InterMat Staff

Marcie VanDusen ATHERTON, Calif. -- If ever Menlo College women's wrestling could find a worthy replacement for retiring head coach Lee Allen, it may have done just that with the hiring of 2008 Olympian Marcie VanDusen as only the second head coach in program history. "We are extremely fortunate to hire someone of Marcie's caliber to continue the great tradition left behind by Lee Allen," Menlo College Athletic Director Keith Spataro said. "We are pleased to be the first intercollegiate wrestling program to hire a female head coach and, in doing so, set the trend for many others to follow." Stepping into the position vacated -- and essentially made -- by Allen will be anything but easy to do considering his career accomplishments. Allen is a wrestling legend who was a two-time Olympian himself before spending nearly 50 years as a coach and leading the movement to legitimize women's wrestling as a recognized sport. As the leader of the Oaks women's wrestling program since its inception in 2001, Allen coached four national champions and 26 national place-winners. He was also named 2009 Women's College Wrestling Association Coach of the Year. VanDusen spent eight years as a member of the U.S. National Team, culminating with a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team and a ninth-place finish at the Beijing Games. During her stretch on the U.S. National Team, VanDusen was a 2004 World University champion and 2008 World Cup gold medalist, and also represented the U.S. as a member of the 2007 World Team. She is a two-time national champion. While VanDusen's coaching career is at an early stage, she has been just as successful as a leader off the mat as she was a competitor on it. VanDusen currently coaches the California USA Wrestling women's team which she led to a dominant first-place performance at the National Junior Duals in 2009. She also serves as an instructor at Rim of the World Wrestling Club in her native Lake Arrowhead, Calif., as well as a number of clinics across the country. "It is an honor to be the next head coach of the women's wrestling program at Menlo College," said VanDusen. "Coach Allen has been an amazing leader in the women's wrestling community for a decade, and I am thankful for all the hard work and dedication he put into building the women's wrestling program." Within USA Wrestling, VanDusen is a proven leader as a member of the Board of Directors. She has also served on the Executive Committee, Women's Sports Committee, and Athletes Advisory Committee. VanDusen graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2010 with a BA in Geography & Environmental Studies. In his days as a wrestler, Allen competed for the U.S. National Team at the 1956 Melbourne Games and again at the 1960 Rome Games. He again represented the U.S. at the 1961 FILA World Championships in Yokohama, Japan. Prior to his stint as a member of the national team, Allen was the second four-time state champion (1949-52) in the history of Oregon prep wrestling - never losing a match - and a star at the University of Oregon. Once Allen hung up his wrestling shoes he continued at the highest levels of wrestling as a coach. Allen served as an assistant coach for the U.S. at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games, and was the head coach of the team which ultimately boycotted the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow along with the entire U.S. delegation. He was also the head coach for the 1973 and 1977-79 FILA World Championship teams. In 1998, Allen coached the 1998 Pan Am Games women's team. Allen's final stop before Menlo was Skyline College in San Bruno, Calif., where he led the men's wrestling program for 32 years while incorporating a women's program later in his tenure. Allen also hosted the first women's wrestling tournament in American history. His career has already been honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Hall of Fame, and San Mateo County Sports Hall of Fame. During his time at Menlo, Allen and his family have been a key part of the campus community. Allen's daughters Sara and Katherine Fulp-Allen spent their college careers at Menlo, each winning a pair of national titles while representing the U.S. at international competitions. Both are current members of the U.S. National Team. His wife, Joan Fulp, acted as an assistant coach for the Oaks. Lee and Joan make their home in El Granada.

Joe Parisi, longtime head coach of the five-time national champion Lindenwood University wrestling team, has stepped down to assume additional administrative duties at Lindenwood and to devote more time to his role as dean of day admissions. Joe ParisiParisi, 38, has served in the dual role of coach and admissions dean for the past five years. Parisi and his admissions staff have been responsible for recruiting the students that have filled Lindenwood's residence halls to capacity and created a waiting list the past two years. “At an enrollment-driven institution like Lindenwood, admissions is the economic engine,” said Parisi. “This has to be my top priority. It's a satisfying, but never-ending job.” Parisi has mixed emotions about leaving the wrestling program that he built into a national power. But he said the time is right, particularly since he has been grooming his replacement, Chad Smith, for the past several years. “Chad is more than ready for this,” said Parisi. “He is an outstanding recruiter, and he embraces the high standards of our program. I wouldn't be surprised to see him take our team to even greater heights in the future.” Parisi has coached 118 All-Americans at Lindenwood since he became head coach in 1998. Twenty-eight of those wrestlers were national champions. That elite group of Parisi-coached Lindenwood alumni includes two head collegiate head coaches and dozens of high school wrestling coaches across the country. “Everywhere Chad and I go to recruit we run into Lindenwood wrestling alums,” said Parisi. “That's one of the most satisfying aspects of being a coach -- seeing your kids succeed in life.” Joe Parisi (Photo/Don Adams Jr.)Parisi said the 2002 Lindenwood wrestling team stands out slightly more than the other national champion teams because “it was the first national champion. But the '05 team set an NAIA record for all-Americans and points scored. You know what, I love them all.” Parisi, who is completing coursework on his doctoral degree in education and beginning his dissertation, served the head assistant wrestling coach at Missouri Valley College from 1993 until 1998, when he became Lindenwood's head wrestling coach. At Lindenwood, he also has worked as executive director of American Humanics, admissions counselor, faculty member, and associate director of admissions. Lindenwood President James D. Evans, Ph.D., said Parisi's contributions to Lindenwood continue to accumulate. “Joe is a fine young administrator,” said Evans. “He impresses me daily with his professionalism and leadership. I think his drive as an athlete and a coach have served him well in his admissions endeavors. Lindenwood is fortunate to have him.” Evans has appointed Chad Smith interim wrestling coach. Smith will continue his off-season duties running the University's fitness center.

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Wrestling team held their annual season-end awards banquet on Apr. 18, closing the book on another successful season of Golden Gopher Wrestling. Many awards were handed out on the evening, with outgoing seniors Jayson Ness and Dustin Schlatter highlighting the winners as they shared team MVP honors. Ness also collected the first award of the night, as he received his Dan Hodge Trophy that he won in late March. The Bloomington, Minn. native finished one of the best seasons ever by a Gopher wrestler, closing a perfect season at 31-0 at 133, with his second Big Ten title and first NCAA title. He was also awarded his fourth All-America certificate and the award for Most Falls. Schlatter finished the year with a deceiving 14-3 record, after battling injuries for the duration of the season. After battling back from injury to start the season, the Massillion, Ohio native won 14 straight matches across two weight classes (157, 165) before an injury forced him to default out of both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, resulting in two losses to his record. Schlatter was a near guaranteed win when he was in the line-up, defeating some of the nation's top-ranked wrestlers along the way. For his effort and determination in battling back from injury to take the mat the NCAA Tournament, Schlatter was also awarded the Fraser Dean Most Courageous Wrestler award. Finally, his third honor of the night came in the form of the team Academic Award, as he had the Gopher's highest GPA in the fall semester. Sharing the Academic Award with Schlatter, with the best fall GPA among freshman, was Kevin Steinhaus (Pennock, Minn.). The Gophers' named Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) the winner of the Most Dedicated Award. Just a sophomore, Sanders finished the season with a 29-7 record, and placed third and the Big Ten Tournament before claiming his second All-America honor at the NCAA Championships. The Chris Berglin Most Improved Wrestler Award went to Sonny Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.), who earned his first All-America certificate at the NCAA Championships last month. Yohn finished the season with a 27-13 overall record, and a 21-12 mark at 197. In his first season at 197 he finished as the Big Ten runner-up, and an All-American, after missing the NCAA Tournament at 184 last season. Also gaining his first All-America honor this march - in maybe the season's most exciting match - was Mike Thorn (St. Michaels, Minn.) who was rightfully honored as the winner of the Most Exciting Wrestler award. Thorn finished 29-7 winning his first Big Ten championship at 141 before capping his season with a whirlwind 56 second match, finishing with a pin to take seventh place honors. Thorn tallied nine falls and a team-high 11 major decisions on his season. Ben Berhow (Hayward, Minn.) was named the winner of the Verne Gagne Scholarship/Leadership Award, after the junior had his best career performance at both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Berhow went 23-13 on the season and placed third in the Big Ten. Three freshman earned their first letters, taking home "M Club" First-Year Awards. Thane Antczak (Prairie Farm, Wis.), Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) and Cody Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.) all saw time in the line-up throughout the season, with Mason and Cody Yohn placing at the Big Ten Tournament and qualifying for their first NCAA Tournament. Cody Yohn wrestled at three different weight classes on the season before finding a home at 165, and was the winner of the Gophers' Most Outstanding Freshman Award. Golden Gopher Wrestling finished the season ranked No. 5 in the country with a 12-5 dual meet record and a 7-1 record to finish second in the Big Ten dual meet season. They placed second at the Big Ten Tournament with two champions (Ness, Thorn), and seventh at the NCAA Tournament with four All-Americans (Ness, Sanders, Thorn, Sonny Yohn). Minnesota graduates seniors Matt Everson (Mitchell, S.D.), Nate Matousek (Glencoe, Minn.), Ness and Schlatter, but returns eight starters and three All-Americans.

Gary Goodridge

Jason Mester

Ohio State received their sixth verbal commitment this week from Clackamas Community College sophomore Tyrell Fortune. Recruited as a heavyweight Fortune plans on enrolling at OSU for Winter Quarter. Most recruits coming from a junior college do not warrant national coverage; Tyrell Fortune is one that does. "I am excited to say that I am going to go to school at Ohio State. I can't wait to get to Columbus, start classes, and hit the mats," offered Tyrell Fortune when to speak about his decision." Tyrell Fortune (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)As a high school senior he was considered one of the best in the country after winning a pair of Oregon state titles, six national championships in Fargo, and receiving invitations to compete at the Dream Team and Dapper Dan wrestling duals. Fortune was the 37th-ranked recruit in the 2007 InterMat Senior Top 100 and Wrestling USA tabbed him the nation's top 215-pound wrestler. With colleges lining up to recruit him Tyrell chose to go the nontraditional route to enroll at Clackamas to delay making a college choice and better prepare for the academic side of a wrestling at a major Division I school. Fortune won the 2009 NJCAA heavyweight national championship and redshirted during the 2009-2010 season while making progress towards his degree. Last summer he competed for Team USA at the 2009 Junior World Championships. "It is a great opportunity to wrestle for the Buckeyes and train with the guys at the (Ohio) Regional Training Center," stated Fortune. I'm going to do everything I can to become the best wrestler and student I can be. I hope that I can represent the team and university well when I am in college and when I am wrestling internationally." For a wrestler that was headed to an OSU no matter what, the decision to wrestle for the Buckeyes wasn't an easy one but one that he is very comfortable with. Fortune's final three schools were Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Oregon State. Fortune has been sent a National Letter of Intent to sign that he is expected to return within the next week. This summer he will be attending classes full time at Clackamas and will graduate with his degree in the fall. Tyrell is expected to move to Columbus in December and become immediately eligible to compete once he is registered for classes. As a junior college graduate he will have three years of eligibility remaining. Tyrell is the sixth member of the current Ohio State recruiting class. He joins the nation's number-one ranked recruit Logan Stieber, Derek Garcia, Josh Demas, Drew Stone, and Max Gladstone who signed their NLI's to wrestle at OSU in December. Dublin Scioto state champion Randy Languis issued a verbal commitment to the coaching staff earlier this week. Keeping the class at six Garcia will be released from his National Letter of Intent and resign with the Buckeyes in the fall. Making a national name in Oregon Tyrell Fortune was not born into a wrestling family and he doesn't come from a traditional wrestling state, at least not one within the wrestling or rust belt. His family became a wrestling family and he was able to get a lot of national exposure and experience because of his early success. Growing up in Portland, Oregon Tyrell and his twin brother Tyree started training with Peninsula Wrestling Club under Roy Pittman as an after school activity for two rambunctious boys. Both quickly took to the sport, Tyrell excelled. The more success he experienced the more he was drawn to the wrestling and the harder he worked. "I started wrestling when I was in the third grade. I didn't know much about it, (the sport), I got into it for it football. The coach thought it would help us and I fell in love with wrestling and stuck with it," reflected Fortune. "It was one of the best decisions I have ever made." Tyrell Fortune (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Finding freestyle and Greco-Roman success first, Fortune was a four-time Cadet National champion before he won the first of his two Oregon state titles. Wrestling at 215 all four years in high school Tyrell was a state qualifier as a freshman, placed third as a sophomore, and won back-to-back titles to end his career. Moving up to the Junior level at Fargo he was a double All-American in 2007 and won two more national championships in 2009. "I love the Olympic styles," admitted Fortune. "Freestyle is a little more wide open ... it is every man for himself out there and I like that. Greco is a lot of fun and they both absolutely made me a better Folkstyle wrestler." In high school Fortune got better every year. He wrestled his first three years at Parkrose before moving to Lakeridge High School for his senior year to enroll in an academic program that would better prepare him for college. Feeling he was ready to wrestle Division I but wanting more time to grow as a student, Fortune elected to attend school with his brother Tyree at Clackamas CC before moving on to a four-year school. "I chose to go to Clackamas out of high school because my club coach Roy Pittman thought it was a good opportunity to get started in college. I would be able to stay home close to my family and club, get my credits here, and assess what I really wanted to do and where I wanted to go," stated Fortune. "I had time to improve before it was time to leave and become my own person." Fortune gives a lot of credit to Pittman for his success. "Coach Pittman is more than just a coach to me, he is a father figure. He has been the biggest influence in my life. He molded me, taking me under his wing on the wrestling mat and in life," offered Tyrell. "I think the best thing I can say is that without him, I wouldn't be the person I am today." The Clackamas CC experience "Going to Clackamas was the best decision I could have made. I worked hard to become a better wrestler and I worked just as hard to become a better student. The wrestling team and the coaches were as supportive as they could be," said Fortune. "They are all about trying to move their wrestlers on to bigger and better things and I hope that I can make them proud at Ohio State." Tyrell FortuneFortune did not disappoint the Cougars winning the 2009 NJCAA heavyweight national championship his first year to lead Clackamas to a school record third place finish at nationals. In winning the only individual national title in school history he had 19 pins including five in a row at the NJCAA Tournament to earn the Bruce Traphagen Award for the most falls in the least amount of time. After college season was over Tyrell went on to become the only American wrestler to make both the Freestyle and Greco Roman U.S. Junior World Teams. Spending the summer training he traveled to Ankara, Turkey in August and placed seventh in freestyle and sixteenth in Greco. "Going to the World Championships was a really big eye opener. It is one thing to wrestle Americans, but when you are going against the guys from other countries it is at a whole other level," admitted Fortune. "It opened my eyes to some of the things that would make me a better wrestler ... from the training, the technique, the mindset." "The whole experience made me want to push myself even more. Seeing the level they were at made me want to get past them or get ready for that every match. Looking back I don't know if I was really prepared but I know that it made me more determined by the time I got back." Fortune finished his wrestling career at Clackamas with a 40-2 overall record. He went 8-0 last season while redshirting winning both of the open tournaments he entered. As a freshman he was 32-2. The only two losses of his career came at the 2008 Reno Tournament of Champions to nationally ranked Division I opponents Scott Steele (Navy) and Ricky Alcala (UC Davis). "Tyrell was the leader of our team. He really helped put us on the map and if it weren't for his national title it would have been hard to finish third in the country as a team. He is a hard worker that doesn't need to be motivated. When you have a guy like that in the room it can become contagious, it elevates what everyone is doing," offered Clackamas CC head coach Josh Rhoden when speaking about Fortune before leaving for the 2010 NJCAA Tournament. When asked about his prospects at the Division I level the Cougars' coach was confident Tyrell had the potential to do very well. "The bigger the challenge the harder he will work. You know you are going to get his best effort with everything he does. Put him in a Division I room with the right training partners and the coaches and the sky is the limit," commented Rhoden. "Fortune has high expectations for himself; he wants to be an NCAA Champion and he wants to be an Olympic Gold medalist. For where he is at right now and what he has already accomplished, I don't think either goal is out of reach." The road to Ohio State "I only took three visits; Oklahoma State, Oregon State, and Ohio State. I pretty much knew I wanted to go to an OSU so it was about getting on campus, spending time with the coaches, looking at the workout partners, and finding a place where I felt the most comfortable," stated Tyrell when speaking about picking a college. Fortune took his official visit to Ohio State in January and was able to watch the Buckeyes beat Penn State in a nationally televised dual on the Big Ten Network. He spent the weekend with the OSU coaches and wrestlers, got to tour the school, met with different support staff members, and got to see some of Columbus. "When I went there I felt like it was my home away from home," responded Fortune when asked about his visit. "I had never been to Ohio before and it was a great first impression ... From the facilities that they have, to the coaches and team, everything was welcoming. I really like the coaches and the staff. I know some of the guys from a few All-Star teams and competing in some of the same tournaments. I think we all have the same goals, to get to the top as individuals and as a team." Fortune not only chose Ohio State because he felt that it was the best place for him to win a NCAA title, but also for how it could better prepare him to compete internationally in the Olympic styles. "The (Ohio) Regional Training Center was one of the biggest things that made me want to come to Ohio State. The workout partners and training opportunities are second to no one in Columbus. Putting the OSU coaches and wrestlers with the Ohio RTC, it was an opportunity that I could not let go to waste," stated Fortune. The Future with the Buckeyes Following NCAA transfer rules Tyrell Fortune will have three years of eligibility remaining at Ohio State. After earning an Associate's Degree at Clackamas he is expected to be immediately eligible to compete for the Buckeyes in December once he is enrolled for classes. With fifth-year senior and four-year starter Corey Morrison exhausting his eligibility at the 2010 NCAA Tournament, Fortune is expected to compete for the open varsity spot with current OSU wrestlers Johnny Hiles and Dominic Johntony. "I am going to be a heavyweight at Ohio State," offered Fortune when asked what weight he was going to go. "For the international styles I am probably going to move up to 265 pounds (120 kg). I could stay down low as a college heavyweight and cut to 96 kilos, I am used to wrestling bigger guys, but cutting weight and going up and down every year isn't healthy. I want to spend my time getting bigger and stronger, not trying to cut weight and then put it back on." Following the Olympic dream Anybody can say they want to chase the Olympic dream. Actually being able to perform at that level and making a national team is what separates the pretenders from the contenders. Tyrell Fortune is a wrestler that can make his dream a reality if he can choose between freestyle and Greco-Roman. For the last five years Fortune could be considered the best in his age group after winning six national titles and turning in eight All-American finishes in Fargo. Last year he was the only American that won his weight in both freestyle and Greco-Roman at the 2009 Junior World Team Trials. "I would absolutely want to represent the United States at the Olympics before I am done wrestling," stated Fortune. "Knowing that guys like (Tommy) Rowlands, JD Bergman, and Tervel (Dlagnev) are going to be around with what they have already accomplished and what they want to accomplish, you have to ask yourself how you can't get better working out and training with them. Not only can they help me prepare to wrestle for a NCAA title they can help me prepare to win a Gold medal." Finishing up at Clackamas & moving to Columbus Much like redshirting last year was a new experience for Tyrell Fortune this off-season will be quite different for him as well. After competing throughout the spring and summer since before he was in high school Fortune is expected to take some time off to make finishing school on time a priority. He will continue training throughout the summer but he may not wrestle another match before he arrives at Ohio State. "It is too early to say what exactly I am going to be doing this summer because school is going to be my focus. I don't want to take a lot of online classes because I am wrestling all over the place so it is hard to say how much I am going to wrestle or if I am going to compete at all. I want to be in class and get things done this summer so I can graduate in the fall and be wrestling at Ohio State before the end of the year," said Fortune. "I am excited to have the opportunity to wrestle at Ohio State and I want to be ready to go when I get on campus. It's a good time to be a Buckeye." InterMat was granted permission to republish this article from BuckeyeWrestling.com. http://www.buckeyewrestling.com/?q=node/37256

Daniel Cormier

Mike Moyer is being honored with the Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award, through the Virginia Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 17, 2010. The Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award is given in recognition of years of dedication to the development of leadership and citizenship in young people through the sport of wrestling each nominee must have 20 years of service to the sport to be considered. Moyer is currently the Executive Director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) based in Manheim, Pennsylvania. He has served in this roll since 1999, in that time he has helped the NWCA to grow as a non-profit organization that is in place to serve the sport of amateur and collegiate wrestling. Moyer began his wrestling career in West Lawn, Pennsylvania where he wrested at Wilson High School, he competed in 3 PIAA State Wrestling Tournaments and finished with a record of 89-14-2, he was coached by his father William Moyer. He continued his wrestling career at West Chester State College (now known as West Chester University) he graduated with Bachelors of Science in Health/Physical Education in 1983. During his time at West Chester he participated in 3 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Continuing on in higher education Moyer then went on to James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA) to earn his Masters of Education earning a degree in Athletic Administration. While at JMU he served as the Graduate Assistant Wrestling Coach from 1982 to 1984. Moyer then went on to coach at Chowan Junior College in Murfreesboro, North Carolina for the 1984 to 1985 wrestling season, that year the team finished the season ranked 18th in the country, along with advancing three wrestlers to the NJCAA Championships. In 1985, he began his ten year coaching career at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. During that time Moyer advanced 27 wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, four of those wrestlers went on to earn All-American Honors, one of them was a two-time All-American. The GMU Patriots were four-time Virginia Intercollegiate League Team Champions under Coach Moyer, who ended his career with an overall record of 126-29-2. In 1995 Moyer transitioned from coaching to fundraising, where he was the Executive Director of the GMU Patriot Club until 1999. During this time he also served as the Chairman of the NCAA Wrestling Committee from 1997 to 1999. He continued on with his fundraising background when he became the Executive Director of the NWCA. The NWCA is a non-profit 501-c3 organization that is dedicated to promoting, preserving and protecting amateur wrestling, with a large emphasis on coaching education and safe weight loss practices through the use of the NWCA Optimal Performance Calculator. In his time as Executive Director Moyer has grown the membership from 1,700 to 10,000 members and the gross revenue has grown from $100,000 to $1.4 million dollars annually. The NWCA has helped to establish 69 new intercollegiate wrestling programs over the past decade. Moyer also serves on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and USA Wrestling Boards. Moyer will be inducted on Saturday night along with five other inductees for 2010 including: Jerome “Jerry” Cheynet (Virginia Tech), Jack Harcourt (Ocean Lakes High School), Kevin Michaels (Kellem High School), John Pegues (Fauquier High School/Official), and F.D. “Red” Robertson (Grundy Wrestling Club). The ceremony will take place on Saturday evening at 5 pm, at The Wyndham Virginia Crossings Hotel and Conference Center in Glen Allen, Virginia.

With three major post-season national tournaments (NHSCA grade-level nationals, FloNationals, and the USA Cadet/Junior Folkstyle Nationals) and two all-star meets (Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic and Wrestling USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic) completed, the end of the scholastic wrestling season is upon us. At this point, it is time to wrap up the season with the end of year rankings for both weight classes and the graduating classes. The weight class rankings reflect wrestling through the end of the scholastic state tournament season, as well as the major post-season national tournaments and all-star meets. While freestyle and Greco-Roman has started for the spring/summer, those results were not considered as inputs into the end of season rankings. In addition to the weight class rankings, graduating class rankings will be released tomorrow (Friday 4/16) -- and reflective of the weight class rankings both in terms of criteria and rank ordering. The one exception is that the junior high rankings (Class of 2014+) reflect results through this past weekend -- which included multiple major tournaments with the Reno World Championships, FILA Cadet Nationals, among other events. For the Class of 2010, this is the last time a Top 100 will be done for this group. For the other four groups, this is the last time for them in the said format. Come the mid-June rankings, which will be graduating class only, the ranking will be done with the Class of 2011 as the new senior class ranked out to the top 100. The Classes of 2012 and 2013 will be juniors and sophomores ranked out to 50; while the incoming Class of 2014 will be freshmen evaluated out to 25, with junior high wrestlers from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 ranked to 15. As always, the ranking process this year is one that involves a rigorous and thorough examination. It is also one that will never be without debate, disagreement, and discussion. Most of the time - the areas of contention are more about ordering wrestlers in the middle of the rankings, as well as about which wrestlers to include towards the back portions (i.e. closer to No. 20). However, the following is a discussion of the top portion of the rankings in each weight class. 103: The year started with Super 32 finalists Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA) and Freddie Rodriguez (Holt, MI) as well as two-time Cadet National double champion Nick Roberts (North Star, PA) on top of the rankings. When Dance and Rodriguez moved up to 112 pounds early in the season, Roberts inherited the No. 1 position with Tyler Fraley (Colts Neck, NJ) close behind in the second position. State tournament upsets significantly opened up the debate, as Zain Retherford (Line Mountain, PA) defeated Roberts in the semifinal round on the way to winning his state title; and Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, NJ) capped off an undefeated freshman season with his victory over Fraley in the state final. The end of season No. 1 is Cody Phillips (Union County, IN) -- a two-time state champion who has yet to lose a match during his high school career. 112: Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ) opened the season as the top-ranked wrestler coming off of National Prep titles in his freshman and sophomore seasons. He remained No. 1 throughout the season, with only one loss up at 119 pounds to Nick Brascetta (Graham, OH); and also won his third consecutive National Prep championship. Silver affirmed his No. 1 status with victories in the semifinal and final of the Walsh Ironman over second-ranked Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA) and third-ranked Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA). Gulibon and Cisneros, both sophomores, won their second state titles each this past year -- and earned second titles at their major in-season tournaments (Reno and Powerade respectively). 119: With his last competitively relevant loss coming in the summer of 2008 at Fargo, Ryak Finch (Safford, AZ) started the season in the top position of the rankings, and kept the top position throughout the 2009-10 season. Finch -- a double Junior National champion at 112 pounds in 2009, and NHSCA Sophomore and Junior National champion -- was selected for both major all-star meets, winning those matchups. Ranked in the second position is Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, PA) -- a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer, and has a career record of 119-1 in three years of high school. The only loss for Megaludis was a 1-0 defeat to Mark Rappo in the state semifinals his freshman year; Megaludis seeks to become only the third ever four-time Powerade champion this December. Third in the rankings is junior Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA), who was champion at the Ironman in a bracket that included five of the next six wrestlers ranked in this weight. 125: The best wrestler in high school this season is the top-ranked wrestler in this weight class. Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH) closed his career with approximately 180 consecutive wins after an opening weekend defeat in the Walsh Ironman finals his freshman year against David Taylor (Penn State/Graham, OH). Stieber earned a fourth state championship, and dominated third-ranked Mitchell Port (Bellefonte, PA) in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Ranked second in this weight is junior Jesse Thielke (Germantown, WI), a three-time state champion and one of the nation's best young talents -- especially in Greco-Roman. Port was a Powerade champion, defeating Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA) in the final, and earned an elusive state title this past season. 130: After the completion of the state tournament season, the No. 1 wrestler was Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peace, NJ). However, Cagnina was upset by Keith Surber (O'Fallon, IL) in the Wrestling USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic this past weekend. Surber becomes the No. 1 wrestler on the strength of that upset victory, his NHSCA Senior Nationals championship and Most Oustanding Wrestler honor, and a 51-1 record on the way to an Illinois state title (the one loss coming to 135 pound state champion Chris Dardanes by a 5-4 score). Cagnina is still ranked very highly in the second position on the strength of his third New Jersey state championship, a Super 32 championship, an undefeated run at the Junior National Freestyle Duals, and a head-to-head win over third-ranked Nick Schenk in the finals of Mount Mat Madness. Schenk (St. Mark's, DE) was a Junior National freestyle All-American this past summer; and champion at the Beast of the East over Penn State signee Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, PA) -- Sherlock had his season come to a premature end immediately after that tournament. 135: Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) earned an elusive state title during his senior season, one in which he went 33-1 with his only loss coming to the top-ranked 145 pound wrestler in the country Andrew Alton in the Escape the Rock finals. Dziewa was a Junior National freestyle champion this past summer, and earned a major decision against second-ranked Ryen Nieman in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Nieman (Bullock Creek, MI) finished as a three-time state champion with a 174-0 in-season record during his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. He also finished third place in freestyle at the Junior Nationals this past summer. Though Chris Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) was a state champion, Junior National freestyle All-American at 130, and earned a 6-4 overtime victory against Nieman this past weekend -- he is only ranked sixth due to some losses to wrestlers ranked outside the top ten during the course of the season. The third-ranked wrestler is three-time National Prep champion Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ); however, he missed the early part of this past scholastic season, and has yet to earn All-American honors in Fargo. 140: Among the many great wrestlers to compete in the Blair singlet, one must say that Chris Villalonga is truly among the best performers. A four-time National Prep champion, Villalonga did not lose a match after late December in his freshman year (a quarterfinal loss to Dan Kelly at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic. His only other losses were in the finals of the Walsh Ironman (Tony Ramos) and Beast of the East (Eric Olanowski) during that freshman year. Villalonga is a three-time Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East champion, defeated second-ranked Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain, PA) in the Dapper Dan, and capped off his career with an NHSCA Senior Nationals championship. Kindig finishes as a two-time Pennsylvania state champion and three-time state finalist; a three-time Super 32 finalist, winning the 140 pound weight class this year; and many All-American honors in Fargo, including a third in Greco and second in freestyle this past summer. Third in the rankings is three-time state champion senior Josh Ballweg (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA), who finished fourth in Junior National freestyle this past summer. 145: Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA) finished as an undefeated state champion for the second consecutive season, after third place finishes in the prior two seasons. Andrew won a second consecutive Walsh Ironman championship, after earning a fourth consecutive freestyle championship in Fargo this past summer (two as a Cadet and two as a Junior). Second in this weight class is senior Dylan Ness (Bloomington Kennedy, MN) after winning an elusive state title, having fallen in the semifinals the two prior seasons; Ness also earned double All-American honors at the Junior level in Fargo this past summer, after winning double Cadet titles in 2008. Ranked third in this weight class is Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA), who won a third state championship to cap off a season in which he also won the Beast of the East. 152: Jackson Morse (Lowell, MI) ends the season in the top position after his victory over Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA) in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Morse scored a last-second takedown to secure the 7-6 victory, which was a repeat of his 6-5 victory in the 2008 Super 32 semifinals. Morse defeated Joey Napoli (Lehigh/Cumberland Valley, PA) to win the 2008 Super 32 Challenge, and earned the 2009 Super 32 title at 152 pounds with victories over fifth-ranked Joey Cozart (Brandon, FL) and fourth-ranked Taylor Massa (St. John's, MI). Morse capped off his high school career with a third state title at 160 pounds, a weight class selected in order to accommodate teammates into the lineup; however, he did weigh in at 152 during the course of the season. Like his brother Andrew, Dylan Alton finished as an undefeated state champion for a second consecutive season and was a repeat Ironman champion. Dylan also won his third state championship this past year, after winning a third consecutive freestyle title in Fargo last summer (two Junior, one Cadet). Third in the weight is Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, MN) who won his fourth state championship in five state finals appearances going back to seventh grade. He finished third in the Junior National freestyle competition, and also has wins over Massa (Western Junior Regional freestyle) and Cozart (Cheesehead) within the last calendar year. 160: Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) capped off a career in which he was a four-time state finalist and three-time state champion with a 1-0 victory over third-ranked Nick Sulzer (St. Edward, OH) to remain the top-ranked wrestler in this weight class. Peppelman became the second wrestler to ever win four titles at the Powerade, and also won his third Beast of the East championship during this season. Second-ranked in this weight class is Nick Moore (Iowa City West, IA), who finishes his career with four state championships and a record of 169-0. Even in losing to Peppelman at the Dapper Dan, Sulzer had a dominant senior season -- winning his first state championship (career placements were 2-3-2-1), earning titles at the Walsh Ironman and NHSCA Senior Nationals, and earning All-American honors at Junior Nationals in freestyle this past summer. 171: Junior sensation Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) remained in the top spot all season and closed out the season with a third consecutive state championship. Despite battling injury throughout the season, Derek Garcia (Sedro-Woolley, WA) was dominant in winning his fourth state championship after earning a Junior National freestyle title this past summer; Garcia is ranked second nationally in the weight class. Ranked third in this weight class is three-time state finalist, two-time state champion, Tyler Beckwith (Greene, NY) -- who became the first wrestler to win four different NHSCA grade-level championships with his title at the NHSCA Senior Nationals three weeks ago. Beckwith was also a double All-American in Fargo, with a runner-up finish in Greco-Roman. 189: Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, NJ) started off the season in the No. 1 spot, as he had been undefeated in two seasons of high school competition and was a Junior National Greco-Roman champion this past summer. However, a 7-2 loss to Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ) saw him move out of the No. 1 position. At that point in time, Lee Munster (Fox Lake Grant, IL) inherited the position due to his two state titles and having a head-to-head victory over Evans in Fargo freestyle (Munster was second, and Evans took third). However, in his state tournament qualifier, he lost by fall to 13th ranked Sterling Hecox (Machesney Park Harlem, IL) -- though Munster did avenge that result to earn a third state championship the next weekend. As a result, Evans moved to the No. 1 position, and remained No. 1 on the strength of at least ten wins over nationally ranked opponents this year; titles at the Walsh Ironman, Beast of the East, Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic; a National Prep championship; and wins in both major all-star meets. Campolattano ends up second. In third is two-time state champion junior Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA) who missed the first half of the season due to injuries that precluded him from major off-season competition last summer; however, he did come back in impressive fashion for his state series, and with a title at FloNationals. Munster closes out his senior season fourth at this weight class. 215: Kyle Cowan (Cascia, OK) maintain his No. 1 ranking throughout a senior season that he capped off with a third consecutive state championship. Ranked second in the weight is Spencer Myers (Selinsgrove, PA), who won a state championship this past season after being named all-state in football and earning All-American honors at Junior Nationals in freestyle this past summer. Myers also secured a 3-2 victory over third-ranked Trevor Rupp (Pocatello, ID) at the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. Rupp earned a repeat state title this season after double All-American honors in Fargo this past summer (second in Greco-Roman, third in freestyle). 285: Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) -- now a two-time National Prep champion -- jumped Jimmy Lawson (Manchester, NJ) into the No. 1 position after his one-point victory over Bobby Telford (St. Mark's, DE) in the finals of the Beast of the East. At the time, McMullan had already won an Ironman title, and he would go on to pin sixth-ranked Henry Chirino (Brandon, FL) in the finals of the Cheesehead. Lawson remained in the second position, as he would go onto win Most Oustanding Wrestler honors at the state tournament in securing four pins for a third state title; he would also win the NHSCA Senior Nationals with a finals victory over seventh-ranked Lance Moore (Lackawana Trail, NY). Telford maintained the third position, with a second straight state championship, and dominated fourth-ranked Evan Craig (Abington Heights, DE) with a pin in the Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic. The five wrestlers at the top of their respective graduating classes (complete rankings to be released tomorrow, Friday 4-16) at the end of this scholastic season are Logan Stieber (Monroeville, OH) for the Class of 2010; Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH) for the Class of 2011; Taylor Massa (St. John's, MI) for the Class of 2012; Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, IL) for the Class of 2013; and Jered Cortez (Illinois) for junior high wrestlers. Counting the wrestlers ranked by state (35 states represented): 39: PA 31: NJ 28: OH 17: CA 16: IA, IL 14: NY 12: OK 9: MI, MO, WI 8: MN, VA 7: IN 6: KS, SD 5: DE, FL, WA 3: GA, ID, ND, NE 2: AZ, CO, TN, TX, UT 1: AK, HI, MA, MD, MT, NV, WY

In terms of wrestling upsets, it's bigger than any of the on-the-mat surprises served up at the 2010 NCAAs. Bigger than Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State's stunning 11-6 victory over Brent Metcalf of Iowa in the 149 finals at last year's NCAAs ... or, going back a few years, to the 1995 NCAAs, where Illinois' Steve Marianetti dashed Lincoln McIlravy's chances at being a four-time champ in the 150-pound finals in the Hawkeye's home gym. The biggest upset in a century of collegiate wrestling is simply known as Gable-OwingsThe biggest upset in a century of collegiate wrestling is simply known as Gable-Owings ... shorthand for the 142-pound title match between Iowa State's Dan Gable, and Larry Owings of the University of Washington, at the 1970 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at Northwestern University on Saturday, March 28, 1970. Forty years later, this single match remains one of the most talked-about within the U.S. amateur wrestling community. It was named the "Best Match" by wrestling historians and fans in online balloting for the 75th anniversary of NCAA wrestling in 2005. Fans who weren't among the 8,800 at McGaw Hall that blustery Saturday -- or who watched it on a tape-delay basis on ABC-TV's Wide World of Sports a couple weeks later -- can still view the match online right now. Meet the finalists Dan Gable's wrestling credentials are widely known. Born in Waterloo, Iowa on October 25, 1948, he had taken up the sport at his hometown YMCA where he was also a swimmer and enjoyed playing baseball. As a child, his sports hero wasn't Dan Hodge, but New York Yankee superstar Mickey Mantle. Dan GableGable's mat career really took off at Waterloo West High -- within sight of his family's home -- where he competed for legendary coach Bob Siddens. As a Wahawk, Gable was 64-0, with three Iowa high school state titles (95 pounds in 1964, 103 in 1965, and 112 in 1966). (Freshmen were not eligible to wrestle varsity at the time.) Dan Gable brought that perfect record to Iowa State, where he was coached by Dr. Harold Nichols of the Iowa wrestling hotbed of Cresco. Gable's pursuit of perfection continued through college, bringing home NCAA titles in 1968 and 1969, three Big 8 conference titles (1968-1970), and, up to the 1970 NCAA finals, a perfect 118-0 collegiate record. Perhaps just as impressive, he had pinned 83 his 118 opponents in college, winning an incredible 70.3% of his matches by fall. Hundreds of miles to the west of Waterloo, Larry Owings was making a name for himself on the mats of the Pacific Northwest. Born in Oregon City on June 12, 1950 and raised on a farm, Owings was introduced to the sport by brothers who wrestled. He got off to a not-so-great start; nicknamed Porky, Owings lost all eight of his matches in his first year in junior varsity competition at Canby High, wrestling for coach Larry Wright. However, Owings turned things around, becoming a two-time Oregon high school state champ, winning the 136-pound crown as a junior in 1967, and the 138 title in 1968 (pinning all his opponents at state). His senior year, he earned a spot on Wrestling USA magazine's 1967-68 High School All-American team. Larry OwingsAs Sports Illustrated reported in its coverage of the 1970 NCAAs, "Owings was far more accomplished than most people realized. He had won more than 200 matches in high school." Just after graduating from high school, Larry Owings traveled to Ames, Iowa to compete in the 1968 U.S. Olympic Trials. While there, he faced off against Iowa State sophomore Dan Gable, and lost to the recently-crowned 130-pound NCAA champ, 13-5. Larry Owings' high school mat accomplishments attracted the attention of a number of college wrestling programs, including Oklahoma State, and, according to Nolan Zavoral's A Season on the Mat, his 1997 book on Dan Gable and the Hawkeyes, even Iowa State. However, Owings' love of the Pacific Northwest -- and desire to go to a school with a good architecture program, his intended major -- Owings chose the University of Washington, where he was coached by Jim Smith. The pre-match hype In 1970, there was no InterMat -- or any other Internet-based amateur wrestling Web sites. No online wrestling forums for fans to post their opinions and make their predictions. Yet, there was still plenty of discussion -- and distraction -- before the fateful finals. 1970 NCAA Wrestling GuideSports Illustrated set the scene in its April 6, 1970 issue covering the NCAAs. In an article titled "A Good Littler Man Wins Big" veteran sportswriter Herman Weiskopf reported: The buildup for this match began on Wednesday when Owings registered to compete at 142 pounds. People snickered. Gable, on the other hand, came to the championships at Northwestern with the biggest advance billing any college wrestler has ever had. He was going to be the first to be undefeated in both high school and college. His celebrity was such that he had been constantly accepting awards, giving speeches, posing for pictures, signing autographs and enduring interviews. And during the past year he had been replying to more than 20 letters a week. As Weiskopf made clear, a number of wrestlers had deliberately avoided the 142-pound class -- and Gable -- by going up to 150 or down to 134. Owings was the exception. He took special pains to set a course for meeting Gable on the mat, cutting his weight from 173 pounds to make this happen. (In 1970, there weren't today's strict weight certification requirements. Wrestlers could easily jump from one weight to another to fill a gap in their team lineup -- or avoid facing a particular foe.) "I want to face Gable for the championship," Owings is quoted as saying on the first day of the NCAAs, according to Sports Illustrated. "I faced him at the Olympic Trials in '68 and he beat me. I was a high school senior, and he was already a national champ. I made up my mind back then that I wanted to meet him again and beat him." "I weighed 173 last fall, and during the season I wrestled three times in the 177-pound class and won all three," the Washington Husky told Sports Illustrated. "Then I really cut down. I got to 155 easy. I had to work harder and eat less to get to 148, and then I almost had to stop eating completely to make 142." "I think 142 is right for me. Last year I made a mistake at the nationals by cutting too much weight. I had decided to avoid Gable (Dan competed at 137 pounds), so I cut down to 130. I won three matches. Then I lost 14-12 because my stamina was low. Right then I decided to go after Gable this year." Owings apparently harbored some resentment of the Cyclone senior, at least according to the 1980 biography Owings! by Michael Gerald: " ... Larry had a certain repugnance about the situation of a man who had managed to taste all of the sport's laurels and honors without ever having experienced the deep lesson of defeat. And, as he later admitted, 'There's always a measure of revenging a loss.'" The sophomore from the University of Washington made a splash right from the start of the 1970 NCAAs. Owings told the media that he was on a quest to beat Dan Gable. The biography Owings! describes a TV interview conducted by ABC TV's Bud Palmer at Saturday's weigh-ins: "Larry, why, particularly with such a successful sophomore season in the Pacific loop at 158 pounds, would you drop a weight class that will be impossible to win because of Gable's presence?" Palmer asked. Larry's eyes burned audaciously. He was first silent, then he spoke slowly and concisely. "I'll beat him," he stated in the most determined tone imaginable. Did anyone believe the Husky 142-pounder could do it? "There was probably not 10 people in that crowd of 9,000 or so who would have bet on Owings," Myron Roderick told Bob Sherwin of the Seattle Times in a 1999 article titled "Whatever Happened to ... Larry Owings, the Man Who Beat Gable." Roderick, who in 1970 was the head coach at Oklahoma State -- and, before that, three-time NCAA champ for the Cowboys in the mid-1950s -- continued, "I thought it would be a contest. Larry was tough. He wasn't scared and had nothing to lose. Dan had a lot of pressure on him. It's hard to win a third NCAA title. Larry took the match to him." Many people believed Dan Gable was unbeatable going into the 1970 NCAA finals match (Photo/AP)"There was probably one, two or three people who thought I had a chance," Owings said in his 2007 interview with Mike Finn for WIN (Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine). "One was myself. One was my brother, John, who lived in California. And I think Dan Gable may have thought that, too. I heard stories later that for the first time he had scouted me wrestling because he heard how I had cut weight to meet him. "I think I had him a little bit worried." In the ESPN.com article "Almost Immortal" -- part of a series of stories tied into the New England Patriots' pursuit of a perfect season -- author Eric Neel described the impact Owings' pronouncements had on Dan Gable: Three days before the final, he read a headline: Owings said he had come to the tournament to beat him. Gable never read headlines. Why now? Two nights before the match, he attended a banquet in which he was honored as wrestling's man of the year. He never went to banquets. He didn't care about awards. Why now? In his early matches in the tournament, he found himself glancing up, eyeballing Owings on another mat. He never looked anywhere but straight through the heart of his opponent. Why now? Thirty minutes before the final, when he should have been going through his routine, 10-9-8 ... he was taping a television interview, stumbling through takes in which he looked into the camera and tempted the fates: "Hi, I'm Dan Gable. Come watch me finish my career 182-0." Why now? "When I got to the tournament, I still felt fine -- that I could win and do everything I thought I could do," Gable is quoted as saying in the 1999 Seattle Times article about Owings. "But I was distracted by Larry Owings. It was a name I had not come across too much ahead of time, but I began paying more attention to him. I don't know if he planned it or not, but he got inside my head." The Seattle Times article continued: Gable began scouting Owings' matches. He noticed that the UW wrestler was making "all kinds of mistakes but still ended up pinning his opponent." The pins were accomplished by Owings' best move, an inside reverse cradle that left his opponent unable to escape. In the book Owings!, Larry Owings' college teammate Lyle Ballew -- a Pacific 8 conference champ who had lost in the 150-pound quarterfinals -- described what he saw Friday night after the semifinal matches had been wrestled: "I was in the workout room that night sparring with (teammate) Hajime Shinjo. I think Larry had gone to bed. Gable was working out with (Iowa State wrestler) Dave Martin. Dan went through every conceivable counter to the reverse cradle. That was one of Larry's favorite pinning combinations so I guess they had been scouting him pretty closely." Collision course to the finals The 1970 NCAAs were held March 26-28 on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, immediately north of Chicago. The event was held in what was then called McGaw Hall, now named Welsh-Ryan Arena, familiar to wrestling fans as the site of the annual Midlands, the prestigious post-Christmas wrestling classic. Welsh-Ryan ArenaAll the hype surrounding Gable's swan song had helped to fill all 8,800 seats at McGaw. As Ken Kraft, long-time wrestling coach and athletic director at Northwestern -- and one of the two commentators for the ABC-TV broadcast (along with Frank Gifford) -- pointed out in the ESPN SportsCentury documentary on Dan Gable, up to that time, it was very rare for an NCAA finals to be a sellout event. The 142-pound bracket at the 1970 NCAAs had 42 wrestlers -- there were ten pigtail bouts ahead of the first-round action, one involving Dan Gable. (Owings did not have a pigtail match.) Back then, only ten competitors were seeded in each weight class, compared to 12 at the 2010 NCAAs. Defending champ Dan Gable was the top seed; Larry Owings was seeded second. While Gable was undefeated that season (and all three years of intercollegiate competition -- back then, freshmen could not wrestle varsity), Owings came into the NCAA finals with 33 wins and just one loss -- to Oklahoma's Mike Grant, who was competing at 150 in Evanston. Gable pinned his way through his side of the bracket. In his pigtail match, the champ pinned Central Michigan's Larry Hulbert at 3:11. In the first round, he scored a fall vs. unseeded Steve Welter of Indiana State, 5:28; in the second round, the Cyclone senior put unseeded Minnesota matman Gary Pelci's shoulders to the mat at 4:29. In the quarterfinals, Gable got his fastest fall of the tournament, pinning No. 8 seed Bill Beakley of Oklahoma at 2:27 ... then, in the semifinals, got the fall at 6:33 over No. 4 seed Wayne Bright of Old Dominion. On the other side of the bracket, Larry Owings was dominating in similar style. In the first round, the Washington sophomore pinned unseeded Russell Reid of Virginia Tech, 5:12 ... followed in the second round with a fall at 1:30 vs. Michigan's unseeded Mark King. In the quarterfinals, Owings showed unseeded Dan Silbaugh of Wyoming the lights at 6:02. No. 3 seed Keith Lowrance of Michigan State was Owings' last fall guy. The 1970 Big Ten champ was pinned in the semifinals at 3:29. The introduction The 142-pound finals bout between Gable and Owings was the fourth of the evening. Greg Johnson of Michigan State had won the 118-pound title; twins Dwayne and Darrell Keller of Oklahoma State claimed the 126 and 134-pound crowns, respectively. A 21-year-old Dan Gable stepped onto the mat one last time, wearing the Iowa State uniform of that era: a sleeveless jersey, with separate trunks and tights, in school colors of cardinal and gold. Larry Owings, just 19, wore a one-piece blue-black singlet with a script "U of W" monogram on the chest, along with matching tights (which were required 40 years ago). Each wore white headgear and white kneepads. Gable looked to be a bit more muscular than his challenger; the square-shouldered Owings appeared to be a bit taller. Pascal PerriReferee for the match was Pascal Perri, a long-time mat official. According to his Hall of Fame biography at the Friends of Long Island Wrestling Web site, Perri officiated over thirty NCAA tournaments and more than forty EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) Championships. In addition, Perri had impressive wrestling credentials. During his last two years at prep powerhouse Mepham High School, Perri was an undefeated wrestler and twice a Long Island champion. Perri went on to become the captain of Syracuse University's wrestling team, and won two EIWA individual titles. Years after the 1970 NCAAs, Perri was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma as an Outstanding Official and as a Distinguished American for his service to amateur wrestling. The house lights were dimmed, with only the overhead lights framing the mat in the center of McGaw Hall, adding to the drama. The two rivals shook hands. It was time to wrestle for the 1970 NCAA 142-pound title. The match First period: Right from the start, Larry Owings pressed the action in a way that wasn't typical of Dan Gable opponents, who usually took their time feeling out their undefeated rival, and wrestled with caution, fearful of making a mistake that would get them pinned. The Husky's aggressiveness fired up an already excited capacity crowd. More than one report has used the word "deafening" to describe the sound level in the hall; referee Pascal Perri described the noise as "comparable to Niagara Falls during the spring thaw." Various reports indicate that neither wrestler could hear Perri's whistle, and that he had to shout instructions to them, even though they were standing within a couple feet of the official. Within the first 30 seconds, Gable scored a takedown, making the score 2-0. As the book Owings! describes the next bit of action: Owings was nearly dropped backwards but defended by initiating a twisting bridgeback. Perri eyed the action closely. Although Larry's shoulders were momentarily in the predicament position, Owings' defense motion was never stopped nor controlled by Dan. By officials' signals, Perri precisely indicated that Gable merited no points from the sequence, just as Larry suddenly completed his escape. (Score: 2-1 Gable) Loyal followers in the Gable camp may choose to argue the previous judgmental call and they may certainly do so with some credence since Owings was belly-up hardly a shorter time than Dan was later in the match ... While he reviewed the mach film at a 1978 showing, Dr. Harold Nichols, Gable's coach and the enduring force behind the Cyclones' perennial wrestling preeminence, was understandably silent in reviewing this emotional moment of his coaching career but did choose to comment, "Dan should have had points there." However, as Owings! points out, neither mat judge questioned Perri's call. With both men in the neutral position, Owings brought Gable to the mat in the closing seconds of the opening period. With that takedown, the Husky sophomore took the lead, 3-2, at the end of the first. "When we started, all I was thinking was, 'God, don't get caught in the cradle. Don't get caught in the cradle,'" Gable told Nolan Zavoral for A Season on the Mat. "I didn't really through my proper focus and concentration and warm-up. Within a minute I was dead tired. I had never been that tired before. I wrestled so many matches when I was dead tired, but I never knew it until after the match. Now I knew it right away. Tired and weak." Second period: Gable won the disc flip, and chose to start the second period on top. Owings managed to score the escape, but Gable pancaked his opponent to the mat. However, Owings then went for a fireman's carry, lifting the Cyclone into the air, then taking him down, to make the score 6-2. Gable made a move towards the edge of the wrestling surface, and was penalized for intentionally fleeing the mat. Suddenly, the score was 7-2 Owings. As Herman Weiskopf of Sports Illustrated described the remaining action towards the end of the three-minute second period, "In quick succession, Gable got a reversal, Owings an escape and Gable a takedown. The round ended with Owings in command 8-6 ..." By this point, both gladiators were soaked in sweat, and the crowd was in near hysterics. Dan Gable had battled back to erase part of Larry Owings' lead. Would the Cyclone senior be able to take back the match in the last two minutes? Third period: The last period started with Gable in the down position. From there, he scored a reversal, knotting the score at 8-8. Just as suddenly, Gable's scoring momentum was interrupted when one of his contact lens popped out. Perri stopped the action as the senior reinstalled the lens. With about one minute left in the title bout, Gable applied the bar-arm, one of his signature moves usually leading to a pin ... but Owings did a sit-out escape, retaking the lead, 9-8. However, Gable had riding time in his favor, which, in 1970, would count for two additional points at the end of the match ... so the Cyclone thought he was still in control of the match, and that a third NCAA title would be his. However, Larry Owings had managed to last this long against Gable, who had rarely wrestled an entire 8-minute match (thanks to the Cyclone's pinning prowess) ... and was not going to throw in the towel at this late stage of the finals. Here's how the Seattle Times concisely described the end-of-match action in its 1999 article: Only 30 seconds remained in the match; and Gable, despite the fact that he could coast to a one-point win, continued to stand up and circle with Owings. "I had two minutes more riding time, so I was pretty much in control of the match," Gable said. "(But) I got greedy." He tried an arm-bar move, coming over Owings' shoulder in an attempt to lock him up and take him down. This was Owings' opportunity, the fateful moment when his never-used leg sweep caught Gable by surprise. Owings! described it as, "A simple straight-up lift, and Larry dropped Dan awkwardly on his buttocks." (Years later, Gable said it was "kind of like a slow-motion fall.") Referee Perri later said the takedown was "the greatest single move of Owings' career." But that wasn't the end of it. Owings overhooked Gable's left arm, continued to lift the right knee, and drove full forward into the Cyclone's chest, tipping him backwards toward his shoulders. With just 22 seconds left, Gable responded by twisting out of the possible pinning situation. Quickly, Perri indicated one point for Gable for an escape, and two nearfall points for Owings. Adding to the drama, the scorer had not seen the near-fall signal because an ABC-TV cameraman gotten in the way, so Perri stopped the match to notify the scoring table. Dan Gable is stunned by the scoreboard with 17 seconds leftThe challenger had scored five points in the period to Gable's one, to make the score 13-11 (factoring in two points riding time for Gable) with just 17 seconds left in the match. The two wrestlers faced each other with Owings near the edge of the mat. What could Gable do? His coaches were urging their wrestler to make a move to take Owings out-of-bounds, but Gable was reluctant, having been penalized for fleeing the mat earlier, and, apparently thinking that the score was closer than it really was, being to take it into overtime. The contestants went off the mat; Perri whistled a stop to the action. As he walked back to the center of the mat, Gable glanced at the scoreboard and was stunned at what he saw. Three seconds left. Two points behind, even with riding time factored in. To get a tie he needed a takedown. Match outcomes have changed in that amount of time; just ask Lehigh's Jon Trenge, who was about to win the 197-pound title at the 2003 NCAAs when Minnesota's Damion Hahn scored a takedown in the last three seconds to come from behind to win the match ... and championship. "At that point, once I saw the score and only three seconds left, I knew he couldn't get two points," Owings said. Larry Ownings gets his hand raised (Photo/AP)In fact, in those last three ticks, it was the University of Washington sophomore who actually attempted the takedown, not the wrestler who needed one to tie the match. "I got to the finals by being offensive, and I wanted to stay offensive," Owings is quoted in A Season on the Mat. "Not once did I back up or slow up or stall. I made that shot, and it was probably stupid. If he had known that, he could have spun around behind me." Gable offered his explanation for what he didn't do at the end of the match to A Season on the Mat author Zavoral: "I gave up. I was disgusted. It wasn't a good match from the beginning." Gable's voice broke. "I was crushed. I hurt." Owings had won the match, 13-11 ... the 142-pound crown at the 1970 NCAAs at Northwestern ... and a place in the history books as responsible for one of the all-time biggest upsets in any sport. The immediate aftermath Here's how Michael Gerald's book Owings! described the moments immediately after the end of the eight-minute match: The two exhausted athletes had dropped to their knees, facing each other tightly. Larry extended his hand toward Dan for the sportsmanlike clasp, and, in the perfect role as conqueror, began to rise from the mat first. The suddenly all-too-human Dan glared through glazed eyes at the bold young wrestler from beyond the Cascades who had dared to challenge the legend. He really didn't understand what had happened, only that he lost. The Loss came at a time when everything in his perfect career had depended on the absolute sure bet of his winning. The lights, the heat, the crowd, the cameras ... it was all too confusing. Gable rose, his head drooped, and the pair again shook hands as Perri raised Larry's other arm in the dramatic sign of the victor. After the pair had removed their identifying anklets, never having been more needed in such a high-scoring (25-point) finals match, the pair staggered off opposite sides of the mat amid the wild and appreciative applause of every last soul at McGaw Hall. Coach Smith caught his prodigy in a zealous bear hug at the edge of the mat, while Gable stumbled into the sympathetic arms of (Iowa State head coach Harold) Nichols, (assistant coach Les) Anderson, and his fellow teammates, three of whom awaited their respective turns at the finals. The complete coliseum was in a state of disorder and the normally smooth procession of matches became temporarily stalled. The overall atmosphere of the hall gave testimony to what all persons there seemed convinced of: they had just witnessed one of the most dramatic and historic moments in all sport. The Owings! biography also captured the reaction of two other native Oregonians who also won titles at the 1970 NCAAs. Oklahoma Sooner Mike Grant, ready to wrestle in the next finals match at 150 pounds, later told Bob Dellinger, the late, legendary sportswriter for the Daily Oklahoman: "Larry isn't the type to get psyched out. He'll try harder rather than be more cautious. I think that was a determining factor. I sure wouldn't want to go out there and wrestle him tonight." Defending heavyweight champ Jess Lewis of Oregon State -- who had won the Oregon high school state title the year Owings was a freshman at Canby, "could only pace and shake his head in disbelief," according to Owings! author Gerald. The book also quoted Owings' coach Jim Smith's reaction: "They fought toe-to-toe but in the end Larry beat him on his feet. It will go down as the most classic college match ever ... just tremendous, both of them!" After the 150-pound finals (which Grant won), medals were presented to the top six placers in the 142 weight class who had earned All-American honors. As he was about to be presented with his second-place medal, Dan Gable, whose chin had been on his chest, slowly raised his head, to a standing ovation that lasted at least a full minute (some reports indicate it was two minutes; Ken Kraft is quoted in A Season on the Mat that the ovation went on for five minutes). Larry Owings: "I didn't talk to him. What could I say?"From the top of the winner's platform, Owings shared his perspective in A Season on the Mat: "I finally won the NCAA. I was on the victory stand. I had time to think about it. The guy next to me had won every match, and it took a hell of an effort to beat him. I sensed the emotion in him. I saw the tears rolling down his cheeks. But instead of being a big baby, he stood up and took it. That's a heck of a mark of a man. I didn't talk to him. What could I say?" When interviewed by reporters shortly after the match and medal ceremony, Gable said, "I thought I'd win on riding time after I caught up. I don't know what happened in those last 40 seconds. I looked at the clock with three seconds, he was ahead by four and I couldn't believe it." "I made a lot of mistakes early and I couldn't ride him very well. He's real squirmy. He really tired me out although I had a lot of riding time." "Even though I could have won it right up to the end, I felt like I was getting beat the whole time." In his post-match interviews, Larry Owings told the media, "Tonight I tried anything and everything. When it was over, I looked at Dan and he looked like he didn't know what had happened." When asked at the time if superior conditioning had made a difference in the victory, the Husky champ seemingly dismissed the idea, saying he had trained no harder than normal ... then followed with, "Once during a physical exam, the doctor told me that my lung capacity was much larger than normal. I guess that helped make difference." Team Standings -- 1970 NCAAs: 1. Iowa State, 99 points 2. Michigan State, 84 3. Oregon State, 80 4. Oklahoma State, 79 5. Iowa, 45 6. Oklahoma, 44However, in A Season on the Mat, Nolan Zavoral wrote that Owings wanted to "out-Gable Gable." "It was probably the stupidest strategy in the world, but I'm a big one on conditioning, and mental conditioning," Owings is quoted as saying. Zavoral's book goes on to say: He ran three miles in the morning on the Washington indoor track, averaging a six-minute pace, sprinting the last quarter-mile in under a minute. Owings wrestled two hours a day. He didn't fear a pin, although Gable had four falls in the tournament by the time they met. "I knew I could go the distance with him." Owings' coach Larry Wright offered another explanation as to why his wrestler defeated the previously unbeaten Cyclone. "I believe the fireman's that Larry threw in the second period completely psyched Gable," Wright is quoted in Owings! "It was just too difficult for him to come back after that." Individual Champs -- 1970 NCAAs: 118: Greg Johnson, Michigan State 126: Dwayne Keller, Oklahoma State 134: Darrell Keller, Oklahoma State 142: Larry Owings, Washington 150: Mike Grant, Oklahoma 158: Dave Martin, Iowa State 167: Jason Smith, Iowa State 177: Chuck Jean, Iowa State 190: Geoff Baum, Oklahoma State Hwt: Jess Lewis, Oregon StateIt's not much of a surprise to learn that Larry Owings was unanimously voted Outstanding Wrestler at the 1970 NCAAs. Dan Gable won the Gorriaran Award -- given for the most pins in the least amount of time -- for the second straight year. However, as Owings pointed out in Mike Finn's 2007 interview for WIN, "I pinned mine a little faster and I liked to think that I did a little bit better than he did," said the former Washington wrestler. A quick calculation of the match durations listed in the brackets posted at Jay Hammond's WrestlingStats.com website confirms Owings' statement, in terms of average duration of each of his matches. However, Gable indeed scored the most falls in the quickest time, thus earning the Gorriaran. The days after the finals ... As Eric Neel wrote in his "Almost Immortal" article for ESPN.com describing the aftermath of the loss for Dan Gable, "The drive back to campus was quiet. He couldn't speak. Had no idea what to say." Here's how the Associated Press opened its article, released Saturday night, immediately after the conclusion of the 1970 NCAA finals, with just about all the focus on the Gable-Owings bout: "I made too many mistakes ... I can't remember anything that happened in the last seconds ... I couldn't believe it." Those were some of the remarks of Dan Gable after his stunning loss to sophomore Larry Owings of Washington in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championship Saturday night. Gable, 142-pounder from Iowa State, was one bout from one of the great feats in sports history. He hadn't lost a single previous bout in high school or college, piling up a string of 181 victories, 138 by falls. Despite Gable's defeat, Iowa State had little trouble in winning its second straight NCAA championship by piling up 99 points to 84 for runner-up Michigan State ... The AP article then had two paragraphs listing the other individual titlewinners before going back to the champ, Larry Owings ... Owings, however, provided the biggest surprise of the meet and was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler with his 13-11 triumph over Gable. "When it was over," said Owings, "I looked at Dan and he looked like he didn't know what had happened." "The takedown in the first round really helped. I thought then I would get him. When I got a two-point predicament (a near-pinning position) in the third round, I knew I had him." Speaking of newspaper coverage ... the headline that spanned the top of the sports section of the Sunday Des Moines Register -- the state newspaper for Iowa -- said, "Cyclones win title -- Gable fails." In the ESPN SportsCentury documentary on Dan Gable, Iowa State teammate (and 1970 NCAA 158-pound champ) Dave Martin, said, "We lived together off-campus. When we got back home and he saw the headline, he burst into tears." Another teammate -- Ben Peterson, who won silver and gold medals at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics, respectively -- said, "One morning he was having a beer. I remember him saying, 'I can't win when I don't drink, what difference does it make?'" However, Gable eventually came around. As Neel's ESPN story states, "(Gable) walked into Beyer Hall, the recreation center at Iowa State, went up to the wrestling room and found someone who would get down on the mat with him. No variation. No distractions. 'I was still good,' he says. 'That kind of shocked me. It made me know I could go on.'" ... and years further down the road from the upset 1971 NCAA Wrestling GuideIn the four decades since Larry Owings beat Dan Gable, the two finalists have been the subject of plenty of attention from the mainstream media as well as wrestling websites and publications. The following year: The 1971 NCAA Wrestling Guide -- an annual publication that provided results and photos from the previous college wrestling season, and a preview of the upcoming season -- featured Larry Owings on the cover. (Gable was the cover boy for the 1970 edition.) Owings' upset victory was mentioned in not one but two separate stories. Here's what famed wrestling writer Bob Dellinger wrote about the 142-pound champ: There's a new sheriff in college wrestling's boom town. Larry Owings, University of Washington junior, is the top draw now, but in the tradition of the Old West, he's also the target for every gunslinger within range of this 142-pounder. Owings earned his star by cutting down Dan Gable of Iowa State in the 1970 NCAA finals, winning a 13-11 duel in perhaps the most dramatic shootout in wrestling history. Owings will not feel all the glaring heat of Gable's flawless stretch of 100 varsity victories, having been beaten in the NCAA tournament as a freshman, and by two-time champ Mike Grant of Oklahoma during a 34-1 sophomore season. But "high noon" will come often enough ... 1984: Nearly fifteen years later, in its huge preview issue for the Los Angeles Olympics, Sports Illustrated had a multi-page profile of Dan Gable, U.S. Olympic freestyle coach, and University of Iowa head coach at the time. There was also a sidebar article by Jack McCallum titled, "The Man Who Spilled The Ink." According to that profile of Larry Owings, the 1970 NCAA champ was, in 1984, an industrial arts teacher in Oregon City, Oregon, active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and a father of three. The article from 25 years ago updated readers on what The Man Who Beat Gable had been up to in the 14 years since that March night. "The pressure was pretty intense on me after the victory over Dan," Owings said. "There was simply no way I would allow myself not to get to the finals the next two years. I had to." He did, but he lost to Oklahoma State's Darrell Keller, 16-12, as a junior -- Gable presented the trophies that year -- and to Michigan State's Tom Milkovich, 8-4, as a senior. Few wrestling fans remember that Owings finished his college career with an 87-4 record and a 52-1 mark in dual meets; they just recall that he was the man who beat Dan Gable and that he never won a national title after that. After he graduated from Washington in 1972, Owings was sick of wrestling, but he decided to go to the Olympic Trials in Anoka, Minnesota anyway. And though he weighed only about 138 pounds, he elected not to cut down to the next lower weight, 136.5, but to wrestle in the 149.5-pound division, Gable's class. "I was tired of cutting weight, tired of being top dog, tired of the pressure and tired of wrestling," says Owings. "Besides, it was no secret that Dan wanted me. I wasn't prepared mentally for it, but I went up and wrestled him anyway." Upon being asked if he more or less offered himself up to Gable, Owings says, "Well, it might not be quite that simple, but basically, I guess I did." And Gable took the offering, beating Owings, 7-1, to gain the Olympic berth that helped spread his fame worldwide. However, according to that 1984 Sports Illustrated profile, in 1983, Larry Owings decided to see about getting back into wrestling. In his early 30s at the time, Owings had started working out, and was getting into competitive shape when he was revisited by persistent shoulder pain, later diagnosed as degenerative arthritis. That ended his comeback hopes. "What was my goal?" Owings asked McCallum. "Well, a lot of people would laugh, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about the Olympics. I know at my age it sounds ridiculous. And I hadn't been at a national tournament in 11 years. But that's what I was thinking about." Who knows? Maybe he had a shot. After all, the coach knows what he can do. 1997: Meanwhile, half a country away, the loss at the 1970 NCAAs was apparently difficult for Dan Gable to talk about even decades later. A Season on the Mat author Nolan Zavoral -- who knew Gable well, having covered the Hawkeyes as a sportswriter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen before chronicling the team during the 1996-1997 season for his book -- got the Iowa coach to watch a videotape of match. Here's how Zavoral described the scene: A quarter-century later, Gable still had a tape of the match. He hadn't watched it in years -- too painful. But, at a friend's suggestion, in 1997, he brought it from home to the wrestling office and slipped it into the VCR ... This time, alone in the wrestling office, Gable watched grimly, pulling up a chair to just a couple feet of the screen. He saw himself score the first points of the match with a takedown. "Should have pinned him right there. But he was double-jointed in the shoulders or something. Always got away." He saw himself try an arm bar, and Owings slither out of it. "Got to get his arm back more." Gable sounded resigned ... The tape ran out. Gable took it out and switched off the VCR. "Well, that's it," he said. He meant, "That's enough." However, elsewhere in A Season on the Mat, Dan Gable told author Zavoral in 1997: "Bottom line is that match helped me. I needed to get beat. Because it not just helped me to win the Olympics, but it helped me dominate the Olympics. But more than that, it helped me be a better coach. I would have a hundred times rather not have that happened, but I used it. I used it." 1999: Remember that takedown Owings scored in the last half-minute of the match that resulted in backpoints for the Washington wrestler that broke open the lead? In 1999, Owings told the Seattle Times, "It was a move I had never done before or since." The Times continued: Gable was told Owings' comment and said he didn't realize the infamous leg sweep was not a practiced move. "If he had never tried that before, then that tells me it's desperate. Desperation is something that brings out unusual things," Gable said. "I had never heard that before. That makes it worse now from my point of view. I kind of wish he had gotten me with his best move." In that article from the Seattle Times from just over a decade ago, Owings said of the man he defeated, "He was a good, solid all-around wrestler who did not make a lot of mistakes. He was in excellent condition. In that way, he and I were similar. Conditioning was a big part of my preparation." This decade: There's even been some ink spilled in the past couple years about Gable-Owings. In 2007, WIN magazine's Mike Finn interviewed Larry Owings. Asked if he thought he had scored an upset, Owings responded, "No, because I thought I was going to win." "I don't believe there was anyone in the world who could have beaten me that night. I was in top physical condition and I was in top mental condition, too. I refused to give into any points any time he had me in trouble during the match and I refused to go." Then, just last fall, Mike Finn again revisited the 1970 NCAAs, this time with Dan Gable. In a November 2009 interview for WIN about a reunion of the Iowa State wrestlers from that 1970 championship season, Gable confirmed a story that had been considered by many to be folklore from the 1970 NCAA finals, claiming that Iowa State teammate Chuck Jean was refusing to wrestle his 177-pound title bout, reportedly because he was disgusted by the audience booing Gable during the match. Here's how Gable described the scene at McGaw Hall that night: "Chuck was a guy who had to wrestle after I lost my championship match (to Larry Owings) in 1970. I remember that I was sitting in the locker room by myself and I noticed that someone was taking a shower. I finally looked in there and it was Chuck Jean. Right before I looked, he was called up on deck to wrestle his championship match. I yelled to him, saying, "Chuck, you're on." He looked at me and basically had tears in his eyes and said, "Gable, I've never wrestled in a lineup after you lost. I'm not about to now. He was going to forfeit his match. "I believe my role as a coach started right there. Whatever bad feelings I had about my match, I jumped on him right away and told him, "What you are doing now by not wrestling will hurt me in the long run." He jumped into his uniform and ran out, won the match." Why we're still talking four decades later Why the continued fascination with a college wrestling match that took place 40 years ago? One could argue that a No. 2 seed beating a No. 1 seed isn't that huge of an upset, and, in fact, happens just about every year at least once in the NCAA finals. In the case of Gable-Owings, the match itself was close, with the lead going back and forth; it wasn't a lopsided blowout. A couple aspects come to mind as to why wrestlers, coaches and fans still want to know about a match that occurred when they were young -- or, for many, took place before they were even born. One ties into the divergent paths the two combatants' lives took after March 28, 1970. Dan Gable went on to win a gold medal in freestyle at the 1972 Munich Olympics in dominating style (without a single offense point scored against him). Then, immediately after that triumph, Gable launched a coaching career at the University of Iowa that spanned a quarter-century -- four years as an assistant to Gary Kurdelmeier, then 21 as head coach -- that made the Hawkeyes THE collegiate wrestling program of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and, with that success, laying a foundation for Iowa winning the last three straight titles at the close of this decade. Gable has become an iconic figure in amateur wrestling -- a spokesman, a goodwill ambassador, subject of documentaries and books, including Nolan Zavoral's 1997 classic A Season on the Mat which chronicles Gable's last season at the helm of the Hawkeyes. His name even adorns the facility known as the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum in his hometown of Waterloo. By contrast, Larry Owings is not as visible. True, he was the subject of the 1980 biography by Michael Gerald titled Owings! and a number of articles ... but is not the omnipresent wrestling icon Gable has become. According to the 2007 WIN story, Owings is now a retired schoolteacher living in Aurora, Oregon. Another aspect that makes Gable-Owings still a point of discussion is the denial of perfection. Larry Owings spoiled Dan Gable's otherwise perfect career that spanned high school and college. To be undefeated in a sport as physically and mentally demanding as wrestling for that many years is a truly mind-boggling achievement. Cael Sanderson defeated Jon Trenge to finish his college wrestling career undefeatedLet's look at a similar situation from more recent history: fellow Iowa State wrestler Cael Sanderson's quest for an undefeated college career. Think back to the 197-pound finals at the 2002 NCAAs in Albany, New York, where the 158-0 Cyclone faced off against the physically imposing Jon Trenge of Lehigh. Like Gable-Owings, it was a battle of the two top seeds in the bracket. Like Gable, Sanderson was the undefeated senior, seeded No. 1; like Owings, Trenge was the second-seeded sophomore. And, like Owings, Trenge had dominated his way through his side of the bracket, pinning his first three opponents, then getting a 16-6 win in the semifinals. However, in the title bout, it was Sanderson who prevailed, getting a 12-4 win over the goggle-wearing grappler from Lehigh, to win his fourth NCAA title and complete his college career with a blemish-free 159-0 record. In his ESPN.com article "Almost Immortal," Eric Neel analyzed Gable's situation after losing to Owings in the 1970 NCAA finals, resulting in a 181-1 high school and college record: The losses, first Diane (Gable's older sister, his only sibling, was murdered at home while the rest of the family was away on a fishing trip, Memorial Day, 1964) and then the match to Owings, made him. He didn't just go on, he got better. That was the hardest part, he says. The focus came at such a high price, with so much hurt underneath. You ask him: What is perfection? What has it meant to chase it for so long? He's still in pursuit, he says: "If I could figure out how I could have gone back and saved Diane, and how I could have gone back and not had that loss in that tournament, and still gone on to be the same person I am today, that would be perfect." Gable-Owings, again? One question wrestling fans can't help but ask: Have the two talked in the years since they last met on the mat? The 1999 Seattle Times article closes with the answer at that time: Not in person, but, they once talked over the phone. In 1980, Owings called Gable to consider a high school wrestler in his district. According to Owings, the subject of the 1970 NCAAs never came up ... and the two had not talked since ... Until 2006 ... According to Mike Finn's 2007 story for WIN, the two talked in person in the stands of Ford Center in Oklahoma City at the 2006 NCAA Division I Championships. "I saw Dan Gable sitting in the same section that we were," Owings told Finn. "I went down and said hi to him. It was a little bit later in the tournament that he actually came up with his daughter and introduced her to me. He sat down and talked to me for a while. We just sat down and talked like two old wrestlers. I don't hate Dan Gable. I never have. I think he is a tremendous coach and a tremendous competitor. He's deserved everything that he's earned." It's highly likely that wrestling fans and the media will still be talking about Gable-Owings 40 years from now. Video of the Gable-Owings 1970 NCAA finals is available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3P8LJEgRGw; videocaptures from the match are on display in a gallery at the Fans of Dan Gable Yahoo group. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FansOfDanGable

Dan Holm, 1975 NCAA Division I Champion, and Akeem Carter, two-time NCAA Division III Champion, will be radio show guests this week. Holm will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on April 17. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum and can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Central time on AM 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Holm was a three-time All-American and 1975 NCAA Champion at 158 pounds for the University of Iowa. He played a key role in Iowa winning its first NCAA team championship in 1975. Holm prepped at Libertyville High School in Illinois where he won a state title in 1971. Waterloo native Akeem Carter won two high school state titles for Waterloo West and won NCAA championships at 197 pounds for Wartburg College in 2004 and 2005. Carter is one of the instructors for the new club program the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum recently started as a partnership with United Sport and Athlete and the Boys and Girls Club.

AKRON, Ohio -- Pat Smith and Sonny Yohn each won championships at the Asics University Nationals, held Apr. 9-11 at the University of Akron. Wrestling for the Minnesota Storm, 17 total Gophers participated competed at the University Nationals, with six finishing as placewinners. Fresh off claiming his first All-America honor at the NCAA Championships, Yohn took the top spot at 96 Kg (211.5 lbs) in freestyle wrestling. An Alamosa, Colo. native, Yohn was one of three Gophers to place in the freestyle brackets. David Zilverberg (Wayzata, Minn.) placed fifth at 63 Kg (138.75 lbs) and Kaleb Young (Tenstrike, Minn.) finished in eighth place at 84 Kg (185 lbs). Yohn, a sophomore, went 5-0 to claim his championship, logging a pair of tech falls along the way. In the championship match Yohn, won 1-0, 4-0 over Jared Platt. A native of Chaska, Minn., Smith claimed top honors in Greco Roman wrestling at the 70 Kg (154.25 lbs) weight class. Smith was one of four Gophers to place in Greco Roman, as he was joined by Alec Ortiz (Grand Rhonde, Ore.) who placed fifth at 74 Kg (163 lbs), Jake Filkins (Prescott, Wis.) who finished eighth at 96 Kg (211.5 lbs) and Young who finished seventh at 84 Kg (185 lbs), also the only Gopher to place twice on the weekend. Smith, a freshman, went 5-0 at the tournament at 70 Kg (154.35 lbs), scoring a first round pin before winning the rest of his matches by shutout. In the championship match he won 1-0, 1-0 over Josh Castellano. Brian Peterson (Richmond, Mich.) also competed in Greco Roman at 70 Kg (154.25 lbs) while Steven Avalos (Mundelein, Ill.) at 79 Kg (174 lbs) Ryan Blake (Chicago, Ill.) at 66 Kg (145.5 lbs), Brent Eidenschink (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) at 84 Kg (185 lbs), Austin Enoch (Redmond, Ore.) at 66 Kg (145.5 lbs), Tom Giaimo (Appleton, Wis.) at 63 Kg (138.75 lbs), Joe Grygelko (Greenfield, Minn.) at 70 Kg (154.25 lbs), Joel Hill (Overland Park, Kans.) at 74 Kg (163 lbs), David Thorn (St. Michael,Minn.) at 60 Kg (132.25 lbs) and Danny Zilverberg (Wayzata, Minn.) at 66 Kg (145.5 lbs) all competed in freestyle.

ELMHURST, Ill. -- It may have only been an exhibition dual, but you'd never have known it to feel the energy and desire emanating from Faganel Hall on the campus Elmhurst College as some of Illinois's top senior wrestlers played host to a national all-star lineup of seniors in the 2010 Wrestling USA/Cliff Keen Dream Team Classic. Led by falls from top-ranked seniors Mike Evans (Blair Academy, NJ) and Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA), Team USA raced out to an early lead and never looked back in a 31-15 win over Team Illinois. The dual alternated between lower and upper weights, and it started off with a bang at 112 pounds. Unranked Miko Villanueva (Dundee-Crown), a two-time third-place finisher at state, put Team Illinois up early with a stunningly dominant win over No. 5-ranked Blake Thomas (Brentwood High School, TN). Villanueva forced all the action, scoring four takedowns in a number of ways, and only giving up escapes en route to a 9-4 decision. No. 1 heavyweight Mike McMullen wowed the near-capacity crowd on hand with a quick and powerful overwhelming of Andrew Ellington (Edwardsville). The Northwestern-bound recruit emerged from an early scramble with a takedown, then worked until he locked up a cradle and earned the first-period fall in 1:30. That win was the first of five straight for Team USA, which put away the match early. At 119, Illinois-bound Logan Arlis (Batavia, IL) used a nice headlock to throw No. 1 Ryak Finch (Safford, AZ) to his back early in the match. But the lanky senior couldn't hold it and Finch emerged from the scramble with a takedown. Arlis went to the well perhaps one too many times, as Finch was ready for the headlock after that, countering it a few more times on his way to an 8-4 decision. Nebraska-bound Matt Dywer (Honenegah, IL) battled hard at 215 pounds against two-time Idaho state champion Trevor Rupp (Pocatello, ID). Dwyer, the brother of Huskers All-American Stephen, fought off numerous shots from the No. 3-ranked wrestler as the pair engaged in a physical, brawling match. Rupp eventually countered a Dwyer shot in overtime to emerge with the 3-1 sudden victory decision. Columbia-recruit Matt Bystol (Libertyville, IL) hung with No. 3 Devin Carter (Christianburg, VA) for a while, with the match notted at 4 entering the third period. But the Va. Tech-bound Carter's relentless pressure wore Bystol down, as Carter used a couple gorgeous shuck-bys and a 3-point near fall in the final frame to win going away, 13-7. There were several top high school and college coaches on hand, including Blair Academy Coach Jeff Buxton, there to watch his top-ranked 189-pounder, Mike Evans. He did not disappoint, as Evans racked up a 10-0 lead before pinning Princeton-bound Dan Santoro (Barrington, IL) as the second period ended. With Team Illinois trailing 21-3, they needed an upset win somewhere to try and regain a little momentum. Nebraska-bound and No. 10 Keith Surber (O'Fallon) provided just that spark. He and top-ranked Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peace, NJ) wrestled an engaging, scramble-filled first two periods, but Surber only led 1-0 entering the third. Fresh off a senior nationals title in Virginia Beach, Surber is known around the state for being tough on top, and sure enough, he was able to take the Lehigh-bound recruit to his back for two near falls in his 6-2 upset decision. "I'm at my best on the mat, so when went down to start the third, I knew I was in good shape," Surber said. "The win gives me a lot of confidence and it's real nice to come out here and get a win, especially in front of a great crowd of Illinois fans." The run continued for Team Illinois at 171, as Andy Spangler (Neuqua Valley, IL) downed Ohio-bound Micheal Duckworth (Union County, IN) with a great ankle-pick in sudden victory for an 8-6 decision. The highlight match of the evening came at 135. Two Big Ten-bound wrestlers in No. 2 Ryen Nieman (Bullock Creek, MI) and No. 8 Chris Dardanes (Oak Park, IL) squared off. Dardanes wrestled his relentless style, constantly moving forward on his feet and looking to score. But Nieman displayed great hips and defense to emerge unscathed from several scrambles and send it into overtime tied at 4. In the OT, Nieman tried a throw-by near the end of the mat, but Dardanes grabbed an ankle and pulled it into a double to win, 6-4. "Events like this are great, bringing in the best seniors," Team Illinois coach Sean Bormet said. "It's a tremendous opportunity, and they do a good job of preparing these guys for the college level." Cornell-bound recruit Marshall Peppelman got Team USA back on the winning track with a relatively easy 8-2 win over Joe Strocchia (Hinsdale Central, IL). "It was a great experience coming out here, a huge honor to be a part of the team," Peppelman said. "Everyone was a little slow from being out all day, so we all agreed that we didn't wrestle our best." The second of the Minnesota-bound Dardanes twins -- Nick -- took the mat at 140. No. 4-ranked Nick was originally scheduled to wrestle No. 1 Chris Villalonga of Blair, but a late scratch meant that Nick Dardanes had to settle for a solid 7-3 decision over Frankie Porras of nearby Hobart, IN. Another set of twins -- the top-ranked Altons of Central Mountain, PA -- closed out the dual with consecutive wins at 152 and 145. Dylan Alton downed Joey Moorhouse (Morengo, IL) with a 10-6 decision after notching a takedown in the first seven seconds of the match. Andrew found himself in a bit of a dogfight with the uber-athletic Demetrios Mitchell (Hersey High, IL), as Mitchell surprised the Penn State-bound recruit with a bear hug to his back for an early 5-2. But Andrew Alton recovered and proceeded to put on a takedown clinic in a 22-13 major decision. "Illinois put together a good team," Buxton said afterwards. "Team USA got on kind of a roll there starting with McMullan, but there was great wrestling from both sides. It was good to see the kids gutting it out like that in April." Results: 112: Miko Villanueva (Dundee Crown, IL) dec. No. 5 Blake Thomas (Brentwood, TN), 9-4 285: No. 1 Michael McMullen (Wyoming Seminary, PA) pinned Andrew Ellington (Edwardsville, IL) 119: No. 1 Ryak Finch (Safford, AZ) dec. Logan Arlis (Batavia, IL), 8-4 215: No. 3 Trevor Rupp (Pocatello, ID) dec. Matt Dwyer (Hononegah, IL), 3-1 OT 125: No. 3 (at 130) Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA) dec. Matt Bystol (Libertyville, IL), 13-7 189: No. 1 Mike Evans (Blair Academy, NJ) pinned Dan Santoro (Barrington, IL) 130: No. 10 Keith Surber (O'Fallon, IL) dec. No. 1 Frank Cagnina (Queen of Peach, NJ), 6-2 171: Andy Spangler (Neuqua Valley, IL) dec. Michael Duckworth (Union County, IN), 8-6 135 No. 8 Chris Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) dec. No. 2 Ryan Nieman (Bullock Creek, MI), 6-4 OT 160 No. 1 Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) dec. Joe Strocchia (Hinsdale Central, IL), 8-2 140 No. 4 Nick Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) dec. Frankie Porras (Hobart, IN), 7-3 152 No. 1 Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA) dec. Joey Moorhouse (Marengo, IL), 10-6 145 No. 1 Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA) maj. dec. Demetrios Mitchell (Hersey, IL), 22-13

AKRON, Ohio -- Many of the nation's preeminent high school-aged wrestlers convened upon the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House on the campus of the University of Akron this past weekend for the FILA Cadet Nationals. This event involved wrestlers born in 1993, 1994, or 1995. Also held concurrently were the FILA University Nationals, for wrestlers born in 1986-1992 and graduated from high school. The Greco-Roman competition was held on Friday, with the freestyle competition on Saturday and Sunday. Freddie Rodriguez (Photo/MichiganGrappler.com)Freddie Rodriguez from Michigan was one of three wrestlers to win both competitions, as he was champion on Sunday in the 110.25-pound weight class. This concluded a tournament in which he went 8-0 with four technical falls and one pin. In the finals match, Rodriguez -- a 2008 Cadet National freestyle runner-up -- faced 2009 Cadet National freestyle runner-up Jered Cortez from Illinois. Cortez, ranked first among junior high wrestlers by InterMat, won the first period, 1-0, on a late takedown. Rodriguez then turned it up in the second and third periods with 4-1 and 4-0 victories to win the match in three periods. That gave Rodriguez his second consecutive FILA Cadet National freestyle title, and earned him Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for the tournament. "I wrestled with the same intensity and aggression as in the first period, but kept in better positions," said Rodriguez of the second and third periods of the finals match. Joining Rodriguez as a two-time FILA Cadet freestyle champion was Jason Tsirtsis from Indiana, champion of the 138.75-pound weight class. This weight was one of five in the freestyle competition to earn spots in the Pan-American qualifier for the Youth Olympic Games (the others being 101.25, 119, 167.5, and 220.5). The qualification tournament will be in May in Mexico, while the Youth Olympic Games will be in Singapore in August. Ranked third among sophomores by InterMat, Tsirtsis went 9-0 on the competition; this included five matches in which he did not allow a point, and two others that he only allowed one point. Facing Blaise Butler from Illinois in the final, he trailed 2-0 in the first period prior to scoring a takedown and then getting three consecutive turns with an ankle lace to win the period 4-2. In the second period, Tsirtsis won 7-0 with two takedowns, two laces, and a gut-wrench. "It has always been effective for me in par terre, as my hi-crotch takedown finish sets it up very well," observed Tsirtsis about his ankle lace attack. "It seems to work for me, so I keep going to it." In addition to Rodriguez, two other wrestlers swept the Greco-Roman and freestyle competitions this weekend - Tanner Hall from Idaho at 220.5 pounds, and Brooks Black from New Jersey at 275.5 pounds. Hall won the competition at 220.5 pounds with victories over the pair of finalists in the Cadet National freestyle competition at 215 pounds from last summer; Hall failed to place in Cadet freestyle last summer at 189, after winning the Greco-Roman title earlier in the week. In his last match of pool competition, he defeated Nick Tavanello from Ohio 2-2, 4-1. Then, in the final, it was a three-period victory over Gage Harrah from Illinois. After losing the first period, 7-2, Hall came back to win the second period, 3-3, based on scoring last, and dominated the third period with a 6-0 victory. "I kicked it into gear, and wasn't going to leave without giving it a good fight," said Hall about his comeback in the second and third periods. "My opponent was strong and explosive, but I was able to win it with positioning and perseverance." Wrestling his finals match prior to the string of finals matches wrestled on the same match, Brooks Black defeated Doug Vollaro from Florida in three periods (0-1, 4-2, 2-1) to win the 275.5-pound weight class title. The 14th ranked wrestler in the freshman class also defeated Vollaro in three periods to win the Greco-Roman title on Friday. Other weight class champions included Zach Howell from Delaware at 91 pounds, Nathan Tomasello from Ohio at 101.25 pounds, Jack Clark from New Jersey at 119 pounds, Brandon Jeske from Virginia at 127.75 pounds, Justin Koethe from Iowa at 152 pounds, Jordan Rogers from Washington at 167.5, and Austin Marsden from Illinois at 187.25. Howell went 6-0 for the competition with four shutout wins by decision, a pin, and a three-period victory over Dylan Lucas from Florida in what was functionally the final of his pool. In the championship match, Howell faced Jared Oftedahl of Minnesota, a runner-up in the Greco-Roman tournament. Howell emerged victorious 2-0, 6-0. "It motivates you to do better, though you really have to look at the big-picture," the high school freshman Howell responded to having to wrestle 103 and/or 112 during the scholastic season facing such a size disadvantage. "These results (against kids of equal size) validate the hard work I put in. It's a nice feeling." In a rematch of the third place bout at 91 pounds in last summer's Cadet National Freestyle Championships, Tomasello defeated Jacob Schmitt from Michigan in three periods. This was after Schmitt defeated defending FILA Cadet and Cadet Nationals champion Brad Perkins from Missouri in the pool final. Schmitt won the first period over Tomasello by a 4-0 score. Trailing 1-0 in the second period after Schmitt had scored on a push-out, Tomasello was able to score a late takedown to win the period 1-1 having scored the last point. Tomasello then won the match with a 1-0 third period victory. "It was a slow start, (Jacob) won the hand fights and the shots in dominating the third period," stated Tomasello in assessing the match. "However, I made some adjustments and was able to get back into things with better positioning, resolve, and great execution." Jack Clark -- ranked fifth among junior high wrestlers nationally -- dominated Saturday's competition with three shutout technical fall victories, and the other one coming by fall. However, competition on Sunday would be tougher starting with returning Cadet National freestyle All-American Eric Friedman of Maryland. Clark came through that match with a 6-0, 2-0 victory. After a 7-1, 2-1 victory over Ernest Battaglia of Illinois, Clark advanced to the round-robin final against fellow eighth-grader Bryce Brill of Illinois (ranked third by InterMat). The pair of multiple-time Tulsa Nationals champions met in a three-period match as Clark won 5-3, 0-2, 1-1. Clark faced another Cadet National freestyle All-American Thomas Gilman of Iowa in the final, and won that match 0-1, 3-1, 1-0 in three periods. "It's nothing new for me," answered Clark when asked about wrestling older kids like Friedman and Gilman -- who are both sophomores in high school. "I practice with Friedman and Kraisser (third and fifth in the same weight class) all the time." Ranked third among freshmen nationally, Brandon Jeske dominated five matches on Saturday with two pins and three shutouts. This set up a match against top-ranked Ben Whitford of Illinois in Sunday's opening match. Jeske won the match 2-1, 2-3, 3-1 in three periods. A 3-0, 3-0 victory of Alec Mooradian from Michigan advanced him to the final against Kevin Norstrem, champion of the Greco-Roman competition on Friday. Norstrem, ranked eighth among freshmen by InterMat, dominated five matches on Saturday giving up only one point in total. This set up a battle of undefeated wrestlers with Mark Grey, who is ranked fifth among sophomores nationally. The wrestlers split the first two periods, before Norstrem scored a 1-0 third period victory out of the clinch. He then beat Joey Gosinski of Illinois, 1-0, 1-0 to advance to the final. The first two periods were back and forth and high scoring. Jeske took the first period, 7-3, and Norstrem took the second 4-3. The third period was scoreless until the last twenty seconds when Norstrem shot in on a fireman's carry and tried to dump the finish. However, Jeske trapped the attempt to secure the fall with one second left on the clock. Justin Koethe of Iowa followed up last summer's Cadet National freestyle title at 145 pounds with a FILA Cadet title in the 152 pound classification. In six matches prior to the final, Koethe won five of them by either technical fall or pin. Koethe won a controlling victory in the final over Chris Castillo of Washington in two periods by scores of 4-1 and 3-1. Two wrestlers that were All-Americans in both Greco-Roman and freestyle last summer at Cadet Nationals met in the FILA Cadet final at 167.5 pounds. After finishing as runner-up to Jake Waste of Minnesota in Greco-Roman (losing 1-0, 3-0), Kyle Crutchmer of Oklahoma sought a different fate in the freestyle final. However, it was not to be as Jordan Rogers of Washington dominated the match with two 6-0 victories to earn a technical fall in the championship match. All four scores in the match, two in each period, came off of upper-body situations. "I like the counter offense in the over-under tie," commented Rogers. "When they shoot in, I'm able to blast with the hips for the toss." A sophomore in high school, and second-year cadet, Rogers came into this event recovering from appendicitis, which precluded him from defending his scholastic state title just less than two months ago. He stated: "Winning is a great feeling and a stress relief. I guess it's good to win coming off of injury." Like his high school teammate Harrah, Austin Marsden from Illinois -- a junior at Crystal Lake Central -- was a champion last summer in the Cadet National freestyle tournament. Unlike his teammate, Marsden was able to win a three-period championship finals match with a 1-0, 1-1, 5-4 victory over Lucas Sheridan of California. "It feels good to win, the competition here was tough, especially Sheridan in the final," commented Marsden. "He was a really tough opponent. (Gage and I) always push each other, and we're good friends. It's always nice to have teammates to share your success with." Finals Results: 42 kg/92.5 pounds: Zach Howell (Delaware) dec. Jarred Oftedahl (Minnesota), 2-0, 6-0 46 kg/101.25 pounds: Nathan Tomasello (Ohio) dec. Jacob Schmitt (Michigan), 0-4, 1-1, 1-0 50 kg/110.25 pounds: Freddie Rodriguez (Michigan) dec. Jered Cortez (Illinois), 0-1, 4-0, 4-1 54 kg/119 pounds: Jack Clark (New Jersey) dec. Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 0-1, 3-1, 1-0 58 kg/127.75 pounds: Brandon Jeske (Virginia) over Kevin Norstrem (Florida), fall 7-3, 3-4, 1:59 63 kg/138.75 pounds: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana) dec. Blaise Butler (Illinois), 4-2, 7-0 69 kg/152 pounds: Justin Koethe (Iowa) dec. Christopher Castillo (Washington), 4-1, 3-1 76 kg/167.5 pounds: Jordan Rogers (Washington) dec. Kyle Crutchmer (Oklahoma), 6-0, 6-0 85 kg/187.25 pounds: Austin Marsden (Illinois) dec. Lucas Sheridan (California), 1-0, 1-1, 5-4 100 kg/220.5 pounds: Tanner Hall (Idaho) dec. Gage Harrah (Illinois), 2-7, 3-3, 6-0 125 kg/275.5 pounds: Brooks Black (New Jersey) dec. Doug Vollaro (Florida), 0-1, 4-2, 2-1

Event: UFC 112: Invincible Venue: Concert Arena, Ferrari World, Yas Island (Abu Dhabi, UAE) Date: April 10, 2010 It is a rare occasion that the UFC has two title fights on one card. But the UFC 112 card from a remote place across the world (Abu Dhabi) has not only that, but also is the first UFC event ever to be held at an outdoor stadium. It is the mission of the UFC Monster to find betting value in the Las Vegas lines of UFC fights. Since the sport is relatively new, with oddsmakers struggling to set accurate betting lines on the fights, plus a relatively small, but volatile, betting base that can drastically move the line, a knowledgeable bettor has a great opportunity to make some money here! Anyone who has followed my picks, has cashed more winners than losers, and could now be living on free lifetime InterMat Platinum subscriptions! So let's see what we can do with this intriguing card. Two of the world's premier fighters defend championships today, lightweight BJ Penn and middleweight Anderson "Spider" Silva. Let's take a look at those matches first. Anderson "Spider" Silva has not lost in the Octagon. He hasn't even had a close fight. His pinpoint striking with kicks and punches, combined with devastating Muay Thai clinch power has allowed him to mow through his opponents and take fights outside his weight class, seeking new challenges. The skinny Spider at 185 pounds is considering skipping a weight class and finding new challenges at heavyweight! With Silva's unchecked striking power, it is easy to forget that he also owns a black belt in jui-jitsu! Who can stop this man? Demian Maia (12-1) can. But it will take an incredible submission to do it. And with a ridiculous betting value of +600 placed on the challenger, I am going to take my chances here. You certainly don't make money betting against Anderson Silva (25-4), but Maia has a unique skill set that may allow him to pull the upset. In his own words, "A spider has many legs, maybe I'll get one. "In other words, he will wait until the Spider strikes, then grab an appendage, and pull guard to the ground. Once on the mat, Maia will isolate the limb at risk, and force the sudden submission with adrenaline flowing, and shock the world! Maia wins with a unique second round choke/armbar combination, with the Spider suffocating from a lethal body triangle. This is the "Fight of the Night." BJ "The Prodigy" Penn (15-5-1) is the best 155-pounder in the world. Bar none. End of discussion. Like Silva, BJ floats outside his weight class looking for new challenges, like Georges St. Pierre at 170 pounds or Lyota "The Dragon" Machida at 205. He's fought them both. Tonight, he fights Frankie "The Answer" Edgar (11-1). Is there any way Edgar can win this? Yes. He can score with a few early punches, stunning the champion, outwrestle him and get BJ to the mat, where NOBODY wants to be, and somehow manage to control BJ's position throughout five long rounds, while avoiding getting submitted by a man whose gumby-like limbs and floating joints defy science. It will take a miracle, but miracles do happen. BJ is human, after all. Edgar has worked his entire lifetime waiting for this chance. He gets better with every fight. He will give BJ a battle for the ages. And, I think he can do it the old fashioned way, win by scoring more points in the judge's eyes. And, again at +600 odds, I will roll the dice on the former Clarion wrestler. Edgar wins a close split decision. Who doesn't appreciate the famous Gracie family and all that they have done for the sport of mixed martial arts? The 43-year-old Renzo Gracie (13-6-1) makes his Octagon debut against future Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes (44-7) in a welterweight match, where Renzo is trying to avenge his cousin Royce's embarrassing defeat against Hughes in UFC 60. Royce took a beating. His submission skills were ineffective. The Gracie clan had shown failure. Earlier this year, Royler Gracie looked lethargic and awkward in getting pounded by a longshot opponent. Renzo was in the corner. Believe me, Renzo is determined, confident (if not a bit over confident), and certainly skilled enough to take down the once unstoppable Illinois farm boy. Cockiness is Hughes trademark. He is not worried about Renzo's arsenal. He expects another weak-winded affair from an overrated opponent, lacking punching and takedown power. That's dangerous thinking. A boa constrictor is a boa constrictor. They suck the life out of you and leave you suffocating from lack of oxygen. This is what I expect to see here, Renzo Gracie getting the back of Hughes, locking in his hooks, and oh so sloooooooooowly, wrapping up a rear-naked choke to end this one in the third round as a +350 underdog! That's my three-team underdog parlay, gentleman. If they all win, I can retire. If just one of the above gets the job done, the UFC Monster is heading to the winner's window. If none of my long shots hit, I will know better than to bet against the sports elite. I mean how can I lose? There is value in each. Now let's fill out the main card. Lightweight Rafael Dos Anjos (13-4) came into the UFC with much attention paid to his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills. Instead Dos Anjos has gotten into the trap of trying to prove his manlihood through striking. If he does that with the lanky Terry Etim (14-3), this will be a short fight. Etim wins by KO. But my gut tells me that the end is near for Dos Anjos in the UFC unless he can quickly find his MMA roots again. My bet is that he will, and at underdog odds of +135, I'm betting that he does. A second round submission ends this one, as Dos Anjos grabs a long arm and attempts to mangle it from Etim's body. Another lanky striker, middleweight Kendall Grove (13-6) takes on former NCAA wrestling champion Mark Munoz (7-1) in a contrast of styles. Munoz will want to take this to the mat rather than strike with the rapid roundhouses of Grove. Grove will use his kicks to keep Munoz at distance, but it will only be a matter of time before the dominant wrestler controls his opponent. Munoz will hope that his ground-and-pound will overwhelm Grove before Kendall gets off an armbar submission in retaliation. Grove's ground game is underrated, but I think Munoz will have enough in the tank to get the job done. I'm laying -160 that he does. Now let's take a quick look at the undercard. Penn State NCAA wrestling champion Phil Davis (5-0) is a light heavyweight beast. With broad shoulders and no waist, he is lightning quick for his size, powerful and dominant, with fearsome striking ability, and an improving ground game. That's a plateful for a one-dimensional striker like Alexander Gustafsson (9-0). When two unbeatens meet, anything can happen. But this one won't last long. After dodging a few early haymakers, Davis will bring pin Alex to the mat with a vicious takedown. Once there, the elbows and fists will fly, until Steve Mazzagotti pulls "Mr. Wonderful" off the beaten fighter. For bridge jumpers only, lay the -500. Brit Paul Taylor (10-5-1) is a great kicker. He comes at you with reckless abandon, pressing the pace and using effective combinations of punches and kicks to neutralize opponents. He is a seasoned warrior, as is his opponent, John "Guns" Gunderson (22-7). Taylor is a more rounded fighter and he gets the three-round decision here. But you will need to lay -250 to cash your ticket. Nick Osipczak (5-1) will have his hands full with Rick "The Horror" Story (9-3). But in a mild upset, I'll give Nick a shot at +140 to grind out a decision victory in this one. Welterweight "Bad" Brad Blackburn (15-10-1) is a quick striker who will look to control DaMarques Johnson (15-7) on his feet. A determined Johnson will fall short as a second round KO will end this one with Blackburn raising his hand at -160. I've seen Paul Kelly look like an unstoppable power machine. He is a strong striker with decent kicks and a marginal ground game. And, that's where he gets in trouble here. Oddsmakers are banking that Matt Veach (11-1) will dominate this fight from the ground through his vastly superior wrestling abilities. I think they are right. I'm laying the -275 with Veach, a former Iowa State wrestler, which seems a bit steep, but I'll stick with my thoughts. A winner is a winner is a winner. When two brawling heavyweights are thrown to the lions, I rarely watch. Saturday's sacrifice is between Jon Madsen (4-0) and struggling Mostapha Al Turk (6-5). Yes, 6-5. The loser goes home never to return to the UFC. The winner hangs around for a while, and gets fed as red meat to the next up-and-comer. I don't care who wins and I have no interest in betting on such matters. It looks like a bar brawl to me! No action for the UFC Monster on this one. Okay, now let's see what we can do with our "fictitious" $1000 bankroll. Let's lay $50 to win $300 on Demian Maia to submit the Spider. Let's lay $50 to win $300 on Frankie Edgar outscoring BJ Penn. Let's lay $100 to win $350 on Renzo Gracie redeeming Royce's loss to Matt Hughes. Let's lay $80 to win $108 on Rafael Dos Anjos finding his "jits" against Terry Etim. Let's lay $128 to win $80 on OSU's Mark Munoz over Kendall Grove. Let's lay $175 to win $35 on Phil Davis in a bridge jump over Alexander Gustafsson. Let's lay $150 to win $60 on Britain's Paul Taylor over John Gunderson. Let's lay $60 to win $ 84 on Nick Osipczak over Rick Story. Let's lay $ 96 to win $60 on Brad Blackburn over DaMarques Johnson. Let's lay $110 to win $40 on Matt Veach to pin Paul Kelly to the mat. Let's pass on the two heavyweight brawlers, Jon Madsen and Mostapha Al Turk. In all, we are risking $999 to win $1417. Let's hope for the best. We are riding some very big underdogs here! And, let's not forget to give some of our profits to your local youth wrestling program, where tomorrow's champions are born. Enjoy the fights. I know I will.

Hello wrestling fans. it's been a bit crazy this week for sure. We'll do our best to get down to it this week from our Brute adidas studios of TDR in Des Moines, Iowa. Joining us: John Stutzman- Head Coach Bloomsburg (PA)- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team advanced two wrestlers to Friday's action at the 2010 NCAA Division I Wrestling championships in Omaha, NE. Matt Moley and Rick Schmelyn while Nate Graham was eliminated. All in all a good year for Bloomsburg. Troy Dannen- University of Northern Iowa Athletic Director. A few days ago Brad Penrith was released as Head Coach of the Panthers. Interested Coaches should listen to this interview to find what Dannen is looking for in a new head coach for his program. Long been rumored that the wrestling program would be cut, Dannen has stated to me that this will not happen at UNI. Dannen is looking to grow the program and its performance on a national level. Jay Borschel won his first NCAA title becomes one of 19 Iowa wrestlers, in school history, to post an undefeated season record (37-0). He ends his Iowa career with a 98-10 record, winning the 2010 Big Ten and 2009 Midlands titles at 174. The Marion, IA, native is a two-time all-American, three-time NCAA qualifier and three-time Big Ten and Midlands place winner. Borschel went 62-3 in dual matches and 21-1 in Big Ten duals, scoring 265 team points in dual competition. He led the team in collegiate wins (37), dual wins (23), collegiate and dual winning percentage (1.000) and fastest fall (0:13) this season. Borschel is a three-time academic all-Big Ten selection, earning a spot on the NWCA Division I all-academic team in 2008 and the Dean's List in 2009. He was also named Division I Outstanding Wrestler at the 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Iowa's three NCAA wrestling champions - seniors Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel, and redshirt freshman Matt McDonough - have been named winners of the Mike Howard Most Valuable Wrestler Award for the 2009-10 season. Brandon Slay- Olympic Champion and USA's resident Coach will update us on the efforts of our US Athletes as they prepare for the U.S. Open on April 23-24 in Cleveland, Ohio. The excitement grows as decisions are made as to who will win a coveted US Open title. Slay won a gold medal at 76 kg/167.5 lbs. at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. He upset Olympic and World Champion Bouvaisa Saitiev of Russia in the pool competition in Sydney. Saitiev has gone on to win three Olympic gold medals. Brian Smith- Head Coach of the University of Missouri- Smith was able to coach Max Askren to an NCAA Championship this year. With Askren's back issues and change of practice schedule, Coach Smith had to step outside the box of what he expected from his team. The extra effort paid off in one of the most emotional wins in Missouri history. Andrew Hipps- InterMatwrestle.com joins us to discuss the coaching landscape and what he thinks will be the needed assets of the next head coach at the University of Northern Iowa. The Meeks Brothers Wrestling Team/Family will join us in studio for this show. Keith Meeks will join us with his 2 sons John and Blake. Blake has signed with the University of Nebraska to wrestle for Coach Mark Manning. John will complete his sophomore year at Des Moines Roosevelt and has already captured 2 state titles and looks for his 3rd next season. Keith has developed a wrestling program and club called Project impact in Des Moines. Targeting at risk kids and those with behavioral problems the system works to teach kids that its easier to steer away from problems and turn toward wrestling. Wrestling fans- Please note that Episode 52 of TDR TV is now available on all the top web sites and cable systems around the country. TDR every week! It's appointment Radio and TV! Join us at Takedownradio.com. America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show airs on Supertalk 1570 in Michigan, AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa and on a radio station near you or on line at many of our broadcast partners around the world including Livesportsvideo.com. TDR "the Radio Program" airs 9 AM to 11 AM CST every Saturday morning we look forward to having you listen. Thanks for watching and listening!

University of Northern Iowa Director of Athletics Troy Dannen announced today that Panther head wrestling coach Brad Penrith will not be retained following the 2009-2010 season. "I would like to thank Brad for his service to the University and the student-athletes in our wrestling program," Dannen said. "Brad has carried himself with class and dignity throughout his career. But I believe now is the time for a change in leadership as we seek to achieve the competitive goals we have for wrestling at the University of Northern Iowa." Penrith compiled a dual mark of 90-75-4 in 10 years as the Panther head coach. This past season, UNI was 10-12 in dual action and tallied a 40th place finish (9.5 team points) at the NCAA Championships, its lowest finish since 1997.

Tom Borrelli

Jim Jordan

Johny Hendricks

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- For the second consecutive season, Matt Kyler and Richard Starks shared the Army wrestling program’s top award. Kyle and Starks were named co-winners of the Mike Natvig Award, presented to the team’s outstanding wrestling at the squad’s annual team banquet Tuesday night. In addition to the Natvig Award, Kyler won the Arvin Memorial Award, Patrick Marchetti was named the Crum Memorial winner, Collin Wittmeyer garnered Most Improved honors and Ryan Mergen won the LeRoy Alitz Award at the Cadet Mess Hall. Kyler, Army’s all-time career leader in wins with 146, is now a four-time winner of the prestigious Natvig Award while Starks was honored for the second time. The Natvig Award was established in 1973 in memory of Natvig, a 1963 graduate who won a national championship. Kyler is the second four-time winner of the award, joining Phillip Simpson (2002-2005). Starks, a three-time national qualifier who owns more than 100 career wins, is the first two-time winner since Maurice Worthy earned back-to-back honors in 2000 and 2001. Kyler, a four-time national qualifier, four-time EIWA finalist and two-time EIWA champion, also took home the Arvin Memorial Award for the member of the graduating class distinguished in leadership, scholarship and commitment to Army wrestling. It is named in honor of Bob Arvin, a 1965 West Point graduate who was the Brigade Commander and wrestling team captain during his senior season. It was first handed out in 1985. A freshman, Marchetti collected the Crum Memorial Award, presented to the most courageous wrestler from the freshman class. Wrestling primarily at 157 pounds, Marchetti went 11-16 during his first season with five bonus point wins. The award, presented for the first time in 1985, is named for Wally Crum, a member of the class of 1960 who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1968. Wittmeyer, a freshman, was named the Most Improved wrestler after posting a 24-15 record in his first season. Wittmeyer was fourth on the squad in wins and registered nine bonus point wins. The award was first distributed in 1990 and recognized the wrestler based on skill level, work ethic and accomplishments. Mergen earned the “Mr. Intensity” Award, presented for the first time in 1990 in honor of legendary coach LeRoy Alitz. The award recognized the most dedicated wrestler on the team and Mergen was named for the second time in three years. A team co-captain, along with Kyler, Mergen posted an 18-9 record with three major decisions. Mergen is the first multiple-time winner since Jon Anderson of the Class of 2006 won three times. The four members of the senior class – Kyler, Starks, Mergen and Lance Penhale were recognized as well. 2009-10 Army Team Awards Mike Natvig Award -- Matt Kyler and Richard Starks Arvin Memorial Award -- Matt Kyler Wally Crum Memorial Award -- Patrick Marchetti Most Improved Award -- Collin Wittmeyer LeRoy Alitz “Mr. Intensity” Award – Ryan Mergen

MADISON, Wis. -- The body of Martin Davis, 52, the brother of University of Wisconsin wrestling coach Barry Davis, is believed to have been found Friday afternoon in Coralville, Iowa. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office was called to an area in the Coralville Reservoir after an individual in a kayak discovered a body. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, working with the Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Office, recovered the body believed to possibly be Davis. An autopsy will be completed on Sunday to positively identify the body. “It sounds as if my brother’s body has been found,” said Barry Davis. “This will allow closure to this situation for my entire family and it will give us the opportunity to begin moving forward. I want to thank everyone for their love and support during these past few months. I also want to thank the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office for their work and cooperation.” Martin Davis was last seen on Jan. 3 when he left his home on snowmobile. A snowmobiler’s helmet, believed to belong to Davis, was found in the Coralville Reservoir about two weeks ago. Davis, who guided the Badgers to a fourth-place NCAA team finish last month, was named national coach of the year in 2009-10. Davis and his family are asking for privacy from public or media inquiries at this time.

The college season has ended with a spectacular conclusion on national television that served as a highlight to me and perhaps some will agree, the importance of national TV coverage for the sport of wrestling. Television, is what separates us from the rest of the mainstream sports. JRob says it best "Television, it validates our sport". The lack of consistent productions of major competitions and the inability to attract national sponsors makes it more difficult to secure TV programming. One of the major reasons the Living the Dream Medal Fund was created was to begin a major grassroots support program filling in the gaps for our world level programs & athletes by gaining more recognition for international competition. Throughout their high school & college years, our athletes have been supported by the USA taxpayer system in its investments made to public and private high schools and by athletic departments in the "dwindling" college community. At the pinnacle of their careers, where some athletes choose to continue wrestling by representing the United States in world and Olympic competition, they are left somewhat alone to "fend" for themselves. The lack of resources to survive while competing against heavily subsidized athletes from Russia, Iran, Azberjian, Cuba and several other Eastern bloc countries has made it more difficult for our athletes to compete on a level playing field. The Medal Fund, in its inaugural year with over 600 people donating to the fund, helped raise over $70,000 to provide the financial rewards to Dremiel Byers Silver -Medalist($25,000) Jake Herbert-Silver Medalist ($25,000) and Tervel Dlagnev-Bronze Medalist ($15,000). The future of the medal fund, with the back-up support of the Stewards, has made it possible for the Medal Fund to expand and provide our athletes more support for their living expenses along with the individual clubs and stipends by the USA Wrestling National Teams Program. Is it enough, of course not, especially in today's our economy that is under tremendous worldwide pressure. The athletes will survive and be able to continue with their quest "dreaming" of the one single moment in the summer of 2012 in London UK, when they will remember the long journey from pee wee wrestling to the Olympics for the rest of their lives. All of us as contributors will share a little in each step as well in the journey supporting & cheering their efforts! The Stewards of the Medal Fund hope you will be joining the 600 donors with your support of the world class athletes in 2010. The more medals we win the more money the Stewards will invest. We will continue adding the names to the list of contributors on the Web site. If you decide to contribute your name will be highlighted in RED for 2010. in 2011 in BLUE and in the Olympic Year in 2012 it will turn to GOLD! More Medals on the Podium in 2012. Web site for Donations: https://www.usawmembership.com/MakeDonation.jsp?programId=501

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- The University of Minnesota Wrestling Team had six athletes honored on the Big Ten Winter All-Academic Team, announced recently by the league office. Brent Eidenschink (Detroit Lakes, Minn.), Luke Mellmer (Dickinson, N.D.), Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.), Joe Nord (Waconia, Minn.), Brian Peterson (Richmond, Mich.) and Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.) were all named the All-Academic team. Nord highlights the squad as the only three-time honoree, while he is joined by Eidenschink, Ness, and Peterson who all make the team for the second consecutive season. First time honoree, Mellmer, makes the All-Academic team in his first season of eligibility. All six wrestlers have seen time in the starting line-up this season, posting a collective 26-8 record in dual meets. The Gopher contingent is part of 61 total wrestlers named by the Big Ten to the Winter All-Academic team. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, student-athletes must be letterwinners who are in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher. Brent Eidenshink: Jr., Business & Marketing (Education Detroit Lakes, Minn.) Luke Mellmer: So., Technology Education (Dickinson, N.D.) Jayson Ness: Sr., Technology Education (Bloomington, Minn.) Joe Nord: Jr., Business & Marketing (Education Waconia, Minn.) Brian Peterson: So., Entrepreneurial Management (Richmond, Mich.) Mike Thorn: Jr., Business & Marketing Education (St. Michael, Minn.)

Gordon Hassman, NCAA champion for Iowa State, and Tolly Thompson, NCAA champion for Nebraska, will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, April 7. Both Hassman and Thompson are being inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa on Saturday, April 17. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM CST on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Hassman was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Eight champion for Iowa State. As a junior in 1964, Hassman capped a perfect season with an NCAA title at 157 pounds. The following season he placed third at the same weight and was part of the Cyclones’ first NCAA team championship. Born and raised in New Hampton, Iowa, Hassman won a state title in 1960. Tolly Thompson was a two-time state runner-up for Janesville (IA) and a three-time All-American for the University of Nebraska. Thompson won an NCAA championship at heavyweight for the Cornhuskers in 1995. He was also a three-time Big Twelve champion. Thompson won three U.S. Open freestyle titles and was a member of two World teams, earning a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2005.