InterMat Staff

Kansas City, Mo. -- University of Illinois Associate Head Wrestling Coach Carl Perry has been named the National Director of FCA Wrestling. Perry has been involved in the University of Illinois wrestling program for thirteen years both as a champion competitor and coach. Beginning May 1, 2011, he will serve as the full-time national director for FCA Wrestling, which is in its second year as a national ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). FCA Wrestling launched as an official Sport-Specific Ministry in 2009 and has seen tremendous impact in the wrestling community. Sport-Specific Ministry impacts specific sports communities for Christ by ministering to coaches and athletes united around a particular sport. FCA has established national ministries in Baseball, Cheerleading, Endurance, Golf, Hockey, Lacrosse, Motocross, Skateboarding, Surfing and Wrestling. “I am excited about this new direction for my life and look forward to seeing what God is going to do through FCA Wrestling,” said Perry. “I believe that this ministry will change the way wrestlers and coaches compete on the mat and more importantly in life. This can only be done, however, through the active involvement (on many levels) of wrestlers, coaches, parents and fans. Just as a team, we need to come together with a common function—serving God through the sport of wrestling.” Perry is in his ninth year as a member of the Illinois wrestling staff and second as associate head coach. A former Illini and NCAA champion competitor, Perry was a four-year varsity starter for the Illini from 1996-2000. He was promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2009-10 season. “The sport of wrestling is better because of Carl Perry. We are truly blessed that he has chosen to lead this program. I am confident that Carl will bring to his role as leader of FCA Wrestling the same passion and tenacity that made him a great competitor and coach. Carl will without question positively change the lives of many within our sport,” said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. A 2000 NCAA champion at 141 pounds, Perry wrapped up his career as a two-time All-American and a two-time team captain. As a four-time NCAA qualifier, he consistently ranked among the top 10 at 141 pounds nationwide. Perry also compiled a 13-6 career record at the NCAA Championships. He finished his Illinois career in the top 20 of career wins and career winning percentage with 98 victories and a .748 winning percentage. He also helped the 2000 Illini squad to the best dual winning percentage in school history (.933), as the team was 14-1 in duals that season. Perry earned his bachelor’s degree in applied life studies in May 2001 and will complete a master’s degree from Lincoln Christian University in organizational leadership in August of 2011. He and his wife Jamie have a daughter, Breanna, and a son, Bryce. The family resides in Champaign. For more information on the national ministry or how to become involved in FCA Wrestling, please contact Carl Perry at cperry@fca.org. ABOUT FCA The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the heart and soul in sports, is touching millions of lives... one heart at a time. Since 1954, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes has been challenging coaches and athletes on the professional, college, high school, junior high and youth levels to use the powerful medium of athletics to impact the world for Jesus Christ. FCA is the largest Christian sports ministry in the world and focuses on serving local communities by equipping, empowering, and encouraging people to make a difference for Christ. MEDIA CONTACT Sean McNamara VP of Field Ministry Northeast Region and National Sport-Specific Ministry (585) 355-6061 smcnamara@fca.org

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- UNCG's Caylor Williams pinned Appalachian State's Paul Glover in the waning seconds of the first period to pick up a crucial six points followed by a 13-6 decision in the favor of heavyweight Peter Sturgeon as UNCG squeaked by Appalachian State, 21-20, in Southern Conference play on Wednesday evening in Fleming Gymnasium. The Spartans won their third consecutive dual, boosting their overall record to 5-7 and moving to 3-0 in the conference. With the loss, Appalachian State falls to 6-8-1 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon. UNCG is 3-0 in the conference for the first time since the 2006-07 season. The evening started off at the 125-pound weight class between UNCG's Manny Ramirez and Appalachian State's Tony Gravely. Gravely was swift of foot and proved too much for Ramirez as Gravely scored two three-point near falls and two takedowns to score a major decision, 16-5, and give the Mountaineers an early 4-0 lead. UNCG would respond at the 133-pound class thanks to a 14-3 major decision from Jamel Johnson. Johnson controlled the action over Acton Pifer using multiple takedowns and near falls to get the win. Knotted up at 4 a piece, the Mountaineers' Mike Kessler tangled with Michael Crowley. After scoring a takedown and getting a near fall, Kessler led 5-0 after the first period. Kessler never relinquished the lead as he defeated Crowley, 7-2. At 141 pounds, No. 17 Ivan Lopouchanski collected his 30th win on the year by handling Russell Benner. Lopouchanski brought the Spartan faithful to their feet multiple times as he scored 10 takedowns and secured four critical points, giving UNCG its first lead of the night, 8-7 UNCG's Matt Barbo and the Mountaineers' John Blakely were locked in a tight match until Blakely scored a takedown in the third to win the 157-pound bout, 6-2. This week's Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week, Kyle Blevins (165), scored a 12-2 major decision over UNCG's Brett Miller. At 174 pounds, Byron Sigmon throttled Carter Downs, 14-1. Sigmon, the current active wins leader for the Spartans, proved to be relentless as he went up 12-0 before allowing an escape. With the team score 14-12 in Appalachian State's favor, the Mountaineers sent Austin Trotman to the mat to face off against Elijah Adams. Trotman used a quick takedown and a cradle to score a pin only 90 seconds into the match. Down by eight with two bouts to go, UNCG used a little magic as Williams (197) proved too quick for Paul Glover. Williams scored a takedown and shortly thereafter pinned Glover in front of the Mountaineers' bench. As the final bout was set to get underway, the Mountaineers led by two. Sturgeon impressed as he conquered freshman Marc Tyson of Appalachian State, 13-6, using multiple takedowns and giving UNCG the one-point victory. UNCG returns to action when it travels to Boone, N.C., on Saturday for the Appalachian State Open. Results: 125 Tony Gravely (ASU) maj. dec. Manny Ramirez (UNCG), 16-5 133 Jamel Johnson (UNCG) maj. dec. Acton Pifer (ASU), 14-3 141 Mike Kessler (ASU) dec. Michael Crowley (UNCG), 7-2 149 No. 17 Ivan Lopouchanski (UNCG) maj. dec. Russell Benner (ASU), 25-11 157 John Blakely (ASU) dec. Matt Barbo (UNCG), 6-2 165 Kyle Blevins (ASU) maj. dec. Brett Miller (UNCG), 12-2 174 Byron Sigmon (UNCG) maj. dec. Carter Downs (ASU), 14-1 184 Austin Trotman (ASU) fall Elijah Adams (UNCG), 1:30 197 Caylor Williams (UNCG) fall Paul Glover (ASU), 2:55 HWT Peter Sturgeon (UNCG) dec. Marc Tyson (ASU), 13-6

Graham seeks rebound, while Blair seeks revenge Another Saturday night dual meet starting at 7:00 p.m. EST, and it's another big-time high school matchup. Based on the InterMat team rankings as of Jan. 19, it is No. 2 Blair Academy, New Jersey hosting No. 3 St. Paris Graham, Ohio. Blair Academy comes into this dual meet off a dominating 5-0 day at the NHSCA Final Four in which they lost only nine individual matches. On the other hand, Graham comes into the match after losing a 27-25 heartbreaker to No. 5 St. Edward, Ohio. Last season, Blair Academy traveled to Graham as the consensus number one, but got absolutely pummeled. The Buccaneers are in search of serious revenge on a special day for Blair Academy wrestling, as they dedicate their wrestling room in honor of long-time head coach Jeff Buxton. Flowrestling.com will be providing live coverage of the dual meet as part of its "Big Live Duals" series. Here are the projected lineups for this dual meet (Blair vs. Graham): 103: No. 7 Joey McKenna vs. Chase Crabtree 112: No. 1 Evan Silver or Max Hvolbek vs. No. 9 Ryan Taylor 119: No. 11 Caleb Richardson or Silver vs. Micah Jordan 125: No. 3 Mark Grey or Richardson vs. Nate Henkle 130: No. 10 Todd Preston or Grey vs. Lane Thomas 135: No. 2 Austin Ormsbee or Preston vs. No. 19 Case Garrison 140: Ross Parsons vs. No. 7 Nick Brascetta 145: Dylan Milonas vs. No. 5 Bo Jordan 152: Patrick Coover vs. No. 11 Matt Stephens 160: Michael Mocco vs. Isaac Jordan or Robert Mannier 171: Addison Knepshield vs. Kyle Ryan 189: Frank Mattiace vs. No. 5 Huston Evans 215: Willie Wilson vs. Mark Meyer 285: No. 5 Brooks Black vs. Darin Bovey Each team has a key personnel question to answer in terms of a wrestler's health status. Austin Ormsbee did not wrestle at all for Blair Academy at the Final Four, while Isaac Jordan remained out of the lineup against St. Edward (his absence being one of the reasons Graham fell short in the dual). Blair Academy also has significant lineup flexibility in the lower portion of the lineup, as they also have some other capable options in addition to those listed above -- namely Kyle Taylor (119), Paul Klee (119/125), Walker Dempsey (130), and Abram Ayala (135). All four won at least one match this past weekend. The randomly drawn starting weight could play a crucial role in this dual meet, as Blair is incredibly strong in the lower weights and at 285, while Graham is very strong in the middle of its lineup. In all, this match should help provide some answers about how positions two through five nationally sort themselves out -- or it may create even more disorder and chaos. New Jersey All-Star Classic matches set for Sunday Every year on the last Sunday of January, there is an All-Star Classic held at Brick Memorial High School in New Jersey where some of the state's best wrestlers match up against one another in an exhibition showcase for the fans prior to the state tournament series. Though the matches may not be number one against number two, they normally are terrific, and the proceeds go to a good cause -- scholarships for a couple of the participants in the event. The following are the matchups as of Tuesday evening (rankings as of Jan. 26 per The Star Ledger): 103: No. 1 Luis Gonzalez (North Bergen) vs. No. 3 Mike Bohling (Sayreville) 112: No. 2 Kevin Corrigan (Toms River South) vs. No. 4 Mike Magaldo (Watchung Hills) 119: No. 8 Dante Porazzo (DePaul) vs. Billy Ward (Buena) 125: No. 3 Brandon Keller (Timber Creek) vs. No. 7 Dan Haines (Hoptacong) 130: No. 1 Anthony Perrotti (West Essex) vs. Zach DiPini (Pope John) 130/135:No. 2 Julian Quintero (North Berge) vs. Luis Filipe (Long Branch) 130/135: No. 5 (135) Alex Richardson (St. Peter's Prep) vs. No. 4 (130) BJ Clagon (Toms River South) 135: No. 4 Connor Melde (Bergen Catholic) vs. No. 7 Curt Delia (Delsea Regional) 145: No. 1 James Green (Willingboro) vs. No. 3 Sal Mastriani (Don Bosco) **These wrestlers are ranked 4th and 13th nationally 152: No. 3 Christian Barber (Westfield) vs. No. 4 Connor Brennan (Brick Memorial) 160/171: No. 2 (160) Otis Wright (Montclair) vs. No. 3 (171) Colin Hewitt (Fraklin) 171: No. 2 Anthony Pafumi (St. Peter's Prep) vs. No. 7 Mike LaBell (Lenape Valley) 189: No. 1 James Fox (St. Peter's Prep) vs. No. 5 Brian Lussier (Cherry Hill East) **Fox is ranked 9th nationally 215: No. 1 Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook) vs. No. 8 Mitch Seigel (Marlboro) **Campolattano is ranked 1st nationally 285: No. 3 Zach Troutman (New Providence) vs. No. 8 Ryan Moskwa (Perth Amboy) Oregon's best convene at Reser's Tournament of Champions Even though the state wrestling tournament in Oregon features five separate classifications, fans can get a true sense of who the best wrestling teams and programs are in the state regardless of class this weekend at the Reser's Tournamet of Champions held just outside of Portland. Four of the five teams ranked first in their classification are in the field, as are seven of the top ten teams in all classifications. Eight wrestlers ranked first overall in the state are in the field, along with another sixteen ranked either second or third in their classification. Here is a listing of wrestlers ranked in the top three statewide in the field this weekend: Rankings are as of early January 2010, posted on The Oregon Wrestling Forum by Richard Rockwell) 103: No. 3 Anthony Halstead (Reedsport) 112: No. 1 Ryan Haney (Redmond), No. 3 Colton Schilling (Sweet Home) 119: No. 2 Levi Martinez (McNary), No. 3 Tyler Berger (Hermiston) 130: No. 1 Joey Delgado (Hermiston), No. 2 Mikey Rodriguez (Hillsboro); 135 pound Reno ToC champion Reed Van Anrooy (Roseburg) is ranked fourth. 135: No. 1 Drew Van Anrooy (Roseburg), No. 2 Ryan Bullock (Crook County) 140: No. 2 Abraham Rodriguez (Hermiston), No. 3 AJ Ballard (Canby) 145: No. 2 Nick Hettinga (Newberg) 152: No. 1 Seth Thomas (Roseburg), No. 2 Bryce McMahon (Hermiston) 160: No. 3 Brady Fischer (Oregon City) 171: No. 1 Brandon Griffin (Sprauge), No. 2 Dylan Fors (Roseburg) *Griffin is ranked 16th nationally 189: No. 1 Curtis Berger (Hermiston), No. 2 Zac Cardwell (Lowell), No. 3 Devan Fors (Roseburg) 215: No. 1 John Hatch (Newberg) 285: No. 1 George Swartzlander (Burns), No. 2 Jared Groner (Oregon City), No. 3 Kevin Montigue (Westview) Featured teams in the field: No. 1 Roseburg*, No. 2 Hermiston*, No. 3 Newberg, No. 6 Oregon City, No. 8 Culver*, No. 9 Crook County, and No. 10 Burns* --Those marked with an * are ranked first in their state tournament classification. Roseburg is ranked 41st in the national Fab 50. Vacaville starting journey on a second thousand victories With a 30-24 dual meet victory against De La Salle, California this past Saturday, the Vacaville High School wrestling program out of the San Joaquin Section in California earned its 1,000th win in program history. The Bulldogs have been wrestling since 1961. Yesterday, Vacaville traveled to Napa for a league dual meet, will be competing at the Puma Classic on Saturday, and close out regular season competition one week from yesterday in a league dual meet at William C. Wood High School. Change in plans for Campolattano Based on published reports from multiple outlets in New Jersey, Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, New Jersey) -- ranked No. 1 at 215 pounds, and No. 11 in the Class of 2011 -- has withdrawn his verbal commit to play football at Rutgers University. Instead, Campolattano will pursue wrestling in college, and it is essentially open season among the nation's top programs in seeking to secure his services. The three-time state champion has a career high school record of 151-1. Should he win fourteen more matches this year, he would hold the all-time wins record in the Garden State; Frank Cagnina (Bergen Catholic/Queen of Peace) graduated last year with a 164-4 record, and is having a spectacular true freshman season for Lehigh at 133 pounds. Presuming Campolattano wins a state title this year at 215 pounds, the projected college 197 will join Mike Grey (Delbarton) as the only four-time state champions in New Jersey history; Grey is currently a senior at Cornell. Tulsa Nationals placements posted Top six placement finishes for each weight class at last weekend's Tulsa Nationals have been posted. Competition was held in the following age divisions: 6-and-under, 8-and-under, 10-and-under, 12-and-under, as well as 15-and-under. Results: http://www.worldofwrestling-roller.com/tournament/results/30 Among the notable champions was Marcus Simmons from Oklahoma, who beat out Ke-Shawn Hayes from Missouri to win the 89 pound weight class in the 15-and-under division. Other notable winners in that division include Dylan Lucas from Florida at 101 pounds, Aaron Pico from California at 108 pounds, Mason Manville from Virginia at 135 pounds, and Michael Johnson, Jr from Illinois at 285 pounds.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia's home wrestling dual with No. 9 Rutgers, scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, has been cancelled. Because of inclement weather in the New Jersey area and up the East Coast, Rutgers will not be able to travel to Charlottesville in sufficient time for the match. The match will not be rescheduled. Virginia is next scheduled to wrestle Princeton at 1 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Gymnasium.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Appalachian State University junior wrestler Kyle Blevins (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa) has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for the week of Jan. 19-25 as announced by the conference office on Wednesday. For back-to-back weeks, Mountaineer grapplers have earned wrestler of the week honors from the conference office as redshirt junior #22 Austin Trotman (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) was named wrestler of the week last week. This marks consecutive seasons that Trotman and Blevins have shared the honor behind each other. Last season, Trotman was tabbed wrestler of the week on Jan. 20 and Blevins followed the week after and received the nod on Jan. 27. Blevins, who comes into the week ranked at #17, earns the award after he tallied a match-changing 2-0 decision at 165 against UNC’s Thomas Scotton, who was ranked #15. The win gave the Apps a 12-11 advantage after the match was a back and forth effort by both teams. The dual eventually ended in a 19-19 tie. With his decision, Blevins currently carries a team-high 28 victories on the season against seven defeats and needs two wins to join the most wins in a season list. He has 74 career wins and needs just eight wins to become a member of the career wins list. The Mountaineers clash tonight at 7 p.m. in a SoCon match at defending SoCon Tournament champion UNCG.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hello again Wrestling Fans! This week's show will be LIVE from our Brute Adidas studios. Join Scott Casber, Ryan Freeman, Geoff Murtha and our own Jeff Murphy our 2 hour show brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods. This week we look at Wisconsin and Andrew Howe with Barry Davis, We'll Talk with Brian Smith about his Sunday endowment Dual meet. We'll talk with USA Wrestling's Rich Bender about the 2012 Olympic Trials, Our PSU Insider Joe Bastardi will update us on the Nation's New #1 Team and of course our Kemin Big 10 and Big 12 review with Jeff Murphy. Join us LIVE 9 AM to 11 AM its Takedown Wrestling Radio. Listen on radio, on computer, your Blackberry or iPhone with the iHeartRadio App. Our Guests Include: (All times Central): 9:01 Brian Smith Head Coach of Missouri 9:20 Barry Davis Head Coach of Wisconsin 9:40 Rich Bender- Executive Director of USA Wrestling 10:01 Joe Bastardi- Our Penn State Wrestling Insider 10:20 Jeff Murphy- Kemin's Top 20 Report 10:40 Rob Koehler- Founder Ear Slintz 10:50 Maureen Roshar- Wildrose Resorts

Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, an NCAA champion last season at 165 pounds, will be sidelined because of a knee injury he suffered in a dual meet against Illinois on Jan. 16. However, according to Wisconsin associate head coach Donny Pritzlaff, there is "little doubt" Howe will be back on the mat for the Badgers. "He has not had season ending surgery as it has been rumored," Pritzlaff informed InterMat. "We are progressing him back into the lineup as quickly as we can. He has sustained a significant injury, but there is little doubt he will return." Howe is 17-2 this season. He won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 4. Aside from the injury default loss he suffered against Illinois, his only other loss came in the finals of the Midlands Championships to 2009 NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska. Prior to that loss, Howe had a 51-match winning streak dating back to 2009. He is also a U.S. Open freestyle champion and is currently ranked No. 2 in the U.S. at 74 kg.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- The Waynesburg University wrestling team received six forfeits from a short-handed Penn State New Kensington team and picked up a 58-0 victory at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse on Tuesday night. The Yellow Jackets (10-2-1) went up 12-0 before the first bout came to the mat thanks to forfeits sophomore 125-pounder Alex Crown and junior 133-pounder Rico Borz. The first contested bout of the night featured Jacket freshman Colton Blumer, who won by fall in 4:01 over Mark Irwin to put the Jackets ahead 18-0 Sophomore 149-pounder Luke Lohr followed with a fall in 4:18 to run the tally to 24-0 Yellow Jackets and a forfeit to junior Garrett Johnston at 157 made the score 30-0. Junior Jon Sanko kept the Yellow Jackets’ winning streak going with a 10-1 major decision victory over Mike Nader. Waynesburg junior Jared Roberts ended the contested matches with a fall in 2:44 over Matt Kepple. Forfeits to sophomore Cody Catalina (184), freshman Jake Linn (197) and freshman Brandon Fedorka (285) concluded the night and brought about the final score of 58-0. The Yellow Jackets face a much sterner test when they hit the mats on Friday, as they host Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) rival Thiel. The match is scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. Results: 125 – Alex Crown (W) wins by forfeit 6-0 133 – Rico Borz (W) wins by forfeit 12-0 141 – Colton Blumer (W) wins by fall in 4:01 over Mark Irwin 18-0 149 – Luke Lohr (W) wins by fall in 4:18 over Steve Bickerstaff 24-0 157 – Garrett Johnston (W) wins by forfeit 30-0 165 – Jon Sanko (W) wins by 10-1 maj. dec. over Mike Nader 34-0 174 – Jared Roberts (W) wins by fall in 2:44 over Matt Kepple 40-0 184 – Cody Catalina (W) wins by forfeit 46-0 197 – Jake Linn (W) wins by forfeit 52-0 285 – Brandon Fedorka (W) wins by forfeit 58-0

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Nittany Lion wrestler Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the period ending January 23. Wade's honor is his first and Penn State's second of the year. Ranked No. 5 by Intermat at heavyweight, Wade went 2-0 last weekend with both wins coming over ranked grapplers. Wade downed then No. 3 Ryan Tomei of Pitt 3-2 in Friday night's 30-7 win over the Panthers. He followed that up with a punishing 6-0 victory over then No. 14 Ricky Alcala of Indiana in Sunday's 36-8 road win at Indiana. Wade now sports a 21-3 record with eight pins, three technical falls and two majors. He has scored 46 dual meet points for the Nittany Lions and his only losses are to wrestlers now ranked No. 1, No. 3 and No. 17. The junior's performance has helped Penn State start the year 13-0, the best start in school history. Penn State, with head coach Cael Sanderson at the helm, hosts No. 8 Iowa on Sunday at 2 p.m. and a Penn State White Out has been declared for the event. The dual has been sold out for weeks and a limited number of student tickets will be distributed on Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Rec Hall ticket office. Tickets for Penn State's final two home duals (after Iowa) are going fast but are still available. The Nittany Lions host No. 14 Illinois on Feb. 11 and No. 3 Wisconsin on Feb. 18. 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.

ALLIANCE, Ohio -- No. 10 ranked Mount Union shut out John Carroll, 34-0, in an Ohio Athletic Conference wrestling dual Tuesday night in Alliance. The Purple Raiders are now a perfect 11-0 on the season and remain in first place in the OAC with a 3-0 record, while John Carroll falls to 3-6 overall and 0-3 in the OAC. After Mount Union scored five straight decisions, John Piechuta (Alliance/Marlington) rallied from a 4-1 first period deficit to score a 7-5 victory and give the Raiders a then commanding 18-0 lead. Other highlights included a pin by No. 4 ranked Bill Schindel (Tallmadge/Akron Hoban), who improved to 18-0 on the season and a major decision, 9-0, victory by Derick Hesson (Dexter City/Caldwell) at 285. Mount Union travels to the Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton (Ill.) this weekend. Results: 125 Riki Reynolds (Mount Union) DEC John Cobos (John Carroll ) 3 - 1 133 Colin Dennis (Mount Union) DEC Kevin Nycz (John Carroll ) 9 - 2 141 Josh Malave (Mount Union) DEC Greg Ryan (John Carroll ) 2 - 1 149 Kevin Shadrach (Mount Union) DEC Kenny Locsei (John Carroll ) 5 - 0 157 Joe Spooner (Mount Union) DEC Vincent Pizzuli (John Carroll ) 6 - 2 165 John Piechuta (Mount Union) DEC Clarence Semple (John Carroll ) 7 - 5 174 Jeremy Hathaway (Mount Union) DEC Todd Gaydosh (John Carroll ) 2 - 1 184 Andy Jenkins (Mount Union) DEC Bryan Steinmetz (John Carroll ) 7 - 3 197 Bill Schindel (Mount Union) PINNED Alex Garred (John Carroll ) (4:25) 285 Derick Hesson (Mount Union) MAJOR DEC. Will Porter (John Carroll ) 9 - 0

STEVENS POINT -- Tied 15-15 with just two weight classes remaining, Chad Gregory and Steve Wozniak earned two crucial victories on Tuesday evening to help earn UW-Stevens Point head coach Johnny Johnson his 126th career victory at UWSP, surpassing Marty Loy as the school’s all-time winningest wrestling coach. The eighth-ranked Pointers took an early 6-0 lead on the visiting Rangers thanks to a pin by Brad Kuehn at 125 pounds. Back-to-back victories by Parkside pulled the Rangers back even with the host Pointers at 6-6. Kris Magruder’s forfeit victory at 149 pounds put the Pointers back in front 12-6 and Ben Strobel picked up another three points with his 14-12 come-from-behind victory at 157 pounds. Parkside began to chip away at the lead again and once more tied the score at 15-15 after 184 pounds leaving just two weight classes for the Pointers to earn valuable points. Senior Chad Gregory stepped up and did his part, recording a 9-3 victory at 197 and 10th-ranked Steve Wozniak pinned his opponent at the 5:20 mark of the heavyweight contest go seal the victory. UW-Stevens Point (9-7, 2-1 WIAC) returns to the mat on Feb. 4 when they travel to UW-Whitewater for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Warhawks. Results: 125 Brad Kuehn (SP) pins Martino Balsiger (UWP) 4:43 – UWSP 6 – UWP 0 133 #4 Cody Zimmerman (UWP) def Jordan Kust (UWSP) 7-3 – UWSP 6 – UWP 3 141 Arik Yde (UWP) def Shane Sweeney (UWSP) 5-3 – UWSP 6 – UWP 6 149 Kris Magruder (UWSP) wins by forfeit – UWSP 12 – UWP 6 157 Ben Strobel (UWSP) def Dave Edwards (UWP) 14-12 – UWSP 15 – UWP 6 165 Matt Gille (UWP) def #7 Jordan Schulte (UWSP) 2-0 – UWSP 15 – UWP 9 174 #1 Luke Rynish (UWP) def Ryan Conat (UWSP) 9-4 – UWSP 15 – UWP 12 184 Ryan Woods (UWP) def. Coulter Nyenhuis (UWSP) 12-5 – UWSP 15 – UWP 15 197 Chad Gregory (UWSP) def Curtis Hines (UWP) 9-3 – UWSP 18 – UWP 15 285 #10 Steve Wozniak pins Vince Depp (UWP) 5:20 – UWSP 24 – UWP 15

After last Friday’s outstanding Big Ten wrestling live double-header on the Big Ten Network, the BTN heard from many Penn State and Iowa fans in regards to the PSU/Iowa dual being a two-day tape delay. Thanks to this fan input, the BTN is taking an outstanding step and making the tape delay a SAME DAY one. So the battle between No. 1 Penn State and 3X defending national champ Iowa, which is being wrestled in front of a sold out Rec Hall crowd on Sunday at 2 p.m., will air Sunday night at 9:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network and again on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. Thanks to the BTN and the fans of both teams for helping to make this happen!

Buies Creek, N.C. -- The Gardner-Webb wrestling team used three pin fall wins to defeat Campbell 32-12 on Tuesday night in Buies Creek, N.C. GWU redshirt-sophomore Alex Medved started the match off with a pin fall win at 3:57 over Darien Peele at 157 to give the Runnin’ Bulldogs an early 6-0 lead in the match. The win was Alex Medved’s 20th overall win on the year. Fellow redshirt-sophomore Justin Guthrie carried over the momentum from his huge win versus Duke on Friday night, as he scored a 5-4 decision of Jake Fose to push GWU in front by nine at 9-0. The momentum was clearly on the Runnin’ Bulldogs side, as freshman Erin O’Dell picked up his second win of the year, edging Ryan Ham of Campbell for the 3-2 win at 174. With a 12-0 lead, junior Blake Salyer earned his first pin fall win of the year at 184, pinning Peter Comis 3:58 seconds into the match, giving the Runnin’ Bulldog grapplers a huge 18-0 match lead. Redshirt-sophomore Travis Porter continued GWU’s winning ways, posting a 5-1 decision win over John Merickel at 197, increasing the GWU lead to 21-0. After Campbell’s Peter Burns earned a pin fall win at 285 to put the Camels on the board, Campbell picked up back-to-back wins at 125 and 133 to cut the GWU lead to 21-12 with two matches remaining. However, the Runnin’ Bulldog grapplers refused to lose, as Richie Spicel picked up his third pin fall win of the year over Michael Jordan at 3:28 at 141, while GWU’s Ryan Medved wrapped up the match with a technical fall 20-4 victory over Brad Merriman at 149 to give Gardner-Webb the 32-12 win. With the win, GWU improves to 3-12-1 on the year in dual match action. The Gardner-Webb wrestling team will look to carry over the momentum from Tuesday night’s win to this Saturday, as the Runnin’ Bulldogs will compete at the Appalachian Open on Saturday, January 29th, in Boone, N.C. Results: 125 - Tanner Bidelspach (CU) decision Brett Kostern (GWU) 5-4, 21-9 GWU 133 - Gabe Gardner (CU) decision Alex Hamm (GWU) 7-5 in first OT, 21-12 GWU 141 - Richie Spicel (GWU) fall Michael Jordan (CU), 3:28, 27-12 GWU 149 - Ryan Medved (GWU) technical fall Brad Merriman (CU) 20-4 in 5:49, 32-12 GWU 157 - Alex Medved (GWU) fall Darien Peele (CU)*, 3:57, 6-0 GWU 165 - Justin Guthrie (GWU) decision Jake Fose (CU) 5-4, 9-0 GWU 174 - Erin O’Dell (GWU) decision Ryan Ham (CU) 3-2, 12-0 GWU 184 - Blake Salyer (GWU) fall Peter Comis (CU), 3:58, 18-0 GWU 197 - Travis Porter (GWU) decision John Merickel (CU) 5-1, 21-0 GWU 285 – Parker Burns (CU) fall Tyler Arrowood (GWU), 1:59, 21-6 GWU *denotes starting weight

For Mario Mason, a change in scenery is just what he needed. Mason, a New Jersey native who wrestled for national powerhouse Blair Academy in high school, started his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota and spent two years in the Gopher wrestling program before transferring to Rutgers University this season. He compiled a record of 19-12 last season as a redshirt freshman for Minnesota and qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championships at 149 pounds. Mario MasonMason has shined in his first season wrestling for Rutgers. He is currently ranked No. 4 in the country at 149 pounds and has a record of 21-3. He has not lost a match since November. Mason has wins this season over All-Americans Frank Molinaro of Penn State, Kevin LeValley of Bucknell, and Brandon Rader of West Virginia. InterMat recently caught up with the redshirt sophomore and talked to him about the differences between Rutgers and Minnesota, Cory Cooperman, Adam Frey, Rutgers' rapid rise, freestyle wrestling, and much more. Last season you had a strong redshirt freshman season at Minnesota, but you have turned it up another notch this season at Rutgers. What is the biggest difference from last season to this season? Mason: Well, definitely the coaching styles at Minnesota and Rutgers are a lot different. Minnesota is kind of a brawler style. This year I have been able to work with Cory Cooperman, who I have known for a long time. He has helped me tremendously. In what ways has Cooperman helped you this season? Mario Mason (Photo/Roy DeBoer)Mason: He's kind of like my personal coach. Anything he feels that I need to work on, we work on. Being with him helps me build my confidence. He's always one hundred percent positive. He's obviously going to tell me things I'm doing wrong and help me out, but he always has a positive outlook. He's almost like an older brother to me. It's a big deal for me and a big confidence builder. You mentioned the coaching styles at Minnesota and Rutgers being different. How is the training different between the two programs? Mason: They're both hard-nosed programs. Rutgers might be new on the map, but we train really hard, as hard as any team in the country. Minnesota is more of a grinder style, more live wrestling situations in the room, and more conditioning. At Rutgers, we're doing a lot of drilling and a lot of perfecting technique, which is something I have always done when I was young and in high school. It's something I like to do and always helps my wrestling. That's definitely the biggest difference between Minnesota and Rutgers. There is a lot of anticipation at Minnesota for Jake Deitchler's possible return. A lot of people know about his Greco-Roman credentials, but there is some uncertainty about what kind of impact he can make in collegiate wrestling. Having trained with him, what kind of impact do you think Deitchler can make in the program if healthy? Mason: I think he can make a huge impact. He's probably one of the few guys that I still talk to from Minnesota. I wrestled him a few times in my freestyle career. When I was at Minnesota, we became really good friends. The kid is a dynamite wrestler. He can definitely be a breakthrough guy if he can come back and wrestle in college. It's kind of a sad thing with the concussions, but hopefully he can get back on the mat and help the program. One of your former high school teammates at Blair Academy, Adam Frey, passed away a little over a year ago after a courageous battle with cancer. What do you remember most about Adam? Mason: I wrestled him probably four times a week when I was a freshman and he was a senior. He used to just beat me up all the time and just get me tougher. He was always on top of me to get better, kind like Cooperman has been for me. Adam was always helping me and always in my corner. He was an unbelievable wrestler. He's probably one of the best wrestlers I've seen and wrestled with. Mario Mason has split matches with Penn State's Frank Molinaro this season (Photo/Roy DeBoer)Rutgers is ranked in the top 10. What is the atmosphere like in the program this season? Mason: Right now, everyone is making jumps and it's because we have to make jumps. We're getting more highly ranked as our wrestlers are starting to wrestle better. Not a lot of people thought it was possible, coming from nowhere. We just have a lot of tough individuals who are making progress and wrestling hard. Everybody is from New Jersey, so everybody knows each other from childhood or wrestling in high school together. It's a really close-knit group of guys and it's great to wrestle for a team like that. What's it going to take for Rutgers to be in the hunt for a trophy at the NCAAs? Mason: Obviously, we're going to need some more guys. We're going to need to bring in the top recruits in the country. We have a lot of guys that will do well this season. I think we could have four, five, or six guys place at the NCAA tournament. Everyone is going to have to step up and wrestle the best they can. If we do that, we can be in the hunt. I don't know about a national title this year, but we should be in the top five or top six at the NCAAs ... as long as everyone is wrestling hard and staying focused. There is a chance you could face 2010 NCAA champion Kyle Dake of Cornell at the EIWA Championships. You have defeated Dake in freestyle. How much are you looking forward to a potential meeting with Dake? Mario Mason (Photo/Morgan Hennessy)Mason: I'm really looking forward to it. I enjoy wrestling the best guys. I want to wrestle everybody I can. I have wrestled a couple top 10 guys so far this season. I look forward to the match. Freestyle is a whole different ballgame than collegiate style. But it's going to be a battle and hopefully I can come out on top. You went 0-2 at the NCAAs last season. What did you take from that tournament that you think might help you the next time you compete at the NCAAs? Mason: Prior to that, I don't think I had ever gone 0-2 at a tournament since I was a young kid. It's just heartbreaker. You work hard all season, get down to weight, and it's a big letdown. It's a driving force. It drives you to do better, wrestle harder in the room, and get in better condition, everything that you need to do to be an All-American and NCAA champion. It's one of those things that is really in the back of my mind that I never want to happen to me again. You have had lot of age-group success in fresestyle over the years. You even competed on the senior level at the 2009 U.S. World Team Trials after your redshirt season. Is freestyle wrestling still important to you? Mason: Yeah. Actually, I enjoy freestyle wrestling more than collegiate wrestling. I really wish I could wrestle it all year round. I wish college was freestyle wrestling. I definitely would love to pursue it. I would love to go to the Olympics and win the Olympics. That's a dream. That would be unbelievable. That would probably be one of the coolest things I could do in the sport. Blair Academy vs. St. Paris Graham on Saturday night. What's your prediction? Mason: I have to go with Blair because it's my home school. St. Paris Graham is obviously a tough team. I'm sure (Jeff) Buxton is looking forward to that match because St. Paris Graham beat Blair last year. It's going to be a good one, but I have to go with Blair.

Dan Gable, legendary wrestler and coach, will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, January 26. “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 5:05 - 6:00 PM CST on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Gable was the head wrestling coach at the University of Iowa from 1977-1997. His teams won 15 NCAA team titles in 21 years and compiled a 355-21-5 dual meet record. As a wrestler, Gable was an NCAA champion for Iowa State in 1968 and 1969. He won the 1972 Olympics in freestyle wrestling without surrendering a point. Gable recently retired from the University of Iowa as an administrator. This show will focus on his career and legacy in wrestling.

AURORA, Ill. -- Ultimately, the final scores from a recent super quad hosted by Marmion Academy don't tell the whole story. Not even part of it. Marmion Academy Super QuadIt's true that a banged-up Marmion Academy Cadets team went 0-3 on the day, losing badly to No. 5 St. Ed's and No. 10 Iowa City West, and narrowly to bitter rival No. 38 Montini Catholic. But only a decade ago, the scene that unfolded on Jan. 15 would have been impossible, inconceivable. Before the 2002-03 school year, Marmion Athletic Director Joe Chivari called up Dean Branstetter and asked the veteran high school wrestling coach of 15 years to leave Mona Shores High in Muskegon, MI, to start a wrestling team at the all-male Catholic prep school 38 miles west of Chicago. At 36 years of age, the former University of Indianapolis All-American came in and built the program up slowly. He scheduled small school competition at first, teaching and allowing kids to accumulate wins and confidence. In 2006, the program achieved their first regional individual champion, and took five kids to sectionals. That success led St. Charles-natives Pat Greco (Northwestern) and Nico Jimenez (Illinois) to commit to Marmion, eventually becoming the program's first Division I recruits. And slowly but surely, success begat success. "We had to win some matches, make sure kids could be competitive," Branstetter says. "As we improved every year, then we scheduled bigger schools and better competition. We had to keep kids interested in the sport, and we had to get good so good kids will come here. When [the good kids] were successful, that just opened the door [and] it snowballed from there." Oh, has it ever snowballed. The Cadets are ranked third in state in Class 2A, and 13th in the country, (according to InterMat). They currently boast 11 state-ranked wrestlers in the top 10 of their respective weight classes, seven of whom are either first or second in state, according to Illinois Matmen (www.illinoismatmen.com). In addition, Branstetter estimates that five or six of his wrestlers will eventually end up competing collegiately at the Division I level. "Obviously, we're very pleased with the job he's done," Chivari said. "He's taken a program from totally non-existent to a position where we are recognized and building the program to something that we're looking to sustain for years to come." Ben Whitford (Photo/Bob Tuneberg, BuckeyeWrestling.com)Three Cadets are currently ranked nationally by InterMat: No. 16 103-pounder Johnny Jimenez, No. 12 112-pounder Jered Cortez, and No. 3 130-pounder Ben Whitford. The diamond gem of that group is Whitford. The sophomore won the Ironman, Dvorak and Cheesehead tournaments this year, and has lost just once in his high school career. He fell into Marmion's lap by pure chance. A native of St. John's, Michigan, Whitford moved to Chicago before his freshman year, when his father, Pat, got a job in the Chicagoland area. Marmion was the first school the Whitfords considered, and the school's academics, as well as its proximity to the highly regarded Overtime School of Wrestling (where Ben and 14 of his teammates train) were big selling points. "We're extremely happy, all-around," Pat Whitford says. "We always knew wrestling was going to take him somewhere, but [Marmion's] academics opens up different doors. Also, you knew the guys that were coming, that (135-pound freshman stud) Bryce [Brill] and the workout partners around him were going to be a big sell too." Marmion Academy MerchandiseWhich brings us to the most highly anticipated high school wrestling event in the country on that mid-January weekend. Joe Silvestro is one of a myriad of assistant coaches for the Cadets, and his son, Angelo, is ranked second in state for Class 2A at 141 pounds. A 1982 St. Ed's graduate, Joe competed for the Eagles and eventually wrestled at North Carolina. Knowing they would have to face Montini for conference anyway, Marmion decided to test themselves, and Joe got the ball rolling with one phone call to St. Ed's. The result was an intense wrestling competition that featured a few upsets (No. 6 Cortez lost to then unranked-Edgar Bright of St. Ed's), witnessed by local college coaches and boisterous wrestling fans alike. The two long tables of assorted Marmion Academy wrestling paraphernalia being sold by boosters was proof enough of this program's serious intentions. "The coaches want to do this for us, get us out against all these good ranked teams," 103-pounder Johnny Jimenez (ranked No. 16 nationally by InterMat) says. "We're going to grow as a wrestling team as a result of this." Though people took notice of the program last season, this year has put Marmion on the mat. They won the tough Dvorak tournament with three individual champions (two freshmen and a sophomore), finished fourth at Ironman and seventh at Cheesehead. The ultimate goal, however, is a state championship. To do that, they'll have to get by longtime state power Montini in regionals. At the Jan. 15 quad, Montini got up big early, and then hung on for a 31-30 dual win. Should Marmion do that, they will likely find No. 24 Crystal Lake Central (which features three nationally-ranked wrestlers of their own) in between them and a Class 2A state title. Dean BranstetterBut the Cadets' rapid ascent to high school wrestling relevancy hasn't come without it's criticisms and questions. On message boards and at tournaments, people whisper speculations and ruminate about how Marmion managed to assemble such a talented group of youngsters so quickly. Branstetter has heard the gossip, and he maintains that Marmion's academic excellence sells itself. In the beginning, word of mouth helped, as positive experiences led other kids from local wrestling clubs like St. Charles North to consider attending Marmion. Through it all, Branstetter has vehemently denied any unethical practices. "It's a little frustrating because there are a lot of people who pass judgment on the program, and they've never seen what these kids go through academically, they've never been to practice," Branstetter says. "It's kind of sad that you want to put down a 15-16 year old kid who wants a great education. I don't know if the boys read that stuff, but I don't read the websites anymore. The AD isn't going to let me do things the wrong way, and I'm not going to put Marmion in that position. We're trying to do things the right way, and that's all I can do." With the program quickly establishing itself as a state powerhouse, don't be surprised to see a steady trickle of stud kids and transfers head to Aurora to get a quality education, wrestle a tough national schedule, and try to compete for state titles.

NORMAN, Okla. -- Tyler Caldwell of the seventh-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team has been chosen as the Big 12 Conference Wrestler of the Week, announced Monday by the league office. The accolade is a first for the Wichita, Kan., native and the second for the Sooners this season (Nathan Fernandez, Jan. 18). “We’re really proud of Tyler Caldwell,” Jack Spates said. “First of all he is the epitome of what we speak of as a student-athlete. He was an All-American as a true-freshman and is ranked-fourth in the country now. He carries above a 3.0 GPA and is an extremely hard worker and a young man of great character. He represents the Sooner with great honor.” Caldwell earned the honor after his performance last Friday, Jan. 21, at Iowa State where the sophomore was instrumental in ending the Sooners eight-match losing streak to the Cyclones after he opened the dual with a decisive 9-1 major decision victory over 10th-ranked Andrew Sorenson. The 165-pound bout was scoreless after the first period, but Caldwell earned a quick escape 0:15 into the period. He added a takedown and back points to take a 5-0 lead. In the third period, the No. 4-ranked Caldwell had a near fall and added 1:13 in riding time to run away with the first bonus points of the evening for the Sooners who won 33-7. The reigning All-American is undefeated (7-0) in dual action and leads the Sooners with six major decision victories. Caldwell also paces OU with dual near falls (8) and is second in dual points scored.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech head wrestling coach Kevin Dresser, along with the Virginia Tech Sports Medicine Department, announced Monday that senior 184-pounder Tommy Spellman will be retired from the sport due to a season-ending neck injury. “Based on the injuries, the sports medicine staff and a neck/cervical spine specialist thought it was in Tommy’s best interests to retire from the sport of wrestling,” head wrestling trainer Sean Collins said. The native of Newton, N.J., was ranked all of this season at 184 pounds and ends his career with an 87-41 overall record, 46-20 in dual matches. He was a two-time NCAA qualifier. “Obviously this isn’t good news for Tommy, however, Tommy has dedicated his life to Virginia Tech wrestling the past three and a half years and we appreciate that,” Dresser said. “Tommy will be very successful in life and he is a quality young man.” Spellman, who hasn’t wrestled since the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in early January, will be replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore John Dickson, who is currently 15-12 on the season.

Lower profile wrestlers the difference in Eagles' upset victory The dual meet was virtually as close as the rankings indicated it should have been. No. 5 St. Edward, Ohio and No. 3 St. Paris Graham, Ohio each took seven of the fourteen weight classes on Saturday night. However, in an evening with close matches abound, and a multitude of twists and turns, the last one gave St. Edward the victory. With two of the least heralded wrestlers on each team taking to the mat in the last match of the meet -- at 103 pounds -- St. Edward's Anthony Stanley overcame a 3-0 deficit in order to force overtime. When Stanley got the takedown, he earned a 5-3 victory over Chase Crabtree; and those points were enough to put St. Edward on top 27-25 at the end of the dual meet. The evening opened with a lot of luster, as the premier match on the docket took to the mat, with No. 11 Ryan Taylor (112) giving the Graham Falcons an early 3-0 lead in the dual meet, as he beat No. 20 Edgar Bright 4-2 in overtime. No. 18 Dean Heil (119) turned things right around for the Eagles with a 5-0 decision over Micah Jordan to tie the dual meet at 3-3. Then, in another pair of matchups placing unheralded wrestlers against one another, St. Edward won both with major decisions, as Markus Scheidel (125) and Colin Heffernan (130) emerged with victories over their Falcon opposition. Facing an 11-3 deficit, the Falcons had four nationally-ranked wrestlers in a row take to the mats. Even though there were some struggles along the way, all of those wrestlers won. No. 19 Case Garrison (135) earned an 11-4 decision; No. 7 Nick Brascetta (140) secured a pin; No. 5 Bo Jordan (145) scored a 17-7 major decision, though Matt Van Curen was able to briefly put Jordan onto his back; and No. 11 Matt Stephens (152) won a narrow 2-1 overtime decision against state runner-up Mark Martin. Trailing 19-11 after 152 pounds, St. Edward sent out Cadet National freestyle All-American Domenic Abounader (160) to the mats. However, in what turned out to be one of the keys of the dual meet, Graham did not respond with state champion Isaac Jordan - as he was not yet fully recovered from the injury he suffered at the Walsh Ironman. As a result, Abounader scored a first period pin against Robert Mannier. The next four matches went pretty much as expected to make the score 25-24 in favor of Graham, setting up that dramatic outcome at 103 pounds. Kyle Ryan (Graham) beat Jacob Davis 4-3 at 171 pounds, No. 5 Huston Evans (Graham) upended James Suvak 8-3 at 189, Ty Walz (St. Edward) earned a 7-4 victory over Mark Meyer at 215, and No. 10 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward) scored a 11-3 major decision over Darin Bovey at 285 pounds. To view photos from the St. Edward-St. Paris Graham dual meet, visit http://www.buckeyewrestling.com/?q=image/tid/1753. Blair, and upsets, rule the day at NHSCA Final Four Anchored by a 5-0 performance from No. 7 Joey McKenna (103), No. 2 Blair Academy, New Jersey sizzled to a 5-0 Saturday at the NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling in Easton, Pennsylvania. The Buccaneers lost only nine matches during the day while integrating a number of reserves into the lineup at varying points of the day. For the day, McKenna had a pair of pins, a 16-1 technical fall, a 6-2 decision, and a 3-0 decision over No. 19 Billy Rappo (Council Rock South). Blair Academy emerged from the four-match pool stage having only lost six individual matches, as they earned a 50-10 victory over Parkland, Pennsylvania; 45-12 victory over No. 32 Jackson Memorial, New Jersey; 53-5 victory over Council Rock South, Pennsylvania; and 70-0 victory over Lake Stevens, Washington. In the other pool, No. 21 High Point, New Jersey emerged as the undefeated 4-0 squad. The Wildcats earned the following victories: 39-27 over Walsh Jesuit, Ohio; 41-29 over No. 16 Easton, Pennsylvania; 41-28 over No. 28 Collins Hill, Georgia; and 37-34 over Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania. Something of interest is that in the two dual meets the Wildcats won over unranked opposition, each team took seven matches of High Point; while High Point won eight matches against Easton, and nine against Collins Hill. Other dual meets in pool competition involving ranked teams facing one another, or being upset by an unranked team: No. 16 Easton, Pennsylvania over No. 28 Collins Hill, Georgia 42-15 and Council Rock South, Pennsylvania over No. 32 Jackson Memorial, New Jersey 39-32. Even with a 2-1 upset victory for No. 17 William Smith (High Point) over No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair Academy) at 285 pounds, the Wildcats still had little to cheer about in the championship match. Blair Academy took it to them in a 54-10 victory, with the Buccaneers winning eleven of the fourteen weight classes. Third place went to Easton with a 44-23 victory over Council Rock South, while Collins Hill upended Jackson Memorial 35-33 for fifth place. Seventh place went to Parkland, with a 41-25 victory over Walsh Jesuit; while Pen Argyl upended Lake Stevens 64-12 to earn ninth place. Outstanding Wrestler honors went to William Smith, as he had three pins, a 6-0 decision over Jalal Paige (Easton), and the previously mentioned 2-1 upset victory over Brooks Black in the final. For full dual meet results: http://gimp.escapesports.on-rev.com/TeamDuals/NHSCAFinalFour2011_197.htm. No. 2 over No. 4 at 130 pounds Part of a double dual this past Friday at Nazareth High School, No. 2 Zach Horan (Nazareth, Pennsylvania) defeated No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) 4-3 at 130 pounds. Horan scored his points with a first period takedown and third period reversal, while DiJulius had an escape in each period. No. 27 Nazareth won the dual meet 48-23. Trojans trouble for rest of field at Ed Winger Invitational In a field that featured many of the prominent team and individual figures in Iowa high school wrestling, it was No. 10 Iowa City West showing the other 19 teams who was boss at the Ed Winger Invitational hosted by Urbandale High School. Seven Trojan wrestlers reached the finals, five of them emerging with championship medals: No. 9 Phillip Laux (103), Jack Hathaway (125), No. 20 Elijah Sullivan (140), Britt Thompson (152), and No. 18 Justin Koethe (160). Finishing as runners-up were Kegan Wakefield (119) and Gradey Gambrall (135). With Hathaway's 3-2 victory over No. 19 Connor Ryan (Bettendorf) leading the way, Iowa City West scored 243-1/2 points. Second place in the tournament went to Ryan's Bettendorf squad with 212 points. Joining Ryan as a runner-up was Dominic Chase (160), while Alex Hernandez (135) and Brodie Berrie (285) rose to the top of the podium in their respective weight classes. Southeast Polk was the other team to have multiple champions -- No. 6 Cory Clark (119) and Willie Miklus (171) -- and they finished third in the standings with 187-1/2 points. This year's 171 pound championship match was one that would have happened in the practice room at Ballard Huxley last year. Miklus, a state runner-up, rallied back from a late deficit to defeat No. 5 Tanner Weatherman (Ballard Huxley) 7-6. The two-time state champion Weatherman had a 6-4 lead with about thirty seconds left in the match, when a second stalling penalty point and a takedown right before the buzzer propelled Miklus to victory. Other weight class champions were No. 10 Dylan Peters (112) from Denver-Tripoli, No. 5 John Meeks (130) from Des Moines Roosevelt, No. 19 Tanner Hiatt (145) from Ballard Huxley, No. 14 Brendan Abernathy (189) from Indianola, and Jesse South (215) from Urbandale. Meeks remained undefeated for his high school career with an 8-5 victory over No. 18 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli) in the championship match. A Volunteer State-ment at Clinch Gear Prep Slam The penultimate FloNationals Major of the 2010-11 season happened this past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia. The top two programs in the state of Tennessee came out on top of the 44-team field, which came from approximately ten states. Winning the Clinch Gear Prep Slam with eight placers (all finishing in the top three) was Baylor, Tennessee with 252 points. Bennett Reece (130), Alex Manley (135), and John Mackey (285) were champions; Brandon Brunner (119), Zach Watson (125), Stuart Doster (140), and Matthew Cate (152) finished second place; while Spencer Craig (160) took third place. Second place in the standings with seven placers, three in the finals, was McCallie, Tennessee with 223 points. Champions for McCallie were Adam Connell (103) and Michael Hooker (145), while TJ Duncan (160) was a runner-up. Two others finished third, another in fourth, and another in fifth place. Joining Baylor with a tournament-high three champions were Bishop Lynch, Texas and Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania. Winning titles for Bishop Lynch were Judson Preskitt (112), Jake Goodwin (119), and Trey Adamson (171). Champions for Kiski Prep were No. 8 Evan Henderson (140) and No. 11 (at 145) Robet Henderson (152). Also with multiple champions at the Prep Slam was Calvary Chapel, whose pair of upper-weight dynamos absolutely dominated their competition. No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (189) had four pins in as many matches, while No. 5 Tank Knowles (215) pinned his first three opponents before securing a major decision and technical fall in his last two matches. Rounding out the weight class champions was Chris Caton (125) from Northside Christian, North Carolina. Tulsa Union takes home OCU Duals No. 20 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma dominated its way to a 7-0 weekend in taking home the Oklahoma City University Duals championship. Their closest margin of victory was 29 points in a dual meet. Twenty teams competed in the event and were split into pools of five for the first day of competition, each team getting four matches. On the second day, the top eight advanced to a championship bracket, while the rest advanced to a consolation bracket for ninth place. Second day victories for Tulsa Union were 51-22 over Arkansas City, Kansas; 54-19 over Collinsville, Oklahoma; and 45-16 over Altus, Oklahoma. Also present in the field was No. 50 Claremore, Oklahoma -- and they fell to defeat twice in Saturday's championship bracket, losing 31-27 to Altus in the semifinal and 33-28 to Claremore in the third place match. Key in the second Claremore loss was a 9-5 Gary Wayne Harding victory at 112 pounds over No. 19 Calib Freeman, which reversed their match result at the Mid-American Nationals in December. Blue Springs rules roost at Winnetonka Invitational With many of the top wrestlers and programs in the Show Me State in attendance this past Saturday at Winnetonka High School just outside of Kansas City, it was Blue Springs that emerged as the top team with a four-for-six finals performance. Championship wins from Daniel Lewis (103), Greg Hegarty (135), Kennan Hegarty (140), and Louis Foutz (189); while Derek Lapaglia (130) and Donnie Horner (215) finished second propelling the Wildcats to 320 points. Four championships won by Park Hill were enough for them to earn second place with 260-1/2 points. Champions for the Trojans were Michael Olsen (112), No. 9 Bricker Dixon (125), Preston Crouse (145), and Noland Smith (285). Francis Howell Central finished third with 248-1/2 points with five finalists, but only getting championships from Ben Henson (119) and Matt Greene (171); finishing second were John Wood (135), No. 5 Terrell Wilbourn (140), and Wyatt Miller (189). Rounding out the weight class champions were No. 8 Cody Brewer (130) and Hashem Omari (215) from Oak Park, Gage Shaddox (152) from Liberty, and Brock St. Louis (171) from North Kansas City. Three of the more notable finals matches involved a ranked wrestler doing battle against an unranked wrestler. Lewis upset No. 15 Noah Teaney (Oak Park) 3-2 at 103 pounds, Brewer outlasted Lapaglia 3-1 at 130, and Kennan Hegarty upset No. 5 Wilbourn 4-3 at 140. Other dual meet victories over ranked teams Northampton, Pennsylvania defeats No. 18 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania 32-32 (criteria) Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania defeats No. 23 Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania 36-33 Kiski Area, Pennsylvania defeats No. 23 Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania 36-33 No. 26 Glenbard North, Illinois defeats No. 24 Crystal Lake Central, Illiois 34-34 (criteria) Cincinnati Moeller, Ohio defeats No. 37 Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan 30-28

Cedar Falls, Iowa -- Trailing by one point entering the final match against the Northern Iowa Panthers, Andy Johnson (NU) was able to rally the Nebraska wrestling team back to an 18-15 victory on Sunday afternoon in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The No. 16 Huskers saw their record improve to 10-3 on the season, while Northern Iowa dropped to 7-8. The Huskers have now won at least ten duals nine times since the 2000-01 season. The dual opened with a pair of ranked wrestlers at the 285-pound weight class in No. 10 Tucker Lane (NU) and No. 16 Christian Brantley (UNI). After no scoring in the first two periods, Lane was able to score an escape and was awarded the riding time point to take the match, 2-0. At 125-pounds, David Klingsheim (NU) was unable to hold of Caleb Flores (UNI) giving up a takedown with :36 remaining in the third period to give Flores the 2-1 victory. Ridge Kiley (NU) was able to get the Huskers back on track at 133-pounds, defeating Ryan Jauch (UNI), 3-2. After scoring a reversal to take a 2-1 lead, Jauch tied the score at 2-2 after being awarded a stalling point, but Kiley was able to collect over a minute of riding time and took the match, 3-2. After Kiley’s victory, the Huskers dropped three straight decisions and fell behind by six points in the team score at 12-6, before senior Jordan Burroughs recorded his ninth technical fall victory of the season to pull the Huskers within one. Burroughs was dominant in his victory John Simon (UNI), recording five takedowns in the first period in route to his 21-5 win. Burroughs now owns a 23-0 record on the year. Following Burroughs’ win, sophomore Caleb Kolb (NU) regained the lead for NU after defeating Brice Wolf (UNI) by decision, 5-3, at 174-pounds. Kolb used two second period takedowns to give the Huskers a 14-12 lead in the team score. The lead didn’t last long for NU as No. 14 Ryan Loder (UNI) upset No. 12 Josh Ihnen (NU) at 184-pounds, 5-0, to setup the deciding match at 197-pounds. In that match, Johnson (NU) used three takedowns and two near falls to defeat Jarion Beets (UNI) by major decision, 12-0, and give NU the 18-15 victory. Johnson improved his record to 20-8 on the season and 2-0 on the weekend after defeating Derrick Borlie against Wisconsin. The Huskers return to action on Friday, Jan. 28, when they travel to Norman, Okla., for their Big 12 Conference opener against the Oklahoma Sooners at 7 p.m. Nebraska will then travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the Missouri Tigers on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 1 p.m. Results: 285-#10 Tucker Lane (NEB) by dec. over #16 Christian Brantley (UNI), 2-0 (NU 3, UNI 0) 125-Caleb Flores (UNI) by dec. over David Klingsheim (NEB), 2-1 (NU 3, UNI 3) 133-Ridge Kiley (NEB) by dec. over Ryan Jauch (UNI), 3-2 (NU 6 UNI 3) 141-Joey Lazor (UNI) by dec. over Mike Koehnlein (NEB), 17-13 (NU 6, UNI 6) 149-Brett Robbins (UNI) by dec. over Ross Grande (NEB), 6-2 (NU 6, UNI 9) 157-David Bonin (UNI) by dec. over Tyler Koehn (NEB), 6-1 (NU 6, UNI 12) 165-#1 Jordan Burroughs (NEB) by tech. fall over John Simon (UNI), 21-5 (NU 11, UNI 12) 174-Caleb Kolb (NEB) by dec. over Brice Wolf (UNI), 5-3 (NU 14, UNI 12) 184-#14Ryan Loder (UNI) by dec. over #12 Josh Ihnen (NEB), 5-0 (NU 14, UNI 15) 197-Andy Johnson (NEB) by maj. dec. over Jarion Beets (UNI), 12-0 (NU 18, UNI 15) * UNI bench warning during 184 match.

Binghamton, NY -- Sophomore Steve Bonanno captured the 125-pound title and Ben Clymer and Paul Snyder placed second in their divisions to lead the Hofstra Pride to a fifth-place finish at the 42nd annual New York State Collegiate Championships at Binghamton University’s West Gymnasium Sunday afternoon. The Pride, who wrestled without four starters, finished in fifth place with 92.5 points. The host Bearcats of Binghamton won the state title with 149.5 points. Followed by Columbia (132.5), Army (126) and Nassau Community College (110). Nineteen universities competed in this year’s championship. Bonanno, the second seed, defeated Columbia’s fifth-seed Penn Gottfried, 8-3 in the 125-pound championship match. With the score tied at 2-2 after two periods, Bonanno opened with an escape and added two takedowns and the riding time point for the win. He advanced to the final with a 10-2 victory over the third seed Travis Coffey from Army. Bonanno is now 17-9 on the season. Clymer, the third seed, dropped a 6-3 decision to his CAA-nemesis and top-seed Nate Schiedel from Binghamton in the 184-pound title match. The match was tied at 2-2 after two periods before Schiedel escaped in the third, posted a takedown and then added the riding time point for the final margin. Clymer advanced to the final with a hard-fought 5-3 tie-breaker victory over the second seed Jimmy Hamel from Buffalo. Regulation ended with the two wrestlers tied at 3-3. After a scoreless sudden victory period and no change in the top of the first tie-breaker, Clymer was able to score two points in his half on a stall penalty and an escape for the 5-3 win. Clymer is now 12-7 on the year. Snyder, the number two seed, also faced the top seed in Columbia’s Kevin Lester in the 285-pound championship match. Lester rode out Snyder in the second period and tallied an escape and a takedown in the third to add to the riding time point for a 4-0 win and the title. Snyder advanced to the final with a 5-3 victory over the sixth seed Matt Mahon from Ithaca jumped out to a 5-2 second period lead and held on for the victory. On the consolation side, red-shirt freshman Tim Murphy placed fifth, freshman Matt Loew placed seventh, and sophomores Matt Spataro and Tyler Banks each placed eighth at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. Red-shirt freshman Tim Murphy had a busy Sunday with three matches although only two were wrestled. He opened with a 5-4 victory over Columbia’s fifth-seed Mike Pushpak, scoring all of his points in the first period. He then faced sixth-seed Carl Korpi from Cortland State and gave up a third period takedown and lost on the riding time point, 6-5. He was then expected to face top-seed Tom Voorhuis from Brockport in the fifth-place match. But Brockport forfeited the match giving Murphy fifth-place. He is now 4-8 on the season. Freshman Matt Loew, the seventh seed, opened the day with a 3-2 loss to Nassau’s Musa DeReese on a third period escape. Loew rebounded to take an 8-1 victory over the fifth-seed Mike Pushpak from Columbia in the seventh-place match. Loew, who was 3-2 in the tournament, improves to 8-18 on the season. Spataro dropped a 4-3 decision to Nassau Community College’s Mike Malderelli before losing a heart-breaking, 7-5 loss to Oneonta’s Dan Graff on a two-point nearfall as time expired and the riding time point. Spataro is now 6-10 on the year. Banks took an injury default loss after suffering a knee injury, in his match with Nassau’s Brian Herold. Banks returned in the seventh-place match and dropped a 3-0 decision to Cornell’s Jesse Shanaman to finish in eighth. Banks is now 14-12 on the season. The Pride return to action this Wednesday, January 26 when they host the Cadets of Army at the David S. Mack Sports Complex at 7 p.m.

AMES, Iowa -- The Oklahoma State wrestling team picked up the 999th dual match win in its sparkling history with a 29-13 beating of No. 12 Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum Sunday. With the win, the Cowboys improved to 8-2-1 on the year and 4-0-0 in the Big 12. The Cyclones fell to 6-7-0 overall and 0-2-0 against Big 12 opposition. It was Oklahoma State’s fifth win over a ranked team this year and its second win over the Cyclones this month. OSU scored 20 takedowns in Sunday’s dual to Iowa State’s four. “We wrestled pretty well,” OSU coach John Smith said. “The bout that stands out to me was at heavyweight, where I sure liked how Blake Rosholt stepped out and got a nice win. He’s been struggling a little bit lately, but found a victory and built up a little confidence for himself.” With the dual starting at 184 pounds, Oklahoma State freshman Chris Perry pinned Cole Shafer, then Cowboys Clayton Foster and Blake Rosholt both picked up wins by decision to put the Pokes up, 12-0. OSU was forced to forfeit the 125-pound bout with Jon Morrison out with illness. Jordan Oliver then roared to a 22-8 major decision win over Ben Cash at 133 pounds, followed by OSU 141-pounder Josh Kindig winning by forfeit to bring the score of the dual to 22-6 in favor of the Cowboys. A 6-4 victory by Jamal Parks over Max Mayfield in the second sudden victory period was followed by an 8-0 major decision win by Neil Erisman at 157 pounds to extend OSU’s lead to 29-6. The Cyclones salvaged wins in the final two bouts of the dual to narrow the final margin to 29-13. The Cowboys pursue their 1,000th all-time win when they host Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. on Jan. 28 in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Results: 184: No. 13 Chris Perry (OSU) fall Cole Shafer (ISU); 4:36 197: No. 3 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 14 Jerome Ward (ISU); 3-1 285: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Kyle Simonson (ISU); 6-2 125: Brandon Jones (ISU) won by forfeit 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Ben Cash (ISU); 22-8 141: No. 18 Josh Kindig (OSU) won by forfeit 149: No. 7 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU); 6-4 SV2 157: No. 17 Neil Erisman (OSU) MD Nate Carr, Jr. (ISU); 8-0 165: No. 15 Andrew Sorenson (ISU) dec. No. 14 Dallas Bailey (OSU); 5-3 174: No. 1 Jon Reader (ISU) MD No. 16 Mike Benefiel (OSU); 11-2 Bout Summaries 184: No. 13 Chris Perry (OSU) fall Cole Shafer (ISU); 4:36 Freshman Chris Perry got the dual started on a positive note by pinning Cole Shafer in 4:36. Perry scored the first takedown of the bout and added a second takedown with one second remaining in the first period to take a 4-1 lead after the first three minutes. Perry started the second period in the down position and recorded a reversal to extend his lead to 6-1. He then cut Shafer loose to bring the score to 6-2. Shafer dove in for a bad shot and Perry caught him, locked in a cradle, turned him to his back and scored the pin at the 4:46 mark. 197: No. 3 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 14 Jerome Ward (ISU); 3-1 In a bout that included some good scramble action, Clayton Foster was a 3-1 winner over 14th-ranked Jerome Ward. Foster got on the board first when he connected on an ankle pick takedown with 11 seconds remaining in the first period. Ward opened the second period with an escape to trim Foster’s lead to 2-1. That was the only scoring of the second period. Foster took his lead to 3-1 after escaping immediately in the third period. Neither wrestler generated any more scoring and riding time was no factor in Foster’s 3-1 win. 285: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. Kyle Simonson (ISU); 6-2 Facing one of the few heavyweights comparable in size to himself, Blake Rosholt claimed a comfortable 6-2 win over Kyle Simonson. After a scoreless first period, Rosholt got on the board first by escaping seven seconds into the second period. Each wrestler had an opportunity for a takedown in the second stanza, but neither could connect. Simonson escaped quickly to start the third period and tie the score at 1-1. Rosholt then hit the first takedown of the bout when he grabbed Simonson’s left leg and dumped him to the mat. Simonson again escaped quickly. Simonson then flung himself in for a wild shot, but Rosholt got his hips down, circled around and turned it into a takedown of his own to go up, 5-2. Rosholt rode Simonson out for the rest of the bout and when his 1:17 of riding time was added on, Rosholt was a 6-2 winner. 125: Brandon Jones (ISU) won by forfeit 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) MD Ben Cash (ISU); 22-8 Jordan Oliver left yet another opponent in his wake this year by claiming a 22-8 major decision win over Ben Cash. The Cowboy bagged nine takedowns and added a two-point nearfall and an escape to go with 3:23 of riding time in his wipeout of Cash. Oliver scored the first takedown of the bout just 28 seconds in. A quick escape by Cash was wiped out by a second takedown and two-point nearfall from Oliver to bring the Cowboy’s advantage to 6-2. Oliver then hit a double-leg takedown and released Cash again to bring the score to 8-3. Oliver added two more takedowns to end the first period with a 12-4 lead. Oliver extended his lead to 15-4 with a quick escape and takedown to start the second period. Oliver again cut Cash loose and took him down again to go up, 17-5 to cap the second-period scoring. Oliver cut Cash loose to start the third period, then took him down and let him loose again to bring the score to 19-7. Oliver again took him down and cut him loose to extend his lead to 21-8. Oliver’s 3:23 of riding time brought the final score to 22-8. 141: No. 18 Josh Kindig (OSU) won by forfeit 149: No. 7 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Max Mayfield (ISU); 6-4 SV2 Jamal Parks continued his trend of winning close bouts with a 6-4 win over Max Mayfield in the second sudden victory period. Neither wrestler generated much offense until Parks connected on the first takedown of the bout with 57 seconds remaining in the first period, then slapped a hard ride on Mayfield for the duration of the period. Parks spun out from Mayfield’s grasp to take a 3-0 lead early in the second period. Mayfield scored Iowa State’s first takedown of the dual when he got around Parks with 15 seconds remaining in the second period to bring the score to 3-2. Mayfield tied the score at 3-3 when he escaped to open the third stanza. Both wrestlers had unfulfilled takedown chances later in the period. The first sudden victory period went by scoreless. Parks started the first tiebreak period in the down position and escaped seven seconds in to go up, 4-3. Mayfield wiggled free at about the nine second mark in the second half of the tiebreak to send the bout into a second sudden victory period. Parks got in on a bearhug and took Mayfield down with 34 seconds on the clock to put the cap on his 6-4 win. 157: No. 17 Neil Erisman (OSU) MD Nate Carr, Jr. (ISU); 8-0 Neil Erisman dominated Nate Carr, Jr., on the mat in his 8-0 win over the Cyclone. Erisman shot in and scored the first takedown of the bout in the first period, then rode Carr out. An Erisman escape to start the second period was immediately followed by an Erisman takedown to bring the score to 5-0. The Cowboy suffocated Carr for the rest of the second period. The two wrestlers started the third period in the neutral position and Erisman took Carr down again to extend his lead to 7-0. Once again, Erisman suffocated Carr for the rest of the period. When the Cowboy’s 3:06 riding time advantage was factored in, Erisman was an 8-0 major decision winner. 165: No. 15 Andrew Sorenson (ISU) dec. No. 14 Dallas Bailey (OSU); 5-3 In the feature bout of the dual, OSU freshman Dallas Bailey was ridden out in the third period in losing a 5-3 decision to No. 15 Andrew Sorenson. Bailey got on the board first when he hit an arm-drag takedown with 1:30 left in the first period. A Sorenson escape capped the first period scoring, though both wrestlers missed chances for takedowns. Sorenson tied the score at 2-2 with an escape early in the second period, then scored a takedown to bring the score to 4-2. Bailey wiggled free to trim Sorenson’s edge to 4-3. Bailey started the third period in the down position but was unable to break free and suffered a full-period rideout at the hands of Sorenson. Sorenson’s riding time advantage brought the final score to 5-3 in favor of the Cyclone. 174: No. 1 Jon Reader (ISU) MD No. 16 Mike Benefiel (OSU); 11-2 Facing the top-ranked wrestler in the nation, Mike Benefiel lost an 11-2 major decision to Jon Reader. Reader opened the scoring with a first-period takedown and rideout. Reader started the second period on bottom and scored an escape 15 seconds in to go up, 3-0. Reader extended his lead to 5-0 with another takedown after Benefiel initiated the action. Benefiel was then slapped for stalling on bottom to fall behind, 6-0. Reader buried Benefiel into the mat for the rest of the period, then cut him loose for an escape to start the third period. Benefiel shot in for a takedown attempt, but was countered again by Reader to fall behind, 8-1. He got off the mat for an escape to trim Reader’s lead to 8-2. Another takedown by Reader brought the score to 10-2 and when Reader’s riding time advantage was tacked on, the Cyclone powerhouse was an 11-2 winner by major decision.

The No. 5 Minnesota wrestling program completed a weekend sweep over a pair of ranked opponents, topping No. 15 Illinois 21-16 on Sunday after beating Purdue on Friday night. The Gophers earned wins from Tony Nelson (HWT), Zach Sanders (125), Mike Thorn (141), Cody Yohn (165), Scott Glasser (174) and Kevin Steinhaus (184). Tony Nelson started the day off right for Minnesota with a 7-0 decision over Patrick Walker in the heavyweight match, and Zach Sanders followed up with a six-minute pin on Logan Arlis in the 125 lbs. match to give the Gophers a 9-0 lead after the opening two matches. The Illini would take six points in the 133 lbs. match when No. 7 Bernard Futrell scored a pin over David Thorn, but Mike Thorn would answer right back with a 9-4 win over Daryl Thomas in the 141 lbs. match to remain unbeaten in duals this season. Illinois would pick up seven points in the middle weights however to take a 13-12 lead. No. 14 Eric Terrazas scored a 5-2 decision over Danny Zilverberg in the 149 lbs. match and Jackson Morse followed with an 11-2 major decision over Joe Grygelko in the 157 lbs. match. But the Illini's lead would be short lived as the Gophers would go on to take the next three matches to lock up the dual. Cody Yohn recorded a 1-0 decision over Conrad Polz at 165 lbs. and Scott Glasser and Kevin Steinhaus followed suit with decisions of their own over Benjamin Friedl at 174 lbs. (7-4) and Tony Dallago at 184 lbs. (4-0, respectively. The three-match swing put Minnesota up 21-13 and a 6-4 decision for Joseph Barczak over Joe Nord would give Minnesota a win with a final score of 21-16. The Gophers return to action next Sunday in a matchup of top-five programs. The fifth-ranked Gophers will host Big Ten rival and No. 4 Wisconsin at the Sports Pavilion a week from today at 2 p.m. CST. Results: 285: No. 9 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Patrick Walker (ILL) 7-0 125: No. 5 Zach Sanders (MINN) fall Logan Arlis (ILL) 6:00 133: No. 7 Bernard Futrell (ILL) fall David Thorn (MINN) 2:53 141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (MINN) dec. Daryl Thomas (ILL) 9-4 149: No. 14 Eric Terrazas (ILL) dec. Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 5-2 157: Jackson Morse (ILL) maj. Joe Grygelko (MINN) 11-2 165: Cody Yohn (MINN) dec. Conrad Polz (ILL) 1-0 174: No. 8 Scott Glasser (MINN) dec. Benjamin Friedl (ILL) 7-4 184: No. 9 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) dec. Tony Dallago (ILL) 4-0 197: Joseph Barczak (ILL) dec. Joe Nord (MINN) 6-4

BOISE, Idaho -- The No. 9 (NWCA/USA Today) ranked Boise State wrestling team made the most of its return home, Sunday (Jan. 23) afternoon, as the Broncos rolled past No. 24 Cal Poly, 29-6, at Taco Bell Arena to improve to 6-2-1 (2-0-1 Pac-10 Conference) on the season. Boise State, which had not wrestled at home since Nov. 13, won eight matches against the Mustangs including a stretch of six straight to put the team score out of reach. The Broncos scored three major decision victories and one win by technical fall. Cal Poly captured its only lead of the day in the opening match at 165 pounds. Boise State would answer quickly and never look back however, scoring 20 unanswered points en route to the win. Jake Swartz, who entered this weekend ranked No. 11 nationally (InterMat), managed to even the team score at 3-3 with a 6-3 decision over Steven Vasquez at 174 pounds. The Broncos would take their first lead of the day, 7-3, next at 184 pounds as No. 1 Kirk Smith beat Kelan Bragg by 14-3 major decision. Matt Casperson extended the Boise State lead to 10-3 by beating Ryan Smith, 10-5, at 197 pounds. Freshman J.T. Felix earned the first home win of his young career next at heavyweight, taking down Atticus Disney by 7-3 decision. No. 16 ranked Alan Bartelli pushed the team score to 16-3 with a hard fought 2-0 decision over Brandan Rocha at 125. No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser put the finishing touches on Boise State’s 20-0 run with a decisive 16-2 win by major decision over No. 14 Filip Novachkov at 133. The Mustangs would manage one more win to draw the team total closer at 20-6, but it would come in the most exciting match of the day. Boise State’s Levi Jones, who entered the day ranked No. 18 nationally at 141 pounds, took No. 4 Boris Novachkov to the wire in a near upset in match No. 7. Jones and Boris wrestled to a 2-2 deadlock after two periods, and with just 00:20 left in regulation Boris finally scored the decisive two point take down to earn a win by 4-2 decision over Jones. The match proved to be the last gasp for Cal Poly however, as Boise State responded with two more wins to extend the final team score to 29-6. No. 3 Jason Chamberlain scored his first technical fall victory of the season with a 22-7 (5:08) win over Stephen Thalin at 149 pounds. No. 2 Adam Hall put the finishing touches on the dual with a 14-6 major decision victory against Barrett Abel at 157. Sunday marked the first of four home duals for the Broncos over the next two weeks. Boise State remains home this week to face Stanford on Friday (Jan. 28). The Broncos will also host Cal State Bakersfield (Feb. 2) and Utah Valley (Feb. 4). All three duals are scheduled for 7 p.m. at Taco Bell Arena. Results: 165 – #17 Ryan DesRoches (CP) dec. Kurt Swartz (BSU) 6-0 174 – #11 Jake Swartz (BSU) dec. Steven Vasquez (CP) 6-2 184 – #1 Kirk Smith (BSU) major dec. Kelan Bragg (CP) 14-3 197 – Matt Casperson (BSU) dec. Ryan Smith (CP) 10-5 HWT – J.T. Felix (BSU) dec. Atticus Disney (CP) 7-3 125 – #16 Alan Bartelli (BSU) dec. Brandan Rocha (CP) 2-0 133 – #2 Andrew Hochstrasser (BSU) major dec. #14 Filip Novachkov (CP) 16-2 141 - #4 Boris Novachkov (CP) dec. #18 Levi Jones (BSU) 4-2 149 – #3 Jason Chamberlain (BSU) tech fall Stephen Thalin (CP) 22-7 (5:08) 157 – #2 Adam Hall (BSU) major dec. Barrett Abel (CP) 14-6