonationals placer, 2x National Prep placer (2010 champ) 4. Derrick Nelson (Waynesburg, Pennsylvania) -- State 7th 5. Alex Calandrino (Howell, Michigan) -- 3x State placer (2nd/3rd/2nd), JN GR AA 6. Joe Moita (De La Salle, California) -- 2010 State 4th 7. Tim Wiseman (Jackson Milton, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (7th/5th) 8. Alex Ward (McCallie, Tennessee) -- 2x State finalist (2010 SC) 9. Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa, New York) -- State 4th 10. Cole Cochran (Troy, Ohio) -- State 4th 11. Chad Walsh (Camden Catholic, New Jersey) -- State 5th 12. Shawn Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) - SQ A. Brock Zacherl (Brookville, Pennsylvania) 130: 1. Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) -- No. 4 (at 135) Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (2011 SC) 2. Quentin Murphy (Holley Central, New York) -- No. 13 (at 135) - 4x State finalist (2008/2010/2011 SC) 3. Steven Rodrigues (Fox Lane, New York) -- No. 14 - Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (2011 SC) 4. Kyle Bauer (Wheeling Park, West Virginia) -- Flonationals placer, 4x State champion 5. Devon Jackson (Yorktown, Indiana) -- Flonationals placer, 2x State 2nd 6. Jimmy Nehls (Downers Grove North, Illinois) -- Flonationals placer, 2010 State 3rd 7. Matt Nelson (Big Lake, Minnesota) -- Flonationals placer, 2x State finalist (2011 SC) 8. Joey Delgado (Hermiston, Oregon) -- 3x State champion 9. Johnny Matacic (Jackson Milton, Ohio) -- 2x State champion 10. Neal Molloy (Danville, Indiana) -- CN folkstyle champion, State champion 11. Travis Barroquillo (Prairie Heights, Indiana) -- 2x State placer (7th/3rd) 12. Brian Sergi (College Park, California) -- JN GR AA, SQ A. Nolan Barger (Clearfield, Pennsylvania) - SQ 135: 1. Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana) -- No. 1 (at 140) - Flonationals champion, JN FS AA, 3x State champion 2. Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minnesota) -- No. 13 (at 130) - Flo Major champion, 2x State finalist (2011 SC) 3. Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) -- Flo Major champion, 2x State placer (2010 SC) 4. Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvania) -- Flonationals placer, 2x SQ 5. Ronnie Garbinsky (Tyrone, Pennsylvania) -- Flonationals placer, JN double AA, 4x State placer (4th/4th/5th/7th) 6. Miguel Gallegos (San Fernando, California) -- Flo Major champion, State 5th 7. Gabe Morse (Lowell, Michigan) -- 2x State placer (2011 SC) 8. Scott Hardiman (Hibriten, North Carolina) -- 2x State champion 9. Austin Sams (Fairfield, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (5th/3rd) 10. Tom Puckett (Butler, North Carolina) -- 2x State 2nd 11. David Owens (Pinkerton, New Hampshire) -- 2x New England 3rd 12. Jim Carucci (Shenendehowa, New York) -- State 4th A. Ruben Burrows (Canton McKinley, Ohio) -- State 2nd 140: 1. Roger Wildmo (Durand, Michigan) -- No. 2 (at 152) - Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, 4x State finalist (2008/2010/2011 SC) 2. Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California) -- No. 13 - Flo Major champion, CN double AA (GR champion), 2x State placer (2011 SC) 3. Matt Cimato (LaSalle, Pennsylvania) -- No. 17 - Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, JN FS AA, State 3rd 4. Andrew Morse (Lowell, Michigan) -- Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (2011 SC) 5. Kyle Burns (Milan Edison, Ohio) -- Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (2011 SC) 6. Jacob Schultz (Lewistown, Pennsylvania) -- Flonationals placer 7. Ethan Davis (Monett, Missouri) -- NHSCA Junior AA, 3x State finalist (2010/2011 SC) 8. Kevin Moylan (Stagg, Illinois) -- State 3rd 9. Bryce McMahon (Hermiston, Oregon) -- 3x State finalist (2010 SC) 10. Abraham Rodriguez (Hermiston, Oregon) -- 2x State placer (2nd/3rd) 11. Michael Innes (Chartiers-Houston, Pennsylvania) -- State 4th 12. Rylan Reed (Rush-Henrietta, New York) -- State 4th A. Davante Andujar (Robinson, North Carolina) -- State champion 145: 1. Damen Capper (Berkeley Springs, West Virginia) -- Flonationals placer, 3x State champion 2. Devon Range (Brush, Ohio) -- Flonationals placer, 2x State placer (5th/3rd) 3. Elijah Hull (Lewis County, West Virginia) -- 3x State placer (2009/2011 SC) 4. AJ Zemke (Oshkosh Lourdes, Wisconsin) -- 3x State finalist (2010/2011 SC) 5. Tanner Lemon (Massillon Perry, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (8th/2nd) 6. Clay Wenger (Wadsworth, Ohio) -- 2x SQ 7. DJ Beauch (Toledo Central Catholic, Ohio) -- 3x SQ 8. Jordan Cooks (Davison, Michigan) -- State 3rd 9. Tyler Parsons (Erie Cathedral Prep, Pennsylvania) -- State 7th 10. Terner Gott (Otsego, Michigan) -- State 3rd 11. Jordan Munro (Bullock Creek, Michigan) -- State 4th 12. Austin Maneese (Clear Fork, Ohio) -- State 7th A. Zach Wilson (Bluffton, Ohio) -- State 4th 152: 1. Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, Ohio) -- No. 6 - Flo Major champion, 3x State placer (2010 SC) 2. Joey Davis (Santa Fe, California) -- No. 19 - Flo Major champion, 2x State finalist (2011 SC) 3. Kalvin Hill (Minooka, Illinois) -- State champion 4. Dylan Reel (Washington, Illinois) -- JN GR champion, 3x State placer (2009/2010 SC) 5. Tyler Askey (Northgate, Georgia) -- CN double AA, NHSCA Frosh champion, 2x State champion 6. Adam Bicak (Ripley, West Virginia) -- 3x State champion 7. Reece Lefever (Fort Wayne Carroll, Indiana) -- State 3rd 8. TJ Fox (Field, Ohio) -- CN double 2nd, 2x State placer (7th/2nd) 9. Vincent Grella (Beacon, New York) -- State 3rd 10. Payne Hatter (Neosho, Missouri) -- State 3rd 11. Nick Corba (Beavercreek, Ohio) -- State 4th 12. Tyler Hardtke (Elder, Ohio) -- State 5th A. Lucas Cummins (Cardington Lincoln, Ohio) -- 2x State 4th 160: 1. Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, Florida) -- No. 13 - JN GR AA, 2x State champion 2. Kevin Beazley (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) -- Flonationals placer, CN GR AA, 2x State placer (7th/2nd) 3. John Lampe (St. Xavier, Michigan) -- Flonationals placer, multi-time State champion 4. Mark Colabucci (Reservoir, Maryland) -- multi-time State champon 5. Conner Lefever (Fort Wayne Carroll, Indiana) -- 2x State placer (8th/4th) 6. Hunter Gamble (Union Grove, Georgia) -- 2x State 2nd 7. Jared Haught (Calhoun County, West Virginia) -- State champion 8. Chase Espinosa (Neosho, Missouri) -- State 3rd A. Brandon Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) - SQ 171: 1. Brandon Griffin (Sprauge, Oregon) -- No. 13 (at 189) - Flo Major champion, 3x State champion 2. Travis Mallo (Mason City, Iowa) -- Flonationals placer, 3x State placer (8th/4th/3rd) 3. Blake Stauffer (Neosho, Miossuri) -- Flo Major champion, 2x State champion 4. Nick Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park, Pennsylvania) -- Flo Major champion, 3x State placer (8th/8th/3rd) 5. Jackson Bratcher (Eastbrook, Indiana) -- Flonationals placer, 2x State placer (3rd/4th) 6. Hudson Buck (Vacaville, California) -- Flo Major champion, State 8th 7. Tory Bennett (Berkeley Springs, West Virginia) -- 3x State placer (2010/2011 SC) 8. Cody Ryba (Crestwood, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (2010 SC) 9. Matt Lashway (Queensbury, New York) -- State 2nd 10. Brandon O'Neill (Clear Fork, Ohio) -- State 7th 11. Cody Amos (Wheeling Park, West Virginia) -- State 2nd 12. Joe Brandt (Versailles, Ohio) - SQ A. Matthew O'Hara (Chardon, Ohio) -- State 6th 189: 1. Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, California) -- No. 1 - Flonationals champion, Flo Major champion, JN FS champion, 4x State placer (2009-2011 SC) 2. Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) -- No. 5 - Flonationals placer, JN double AA (GR champion), 3x State placer (2nd/2nd/6th) 3. Gabe Dean (Lowell, Michigan) -- No. 8 - Flonationals placer, 2x State finalist (2011 SC) 4. Kody Sorenson (Frazee, Minnesota) -- Flo Major champion, 2x State placer (2011 SC) 5. Miles Trealout (Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan) -- Flo Major champion, State 2nd 6. Dallas Smith (Neosho, Missouri) -- PSN champion, 4x State placer (2011 SC) 7. Curtis Berger (Hermiston, Oregon) -- NHSCA Junior 3rd, 3x State champion 8. Jared Bartel (Mason City, Iowa) -- 2x State placer (5th/2nd) A. Jacob Shields (Brookville, Pennsylvania) -- State 4th 215: 1. Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, California) -- No. 5 - Flo Major champion, Flonationals placer, JN GR AA, 3x State champion (2010/2011 SC) 2. Michael Kroells (Scott West, Minnesota) -- No. 12 - Flo Major champion, CN FS AA, 3x State placer (2011 SC) 3. Logan Erb (Wapakoneta, Ohio) -- 3x State placer (2010 SC) 4. Alton Meeks (Boone, Florida) -- State champion 5. Matt Meadows (CVCA, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (8th/3rd) 6. Carlos Martinez (Oviedo, Florida) -- State 3rd 7. Brandon Bradney (Fort LeBoeuf, Pennsylvania) -- State 5th 8. Evan Daley (Fort LeBoeuf, Pennsylvania) -- State 6th A. Jeff Mofield (New Castle, Indiana) - SQ 285: 1. Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, Florida) -- No. 9 - CN double 2nd, NHSCA Soph 2nd, 2x State placer (2010 SC) 2. Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) -- No. 17 - JN FS 2nd, 2x State placer (3rd/2nd) 3. Garrett Gray (Oregon Clay) -- Flo Major champion, State 6th 4. Orry Elor (College Park, California) -- JN GR champion, 2x State placer (8th/3rd) 5. Clint Endicott (Ashland Crestview, Ohio) -- 2x State placer (7th/2nd) 6. Marquis Porterfield (Christiansburg, Virginia) -- State champion 7. Joel Yahner (Brockway, Pennsylvania) -- State 4th 8. Anthony DiLonardo (Plum, Pennsylvaia) - SQ A. Logan Rimmer (Bedford, Michigan) -- State 2nd

Bobby Douglas Kellen Russell-Montell Marion Match

The week of season-ending national championships for high school wrestling kicked off Wednesday with the Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior National Championships hosted by the NHSCA in Virginia Beach. All matches but for the championship and placements will be conducted today and tomorrow, with medal matches to be wrestled on Friday. The NHSCA Senior National championships will commence for a 22nd time on Friday, with wrestling up to the round of 16 in the championship bracket. All consolation matches up to the round before All-American status; along with championship matches in the round of 16, quarterfinals, and semifinals will be conducted on Saturday. Finals matches along with consolation matches through the medal round will be on Sunday. There are two other additional tournaments being held over the week as well. Friday is the opening day of USA Wrestling Cadet & Junior National Folkstyle Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Competition will continue through Saturday's medal matches. In addition, the second annual FloNationals will commence from Walsh Jesuit just outside of Akron, Ohio on Saturday with its finals being conducted Sunday evening. Across the competitions, many nationally ranked wrestlers will be on the mats. This includes the following number one wrestlers -- Evan Silver (Blair Academy, New Jersey); Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point, Indiana); Alex Dieringer (Port Washington, Wisconsin); and Bryce Hammond (Bakersfield, California). Silver and Hammond will be taking to the mats of the NHSCA Senior Nationals at 112 and 160 respectively; Tsirtsis, ranked first at 140, will be down in the 135 pound class at the FloNationals; while Dieringer, ranked first at 145, will be up in the 152-pound class at the Junior Folkstyle Nationals. Only in two weight classes will even half of the wrestlers that are nationally ranked be competing during the upcoming week (and weekend) -- ten nationally ranked wrestlers will be scattered across the competitions at 140 and 189 pounds. Three other weight classes -- 112, 119, and 145 -- are slated to have nine of their ranked wrestlers in competitions this week as well. The one weight bracket across the seven championship events that is projected to be the most populated with ranked wrestlers is the 145 pound weight at the NHSCA Senior Nationals. This weight is slated to feature No. 3 James Green (Willingboro, New Jersey); No. 4 Edwin Cooper (Providence Catholic, Illinois); No. 6 Pete Baldwin (Osceola, Florida); No. 9 Charlie Lynch (Archbishop Spalding, Maryland); and No. 10 Blake Roulo (Matoaca, Virginia). In addition, a pair of wrestlers -- No. 3 Lex Ozias (Southern Garrett, Maryland) and No. 4 Colby Kloetzer (Caldwell, Idaho) -- are slated to drop from 152 down into this weight bracket as well. Even though it seems that not particularly many ranked wrestlers are in these fields, that does not mean each tournament lacks high quality wrestlers. There tend to be more high quality wrestlers than there are national ranking positions. Therefore, this will be a weekend for all wrestlers competing to gain the increased attention of national ranking analysts, as well as -- even more important -- collegiate coaches. The final end of season weight class rankings will be released the early part of the week of April 11, with updated graduating class rankings to follow very soon thereafter.

LYNCHBURG, Va. -- Liberty University and Director of Athletics Jeff Barber announced today the reclassification of the sport of wresting from NCAA Division I status to a club program, effective immediately. The University has a legal obligation to comply with federal law relating to gender equity. Although the law allows for three methods to meet its requirements, the University has chosen proportionality as its preferred method. While the University has added three new women’s athletics programs (women’s lacrosse in 2009, women’s swimming in 2010 and field hockey in 2011), these additions alone are not enough to enable the University to meet proportionality. As such, the University was left with two options: either to continue to add NCAA Division I women’s athletics programs or adjust their current NCAA Division I men’s participation opportunities. “This decision is very painful for the entire Liberty University community, as we all understand that this change affects not only the lives of many individuals but also their families,” stated Barber. “Words cannot express my appreciation to Jesse Castro, Joe Pantaleo, our current wrestling student-athletes and all those that have invested their lives in the Liberty wrestling program through the years.” “This decision will never take away from the accomplishments of our current wrestlers, nor those who helped establish the program during the early years of the University,” added Barber. “Liberty wrestling was part of a core group of programs that helped launch the Liberty University Athletics Department. This program’s success will always be a vital part of our history and will never be forgotten.” Liberty University will honor its scholarship commitments to all current wrestling student-athletes and signees. The Liberty University club sport program is an integral part of the student body experience. The University currently offers 11 men’s club sport programs and nine women’s club sport programs.

With respect to our memories of Columbia Wrestling, we look back on a great many everyday experiences, both in the gymnasium and outside. But more importantly, by keeping active with Columbia Wrestling, we have the good fortune of experiencing new memories every year. -David and Michael Barry Family can mean so many things to so many people. For David and Michael Barry, they were actual brothers on the Columbia wrestling team in the mid-1980's. But beyond that, they were also part of the Columbia wrestling family, a family they have stayed in close contact with over the years. Columbia University has announced that David Barry '87CC and Michael Barry '89CC have generously committed to establishing a new endowment in support of an Assistant Wrestling Coach Position. This endowment will add significant stature to our wrestling program and will allow us to retain and recruit assistant coaches of the highest caliber which will pay tremendous benefits for the student-athletes in our wrestling program. "We are thrilled to announce that we will be establishing the Michael and David Barry Assistant Coach of Wrestling position," said Dr. M. Dianne Murphy, Director, Intercollegiate Athletics and Physical Education. "This endowment will be the first endowment of an assistant coach position in the athletics program. We thank David and Michael for their tremendous generosity. Their leadership gift provides the critical resources necessary to build and sustain a championship wrestling program." "To say Dave and Mike have been instrumental in the progress of our wrestling program would be an understatement," said Brendan Buckley, the Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling. "Since the day I arrived on campus in 2000, they have financially supported us, provided professional internships for our student-athletes, and demonstrated a strong presence at our wrestling events. We are incredibly grateful for them taking a big step to endow the first assistant coaching position." Their partnership on the wrestling mat continued after graduating from Columbia, as both brothers continue to work together, this time on a new team. David is President of Ironstate Development Company, while Michael is President of Ironstate Holdings LLC, (and Applied Property Company), both part of a privately held real estate development and management company based in Hoboken, New Jersey. The company engages in the development of large-scale residential and hotel projects in the Northeast United States. Michael was a four-year letter-winner for the Lions while David was a first-team All-Ivy League selection as a sophomore, a two-time EIWA place winner, and team captain as a senior. For both of them, wrestling was a huge part of what defined their college experiences. "Wrestling for Columbia was the cornerstone of my college experience," explained David. "The dedication and commitment required to be a varsity athlete at Columbia greatly enriched the college experience for me and provided me with skills and confidence for being successful in life. Giving back to the program helps ensure that future students will have similar meaningful opportunities." Endowed coaching positions are so valuable because in addition to showing continued alumni support for the program, they provide resources that will allow Columbia to continue to build a championship wrestling program. This gift made by the Barrys, which marks the second wrestling coach endowment in the last six years, will truly have a lasting impact on the program, and will create a legacy that will continue to support Columbia wrestling now and in perpetuity. "I am appreciative of the opportunities and experiences Columbia afforded me," explained Michael. "Part of what makes Columbia one of the world's great universities is the caliber and diversity of its offerings. By contributing to Columbia, specifically to the wrestling program, I can help to ensure that the institution will continue to provide the highest level undergraduate experience, with specific focus on the facets of Columbia that are most important to me." On Friday, February 11, David and Michael Barry will be honored in a reception at the New York Athletic Club following the team's match against Princeton.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Edinboro University’s Chris Honeycutt (North Ridgeville, OH/St. Edward) has been named the Eastern Wrestling League Wrestler of the Year. It marks the third straight year and fifth time in the last six years that a Fighting Scot wrestler has received the honor. Bloomsburg’s John Stutzman was voted the EWL Coach of the Year and Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh was recognized as the EWL Freshman of the Year. Honeycutt finished fifth at 184 lbs. last weekend’s NCAA Division I National Championships in Philadelphia. The junior ended the year with a 31-2 record after going into Nationals as the number one seed. While making his third trip to Nationals, he earned All-American honors for the first time. He won back-to-back matches to reach the quarterfinals before suffering his first loss of the season, 7-3 to eventual national champion Quentin Wright of Penn State. He came back to defeat tenth-seeded Josh Ihnen of Nebraska 4-3 to assure All-American honors, then handed fourth-seeded Travis Rutt of Wisconsin 6-5 in the consolation quarterfinals. He would lose to Scott Bosak, the third seed, in the consolation semifinals before taking home first place with a medical forfeit over fifth-seeded Joe LeBlanc of Wisconsin. Earlier in the year Honeycutt won his second EWL championship with a 7-2 decision over Thomusseit, one of two wins he had over the EWL’s top frosh. He also captured his PSAC Championship, and won the Southern Scuffle for the second straight year. In the Southern Scuffle he defeated Bosak 7-2 in the title match. Honeycutt will enter his senior season with a 90-20 career record.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Maryland coach Kerry McCoy was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, sophomore Josh Asper was named ACC Wrestler of the Year and five other Terrapin grapplers earned conference honors, the league announced Friday. Jon Kohler, Kyle John, Mike Letts, Corey Peltier and Spencer Myers joined Asper as Maryland’s conference-leading six All-ACC selections. Myers also was named ACC Co-Freshman of the Year alongside Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter. “I am very excited for our program,” said McCoy. “I am so proud of our guys. This is a great way to cap off an incredible year. I am especially grateful to my coaching staff, support staff, our fans and supporters, because without their commitment and dedication none of this would be possible.” McCoy guided the Terps to a strong 2011 finish in which three Maryland grapplers earned All-America status and the team won the ACC Championship and placed 18th at the NCAA Tournament. A three-time All-American himself, McCoy also earned the conference’s top coaching honor in his first season in College Park when he led Maryland to a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. At 165 pounds, Asper went undefeated within the conference in 2011 and won the individual title at the ACC Championship by topping Virginia Tech’s Peter Yates 9-3 in the finals. With a team-leading 35-5 record, the Parkton, Md., native went on to place sixth nationally at last weekend’s NCAA Tournament. Myers won the ACC heavyweight title by defeating Tech’s David Marone 3-2 in tiebreakers and became Maryland’s first true freshman to earn All-America status after stringing together five wins over top-20 opponents at the NCAA Tournament. The Selinsgrove, Pa., native placed sixth nationally and finished the season with a 30-13 record. Kohler, John, Letts and Peltier round out Maryland’s all-conference selections, which were voted upon by the league’s six head coaches. Kohler finished 2011 with a 24-8 record and his second ACC title, thanks to his 3-1 sudden victory win against NC State’s Darrius Little in the 141-pound finals. John earned 32 wins on the season and placed second in the ACC at 157 pounds. He also qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. Letts, the ACC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler, upset fourth-ranked Chris Henrich of Virginia in the 174-pound ACC finals and earned a seventh-place national finish and All-America status after handling seventh-ranked Ben Bennett of Central Michigan in his final collegiate match. Peltier picked up his first conference title at 184 pounds after topping Duke’s Diego Bencomo 3-1. The Exeter, R.I., native finished the year with a 22-10 record and won six of his last eight matches.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State wrestling coach John Smith was tabbed as the 2011 Big 12 coach of the year, it was announced today. This year’s honor marks the ninth time he has secured that recognition. Dating back to OSU’s days in the Big Eight Conference, Smith has now been singled out as his conference’s coach of the year 11 times. Despite coaching the youngest team in the league – the Cowboys’ starting lineup consisted of five freshmen and a sophomore – Smith led the Pokes to their second straight Big 12 team title and a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2011. Sophomore Jordan Oliver won the NCAA title at 133 pounds and placed second in the voting for the Hodge Trophy given to the nation’s top wrestler. The 2010-11 season provided Smith with an individual milestone, as he became the first coach in the storied history of Oklahoma State wrestling to eclipse the 300-win mark for his career when the Cowboys handed No. 24 Arizona State a 40-4 beating in Tempe on Jan. 2. That win over the Sun Devils was one of 10 Cowboy wins over ranked opponents in 2010-11. One of the elite coaches in the nation, Smith’s career body of work is second to none. The 1988 Oklahoma State graduate boasts a 311-46-6 career record and has five NCAA team titles and 12 conference team titles to his credit. He has coached 24 NCAA individual champions, 92 All-Americans and 70 conference individual champions. Smith is a two-time selection as the NWCA national coach of the year.

Nebraska's Jordan Burroughs came back from a potential career-ending injury in December 2009 to win the 165-pound title at the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships, and the 2011 Dan Hodge Trophy. The senior from Sicklerville, N.J. concludes his college mat career with yet another honor: the InterMat Wrestler of the Year award for 2011. This award is presented each year to the nation's top wrestler across all divisions of college competition, based on a vote of InterMat writers and executives. 2011 InterMat Wrestler of the Year 1st-5th-Place Votes: 9-7-5-3-1 Total Votes/(First-Place Votes) 1. Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska, 106 (8) 2. Anthony Robles, ASU, 88 (5) 3. Jordan Oliver, OSU, 66 (1) 4. Jon Reader, ISU, 28 5. Kellen Russell, Michigan, 24 6. Kyle Dake, Cornell, 12 7. Dustin Kilgore, KSU, 7 8. Bubba Jenkins, ASU, 6 9. Mario Morgan, UNO, 4 T10. Donovan McMahill, WSU, 3 T10. David Taylor, PSU, 3 T12. Myanganbayar Batsukh, SJU, 1 T12. Ashley Hudson, OCU, 1 T12. Matt McDonough, Iowa, 1As InterMat's 2011 Wrestler of the Year, Burroughs is in top-flight company. Among the previous honorees are some of the most accomplished amateur wrestlers of the past decade: Jayson Ness of Minnesota in 2010, Northwestern's Jake Herbert in 2009, Brent Metcalf of Iowa in 2008, and Missouri's Ben Askren, 2006 and 2007. Burroughs came in first in the balloting, with eight first-place votes, for a total of 106 points. Arizona State's Anthony Robles, crowned the 125-pound champ at the 2011 NCAAs, came in second, with 88 points, and five first-place votes. Jordan Oliver, the 2011 NCAA 133-pound titlewinner from Oklahoma State, was third in the voting, with 66 points and one first-place vote. A bit of history was made this year, as Ashley Hudson of Oklahoma City University became the first woman to receive votes in five years of InterMat Wrestler of the Year voting. Here's why InterMat senior writer Andrew Hipps considers the two-time Nebraska national champ worthy of Wrestler of the Year honors: "Coming into this season, there were questions surrounding Jordan Burroughs. How would he do coming off a serious injury? How would he do moving up a weight class? Could he get past the defending NCAA champion? But after a dominating senior campaign, there are no more questions. Jordan Burroughs was the most impressive wrestler in college this season. Period." Jordan Burroughs finished his senior season a perfect 36-0 (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)After winning the 157-pound title at the 2009 NCAAs, Jordan Burroughs was derailed from his quest to win a second title last season when he suffered a serious knee injury during a match in December 2009, and was unable to compete. However, this season, the fifth-year senior came back with a vengeance, moving up to 165, and dominating that weight class. Burroughs was undefeated the entire 2010-2011 season, with a 36-0 record, winning all but three matches by fall, technical fall, or major decision. Among the highlights: a 10-7 win over Wisconsin's Andrew Howe (defending NCAA champ and top-ranked at 165 at the time) ... and his third Big 12 conference title. Burroughs continued that dominance at the 2011 NCAAs by winning all his matches by major, including his 11-3 finals win over Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell to become the first two-time NCAA champ in the 100-year history of wrestling at Nebraska.