InterMat Staff

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Bonus points by Scotti Sentes at 133 pounds and Scott Mattingly at 141 pounds lifted No. 11 Central Michigan to a 19-18 nonconference wrestling win at Michigan State Friday night. The victory was CMU's 10th straight over the Spartans dating back to 2001. "It was a win, but I didn't think we were really sharp tonight," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "I think we're improving and guys are doing all the right things with their training, but we just looked a little fatigued tonight." Michigan State (8-3 overall) took its only lead of the night when Eric Olanowski opened the dual with an 8-3 decision over Christian Cullinan at 125 pounds. Sentes and Mattingly, however, scored 10 points in the next two bouts to give the Chippewas (4-7 overall) a lead they would not relinquish. Sentes needed just 1:50 to record his team-leading seventh fall of the season. He also leads the Chippewas with 22 victories this season. Mattingly snapped a seven-match losing skid with a decisive 12-2 major decision over Joel Trombly at 141 pounds. The victory was Mattingly's second in a dual match and his first major decision this season. Michigan State drew within 10-6 when Dan Osterman defeated Donnie Corby at 149 pounds, but the Chippewas won each of the next three bouts to put the match out of reach. Ryan Cubberly (157), Mike Miller (165) and Ben Bennett (174) all won by decision to stretch the Chippewas' lead to 19-6. Cubberly's victory was a 4-2 decision over Sean McMurray that went to the second set of tiebreakers. Miller won his second straight match since returning from an injury, while Bennett improved to 21-4 overall, 10-1 in duals with his victory. Michigan State claimed decisions at 184 and 197 pounds, and CMU forfeited the heavyweight bout with the team victory already secured. The Chippewas are back in action next Sunday, Jan. 30, when they host Old Dominion as part of the inaugural Royal Rumble and Tumble at McGuirk Arena. The Chippewas' dual against Old Dominion and CMU's gymnastics home opener against Northern Illinois will be held simultaneously in McGuirk Arena at 2 p.m. Results: 125: Eric Olanowski (MSU) dec. Christian Cullinan, 8-3; MSU 3-0 133: No. 9 Scotti Sentes (CMU) pin Levi Stace at 1:50; CMU 6-3 141: Scott Mattingly (CMU) maj. dec. Joel Trombly, 12-2; CMU 10-3 149: Dan Osterman (MSU) dec. Donnie Corby, 4-1; CMU 10-6 157: Ryan Cubberly (CMU) dec. Sean McMurray, 4-2 TB2; CMU 13-6 165: No. 18 Mike Miller (CMU) dec. Ben Boudro, 6-2; CMU 16-6 174: No. 5 Ben Bennett (CMU) dec. Curran Jacobs, 5-2; CMU 19-6 184: Ian Hinton (MSU) dec. Chad Friend, 7-3; CMU 19-9 197: Tyler Dickenson (MSU) dec. Craig Kelliher, 6-2; CMU 19-12 285: Joe Rizqallah (MSU) win by forfeit; CMU 19-18

Boiling Springs, N.C. -- Gardner-Webb’s Justin Guthrie picked up an 11-7 win at 165 to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs up by seven at 19-12, while fellow redshirt-sophomore Travis Porter used a 5-2 win in the final match at 197 to give the Runnin’ Bulldogs a 22-22 tie with the Duke Blue Devils on Friday night in Bost Gymnasium. After Duke took a forfeit win at 285 to start the match, Gardner-Webb’s Brett Kostern and Alex Hamm were awarded back-to-back forfeit wins at 125 and 133, respectively, to put the Runnin’ Bulldogs in front at 12-6. The Blue Devils then secured back-to-back wins at 141 and 149 to retie the match score up at 12-12 with five matches to go. At 157, redshirt-sophomore Alex Medved dominated the match for most of the three periods, picking up a 17-5 major decision win over Ryan Harding, giving Alex Medved his team leading seventh major decision win on the year, and pushing the Runnin’ Bulldogs in front at 16-12. GWU’s Guthrie then battled back from an early 2-0 deficit and used a two-point takedown and a two-point near fall with less than 18 seconds left in the third period to come away with an 11-7 win over Willy Mello at 165. With a 19-12 lead, GWU looked to hold on for the match win, only to suffer a pin fall loss at 174 and a 10-2 major decision loss at 184 to push the Blue Devils in front by three at 22-19 with only one match to go. In the final match, Porter held onto a slight 3-2 lead heading into the third period. In the third, Porter picked up a two-point takedown and was pushing for a pin fall win as time expired, giving him a 5-2 win and ending the match in a 22-22 draw. The 22-22 draw snaps GWU’s dual match losing streak at eight. With the forfeit wins, Kostern and Hamm pick up their sixth and seventh wins, respectively. Alex Medved posted his team-high 19th win of the year, while Porter earned his 16th overall victory on Friday night. Gardner-Webb (2-12-1) will return to the mat on Tuesday, January 25th, as the Runnin’ Bulldog grapplers will face off with the Fighting Camels of Campbell University at 7 p.m. in Buies Creek, N.C. Results: 285 – Andrew Fulk (DU) wins by forfeit. (DU 6-0) * 125 – Brett Kostern (GWU) wins by forfeit. (Tied 6-6) 133 – Alex Hamm (GWU) wins by forfeit. (GWU 12-6) 141 – Mike Bell (DU) dec. Richie Spicel (GWU) – 3-2 (GWU 12-9) 149 – A.J. Guardado (DU) dec. Ryan Medved (GWU) – 7-5 (Tied 12-12) 157 – Alex Medved (GWU) maj dec. Ryan Harding (DU) – 17-5 (GWU 16-12) 165 – Justin Guthrie (GWU) dec. Willy Mello (DU) – 11-7 (GWU 19-12) 174 – #32 Bret Klopp (DU) pin fall Erin O’Dell (GWU) – 2:11 (GWU 19-18) 184 – Diego Bencomo (DU) maj dec. Blake Sayler (GWU) – 10-2 (DU 22-19) 197 – Travis Porter (GWU) dec. Brian Self (DU) – 5-2 (Tied 22-22) *starting match

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The No.8 Rutgers wrestling team pulled off one of its biggest dual victories in program history as it knocked off No. 3 Virginia Tech, 24-7, in front of 2,739 fans at the Louis Brown Athletic Center Friday night in Piscataway. “It was a big win for us in front of a great crowd at the RAC,” said Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale. “Virginia Tech has a great team but our guys dug deep and came through in a lot of big matches for us.” The match started at 125-pounds with Rutgers’ Joe Langel (Howell, N.J.) taking on No. 13 Jarrod Garnett of VT. After a 4-3 first, Garnett began on top to start the second. After Garnett rode Langel for the first minute, Langel was able to escape and earn a takedown to take a 6-4 advantage into the third. In the third, Garnett began down and earned a quick reversal to even the score. Garnett eared some ridging time before Langel was able to pull off another reversal to regain the lead. Garnett escaped with 30 seconds remaining setting up a tense final 30 seconds. Garnett tried to score but Langel was able to keep him at bay to earn the upset and set the tone for the evening. After a VT major decision at 133-pounds, Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) took on No. 13 Chris Diaz at 141-pounds. Each wrestler earned a takedown in the first and the match went into the second even at two. Melde earned an escape less than 10 seconds in to the second to take the lead but Diaz responded with a takedown to take a 4-3 advantage, but Melde was able to escape again to send the match into the final period tied at four. The third started with the two grapplers starting neutral. Melde earned a quick takedown to regain the lead but was reversed by Diaz to again even the score. Melde earned an escape with less than 40 seconds remaining in the bout to regain the lead and was able to hang on for RU’s second upset of the night. In the 149-pound bout, No. 4 Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.) took on No. 8 Brian Stephens in a battle of top-10 opponents. Mason earned a quick takedown to take an early 2-0 lead. After Mason accumulated over a minute of riding time, Stephens was able to gain an escape to send the match into the second with a score of 2-1. Mason began down to start the second and earned a quick escape to take a 3-1 lead which he carried into the third. Stephens started on bottom to begin the third and earned an escape but not until Mason was able to regain the minute of riding time which helped him earn the 4-2 victory by decision. The 157-pound bout saw another top-20 showdown as No. 17 Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) took on No. 8 Jesse Dong of Virginia Tech. Cocozzo earned the first takedown of the match at the 1:39 mark but Dong escaped less than 30 seconds later to cut the lead to 2-1. Dong began down to start the second and earned a reversal with 50 seconds left in the frame to take a 3-2 advantage. The two began the third neutral where Cocozzo earned a quick take down but Dong escaped and earned a takedown of his own to take a 6-4 lead which he held onto to cut the RU lead to 9-7. At 165-pounds, No. 7 Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.) took on No. 15 Pete Yates. After a scoreless first, Winston started down to begin the second and earned a quick escape and takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Yates quickly countered with an escape but Winston earned another takedown with 20 second but got called for locking hands to cut his lead to 5-2. Yates earned an escape with three seconds left to head into the final period down 5-3. Yates began down to start the third and Winston cut him loose to make the score 5-4. Winston got called for a stall with 10 seconds left to force overtime. In the overtime, Winston and Yates felt each other out for the first 10 seconds before Winston shot and got a single leg takedown with 23 seconds remaining to give RU another three points and a 12-7 advantage. No. 18 Alex Caruso (Green Brook, N.J.) took on Matt Epperly at 174-pounds. After a scoreless first, Caruso began down to start the second and earned a quick escape to score the match’s first points. Caruso earned a takedown with 20 seconds left and Epperly escaped with four seconds remaining to send the match to the third with a 3-1 score in favor of Caruso. Epperly started down to begin the third and quickly escaped to cut the lead to 3-2. Epperly tried to score for the remainder of the frame but Caruso kept him at bay to push the RU lead to 15-7. At 184-pounds, Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) came out strong scoring a takedown of John Dickson less than 10 seconds into the frame. After racking up over a minute of riding time Dickson earned an escape to cut Rinaldi’s lead in half. Rinaldi began down to start the second and quickly earned an escape to take a 3-1 lead. The third started with Dickson down and he earned an escape 30 seconds in to cut Rinaldi’s lead to one but Rinaldi was able to hold him at bay for the remainder of the match and earn a bonus point for riding time to take the bout, 4-2. Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, N.J.) took on Chris Penny at 197-pounds and earned a takedown less than a minute into the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Penny escaped almost 40 seconds later to cut Wagner’s lead in half. In the second, Wagner started down and quickly escaped to regain the two point edge. Penny look to have a takedown with around 50 seconds left in the second but Wagner ducked through and turned it into a takedown of his own to gain a 5-2 advantage. Penny began down to start the third and earned an escape thirty seconds in to cut the lead to 5-3. A Penny takedown evened the score but Wagner quickly escaped to regain the lead. Penny tried to take down Wagner but was unable to and Wagner earned a 7-5 decision with a bonus point for riding time. In the heavyweight bout, No. 4 DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.) took on David Marone. Russo earned a takedown with under five seconds to take a 2-0 lead into the second. Russo began down to start the second and quickly scored two back points on Marone. An escape by Marone cut the lead to 4-1 but Russo scored another takedown with a minute to go in the frame to take a 6-1 advantage. Russo started the third down and quickly escaped to push his advantage to 7-1. Marone scored a takedown with 10 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 7-3 but Russo used a bonus point from riding time to take the match, 8-3 and give RU the 24-7 victory. The Scarlet Knights return to action tomorrow afternoon when they welcome in-state rival Rider to College Ave. Gym for a noon dual. Results: 125: Joe Langel (RU) dec. No. 13 Jarrod Garnett (VT), 8-7; Rutgers leads, 3-0 133: No. 8 Devin Carter (VT) maj. dec. Mike DeMarco (RU), 13-3; Virginia Tech leads, 4-3 141: Trevor Melde (RU) dec. No. 13 Chris Diaz (VT), 7-6; Rutgers leads, 6-4 149: No. 4 Mario Mason (Rutgers) dec. No. 8 Brian Stephens (VT), 4-2; Rutgers leads, 9-4 157: No. 8 Jesse Dong (VT) dec. No. 17 Daryl Cocozzo (RU), 6-4; Rutgers leads, 9-7 165: No. 7 Scott Winston (RU) dec. No. 15 Pete Yates (VT), 7-5 (OT); Rutgers leads, 12-7 174: No. 18 Alex Caruso (RU) dec. Matt Epperly (VT), 3-2; Rutgers leads, 15-7 184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) dec. John Dickson (VT), 4-2; Rutgers leads, 18-7 197: Mike Wagner (RU) dec. Chris Penny (VT), 7-5; Rutgers leads, 21-7 285: No. 4 DJ Russo (RU) dec. David Marone (VT), 8-3; Rutgers wins, 24-7

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Wrestling up two classes from his customary 184 pounds, sophomore Joe McMullan (Easton, Pa./Wyoming Seminary) posted a decisive 11-7 victory in the final bout of the match as the Bucknell wrestling team overcame a 13-0 deficit and defeated Old Dominion, 20-16, Friday evening at Davis Gym. The Bison won six of the final seven bouts as they snapped a three-match losing streak to the Monarchs. Back-to-back overtime victories by Corey Lear (Orangeville, Pa./Benton Area) and David Thompson (West Liberty, Ohio/Graham Local) at 165 and 174 pounds also played key roles in securing the Bison victory. Thanks to a 12-4 major decision by Jay Hahn (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) at 197 pounds, Bucknell (4-8) took its first lead at 17-16 heading into the decisive heavyweight bout that would determine the winner of the match. McMullan, who was wrestling at heavyweight for the first time this year, fell behind early as Grant Chapman scored a takedown in the first 35 seconds of the bout. However, McMullan quickly escaped and immediately lifted Chapman in the air and dropped him for a takedown followed immediately by a two-point near fall. McMullan led 5-3 entering the second period when he scored an escape and another takedown, stretching his lead to 8-3. Chapman closed to within 8-6 in the final period, but a takedown by McMullan with just over 30 seconds to go clinched both the bout and the match. McMullan entered Friday’s dual with a 4-12 overall record this year, all at 184 pounds. He was 8-8 when competing at heavyweight as a freshman in 2009-10. Lear’s 2-1 overtime victory at 165 pounds was an impressive one. Both he and his opponent, Dan Rivera, registered escapes during regulation as they headed to overtime tied at 1-1. Neither wrestler got on the board during the one-minute sudden victory period. After Lear held Rivera scoreless in the first 30-second tiebreaker period, he was able to register the winning escape with 11 seconds left in the next 30-second frame. Rivera held on to Lear’s leg, but Lear was able to drag him around the mat and then finally break free for the win. Thompson followed with a marathon match of his own that went to a second set of tiebreaker periods as he and his opponent Tristan Warner wrestled for 11 full minutes. The bout went to overtime tied 2-2 and neither grappler was able to score during the first set of overtime frames. Finally, with 11 seconds left in the tiebreaker period, Thompson registered a reversal to go up 4-2. Warner was able to post an escape in the final tiebreaker, but it was not enough as Thompson won 4-3. Thompson’s victory evened the team score at 13-13. The Bison lost the first three bouts, including one by forfeit, but then Kevin LeValley (Hugo, Colo./Limon), Brantley Hooks (Spartanburg, S.C./James F. Byrnes), Lear and Thompson won in succession to tie the score. LeValley, who is ranked sixth nationally got things started for Bucknell with an 11-2 major decision at 149 pounds. It improved his season record to 20-1 and marked his 13th consecutive win in Davis Gym. Hooks made it two straight Bison wins with an easy 7-2 decision at 157 over Micah Blair. It was the 13th victory of the season for Hooks, who is now 79-64 in his career. When taking away Bucknell’s forfeit at 133 pounds, the Bison outscored Old Dominion (4-8-1) 20-10 in the nine bouts that were contested. Friday’s match was the first of two home duals this weekend for Bucknell, which will host Liberty Sunday at 4 p.m. The Flames lost to EIWA opponent Navy 34-6 Friday evening. Results: *125: No. 4 James Nicholson (ODU) maj. dec. Derek Reber (B), 14-5 133: No. 12 Kyle Hutter (ODU) wins by forfeit 141: Brennan Brumley (ODU) dec. Zac Hancock (B), 4-2 149: No. 6 Kevin LeValley (B) maj. dec. Joey Metzler (ODU), 11-2 157: Brantley Hooks (B) dec. Micha Blair (ODU), 7-2 165: Corey Lear (B) dec. Dan Rivera (ODU), 2-1 (tb2) 174: David Thompson (B) dec. Tristan Warner (ODU), 4-3 (2ndtb2) 184: Joe Budi (ODU) dec. Rob Waltko (B), 2-0 197: Jay Hahn (B) maj. dec. Jacob Henderson (ODU), 12-4 Hwt.: Joe McMullan (B) dec. Grant Chapman (ODU), 11-7

The No. 5 Golden Gopher wrestling program picked up its 11th win of the season on Friday night, taking down No. 23 Purdue 26-15 in West Lafayette to improve to 2-0 in the Big Ten season. Minnesota recorded wins from Zach Sanders (125), David Thorn (133), Mike Thorn (141), Matt Mincey (149), Scott Glasser (174) and Tony Nelson (HWT). As is fast becoming a trend, the Gophers (11-3 overall, 2-0 Big Ten) swept through the lower weights to jump out to an early 20-0 lead over the Boilermakers with bonus points in the first four matches of the night. All-American Zach Sanders, the No. 5 125-pounder in the nation, scored a 14-5 major decision over Camden Eppert in the opening match before David Thorn picked up another five points for Minnesota with a 17-2 technical fall over Matt Fields in the 133 lbs. match. Second-ranked 141 lbs. grappler Mike Thorn followed up with a pin at 3:31 over Jake Fleckenstein to make it 15-0 before Matt Mincey made his career dual debut with a 15-0 technical fall over Tommy Churchard at 149 lbs. Purdue (5-6-1, 0-3) fought back with a pair of wins in the middle weights. No. 20 Colton Salazar fended off a strong push by Joe Grygelko in the 157 lbs. match to pick up a 5-3 decision and break the Boilermakers onto the scoreboard. The Boilermakers would add another six team points in the 165 lbs. match when unranked Kyle Mosier upset No. 11 Cody Yohn with a pin at the 6:08 mark to cut the Gophers' lead to 20-9. But Minnesota would bounce back in the highly anticipated 174 lbs. match that pitted two top-ten wrestlers against each other on the mat. In a close battle, Minnesota's Scott Glasser, ranked eighth in the country in his weight class, picked up a 4-2 decision victory over No. 9 Luke Manuel. Purdue would add a pair of decision at 184 and 197 lbs. but couldn't lock up bonus points in either match and by the time No. 9 Tony Nelson scored a 4-3 decision win in the heavyweight match, the dual was already out of reach for the Boilermakers. The fifth-ranked Gophers return to action on Sunday at No. 15 Illinois. Start time for Sunday's competition is slated for 1 p.m. CST. Results: 125: No. 5 Zach Sanders (MINN) maj. Camden Eppert (PU) 14-5 133: David Thorn (MINN) tech. Matt Fields (PU) 17-2; 7:00 141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (MINN) fall Jake Fleckenstein (PU) 3:31 149: Matt Mincey (MINN) tech. Tommy Churchard (PU) 15-0; 4:56 157: No. 20 Colton Salazar (PU) dec. Joe Grygelko(MINN) 5-3 165: Kyle Mosier (PU) fall No. 11 Cody Yohn (MINN) 6:08 174: No. 8 Scott Glasser (MINN) dec. No. 9 Luke Manuel (PU) 4-2 184: No. 13 A.J. Kissel (PU) dec. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) 4-3 197: No. 10 Logan Brown (PU) dec. Joe Nord (MINN) 4-2 285: No. 9 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Roger Vukobratovich (PU) 4-3

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team dominated Pittsburgh in front of over 5,500 fans in a packed Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions won eight of ten bouts, including the night's two marquee match-ups at 141 and heavyweight, to post a 30-7 non-conference win and improve to 12-0 on the year. Pitt picked up an early win at 125 as Penn State gave senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), ranked No. 11, the night off. The Panthers got a major from Anthony Zanetta over Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) to take an early lead. But Nittany Lion sophomore Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), ranked No. 5 at 133, answered with a 17-5 major over Pitt's Shelton Mack to tie the score. True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) notched an early signature win by dominating No. 7 Tyler Nauman 8-4 at 141 to give Penn State a lead it would never relinquish. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 5 nationally, picked up an 8-2 win at 149 and undefeated freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, notched a 26-11 technical fall over Pitt's Donnie Tasser to give Penn State a 15-4 lead at intermission. Pitt's Ethan Headlee improved to 21-8 on the year with a tough 4-0 win over Penn State's Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) at 165. Penn State had the quick answer, however as freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 174, pinned Andy Vaughn at the 5:45 mark to put Penn State up 21-7. All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 6 at 184, tacked on a hard-fought 12-7 win over 20-bout winner Max Thomusseit and true freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) posted a solid 4-2 win over Pitt's Phil Sorentino at 197. The dual ended at heavyweight in a battle of top six grapplers. Penn State's Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6, notched a first period takedown and then used a full second period ride-out to down No. 3 Ryan Tomei 3-2 to thrill the Penn State faithful and put a capper on the dominating evening can cement the 30-7 win. With the, the Nittany Lions remain undefeated at 12-0, tying the best start in the school's long and storied history (no losses or ties). The 12-0 mark ties the 1971-72 team finished the year with a 12-0 record. Penn State won the takedown battle 23-12 and posted a 6-1 edge in bonus points. Taylor's technical fall at 157 gives the Lion freshman 23 bonus wins on the year (major, TF or pin), which is ninth all-time in a single season at Penn State. Penn State returns to on Sunday in a Big Ten road dual at Indiana. Action in Assembly Hall begins at 1 p.m. and the dual will feature a live HD web broadcast at www.bigtennetwork.com. The Big Ten StudentU production will then air on the Big Ten Network later the following week in an abbreviated form. Penn State's next home dual is already a sellout (Sunday, Jan. 30, vs. Iowa at 2 p.m.). Tickets are also selling fast for the Lions' final two home duals (Feb. 11 vs. Illinois, Feb. 18 vs. Wisconsin) but are still available. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: Anthony Zanetta PITT maj. dec. Eric Caschera PSU, 14-5 0-4 133: #5 Andrew Long PSU maj. dec. Shelton Mack PITT, 17-5 4-4 141: #5 Andrew Alton PSU dec. #7 Tyler Nauman PITT, 8-4 7-4 149: #5 Frank Molinaro PSU dec. Dane Johnson PITT, 8-2 10-4 157: #3 David Taylor PSU tech fall Donnie Tasser PITT, 26-11 (TF; 7:00) 15-4 165: Ethan Headlee PITT dec. Jake Kemerer PSU, 4-0 15-7 174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU pinned Andy Vaughn PITT, WBF (5:45) 21-7 184: #6 Quentin Wright PSU dec. Max Thomusseit PITT, 12-7 24-7 197: Nick Ruggear PSU dec. Phil Sorentino PITT, 4-2 27-7 285: #6 Cameron Wade PSU dec. #3 Ryan Tomei PITT, 3-2 30-7 Attendance: 5,527 Records: Penn State 12-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Pittsburgh (8-6, 1-0 EWL) Up Next for Penn State: at Indiana, Sunday, Jan. 23, 1 p.m. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Nittany Lion senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), ranked No. 11 at 125, was given the night off to rest an injury and classmate Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) got the call for Penn State. Caschera took on Panther sophomore Anthony Zanetta. Zanetta picked up the first takedown just :45 to take an early lead. Caschera escaped at the 1:41 mark to cut the lead to 2-1 but Zanetta got in deep on a double leg, forcing a scramble in the middle of the mat. The Nittany Lion senior worked his way around Zanetta, however, and began working for a counter takedown of his own. But the period ended without either wrestling scoring and Zanetta carried the one point lead into the second stanza. Zanetta chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-1 lead at the 1:26 mark. The Panther sophomore added a second takedown and led 5-2 after a quick Caschera escape, then quickly tacked on a third to lead 7-2 with :40 on the clock. Trailing 7-2 and facing 1:03 in riding time, Caschera chose down to start the third period and was cut loose to a 7-3 deficit. Zanetta added another takedown and cut to up his lead to 9-4 with 1:35 on the clock. The Panther would add two more takedowns and, with the riding time point, post a 14-5 major. 133: Sophomore All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa), ranked No. 5 at 133, made his Rec Hall debut against Pitt's Shelton Mack. Long tripped Mack, who was backing up for much of the opening period, to the mat for a 2-0 lead at the 1:31 mark, cut him loose and began working for a second takedown in the middle of the mat. Long caught Mack and turned him to his back, nearly pinning him at the :50 mark, but Mack managed to roll through and just give up the takedown. Long rode Mack out to lead 4-1 with 1:01 in riding time after the opening period. Long chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped for a 5-1 lead. His offensive pressure forced Mack into a stall warning right away. Long then pushed Long's shoulders to the mat, worked behind him and picked up another takedown with :40 left to lead 7-1. Long cut Mack loose and used a trip and throw for a 9-2 lead before the period ended. Mack chose down to start the third and escaped to a 9-3 deficit with 1:30 on the clock. Long clinched the riding time point and then tripped the Panther to the mat for another takedown and an 11-3 lead. Long cut Mack loose, took him down and cut him one more time and picked up a riding time point and one final takedown to post the convincing 17-5 major decision. 141: In one of the marquee battles of the tournament, Nittany Lion freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 5 at 141, took on No. 7 Tyler Nauman. Alton set the early tempo, forcing Nauman back to the outside circle. The Lion then countered a slight Nauman shot for a takedown of his own to lead 2-0 at the 2:25 mark. Nauman escaped to a 2-1 deficit after a short Alton ride, but the Lion freshman quickly used a high shot at Nauman's shoulders for another takedown and a 4-2 lead. Nauman looked to get in on a single leg with :30 left in the opening period, but Alton was able to back out of trouble and carry the 4-2 lead into the middle stanza. Alton chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Alton tried to work a second shoulder throw but Nauman was able to force a stalemate with 1:15 left. Alton, continued to pressure the Pitt junior, however, and used a low single to take a 7-3 lead after a Nauman escape at the :45 mark. Trailing 7-3, Nauman chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 7-4 deficit, but Alton now had 1:02 in riding time. The highly ranked duo battled evenly for the rest of the period and Alton walked away with a hard fought but impressive 8-4 win over the 7th ranked Nauman. 149: Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 5 at 149, met Pittsburgh freshman Dane Johnson. The veteran Lion wasted no time in taking an early lead, using a shot through Johnson's midsection for a 2-0 lead at the 2:24 mark. Molinaro then put forth a punishing ride, controlling Johnson for the entire period while trying to turn the Panther for back points. Johnson managed to keep Molinaro from turning him, but the Lion senior led 2-0 with 2:24 in riding time heading into the second stanza. Molinaro chose down and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Johnson gained control of Molinaro's right leg at the 1:10 mark, but the Lion junior was able to fight off the move and maintain his lead by forcing a reset with :49 on the clock. Molinaro then turned a high single into a lift and takedown with :18 left to lead 5-0 with well over 2:00 in riding time after two periods. Johnson chose down to start the third period and got hit with a first stall warning before Molinaro cut him loose after clinching the riding time point. Molinaro added a takedown and cut with :08 left and nearly picked up the major as time expired. The 8-2 decision put Penn State up 10-4. 157: Undefeated freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, took on Panther Donnie Tasser. Taylor wasted no time taking an early lead, using a low trip to move out to a 2-0 lead with 2:28 left in the opening period. Taylor cut Tasser loose and immediately took him down again to lead 4-2 after another cut. The relentless Lion added a third takedown and cut to up his lead to 6-3 before countering a Tasser shot, working his way behind him and adding a fourth takedown with :55 on the clock. Looking to continue to build his lead, Taylor would go on to add two more takedowns before the period ended to lead 12-5 after just 3:00 of wrestling. Taylor chose down to start the second stanza quickly escaped to a 13-5 lead. Tasser countered a Taylor shot for his first takedown to cut Taylor's lead to 13-7, but the Nittany Lion freshman worked his way to a reversal and a 15-7 lead with :58 left in the period. Taylor cut Tasser loose and immediately tripped the Panther to the mat with a low shot to up his lead to 17-9 after cutting him loose with :40 on the clock. Another Taylor takedown gave the Lion a 19-9 lead with :30 on the clock. Tasser escaped with :10 left, but Taylor picked up a final takedown with :02 left to lead 21-10 with 1:24 in riding time heading into the third period. Tasser chose down to start the third period and escaped with 1:25 on the clock. Taylor worked his way around a low Tasser shot for another takedown and a 23-11 lead with 1:00 on the clock. Taylor turned Tasser to his back, clinched the riding time point, and rode the Panther out for the 26-11 tech fall with the riding time point at the 7:00 mark. The five points gave Penn State a 15-4 lead heading into halftime. 165: Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) faced off against veteran Panther Ethan Headlee at 165. The duo battled evenly for the first half of the opening period with Kemerer the aggressor. Headlee was able to play defense and keep Kemerer at arm's length until the Lion freshman got in on low single. But Headlee countered the shot and worked himself around for a nice counter takedown and a 2-0 lead as the period ended. Headlee chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Kemerer looked to gain control of Headlee's right ankle with :30 left in the second period, but the taller Panther was able to step out of bounds and force a reset in the center circle, maintaining his 3-0 lead into the final period. Down by three, Kemerer chose down to start the third period but could not break free of a strong Headlee ride. The Panther, who had 20 wins heading into the bout, rode Kemerer out and notched the 4-0 win with the riding time point. 174: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) battled Pittsburgh senior Andy Vaughn at 174. The second-ranked Lion took a quick 2-1 lead with a takedown and cut and then immediately added a second takedown to move out to a 4-1 lead. Ruth cut Vaughn loose and added a third takedown and cut before Vaughn took the Lion down on the edge of the mat. But Ruth quickly reversed the Panther to up his lead to 8-5 with 1:15 left in the opening period. After cutting Vaughn again, Ruth used a low single to gain control of Vaughn's legs to up his lead to 10-6 with :20 left. Leading 10-6 with 1:40 in riding time, Ruth chose down to start the second period and immediately reversed Vaughn. Ruth cut Vaughn loose again and then turned another low single into a takedown and a 14-7 lead. Ruth spent the rest of the period trying to turn Vaughn for back points, but the Panther managed to fight off the effort and keep the score at 14-7. Trailing by seven and already giving up the riding time point (Ruth had 3:07 in time), Vaughn chose down to start the third period. Vaughn escaped, took a quick shot, but Ruth countered for another takedown and a 16-8 lead. The Penn State freshman then completed a cradle on the Panther senior and pinned his veteran opponent at the 5:45 mark to put Penn State up 21-7. 184: Sophomore All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 6 at 184, returned to action for the first time since Dec. 5 and met Max Thomusseit. Wright quickly turned the 20-bout winner to his back for a near fall, almost pinning him right out of the gates. Thomusseit fought off the move but the takedown and back points gave Wright a 5-1 lead after Thomusseit escape. Thumusseit then answered with a takedown of his own to cut the lead to 5-3 with 2:00 on the clock. Wright escaped to a 6-3 lead after a reset and action resumed in the center circle. There was no more scoring for the opening period and Wright led 6-3 heading into the second period. Wright chose down to start the period and escaped to a 7-3 lead. Thomusseit used a high double to work Wright to the mat and cut the Lion All-American's lead to 7-5 with :40 on the clock. Wright worked his way behind the Panther and picked up a two-point reversal to lead 9-5 after two furious periods of action. Thomusseit chose down to start the third stanza and reversed Wright to cut his lead to 10-7 after cutting the Lion loose. Wright would battle Thomusseit evenly for the rest of the bout and add one final late takedown to post a 12-7 win, clinching the dual for the Lions and putting the team up 24-7. 197: True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) took to the mat against Pitt senior Phil Sorentino. Ruggear took the early lead with a 2-0 takedown at the 2:09 mark, using a solid midlevel shot to take the Panther down. Ruggear then rode the veteran Panther for 1:05 before Sorentino escaped. The rest of the opening period was scoreless and Ruggear led 2-1 after three minutes of wrestling. Sorentino chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 2-2 tie (Ruggear had 1:15 in riding time). But the Lion true freshman quickly gained control of Sorentino's ankle and nearly picked up another takedown. But the takedown was waved off as action moved out of bounds with 1:20 left in the period. Tied 2-2 with 1:17 in riding time, Ruggear chose down to start the final period. The Lion rookie quickly worked his way free to a 3-2 lead while maintaining a 1:09 time edge. Ruggear then gained control of Sorentino's ankle and worked for another takedown, but action moved out of bounds once again and a reset was called with 1:18 on the clock. The duo scrambled at the :30 mark, with Sorentino gaining control of Ruggear's right leg, but the Lion freshman easily forced a tie-up and killed the clock. The solid defense gave the Nittany Lion a 4-2 win. 285: In a battle of ranked heavyweights, No. 6 Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) took on No. 3 Ryan Tomei. The talented duo traded early barbs, with each man looking for a chance to take a lead. Action was centered in the middle of the mat but neither grappler could break through the other's defense until the very end of the period when Wade countered a Tomei shot and rolled behind him for a low double leg and a takedown at the buzzer. Trailing 2-0, Tomei chose down to start the second stanza but could not work his way free of Wade's ride. The Lion junior scrambled to maintain control of Tomei's feet and worked his way back into control from the top, building up a solid riding time edge in the process. Wade maintained his control of Tomei for the entire period and led 2-0 with 2:03 in riding time after two periods. Wade chose down to start the third but Tomei maintained control for over a minute before cutting him loose to a 3-0 deficit. Tomei picked up one late takedown but Wade walked away with a 3-2 win, giving Penn State a 30-7 win.

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Trailing 16-14 heading into the final match of the night, VMI heavyweight Josh Wine earned his first pin over the season, besting George Mason's Hunter Manspile at the 5:35 mark of the match to give the Keydets the 20-16 victory. With the win, the Keydets improve VMI's record to 3-5 on the season. "Super team effort," said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. "We won five matches, but it really felt like everyone contributed and wrestled hard." The night began with VMI redshirt-senior John Pope taking on George Mason's Zach Huxford at 125 lbs. Pope led 6-2 after the first period with two takedown points, while Huxford earned his pair on escapes. Pope continued his momentum in the match, shutting out Huxford the rest of the way to take the match 13-2 and earn his first major-decision of the season and give VMI the early 4-0 lead. At 133 lbs., VMI's Luke Todd and George Mason's John Delgado squared off. After a scoreless first period, Delgado earned an escape point :17 seconds into the second period to take the 1-0 lead. Todd answered nearly a minute later with a pair of takedown points at the 1:16 mark, but Delgado evened the score at 2-2 with an escape prior to the end of the period. After a back and forth first 1:30, Todd used a reversal with 1:14 remaining to take a 4-2 lead and hung on for the victory, improving to 5-7 on the season and extend the VMI lead to 7-0 heading into 141 lbs. At 141 lbs., David Yost took on George Mason's Denny Herndon in one of the nights more entertaining matchups. After a scoreless first period, Herndon took a 2-0 lead on a pair of escape points at the 1:48 mark, but Yost cut the lead in half only five seconds later with an escape. Yost tied the match :28 seconds in, 2-2, but Herndon earned an escape point to take the match at the 1:37 mark to take the match 3-2 and cut the VMI lead to 7-3. Ryan Goodsell took on Donald Takagi at 149 lbs. With the bout tied at 1-1 heading into the third period, Goodsell earned an escape point :10 seconds into the third to take a 2-1 advantage. However, Takagi earned a pair of takedown points with 7 seconds left to take a 3-2 lead, and add a riding point to take the match 4-2 and bring the VMI lead to a narrow 7-6 lead. After GMU's Jaaziah Bethea defeated VMI's Nick Emison by a 15-4 major decision to give the Patriots a 10-7 lead, VMI's Ted Gottwald took on George Mason's Aaron Keeton at 165 lbs. Keeton took a 2-1 lead in the first period, and never looked back, earning a 6-3 win by decision to stretch the George Mason lead to 13-7. The Keydets put an end to their four-match skid as Matt Brock took on George Mason's James Kaden at 174 lbs. After the first two periods went scoreless, Brock won the third frame 4-1 and took the match by that score to bring the VMI deficit to 13-10 with three matches remaining. Keydet sophomore John Dommert started off with a bang at 184 lbs. against GMU's Greg Scott, taking a 5-0 lead less than a minute into the match on a takedown and three near fall points. Dommert added two points a minute into the second period on a reversal to carry a 7-0 lead into the final period. The Keydet 184 pounder went on to tack on two reversal points as well as a riding point to take the match 10-0 and earn his first major of the season, giving the Keydets a slim 14-13 lead heading 197 lbs. The 197 pound matchup proved crucial, as VMI freshman took on James Webb of GMU, who was bumping up from 184 lbs. Webb earned an escape point with :40 seconds left in the second period to lead 1-0 heading into the third. Gill would earn an escape point only three seconds into the third period to tie the match at 1-1 heading into sudden-victory overtime. After the first sudden-victory period went scoreless, Webb earned a pair of reversal points with :28 seconds left to take a 3-1 lead into the third overtime. Gill earned an escape point with five seconds left, but it wasn't enough as Webb took the match 3-2 and give George Mason the 16-14 lead with one match, heavyweight, remaining. No. 13 Josh Wine squared off against Hunter Manspile of GMU, a match that Wine won 6-0 in last season's edition of the all-time series. The deciding match of the night began with a scoreless first and second period. Wine took the early 1-0 lead in the third, earning an escape point from the bottom position. Shortly later at the 5:35 mark, Wine recorded the pinfall, throwing Manspile to his back to earn his first pin of the season and give the Keydets the 20-16 victory. "We lost some heartbreakers at 141 and 149, and it was disappointing to come up short, but we fought hard. We got out there at 174 and 184 and we really made something happen. Chris Gill fought hard a 197 lbs. He hasn't wrestled many matches yet, but I thought he really showed a lot of heart out there. Of course, Josh has a lot of power and took care of things at heavyweight, so it was a great team win for us." The Keydets will next time the mat on Fri., Jan. 28 as they host The Citadel at 7:30 p.m. from Cocke Hall. The match will also serve as the programs alumni match, where all former VMI wrestlers are encouraged to return to Post. Admission is $5 for adults, and free to all students. Results: Wt Winning Wrestler (School) WinType Losing Wrestler (School) Score 125 Johnathan Pope (VMI) MD Zach Huxford (George Mason ) 13 - 2 133 Luke Todd (VMI) DEC John Delgado (George Mason ) 4 - 2 141 Denny Herndon (George Mason)DEC David Yost (VMI) 3 - 2 149 Donald Takagi (George Mason ) DEC Ryan Goodsell (VMI) 4 - 2 157 Jaaziah Bethea (George Mason)MD Nicholas Emison (VMI) 15 - 4 165 Aaron Keeton (George Mason ) DEC Edward Gottwald (VMI) 6 - 3 174 Matthew Brock (VMI) DEC James Kaden (George Mason ) 4 - 1 184 John Dommert (VMI) MD Greg Scott (George Mason ) 10 - 0 197 Webb, James (George Mason ) DEC Christopher Gill (VMI) 3 - 2 285 Joshua Wine (VMI) FALL Hunter Manspile (George Mason )(5:35)

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- In a dual that came down to the final bout, top-ranked junior heavyweight Zach Rey won an 8-0 major decision over Oney Snyder to lead No. 14 Lehigh to a 17-15 upset over No. 1 Cornell in the 2011 Sheridan Dual Thursday night at Stabler Arena. The teams split ten bouts, but the Mountain Hawks earned the only two bonus points of the match en route to their first ever win against a top-ranked team in wrestling. “We wrestled hard tonight and I'm proud of our guys,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We knew it was a big dual. Cornell was coming off a big win, but seven minutes of wrestling is the only way to win matches. Being at home helped a lot. The energy was great tonight and the guys really responded. The guys were feeding off each other which you need to do in a dual meet.” The win improves Lehigh's record to 10-5 overall and 2-1 against EIWA opponents while Cornell suffers its first dual loss, falling to 5-1. Cornell jumped to an early 3-0 lead as Frank Perrelli won a 9-3 decision over senior Mitch Berger at 125. Berger, like the four other Mountain Hawks to lose on the evening, did well to limit the damage to a regular decision. Lehigh's true freshmen came through in a major way to give Lehigh a 7-3 lead after three bouts. At 133 Frank Cagnina was dominant, racking up five takedowns and a reversal to earn a 13-4 major decision over Joe Stanzione. In one of the key swing bouts of the night Stephen Dutton rallied late to stun Corey Manson 8-5 at 141. Dutton and Manson traded first period takedowns to tie the bout at three after one. Dutton escaped to open the second period but was taken down in the final seconds and trailed 5-4 going into the third. In the final period, Dutton looked like he was going to ride out against Manson to earn the riding time point and send the match to sudden victory, but in the final seconds Dutton used a turk ride and cross face to turn Manson for three near fall points which propelled the freshman to an 8-5 win. The Big Red crept within a point at 7-6 as Kyle Dake defeated Joey Napoli 3-2 at 149. Napoli controlled the pace and was the aggressor throughout the match, but a first period takedown was enough for Dake to prevail. The lead in the dual changed after each of the final six bouts, beginning at 157 where D.J. Meagher won a 5-1 decision over Sean Bilodeau to give Cornell a 9-7 lead at intermission. Meagher scored an early takedown and added a two point near fall when Bilodeau called for injury time. He spent most of the match on top as he accumulated five minutes of riding time in the win. In Lehigh's loss to Navy last Saturday the Mountain Hawks lost three straight one point decisions to lower or unranked wrestlers from 165 to 184. It was a much different story on Thursday with Lehigh winning two of those three bouts, upsetting two higher ranked men in the process. Junior Brandon Hatchett won his rubber match with third-ranked Justin Kerber at 165, 3-2. Hatchett scored a first period takedown and wrestled a smart tactical match in the final two periods to earn the victory. At 174, freshman Austin Meys gave No. 3 Mack Lewnes all he could handle. The match was tied at one deep into the third before Lewnes finally scored a takedown and went on to win 4-1. The most anticipated bout of the night came at 184 where sixth-ranked sophomore Robert Hamlin met No. 3 Steve Bosak. The Big Red junior scored a takedown in the first period and led 2-1, but Hamlin scored a takedown late in the second period to tie the match at three. After choosing neutral in the third, Hamlin picked up the winning takedown late in the period to prevail 5-4 and give Lehigh a 13-12 lead with two bouts remaining. “It's that time of year,” Santoro explained. “Everyone's beaten up and bruised. Sometimes it's a call here or a score there at the end of a period that makes a difference. It was big for the program, big for our guys because it was a tough two weekends in a row.” Cornell regained the lead temporarily as top-ranked Cam Simaz edged junior Joe Kennedy 2-0 at 197. The only scoring of the match came on a third period Simaz escape plus close to two minutes of riding time. Needing a win from Rey to take the dual, Lehigh's All-American did just that while adding a bonus point for the major decision win. Rey moved to 20-0 on the season with a takedown in each period plus an escape and riding time advantage. “Any time you beat the number one team it's important,” Santoro said. “We have a ways to go. We've still got two months of training. Some individuals have to get better in certain positions, but the fight is there and that's the one thing I thought we were lacking the last two weeks. We fought really hard tonight.” The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Friday, January 28 when they travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to meet the third-ranked Hokies of Virginia Tech. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start with audio coverage on ESPN Radio 1230 and 1320 as well as online at Lehighsports.com. Results: 125: No. 10 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) dec. Mitch Berger (Lehigh), 9-3 (Cornell 3, Lehigh 0) 133: No. 20 Frank Cagnina (Lehigh) maj. dec. Joe Stanzione (Cornell), 13-4 (Lehigh 4, Cornell 3) 141: Stephen Dutton (Lehigh) dec. Corey Manson (Cornell), 8-5 (Lehigh 7, Cornell 3) 149: No. 2 Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. Joey Napoli (Lehigh), 4-3 (Lehigh 7, Cornell 6) 157: No. 9 DJ Meagher (Cornell) dec. Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh), 5-1 (Cornell 9, Lehigh 7) 165: Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. No. 3 Justin Kerber (Cornell), 3-2 (Lehigh 10, Cornell 9) 174: No. 3 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) dec. No. 13 Austin Meys (Lehigh), 4-1 (Cornell 12, Lehigh 10) 184: No. 9 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. No. 3 Steve Bosak (Cornell), 5-4 (Lehigh 13, Cornell 12) 197: No. 1 Cam Simaz (Cornell) dec. No. 14 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh), 2-0 (Cornell 15, Lehigh 13) HWT: No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) maj. dec. Oney Snyder (Cornell), 8-0 (Lehigh 17, Cornell 15)

Link: Coaches' Panel Rankings INDIANAPOLIS -- The NCAA released the first of three coaches’ panel rankings for the 2010-11 wrestling season on Thursday. The final rankings will be one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by winning percentage, rating percentage index (RPI) and coaches’ rankings to earn spots for the 2011 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches’ rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class. The top-ranked wrestlers at each weight class in the inaugural rankings are: Brandon Precin, Northwestern (125 pounds); Jordan Oliver, Oklahoma State (133 pounds); Kellen Russell, Michigan (141 pounds); Kyle Dake, Cornell (149 pounds); Steve Fittery, American (157 pounds); Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska (165 pounds); Jonathan Reader, Iowa State (174 pounds); Kirk Smith, Boise State (184 pounds); Cam Simaz, Cornell (197 pounds) and Zachery Rey, Lehigh (Heavyweight).

HOBOKEN, N.J. -- Freshman Andrew Boehm (Granville, Ohio) scored his first career win by technical fall at 133-lbs. as the Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team cruised to a 31-12 victory over visiting Trinity College at Walker Gymnasium in Hoboken, N.J. With the win, the Ducks evened their season slate to 7-7-1 on the year, while the Bantams fell to 0-3 in dual matches this season. After Stevens’ 125-pounder Ling earned a forfeit to put Stevens up 6-0, Boehm kept the Ducks’ momentum going with a 19-3 triumph at 133-lbs. The Granville, Ohio native notched three takedowns and a near fall in the first period of action to take a 9-2 lead. He then added two additional takedowns in the second frame to go up 15-3, before closing out the match with an escape point and a takedown 20 seconds into the third period to earn a victory by technical fall. Appearing in her first dual since returning from injury, Bridge put the Ducks up 14-0 with a 13-6 decision over Rees at 141-lbs. With five first period takedowns, Bridge took a 10-4 lead into the second before tallying another two points in the second to make it 12-5 entering the final period. From there the Galloway, N.J. would hold steady, earning an extra point on riding time en route to a 13-6 decision. Looking to keep things going, Caserta captured his team-high sixth major decision of the season, ousting Williams 14-4 to give the Ducks a decisive 18-0 edge. Leading 5-1 after two periods, an aggressive Caserta dominated the third frame, notching four takedowns. Not to be outdone, Leo Dormann continued Stevens’ dominance at 157-lbs., pinning Muir just 46 seconds into the second period. Down 4-3 after one period at 165-lbs., the Ducks’ freshman rallied in the second frame, scoring three points on a takedown and an escape to take a 6-5 advantage. Speicher then knotted the match at six early in the third period with an escape before a Browne takedown made it 8-6 in favor of the Gig Harbor, Wash. native. After his Trinity counterpart scored a reversal to tie the bout, Browne notched one final escape point to earn a hard-fought 9-8 decision. Stevens’ 174-pounder Ryan Dormann put the wraps on the Stevens’ team point totals with a 12-4 major decision over West – extending his unbeaten streak to 18 bouts – before Youngblood, Hologitas, and Vaughn closed out the match with Trinity victories at 184, 197, and 285, respectively. The Ducks return to action on Saturday, January 22 against Centennial Conference rivals McDaniel College and Washington and Lee University. Results: 125: Brandon Ling (S) def. N/A, FOR, 6-0 133: Andrew Boehm (S) def. Jesse Schley (T), TF (5:20), 11-0 141: Ryan Bridge (S) def. Jeremy Rees (T), D (13-6), 14-0 149: CJ Caserta (S) def. John Williams (T), MD (14-4), 18-0 157: Leo Dormann (S) def. Kyle Muir (T), Fall (3:46), 24-0 165: David Browne (S) def. Benjamin Speicher (T), D (9-8), 27-0 174: Ryan Dormann (S) def. Mason West (T), MD (12-4), 31-0 184: William Youngblood (T) def. Jason Nowakoski, D (8-1), 31-3 197: Petros hologitas (S) def. Vincent Termini (S), D (3-2), 31-6 285: Greg Vaughan (T) def. N/A, FOR, 31-12

The University of Findlay wrestling team, ranked 15th in the nation according to the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) poll, defeated Tiffin University 37-6 on Wednesday, January 19 in Tiffin, Ohio. The Roughnecks recorded three pins and won all but two matches during the event. Adam Walters pinned Marco Gualtieri in 2:18 in the 157-pound weight class, Michael Lybarger captured a pin in 2:12 against Johnny Merryman at 165 and Mason True was victorious by pin fall in the 174-pound weight class against Walid Boggio in 2:28. Results: 125: Ben Sergent (UF) won by forfeit 133: Nick Weisjahn (UF) won by major decision Jordan Duckett (TU) 11-3 141: Chad Channel (UF) won by decision Lance Zappitella (TU) 11-7 149: Kyle Begg (TU) won by decision Jeff Carr (UF) 6-3 157: Adam Walters (UF) pinned Marco Gualtieri (TU) 2:18 165: Michael Lybarger (UF) pinned Johnny Merryman (TU) 2:12 174: Mason True (UF) pinned Walid Boggio (TU) 2:28 184: Ashton Brown (UF) won by decision Joe Miller (TU) 5-1 197: Alek Hughes (TU) won by decision Daniel Stevenson (UF) 4-1 285: Matt Clum (UF) won by decision Josh Franklin (TU) 5-4 The Roughnecks will be back in action again on January 28 when they host West Liberty State at 7 pm in Croy Gymnasium.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- NC State junior wrestler Colton Palmer has a list of explanations for why he has nearly twice as many wins this season as he recorded in his first two years combined. Palmer, who started the season with just 12 career wins, currently leads the team with a 22-8 record, including a seven-match winning streak in the 157-pound weight class. First, there's the influence of first-year assistant coach Lee Pritts, who joined head coach Carter Jordan's staff prior to the season, after coaching stints at Missouri and Old Dominion. Pritts, a former All-America wrestler himself at Eastern Michigan, has helped develop eight Division I All-Americans in his 12 years as an assistant. Second, Palmer credits the return of his two older brothers, Brandon and Austin, to North Carolina. Both wrestled collegiately, Austin at William Penn and Brandon at Iowa State, so their proximity has helped Palmer focus on the things he needs to do to be successful. And third, he acknowledges that he has grown as a person and a wrestler since arriving in Raleigh four years ago from Durham's Riverside High School, where he set a national single-season mark with an undefeated 95-0 record as a senior and captured the North Carolina Class 4-A state championship. "It's a very tough maturation process, because you're so accustomed to winning," he said. "Then you get here and you're getting beat up every day in the practice room. I definitely wasn't accustomed to that. "I knew I had the talent and the capability of doing well, but I had to get over that hump of knowing I'm supposed to win this match, no matter what the opponent is ranked or what his record is. My biggest battle this year mentally is not being afraid to win." He believes the mix of those things will help him reach the aggressive goals he has for himself this season. "I want to be an All-American and to win the ACCs," Palmer said. "This has been a major turnaround year for me. I've been working hard on focusing on the little things I've missed the last couple of years." When you get right down to it, Jordan believes that hard work has done more for Palmer's development than anything else. "He has a fire in his belly like he hasn't had the last couple of years," the coach said. "It's amazing the light bulb that goes off with people after they've been here awhile. They realize that if you compete really, really hard, work hard and mix it in with a little bit of talent, you can do well in this sport. "It's the workers at this level who push their way to the top and that's where Colton is right now." In the absence of defending national champion Darrion Caldwell, both Palmer and red-shirt junior Darrius Little at 141 pounds have developed into the most consistent performers in the Wolfpack lineup. Palmer performed okay in the early-season tournament schedule, earning a third-place finish at 157 in the Wolfpack Open, a second-place finish in the Pembroke Classic and a fifth-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. He also lost his only two matches at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. But, since losing his first dual-meet match to Bloomsburg's Frank Hickman, he has reeled off seven straight wins, including a 13-6 decision over No. 16 Vince Salminen of North Dakota State. "He's had some real rough patches during his time here with some injuries and high expectations," Jordan said. "But I'm real proud of him. His last month has been phenomenal. "If he wrestles the way he has for the last 30 days, he can wrestle with anybody in the country."

The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten), ranked No. 2 nationally, will host No. 22 Pittsburgh (8-5, 1-0 EWL) on Friday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall before travelling to Bloomington, Ind., for a Big Ten dual at Indiana (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Penn State/Pitt dual is a live national television broadcast on the Big Ten Network, viewable by over 73 million people across the country. Head coach Cael Sanderson's Penn State squad is coming off a title run at the 2011 Virginia Duals. The Nittany Lions were unstoppable, going 4-0 with with wins over VMI (42-3), Edinboro (37-12), #23 Kent State (27-15) and #15 Michigan (24-12) by a combined score of 130-42. The Nittany Lions won 29 of 40 bouts with Brad Pataky (125), Andrew Long (133), Frank Molinaro (149), David Taylor (157) and Ed Ruth (174) going undefeated (4-0) during the tournament. The Virginia Duals title was Penn State's first since 1991. Penn State enters this week's dual meets with eight ranked wrestlers and a perfect 11-0 record. The Nittany Lions have started as many as six freshmen at one time during duals this year and currently feature only one senior in the projected starting line-up. Brad Pataky is that lone senior, sporting a 7-2 record and a No. 11 national ranking at 125. Sophomore Andrew Long is 4-0 at 133 with a No. 5 ranking while true freshman Andrew Alton, ranked No. 5 at 141, is 22-2. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro is 17-2 on the year and has a No. 5 ranking at 149 while red-shirt freshman David Taylor is a perfect 23-0 and is ranked No. 3 at 157. Classmate Ed Ruth is 21-1 at 174 and has Penn State's top ranking at No. 2, sophomore All-American Quentin Wright is 8-2 and ranked No. 6 at 184 while junior Cameron Wade, 19-3 overall, is ranked No. 6 at heavyweight. No. 22 Pittsburgh enters the Friday dual with an 8-5 record, 1-0 in the Eastern Wrestling League. The Panthers are led by No. 3 heavyweight Ryan Tomei, who is 20-3 overall; Zac Thomusseit, who is 20-3 and ranked No. 11 at 197; and Tyler Nauman, who is 16-2 at 141 and ranked No. 7. In addition to that trio of ranked grapplers, the Panthers feature 165-pounder Ethan Headlee who is 20-8 and 184-pounder Max Thomusseit, who is also 20-8. The Panthers are coming off a 33-6 EWL win over Lock Haven last Friday night. Penn State leads the all-time series between the two schools by a wide 50-12-3 margin, but the Panthers battled Penn State to a 19-19 tie in Pittsburgh last year. Prior to last year's tie, Penn State had won two straight. The Lions won 26-19 on Jan. 9, 2005 in Rec Hall. Pitt's last win was an 18-12 victory on Jan. 5, 2001, also in Rec Hall. Indiana will enter Sunday's dual with Penn State sporting a 10-3 mark, 0-2 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers feature a veteran and balanced line-up with as many as five seniors taking to the mat for the team. Senior Kurt Kinzer is ranked No. 15 at 149 and is 20-6 on the year while classmate Paul Young is No. 5 at 157 with a 21-4 mark. Junior Matt Powless is 28-2 at 197 and is ranked No. 6 while senior Ricky Alcala is 22-6 at heavyweight and ranked No. 14. IU is coming off a hard-fought 25-14 loss at Minnesota last Friday. Penn State has never lost to Indiana in a dual meet and sports a 13-0-1 mark against the Hoosiers. The two teams did not meet last year and the squads tied 19-19 two years ago (on Jan. 23, 2009) in Bloomington. Penn State returns to action on Sunday, Jan. 30, when No. 8 Iowa invades Rec Hall for a 2 p.m. dual. While the Iowa dual is now a sellout, tickets still remain for Penn State's final two home duals against Illinois and Wisconsin. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. Updates from the Nittany Lion Open will air on WRSC AM (1390) and WSQV FM (92.1). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. PROBABLE STARTERS As of January 19, 2011 #2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record 125 #11 Brad Pataky Sr. Clearfield, Pa./Clearfield 7-2 133 #5 Andrew Long So. Creston, Iowa/Creston 4-0 141 #5 Andrew Alton Fr. Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain 22-2 149 #5 Frank Molinaro Jr. Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional 17-2 157 #3 David Taylor Fr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 23-0 165 Jake Kemerer Fr. Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield 12-6 Nick Fischer So. Unionville, Pa./Unionville 13-7 174 #2 Ed Ruth Fr. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township 21-1 184 #6 Quentin Wright So. Wingate, Pa./Bald Eagle Area 8-2 Andrew Church Fr. Erie, Pa./Fort LeBoeuf 6-11 197 Nick Ruggear Fr. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 13-6 Justin Ortega So. Oxford, Pa./Oxford 4-8 285 #6 Cameron Wade Jr. Twinsburg, Ohio/St. Peter Chanel 19-3 #22 PITTSBURGH PANTHERS (8-5, 1-0 EWL) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record 125 Anthony Zanetta So. Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks 8-10 133 Shelton Mack Fr. Meadville, Pa./Meadville 10-10 141 #7 Tyler Nauman Jr. Middletown, Pa./Middletown 16-2 149 Dane Johnson Fr. New Kensington, Pa./Shady Side Academy 14-12 157 Donnie Tasser So. Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon 14-12 165 Ethan Headlee Jr. Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg 20-8 174 Andy Vaughan Sr. Gibsonia, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic 12-5 184 Max Thomusseit Fr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 20-8 197 #11 Zac Thomusseit Jr. St. Paris, Ohio/St. Paris Graham 20-3 285 #3 Ryan Tomei Sr. Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford 20-3 INDIANA HOOSIERS (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/High School 2010-11 Record 125 Justin Brooks Fr. Warsaw, Ind./Warsaw Community 12-12 133 Matt Ortega Jr. Rio Rancho, N.M./Rio Rancho 14-10 141 Mitchell Richey Fr. Morgantown, Ind./Brown County 13-13 149 #15 Kurt Kinser Sr. Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South 20-6 157 #5 Paul Young Sr. Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South 21-4 165 Ryan LeBlanc Fr. Morrsivlle, N.Y./Morrisville-Eaton 7-6 174 Nick Avery Sr. Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro 9-12 184 Eric Cameron Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller 12-13 197 #6 Matt Powless Jr. Newburgh, Ind./Evansville Memorial 28-2 285 #14 Ricky Alcala Sr. Bakersfield, Calif.Arvin 22-6 Indiv. rankings Intermat/Team rankings NWCA as of 1/18 THIS WEEK No. 2 Penn State (11-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will take part in two duals this weekend. Penn State hosts No. 22 Pittsburgh (8-5, 1-0 EWL) on Friday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. and then treks to Indiana (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten) for a Big Ten dual on Sunday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. UP NEXT The Nittany Lions will host No. 8 Iowa on Sunday, Jan. 30. The 2 p.m. dual is already sold out. ON THE AIR TV - Pittsburgh dual will air live on the Big Ten Network. Live Web Video -- None Radio - WRSC AM (1390) and WSQV FM (92.1) Web -- All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS For information or credentials, contact me, Pat Donghia, Wrestling SID Phone: 814-865-1757 -- Email: pad11@psu.edu FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING @ GoPSUSPORTS: http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/psu-m-wrestl-body.html FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling FOLLOW PSU WRESTLING ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/pennstatepat Also, check out the Blog staff at GoPSUsports... THE ALL-SPORTS BLOG AT GOPSU: http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/wrestling HEAD COACH Cael Sanderson Cael Sanderson, now in his second year as mentor of the Nittany Lions, came to Penn State after three extremely successful years as the head coach at his alma mater. Sanderson's teams did not finish any lower than fifth at the NCAA Championships and never had a wrestler not qualify for nationals, getting 30 of 30 grapplers through to the championship tournament. In 2007, Sanderson's rookie campaign, he led ISU to a 13-3 dual meet record and the first of three straight Big 12 Championships. An NCAA Runner-Up finished in Detroit capped off a wildly successful year as the Cyclones crowned one national championship and Sanderson was honored as Big 12 Coach of the Year, National Rookie Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. The next year, Sanderson led ISU to a 16-4 dual meet mark, another Big 12 title and a fifth place finish at nationals. Iowa State's seven All-Americans in 2008 were the most at the school since 1993. This past season, Sanderson's team went 15-3 in duals, won its third straight Big 12 title and took third place at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis (just 12 points out of first place). The Cyclones also crowned another national champion. In three years, Sanderson's teams went 44-10, won three conference crowns, qualified all 30 wrestlers for nationals, and earned 15 All-America awards and two individual national titles. In his first year at Penn State, he guided the Lions to a 13-6-1 dual meet mark, 5-3 in Big Ten action, and crowned his first Big Ten Champion. Coach Sanderson now sports a 68-16-1 dual meet mark in this, his fourth year as a collegiate head coach. He is 24-6-1 in his second year at Penn State. As Penn State's head coach, Sanderson has guided the Nittany Lions to its first-ever Southern Scuffle Co-Championship (2010-11) and its first Virginia Duals Championship since 1991 (2010-11) TICKETS FOR 2011 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT NORTHWESTERN AVAILABLE NOW! Northwestern University is hosting the Big Ten Wrestling Championships March 5-6, 2010 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston. At this time fans can purchase $40 all-session reserved tickets, $36 all session adult general admission tickets, and $24 all session student general admission tickets by calling the Wildcat Ticket Office at 847-491-2287. Every effort will be made to sit fans within a specific fan seating block but nothing is guaranteed. Single session tickets can be ordered over the phone as well, or at the door on the day of the event. The breakdown of prices for each individual session is as follows: Session 1 March 5, 2011 @ 11 a.m.: Reserved Seating $18.00; Adult GA Seating $15.00; Student GA Seating $12.00; Session 2 March 5, 2011 @ 6 p.m.: Reserved Seating $18.00; Adult GA Seating $15.00; Student GA Seating $12.00; Session 3 March 6, 2011 @ 12 p.m.: Reserved Seating $20.00; Adult GA Seating $18.00; Student GA Seating $15.00 Everyone, regardless of age, must have a ticket when entering Welsh-Ryan Arena. PENN STATE WHITE OUT DECLARED FOR IOWA DUAL! Penn State athletics and the Nittany Lion wrestling team have declared a Penn State White Out for the sold-out Iowa dual on Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans are encouraged to wear their white and help show the nation what Penn State Wrestling Pride is all about! The dual, already sold out, will air on the Big Ten Network (tape delay on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as part of the BTN's weekly wrestling coverage). LIONS SWEEP THROUGH VIRGINIA DUALS FOR CROWN Penn State was unstoppable at the 2011 Virginia Duals, going 4-0 with with wins over VMI (42-3), Edinboro (37-12), #23 Kent State (27-15) and #15 Michigan (24-12) by a combined score of 130-42. The Nittany Lions won 29 of 40 bouts with Brad Pataky (125), Andrew Long (133), Frank Molinaro (149), David Taylor (157) and Ed Ruth (174) going undefeated (4-0) during the tournament. The Virginia Duals title was Penn State's first since 1991. PATAKY'S RUN AT VIRGINIA DUALS SPARKS LIONS Senior 125-pounder Brad Pataky put together a 4-0 run at the 2011 Virginia Duals to spark Penn State to a tournament crown. The Clearfield, Pa., native collected two pins, a tech fall and a decision to up his season mark to 7-2 after missing the first semester due to an injury. He pinned #10 Nic Bedelyon of Kent State in Penn State's semifinal win over the Flash. LONG MAKES MARK IN PENN STATE DEBUT All-American Andrew Long made a quick mark on Penn State's fortunes in his Nittany Lion debut. The mid-season transfer and 2010 National Runner-Up at 125 went 4-0 for Penn State at 133, getting a pin in his first bout and adding two majors and a decision to his tally. Long majored No. 18 Zac Stevens of Michigan in Penn State's championship dual with the Wolverines. TAYLOR DOMINATES VIRGINIA DUALS; NAMED OW Freshman David Taylor continued his blazing run through the collegiate ranks with a dominating performance at the Virginia Duals. Taylor went 4-0 at the event with a first period pin, a 25-12 major and two tech falls to lead Penn State to the 2011 Virginia Duals crown. Taylor was named 2011 Virginia Duals Most Outstanding Wrestler for his performance. MOLINARO AND RUTH GO UNDEFEATED AT VA. DUALS Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro and red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth each went undefeated at the 2011 Virginia Duals to lead the Nittany Lions to the Duals title. Molinaro had a tech fall, a decision and two majors (including a 10-2 major over #14 Torsten Gillespie of Edinboro). Ruth collected two tech falls, a decision and a one-minute pin against Michigan in Penn State's title bout tilt against the Wolverines. RUTH NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK Penn State wrestler Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending January 2, 2011. The honor is the first for Ruth, a freshman 174-pounder for the Nittany Lions, and is the first for Penn State this year. Ruth won the honor after winning five bouts, including decisions over then No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell and No. 2 Chris Henrich of Virginia, en route to the 174-pound title at the Southern Scuffle last week. Ruth's performance led the Nittany Lions to a tie for first place in the 34-team field and earned him the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler award. Ruth opened the tournament by pinning Army's Robert Doyle in 2:11, followed by an 11-3 major decision over Michigan's Justin Zeerip. He earned his second pin of the event against Lock Haven's Michael Khoury, scoring the fall in 1:07. Ruth then defeated Lewnes by an 11-5 decision in the semifinals before earning a 7-2 decision over Henrich to take home the title. IOWA DUAL SOLD OUT Penn State Athletics has announced that the wrestling dual between No. 2 Penn State and No. 7 Iowa on Jan. 30 in Rec Hall is sold out. A one-day sale of Standing Room Only tickets was sold in just over :30 minutes as well. With the Iowa dual sold out, tickets for Penn State's other three home duals are also selling fast but are available. Penn State hosts in-state rival Pittsburgh in a nationally televised dual on Friday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. The dual will air live to over 73 million households on the Big Ten Network; Illinois on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. and Wisconsin on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are still available for the Pitt, Illinois and Wisconsin duals as well. LIONS STORM THE SOUTHERN SCUFFLE TO EARN CO-CHAMPIONSHIP WITH #1 CORNELL Behind a solid and balanced attack, the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers stormed the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., to earn a Co-Championship with No. 1 Cornell. Penn State had three individual champions and a runner-up as well as four other placers. David Taylor won the crown at 157, Ed Ruth earned the 174-pound title as well as Most Outstanding Wrestler honors and Cameron Wade won at heavyweight. Frank Molinaro lost a 1-0 decision in the finalist a 149 as well. Both Penn State and Cornell earned 151.5 points to far-outdistance third place Oregon State. Penn State went 65-22 on the day with 36 of those bouts earning bonus points. Penn State had 15 pins, six technical falls and 15 majors while placing eight wrestlers in the top eight. Ed Ruth DOWNS #1 AND #2 IN ONE DAY; WINS SCUFFLE CROWN AT 174 AND NAMED OW Ranked No. 10 at 174, red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth gave notice to the country with a thorough 11-5 win over No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the semifinals. Ruth then took on No. 2 Chris Henrich of Virginia in the finals. In a feat rare for any wrestler, yet alone a freshman, Ruth dominated the second-ranked Cavalier on his way to a 7-2 win. In beating the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the same afternoon, Ruth won the Scuffle crown with a 5-0 record (including two pins and a major). Ruth was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his stellar performance. Ruth was one of four finalists Penn State had at the event (and three champs). TAYLOR UNTOUCHABLE IN CLAIMING 157-POUND TITLE AT SOUTHERN SCUFFLE Red-shirt freshman David Taylor, ranked No. 3 at 157, continued to dominate the field with a 23-6 technical fall over Michigan's Brandon Zeerip in the semifinals. The win moved him into the finals where he took on No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana. In another dominating performance, Taylor made short work of the Hoosier senior, turning the veteran Big Ten grappler numerous times on his way to a decisive 18-2 technical fall at the 4:06 mark. Taylor was simply unchallenged at the event, going 6-0 with four technical falls and two pins. Taylor was one of four finalists Penn State had at the event (and three champs). WADE CLINCHES SCUFFLE CO-TITLE WITH HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN IN TOURNEY'S FINAL BOUT Cameron Wade, ranked No. 6 nationally, continued to roll and beat No. 12 Clayton Jack 7-4 in the semifinals, setting up a finals bout against No. 7 Ben Apland of Michigan. Wade needed a win to force a tie in the team race and he gave the packed house all they could handle. Down 2-1 with time running out, Wade turned Apland for two back points as the Lion faithful roared and, with a riding time point, notched a 4-2 thriller to take the title at heavyweight. The win allowed Penn State to forge a tie in the team race as well. Wade was one of four finalists Penn State had at the event (and three champs). MOLINARO DROPS 1-0 DEC. TO #1 DAKE IN SCUFFLE FINALS; ALTON LOSES 4-3 TO #1 RUSSEL TO LEAD FIVE OTHER NITTANY LION PLACE WINNERS After a quarterfinal win, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 149, crushed No. 15 Torsten Gillespie 9-1 That win moved him into the finals where he met No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell. Molinaro set the offensive tempo, taking shot after shot in the finals but Dake was able to spend the match on the edge of the mat and used a third period escape to post the 1-0 win. Molinaro was one of four finalists Penn State had at the event. The four finalists were joined by four other Nittany Lions as place-winners at the prestigious event. At 141, true freshman Andrew Alton gave up a last-second takedown to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan and dropped a 4-3 decision in a thrilling upset bid in the semifinals. The 9th-ranked 141-pounder rebounded for two wins in wrestle-back to take third place. Alton went 6-1 on the day with three pins and a major. Freshman James Vollrath rebounded from a first round loss at 157 to reel off nine straight wins to storm to third place while freshman Frank Martellotti went 6-3 at 125 to take sixth. Sophomore James English went 5-2 at 149 to take seventh place to round out Penn State's eight place winners. Rob Vollrath TAKES 2ND AT HITCHCOCK MEMORIAL Nine members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team travelled to Millersville University on Sunday to take part in the Floyd `Shorty' Hitchcock Memorial Classic. True freshman Rob Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) led the way for the Nittany Lions with a second place finish at 133 pounds. Vollrath, who is red-shirting this year, was wrestling unattached. Vollrath went 4-1 at 133, including a first period pin of York's Sergio Grigorian. The Nittany Lion rookie lost to Lock Haven's John Trumbetti in the finals, 7-1. Red-shirt freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.), also wrestling unattached, went 2-2 at 184 to advance to the semifinals. Church went 1-1 in tie-breaker matches. Senior Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa.) went 2-2 at 125 and true freshman Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) went 2-2 at 174. True freshman David Church (Erie, Pa.) went 3-2 at 157 while classmate Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, N.Y.) picked up a win at 125. Freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) also grabbed a win at 165. Other Nittany Lions taking part in the tournament included Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.) at 125, Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa.) at 149 and Justin Haug (Galeton, Pa.) at 165. PITT DUAL MOVED TO 6 P.M. FOR LIVE BTN COVERAGE! The home wrestling dual with rival Pittsburgh on Jan. 21 has had its start time moved to 6 p.m. The time change will now allow the Big Ten Network to air the much-anticipated wrestling dual live to over 70 million homes nationwide. Penn State and Pittsburgh have a long and storied wrestling rivalry. The two teams have met 65 times with Penn State owning a 50-12-3 advantage in the series, but the teams wrestled to a 19-19 tie last year in Pittsburgh. This year's dual will feature a number of anticipated match-ups of ranked opponents and is also Penn State's final non-conference dual meet. ALTON NOW 5TH ON ALL-TIME SINGLE SEASON PINS LIST True freshman Andrew Alton picked up three more pins during his third place finish at the Southern Scuffle and now had 13 on the year. Alton is now 22-2 on the year with 15 pins. The 15 falls has him fifth on Penn State's all-time single-season falls list. The record is 24, set by Josh Moore in 2003-04. TAYLOR LEADING DUAL MEET TAKEDOWN RACE David Taylor has retaking the team dual meet takedown race with 51. Ed Ruth follows closely behind with 49 while Andrew Alton sits in third with 28 and Frank Molinaro is in fourth with 20 OVER 5,100 CHEER AS LIONS CRUSH #22 OHIO STATE 42-3 IN MOST LOPSIDED BIG TEN DUAL WIN IN PSU HISTORY The Penn State Nittany Lions won nine out of ten bouts to trounce No. 22 Ohio State 42-3 on Dec. 19 in the Big Ten dual meet opener for both teams. Over 5,100 fans crammed into Rec Hall to watch the event (5,102). The win ties a Penn State record for most lop-sided Big Ten dual meet victory. Penn State beat Northwestern 42-3 back on Feb. 6, 2004, also in Rec Hall. The Nittany Lions used pins from Andrew Alton at 141, Frank Molinaro at 149 and Cameron Wade at HWT; majors from Frank Martellotti at 125, David Taylor at 157 and Ed Ruth up a weigh at 184; and a forfeit win at 174 to grab the victory. LIONS OFF TO BEST DUAL MEET START SINCE 1988-89 The Nittany Lions head to the Southern Scuffle with a 7-0 dual meet record. The mark is Penn State's best start since beginning the 1988-89 year 8-0 (without a loss or tie.) #3 TAYLOR DOMINATES #13 SPONSELLER; CONTINUES DOMINANT START TO CAREER Red-shirt freshman David Taylor nearly teched #13 Colt Sponseller of Ohio State in Penn State's dual meet win on 12/19. Taylor posted a 14-1 major with 5:56 in riding time to improved to 13-0 on the year. PEARSALL KNOCKS OFF #10 PADDOCK TO LEAD PENN STATE OVER BUCKEYES Sophomore Bryan Pearsall continued his impressive second season at 133 for Penn State, posting a thorough 9-4 win over No. 10 Ian Paddock of Ohio State. The victory helped spark Penn State to a 42-3 dismantling of Ohio State in the Big Ten dual meet opener for both teams on 12/19. FISCHER AND VOLLRATH PICK UP FIRST CAREER DUAL MEET WINS Sophomore 165-pounder Nick Fischer moved up a weight to 174 and picked up his first Penn State dual meet win with a thrilling 7-5 decision over Lock Haven's Michael Khoury in Penn State's 48-0 win over LHU on 12/12. In addition, red-shirt freshman 157-pounder James Vollrath was set to step in at 165 for an ailing Jake Kemerer and picked up a forfeit victory in his Penn State dual meet debut. LIONS SHUT OUT LOCK HAVEN 48-0 FOR SECOND SCORELESS EFFORT OF THE YEAR Penn State's 48-0 shut-out of Lock Haven on 12/12 was the team's second of the year, following up on a 45-0 win over Harvard in November. The 48-0 win is Penn State's most lopsided shutout victory since a 54-0 win over Millersville on Jan. 25, 1983. The last time Penn State had two shutouts in one season was the 2006-07 season when the Lions beat Clarion (47-0) and Rider (41-0). Cael Sanderson TO BE INDUCTED INTO NATIONAL WRESTLING HALL OF FAME AND MUSEUM The nation's first undefeated four-time NCAA champion, Cael Sanderson, joins three other of America's best wrestlers chosen for induction into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum on June 8-9, 2011 in Stillwater. Distinguished Members selected along with Sanderson for the Class of 2011 include Dennis Hall, Dan Brand and Richard Delgado, posthumously. "This is another outstanding class of inductees," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. "I am excited that our Hall of Fame gets to honor such a prestigious group whose legacies span over 60 years of wrestling in this country." Sanderson made history by becoming the first four-time undefeated NCAA Division I champion in collegiate history. The former Iowa State star went 159-0 from 1999 through 2002. He capped his career by winning a Gold Medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. LIONS CROWN FOUR AT NITTANY LION OPEN No. 5 Penn State sent 29 wrestlers into action at the 2010 Nittany Lion Open, had 16 quarterfinalists and ended the day with four champions. Three freshmen and a junior claimed titles for head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions. Penn State sent eight wrestlers into the finals with half of them winning their bouts. Freshman Frank Martellotti went 5-0 to win at 125 with two pins, a tech fall and a major. Classmate Andrew Alton put on a show at 141, going 6-0 to claim the title with five pins. The fifth pin was a :39 fall over No. 20 Zack Kemerer of Penn in the finals. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor continued his superb run with a 6-0 day at 157. Taylor claimed the title with a 9-3 dismantling of Virginia Tech's Jesse Dong (who was the #3 seed at NCAAs last year). Taylor had a fall, a tech and three majors. Junior Cameron Wade went 5-0 with three tech falls, a pin and a major Penn State's superb day at the Open was tempered, however, in the finals at 184. No. 6 Quentin Wright was beating No. 14 Nathan Schiedel of Binghamton when the returning All-American was injured and suffered an injury default to take second place. Wright went 4-1 on the day. Just seconds before that, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro, ranked No. 2 at 149, was upset in overtime by No. 10 Mario Mason of Rutgers. Mason downed Molinaro 3-1 (sv), giving the Lion junior a 5-1 record on the day. Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth, ranked No. 14 at 174, handled No. 9 Scott Giffin of Penn 6-2 in the semifinals and then dropped a hard-fought 9-4 decision to No. 8 Mike Letts of Maryland in the finals. Ruth went 5-1 for second place with two pins and two tech falls. True freshman Dirk Cowburn, wrestling unattached at 165, advanced to the finals where he was pinned by No. 3 Josh Asper of Maryland. Cowburn went 5-1 for his runner-up finish. The day at the NLO was solid all-around for Penn State. The Lions had 29 entrants in the event, 16 of which advanced to the quarterfinals and 11 of which made the semis. Penn State had eight finalists, half of whom won titles. LION FRESHMEN SHINE AT SPRAWL AND BRAWLS Penn State started six freshmen in each of its three duals at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21 and the outstanding group posted a superb 16-2 record. Frank Martellotti (125), Andrew Alton (141), David Taylor (157), Jake Kemerer (165), Ed Ruth (174) and Nick Ruggear (197) combined for the solid showing. RUGGEAR WINS PSU DUAL DEBUT True freshman Nick Ruggear made his Penn State dual meet debut at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21 and won his first two bouts (an 12-1 major over Harvard's Bryan Panzano and a 4-2 win over WVU's Cameron Gallaher) before losing to Rutgers' Mike Wagner. ALTON WINS FIRST FOUR BY FALL True freshman Andrew Alton won his first four collegiate bouts in fine fashion, getting a pin in each bout. Alton won each of those four bouts with falls in the first period by a combined time of only 3:57. ENGLISH OUTSTANDING AT SPRAWL AND BRAWLS Sophomore James English stepped into the starting line-up at 149 to begin the season as two-time All-American Frank Molinaro rehabbed a pre-season injury and made a national statement at the Sprawl and Brawl Duals on Nov. 21. English downed two top-ten foes, beating #9 Corey Jantzen of Harvard 4-3 and #8 Brandon Rader of West Virginia 5-3 in back-to-back dual meet wins. LIONS GO 3-0 AT SPRAWL & BRAWLS, INCLUDING 22-10 VICTORY OVER #24 RUTGERS The Nittany Lions won seven of ten bouts against #24 Rutgers to down the Scarlet Knights 22-10 and closed out the 2010 Sprawl and Brawl Duals with a 3-0 mark on Nov. 21. The Nittany Lions opened the event by shutting out Harvard 45-0. It was Penn State's first shut-out since the Lions blanked rival Lehigh 33-0 on Dec. 7, 2007. Penn State won the takedown battle with RU 19-7 and posted a daunting 60-10 edge in takedowns over the course of the day's three duals. Dylan Alton, COWBURN AND VOLLRATH CLAIM ESU OPEN CROWNS Twelve members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team took part in the 2010 ESU Open, hosted on Saturday East Stroudsburg University and three of them left with individual titles. Dylan Alton, Dirk Cowburn and James Vollrath each won their respective weight classes at the crowded event. With action against unrostered wrestlers not counting in the records, Vollrath was one of three Nittany Lions wrestling attached in the Blue and White singlet. The red-shirt freshman went 4-0 at 157 to win his title. Alton and Cowburn were each wrestling unattached. Alton went 5-0 with a pin and a major to with the 149 pound crown while Cowburn went 4-0 with three pins to with the 165 pound weight class. Three other Nittany Lions placed (all wrestling unattached. Nate Morgan went 4-1 at 125 and advanced to the final bout before losing, placing second. Sam Sherlock went 5-1 at 133 and took third and Thomas Gorman went 6-2 at 157 to place fifth. SHERLOCK AND FISCHER CLAIM W&J TITLES Seventeen members of the Penn State wrestling team competed, both attached and unattached at the Washington and Jefferson Open on Saturday. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) and true freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) each won their respective weight classes to lead seven Penn State placers. Fischer was one of five Nittany Lions wrestling attached in their blue and white singlets and he went a perfect 6-0 to claim the 165-pound title. He notched a major and had two pins on his way to the crown. Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) had a solid tournament, advancing to the finals at 157 before losing. Vollrath was 4-1 with a major to take second at his weight. Senior 125-pounder Eric Caschera (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) went 6-2 with a major to place fifth at 125. Senior Michael Lorenzo (Bellefonte, Pa.) went 1-1 at 174 and freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 4-2 with a major and a pin at 174 to round out Penn State's attached grapplers competing at the event. Sherlock was a perfect 5-0 at 133 to win the crown, posting two majors during his title winning run. Classmate Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.) picked up the most wins of any Nittany Lion on the day, going 7-1 with two pins and two majors to take third at a crowded 165-pound weight class. Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.), also a first year wrestler, went 6-1 with a major at 125 to take third while fellow first-year wrestler Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) was 5-1 with a major at 197 to place third and round out Penn State's placers at the event. FIVE FRESHMEN PERFECT IN DEBUT WEEKEND Penn State's young and talented line-up got an early lift in its opening weekend as five freshmen combined to go 10-0 in the Nittany Lions' two dual meet victories. True freshman Frank Martellotti went 2-0 at 125, true freshman Andrew Alton went 2-0 at 141 with two pins, red-shirt freshman David Taylor went 2-0 at 157 with a tech fall and a pin, red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer went 2-0 at 165 (including a win over No. 11 Brandon Hatchett of Lehigh) and red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth went 2-0 at 174 with a tech fall. NEARLY 5,300 PACK REC HALL AS LIONS DOWN #15 LEHIGH 21-17 The Penn State Nittany Lions, ranked No. 6 at the time, thrilled nearly 5,300 fans in a packed Rec Hall on 11/14 by beating intra-state rival Lehigh, ranked No. 15, 21-17. Five Penn State freshmen made their Rec Hall dual meet debuts by grabbing exciting wins to spark Penn State to a perfect 2-0 opening-weekend start. The crowd was the largest for a Penn State dual since 5,841 watched Penn State beat Iowa 24-13 on Feb. 4, 2007. LIONS BEAT HUSKIES BEFORE SRO CROWD Penn State travelled to Bloomsburg University on 11/13 for the 2010-11 season opener and downed the host Huskies 41-3 in front of a standing-room-only crowd in BU's Nelson Field House. On a night when Bloom was re-dedicating a newly renovated arena, Penn State's fan base turned out in full force to make up a large chunk of over 2,300 fans in the 1,700 capacity venue. Penn State won nine of ten bouts, including getting five wins from freshmen making their collegiate debuts. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall got a key pin at 133, sophomore James English stepped in at 149 to grab a win, All-American Quentin Wright got a pin at 184 and sophomore Cameron Wade got a major at HWT to round out PSU's nine wins. NEARLY 3,000 FANS FILL REC HALL FOR INTRASQUAD Nearly 3,000 fans rolled into Rec Hall for the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling intrasquad dual meet. Head coach Cael Sanderson's squad took part in 12 matches in front of over 2,900 fans. With one of the nation's best and youngest line-ups, 16 of the 24 wrestlers were freshmen. PENN STATE RANKED #2 IN NWCA/USA TODAY COACHES POLL; 8 LIONS RANKED INDIVIDUALLY BY INTERMAT The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, led by head coach Cael Sanderson, continues to hold the No. 2 spot in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. In addition, eight Penn State individuals are ranked in the top 20 at their respective weights by Intermat, led by true freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) who is No. 2 at 174. The top two teams remain the same in the dual meet Coaches Poll. Cornell is No. 1 with 275 points while Penn State is a close second with 264. Virginia Tech moved up to third with 249 while Big Ten foes Wisconsin (4th, 241) and Minnesota (5th, 234) round out the top five. Oklahoma State (6), Missouri (7), Iowa (8), Boise State (9) and Oklahoma (10) comprise the rest of the top ten. Big Ten teams Michigan (11), Illinois (15), Northwestern (19) and Purdue (23) are also ranked, giving the conference eight teams ranked in the coaches poll while both Indiana and Ohio State are receiving votes. While the USA Today/NWCA poll reflects projected dual meet strength, Intermat's official tournament team ranking (projecting post-season tournament finishes based on each entity's individual rankings) now has Penn State tied with Cornell in the No. 1 spot. TheOpenMat.com also compiles a comprehensive tournament strength ranking and has Cornell in the No. 1 spot with Penn State No. 2 on that listing. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) is 7-2 on the year with two pins, two techs and a major and is ranked No. 11 at 125. Sophomore All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) is ranked No. 5 at 133 with a 4-0 mark, including a pin and two majors. Freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 141. Alton is 22-2 on the year with 15 pins and three majors. His only two losses are one-point decisions to the top-ranked 141-pounder and his 15 pins is fifth all time at Penn State for falls in a single season. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) is ranked No. 5 at 149. Molinaro sports a 17-2 record with three pins, three tech falls and seven majors. Freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) remains undefeated on the year and has a 23-0 record. Taylor is ranked No. 3 at 157 and has six pins, nine tech falls and seven majors. Only one of his 23 bouts has been decided by less than a major. Classmate Ed Ruth is ranked No. 2 at 174 and has a 21-1 record. The Harrisburg native has eight pins, five tech falls and two majors. Sophomore Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), a 2009 All-American at 174, was ranked among best at 184 before an injury sidelined him in December. The junior is back in the Penn State line-up and is ranked No. 6 with an 8-2 record. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) is ranked No. 6 at heavyweight. Wade sports a 19-3 record with eight pins, three tech falls and two majors. SEVEN NITTANY LIONS RANKED BY THEOPENMAT.COM Seven Penn State wrestlers are currently ranked nationally by TheOpenMat.com. Senior Brad Pataky is #11 at 125, sophomore Andrew Long is #8 at 133, freshman Andrew Alton is #5 at 141, junior Frank Molinaro is #5 at 149, freshman David Taylor is #2 at 157, freshman Ed Ruth is #2 at 174 and junior Cameron Wade is #6 at 285. All-American Quentin Wright will not be ranked by TOM until he returns to the Penn State line-up at 184. SINGLE DUAL MEET TICKETS ON SALE Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. This year's home schedule continues in a nationally televised dual. The Pittsburgh Panthers close out Penn State's non-conference schedule in Rec Hall on Friday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network. The Iowa Hawkeyes come to town on Sunday, Jan. 30, at 2 p.m., followed by a match-up with the Illinois Illini on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions close out their dual meet schedule with a home meeting with the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Appalachian State junior Austin Trotman has been named Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week for all competitions from January 12-18. Trotman posted a 3-0 record at the Lonestar Duals last weekend in Arlington, Texas. The junior, who is ranked 25th nationally at 184 pounds, recorded two major decisions and a pin in his three matches against wrestlers from Harvard, Northern Colorado and Utah Valley. Trotman’s pin came at the 1:47 mark against Northern Colorado’s Marcel Gibbons, while his other two victories were by margins of 14-3 and 15-5. The 2010 SoCon Wrestler of the Year is 22-7 on the year, including a perfect 13-0 in dual matches on the season. He has eight major decisions to his credit along with four pins and two technical falls. 2010-11 SoCon Wrestlers of the Week Nov. 24 Ivan Lopouchanski, UNCG Dec. 1 Ivan Lopouchanski, UNCG Dec. 8 Andrew Saunders, UNCG Dec. 15 Matthew Brock, VMI Jan. 5 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, The Citadel Jan. 12 Vitaly Radsky, Davidson Jan. 19 Austin Trotman, Appalachian State

WAVERLY -- Wartburg College gave its senior class of 2010-11 a sparkling home send off Jan. 19. With twelve Knights competing in their last meet inside Levick Arena, Coach Jim Miller’s squad reeled off eight bonus-point victories in the nine matches against Buena Vista. Wartburg’s 51-0 win over BV, the 146th in a row for the program against Iowa Conference dual competition, was highlighted by falls from sophomore Thomas Mirocha (Davenport)(133), senior Jacob Groth (Marshalltown) (157), senior Adam Weber of Waterloo (165), and senior heavyweight John Helgerson (West Union). The top-ranked Orange and Black continue league dual competition Friday, Jan. 21, with a 7 p.m. start against No. 13-ranked Cornell inside the Small Multi-Sport Center in Mount Vernon. NOTES – Wartburg’s season record moved to 15-1 overall and 4-0 in the IIAC. … Helgerson and junior 197-pounder Byron Tate (Clinton) each reached the 30-win mark for the season. Tate did so with a strong 11-3 major decision over No. 6-ranked Bryan Broll behind four takedowns. It was his 38th win in his last 39 matches. … Miller’s team also sends wrestlers to Loras College’s Flash Flanagan Open Saturday, Jan. 22.

Buckeye State's best to battle it out For the better part of a decade -- if not more -- No. 3 St. Paris Graham and No. 5 St. Edward have been the two best teams in the state of Ohio. Graham has won ten consecutive state titles in Division II (medium-sized schools), while St. Edward saw a streak of thirteen consecutive Division I (big school) titles come to an end last year. During this stretch of time, Graham won a consensus national title in 2008 and was part of the national title conversation last year; while St. Edward earned national titles in 1998, 2000, and 2007. This Saturday night, the Eagles travel to St. Paris to take on the Falcons in a 7:00 p.m. dual meet, as the two teams battle it out for Ohio supremacy this year. Both teams are clear favorites for another state title in their respective divisions. Here are the projected matchups: 103: Chase Crabtree (Graham) vs. Anthony Stanley (St. Edward) 112: No. 9 Ryan Taylor (Graham) vs. No. 20 Edgar Bright (St. Edward) *Taylor is projected to repeat as a state champion, while Bright is ranked second in Division I 119: Micah Jordan (Graham) vs. No. 18 Dean Heil (St. Edward) *Both wrestlers are projected to win state titles, Heil won an earlier season match at the Walsh Ironman 125: Nate Henkle (Graham) vs. Markus Scheidel (St. Edward) 130: Lane Thomas (Graham) vs. Colin Heffernan (St. Edward) 135: No. 19 Case Garrison (Graham) vs. TBD (St. Edward) 140: No. 7 Nick Brascetta (Graham) vs. Russ Rauber (St. Edward) 145: No. 5 Bo Jordan (Graham) vs. Matt Van Curen (St. Edward) *Jordan is projected to repeat as Division II state champ, while Van Curen is ranked second in Division I 152: No. 11 Matt Stephens (Graham) vs. Mark Martin (St. Edward) *Stephens is ranked second in Division II, Martin a projected state champ in Divison I; Stephens beat Martin earlier in the season at the Walsh Ironman 160: Isaac Jordan (Graham) vs. Domenic Abounader (St. Edward) *Jordan is a defending state champion and projected state finalist, Abounader is top ranked in Division I; Jordan lost to a different St. Edward wrestler (Davis) at the Walsh Ironman 171: Kyle Ryan (Graham) vs. Jacob Davis (St. Edward) *Ryan won a state title in 2009, and is projected to make his third straight Division II state final; while Davis is a projected state placer 189: No. 5 Huston Evans (Graham) vs. James Suvak (St. Edward) *Evans is projected to repeat as a state champion, while Suvak is ranked third in Division I 215: Mark Meyer (Graham) vs. Ty Walz (St. Edward) *Meyer is a former state placer, while Cadet National freestyle champ Walz is ranked third in Division I 285: Darin Bo vey (Graham) vs. No. 10 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward) Blair headlines 10th NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling Perennial national title contender, No. 2 Blair Academy, New Jersey makes its annual trek to Easton, Pennsylvania for the NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling. This year's event features ten teams split into pools; there will be four matches of round-robin wrestling, and then the last round will involve placement matches with the two pools facing off against one another. Pool A includes No. 2 Blair Academy, New Jersey; No. 32 Jackson Memorial, New Jersey; Council Rock South, Pennsylvania; Lake Stevens, Washington; and Parkland, Pennsylvania. Pool B includes No. 16 Easton, Pennsylvania; No. 21 High Point, New Jersey; No. 28 Collins Hill, Georgia; Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania; and Walsh Jesuit, Ohio. The following nationally-ranked wrestlers are slated to compete: 103: No. 7 Joey McKenna (Blair Academy), No. 19 Billy Rappo (Council Rock South) 112: No. 1 Evan Silver (Blair Academy) 119: No. 11 Caleb Richardson (Blair Academy) 125: No. 3 Mark Grey (Blair Academy), No. 14 Nick Francavilla (High Point) 130: No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit), No. 10 Todd Preston (Blair Academy) 135: No. 2 Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy), No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit) 145: No. 12 Mitch Minotti (Easton) 160: No. 13 John Guzzo (High Point) 285: No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair Academy), No. 17 William Smith (High Point) Ranking battle at 130 pounds In addition to the appearance of Walsh Jesuit, Ohio at the NHSCA Final Four of High School Wrestling, the Warriors will make two other stops while competing in the Lehigh Valley. The second of those stops is tomorrow night at No. 27 Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where it is highly likely that No. 2 Zach Horan (Nazareth) and No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit) will do battle at 130 pounds in the course of a triangular meet. The other team in that tri is Emmaus. In tonight's first leg of Walsh Jesuit's three-day journey through the Lehigh Valley, the Warriors will travel to Northampton for dual meets against Parkland and the host Konkrete Kids. FloNationals Majors close out with Clinch Gear Prep School Slam The last of the twenty-one tournament FloNationals Majors series is this weekend in Atlanta with the Clinch Gear Prep School Slam hosted by Holy Innocents School. The tournament features 44 schools coming from ten different states. The following notable wrestlers are in the field: 103: Matt Calcote (Archbishop Rummel, Louisiana); Tyler Casamenti (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey) 112: Trevor Albrecht (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey); Jay Ferro (Jesuit, Louisiana) 119: Brandon Brunner (Baylor, Tennessee); Judson Preskitt (Bishop Lynch, Texas); Dean O'Bourke (Calvary Chapel, California) 125: Zach Watson (Baylor, Tennessee); Jacob Goodwin (Bishop Lynch, Texas); Alex Ward (McCallie, Tennessee); Chris Caton (Northside Christian, North Carolina); Chad Pyke (Woodward Academy, Georgia) 135: Alex Manley (Baylor, Tennessee); Connor Melde (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey); Dalton Dennis (Northside Christian, Florida) 140: No. 8 Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania); Stuart Doster (Baylor, Tennessee); Mark Pinero (Archbishop Rummel, Louisiana) 145: No. 11 Robert Henderson (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania); Michael Hooker (McCallie, Tennessee) 152: Jason Grimes (Holy Innocents, Georgia); Johnny Sebastian (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey) 160: Angelo Bortoluzzi (Kiski Prep, Pennsyvlania); TJ Duncan (McCallie, Tennessee) 171: Scott Gibbons (Archbishop Rummel, Louisiana); Trey Adamson (Bishop Lynch, Texas); Stout Watson (Forsyth Country Day, North Carolina) 189: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, California) 215: No. 5 Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, California); Colynn Cook (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania) 285: John Mackey (Baylor, Tennessee) Stacked field for Ed Winger in Iowa Twenty teams come together on Saturday for the Ed Winger Classic in Urbandale, Iowa, and the event has a talent-laden field. Eight of the teams present are in either the top ten of the rankings done by The Predicament or the IWCOA, or both. This includes a pair of top three teams in both Class 3A (big school) and 2A (medium-school); No. 10 Iowa City West, No. 12 Bettendorf, Denver-Tripoli, and Ballard Huxley. Twenty-nine individuals ranked inside the top three of their respective state tournament weight class are also present, which includes eleven that appear in the InterMat national rankings. 103: No. 9 Phillip Laux (Iowa City West), Drake Swarm (Bettendorf) 112: No. 10 Dylan Peters (Denver-Tripoli), Colby Knight (Urbandale), Logan Ryan (Bettendorf) 119: No. 6 Cory Clark (Southeast Polk), Kegan Wakefield (Iowa City West) 125: No. 19 Connor Ryan (Bettendorf), Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West), Gunnar Wolfensperger (Denver-Tripoli) 130: No. 5 John Meeks (Des Moines Roosevelt), No. 18 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli), Dakota Bauer (Iowa City West) 135: Adam Perrin (North Scott) 140: No. 20 Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West), Bo Cosens (Ballard Huxley) 145: No. 19 Tanner Hiatt (Ballard Huxley), Gabriel Moreno (Urbandale), Dylan Blackford (Southeast Polk) 152: Britt Thompson (Iowa City West) 160: No. 18 Justin Koethe (Iowa City West), Dominic Chase (Bettendorf), Garrett Smith (Denver-Tripoli) 171: No. 5 Tanner Weatherman (Ballard Huxley) 189: No. 14 Brendan Abernathy (Indianola), Nate Shaw (Bettendorf) 215: Joe Scanlan (Johnston), Ben Nagle (North Scott) 285: Brodie Berrie (Bettedorf) Show Me State Showdown The Winnetonka Tournament this weekend will serve as a chance for the top wrestlers and programs in the state of Missouri to compete against one another, and continue to establish some semblance of pecking order heading into the state tournament series. Four of the teams in the field are ranked inside the top three of Class 4 (big school) or Class 3 (second-biggest) according to MissouriWrestling.com: Blue Springs, Francis Howell Central, Oak Park, and Park Hill. Additionally, 27 individuals are ranked among the top three of their state tournament classification, including four of the six nationally ranked individuals from the Show Me State. Two weight classes in the tournament feature four top three wrestlers. 103: No. 15 Noah Teaney (Oak Park), Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs), John Erneste (Park Hill) 112: Matt Kraus (Seckman) 125: No. 9 Bricker Dixon (Park Hill), Denny Kleinschrodt (Seckman) 130: No. 8 Cody Brewer (Oak Park), Josh Bennett (Francis Howell Central), Derek Lapaglia (Blue Springs), Russell Coleman (Park Hill) 135: Cain Salas (Oak Park), Greg Hegarty (Blue Springs) 140: No. 5 Terrell Wilbourn (Francis Howell Central), Kenan Hegarty (Blue Springs), Gage Harrison (Oak Park), Blake Pepper (Seckman) 145: Preston Crouse (Park Hill), Justin Dickey (Francis Howell Central) 152: Brian Hayes (Oak Park), Gage Shaddox (Liberty) 160: Dustin Heise (Troy) 171: Brock St. Louis (North Kansas City) 189: Louis Foutz (Blue Springs) 215: J'Den Cox (Seckman), Hashem Omari (Oak Park), Donnie Horner (Blue Springs) 285: John Cervantes (Oak Park) Ranked teams collide in Land of Lincoln No. 24 Crystal Lake Central and No. 26 Glenbard North will both be traveling to Fox Lake Grant High School near Chicago as part of a quadrangular meet on Saturday. The teams should dual one another in a battle of teams both ranked second in the state according to Illinois Matmen. The Tigers feature a trio of nationally-ranked wrestlers -- No. 8 Joey Kielbasa (152), No. 2 Gage Harrah (189), and No. 4 Austin Marsden (215); while the Panthers feature a duo of their own in No. 12 Joey Gosinski (130) and No. 19 Brian Murphy (140).

MINNEAPOLIS -- After serving 25 years as the head coach of one of the nation’s top wrestling programs, there have been plenty of firsts for Minnesota’s J Robinson. A quarter century of success has seen first All-Americans, first national champions and undefeated seasons under the Gophers’ coach. This week, Robinson added another first to his list of coaching accolades. Director of Athletics Joel Maturi announced today that Robinson has signed the first multi-year contract of his career, keeping the two-time national coach of the year and six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year at Minnesota through 2014. “I could not be more pleased that we have been able to reach this agreement with J,” Maturi said. “This multi-year contract is a just reward for a job well done and we are thrilled to have an individual who is widely considered to be among the finest wrestling coaches ever committed to our program through 2014.” Robinson, who was named the seventh coach in Minnesota history when he took over in 1986, brought the storied program to new heights by developing a culture of excellence. Under Robinson, Minnesota captured the first three wrestling national championships in school history (2001, 2002, 2007) while he has helped develop 12 individual national champions. After working on a year-by-year basis for his first 25 years at Minnesota, Robinson recently decided the time was right to ink the first long-term contract of his career. “Joel and I had been talking about (the contract) for a couple of years, and we got together to work out some of the details,” Robinson said. “It seemed to work out, and it seemed to be a good time to do it.” A 2005 inductee into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Robinson has coached 46 individuals to a total of 97 All-American honors, including an NCAA record 10 All-Americans during Minnesota’s first national title campaign in 2001. Robinson’s teams have also earned six Big Ten team championships and 27 individual conference titles during his tenure, while his 354 career dual wins are the most among active Big Ten coaches.

Link: InterMat Weight Class Rankings Link: InterMat Fab 50 Team Rankings The most recent update of the national weight class and team rankings brings about some changes, yet many striking similarities. Apple Valley, Minnesota remains the top team after impressive victories at the Minnesota Christmas Tournament, Cheesehead Invitational, and The Clash already this season. Seven of their wrestlers are top 20 in their respective weight classes -- Dakota Trom (125), Mark Hall (130), Matt Kelliher (135), Brandon Kingsley (140), Steven Keogh (160), Jake Waste (171), and tops in the country Destin McCauley (152). Like Apple Valley, No. 2 Blair Academy, New Jersey also has seven of its wrestlers ranked. Those Buccaneers ranked include Joey McKenna (103), Caleb Richardson (119), Todd Preston (125), Mark Grey (130), Austin Ormsbee (135), Brooks Black (285), and tops in the country Evan Silver (112). Right behind Blair is No. 3 St. Paris Graham, Ohio with six wrestlers nationally ranked -- Ryan Taylor (112), Case Garrison (135), Nick Brascetta (140), Bo Jordan (145), Matt Stephens (152), and Huston Evans (189). These two squads compete in a dual meet one week from Saturday at Blair Academy. As they’ve been all along, Brandon, Florida remains in the fourth position with five of its wrestlers ranked nationally -- Kevin Norstrem (125), Rossi Bruno (130), Tyler Liberatore (135), Clark Glass (152), and Wally Figaro (160). Rounding out the top ten teams in the country are St. Edward, Ohio; Simley, Minnesota; Clovis, California; Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania; Bakersfield, California; and Iowa City West, Iowa. Very little movement due to performance occurred at the top position in each weight class. Of the four new top-ranked wrestlers in the country, three were due to weight class shifts. Evan Silver (Blair Academy, New Jersey) slides into the top position at 112 pounds, as he competed there at the Cheesehead Invitational and emerged as champion. The Stanford-bound prospect is a three-time National Prep champion and a Junior National freestyle runner-up this past summer. Bryce Hammond (Bakersfield, California) makes a return to the top position at 160 pounds, as he made the drop to that weight class at the Doc Buchanan Invitational. Though he had to default out of that competition, it is his intent to compete there upon his return. The Cal State-Bakersfield prospect seeks to repeat as a state champion this year. Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, New Jersey) makes another appearance at the top of the 215 pound weight class. There were some rumblings that he would be competing at 189 pounds this season; however, those were found to be untrue. Slated to play football next year at Rutgers, Campolattano seeks to become only the second four-time New Jersey state champion in his swan song to wrestling. New to the top position is Donny Longendyke (White Bear Lake, Minnesota) at 285 pounds. Longendyke is a two-time state finalist, winning the state tournament as a junior; and has multiple All-American honors in Fargo, including a Cadet National freestyle title in 2009. He is slated to attend Nebraska in the fall, and moved into the top position due to Cody Krumwiede (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) being upended in upset fashion by Parker Betts (St. Michael-Albertville) at The Clash just over ten days ago. In what has been the trend for this season, and many scholastic wrestling seasons past, the Keystone State is preeminent on the landscape. Thirty-five wrestlers from Pennsylvania high schools appear in the weight class rankings, while nine high schools from the Keystone State appear in the Fab 50 team rankings; both of those are the most of any state. An emerging story in recent summers has been the performance of the Illinois wrestling program, and wrestlers from the Land of Lincoln, at USA Wrestling events. That has crystallized itself this season, and in the current rankings where 27 wrestlers are ranked in their weight class and six high school programs appear in the Fab 50. Both of those are the second most of any state. Nationally-ranked wrestlers broken down by state: 35 -- PA; 27 -- IL; 23 -- CA, OH; 21 -- NJ; 18 -- IA; 16 -- MN; 12 -- MI; 11 -- FL; 10 -- WI; 9 -- NY; 8 -- VA; 7 -- IN; 6 -- MO, MD; 5 -- OK; 4 -- CO, ID, GA; 3 -- OR, TX, WA, SD; 2 -- MT, NC; 1 -- DE, UT, KY, MA, TN Nationally-ranked teams broken down by state: 9 -- PA; 6 -- IL; 4 -- NJ, MN, OH; 3 -- FL, CA, OK; 2 -- MI, VA; 1 -- MD, WI, GA, TX, MO, OR, IN

OREM, Utah -- Air Force sophomore Cole VonOhlen (Jackson, Minn.) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week, as announced today by the league. It marks the third weekly award for VonOhlen this season, and the fifth of his career. VonOhlen, ranked 10th in the nation by Intermat, posted four victories to lead Air Force to a 3-1 record at the annual Lone Star Duals on Saturday. The Falcons defeated Arizona State (ranked 14th by Intermat), Brown and Wayland Baptist, while dropping a close 23-17 decision to American (ranked eighth by Intermat and 19th by the NWCA). VonOhlen’s victories included a major decision, a pair of technical falls and a fall in a time of 1:17, the fastest of his career. After defeating Brown’s C.J. Howard, 9-1, the sophomore recorded a 16-0 tech fall over Arizona State’s Kalin Goodsite and pinned Wayland Baptist’s Paz Acosta. In his final match of the day, VonOhlen faced No. 15 Matt Mariacher from American, scoring a 19-3 technical fall. With his performance, VonOhlen moved to 26-6 on the season, including a 6-1 ledger in dual action. The Falcons return to action this weekend, Jan. 21-22, when they travel to California for three duals. Air Force will visit Cal State Fullerton on Friday evening, before facing Cal Baptist and Menlo at the Cal Baptist Duals on Saturday.

MINNEAPOLIS -- With five of its seven victories by pin, the Augsburg College wrestling team dominated in a 36-12 victory over Waldorf College (Iowa) in a dual meet on Tuesday evening at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. The Auggies, defending NCAA Division III national champions and current No. 3-ranked team in the Division III national polls, improved to 5-2 with the dual-meet win. Waldorf, ranked No. 16 in the NAIA national poll, is now 1-8 in dual meets. It was the first dual meet ever between the two schools. Augsburg claimed three first-period pins and two second-period pins in the victory, while one of Waldorf's three victories came by pin. Augsburg's Zach Molitor (SR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 174 pounds, converted an early takedown into a 52-second pin of Gabe Vasquez (SO, El Paso, Texas) in the quickest match-ender of the night. Brad Baus (JR, Mukwonago, Wis.), ranked No. 6 at 184, followed Molitor's pin with a 1:16 pin of Josh Ellingwood (FY, Plainfield, Ill.). Augsburg also claimed back-to-back-to-back pins early in the match, as Boyd Suparat (SO, North Branch, Minn.) built a 14-3, second-period lead before claiming a 3:41 pin of Jeff Ohnemus (JR, Nodaway Valley, Iowa) at 133, and No. 10-ranked Cody Hansen (SO, Albert Lea, Minn.) built a 12-1 lead at 141 before scoring a 3:22 pin of Ben Seglin (SO, Las Vegas, Nev.). No. 3-ranked Tony Valek (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) improved to 21-2 on the season with a 1:36 pin of Bryce Robbins (FY, Tucson, Ariz.) at 149 pounds. In the only meeting of ranked wrestlers on the night, Augsburg's No. 3-ranked Jared Massey (SR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) improved to 6-0 on the season, using an early takedown and a second-period escape to score a 3-2 win over Waldorf's No. 6-ranked Jeff Roman (SR, Miami, Fla.) at 197. In the final match of the evening, heavyweight Chad Johnson (FY, Ferryville, Wis./De Soto HS) improved to 13-7 on the year, taking advantage of two takedowns and 2:51 of riding time to score a 6-0 win over Waldorf's Jacob Combs (JR, Whittemore, Iowa). Waldorf's Venel Rene (SR, Miami, Fla.), ranked No. 11 at 125, scored a 3:28 pin of Augsburg's Jesse Hylton (SO, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS). Jeremy Padilla (JR, Henderson, Nev.) claimed a 6-3 win over Augsburg's Jon Priess (SO, Waconia, Minn.) at 157, and the Warriors' No. 7-ranked Rashad Moss (JR, LaGrange, Ga.) collected a 5-3 win over Justin Bowland (FY, Foley, Minn.) at 165. Augsburg returns to action on Thursday (1/20) night at 7 p.m. with a dual meet at Nebraska-Omaha, the defending NCAA Division II national champions and top-ranked team in the Division II national poll. No. 3 (NCAA Div. III) Augsburg (Minn., 5-2) 36, No. 16 (NAIA) Waldorf (1-8) 12 Tuesday, January 18, 2011 – Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn. Action begins at 125 pounds. Time of match: 1:03. Attendance: 141. Official: Tim Shiels. 125 – No. 11 Venel Rene (WAL) pinned Jesse Hylton (AUG, 4-7) 3:28 (Waldorf 6-0). 133 -- Boyd Suparat (AUG, 15-8) pinned Jeff Ohnemus (WAL) 3:41 (TIED 6-6). 141 – No. 10 Cody Hansen (AUG, 15-5) pinned Ben Seglin (WAL) 3:22 (Augsburg 12-6) 149 – No. 3 Tony Valek (AUG, 21-2) pinned Bryce Robbins (WAL) 1:36 (Augsburg 18-6). 157 -- Jeremy Padilla (WAL) dec. Jon Priess (AUG, 12-13) 6-3 (Augsburg 18-9). 165 -- No. 7 Rashad Moss (WAL) dec. Justin Bowland (AUG, 9-12) 5-3 (Augsburg 18-12). 174 – No. 2 Zach Molitor (AUG, 12-1) pinned Gabe Vasquez (WAL) 0:52 (Augsburg 24-12). 184 – No. 6 Brad Baus (AUG, 20-4) pinned Josh Ellingwood (WAL) 1:16 (Augsburg 30-12). 197 – No. 3 Jared Massey (AUG, 6-0) dec. No. 6 Jeff Roman (WAL) 3-2 (Augsburg 33-12). HWT – Chad Johnson (AUG, 13-7) dec. Jacob Combs (WAL) 6-0 (Augsburg 36-12).

Iowa City, Iowa has been selected to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling. The event will be held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the campus of the University of Iowa from April 21-22, 2012. Iowa City was one of three finalist cities to make final presentations on their bid to a selection committee on January 12. The committee included USA Wrestling staff and athletes, as well as representatives from the U.S. Olympic Committee. The other cities to make finalist presentations were Columbus, Ohio and Council Bluffs, Iowa. Initially, seven cities bid to host the competition. Those cities which were not selected for finalist presentations were Greensboro, N.C., Hampton, Va., Oklahoma City, Okla. and Pontiac, Mich. "We are unbelievably pleased and humbled with the response we received from cities wishing to host our most valuable event property," said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. "We would like to thank the leaders from all three finalist cities for their outstanding presentations. We hope that all of these cities continue to be involved with USA Wrestling and host wrestling events in years to come." The initial bid proposal for the event also included the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Weightlifting. Due to a scheduling conflict, USA Weightlifting could no longer hold Trials on the selected dates and stepped out of the bid process. The event will feature competition in the three Olympic styles of the sport – men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's freestyle. The competition will determine the U.S. athletes who will qualify to represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. The local organizing committee is led by the University of Iowa Athletics and the Iowa City/Coralville Area CVB and includes leaders from the City of Iowa City, City of Coralville and City of North Liberty. Among those serving on the host committee are legendary collegiate and Olympic wrestlers Dan Gable, Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Lincoln McIlravy and Cornell College coach Mike Duroe. "I believe this is a good decision for the future of wrestling at all levels. This will help increase the visibility of our sport. I see more growth for wrestling as a result. It gets me very excited," said wrestling legend Dan Gable from the local organizing committee. "The Iowa City local organizing committee was selected based upon their proven track record of hosting large and successful wrestling events, as well as a history of drawing strong fan support," said Bender. ‘We are committed to working tirelessly with the organizing committee and the entire community to host the most successful U.S. Olympic Team Trials in our history." "This community is fired up to welcome our nation's best to Carver Hawkeye Arena and will come together as they have so many times to produce a Trials that is remembered for years to come," said Joshua Schamberger, President of the Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau "Our entire community couldn't be more excited by this news. We look forward to creating an athlete and fan experience that will carry on through London." Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which is located on the University of Iowa campus, serves as the home arena for Iowa's wrestling team, as well as Iowa's basketball and volleyball squads. The arena seats 15,000 for wrestling and is named after long-time wrestling supporter Roy J. Carver. The $47 million Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Addition and Renovation Project is underway to expand and upgrade facilities, and is scheduled for completion in time for the 2011-12 athletic year. This is the first time that the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling has been hosted in Iowa since USA Wrestling has served as National Governing Body in 1984. Carver-Hawkeye Arena hosted the NCAA Div. I Wrestling Championships four times (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The total attendance figures for the 1995 (80,389), 2001 (79,477) and 1991 (70.163) NCAA Championships rank ninth, 11th and 15th, respectively among NCAA Wrestling Championships. It also hosted the Big Ten Wrestling Championships three times (1983, 1994, 2005). A preliminary U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifying event for wrestling was held in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 1984. Other major wrestling competitions held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena include two NWCA All-Star Classics (1993, 1996) and two Cliff Keen NWCA National Duals (1998, 1999). The Field House at the University of Iowa hosted the first USA Wrestling Junior National Championships in 1971, and served as venue for the competition from 1971-1982. Iowa City also hosted USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman National Championships three times (1975, 1977, 1978). Iowa City also hosted the 1983 USA Wrestling Freestyle World Team Trials. "We are thrilled and excited with this remarkable opportunity to stage an event that will have the full attention of wrestling community not only in the state of Iowa and the Heartland, but the United States and the world. We are also delighted with the opportunity to showcase the revitalized Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Rest assured, the University of Iowa, the UI Athletics Department, and our city partners are ready to stage an event that USA Wrestling will be very, very proud of," said Gary Barta, Athletics Director of the University of Iowa. U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS FOR WRESTLING (Organized by USA Wrestling as the sport's NGB) 1984 – Allendale, Mich. 1988 – Pensacola, Fla. 1992 – Pittsburgh, Pa. (FS); Concord, Calif. (GR) 1996 – Spokane, Wash. (FS); Concord, Calif.(GR) 2000 – Dallas, Texas 2004 – Indianapolis, Ind. 2008 – Las Vegas, Nev. 2012 – Iowa City, Iowa

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan head wrestling coach has added Stephen Dwyer to his coaching staff. Dwyer is a December 2010 graduate of the University of Nebraska, where he was a two-time NCAA All-American. "We're excited to add Stephen to our staff," Borrelli said. "He's an individual who has had a lot of success in collegiate wrestling, and he will have an immediate impact on our program." Dwyer was a four-time NCAA Championships qualifier while at Nebraska. He placed fourth at 174 pounds as a senior in 2010 and eighth at 165 pounds in 2008. He was 106-35 overall during his career, including a 2010 Big 12 Conference championship. Dwyer was named Nebraska's Most Dedicated Wrestler in 2008 and 2010. Dwyer was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 selection and twice earned NWCA All-Academic honors. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Nebraska.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Freshman Kyle Cowan made his mark on Penn Wrestling this weekend in a big way. All the heavyweight did was down a nationally-ranked wrestler against VMI and then score the decisive win in a tied match against Virginia. Cowan's 2-1 win over No. 14 Josh Wine of VMI was the final win in a 33-6 victory for Penn over the Keydets. Later, against Virginia, Cowan took the mat with the two teams tied, 15-15. Against veteran Jack Danilkowicz, Cowan won via a 5-1 decision to break the deadlock in favor of the Red and Blue, 18-15. Against Virginia, Mark Rappo came out with a quick takedown on Matt Snyder, scoring the first points 25 seconds in. With a minute to go in the period, Rappo again scored a takedown. The takedown was a close one, and the Virginia bench argued the call and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct, with a team point deducted from UVA's team total. Snyder chose top position for the second period, but couldn't turn Rappo. He was close, with two one-counts, but Rappo held ground and took a 4-2 lead into the third period. In the third period, Rappo came in on a shot and the two wrestled in a scramble for a good 45 seconds before the stalemate was called. With 14 seconds left, Rappo shot off the restart and controlled the final seconds. Snyder had 1:37 of riding time, but the score was still 4-3 in favor of Rappo. Rollie Peterkin followed with a takedown in the first 30 seconds at 133 pounds, riding Joe Spisak out for the remainder of the opening period. In the second, Peterkin chose bottom looking to build his lead. It took him a while, but with 30 seconds left in the middle stanza, Peterkin slipped out the back and came out on top for a reversal to take a 4-0 lead into the third period. Spisak went back to top in the third on his choice, and this time Peterkin reversed in the first 20 seconds to give himself a 6-0 lead. Peterkin countered a Spisak underhook with a go-behind with 29 seconds left in the match, but Spisak was able to reverse right before the buzzer to take away bonus points for Penn as Peterkin won, 9-3 on his 2:18 of riding time. Midway through the first period at 141, Zack Kemmerer was able to score on a double, but Sako escaped 10 seconds later before Kemmerer could accumulate riding time. With two seconds left in the period, the referee called fleeing the mat on Kemmerer, tying the bout at 2-2 entering the second. Sako chose bottom in the second, escaping 13 seconds into the period to take a one-point lead. Kemmerer shot a single to the right leg just past the midway mark of the second period, lifting Sako's leg to the shelf and taking his time to trip Sako down for the takedown and a 4-3 lead. Kemmerer, with 58 seconds of riding time chose neutral for the third. He was called for stalling a second time, giving Sako a point to momentarily tie the match. However, right after the stall call, Kemmerer shot in again and took a 6-4 lead with another single. In the process, Kemmerer rose over 1:00 in riding time to essentially have a three-point lead. Sako escaped with just under a minute remaining, closing the gap. A mad scramble in the last 15 seconds had things in doubt, but Kemmerer held on and his 1:18 of riding time gave him a 7-5 win. At 149, Andrew Lenzi and Derek Valenti were scoreless in the first period despite three good scrambles. In the second, Lenzi chose neutral, with both wrestlers looking for the first points of the bout. Again, the two went scoreless. In the third, Valenti chose bottom to start. He escaped 18 seconds into the period, taking the first lead of the bout, 1-0. Lenzi couldn't get inside the rest of the period, and Valenti took a 1-0 decision. After UVA scored a tech fall at 157 from Nicky Gordon with a 20-5 win over Jordan Michelson, Jedd Moore came right back for UVA at 165 pounds with the first takedown against No. 20 Gabriel Burak. Burak escaped in 17 seconds, getting his first point of the match. The first period was contested in tight, with both wrestlers looking for Russian ties and headlock. Burak was close at the end of the period, but could not secure sole control. Burak elected top position in the second period, looking for nearfall. The nearfall didn't come, but Burak rode for the full two minutes, accumulating 1:42 of riding time entering the third period. In the third, Burak countered a Moore shot and came out of the scramble on top with just under a minute remaining in the bout to take a 3-2 lead. Burak rode out the remainder, staving off Moore roll-throughs for a 4-2 win. At 174, Canaan Bethea was defeated by two-time All-American and No. 4 in the nation, Chris Henrich, 14-6. Riding time for Henrich throughout the match was the deciding factor in the bonus point to bring the team score to 12-11. Erich Smith was out at 184 for Penn, wrestling No. 20 Jon Fausey. After Smith defended the first two shots of the match, Fausey was able to score on a low single with 1:18 to go in the opening period. Smith was close to an escape on the edge, but in the flow, both wrestlers went out of bounds. Fausey chose bottom for the second and escaped 11 seconds into the period, upping his lead to 3-0. With 15 seconds to go in the second, Fausey rolled right through a Smith shot, coming out for a takedown and a 5-0 lead entering the third. Smith escaped with just under a minute to go in the final period. Fausey scored again on a low single, cutting Smith to try and get the major. He scored that important takedown with five seconds to go, adding 2:34 of riding time for a 10-2 win and giving UVA its first lead of the day, 15-12. No. 7 Micah Burak scored first at 197 against former ACC champion, Mike Salopek, ducking under and behind for a score with a little over one minute left in the first period of a physical bout. With five seconds left, while trying to return Salopek to the mat, Burak was hit for locked hands, giving UVA a point. In the second, Burak added to his lead with an escape from his choice of bottom and then a second takedown, bringing Salopek to the mat in the same fashion he did in the first period. Entering the third, Burak held a 5-1 lead and 1:45 of riding time. Salopek escaped quickly to close within three. With 1:10 to go, Burak was able to stuff a single from Salopek and circle to his right and score another takedown. Salopek escaped again, but Burak held on for an 8-3 decision with 1:57 of riding time. Kyle Cowan took down Jack Danilkowicz down with two seconds left in the first period, giving him a 2-0 lead in the deciding match. In the second period, Cowan escaped in 15 seconds, building his lead. That was all the scoring in the second, as Cowan took a 3-0 lead into the third period. Cowan held Danilkowicz down for a bit, but the escape came with 1:13 to go, bringing the score to 3-1. Danilkowicz shot with 10 seconds left, but Cowan shugged him off the hip and circled around for a final takedown and a 5-1 decision to clinch the match for Penn, 18-15. Penn's first dual of the day was a dominating 33-6 win over Virginia Military Institute. As has been the case of late, the Quakers jumped out to an early lead, with wins at the first four weights giving Penn a 16-0 lead. No. 4 Rollie Peterkin had the first of Penn's two pins in the dual at 133, sticking Luke Todd at 6:25, working a reversal into a pinning situation. Two bouts later, freshman Andrew Lenzi put up his best effort as a collegiate wrestler, defeating Ryan Goodsell, 13-2, at 149 pounds. Lenzi had a 7-1 lead after the first period, with two takedowns and three nearfall points. After VMI got on the board with a 6-0 win at 157, No. 20 Gabriel Burak posted a 15-0 tech fall at 165. Burak dominated, with an early takedown followed by 13 nearfall points over the period and a half of action. At 184, Erich Smith picked up a win in his first match as a Quaker, downing John Dommert, 6-2. Seventh-ranked Micah Burak recorded Penn's second pin of the dual, waiting till the last possible second to stick Chris Gill at 6:59. Burak led 10-0 at the time of the fall. Cowan after tough matches against ranked opponents earlier this season, picked up a win over a ranked foe with his 2-1 win over Wine. The winning points were a reversal in the second period, countering Wine's attempt to accumulate riding time. Penn defeats Virginia, 18-15 125 - No. 19 Mark Rappo (Penn) def. Matt Snyder (UVA), 4-3 (Penn leads, 3 to -1)* 133 - No. 4 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) def. Joe Spisak (UVA), 9-3 (Penn leads, 6 to -1) 141 - No. 9 Zack Kemmerer (Penn) def. Gus Sako (UVA), 7-5 (Penn leads, 9 to -1) 149 - Derek Valenti (UVA) def. Andrew Lenzi (Penn), 1-0 (Penn leads, 9-2) 157 - Nicky Gordon (UVA) def. Jordan Michelson (Penn). 20-5 (5:14) (Penn leads, 9-7) 165 - No. 20 Gabriel Burak (Penn) def. Jedd Moore (UVA), 4-2 (Penn leads, 12-7) 174 - No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVA) def. Canaan Bethea (Penn), 14-6 (Penn leads, 12-11) 184 - No. 20 Jon Fausey (UVA) def. Erich Smith (Penn), 10-2 (UVA leads, 15-12) 197 - No. 7 Micah Burak (Penn) def. Mike Salopek (UVA), 8-3 (Match tied, 15-15) 285 - Kyle Cowan (Penn) def. Jack Danilkowicz (UVA), 5-1 (Penn leads, 18-15) * UVA bench called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct in 1st period, resulting in a deduction of one team point Penn defeats VMI, 33-6 125 - No. 19 Mark Rappo (Penn) def. Jon Pope (VMI), 11-4 (Penn leads, 3-0) 133 - No. 4 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) def. Luke Todd (VMI), FALL 6:25 (Penn leads, 9-0) 141 - No. 9 Zack Kemmerer (Penn) def. David Yost (VMI), 6-1 (Penn leads, 12-0) 149 - Andrew Lenzi (Penn) def. Ryan Goodsell (VMI), 13-2 (Penn leads, 16-0) 157 - Nicholas Emison (VMI) def. Jordan Michelson (Penn), 6-0 (Penn leads, 16-3) 165 - No. 20 Gabriel Burak (Penn) def. Ted Gottwald (VMI), 15-0 (4:37) (Penn leads, 21-3) 174 - Matthew Brock (VM) def. Canaan Bethea (Penn), 1-0 (Penn leads, 21-6) 184 - Erich Smith (Penn) def. John Dommert (VMI), 6-2 (Penn leads, 24-6) 197 - No. 7 Micah Burak (Penn) def. Chris Gill (VMI), FALL 6:59 (Penn leads, 30-6) 285 - Kyle Cowan (Penn) def. No. 14 Josh Wine (VMI), 2-1 (Penn leads, 33-6)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In a matchup that was a homecoming for Buckeye 165-pounder Colt Sponseller, the dual between the Ohio State wrestling team and Michigan State also was significant in terms of determining how the Scarlet and Gray would rebound from a less than stellar start to the season. Answering head coach Tom Ryan's challenge, the Buckeyes (2-5; 1-1 Big Ten) downed Michigan State (8-2; 0-2 Big Ten), 19-16, Sunday afternoon at West Holmes High School in Millersburg, Ohio, in front of 2,050 fans. Those in attendance in the sold out gymnasium loudly cheered on the Buckeyes and of course Sponseller, who attended West Holmes from 2004-07. During his high school career, Sponseller, who hails from Glenmont, Ohio, was a three-time Ohio High School state champion as a four-time qualifier. Clearly the feature bout following halftime, Sponseller jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Ben Boudro got on the board with an escape. However, Sponseller, one of four team captains, answered with two more takedowns and a riding time of 3:09 for the 12-2 major decision. After the Spartans took an early 4-0 advantage following the 125-pound bout, sophomore Ian Paddock put the Buckeyes ahead, 6-4, after he pinned Levi Stace in 44 seconds. Paddock, a Warsaw, N.Y., native, was up 2-0 on a takedown before pinning Stace. A late escape in the third period by freshman Randy Languis vs. Joel Trombly at 141 pounds proved to be the difference maker for the young Buckeye. Up 5-2 entering the third period, Languis, a Central Ohio product out of Dublin Scioto, relinquished an escape and takedown to Trombly. All even at five each, Languis scored an escape with 18 seconds left for the 6-5 win. Back-to-back Spartan decisions at 149 and 157 pounds propelled Michigan State to a 10-9 lead, but the major decision by Sponseller at 165 pounds pushed Ohio State back into the lead, 13-10. The Buckeyes and Spartans traded wins in the four remaining matches. First, Ohio State redshirt-freshman Nick Heflin held off Curran Jacobs, 3-2, in overtime. After Jacobs deferred in the second period, Heflin, a Massillon, Ohio, native chose bottom and scored an escape. However, Jacobs recorded an escape of his own at the beginning of the third to force extra time. With no scoring in the one-minute sudden victory, Jacobs chose bottom in the first 30-second tiebreaker and escaped Heflin's clutches for the 2-1 lead. In the following 30-second tiebreaker, Heflin notched a reversal with just three seconds left on the clock. At 184 pounds, redshirt-sophomore C.J. Magrum dropped a close 3-1 decision in sudden victory to Ian Hinton. A native of Oak Harbor, Ohio, Magrum and Hinton were tied at 1-all before Hinton scored a takedown in extra time. Classmate, Peter Capone gave the Buckeyes their final win of the afternoon at 197 pounds. In a reversal of fortunes, the Buckeye from Johnson City, N.Y., earned his own 3-1 sudden victory decision over No. 19 Tyler Dickenson when he scored a takedown with 11 seconds left in the period to put Ohio State up 19-13. Buckeye heavyweight Zach Stolarsky (Solon, Ohio) wrapped up the afternoon vs. Mike McClure, who is 16th in the nation. After a scoreless first period, McClure scored an escape and takedown in the second and third periods, respectively, to close out the match. Ohio State will travel to Iowa City, Iowa, where it will face the Hawkeyes at 4 p.m. ET Jan. 22 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network. Results: 125 Eric Olanowski (Michigan State) MD Bo Touris (Ohio State), 11 - 2 133 Ian Paddock (Ohio State) FALL Levi Stace (Michigan State), (:44) 141 Randy Languis (Ohio State) DEC Joel Trombly (Michigan State), 6 - 5 149 Dan Osterman (Michigan State) DEC Mike Fee (Ohio State), 11 - 4 157 Sean McMurray (Michigan State)DEC Sean Nemec (Ohio State), 11 - 8 165 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) MD Ben Boudro (Michigan State), 12 - 2 174 Nick Heflin (Ohio State) DEC Curran Jacobs (Michigan State), 3 - 2 184 Ian Hinton (Michigan State) DEC C.J. Magrum (Ohio State), 3 - 1 197 Peter Capone (Ohio State) DEC Tyler Dickenson (Michigan State),3 - 1 285 Mike McClure (Michigan State) DEC Zach Stolarsky (Ohio State), 3 - 0