InterMat Staff

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan University's Department of Athletics announced on Friday a sport administrative error regarding the weight-class eligibility of wrestling student-athlete Craig Kelliher. While he has remained in compliance with the strict NCAA Wrestling Weight Loss Certification Plan guidelines throughout the year, Kelliher's competition in four matches at 174 pounds violated NCAA wrestling bylaw 8.3.5.4 which states, in part, "A wrestler weighing in two weight classes above an original certified weight class shall forfeit his or her right to return to the original wrestled weight class." After initially certifying at the 174-pound weight class prior to the beginning of the current 2011-12 competition season, Kelliher was permitted to compete in the 197-pound weight class as an unattached individual (not representing CMU) at the Eastern Michigan Open on Nov. 5, 2011. Kelliher wrestled three matches at 197 pounds at the tournament. Between Dec. 10, 2011 and Jan. 22, 2012, Kelliher competed in four dual meets for CMU at the 174-pound weight class. Kelliher's results for the matches in which he wrestled are vacated. Team scores and all other results for those four dual meets are not changed.

Visit www.theguillotineflo.com for more videos The dual meet will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network on Sunday at 3 p.m. CT.

February 2012 is an exciting month for college wrestling as the first ever regional team dual meet tournament will take place. The NWCA/Cliff Keen Division I National Duals Presented by Hibiclens and The Marines, will be held at Cornell, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Rutgers on the weekend of Feb. 11. The ultimate goal of the National Duals (regionals and final), which is coined Mat Mayhem is to create a premier national dual meet championship that will become a platform for growing spectator and media interest in wrestling both at the institutional and national levels. Out of the twenty-four teams competing in this event, fifteen are ranked in the Top 25 of the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll. There are seven No. 1 ranked individuals who will be competing, joining the thirty-four wrestlers that are ranked in the Top 50. Sixty-eight of the individuals competing are also ranked in the Top 10 of their weight class. The tournament format will be wrestled in three rounds on two mats at each facility. Teams will be seeded No. 1 through No. 6 and will wrestle according to their seed. Each region will have three rounds with the teams being seeded one through six. In the first round, seeds 1 and 2 will receive a bye with seeds 3 and 6 and 4 and 5 wrestling each other. The winners from the first round matches will move into the semifinals for round two against the No. 1 and No. 2 seed. The winners of the semifinal matches will then advance to the final round. At the same time the final round is being wrestled, the first round teams that lost will wrestle their second match. The winner of each region will move on to compete on Feb. 19, for the National Championship. The host site for this event will be announced soon. Below is the breakdown of the twenty-four teams broken down into four regionals (the first team listed is the host team): Iowa State, Iowa, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and Northern Iowa. Cornell, Central Michigan, Oklahoma, Purdue, Illinois, and American. Rutgers, Minnesota, Kent State, Michigan, Missouri, and Cal Poly. Oklahoma State, Boise State, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Chattanooga. Rutgers will host their regional on Feb. 11, while the other three regional tournaments will take place at Cornell, Iowa State and Oklahoma State on Feb. 12. All videos and information about Mat Mayhem are listed on the www.nwconline.com homepage, along with the NWCA You Tube, Facebook and Twitter accounts. This will allow all information to easily be shared by one small click of a button. Ticket and more specific event information are available at http://www.nwcaonline.com/NWCAWebSite/Events/nwcanationalduals/mat-mayhem under the events section.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Four Lycoming College wrestlers contributed bonus points and seven notched wins to lift it to a 29-10 win over King's (Pa.) in non-conference action on Thursday night, Jan. 26, at the Scandlon Physical Education Center. Senior Stephen Hinton (Montclair, Va./Forest Park) got the Warriors (5-7 overall) off to a good start in their first road dual of the year by winning his eighth straight match, an 11-5 win over Aaron Perez at 125 pounds. Sophomore Zack Finn (East Rochester, N.Y./East Rochester) followed with a 4-1 win over Travis Boardman at 133 pounds. Freshman Caleb Willey (Towanda, Pa./Towanda Area) added an 11-0 major decision against Nathaniel Seals at 141 pounds to give Lycoming a 10-0 lead. After a King's win at 149, freshman Brian Watkins (Bear Gap, Pa./Southern Columbia) added an 11-0 major decision against Gordon Custer at 157 pounds and sophomore Greg Wetzel (Arlington, N.Y./Pleasant Valley) added a 5-0 win over Zachary Gray at 165 pounds. The Warriors clinched the win with six points at 184 pounds before senior Russ Korbul (Asbury, Pa./North Hunterdon) added a second-period pin over Cenah Tudoe-Turboh after taking a 10-2 lead, rounding out the team's 29 points. It was Korbul's 13th straight win and improved his season record to 21-4. The Warriors get back on the mat on Saturday, Feb. 4, when they head to No. 13 SUNY Cortland for a 7 p.m. start. Results: 125 - Stephen Hinton (L) dec. Aaron Perez (K), 11-5 133 - Zachary Finn (L) dec. Travis Boardman (K), 4-1 141 - Caleb Willey (L) major dec. Nate Seals (K), 11-0 149 - Chris Mazzocchi (K) dec. Lucas Wisniewski (L), 4-0 157 - Brian Watkins (L) major dec. Gordon Custer (K), 10-2 165 - Greg Wetzel (L) dec. Zach Grey (K), 5-0 174 - Shane Stark (K) major dec. Nikolas Christine (L), 16-7 184 - Tyler Cunningham (L) won by forfeit 197 - Russel Korbul (L) pinned Cemah Tudae-Torboh (K), 4:38 285 – Peter Dwyer dec. Samuel Batchelor (L), 4-0 Exhibition: 285 - John Geisel (L) dec. Kevin Trant (K) 6-4

EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 18 Northwestern hits the road this weekend to wrestle two duals away from Welsh-Ryan Arena. The weekend begins at 5 p.m. Friday in Champaign, Ill., when the 'Cats take on the eighth-ranked Illini. Friday's dual will air live on the Big Ten Network. NU then heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for a match with Purdue at noon Sunday. After three-straight Friday's at Welsh-Ryan Arena, NU's dual vs. Illinois is the only Friday road dual on the 2011-12 schedule. Last Time Out After back-to-back weekends of home and away duals, Northwestern had just one match last weekend and downed Michigan State, 30-12. The 'Cats had four falls in the bout, including three in the first five matches. True freshman Jameson Oster (133), sophomore Kaleb Friedley (149), redshirt freshman Pierce Harger (165) and junior Levi Mele (125) all recorded pins for NU. Then-No. 17 Mike McMullan took on his third top-10 opponent in as many matches and defeated No. 10 Mike McClure, 3-1. After a scoreless first, McClure took the 1-0 lead with an escape early in the period. McMullan then scored the lone takedown of the match on the edge of the mat to lead, 2-1. He then added a third-period escape to hang on for the 3-1 win. McMullan now has defeated top-10 wrestlers in back-to-back matches as he also edged then-No. 8 Bobby Telford of Iowa, 7-5 on Jan. 15. Welch to Appear on Takedown Radio Junior Jason Welch is scheduled to be a guest on the Takedown Wrestling Radio show Saturday, Jan. 28 at approximately 10 a.m. CT. Fans can listen online at Takedownradio.com or KXNO.com or via the I Heart Radio App for smart phones and tablets. If you're in the Des Moines, Iowa area, tune in to AM 1460 KXNO. Scouting the Illini Illinois is 11-2 on the year, 3-2 in conference action and finished sixth at Midlands. The two Illini dual losses on the year came at Iowa (20-13) and vs. Minnesota (26-9). Seven Illini wrestlers are ranked by InterMat, including three in the top-10. The Illinois ranked wrestlers are as follows: No. 5 Jesse Delgado (125), No. 5 B.J. Futrell (133), No. 16 Eric Terrazas (149), No. 10 Conrad Polz (165), No. 12 Jordan Blanton (174), No. 18 Brad Dieckhaus (184) and No. 16 Mario Gonzalez (197). Northwestern and Illinois wrestled an exciting dual last year in Evanston with the 'Cats winning 27-13. NU won six bouts, including a decisive pin by John Schoen at 197 lbs. to seal the dual victory for Northwestern. Schoen trailed most of the match but in the third period, finished a shot and drove Gonzalez to his back. Gonzalez was injured on the takedown, but the officials granted Schoen the pin and six points for Northwestern to give the Wildcats a 24-13 lead heading into the final bout at heavyweight. Scouting the Boilermakers Purdue is 7-8 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten duals so far this year. The Boilermakers also wrestled at Midlands, placing 10th. Purdue has three ranked wrestlers on its roster, including No. 9 Cashe Quiroga at 133, No. 13 Ivan Lopouchanski at 149 and No. 19 Braden Atwood at 184. Matt Fields is listed as Sunday's probable starter at 133 lbs. as it is Senior Day for the Boilermakers. Last year, Northwestern won eight bouts against the Boilers in a 32-6 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Probable Starters No. 18 Northwestern No. 8 Illinois Purdue 125 No. 9 Levi Mele (20-4) No. 5 Jesse Delgado (22-3) Camden Eppert (7-9) 133 Jameson Oster (9-9) No. 5 B.J. Futrell (19-3) Matt Fields (20-7) 141 Colin Shober (11-9) OR Pat Greco (9-9) Daryl Thomas (10-8) Brandon Nelsen (17-8) 149 Kaleb Friedley (15-7) No. 16 Eric Terrazas (17-5) No. 13 Ivan Lopouchanski (10-3) 157 No. 2 Jason Welch (15-0) Jackson Morse (8-7) Tommy Churchard (14-13) 165 Pierce Harger (14-8) No. 10 Conrad Polz (13-1) Kyle Moiser (11-9) 174 No. 13 Lee Munster (15-7) No. 12 Jordan Blanton (16-3) Drake Stein (10-10) 184 Robert Kellogg (2-10) OR Marcus Shrewsbury (2-8) Tony Dallago (14-7) No. 19 Braden Atwood (17-8) 197 John Schoen (12-11) No. 16 Mario Gonzalez (15-4) A.J. Kissel (2-2) Hwt No. 15 Mike McMullan (16-7) Pat Walker (11-11) Roger Vukobratovich (16-10) Have We Met? Just like the Iowa dual, Friday's match with the Illini could have a few potential rematches from Midlands. Jason Welch and John Schoen both recorded hard-fought victories over their Illini foes at Midlands. Welch wrestled Jackson Morse in his second bout at Midlands and faced a sizeable deficit before coming back to pin Morse in the second period (4:39). Schoen and Gonzalez had another exciting match in the wrestlebacks of Midlands where Schoen emerged the 7-5 winner. Schoen was wrestling in his third-straight overtime bout and had two leads on Gonzalez, including a lead late in the third, but Gonzalez scored a takedown with 19 seconds remaining to tie everything up. In overtime it was Schoen scoring the winning takedown with 19 seconds left to secure a spot in the top eight at 197 lbs. At 125 lbs., No. 4 seed Levi Mele met top-seeded Jesse Delgado in the third place match. Delgado handed Mele one of his four losses on the year as he pinned Mele in 3:44. Jameson Oster faced fourth-seeded B.J. Futrell in the second round and Futrell won with a 15-5 major decision. Falling Fast NU has 41 pins so far this season and has been making quick work of its opponents as 21 of those, or 51.2 percent, are first-period falls. Northwestern is on pace to pass last year's pin total rather quickly as the 'Cats had just 45 falls during the entire 2010-11 season. Kaleb Friedley is second on the team with seven pins as six of those came in the first period, including two in less than a minute. Four of Pierce Harger's five falls also came in the first period. Levi Mele leads NU this year with nine pins, but just one came in the first three minutes of the match. Up Next Northwestern takes a break from Big Ten action next weekend hosting Northern Illinois at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. That is the lone match scheduled for next week. NU wrestles three-straight nonconference opponents before closing out the Big Ten season at home Friday, Feb. 17 vs. Indiana.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The 10th-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad will host a pair of top 20 opponents this weekend, beginning with No. 23 Virginia Tech in the fifth annual "Beauty and the Beast" event at the Lloyd Noble Center on Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Following Friday's dual, the Sooners return to the McCasland Field House to battle 15th-ranked Lehigh on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 12 p.m. On Friday, the wrestlers will compete alongside the No. 5-ranked Oklahoma women's gymnastics team who will take on No. 20 North Carolina State, while the Sooners' (10-2, 3-1) wrestling squad will take on Virginia Tech (6-3) for the first time in program history. “I'm excited about the opportunity to compete in the same gym as our women's gymnastics team,” Mark Cody said. "They have a great program and are coming off a third-place finish at NCAA's last year. It will be a lot of fun for our fans to come out because they have the opportunity to watch very technical individual sports side-by-side." “Virginia Tech is going to be a tough opponent and will be a great match for our fans to watch,” Cody explained. Following Beauty and the Beast, OU turns its attention to No. 14 Lehigh (8-4) on Sunday. “We are expecting a very competitive dual against Lehigh, which is what we are looking for this time of the year," Cody said. "I think the more we challenge ourselves at this time of the year the better off we will be in March at the NCAA tournament. Lehigh is going to bring a good solid team and it will be a very competitive dual and will be a lot of fun for the fans to come out and watch." Oklahoma is 7-1 since the holiday break and is riding a seven match win-streak that includes wins over Arizona State (33-7), Iowa State (19-16), Harvard (28-9), Appalachian State (41-0), Utah Valley (43-0, then-No. 24 Binghamton (20-15) and Navy (26-10). Following this weekend's action, Cody's squad will travel to Columbia, Mo., to battle No. 15 Missouri on Sunday, Feb. 5 at 1 p.m.

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Winner of three of its last four dual matches, the VMI wrestling took the show on the road Thursday night, knocking off Millersville University 24-13 at Pucillo Gymnasium, marking VMI's second straight win over the Marauders. Going with a different lineup than normal, the Keydets (5-7) wrestled strong, picking up three wins with bonus points. David Yost notched a 14-4 major decision at 149 pounds followed by Michael Burnett's second period pin at 157 pounds. At 197 pounds, John Dommert logged his second major decision of the season 18-2 to secure the match. Neither team posted a wrestler at 125 pounds while Millersville (1-6) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, earning a pin at 133 pounds. But the Keydets answered back quickly, winning the next three bouts, kicking things off with a dominating 11-4 decision at 141 pounds by Zeb Stewart, now 6-6 in dual matches. The Stewart win was followed up by Yost's major decision, the 15th for VMI this season and his second. Yost's win gave VMI a narrow 7-6 lead, which it would not relinquish for the remainder of the night. Burnett snapped a three-match skid with his pin of Zac Wawrzyniak-Bush, coming just 42 seconds into the second period. The win by fall was Burnett's first of the year. But the Marauders clawed back into the match with a major decision at 165, pulling to within three with the Keydets up 13-10. Normally wrestling at 165 pounds, Carry Joseph bumped up a weight class and represented VMI at 174 pounds. The weight difference was no struggle for the freshman, who posted a 3-0 blanking of Zach Pincus to extend the Keydet lead to 16-10. Joseph was not the only Keydet to move up a class as senior Matthew Brock wrestled at 184 pounds for the first time this season. Brock extended his winning streak to 10. His 4-0 win over Shane Smith was his 25th of the season and it marked his 16th shutout of the season, which includes five pins. Dommert got the final win of the night and did so in dominating fashion, putting up an 18-2 technical fall over Joel Suter. The Dommert technical came midway through the second period and locked up the win for VMI. The Keydets are idle until heading west to participate in the All-Academy Championships on Feb. 5, hosted by Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. Action is set to begin at 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time (11 a.m. EST) at the Falcons' Clune Arena. Results: 125 – No Match (0-0) 133 – Joshua Ruppert (MU) def. Joe Jarrells (VMI) Fall: 0:27 (0-6) 141 – Zeb Stewart (VMI) def. Brock Thompson (MU) Dec. 11-4 (3-6) 149 – David Yost (VMI) def. Steve Hess (MU) Major Dec. 14-4 (7-6) 157 – Michael Burnett (VMI) def. Zac Wawrzyniak-Bush (MU) Fall 3:42 (13-6) 165 – Brandon Vernalli (MU) def. Jonathan Jones (VMI) Major Dec. 11-2 (13-10) 174 – Carry Joseph (VMI) def. Zach Pincus (MU) Dec. 3-0 (16-10) 184 – Matthew Brock (VMI) def. Shane Smith (MU) Dec. 4-0 (19-10) 197 – John Dommert (VMI) def. Joel Suter (MU) Technical Fall 18-2 5:46 (24-10) 285 – Bradley Ladd (MU) def. Juan Adams (MU) Dec. 3-0 (24-13)

BUIES CREEK -- Campbell jumped out to a 16-3 lead after a forfeit win at 125 pounds and the Camels held on for a 19-17 win to defeat the Blue Devils. CU improves to 9-12 overall with the team victory, while Duke falls to 0-5 on the season. The win marks the first for the Fighting Camel program over an ACC opponent since a 19-18 triumph over Duke on Feb. 13, 2002. It is also the fourth win in the Duke series for Campbell, as the Camels also defeated the Blue Devils on Feb. 9, 1988 (27-15) and during the 1974-75 season (19-18). James Cook opened the match with a 6-2 decision victory at 174 pounds. The Madera, Calif. native won his 16th individual match on the season. Duke then drew the match even at 3-3 when Diego Bencomo took an 11-6 win over John Merickel. John Weakley took a 13-4 major decision win in the 197-pound bout and Joe Nolan outlasted Robert Mello in a 5-1 decision at heavyweight. After Chance Credeur took the forfeit win at 125 pounds, CU had gained a 16-3 advantage. Duke took four of the final five matches, but Nick Rex's 3-2 decision win at 157 pounds in the next to last bout of the evening was enough to give Campbell the team victory. The Camels return to action on Saturday as Campbell hosts Old Dominion and Navy. The match against ODU will begin at 1 p.m., while the nightcap against Navy will get underway at 7 p.m. Results: 174: James Cook (CU) dec. Randy Roden (Duke) 6-2 184: Diego Bencomo (Duke) dec. John Merickel (CU) 11-6 197: John Weakley (CU) major dec. Brian Self (Duke) 13-4 285: Joe Nolan (CU) dec. Robert Mello (Duke) 5-1 125: Chance Credeur (CU) wins by forfeit 133: Brandon Gambucci (Duke) major dec. Joey Rizzolino (CU) 8-0 141: Tanner Hough (Duke) major dec. Jordan Tolbert (CU) 14-5 149: Andrew Guardado (Duke) dec. Mark Hartenstine (CU) 3-2 157: Nick Rex (CU) dec. Immanuel Kerr-Brown 3-2 165: Ryan Harding (Duke) dec. Ryan Krecker (CU) 4-3

They all can't be starters ... at least not yet. There are several backups in college wrestling who could be making an impact, and possibly earning All-American honors in March, if only they could find a spot in their team's lineup. Introducing the 2011-12 All-Backup Team ... 125: Erik Spjut (Virginia Tech) The redshirt sophomore placed third at the Penn State Open and the Virginia Tech open. He's won the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Tournament and compiled an overall record of 24-8 this season. Spjut has earned two pins and two tech falls this season. Were it not for Ty Mitch, Spjut would be seeing the ACC tournament, and possibly the NCAA tournament. Iowa's Tyler Clark is stuck behind No. 4 Tony Ramos (Photo/Iowa Sports Information)133: Tyler Clark (Iowa) At the end of the 2009 season Hawkeye fans were excited to hear that Tyler Clark was transferring from Iowa State. Clark, a native Iowan, put up a great 2008-09 campaign for the Cyclones, finishing runner-up at the Big 12s and earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. He finished that season with a 25-8 record. While at Iowa State, Clark notched wins over some of the nation's top wrestlers, including Angel Escobedo of Indiana and Anthony Robles of Arizona State. Clark was forced to redshirt after his transfer and used his time off to compete against top competition, and even placed second at the Kaufman-Brand. However, last season with eligibility in play, he was unable to best Tony Ramos, who again this season won the starting spot, and is currently ranked fourth in the country. Clark, who beat Ramos in competition last season, can't go up a weight either, lest he face off against two-time All-American and NCAA runner-up Montell Marion. 141: Seth Lange (Minnesota) Lange finished his true freshman season with a 17-2 overall record while recording three pins and three major decisions. This season he has been impressive. He finished fourth at the Body Bar Invitational and has compiled a 22-9 record, including a 1-1 record against starting teammate Nick Dardanes, the 12th ranked wrestler in the country at 141 pounds. Lange, only a redshirt freshman, will likely see the lineup for the Gophers before the end of his career. Cornell's Craig Eifert is challenging for the starting spot at 149, but lately Chris Villalonga has been getting the call (Photo/Lindsey Mechalik, Cornell Sports Information)149: Craig Eifert (Cornell) The sophomore from Michigan has some of the most impressive wins of anyone on the list, having pinned All-American P.J. Gillespie of Hofstra last season on his way to being named co-winner of the Graham Morin Eleventh Man Award for the Big Red. Right now, Eifert is lodged behind Chris Villalonga, who was named EIWA Wrestler of the Week for his win over Corey Jantzen of Harvard. Eifert has had some success this season. He beat nationally ranked Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the Big Red's first dual and climbed to 14th in the country. According to Cornell coach Rob Koll, Eifert is not out of contention for the starting spot. "The reason Craig is considered one of the best backups is because he doesn't consider himself, nor should he consider himself, a backup," said Koll. "He will continue to challenge for the starting spot until he either makes the team, or the season ends." 157: James Vollrath (Penn State) The current collection of Penn State middleweights (149-194) is arguably the most dominating and impressive of any in the history of college wrestling. James Vollrath, who started last season and placed seventh at the Big Tens, is this season stuck behind No. 7 Dylan Alton, who is by any metric is having an excellent season. Vollrath, a redshirt sophomore, was 23-7 last season and this year has a win over Joey Napoli of Lehigh and an overall record of 10-4. 165: Nicholas Visicaro (Rutgers) Scott Winston was the first big recruit of the Coach Goodale era. Winston, a three-time undefeated New Jersey state champion, helped Goodale and his staff attract several big recruiting classes. Over the past few years that Scarlet Knights have enjoyed excellent regular seasons and high rankings, though NCAA All-American title have eluded their grasp. Winston, currently ranked No. 9 in the nation, is being backed by Nicholas Visicaro, a sophomore with an impressive 18-5 record on the season, including a recent major decision of Lehigh's Sean Bilideau. Whether he moves up to 174 pounds next season or stays at 165 poudns and chooses to compete with Winston is unclear. Whatever he chooses, Visicaro will be a valuable addition to Goodale's lineup and a likely All-American candidate. Penn State's Matt Brown reached the finals of the Southern Scuffle, only to lose to teammate Ed Ruth (Photo/Bill Ennis)174: Matt Brown (Penn State) There is just nowhere to go for Matt Brown. Sitting behind two of the best wrestlers in the country has made Matt Brown into arguably the best overall backup in the nation. This season he finished runner-up at the Southern Scuffle, with his finals loss coming at the hands of teammate and No. 2 Ed Ruth. Brown, a redshirt freshman, has compiled a record of 20-2 and has a win over No. 7 Logan Storley of Minnesota and Dorian Henderson of Missouri. It almost seems unfair that he'd be locked behind such a talented wall of wrestlers, but if training behind those guys for three years gets him an NCAA title, I'm sure he'll think it a smart decision to stay in Happy Valley. 184: Joel Bauman (Minnesota) A member of the Junior World Team in Greco-Roman, Joel Bauman has posted a 12-3 record during his redshirt freshman season. A highly touted recruit, Bauman has been biding his time behind returning All-American Kevin Steinhaus. Coincidentally, Baumann and Steinhaus were actually high school teammates at Kerkhoven-Murdock in Minnesota, with the latter being the elder by a year. 197: Cayle Byers (Oklahoma State) A two-time NCAA qualifier from George Mason, Byers transferred to Oklahoma State this season. Byers, who was ranked as high as No. 2 in 2010 before being removed from the team, had expected to start this season for the Cowboys, but lately has been forced to sit behind Blake Rosholt. Byers is 12-3 on the season with losses to the aforementioned Rosholt, Sonny Yohn of Minnesota, and a recent decision loss to Alfonso Hernandez of Wyoming. Cowboy fans should have confidence that if something does happen to Rosholt, they have a very capable backup in Byers. Iowa's Blake Rasing was a Big Ten champion last season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)285: Blake Rasing (Iowa) It's a rare occasion in wrestling when the defending Big Ten champion is sitting the bench, but in Iowa it's not all that uncommon. Blake Rasing, who last year won the heavyweight title for the Hawkeyes, lost his 2011-2012 starting spot to mega-recruit/freshman Bobby Telford. The No. 10 Telford and Rasing scrapped earlier in the season with the former coming away with the win. Rasing is getting mat time, though not with the type of success Tom Brands would like to see, dropping a decision to No. 15 Mike McMullan of Northwestern and No. 6 Cameron Wade of Penn State.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. -- The Waynesburg University wrestling team won eight of 10 bouts on the night and cruised to a 32-6 win over Division II Ohio Valley on Wednesday night at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. The Yellow Jackets (6-8) picked up bonus points in four of their eight win, including a forfeit to junior Alex Crown at 125 pounds. It was his 20th win of the year and put the home team up 6-0. Things weren't nearly as easy for freshman 133-pounder Jake Vitolo who went to overtime in his bout with Josue Rodriguez. The two battled through seven minutes of regulation before the contest was finally decided by a takedown in overtime by Vitolo that gave him the 11-9 win and clinched the team victory for Waynesburg. Ohio Valley (2-3) got on the board with a decision win at 141 pounds to trim the Jackets' lead to 9-3, but the Orange and Black fired back in a big way, scoring wins in each of the next five weight classes. Freshman Chris Milligan took down Dane Niday by 9-3 decision and senior Garett Johnston followed with an 18-8 major decision at 157 pounds. With his team up 16-3, sophomore 165-pounder Sam Lombardo recorded his own major decision by a 21-9 score and freshman Ryan Walters picked up the only pin of the night in 2:40 over Colby Richards. Junior 184-pounder Cody Catalina wrapped up the winning streak by downing Seth Jack 8-1 for his seventh-straight win. After OVU picked up a decision win at 197, sophomore heavyweight Brandon Fedorka ended the night with a 2-0 triumph over Blake Lucas to wrap up the 26-point win. Waynesburg will host its final home match of the season tomorrow night, when the Jackets welcome Penn State Beaver, Penn State Fayette and Penn State Greater Allegheny for a quad-match. Start time is at 6 p.m. and the Yellow Jackets will honor five of their own for senior night. Results: 125 – Alex Crown (W) wins by forfeit 6-0 133 – Jake Vitolo (W) 11-9 (SV) Josue Rodriguez (O) 9-0 141 – Kyle Honeycutt (O) 7-2 Aaron Mills (W) 9-3 149 – Chris Milligan (W) 9-3 Dane Niday (O) 12-3 157 – Garett Johnston (W) 18-8 maj. Nicco Niday (O) 16-3 165 – Sam Lombardo (W) 21-9 maj. Justin Smith (O) 20-3 174 – Ryan Walters (W) pin 2:40 Colby Richards (O) 26-3 184 – Cody Catalina (W) 8-1 Seth Jack (O) 29-3 197 – Chase Long (O) 2-1 Patrick Jennings (W) 29-6 285 – Brandon Fedorka (W) 2, Blake Lucas (O) 0 32-6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- For the second-straight week, Grand View (Iowa) holds the No. 1 position in the NAIA Wrestling Coaches' Top 20 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday. The Vikings grabbed 129 team points in the fifth regular-season installment. In the 10 individual weight classes, eight wrestlers held their top ranking from the Jan. 11 edition. Campbellsville (Ky.) teammates Tim Thurston at 133 and Jamelle Jones at 197 were the newcomers. Thurston is listed on top of his weight class for the first time this year, while Jones held the best mark during the Nov. 23 poll. One week after earning its first-ever No. 1 spot, Grand View split its squad at two events this past weekend, the Missouri Valley Invitational and the York (Neb.) Open. At 133, Omi Acosta (19-8) was named the Missouri Valley Invitational's Outstanding Wrestler and moved up to third on the individual charts. Heavyweight Eric Thompson (18-0) is the only Viking in the No. 1 position. In all five regular season polls, Thompson has earned either a No. 1 or 2 ranking. Sitting with 107.5 points, Southern Oregon sticks at the No. 2 slot. Campbellsville (Ky.) bumps up to third with 105 points. Great Falls (Mont.) falls back to No. 4 with 84 points. Oklahoma City remains at the No. 5 position posting 68.5 points. Southern Oregon's Mitchell Lofstedt (22-1) at 125 is one of four individuals who has been ranked No. 1 all season. He is joined by Anthony Varnell (19-2) of Great Falls (Mont.) at 141, Eric Burgey (15-1) of William Penn (Iowa) at 149 and Joseph Sievert (17-0) of Morningside (Iowa) at 174 on this list. In the 20th position, Menlo (Calif.) is ranked for the first time since Dec. 7, 2011. The Oaks bump out Northwestern (Iowa), who was 17th last time. The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the Qualifying Groups. The next poll will be announced Feb. 8. Notes: Campbellsville (Ky.), Morningside (Iowa) and Oklahoma City each placed a pair of No. 1 grapplers, which is the most of any school… No. 15 Dickinson State (N.D.) makes the biggest improvement within the poll with a five-spot jump… Grand View (Iowa) becomes the first team this year (in six total polls) to hold back-to-back No. 1 rankings… The Vikings are the fourth different team to be ranked No. 1 this year joining Southern Oregon, Campbellsville and Great Falls (Mont.)… Four weight classes have had the same top-ranked grappler in all six polls issued (125 pounds, 141, 149, 174)... Southern Oregon has held a top-three ranking in all polls this year. Rank Prvs. Rank School Total Team Points 1 1 Grand View (Iowa) 129 2 2 Southern Oregon 107.5 3 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) 105 4 3 Great Falls (Mont.) 84 5 5 Oklahoma City 68.5 6 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 55 7 7 Missouri Valley 49 8 11 Midland (Neb.) 47.5 9 8 Montana State-Northern 45 10 10 Baker (Kan.) 43.5 11 9 Morningside (Iowa) 41 12 14 Missouri Baptist 37 13 13 Concordia (Neb.) 32.5 14 12 Cumberlands (Ky.) 31 15 20 Dickinson State (N.D.) 24.5 16 15 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 23.5 17 18 William Penn (Iowa) 20 18 19 Shorter (Ga.) 15.5 19 18 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 12.5 20 RV Menlo (Calif.) 12 Top-Ranked Individuals | Individual Rankings (PDF) 125 - Mitchell Lofstedt, Southern Oregon 133 – Tim Thurston, Campbellsville (Ky.) 141 - Anthony Varnell, Great Falls (Mont.) 149 - Eric Burgey, William Penn (Iowa) 157 – Nikolas Turner, Oklahoma City 165 – Kevin Hardy, Oklahoma City 174 - Joseph Sievert, Morningside (Iowa) 184 – Brian Block, Morningside (Iowa) 197 – Jamelle Jones, Campbellsville (Ky.) HWT – Eric Thompson, Grand View (Iowa)

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Big Red wrestling's Chris Villalonga was named the EIWA Wrestler of the Week on Monday after upsetting fourth ranked Corey Jantzen on Friday night at 149 pounds. The Big Red sophomore defeated Jantzen 1-0 to help Cornell sail past Harvard, 38-7, in an Ivy League dual. Villalonga went 2-0 for the weekend after following up his stellar Friday performance by pinning Brown's Ricky Bailey in 2:44 on Saturday. With a record of 18-5 for the season, Villalonga broke into InterMat's national rankings this week and is now No. 19 at 149 pounds. The Big Red has now won 52-straight Ivy League matches and is a perfect 7-0 in duals this season. Cornell will travel to Iowa this weekend for a 1 p.m. CST dual at Iowa State on Sunday afternoon.

ON THE MAT The sixth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 3 Minnesota on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT). CAMO DAY Sunday's dual is "Camo Day" at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Fans can register to win an IOWA camouflage hat, and the first 1,000 fans at the dual will receive a FREE camouflage bandana. Hawkeye wrestlers will also be available to sign autographs for a limited time following to the dual. AUDIO COVERAGE Sunday's dual will be broadcast on AM-800 KXIC and streamed online at hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will have the call live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. TELEVISION COVERAGE Sunday's dual will be televised live on BTN. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and Shane Sparks will have the call. TOP 10 FOES The No. 6 Hawkeyes will face their sixth top 10 opponent when they host No. 3 Minnesota. The Hawkeyes are 2-3 against top 10 teams. They defeated No. 7 Illinois, 20-13 (12/2), and won at No. 7 Nebraska, 24-9 (1/13). Iowa's losses include No. 2 Oklahoma State, 17-16 (1/7), No. 7 Ohio State, 21-9 (1/20) and No. 3 Penn State (1/22). 1-2-3 SHOOT Iowa's three lightest weights have a combined 59-5 (.922) record this season with 39 bonus-point victories. Junior Matt McDonough (125) leads Iowa with nine pins. Sophomore Tony Ramos (133) owns a team-best five technical falls and senior Montell Marion (141) leads the Hawkeyes with seven major decisions. RAMOS IS DUAL DOMINANT Sophomore Tony Ramos has recorded five falls and four major decisions in 12 duals this season, racking up a team-high 52 points and an 11-1 record. He owns a 23-1 career dual record and has never lost in 13 matches inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. BIG MEETING Senior Blake Rasing is 3-0 in his career vs. Minnesota's Tony Nelson, the nation's No. 4 ranked heavyweight. Rasing won a 7-5 decision at the Duhawk Open in 2010, and swept a pair of bouts in 2011, including a 4-2 decision in the dual and a 5-2 victory in the finals of the Big Ten Championships. MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST Junior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 85-4 (.955). Iowa's top wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage include: 1. T.J. Williams (98-1-0) .990 2. Brent Metcalf (108-3-0) .972 3. Lincoln McIlravy (96-3-0) .970 4. Tom Brands (158-7-2) .952 5. Terry Brands (137-7) .951 1 vs. 2 Hawkeye junior Matt McDonough and Minnesota senior Zach Sanders will meet in a battle of the nation's top ranked 125-pounders. McDonough is ranked No. 1 in one national poll (WIN), while Sanders holds the top spot in two national polls (Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat). McDonough is 4-0 in his career vs. Sanders with a pair of major decisions. He was undefeated in three meetings in 2009-10 and won the most recent bout, 10-3, last year in Minneapolis. 1ST AT 197 Iowa junior Grant Gambrall split a pair of decisions against Minnesota's Sonny Yohn when the two previously competed at 184 pounds. Gambrall defeated Yohn, 11-4, at the Northern Iowa Open in 2008 before dropping a 4-0 decision to Yohn at the Kaufman-Brand Open in 2009. Yohn competed at 197 pounds last season when the teams met. Gambrall moved up to 197 this season. #900 The Hawkeyes topped Nebraska, 24-9, Jan. 13 to earn the 900th dual win in program history. Iowa owns a 901-217-31 (.797) dual record in 101 seasons. Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State are the only other schools to record at least 900 dual wins. THE SERIES Iowa has won the last six meetings and owns a 68-24-1 dual record in the all-time series vs. Minnesota. Five Hawkeyes could potentially make their series debut against the Gophers. Redshirt freshmen Michael Kelly, Nick Moore, Mike Evans and Bobby Telford, and senior Vinnie Wagner have never wrestled a Minnesota opponent. On the flip side, Matt McDonough (4-0), Tony Ramos (3-0), Montell Marion (4-4), Derek St. John (1-0), Ethen Lofthouse (1-1), Grant Gambrall (1-3) and Blake Rasing (3-1) have a combined 17-9 career record vs. Minnesota opponents. LAST MEETING No. 2 Iowa 19, No. 5 Minnesota 12 -- Feb. 20, 2011 125 - Matt McDonough (I) dec. Zach Sanders (M), 10-3 133 - Tony Ramos (I) dec. David Thorn (M), 7-3 141 - Montell Marion (I) dec. Mike Thorn (M), 4-3 149 - Danny Zilverberg (M) dec. Mark Ballweg (I), 5-3 SV 157 - Derek St. John (I) maj. dec. Matt Mincey (M), 20-8 165 - Cody Yohn (M) dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 6-4 174 - Scott Glasser (M) dec. Ethen Lofthouse (I), 7-5 184 - Kevin Steinhaus (M) dec. Grant Gambrall (I), 5-4 197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Sonny Yohn (M), 7-4 Hwt. - Blake Rasing (I) dec. Tony Nelson (M), 4-2 ST. JOHN MAKES AN APPEARANCE Sophomore Derek St. John won his first 11 bouts of the season before suffering a knee injury Dec. 8 against Northern Iowa. He missed five Hawkeye events before returning Jan. 20 at Ohio State, where he suffered a 7-3 loss to Josh Demas. St. John suffered a minor setback in the dual and missed the next event at Penn State. RAMOS NABS 2ND BIG TEN HONOR Tony Ramos earned his second career conference honor when he was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 10 Ramos, a sophomore from Carol Stream, Ill., pinned Indiana's Joe Duca in the second period at Indiana (1/6) before earning a 4-3 overtime decision against Oklahoma State's top-ranked Jordan Oliver (1/7). He had previously won the award after a pair of bonus point victories against No. 7 Illinois (12/2) and Iowa State (12/4). He posted a 13-5 major decision over the Illini's B.J. Futrell, then-ranked No. 2 in the country, and recorded a second period pin against Iowa State's Shayden Terukina. Ramos, currently ranked No. 4, owns an 20-2 record with four major decisions, five technical falls and six pins. HAWKEYES BUILD ON RECORD Iowa grabbed its record 22nd Midlands team title Dec. 30, scoring 152 points and putting 11 wrestlers on the medal stand at the 49th annual event. Matt McDonough (125) earned his second career Midlands title. Tony Ramos (2nd, 133) Tyler Clark (4th, 133), Montell Marion (2nd, 141), Mike Kelly (5th, 149), Nick Moore (7th, 157), Mike Evans (7th, 165), Ethen Lofthouse (2nd, 174), Vinnie Wagner (7th, 184), Grant Gambrall (7th, 197) and Bobby Telford (2nd, Hwt.) placed for the Hawkeyes. GAMBRALL AT 197 Junior Grant Gambrall has started at 197 pounds in seven of Iowa's 12 duals (3-4). Gambrall, a junior from Iowa City, Iowa, made his first career appearance at 197 pounds on Nov. 25, recording a 4-3 decision over Cornell College's Alex Coolidge. He is 7-6 this season and earned a seventh-place finish at the Midlands Championships competing at 197. Gambrall was an All-American while competing at 184 pounds in 2010-11. CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA Iowa is 6-1 in dual competition inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400) this season, outscoring their opponents 200-43. The 2010-11 Hawkeyes posted a perfect 8-0 dual record in their home venue, marking Iowa's 19th undefeated season in the facility since moving from the UI Fieldhouse in 1983. Iowa has a 194-19 (.910) record in the arena. The 2009-10 Hawkeyes went 11-0 at Carver-Hawkeye, which is the school record for most home wins in a single season. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,955, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State (20-15) on Dec. 6, 2008. BRANDS HITS 100 Iowa head coach Tom Brands earned his 100th career dual win as Iowa's head coach Nov. 25 vs. Iowa Central (37-6). It took Brands 107 duals to reach 100 career victories. Only Dan Gable, Iowa's all-time winningest coach, reached win No. 100 faster. Gable hit the century mark in his 105th dual. Brands owns a 106-9-1 career record since taking over the Iowa program in 2006. MCDONOUGH'S MIDLANDS SUCCESS Junior Matt McDonough won his second Midlands title in three years Dec. 30 at the 49th annual event in Evanston, Ill. McDonough recorded two pins, including a second period fall in the finals, and one major decision en route to the title. Since 2009, McDonough owns a 15-1 record at the Midlands, including two championships (2009, 2011) and a runner-up finish (2010). McDonough is 20-1 this season with five major decisions and a team-high nine pins. NCAA EXPERIENCE The Hawkeyes have seven wrestlers with previous NCAA championships experience. Junior Matt McDonough has advanced to the NCAA finals each of the past two seasons, winning the championship in 2010 and finishing runner-up in 2011. Montell Marion is a two-time All-American at 141 pounds. The senior from Des Moines, Iowa, placed second in 2010 and earned a fourth place finish in 2011. Sophomore Derek St. John and junior Grant Gambrall also earned All-America honors in 2011. St. John placed fourth at 157 pounds, and Gambrall earned third place at 184 pounds. Sophomores Tony Ramos (133) and Ethen Lofthouse (174), and senior Blake Rasing (Hwt.) also earned NCAA berths last season. HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 901-217-31 (.797) in 101 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 51 NCAA Champions have won a total of 78 NCAA Individual titles, crowning six three-time and 15 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 104 Big Ten champions have won a total of 188 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 144 All-Americans have earned All-America status 291 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 38 two-time honorees. HOME MAT ADVANTAGE The Hawkeyes have won their last 18 Big Ten duals inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The school record for consecutive Big Ten home wins is 63, when Iowa went nearly 23 years without a loss at home from January 17, 1975 to January 3, 1998. Iowa has topped Minnesota once during the 18-dual home winning streak, a 25-9 victory Feb. 15, 2009. The Gophers are the last Big Ten team to beat Iowa inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They earned a 29-13 decision Feb. 18, 2007. TIEBREAK CRITERIA The Hawkeyes saw their 84-match dual unbeaten streak end Jan. 7, 2012, when Oklahoma State topped Iowa, 17-16. The two teams were tied at 16 after splitting 10 bouts, so officials used the NCAA tiebreak criteria inserted during the offseason to determine a winner. The first tiebreak is match victories (5-5) and the second is falls/tech. falls (0-0). Oklahoma State eventually won on the third tiebreak criteria, match points (54-51). ATTENDANCE LEADERS AT IT AGAIN The third largest dual crowd in NCAA history (15,400) watched Iowa host Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, 2012. Through five home dates, the Hawkeyes have averaged 9,257 fans. That includes duals vs. Oklahoma State, the Iowa City Duals* (8,527), Illinois (7,330), Northern Iowa (7,078) and Northwestern (7,954). Iowa has led the nation in attendance for five straight seasons. The Hawkeyes averaged a national record 8,209 fans in six home duals last season. It marked the third straight year Iowa averaged over 8,000 fans per dual. Iowa's dual vs. Iowa State (Dec. 3, 2010) was the largest dual crowd in the country last year (11,895). *The IC Duals do not count towards attendance figures. TICKET INFORMATION Single-meet tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Single-meet tickets to the Minnesota dual are $13 for adults, $7 for children and $2 for kids five and under. Tickets to the Wisconsin dual (2/5) are $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for kids five and under. UP NEXT The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 1 p.m. (CT). The contest will be broadcast by AM-800 KXIC and streamed online at btn.com and hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access.

No. 2 Penn State (8-1, 4-1 B1G) will host yet another marquee Big Ten dual on Sunday, Jan. 29, when No. 5 Ohio State (9-2, 3-2 B1G) visits Rec Hall. The dual begins at 2 p.m. In a dual that could feature nearly 20 ranked wrestlers, both Penn State and Ohio State are coming off wins over Iowa and are ranked among the nation's top five. The Nittany Lions and Buckeyes will wrestle in front of nearly 7,000 fans in Rec Hall, which is already sold out for the event. Penn State is coming off a key 22-12 dual meet win over Iowa last Sunday. The Nittany Lions reeled off seven straight wins against the Hawkeyes to roll to victory. The win improved Penn State to 8-1 overall, 4-1 in Big Ten action, and was highlighted by sophomore Ed Ruth's major decision at 174 and true freshman Morgan McIntosh's sudden victory over Iowa All-American Grant Gambrall at 197. The Nittany Lions won the statistical battle as well, winning seven of ten bouts, four with riding time and owning a lopsided 18-10 takedown advantage. The Nittany Lions are being led by eight ranked grapplers, all of whom are in the top 12. Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro is 20-0 and ranked No. 1 at 149, All-American David Taylor is 18-0 and rnaked No. 1 at 165, All-American Ruth is 20-0 and ranked No. 2 at 174 and All-American Quentin Wright is 17-2 and ranked No. 2 at 184. Senior Cameron Wade is 17-4 at heavyweight and ranked No. 6 while true freshman Dylan Alton is ranked No. 7 at 157 with a 15-4 mark and true freshman Nico Megaludis is ranked No. 8 at 125 with a 16-5 record. True freshman McIntosh is 13-5 at 197 and ranked No. 12. Ohio State enters the dual after its own win over Iowa on Friday, Jan. 20. The Buckeyes have nine wrestlers ranked in the top 20, including four in the top ten. Red-shirt freshman Logan Stieber is 19-1 at 133 and ranked No. 3 while his brother Hunter, a true freshman, is 18-3 at 141 and ranked No. 6. Nick Heflin is 19-2 at 174 and ranked No. 8 while C.J. Magrum is ranked No. 10 at 184 with a 14-3 record. Penn State leads the all-time series by a slim 14-11 margin, including a 42-3 win in Rec Hall last season. Ohio State won the last meeting in Columbus the year before. Penn State returns to action on Feb. 3 at Nebraska in an 8 p.m. (Eastern)/7 p.m. (Central) dual. The Nittany Lions next home dual is on Sunday, Feb. 5, when Michigan comes to town for a 2 p.m. battle. All seats for the Michigan dual are sold out but some standing room only tickets remain. Fans can purchase a very limited number of SRO tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live and further affiliates may be added soon. WIEZ 670 AM (Huntingdon/Lewistown) will carry all Sunday duals during the regular season plus the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in March. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. POSSIBLE STARTERS #2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (8-1, 4-1 B1G) 125 #8 Nico Megaludis Fr. Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional 16-5 133 Frank Martellotti So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side 6-2 Derek Reber Jr. Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg 4-5 141 Bryan Pearsall Jr. Lititz, Pa./Warwick 10-7 149 #1 Frank Molinaro Sr. Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional 20-0 157 #7 Dylan Alton R-Fr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 15-4 165 #1 David Taylor So. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 18-0 174 #2 Ed Ruth So. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Twp. 20-0 184 #2 Quentin Wright Jr. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 17-2 197 #12 Morgan McIntosh Fr. Santa Ana, Calif./Calvary Chapel 13-5 285 #6 Cameron Wade Sr. Twinsburg, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel 17-4 #5 OHIO STATE (9-2, 3-2 B1G) 125 #15 Johnni Dejulius Fr. Aurora, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit 13-9 133 #3 Logan Stieber R-Fr. Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville 19-1 141 #6 Hunter Stieber Fr. Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville 18-3 149 #14 Cam Tessari Fr. Monroeville, Ohio/Monroeville 15-5 157 #20 Josh Demas R-Fr. Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North 16-6 165 Derek Garcia Fr. Desro Woolley, Wash./Sedro Woolley 11-7 174 #8 Nick Heflin So. Massillon, Ohio/Massillon Perry 19-2 184 #10 C.J. Magrum Jr. Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor 14-3 197 #20 Andrew Campolattano Fr. Bound Brook, N.J./Bound Brook 13-7 285 #16 Peter Capone So. Johnson City, N.Y./Johnson City 12-8

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kidd Gomez's technical fall brought Oklahoma City University a 19-18 victory over Central Oklahoma on Wednesday at Abe Lemons Arena. Gomez, a junior from Noble, Okla., defeated Ryan Brooks 18-3 at 125 pounds in the final match of the dual. Gomez's tech fall was the only one of the dual to provide the tiebreaker. OCU, ranked fifth in NAIA wrestling, improved to 8-5 in duals, while Central Oklahoma, sixth-ranked in NCAA Division II, went to 6-5. Gomez piled up six takedowns, including one more in the final 10 seconds to go up 17-3. Gomez led 10-0 through two periods and picked up two near falls along the way. Gomez accumulated riding time to make the score 18-3 and excite the OCU side of the packed-house crowd. “He's a goer,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. “He's one of the best 125-pounders in the nation. His first goal was to pin him. He got the technical fall, but he was still trying to pin him. He did a great job of tying the dual and giving us the win on criteria. “All 10 have to do their job. I'm really proud of the team. This is a big win for our program.” Michael Brown preceded Gomez with a 3-1 sudden-victory win, working for a takedown of Cody Dauphin in the extra period. Dauphin had defeated Brown, a freshman from Noble, Okla., twice this season. “We got a big match out of Mike Brown,” Randall said. “We worked on the overtime stuff. We worked on everything they did. We had time to prepare. That was huge.” OCU's top-ranked individuals notched the Stars' first points of the dual. Nik Turner, a senior from Norman, Okla., picked up three takedowns in the first period. In the second, Kaleb Cradduck rode Turner most of the period and surrendered only a penalty point to Turner. Turner, ranked No. 1 among NAIA 157-pounders, closed out the bout with two takedowns in the third for a 12-6 win. Kevin Hardy, a senior from Solon, Ohio, rode a 7-3 first-period advantage en route to a 12-3 win. Hardy, top-ranked in the NAIA at 165, accumulated two takedowns, a three-point near fall, a two-point near fall and an escape in the first. Derek Peperas posted an 8-3 victory at 174 for OCU. Peperas, a senior from Albuquerque, N.M., registered three takedowns to cut the Stars' deficit to 11-10. Central Oklahoma got off to an 11-0 advantage through the first three matches. Ky Corley won 9-2 over Will Shelton-Delk at 149 to provide Central its lead. “Hopefully this propels us into regionals,” Randall said. “We gave up too many bonus points, but it all evened out. No falls, so it was a great dual.” The Stars meet Baker (Kan.) at 7 p.m. Feb. 1 in Baldwin City, Kan. Results: 133: Dustin Reed, UCO, maj. dec. Alvie Killingsworth, 17-6 141: Casy Rowell, UCO, maj. dec. Eric Waggoner, 13-4 149: Ky Corley, UCO, dec. Will Shelton-Delk, 9-2 157: Nik Turner, OCU, dec. Kaleb Cradduck, 12-6 165: Kevin Hardy, OCU, maj. dec. Chris Watson, 12-3 174: Derek Peperas, OCU, dec. Zach Aylor, 8-3 184: Tanner Keck, UCO, maj. dec. Andrew Pontikes, 14-5 197: Jarrett Edison, UCO, dec. Mitchell Eichenauer, 4-1 285: Michael Brown, OCU, dec. Cody Dauphin, 3-1 (SV) 125: Kidd Gomez, OCU, tech. fall Ryan Brooks, 18-3

Phil Davis (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) In 1971 mayor Richard Daley told Newsweek that Chicago was "The City that Works." The powerful political patriarch meant to imbue a sense of pride in his constituents. Compared to other major metropolises, thought Daley, Chicagoans got up in the morning, strapped on boots and worked a job. In Daley's mind his city was supporting an economy. True or not, the moniker stuck. The UFC is visiting Daley's Chicago for the first time in three years, but Saturday's UFC of FOX 2 is arguably the most important commercial card in promotional history. The prime time card is the first network television event of the promotion's seven-year, $700 million deal with FOX. The first UFC event on FOX, which aired in November and featured the UFC heavyweight title fight between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos, was added by network executives in the hopes of bolstering rating for the 2012 fight season. The event set some viewing records, but is best remembered as being filled with lots of fluff and little fighting. To capture the mainstream audiences they failed to nab with their first iteration, the UFC has composed one of their most competitive cards in promotional history (notably on a weekend free of gridiron deities). Much like the blue collar utopia Daley imagined in the 70s, the UFC is promoting its product on the their hardest working and most reliable resource they have at their disposal: wrestlers. The UFC on FOX 2 features four NCAA All-Americans, premier among them is light heavyweight headliner Phil Davis an NCAA champion at Penn State. Chael Sonnen (Oregon), Chris Weidman (Hofstra) and Shane Roller (Oklahoma State) round out the card. Davis' opponent Michigan State alumni Rashad Evans was an NCAA qualifier at Michigan State but never placed (something Phil Davis has been pleased to point out). Were it not for an elbow injury to Mark Munoz, a two-time All-American and NCAA champion from Oklahoma State, the card would have featured two wrestler-only fights. Why the UFC decided to feature so many Division I wrestlers, and why they were they pitted against each other like roosters is not a simple answer, and is certainly not without debate. However, the growth of the sport and the UFC's role in putting on 40-plus shows a year has meant an increased reliability on the heart, heartiness and work ethic of the wrestler class. Mat men of Davis' and Munoz's pedigree are no longer rare in the UFC. Just six years ago the financial incentives weren't strong enough to pull more than a few grapplers from the NCAA tournament, now the sport's best can't ignore the enormous income potential, leading to cards like that in Chicago, where there are competitors on the card (Weidman and Davis) who have actually wrestled against each other. The UFC isn't putting these fighters on the free FOX card because they think fans want to see a wrestling match. What UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and president Dana White are betting is that the wrestling skills of Davis and Evans negate each other and leave the men to figure out their issues by throwing their very sizable mitts into each other's faces. The motivation or this type of wrestler-based clash comes from the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard trilogy. Both are former NCAA wrestlers (Edgar never earned All-American honors. Maynard is a three-time All-American from Michigan State, and coincidentally lost in the 2002 NCAA wrestlebacks to Shane Roller) were left to bludgeon each other once they realized their takedowns were essentially ineffective. The UFC is betting that Davis and Evans resort to the same type of crowd-pleasing fisticuffs that led the Edgar vs. Maynard fights to be considered among the promotion's greatest of all time. With luck, Dana White hopes that viewers are in place for the main event potentially earning the UFC thousands more fans and millions more dollars. While White and other UFC executives seem to be placing the future of the promotion on the broad backs of these cauliflower-eared brethren, the promotion no longer operates a monopoly on incoming wrestling talent. Wrestlers have proven to be a vital part of the MMA formula, and in a business where the effort of fighters is as essential as talent, wrestlers have proven to be work horses. Bellator provides substantial anecdotal evidence that wrestlers have become necessary to bolstering the perceived competitiveness and success of a burgeoning promotion. CEO Bjorn Rebney's has legitimized his roster by recruiting some of college wrestling's top available talent, often before they have acquired significant cage experience. Current champs include bantamweight Joe Warren (Michigan), lightweight Michael Chandler (Missouri), welterweight Ben Askren (Missouri) and heavyweight Cole Konrad (Minnesota). That selection of wrestling talent competed with the UFC's best on the mat, and could do the same inside the cage. Whether in Bellator or the UFC, the designation as an NCAA All-American or NCAA champion has additional cache with fans that recognize the achievement more than they do obscure kickboxing titles, or jiu-jitsu rank. Fans know the hierarchy and respond to the titular significance. Even those who don't understand, at least went to high school and grasp that wrestling is filled with semi-maniacal, quixotic weight-cutters. Those personal experiences give new viewers a solid connection to their own world experiences -- a launching point for companies like the UFC looking to recruit new fans. While the link can seem too psychological, consider the UFC's second most common linkage, the Brazilians, who are unable to communicate with, or capture the attention of the American crowds nearly as well as the NCAA wrestling community (however, they do a great job in their native Brazil). Wrestlers tend to be outspoken, with guys like Sonnen, Evans, and Askren creating large followings on Twitter. Big-time wrestlers like Davis also tend to recruit a significant fan base from their alma mater. Penn State wrestling fans will tune-in on Saturday night to watch their former NCAA champion compete, as will fans of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Michigan State Spartans. Those numbers might seem small for now, but an additional 25k-50k fans watching fights free on FOX should convert into future pay-per-view buys. The wrestler-turns-fighter trend is only beginning. Like athletes from American Samoa who for a combination of cultural reasons and physical intangibles are the most likely on earth to play in the NFL; wrestlers will become noticed as the most likely to succeed in the octagon and continue to refine their collegiate experiences to prepare for their post-graduate opportunity in the fight game. Like any sought-after population, the wrestling community is becoming self-aware of their marketability. The three most recent graduating classes have already produced top-ranked cage talent. Newbie fighters like Bubba Jenkins (Penn State/Arizona State) and Lance Palmer (Ohio State) are only a few victories away from being introduced on national television, and have already gathered significant fan followings. Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro), a Division I wrestler who is ranked No. 2 nationally at 197 pounds in the InterMatWrestle rankings, still has two months left in his wrestling career, but is already contemplating where to start his MMA training. The UFC on FOX 2 is only the strongest example of White and UFC executives picking men they thought worthy of wowing the average sport fan into buying a few more PPV fights per year. Because, after all the predictions are written about style matchups and techniques, the success and failure of a fight card comes down to whether or not the UFC is going to make more or less money off the fighters. Just like former Chicago's Daley, UFC president White wants to excite his constituency. Where the former mayor turned to a pithy slogan and interview in a national magazine, White turned to his stable of big-bodied, loud-mouthed wrestlers and set them loose in prime time. Hey, whatever works.

There are several intriguing matchups in Division I that are expected to happen this weekend. Below are 10 matchups to keep an eye on this weekend. No. 11. Darius Little (North Carolina State) vs. No. 13 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State) Weight Class: 141 When: Friday Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) Oklahoma State's Josh Kindig is ranked No. 13 at 141 pounds (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Why it's intriguing: Little has been on a tear lately, and Kindig is a potential All-American who will need to perform well for Oklahoma State to be in the NCAA title hunt. These two wrestlers met last season during a regular season dual meet, with Kindig winning that match 4-0. Little had an impressive Southern Scuffle, where he finished second and had a win in the quarterfinals over Minnesota's Nick Dardanes, a wrestler who defeated Kindig earlier this season. Kindig has been a hot and cold wrestler this season. Last Friday Kindig suffered a loss to unranked Nathan Hoffer of Arizona State, but came back two days later to win by major decision over Iowa State's Luke Goettl, a nationally ranked wrestler who was coming off a win over then-No. 1 Kendric Maple of Oklahoma. No. 4 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) vs. No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) Weight Class: 184 When: Friday Where: McGuirk Arena (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) Why it's intriguing: It's a rematch of the Midlands championship match at 184 pounds, a match won by Hamlin, 5-2. Both are returning All-Americans (Bennett placed eighth at 174 pounds, Hamlin was an NCAA runner-up at 184 pounds.) Hamlin and Bennett have a combined record of 39-3 this season. This match could prove to be critical for seeding at the NCAAs in seven weeks. No. 7 Eric Grajales (Michigan) vs. No. 11 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) Weight Class: 149 When: Friday Where: Sports Pavilion (Minneapolis, Minn.) Michigan's Eric Grjales has a 12-3 record this season (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)Why it's intriguing: It's a matchup that features two go-for-broke wrestlers who have entertained crowds for years with their wide-open styles. Both have been national age group stars since they were young, winning national titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both can score with upper body attacks and leg attacks. This matchup has all the makings of a high-scoring affair with a lot of fireworks. I won't predict a winner, but I will predict that it will be a highly-entertaining match. No. 5 Justin Zeerip (Michigan) vs. No. 7 Logan Storley (Minnesota) Weight Class: 174 When: Friday Where: Sports Pavilion (Minneapolis, Minn.) Why it's intriguing: Both are undefeated in the conference, and the winner of this match will be in a strong position to earn the No. 2 seed at the Big Ten Championships, behind Penn State's Ed Ruth. Zeerip, a fifth-year senior, has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the country this season. Last season he posted a 16-15 record. This season he has gone 17-1, with his only loss coming to No. 4 Ryan DesRoches of Cal Poly, 6-5. Storley, a true freshman, has been improving with every match. He battled an injury early in the season, which forced him to miss a month of the season, but he has since reeled off wins over four nationally ranked wrestlers, including Big Ten runner-up Nick Heflin of Ohio State. No. 2 Ed Ruth (Penn State) vs. No. 8 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) Weight Class: 174 When: Sunday Where: Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.) Why it's intriguing: It's a rematch of last year's Big Ten finals match at 174 pounds won by Ruth, 8-5. Both are redshirt sophomores, so these two could see each other several more times over the next two and a half seasons if they remain in the same weight class. Ruth is 20-0 and Heflin is 19-2. Ruth has six pins, six technical falls, and four major decisions in 20 matches. On paper, Ruth is a prohibitive favorite, but Heflin showed last year that he can wrestle with Ruth. Will Heflin be able to slow Ruth down, avoid getting turned, and keep the match competitive? Or will Ruth get bonus points on Heflin, like he has done to virtually every other opponent he has faced this season? Stay tuned. No. 12 Morgan McIntosh (Penn State) vs. No. 20 Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) Weight Class: 197 When: Sunday Where: Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.) Penn State's Morgan McIntosh is coming off a victory over Iowa's Grant Gambrall, an All-American (Photo/Bill Ennis)Why it's intriguing: McIntosh and Campolattano were two of the nation's top upperweights from the Class of 2011, and both are starting as true freshmen for Big Ten power programs. McIntosh and Campolattano were both No. 1 overall in the Class of 2011 at one point during their careers ... Campolattano as a sophomore, McIntosh as a senior. The two met twice in Fargo in the summer of 2008, in the Greco-Roman and freestyle finals, with Campolattano winning both meetings. Both wrestlers have gone through ups and downs this season. McIntosh is ranked higher and has the home mat advantage, but a Campolattano victory would surprise few. No. 2. Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) vs. 4 Donnie Vinson (Binghamton) Weight Class: 149 When: Sunday Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena (Stillwater, Okla.) Why it's intriguing: It's a matchup of two wrestlers ranked in the top five at 149 pounds. Both are having tremendous seasons. Parks is 18-0 and Vinson is 25-3. Parks has wins this season over two wrestlers ranked in the top 10: No. 3 Cole VonOhlen of Air Force and No. 9 Nick Lester of Oklahoma. Vinson also has a win over Lester, but was pinned by VonOhlen. Parks has sound defense, and Vinson likes to put points on the scoreboard, which should make for a very intriguing match. No. 1 Joe LeBlanc (Wyoming) vs. No. 6 Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) Weight Class: 184 When: Sunday Where: UniWyo Sports Complex (Laramie, Wyo.) Why it's intriguing: It's the continuation of a conference rivalry between two of the nation's top 184-pounders. LeBlanc and Loder split two one-point matches last season. Loder won the last meeting, which took place at last year's conference tournament, but it was LeBlanc who performed better at the NCAA tournament two weeks later. Both have just a single blemish on their records this season, but you can throw out the records in this one. Expect a barn-burner. No. 4 Tony Ramos (Iowa) vs. No. 7 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) Weight Class: 133 When: Sunday Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa) Minnesota's Chris Dardanes defeated Ohio State's Logan Stieber this season (Photo/Mark Beshey, The Guillotine)Why it's intriguing: Ramos and Dardanes are two of the nation's top 133-pounders, and this will be a key match in the Iowa-Minnesota dual meet. Ramos had the biggest win of his college career earlier this month when he handed defending NCAA champion Jordan Oliver of Oklahoma State his first loss in two seasons. But Ramos suffered a setback last Friday when he lost 7-0 to Ohio State's Logan Stieber, a wrestler Dardanes owns a win over this season. Both Ramos and Dardanes like to push the action and are always looking to score points, so fans watching can expect to see an action-filled match. No. 1 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) vs. No. 2 Matt McDonough (Iowa) Weight Class: 125 When: Sunday Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, Iowa) Why it's intriguing: It's No. 1 vs. No. 2 in a highly-anticipated dual meet where every point will be crucial. Interestingly, No. 2 has owned No. 1. McDonough has gone 4-0 against Sanders over the past two and a half seasons, with the last three victories coming by seven or more points. This will be the first meeting between the two this season. Sanders, a three-time All-American, has earned his No. 1 ranking by going undefeated this season. McDonough, a two-time NCAA finalist and 2010 NCAA champion, fell from No. 1 after losing to Illinois freshman Jesse Delgado in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 2.

Pittsburgh -- The Wrestling Classic committee selected the USA All-Star Team for the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic, the most prestigious high school all-star wrestling meet in the United States. The Wrestling Classic will be on Sunday, March 25, 2012, at the University of Pittsburgh's Fitzgerald Field House. This year, Maryland will challenge the Western Pennsylvania All-Stars in the preliminary dual meet beginning at 4:00 p.m. The feature match, between the Pennsylvania and USA All-Stars is at 6:00 p.m. Team USA: 113 No. 1 Jarred Brooks, Warsaw, Indiana, 98-6, Indiana Tech 120 No. 1 George DiCamillo, St. Ignatius, Ohio, 119-7, state champion, Virginia 126 No. 3 Cory Clark, Southeast Polk, Iowa, 139-0, three-time state champion, Iowa 132 No. 5 Zane Richards Carbondale, Illinois, 126-9, state champion, Illinois 138 No. 1 John Meeks, Roosevelt, Iowa 123-0, three-time state champion, Iowa State 145 No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis, Crown Point, Indiana, 131-2, three-time state champion, Northwestern 152 No. 2 Brian Realbuto, Sommers, New York, 150-3, two-time state champion, Cornell 160 No. 3 Zac Brunson Churchill, Oregon, 140-2, three-time state champion, Illinois 170 No. 3 (at 182) Kyle Crutchmer, Tulsa Union, Oklahoma, 105-21, state champion, Oklahoma State 182 No. 1 Jordan Rogers Mead, Washington, 117-6, two-time state champion, Oklahoma State 195 No. 1 Devin Peterson, Lincoln, Wisconsin, 146-8, Wisconsin 220 No. 1 Josh Marchok, Schaumburg, Illinois, 113-14, state champion, Stanford 285 Doug Vollaro, Pine Castle Christian, Florida, 112-6, Lehigh Note: Records do not include 2011-12 school year. USA Honorary Coach: Max Askren

So Dennis Siver will fight in Sweden, after all. After a rumored rematch with Ross Pearson turned out to be much ado about nothing, UFC officials have instead booked Siver to face Brazilian featherweight Diego Nunes at April's UFC on FUEL TV 2 event. MMAjunkie.com today confirmed the booking, which was first reported by Swedish site mmanytt.se, with sources close to the event. Read Story

As expected, the UFC will hold its third FOX-televised event on May 5, and the first fight announced for the card looks like a guaranteed barnburner. UFC president Dana White announced that Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller will take place on that date at UFC on FOX 3. The event takes place at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Read Story

Gina Carano (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) If you thought Hollywood's leading men were the only ones capable of realistic fight scenes, you may want to reconsider. Steven Soderbergh's newest film "Haywire" stars Strikeforce lightweight Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, a former Marine under contract with a private company that performs the undesirable and covert work of the United States government. That work turns messy, which means that audience is treated to more than 90 minutes of Caran's kicks and punches landing squarely on the jaws of her antagonists. The movie is filled with big-name Hollywood actors, none on-screen more than Mallory's boss Kenneth, played by Ewan McGregor, a former lover who sends the soon-to-retire Kane on one last job. He's being led in the task by the government, represented by the sometimes avuncular, but often-distant Michael Douglas. Michael Fassbender ("Inglorious Basterds" and "Shame"), Channing Tatum ("Fighter") and Antonio Banderas ("Zoro") round out the Soderbergh-like ensemble cast. The movie opens with Mallory disposing of former associate Aaron, played by Channing Tatum, at a roadside diner in upstate New York. After proving capable of whipping the movie's first threat, Mallory nabs a hostage and his car and drives away quickly lavishing upon her hostage the events of the past eight days, which the audience is treated to in a series of location-based flashbacks in the cities of Dublin, San Diego, and most importantly, Barcelona. We are quickly weaved through the details of Mallory's relationship with Kenneth, a man named Paul, and several other single-named characters, each inching the plot along to the inevitable "... and now I'm here" line by Mallory. The plot is weak and the story isn't airtight, but what Soderbergh saw in Carano as a lead actress in an action movie is something that cannot be ignored. She's authentically tough, in much the same way Soderbergh's male muse George Clooney (Oceans 11, 12, 13) is effortlessly charismatic and charming. What Clooney can do with a smirk and swig of whiskey, Carano can do with her leather boots and spinning back kick Carano's athletic gifts and years of MMA training lend her and the movie a physical credibility missing among almost all of today's female action stars. Where others grit their teeth for high-kicks pulled from Bruce Lee films, Carano's techniques mirror that of the legitimate MMA world. Forget the kicking and erase from your memory the broken necks and subdued agents of evil; Gina Carano's Mallory Kane is more than moxie and MMA fight skills -- she's also a runner. The movie "Salt" was ruined when audiences were forced to believe that Angelina Jolie ran away successfully avoiding capture, although her gait made her look incompetent. Female-led action movies are filled with these moments where audiences are confronted with the realization they are suspending reality to enjoy a movie where Jolie trots down the freeway away from men with machine guns and onward to freedom. It doesn't scan. Prior to Carano's starring role in "Haywire" women had been underrepresented as realistic ass-kickers in action movies. Jolie, Kate Beckinsale, and Halle Berry have each had stints as flesh-bearing fighters, but none of the thin-armed debutants ever convinced the audience they could whip your uncle in a fistfight. Carano, the kicks, the punches, even falls felt realistic -- there is little doubt that given proper motivation Carano could do subdue lithe Michael Fassbender's character Paul, or your burly and macho family members. "Haywire" takes time to develop its plot, but the patience Soderbergh expects from his audience in following its twists and turns is transferred to fight scenes that are equally paced. That patience is an achievement during a movie-making age dependent on misleading Flash!-Bang!-Switch-Bang!-Flash! fight scenes of the Bourne trilogies. Carano's physical authenticity in portraying Mallory is in contrast to her inability to provide equally exciting or believable dialogue. Carano is a young actress and as of yet has not mastered the art of make-believe quite as well as her co-stars, often delivering her lines with much less force than her up-kicks and right crosses. Carano's not void of talent and showcases sufficient dialogue with McGregor's Kenneth -- her former lover in the film. The duo's on-screen rapport gives the audience a brief reprieve and holds promise for the actress' future. Though "Haywire" fails in delivering believable dialogue, it recovers by setting free ahh-worthy fight scenes that command attention. For moviegoers who have not yet made the commitment to obsess over MMA, Carano's fight scenes might be vaguely reminiscent of those from the "Sherlock Holmes" franchise, where director and jiu-jitsu practitioner Guy Ritchie often adds submission techniques to his fights. What sets "Haywire" and Carano apart from those male-driven movies isn't just femininity, but the technical reliability of Carano's craft and the consistency by which Soderbergh showcases it across each of the dozen plus fight scenes. All street fights end up on the ground, something Soderbergh must have realized as he avoided forcing his characters into a stand-and-trade moments that make most fight fans scoff. He and Carano further maintain their legitimacy by not being over-exuberant in showcasing Carano's grappling talents (I'm sure she knows a heel hook, but how realistic is that when there are guns around?) Instead we see rear-naked chokes, arm bars and triangles -- each capped by MMA-worthy ground-and-pound. Carano's striking also comes across realistic, if at times briefly exaggerated. The pistol-whipping and Superman punches that seem gratuitous at least come in situations where they seem plausible. Better still, Carano's Mallory rarely resorts to the type of instant fight-MacGyver that became popular in the post-Bourne world of action sequences. It's refreshing to watch a fight where the protagonist doesn't have to employ logic-defying reaction times, or beat his enemy to a pulp with a dish towel and a number two pencil. Though there are moments of overkill, Mallory hits clean, and she hits hard -- subduing opponents through aggression, usually without having to fire a shot ... usually. "Haywire" is a movie built around the capable fighting skills of Carano and the sometimes slow, but always thoughtful pacing of Soderbergh. Fans of MMA and action movies shouldn't expect a mystery as much as they should a series of incredible fight scenes, starring a less-than-kitsch type fighting by an actress who knows to stand-and-trade just as well as she can turn-and-run.

Harry Lester and Ken Snyder will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, Jan. 25. “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 to 6:00 PM Central on AM 1650, The Fan. An archive of the show can be found on www.themat.tv. Email radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Each week “On the Mat” will interview an Olympic wrestling hopeful leading up to the Olympic Trials in Iowa City on April 21-22. This week's interview is with Harry Lester. Lester will compete in the Greco-Roman division at 145.5 pounds. He was a World bronze medalist in 2006 and 2007. Lester was also part of the 2007 Greco-Roman team that won the team World Championships -- the first in American history. Snyder will enter the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on April 14, 2012. He was a Division II NCAA champion for Northern Iowa in 1974 and 1975. Snyder placed third at the Division I tournament in 1974 and fifth in 1975.

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- It had been a long time coming for head coach Clint Manny and the Simpson wrestling team. Simpson carried the weight of 19 consecutive Iowa Conference loses into Tuesday's dual, but emphatically snapped the streak with a convincing 27-12 win over Buena Vista in the home finale at Cowles Fieldhouse. The Storm (6-10, 1-3 Iowa Conference) won 7 of 9 contested matches and earned bonus points in three wins against the Beavers (3-6, 0-4), en-route to their first win against a conference foe since February of 2009. "It's been a long time coming," Manny said. "It doesn't mean a whole lot to the young guys, but to the lone senior and juniors, those guys have been through a battle the last few years. It's a huge starting point to future success." The match turned in Simpson's favor early on. After surrendering six points due to a forfeit at 125 pounds, Devin Rausch pinned Mike Beradesco in the second period at 133, tying the dual. "That's a huge game-changer as far as a dual meet is concerned," Manny said. "He was down in that match when he got the reversal for the pin. It got everyone fired up and got the crowd involved." Rausch's pin sparked a string of six-straight wins for the Storm. Spencer Courier and Cory Stratton provided the team with bonus points as Courier won by a 16-0 technical fall over Steve Gutchenritter at 141 and Stratton earned a 13-4 major decision over Seth Shatto at 165. With the outcome still in doubt, Justin Bruce all-but put it out of reach when he turned a 4-4 tie at the end of the second period into a 7-4 win with an escape and a takedown in the third period agaisnt Casey Paprocki at 174. "[That win] didn't quite seal the deal but put us in the driver's seat for the remainder of the dual," Manny said. "We knew coming in it was going to be a fight. Justin did a good job, stuck to the game plan, worked his offensive shots and put himself in a position to win. I feel confident in his ability when its tight ... the third period is his best period." Simpson's final win of the night came courtesy of Ethan Calvert. Calvert, who also plays football for the Storm, beat Joe Klinkel at 197 pounds in his first match of the season after joining the squad early in the second semester. Ryan Haworth, the team's only senior, got an opportunity to wrestle at heavyweight. Despite a 5-0 loss to Matt Sefcik, Manny was happy to give his senior a chance to perform in his last home match. "He's been through it all for us the last three years," Manny said. "To be able to reward him with an opportunity to wrestle in front of his home crowd in the last home dual, I take a lot of pride in us being able to do that." Simpson travels to Cedar Rapids for the Iowa Conference duals this weekend, where it will face No. 1 Wartburg, No. 4 Coe and No. 20 Dubuque. Results: 125 Austin Mogg (BVU) wins by forfeit Forfeit 6-0 BVU 133 Devin Rausch (SIM) def. Mike Berardesco FALL (4:51) 6-6 141 Spencer Courier (SIM) def. Steve Gutchenritter TF, 16-0 (4:27) 11-6 SIM 149 Stephen Blayer (SIM) def. Kaine Leighty DEC, 11-5 14-6 SIM 157 Brian Haynes (SIM) def. Hunter St. John DEC, 6-2 17-6 SIM 165 Cory Stratton (SIM) def. Seth Shatto MD, 13-4 21-6 SIM 174 Justin Bruce (SIM) def. Casey Paprocki DEC, 7-4 24-6 SIM 184 Brian Broll (BVU) def. Taylor Witzel DEC, 4-0 24-9 SIM 197 Ethan Calvert (SIM) def. Joe Klinkel DEC, 9-5 27-9 SIM 285 Matt Sefcik (BVU) def. Ryan Haworth DEC, 5-0 27-12 SIM

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS -- A key pin by freshman Cody Lovejoy led the No. 12 Ohio Northern wrestling team to a 21-13 victory at Ohio Athletic Conference foe John Carroll Tuesday evening. Ohio Northern improves to 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the OAC, while John Carroll falls to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in OAC action. Clinging to a slim 15-13 lead entering the final bout of the night, Lovejoy sealed the win for the Polar Bears with a pin in 5:27 in the heavyweight division. The Polar Bears started hot, winning three straight decisions to open up a 9-0 lead over the Blue Streaks. Sophomore Cole Cochran won 8-7 at 125, junior Jeremy Jones won 3-0 at 133 and sophomore Nick Pataro John Carroll had a run of its own, winning matches at 149, 157, and 165 pounds to take a 10-9 lead. Junior two-time All-American and No. 3-ranked Kyle Kwiat won by decision at 174 to help Ohio Northern regain a 12-10 lead. But the upset-minded Blue Streaks won by decision at 184 to take a 13-12 advantage through eight of the 10 weight classes. Sophomore Michael Pawlitz picked up an overtime decision at 197 to put the Bears up 15-13 going into the deciding match. The Polar Bears will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Wheaton (Ill.) Invitational. Results: 125 - Cole Cochran (ONU) dec. John Cobos, 8-7 133 - Jeremy Jones (ONU) dec. Kevin Nycz, 3-0 141 - Nick Pataro (ONU) dec. Jake Rininger, 4-2 149 - Greg Ryan (JCU) dec. Brandon Howes, 7-4 157 - Terner Gott (JCU) maj. dec. Michael Letcher, 11-1 165 - Sean Gill (JCU) dec. #3 Billy Painter Painter, 5-3 174 - #3 Kyle Kwiat (ONU) dec. Todd Gaydosh, 6-2 184 - Bryan Steinmetz (JCU) dec. Dennis Recknagel, 4-2 197 - Michael Pawlitz (ONU) overtime dec. Jim Nemunaitis, 6-4 285 - Cody Lovejoy (ONU) pinned Alec Barker, 5:27

ALLIANCE, Ohio -- No. 16 ranked Mount Union got its first Ohio Athletic Conference dual meet win of the season with a 43-0 shutout win over Muskingum Tuesday at the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex. Mount Union moved to 7-4 overall and evened its OAC record at 1-1 while Muskingum fell to 1-6 overall and 0-1 in the OAC. After two forfeit wins at 125 and 133 by freshman Dan Hoberney (Wickliffe/Eastlake North) and junior T.J. Arnone (Willoughby/Willoughby South) the Purple Raiders scored major decision wins by seniors Josh Malave (Rocky River/Lutheran West) at 141 and Kevin Shadrach (Parma/Parma) at 149 to take a commanding 20-0 lead. Freshman Jon Garrison (Fairlawn/Copley) kept the streak going by getting a 5-2 decision at 157. Senior John Piechuta (Alliance/Marlington) got the Raiders only pin of the night at 165 as he got the fall at 5:56. Junior Lambert McElrath (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge) scored a solid 15-8 win at 174 then senior Andy Jenkins (Stow/Woodridge) scored another major decision for Mount Union with a 14-3 win at 184. Junior Chad Teague (Cambridge/Cambridge), who spent the fall on the Mount Union football team, made his first wrestling appearance of the season and got an 11-6 win at 197 before All-American Derick Hesson (Dexter City/Caldwell) finished off the match and stayed undefeated on the season with an 11-1 win at 285. Mount Union next competes this weekend at the Pete Willson Invitational at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill. Results: 125 Dan Hoberney (Mount Union) won by forfeit 133 TJ Arnone (Mount Union) won by forfeit 141 Josh Malave (Mount Union) won by major decision over Brock Yackey (Muskingum) 14-5 149 Kevin Shadrach (Mount Union) won by major decision over Kenneth Poland (Muskingum) 9-1 157 Jon Garrison (Mount Union) won by decision over Michael Frasure (Muskingum) 5-2 165 John Piechuta (Mount Union) won by pin over Ronald Hepner (Muskingum) 5:56 174 Lambert McElrath (Mount Union) won by decision over Mitchell King (Muskingum) 15-8 184 Andy Jenkins (Mount Union) won by major decision over Tre Martin (Muskingum) 14-3 197 Chad Teague (Mount Union) won by decision over Lucas Weber (Muskingum) 11-6 285 Derick Hesson (Mount Union) won by major decision over David Rice (Muskingum) 11-1