InterMat Staff

The college wrestling community took a collective sigh of relief Tuesday when it learned that the University of Maryland was no longer considering cutting its wrestling program from the school's athletic offerings. The decision made sense. Over the past several years the Terrapins have become a powerful presence in the Mid-Atlantic region, winning two of the last three ACC titles and head coach Kerry McCoy has been awarded an equal number of ACC Coach of the Year honors. Robin Ficker (Photo/Morgan Hennessy)The school's final decision and the board's motives for their recommendations will not be known for some time, but fans can conclude that much of the reason wrestling was saved has to do with the program's forward momentum. The Terrapins have been successful on the mat, with three All-Americans in 2011 and have also proven to be one of the most active social networking teams in the country. The program has also attracted the loudest fan in the wrestling nation: former Washington Bullets heckler Robin Ficker. On-the-mat success, networking and an active fan base lead the Terrapins to this rarest of wrestling success stories. However, the fight for amateur wrestling's cultural recognition will not be cemented with the preservation of one program through traditional means. The wrestling world needs to extract broader lessons from the Maryland case and understand that proactive measures had already been taken to make the team more solvent and more salient, but that more will have to be done to protect it for the next decade. Wrestling has long been dogged as a welfare sport. While I believe colleges and universities should provide athletics to their student body as part of creating a diverse student experience regardless of financial implications, I am very much in the minority. Administrators are trending negative in 2012, having to process depressing bottom lines, pay-for-play scandals and moral battles they never imagined. All this turmoil means there is opportunity for change at the administrative level and for college programs to create capital in conjunction with the rapidly expanding MMA marketplace. The wrestling community (an idiom loosely fashioned to any of several groups, including coaches, fans, media and influential alumni who converse on internet boards and occasional drink specials) is the most eagerly entrepreneurial of any of the other traditional sports threatened by budget cuts. Any wrestling-focused Facebook user has 30 T-shirt brands to choose from and an equal number of apps, camps, and instructional videos. But when it comes to running our programs like a business, we tend to collapse under administrative pressures and lack of potential financing. We do not do a good job creating vertical monetization of our most unique and valuable commodity: wrestling matches. Frankie Edgar (Photo/FrankieEdgar.com)I understand that the wrestling community is split on its feelings about mixed martial arts and the influence it can have on college and international wrestling. One argument stands that the increased cage success of former wrestling stars like Dan Henderson, Ben Askren, and Frankie Edgar attracts potential international wrestling stars away from their Olympic pursuits. Other camps believe that MMA provides incentive for young kids interested in MMA to become involved in the sport from a young age. Both arguments make sense, but the effort against MMA is fundamentally irrational -- the sport will not be harnessed or stopped (as New York is now finding out) it can only be capitalized upon. Wrestling is already late, but with a proactive approach from the sport's leaders it can make full use of the sport's crossover potential. Wrestling's key issue with programmatic security has always been its inability to create revenue from ticket sales, clothing sales, and other traditional market-based solutions. To fill the gap we have created a co-opt of funds brought together by independent philanthropic endeavors and individuals to pay our bills in the short term. (Perhaps not shockingly the independent financing of traditional wrestling is not an American problem -- we actually support wrestling better than most countries.) The financial support of individuals is wonderful to those who can attain it, but wrestling now is positioned to accept increased financial support from its professional sporting cousin, mixed martial arts. Last weekend's UFC on FOX debut pitted former two-time Arizona State heavyweight All-American Cain Velasquez against undefeated Brazilian striker Junior dos Santos. By now most of you have seen the results in the cage and UFC fans made audible groans at the length of the fight -- all perceived to be major setbacks for the promotion. However, as the numbers became more certain, the media realized two important stats. The first was that the fight, which aired against a BCS-impact game and lead-in to a Manny Pacquiao fight, pulled 5.7 million viewers making it the most-watched UFC fight in history. The fight also captured the second-highest male 18-34 demographic (the most coveted in advertising) of the sporting season, more than baseball, football, or any other single athletic event save the recent No. 1 vs. No. 2 football game between LSU and Alabama. The target demographic is important to understand; 18-34 has always been recognized as the age when men start to develop brand loyalty which they'll likely retain well into their earning years. For companies it's clear: get 'em now and you'll be paid handsomely for years to come. To own this demographic advertisers pour money into athletic events because viewers tend to watch them live rather than risk having the results ruined by Twitter or a friend with a bent towards schadenfreude. The UFC and FOX have aligned for a 7-year, $700 million deal because the network realized that the UFC held this key demographic and that advertisers would be desperate to seek space during events like this weekend's. All of the advertising interest makes for a large pot of MMA money, and what sport feeds MMA more than any other? College wrestling. So why is there not more bleed over in terms of dollars? A lack of creativity, community of complacency and the misguided belief that wrestling as a consumer product can't be profitable. Crossover companies already exist. Clinch Gear and Cradle Gear have wrestling and MMA gear, but its product-only right now -- the cash is not filtering to college teams in any measurable result. One reason is that the content schools could sell (i.e. matches, behind-the-scenes and techniques) are being handed over for free to sites like Flowrestling. Flo's model is based on clicks, so a school's content gets coupled with advertising and that once-free content is now profitable to nobody but Flo. How and why that model still exists without competition is perplexing considering the amount of money they are making from any of their major sponsors, including dominant MMA brand TapouT. In a normal content partnership, like the UFC on FOX, the content is paid for in advance, giving the purchasing party the ability to make revenue from the advertising. No such model currently exists in college wrestling and until it does Flo has every right (as capitalists) to continue to profit from the free content. Colleges across the country have to improve their revenue streams by promoting their product in a system that allocates advertising dollars back to their programs. Mat decals, short commercials, sponsored segments with athletes and other market-based solutions are all currently available to schools willing to control their content and MMA is the resource connecting the sport to an enormous, culture-changing pot of money. The MMA world has realized the potential of college wrestlers and college wresting, what's sad is that because of misplaced modesty or ineffectual leadership the reverse can't be said. In addition to the content currently available for sale, the major conference representatives (Big Ten and Big 12) need to influence the rules and regulations governing the advertising capabilities of college wrestling programs. Ideas are needed, but what about teams with sponsored singlets (already do this with Nike, adidas, etc.)? Or matches that are competed in fight shorts and shirts, giving advertisers the incentive to reach out to the 4 million-plus members of the wrestling community with marketable consumer wears? I certainly wouldn't mind an amendment to the current NCAA rules that would allow for on-the-mat decals during the ESPN broadcast of the NCAA finals (maybe the funds could be distributed to at-risk teams?) These are just throw-away, top-of-the-dome ideas, but with the backing of MMA there is no limit to the growth and earning potential for individual programs and business owners. By creating a marketplace that's attractive to MMA advertisers college wrestling can enjoy financial stability and re-certify itself as a major component of the modern sporting world. We do not have to live in a world where we're waiting for bad news every March, a culling of the first order. We can be leaders if we just believe that we have something to sell and take the initiative to make those moves. If we do not, we will continue to disappear, continue to fail and continue a complete, total and irreparable downward spiral into financial instability and cultural irrelevance. That is unless leaders are willing to recapture their content, sell it and embrace the financial potential of the cage.

OREM, Utah -- University of Wyoming 165-pound senior Shane Onufer (Auburn, Wash./Auburn HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference Wrestler of the Week by the league on Tuesday after an outstanding performance on the mat last week. In his first action of the season, Onufer went 4-0 at the Cowboy Open, winning his weight class at the event for the fourth-straight year. He started the tournament by pinning Jorge Benitez of Western State at the 6:30 mark and followed that up with a 5-0 decision over Jordan Larsen of Colorado School of Mines. He then defeated Tyler Juby (unattached) with an 11-0 major decision, and beat Steve Vasquez (Cal Poly) 5-1 in the championship bout. Onufer allowed just one point to his four opponents over the course of the tournament. The conference award Onufer's first of the season and fifth of his career. The Wyoming grappler is currently ranked second in the nation by InterMat at 165 pounds. The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its sixth year of competition, is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Other Nominees: North Dakota State: Steven Monk, 157 pounds, Sophomore (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West HS) Northern Iowa: David Bonin, 157 pounds, Junior (Broussard, La./Comeaux HS) South Dakota State: Dillon Reid, 165 pounds, Freshman, (Red Bluff, Calif./Red Bluff HS) Utah Valley: Brian Chamberlain, 197 pounds, Freshman (Moses Lake, Wash./Moses Lake HS) 2011-12 WWC Wrestlers of the Week Nov. 9 - Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Third-ranked junior Josh Asper has been selected as the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week after earning co-Most Outstanding Wrestler honors and capturing the 165-pound championship at the Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational. Asper, a four-time recipient of the award, improved to 7-0 after posting four wins in the event including a 6-0 decision over sixth-ranked Scott Winston of Rutgers in the 165-pound final. The Parkton, Md., native opened the draw with 17-0 technical fall over Rutgers' Doug Hamann and followed the victory with two more by decision before defeating Winston. Asper opened the season on Nov. 6 with three victories including a pin of Johns Hopkins' Walt Mayfield 1:13 into the match. Of Asper's seven wins, two are by technical fall along with one major decision and one pin. The Terps are back in action on Nov. 26 at the Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. Eleventh-ranked Maryland will take on Bucknell, 23rd-ranked Central Michigan and Northern Iowa.

THIS WEEK IN MINNESOTA WRESTLING The Golden Gophers hit the road for two very important, early season dual matches. First up is a contest against No. 5 Cornell on Friday Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. CST, followed by a matchup with the No.1 and defending NCAA National Champion Penn State Nittany Lions. Fans can access the Cornell match a couple different ways. One option is 1160espn.com, which will provide free audio for the dual. The second option is on Cornell's website where you can purchase a one-time event fee, which will provide a video feed of the dual. The dual may not be set up online until later in the week. The match against the Nittany Lions will be broadcasted LIVE on the Big Ten Network. Tim Johnson will have the play-by-play, while Jim Gibbons will be the analyst. Free audio will also be provided by Theopenmat.com WRAP UP FROM THE BISON Minnesota opened the season at the 41st annual Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. The Gophers brought home nine titles from Zach Sanders (125), David Thorn (133), Nick Dardanes (141), Dylan Ness (149), Jake Deitchler (157), Cody Yohn (165), Kevin Steinhaus (184), Sonny Yohn (197) and Tony Nelson (Hwt). A LOOK AT THE BIG RED Cornell is coming off 2010-11 with a record of 13-1 and were crowned Ivy League Champions after a perfect 5-0 run. The Big Red finished second at the NCAA Championships and were the 2011 National Dual Champions. Cornell defeated the Gophers 20-16 at the National Duals. FAMILIAR FACE AT CORNELL Former Gopher and two-time NCAA champion Damion Hahn is entering his sixth season on the Cornell bench. Hahn finished his Gopher career a 118-21 record, which included a 33-1 mark during his senior season in 2003-04. Hahn became the third wrestler in school history to capture two NCAA titles when he won back-to-back crowns in 2003 and 2004. A LOOK AT THE NITTANY LIONS Penn State comes into the season as the returning National Champions from a year ago. Last season the Gophers and the Nittany Lions tied (18-18) at the Sports Pavilion. DEITCHLER IS BACK Redshirt Sophomore Jake Deitchler is back in the Gopher lineup for this season at 157 lbs. Last week at the Bison Open he finished 4-0. The former 2008 US Olympic Team member will square off with Cornell's Kyle Dake, who is ranked No. 1 by InterMat, while Deitchler is No. 8 SANDERS MOVING UP THE CHARTS Senior All-American Zach Sanders currently sits at No. 30 on the all-time career wins list for the Gophers. Sanders has 106 wins in his career. FOUR ALL-AMERICAN CAPTAINS The four returning All-Americans from last season have been named as team captains for the 2011-12 season. Sanders is joined by fellow senior Sonny Yohn and sophomores Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson to guide the team. At the NCAA Championships last season Sanders finished 5th (125 lbs.), Yohn 7th (197 lbs.), Steinhaus 8th (184 lbs.) and Nelson 7th (Hwt.) GOPHER COACHING STAFF Minnesota's coaching staff is led by the legend J Robinson, who enters his 26th season at the helm. Longtime assistant Joe Russell left over the summer to take the head coaching job at George Mason University. Now, Brandon Eggum has moved up to Head Assistant Coach, while Luke Becker is a full-time assistant. Former National Champion Jayson Ness has also joined the staff as an assistant for the Gophers. WITH ONE WIN ... Head Coach J Robinson needs one win to bump his career record at Minnesota to 375 wins. Robinson's current record for the Gophers is 374-126-4, which is just 18 wins shy of tying the all-time record, which is currently held by Wally Johnson, whose record is 392-209-11. GOPHERS INNER CIRCLE Make sure to check out the Minnesota Wrestling Blog (Gophers Inner Circle) for news, features, videos etc. LIKE US AND FOLLOW US Find Gopher Wrestling on Facebook at Golden Gopher Wrestling and make sure to follow the Golden Gophers on Twitter. Just search @GopherWrestling on Twitter and you can be a follower.

Five wrestling recruits signed their National Letter of Intent to the University of Northern Iowa. Here's a look at who Head Coach Doug Schwab and his staff nabbed: Dylan Peters, 125 Denver HS (Denver, Iowa) InterMat Ranking: 7 3-time finalist, 2-time state champ (Class 2A); 3rd at USA Junior Nationals (2010) Coach Doug Schwab's impressions: "He came to our club practices quite a bit, so we got a real good idea of how he competes in the practice room and how he fights for everything. He takes of his grades, takes care of his social life. He's the right kind of guy to help build our program with. You're going to see his name for the next five years with UNI Wrestling." Zach Witte, 145/152 Cedar Rapids Prairie HS (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) InterMat Ranking: 10 (152) 2nd place at state as freshman; undefeated state champ as junior Coach Doug Schwab's impressions: "I got to see him last year at the state tournament. He beat a guy in the semis who was the defending state champ. Then he wrestled (Gabriel) Moreno in the finals, and it was a good match. I guess the thing that I noticed is that he kept wrestling, he kept attacking. Those are the kinds of guys that we want. Then you find out more about a guy. You find out how he trains. And it might be very basic, but basic wins at the highest level." Curt Maas, 152 Medford HS (Medford, Minn.) InterMat Ranking: NR State qualifier as 8th grader, 2nd place as freshman, two-time state champ as sophomore/junior Coach Doug Schwab's impressions: "He's got a twin brother, and usually twins are pretty tough, because they've been beating up on each other all the way up. We just heard a lot of good things about him -- heard about the type of attitude that he has. Sometimes you can't explain -- you like the look in the guy's eyes or you like the things that he says back to you. Sometimes guys just tell you what you want to hear, but this guy -- he believes it." Cooper Moore, 160/170 Jackson County Central HS (Jackson, Minn.) InterMat Ranking: 11 (170) 4th at state as freshman, state champ as sophomore, injured at state tournament last season Coach Doug Schwab's impressions: "You want to get everybody on your radar, but there's a couple of guys that you got to get. And he's one of them -- for weight class need, but more importantly, his mentality. He's got some great leg attacks, and that excites me as a coach. He wanted to be at UNI, and that's one thing that's good about all the guys that we got this year. He wants to be here, and he's excited to get here. And that's what we need with this program." Jared Bartel, 195 Mason City HS (Mason City, Iowa) InterMat Ranking: 10 2nd at state as junior, USA Pre-Season Nationals champion Coach Doug Schwab's impressions: "He's raw, but that's a good thing, because you can always build skills in a guy. I got to watch him wrestle in Waterloo a few times, and he wrestled hard. That's what catches my eye in a guy. It's not necessarily if he's flashy with his skills, but that he wrestles hard, keeps attacking, and he keeps rushing back to the center. And that's what he does."

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma wrestling coach Mark Cody recently signed four high school seniors to National Letters of Intent, all four rank in the top-20 nationally in their respective weight classes. “I feel this recruiting class has great potential," Mark Cody said. "I have to give most of the credit to my assistant coaches for doing their homework on each of the individuals we have signed. We hold high standards for our student-athletes on the mat and in the classroom and it takes a special individual to live up to those standards. We feel each of the guys we have signed holds these qualities." Leading ranked recruits is Clark Glass from Brandon, Fla., ranked No. 6 nationally among 160 pounders by InterMat. Glass is a four-time Florida state champion, 2011 NHSCA Junior Nationals champion and finished second at the 2011 USAW Junior Nationals. The future Sooner is ranked as high as No. 3 by Amateur Wrestling News (170 pounds) and is the No. 36 high school wrestler in the country by CollegeWrestling.net. Brad Johnson , a product of Homer Glenn, Ill., won the 2011 Illinois state crown, is a three-time All-State selection and is ranked No. 9 among 195 pounders by InterMat. In addition, he is a five-time FILA/ASICS All-American in freestyle. WIN Magazine ranks Johnson the fourth-best high school wrestler at 220 pounds and CollegeWrestling.net pegs him as the No. 49 overall recruit nationally. Choctaw, Okla., native Kyle Garcia holds three Oklahoma state titles. Garcia is No. 15 among 126 pounders and is the 91st-overall recruit nationally by InterMat. Amateur Wrestling News ranks Garcia at No. 13 in the 126 pound weight class. Greg Wilson, ranked as high as No. 14 among 195-pounders by Amateur Wrestling News, rounds out the Oklahoma class. Wilson is a two-time Texas state champion and concluded the 2010-11 season with a 64-0 mark. Cody said, "They are all very solid wrestlers and strong academically. What we want, not only with this class but going forward, is to make sure that every student-athlete we bring into OU realizes that it is student first and athlete second.”

Former University of Iowa wrestlers Ryan Morningstar and Phil Keddy have qualified to compete at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa, April 21-22. Both athletes earned their Olympic Trials position based upon their finishes at the New York Athletic Club International in New York City last weekend. Morningstar placed fourth at 74 kg/163 lb, while Keddy won the 74 kg/ 185 lb division. Former Hawkeyes Brent Metcalf (66 kg/145.5 lb), Steve Mocco (120 kg/264.5 lb) and Mike Zadick (60 kg/132 lb), and Hawkeye Wrestling Club member Lloyd Rogers (74 kg/163 lb) had previously qualified for the Olympic Trials event.

Robert Hamlin enjoys his intimidating nickname. After all, what wrestler wouldn't want to be called the "Vermonster?" Robert Hamlin celebrates after winning his NCAA semifinal match (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)But the Lehigh 184-pounder would much rather be known as Vermont's first-ever national champion. And his second-place finish in the NCAA tournament last year proves it's no tall tale. It wasn't always that way. When Hamlin made the seven-hour trip south from Jonesville, Vt., to Bethlehem, Pa., he entered a new wrestling world. Gone were the sparsely attended state tournaments where the two dozen or so schools that had wrestling teams gathered to crown Vermont's best -- no qualifiers needed. He was now in the wrestling-mad Lehigh Valley, where the Mountain Hawks' wrestleoffs routinely attract 1,000 or more fans. Not only that, the competition in the Lehigh wrestling room was far different than what he had faced at Mount Mansfield Union, where he went 168-3 with four Vermont titles and three New England Championships. Now, he was struggling just to compete with his practice partners. "When I first got to Lehigh, all the guys around my weight -- our '65, our backup '65, our '74 and our '84 -- I was at '74 at the time -- I don't think I scored on any of those guys until like the spring of my freshman year," Hamlin recalled. "It was a big change from high school to college. And I really didn't have as much competition as some of these kids coming from Pa. and stuff. I feel like if I wrestled myself back then now it would be just so easy." Pat SantoroOf course, even those from wrestling-rich states often face a difficult transition from high school to college. "That happens to a lot of freshmen coming in," Lehigh coach Pat Santoro said. "Some freshmen lose more during their first semester than they did all through high school, and it gets them down. It didn't matter to him. He was trying to figure out how to get better every day and what he needed to work on. When you have that type of attitude, you're not focused on wins and losses (and) you get really good really fast. And that's what he's done." Even while he struggled in the Lehigh wrestling room, Hamlin was shining outside of it. He went 30-6 wrestling unattached at 174 pounds in open tournaments during his redshirt season. He was named the outstanding wrestler at the Wilkes Open in December and won the Shorty Hitchcock Memorial Open the following month. Somewhere along the way, he started pushing his teammates more and more in practice. "Even though, in the room, he couldn't get a takedown for awhile, he was wrestling some pretty good kids coming in," Santoro recalled. "(But) he just never stopped wrestling. You keep coming up, you're going to get better. You get taken down, come back. By the end of the year, he was pushing those people. A year later, he earned the starting spot. A year after that, he's the national runner-up." He went 18-12 in his first season in the Lehigh lineup and qualified for the NCAA tournament at 174 pounds, which gave him confidence heading into his redshirt sophomore season. But even he didn't expect the kind of year he had last season. He bumped up to 184 pounds and went 32-3, boasting wins over some of the top names in the sport. He placed third at Midlands in December. In January, he beat then-No. 1 ranked Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming. And he notched three victories over another eventual All-American, Cornell's Steve Bosak. "I tried to tell myself the whole season "I'm going to win nationals. I'm going to win nationals. I'm going to win nationals,'" Hamlin said. "But there was a part of me that really didn't believe I'd even be an All-American. "If you'd have told me at the beginning of the season ‘You're going to be a finalist,' I would have thought, ‘Man, that's awesome.' But now that I was that close … It's hard being that close and not getting it." Just how close Hamlin came to winning the national title is evidenced by the fact that he beat Penn State's Quentin Wright -- the eventual champ -- earlier in the season. A 4-3 winner in their dual meet, Hamlin lost 5-2 in the all-important rematch. Robert Hamlin fell to Penn State's Quentin Wright in the NCAA finals (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)"That was definitely a little frustrating," Hamlin said. "I know he had a great tournament and he had a slow start to the season. I was wrestling a totally different person in the national finals than I was at the beginning of the season." Like Hamlin, Wright and six of last year's eight All-Americans return at 184 pounds. That should make for an interesting season. "It should be a fun time," Santoro said. "He's going to see Quentin Wright, probably Dec. 9 (in a dual meet at Lehigh's Stabler Arena), but he can't worry about him. He's got to worry about (his next match). That's kind of his approach. He doesn't get too far ahead of himself." Focus has not been a problem for Hamlin. He was named to the NWCA All-Academic Team last season -- no small feat for a chemical engineering major. When Hamlin initially chose Lehigh, he wasn't sure he'd wrestle all four years, as he thought his course load might become too difficult to continue his athletic career. Not only has he made it work, he's excelled. "That's one of the things Lehigh preaches -- you can do both," Santoro said of academics and athletics. "You can excel in the classroom with real majors and you can excel out on the mat. He's done that. He's been the epitome of what Lehigh wrestling is all about. That's why he's been a fan favorite, because everything he does is one hundred percent." He's not just a fan favorite; he's also a coach's dream. "If you had 10 of him, as a coach, you'd be very happy," Santoro said. "He's that kid that does things right across the board. He does it academically, he does it athletically, he does it socially. He's very well-liked. He's the type of kid you'd let your daughter date." Robert Hamlin edged Cornell's Steve Bosak three times last season, including a 4-2 win in the NCAA semifinals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)But he's not necessarily the type you want to see across from you at the start of the first period. Physically imposing and aggressive, he wants to put pressure on his opponents from start to finish. "I try to score a lot of points," Hamlin said. "I just try to keep attacking the whole time. That's what Coach always pushes -- even if you're winning, try to build a lead, keep going and break your opponent. I try to wrestle the whole time, the whole seven minutes." Problem is, Hamlin has had to do most of his scoring from the neutral position. He's much more comfortable on his feet -- where he has a slick high crotch that he can hit to either side -- but he's working to become a stronger mat wrestler. Despite piling up 80 victories, Hamlin had just one pin in each of his three seasons. He matched that number at the UB Open in Buffalo on Nov. 6, where he used legs and a power half for a first-period fall over Gannon's Dylan Martin. In all, Hamlin went 3-0 and won the 184-pound title, beating Pitt's Andy Vaughan, 9-3, in the finals. Santoro said the tournament gave Hamlin a chance to work on his ability to work from the top position. "It was a great opportunity for that," the coach said. "Once our dual-meet season hits, pretty much every weekend is a battle. We don't know the outcomes. It's not like we have any easy matches. Every match usually goes down to 6-4 or 5-5 with bonus points. That's just the way our schedule is set up, but we do that (to get ready) for the national tournament. This was a nice opportunity for him to get a couple of matches and work on some new things." As Hamlin sees it, improving his ability to score from the top position is all about helping the team. While he readily admits it would be nice to be able to pick up a riding-time point here or a cheap set of backpoints there in a close match, he knows that those skills mean even more in dual meets. Robert Hamlin is looking to become Vermont's first NCAA champion (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)"You can still win a national title without turning anybody, but it's so much harder to score bonus points," he said. "The one thing I want to try to do for the team is definitely score more bonus points -- get pins and tech falls. In our duals, I want to contribute a little more." After a 19-1 record in dual meets last year, it's hard to imagine anyone associated with the Mountain Hawks demanding too much more out of Hamlin. Well, except maybe Hamlin himself. When they first met, Hamlin told Santoro -- a two-time national champion in his own right -- that his goal was to become the first wrestler from Vermont to win NCAA gold. After falling just short last year, Hamlin isn't about to give up on that dream. In fact, he's hoping that he can achieve his dream and possibly spur more Green Mountain State youngsters to take up the sport. Maybe one day, they'll even take over the Vermonster moniker. "What I like about it is, when I'm done, it can be kind of passed on," he said of the nickname. "I know programs in Vermont, some of the clubs, want to know, who's going to be the next Vermonster? I think it's awesome. I'd like to pass that nickname on and hopefully someone else can take it in the next few years." And maybe they'll have to aspire to be Vermont's second national champion.

Binghamton, NY -- Senior All-American P.J. Gillespie captured the 165-pound title to lead six Hofstra place-winners at the 16-team Binghamton Open at the Events Center Sunday. There was no team scoring in the competition. A total of 16 Hofstra wrestlers competed in the Binghamton Open which gave Pride first year head coach Rob Anspach a good look at his wrestlers against outside competition before their home opener against Wisconsin on Sunday, November 20 at the Mack Sports Complex. Gillespie (Long Beach, NY), who placed eighth at the 2011 NCAA Championships last March, kicked off the 2011-12 season in style, posting a 5-0 record in the tournament including a 3-2 win over Binghamton's Matt Kaylor in the title match. In addition to Gillespie, the Pride had two second-place finishers, one third-place finish and two sixth-place winners. Senior Ben Clymer (Germansville, PA), defending CAA champion and NCAA qualifier, posted a 3-1 mark in the Open and placed second at 184 pounds, losing to Cornell's Stephen Bosak, 3-0, in the title match. Junior Steve Bonanno (Wantagh, NY) was 3-1 and placed second at 125 pounds, losing to Cornell's Frank Perrelli, 6-5, in the championship match. Junior Paul Snyder (Greensburg, PA) placed third with a 5-1 mark in the 285-pound weight class. Snyder earned his place the hard way, losing his opening round match to Cornell's Maciej Jochym, 11-4, before reeling off five straight wins including a 3-2 win over Jochym in the third place match. A pair of sophomores, Jamie Franco (Monroe, NY) and Matt Loew (Wantagh, NY), each placed sixth in their respective weight classes. Franco posted a 4-3 mark at 133 pounds including a 15-1 loss to Princeton's Chris Perez in the fifth-place contest. Loew was 1-3 at 197 pounds including a loss by fall to Rider's Donald McNeil in the fifth-place match. In addition to Franco at 133 pounds, freshman Joey Gosinski (Bartlett, IL) posted a 1-2 mark in his collegiate debut. At 141, redshirt sophomore Luke Vaith (Hastings, MN) was cruising along with two straight wins before suffering a leg injury and taking an injury default loss in his quarterfinal match against Princeton's Adam Krop and defaulting out of the tournament. Junior Daniel Manley (Dobbs Ferry, NY) also competed at 141 pounds and went 1-2. Three wrestlers competed for the Pride at 157 pounds with juniors Justin Accordino (Wilkes-Barre, PA) and Tyler Banks (Griswold, CT) each posting a 2-2 mark while freshman George Palyok (Chesterfield, NJ) was 1-2. Sophomore Brandon Bright (Livingston, NJ) also competed at 165 pounds and went 1-2 in his Hofstra debut. Freshman Jermaine John (Brooklyn, NY) was the fourth Pride wrestler to make his college debut Sunday and posted a 2-2 slate at 174 pounds. Junior Pat Murphy (Nazareth, PA) also wrestled at 174 pounds and went 0-2. Redshirt sophomore Tim Murphy (Nazareth, PA), Tim's brother, also wrestled, posting a 1-2 record at 197 pounds.

Warrensburg, Mo. -- Oklahoma State wrestling won nine of the 10 possible individual titles Sunday at the 37th-annual University of Central Missouri Open at the UCM Multipurpose Building. Oklahoma State title winners included Ladd Rupp at 125 pounds, Tyler Dorrell at 133, Jamal Parks at 149, Albert White at 157, Chris Chionuma at 165, Chris McNeil at 174, Chris Perry at 184, Cayle Byers at 197 and Alan Gelogaev at heavyweight. Several other OSU athletes just missed titles against their Cowboy counterparts in championship matches, including Jon Morrison, who lost in sudden victory to Rupp at 125 pounds; Dallas Bailey, who gave up a 2-1 decision to Chionuma at 165; Blake Rosholt, who lost 5-3 to Byers at 197; and Austin Marsden, who lost by major decision to Gelogaev at heavyweight. The most lopsided Cowboy championship victory came from Jamal Parks as he pinned Kyle Williams of McKendree University in 4:19. Oklahoma State picked up additional honors as Luke Silver, who finished third in the 141-pound bracket, won most falls in least time with four falls in just 12:42 and Chris Chionuma won Outstanding Wrestler. The event featured some of the top wrestlers from Oklahoma, Missouri and several other prominent programs across the Midwest. Oklahoma State is set to kick off its dual schedule Friday against Rutgers at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater. UCM Open Finals Results: 125: Ladd Rupp, Oklahoma State, dec. Jon Morrison, Oklahoma State, 2-1;SV1 133: Tyler Dorrell, Oklahoma State, dec. LeRoy Barnes, NCCC, 3-2 141: Jordan Basks, Labette, fall Nick Hucke, MU, DQ 149: Jamal Parks, Oklahoma State, fall Kyle Williams, McKendree University, 4:19 157: Albert White, Oklahoma State, dec. Austin Lindsay, MU, 5-1 165: Chris Chionuma, Oklahoma State, dec. Dallas Bailey, Oklahoma State, 2-1 174: Chris McNeil, Oklahoma State, dec. Todd Porter, MU, 8-3 184: Chris Perry, Oklahoma State, fall Kyle Reid, MKU, DQ;SV1 197: Cayle Byers, Oklahoma State, dec. Blake Rosholt, Oklahoma State, 5-3 285: Alan Gelogaev, Oklahoma State, MD Austin Marsden, Oklahoma State, 12-4

AMES, Iowa -- Six Iowa State wrestlers qualified for the finals of the 2011 Harold Nichols Cyclone Open Sunday. Five of those six finalists earned titles, including two Cyclone wrestlers who pinned their opponents in the championship round. "I really feel good about seeing some of our guys connect with the technical skills and the attitude in which we want to see them wrestle, score points and get falls," head coach Kevin Jackson said. "I think we scored a ton of bonus points, got a ton of falls and then we got a few champs and we won some matches late as well. All in all I feel good and we'll get better yet. I did see a great deal of improvement even from last week." Cyclone captain Andrew Sorenson continues to dominate this season for Iowa State. The seventh-ranked Sorenson walked away with the 165-pound Cyclone Open crown. He pinned his first two opponents, each in under five minutes. In his semifinal match against Cody Tibbetts of St. Cloud State (unattached), Sorenson posted a 20-5 technical fall at 6:46. In the final, Sorenson earned a 19-1 technical fall in 5:58 against Northern Iowa's Riley Banach. "He did what our captain does," Jackson said. "He went out there and he wrestled the way we want our guys to compete, very aggressive, very powerful, looking for points all the time, looking to pin guys, looking to dominate and continue to wrestle in every situation and every position." Redshirt freshman Ryak Finch became the 125-pound Harold Nichols/Cyclone Open champion in dominating fashion. The Safford, Ariz. native won his first match of the day on a 17-0 technical fall against Tyler Reiste of Iowa Central with just 11 seconds left in the first period. Finch then went on to post two falls in both the semifinal and final rounds. In the championship match, Finch defeated Northern Iowa's Cruse Aarhus with a fall 1:41 into the match. Going for pins isn't uncharacteristic of Finch, who believes in Jackson's philosophy to fight for a pin if the chance is ever presented. "That's what we're taught," Finch said. "You go out there and you score every chance you get, you're not looking at points and you see a fall you take it. I think that's one of coach Jackson's main philosophies and I think you'll see that as the season goes on.” Freshman 133-pounder Shayden Terukina wrestled unattached and won his division title after two technical falls and a pin at 4:27 in the semifinals. Terukina nearly had a pin in the second period, but trailed 7-6 entering the final period. After a penalty against Northern Iowa's Ryan Juach, the Kamehameha, Hawaii native made a takedown for a 9-7 advantage, which he held onto for the remainder of the match. "I started off slow and should have been leading going into that final match, I really had to do something to try and get that win," Terukina said. "I trusted my conditioning and I went for it and came up with the win." After moving up to 197 pounds last week, redshirt sophomore Cole Shafer impressed Jackson with dominating performances. One of Shafer's highlights was a pin in the first 32 seconds of the championship match against Iowa Central grappler Kolten Kersten. "I think 197 fits his style better," Jackson said. "I think he's strong enough to be able to wrestle with anybody at that weight class. He's going to challenge for that weight class, if Kyven Gadson's not healthy obviously Cole Shafer is going to be a guy that's going to fill in for us and be able to win for us." Redshirt junior Matt Gibson wrestled unattached for Iowa State and won the 285-pound title. Gibson pinned two of his four opponents and finished the day with a 5-0 decision over Jake Kahnke of St. Cloud State. "Gibson is an athlete for that weight class," Jackson said. "He's long enough to deal with the guys in that weight class so he's capable of beating anybody in the country as long as we continue to get him a little bit better shape and get his offense going a little bit more." Redshirt freshman 174-pounder Mikey England advanced to the finals, but fell in a 13-4 major decision to Luke Rynish of Wisconsin-Parkside. England won his second round match with a pin at 1:04 and defeated Jack Barnes who wrestled unattached 6-5 in the quarterfinals. Iowa State will hit the road Nov. 20 to face Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va. at noon (CST).

BOONE, N.C. -- In the team's first duals of the season, Appalachian State wrestling (2-0) had little trouble knocking off both of its opponents. After downing Anderson (0-3) by a score of 32-12, the Apps swept Belmont Abbey (0-3), 50-0 at Varsity Gym on Sunday. Despite the positive results, coach JohnMark Bentley had some frustration with the less-than-perfect day. “I'm disappointed with the way our guys competed in the first match,” Bentley said. “We didn't control the action, and we had spent a lot of time in practice working on scoring points. Our guys have to learn to be ready for every bout and not let down.” “In the second match,” Bentley continued. “We did much better, and I'm proud of the way we handled our competition. After factoring in Sunday's results, Bentley will select his lineup to travel to the Keystone Classic hosted by Pennsylvania on Sun., Nov. 20 in Philadelphia, Pa. Appalachian State 32, Anderson 12 125: Dominic Parisi (Concord, N.C./Jay M. Robinson) (ASU) pinned Anderson Myers (AU), 5:00 133: Chris Johnson (Hillsborough, N.C./Orange) (ASU) win by forfeit 141: Mike Kessler (Bay City, Mich./Western) (ASU) pinned Ian Harper (AU), 1:55 149: Savva Kostis (Boone, N.C./Watauga) (ASU) maj. dec. Dan Telhada (AU), 14-4 157: Nick Giuliette (AU) dec. Chip Powell (Greensboro, N.C./S.W. Guilford) (ASU), 4-2 165: Kyle Blevins (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa) (ASU) pinned Brian Onofrio (AU), 3:40 174: Carter Downs (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian) (ASU) maj. dec. Dalton Harper (AU), 9-0 184: William Sutton (AU) dec. Jon Hartley (Lenior, N.C./South Caldwell) (ASU), 5-4 197: Adam Newton (AU) dec. Paul Weiss (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) (ASU), 7-3 285: Chase Duke (AU) dec. Brock Durfee (Sherrills Ford, N.C./Bandys) (ASU), 3-1 SV1 Appalachian State 50, Belmont Abbey 0 125: Dominic Parisi (ASU) win by forfeit 133: Chris Johnson (ASU) dec. Jake Nelson (BAC), 4-0 141: Mike Kessler (ASU) pinned Trey Alley (BAC), 4:38 149: Savva Kostis (ASU) pinned Brandon Wilkins (BAC), 1:38 157: Chip Powell (ASU) pinned Dylan Moses (BAC), 1:13 165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) pinned Joseph Maumoynier (BAC), 2:20 174: Jesse Johnson (Lexington, N.C./Central Davidson) (ASU) pinned Kwame Seymour (BAC), 2:35 184: Austin Trotman (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) (ASU) tech. fall Jerami Bartley (BAC), 21-6 (5:40) 197: Paul Weiss (ASU) dec. Nick Rees (BAC), 5-3 285: Joe Cummings (Valley Cottage, N.Y./Nyack) (ASU) dec. Phillip Sharp (BAC), 2-1

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The No. 9 Missouri wrestling team opened their season with an impressive 21-15 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers overcame a forfeit at 125 to open the match by winning six of the nine remaining contests on their way to win No. 1 on the year. Down 6-0 right off the bat, junior Nathan McCormick and Purdue's Matt Fields put on a show at 133 pounds, with McCormick coming out victorious in sudden victory by a 14-12 final. McCormick scored an early first period takedown but was quickly reversed by Fields. After being ridden for over a minute, McCormick got out from underneath and scored another takedown, but Fields once again landed a reversal. McCormick escaped with two seconds left in the period to take a 6-4 lead into the second. Strong on top, Fields turned McCormick to his back for a nearfall to take his first lead of the day, but McCormick was able to work a reversal of his own. Fields escape with 25 seconds left and landed a takedown at the buzzer, going up 10-8 into the final period. Fields started on bottom and escaped in 19 seconds, but McCormick took him down shortly after. Fields extended his lead to two with another escape, but McCormick hit another takedown with 24 seconds left and rode Fields out to send it to overtime. McCormick made quick work in the sudden victory period, taking down Fields in just seven seconds to get the Tigers on the board. Senior Brandon Wiest tied the score up at 6-6 with 3-2 decision over Jake Fleckenstein at 141 pounds, using a second period escape and a takedown with 35 seconds left to pace the victory. No. 9 Ivan Lopouchanski took a 5-3 decision over Kyle Bradley at 149 pounds to give Purdue a 9-6 lead. At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Drake Houdashelt made his dual debut and scored an 11-4 win over Tommy Churchard to kick off a string of four straight Missouri victories. Houdashelt led 2-1 in the first period after scoring a takedown 15 seconds in, and then took complete control in the second period. Starting on bottom, Houdashelt reversed Churchard and then put him on his back for a three point nearfall. He tacked on another point with Churchard's second stall warning of the match. In the third, Houdashelt was taken down but scored a reversal and used riding time to take the victory. Sophomore Zach Toal picked up a 7-4 win over Kyle Mosier at 165 pounds, jumping out to a quick lead with two takedowns within the first 34 seconds. He got an escape and another takedown in the third while limiting Mosier to just four escapes on the match, putting the Tigers up 12-9 for their first lead of the afternoon. Senior Dorian Henderson blew it wide open at 174 pounds by defeating Drake Stein by fall in just 18 seconds. Henderson took Stein down 14 seconds into the match and immediately turned him and stuck him to the mat for six team points. Junior Mike Larson iced the dual for the Tigers with a 6-1 win at 184 pounds over Braden Atwood. After a scoreless first, Larson reversed Atwood to open the second and went up 3-0 when Atwood was hit with stalling for the second time. Atwood got his lone point on an escape in the third, but Larson took him down with 40 seconds left and rode him out to gain the riding time point, making it 21-9. Purdue won matches at 197 and heavyweight to close the day, with No. 13 A.J. Kissel defeating No. 11 Brent Haynes by a 7-2 decision. Redshirt freshman Devin Mellon fell in his first dual match by a 6-4 decision to Roger Vukobratovich. The Tigers jump right into conference action next week when they head to the state of Oklahoma to take on both the Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Mizzou and OU battle on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. CT while the Tigers and Cowboys will face off at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 20. For more information on Missouri wrestling, stay tuned to mutigers.com or check out our Twitter page, @MizzouWrestling. Results: 125: Camden Eppert (PU) wins by default (PU 6 - MU 0) 133: #15 Nathan McCormick (MU) defeats Matt Fields (PU), SV 14-12 (PU 6 - MU 3) 141: Brandon Wiest (MU) defeats Jake Fleckenstein (PU), D 3-2 (PU 6 - MU 6) 149: #9 Ivan Lopouchanski (PU) defeats #13 Kyle Bradley (MU ), D 5-3 (PU 9 - MU 6) 157: Drake Houdashelt (MU) defeats Tommy Churchard (PU), D 11-4 (PU 9 - MU 9) 165: #13 Zach Toal (MU) defeats Kyle Mosier (PU), D 7-4 (PU 9 - MU 12) 174: #6 Dorian Henderson (MU) defeats Drake Stein (PU), Fall 0:18 (PU 9 - MU 18) 184: Mike Larson (MU) defeats Braden Atwood (PU), D 6-1 (PU 9 - MU 21) 197: #13 A.J. Kissel (PU) defeats #11 Brent Haynes (MU), D 7-2 (PU 12 - MU 21) 285: Roger Vukobratovich (PU) defeats Devon Mellon (MU), D 6-4 (PU 15 - MU 21)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The top-ranked Penn State wrestling team opened up the 2011-12 season with a 39-3 win over visiting Bloomsburg in a nearly sold-out Rec Hall today. After the championship banners for last year's Big Ten and NCAA titles were raised prior to the dual, over 6,000 fans roared as Penn State used three first period pins to roll to victory. True freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 125, made a stellar Penn State debut, pinning Bloomsburg's Sean Boylan at the 2:15 mark to give the Lions a lead they would never relinquish. Bloomsburg got its only win of the bout when Nick Wilcox downed Lion junior Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) 2-0. Red-shirt freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) made successful Penn State debut by downing talented Huskie Matt Rappo 10-5 at 141. Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 149, hammered Bloomsburg's Bryce Busler, turning the Huskie three-times in the second period alone on his way to a 16-0 technical fall at the 5:05 mark. Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 157, took care of No. 14 Frank Hickman 10-8 in a bout of ranked foes. The win gave Penn State a 17-3 lead at the intermission. All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, thrilled the crowd after intermission with a pin over Bloomsburg's Kevin Hartnett at the 2:21 mark. Taylor's win was followed up by All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), who downed No. 20 Mike Dessino 10-4 at 174. Ruth is ranked No. 2 nationally. Two-time All-American and defending national champion Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, notched Penn State's third first period pin, decking Huskie Mike Mirra at the 1:55 mark. True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.), ranked No. 10 heading into his collegiate debut at 197, posted a convincing 6-0 with nearly 4:00 riding time over BU's Richard Perry. Nittany Lion senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 5 at heavyweight, closed out the dual with a resounding 8-0 major over Bloomsburg's Zach Walsh. Penn State gave up only one takedown in the dual and rolled up a 24-1 edge. Penn State won the bonus point battle 12-0 as well. The win moved Penn State to 1-0 on the year while Bloomsburg falls to 2-3. Penn State will take on No. 5 Minnesota on Sunday, Nov. 20, in a 12 p.m. dual that will televised to a national audience on the Big Ten Network. The dual is already sold out with only a few standing room only tickets remaining. Fans can purchase those SRO tickets by calling 814-865-5555. Tickets are priced at $8 for adults and $5 for youth (18 and under) and can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day or in person at the Bryce Jordan Center box office. A maximum of four tickets may be purchased per person. The full season slate of live dual meet and tournament action will air locally on WRSC AM (1390 AM) with Friday evening duals being simulcast on WRSC FM (103.1 FM). Lock Haven's WBPZ (1230 AM) will also carry the entire season live and further affiliates may be added soon. The regular season schedule of radio broadcasts will be streamed live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of Penn State's All-Access package, which will also feature live video streams of many home events. Ticket information is accessed easily online at www.GoPSUsports.com/tickets/m-wrestl-tickets.html . Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstatepat and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2011-12 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: #18 Nico Megaludis PSU pinned Sean Boylan BU, WBF (2:15) 6-0 133: Nick Wilcox BU dec. Derek Reber PSU, 2-0 6-3 141: Sam Sherlock PSU dec. Matt Rappo BU, 10-5 9-3 149: #1 Frank Molinaro PSU tech fall Bryce Busler BU, 16-0 (TF; 5:05) 14-3 157: #12 Dylan Alton PSU dec. #14 Frank Hickman BU, 10-8 17-3 165: #1 David Taylor PSU pinned Kevin Hartnett BU, WBF (2:21) 23-3 174: #2 Ed Ruth dec. #20 Mike Dessino BU, 10-4 26-3 184: #1 Quentin Wright PSU pinned Mike Mirra BU, WBF (2:55) 32-3 197: #10 Morgan McIntosh PSU dec. Richard Perry, 6-0 35-3 285: #5 Cameron Wade PSU maj. dec. Zac Walsh BU, 8-0 39-3 Attendance: 6,059 Records: #1 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 B1G); Bloomsburg (2-2, 0-0 EWL) Up Next for Penn State: vs. #5 Minnesota, Sunday, Nov. 20, 12 p.m. - Rec Hall BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Freshman Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) made his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg's Sean Boylan. Megaludis entered the bout ranked No. 18 at 125. Megaludis quickly got in on a single leg and took Boylan down at the 2:35 mark. The true freshman then cut Boylan loose and quickly took the Huskie sophomore down again for a 4-1 lead. Boylan got hit with a stall in the process. Megaludis then turned Boylan for a pin in his Penn State debut at the 2:15 mark to put Penn State up 6-0. 133: Junior Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa.) made his Nittany Lion debut at 133 against Bloomsburg's Nick Wilcox. The duo battled through a feisty but scoreless first period. Reber chose down to start the second and fought off a strong turning attempt by Wilcox for the first part of the period. The Lion junior nearly reversed Wilcox but could not finish off the move and Wilcox rode the Lion for the full two minutes. Wilcox chose down to start the third period and Reber began controlling the Huskie, looking to turn him and working off the riding time edge. Reber maintained control for over a minute but Wilcox reversed Reber with :20 to post a 2-0 win and cut Penn State's lead to 6-3. 141: Red-shirt freshman Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.) made his Penn State debut at 141 against Bloomsburg's Matt Rappo. Sherlock forced the bout's first scramble, nearly taking Rappo down. But Rappo countered the move and rolled around the Lion freshman for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Sherlock escaped to a 2-1 deficit but Rappo had a 1:15 riding time edge. Rappo, leading 2-1, took down to start the second period. The Huskie escaped to a 3-1 lead with 1:35 left in the period but Sherlock used a fast low double to tie the bout up at 3-3 with :55 on the clock. Rappo quickly escaped to a 4-3 lead. Sherlock shot high, forced a scramble on the edge of the mat and turned it into a takedown with :23 left to take a 5-4 lead. Sherlock then managed a short ride to carry that lead into the final period. Sherlock chose down to start the final period and scramble to a quick escape and a 6-4 lead. Sherlock powered through a high double to up his lead to 8-4 with another takedown at the 1:00 mark. Rappo escaped with :40 left, cutting the Sherlock lead to 8-5, and Sherlock would scramble for a late takedown and a 10-5 win. 149: Three-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 1 at 149, battled Huskie Bryce Busler. Molinaro spent the first half of the opening period looking for an opening and fending off a few head slaps from Busler. The Lion senior then used a swift high single for a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Molinaro then used the final minute to dominate Busler from the top position, working up 1:12 in riding time heading into the second period. Molinaro chose down to start the second stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Another high duck-under single by Molinaro led to another takedown and a 5-0 lead. Molinaro then turned the Huskie to his back for three near fall points, reset himself after getting the points and turned him again for three more. Leading 11-0, Molinaro reset, turned Busler to the mat once again and added a third three-point turn to lead 14-0 after two. Busler chose neutral but Molinaro wasted no time in ending the bout, using a fast high double off the whistle for a final takedown and a 16-0 technical fall at the 5:05 mark. 157: Red-shirt freshman Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 157, made his Penn State debut against No. 14 Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg in one of the dual's two bouts pitting ranked grapplers against each other. Alton scored quickly, taking Hickman down for a 2-1 lead after a Huskie escape. Alton gained control of Hickman's right ankle and forced a scramble on the edge of the mat midway through the opening period. But Hickman was able to force a stalemate and keep the match close. Alton was relentless, however, working a high single into a second takedown and a 4-2 lead after another Hickman escape. Trailing 4-2, Hickman chose down to start the second and quickly escaped. But Alton scored another swift takedown and led 6-4 after Hickman escaped at the 1:20 mark. The Lion freshman continued his takedown clinic, turning a high shot into a low single and an 8-5 lead as Hickman continued quick escapes. Alton, leading 10-5, chose down to start the third period. Hickman was able control Alton for a minute and a half, but Alton notched a reversal and led 10-6 after the BU escape. Hickman countered an Alton shot with :10 left to notch a takedown but Alton walked away with the 10-8 win, giving Penn State a 17-3 lead at the break. 165: All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 1 at 165, faced off against Bloomsburg's Kevin Hartnett. Hartnett had the first scoring chance of the bout, working in on a high single but Taylor forced a stalemate and kept the bout scoreless early on. Taylor countered a Hartnett scramble and worked his way to a takedown and a 2-0 lead. Taylor cut Hartnett loose and then used a low ankle pick for another takedown and a 4-1 lead. Taylor then turned Hartnett quickly, worked his shoulders to the mat and got Penn State's second fall of the bout at the 2:21 mark. 174: All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 2 at 174, met No. 20 Mike Dessino in a battle of ranked opponents at 174. Ruth scored quickly off the opening whistle, using a high double to take a 2-1 lead early. Ruth then added a second takedown and two back points to lead 6-2 after a Dessino escape. Dessino chose down to start the second period and Ruth nearly turned him again. Dessino finally escaped at the 1:10 mark, but Ruth notched another takedown to up his lead to 8-3. Dessino escaped before the period ended to cut Ruth's lead to 8-4. Ruth chose down to start the third period but Dessino maintained control for the period's first minute. Ruth escaped with :40 left to take a 9-4 lead and, with the riding time point, posted a 10-4 win. 184: Two-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 184, took on Huskie freshman Mike Mirra. Wright used a sliding double leg to trip Mirra to the mat for an early 2-0 lead. Mirra escaped, Wright quickly took him down and Mirra escaped again to give Wright a 4-2 lead at the 1:25 mark of the first period. Wright then took Mirra down again and this time turned the Huskie to his back for Penn State's third pin at the 1:55 mark, giving the Lions a 32-3 lead. 197: True freshman Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana, Calif.) made his collegiate debut at 197 against Bloomsburg's Richard Perry. McIntosh entered the dual ranked No. 10. Perry was the aggressor early on, trying to set the tempo and taking numerous shots early. The Huskie sophomore worked in on McIntosh's left leg, forcing a scramble at the 1:15 mark, but the Lion forced a stalemate and action resumed in the center circle. Perry gained control of McIntosh's left leg again and nearly scored as the bout ended, but the Lion true freshman was able to work his way out of bounds to send the match to the second period in a scoreless tie. Perry chose down to start the second period and McIntosh used the opportunity to punish the Huskie from the top position. McIntosh spent over a minute trying to turn Perry to his back. He got a one count at the :40 mark and then finished the tilt as the period ended, getting the three point turn to lead 3-0 after two periods. McIntosh chose down to start the third and quickly reversed the Huskie for a 5-0 lead. McIntosh steadily gained control of Perry's arms, working his way into another turning opportunity. While Perry was able to fight the move off, McIntosh's strong ride out gave the Lion rookie a 6-0 win with 3:52 riding time. 285: Senior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 5 at heavyweight, met Bloomsburg's Zac Walsh in the dual's final bout. The duo battled evenly for nearly two minutes, but Wade used a high double to take a 2-0 lead. Wade then began looking for a chance to tilt Walsh but the Huskie forced a stalemate with :31 left in the opening period. Wade nearly turned Walsh but could not finish the move as the period ended and led 2-0 with 1:18 in riding time heading into the second. Walsh chose neutral to start the second stanza. Wade used a fast single to up his lead to 4-0 at the :40 mark and then rode the Huskie out to carry that lead into the final period. Wade chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 5-0 lead. The Lion senior used a low trip and single leg for another takedown and a 7-0 lead with :45 left. He clinched the riding time point and then continued to work for a tilting opportunity. Wade maintained control for the rest of the period and posted an 8-0 major.

Harrisburg, Pa. -- Nine wrestlers for the No. 8 Fighting Illini won at least two bouts as Illinois went 4-0 at the Wrestle for a Cure Duals in Harrisburg, Pa. Illinois moved past North Carolina 32-9, No. 24 Kent State 24-18, The Citadel 48-3 and Utah Valley 41-3 to finish the day undefeated. No. 3 B.J. Futrell (133), No. 20 Jackson Morse (157), Conrad Polz (165), No. 3 Jordan Blanton (174) and No. 17 Mario Gonzalez (197) each went undefeated in the Illini's four victories. "I was encouraged in the way we competed today," head coach Jim Heffernan said. "We did a lot of good things. Futrell stood out as being exceptionally aggressive and wrestling full speed. This event was good training and another good opportunity for us to get better in preparing for a huge dual next week at Lehigh." Illinois moved past North Carolina with Jesse Delgado opening the dual with a 18-2 technical fall over Brian Bokoski, while Futrell followed with a pin against Brock Livorio to give the Illini the early 11-0 lead. Evan Henderson pinned Illinois' Tucker Armstrong to cut the Illini lead to 11-6, but a 9-4 decision from Terrazas over Jonathan Burns moved the score to 14-6. North Carolina's Corey Mock earned a 9-5 decision over Illinois' Kyle Dooley to bring the Tar Heels within five at 14-9, but the Illini notched five straight bout wins to claim the dual. At 165, Polz posted a 12-1 major decision over Kyle Kiss, while Balanton followed with a 20-6 major decision over Thomas Ferguson at 174 to extend the Illini lead to 22-9. Tony Dallago earned an 11-8 decision over Alex Utley for the Illini at 184 and Gonzalez posted a 9-4 decision over Nick Tenpenny at 197 to push the score to 28-9. Patrick Walker took a 10-2 major decision over Frank Abbondanza at heavyweight to close the dual at 32-9 in favor of Illinois. The Fighting Illini faced its toughest competition yet in No. 24 Kent State in the team's second dual of the day. The Golden Flashes scored first with Nicholas Bedelyon's 9-3 decision over Illinois' Jesse Delgado for an early 3-0 lead. Futrell put the Illini on the board with his pin of Steve Mitcheff to regain the lead, shortly before Tyler Small's pinned Illinois' Daryl Thomas and Ian Miller recorded a 3-2 decision over Terrazas to put Kent State on top 12-6. The Illini responded with three weights earning victories, starting with Jackson Morse at 157. Morse pinned Mallie Shuster while Polz (165) posted a 5-3 decision over Ross Tice and Blanton (174) pinned Brandonn Johnson to push the score to 21-12. At 184, Casey Newburg beat Dallago with a 7-4 decision, however Gonzalez followed with a 5-3 decision over Keith Witt to bring the score to 24-15. Walker fell to Brendan Barlow on a 5-2 decision, but the Illini already had the match in hand and closed out a 24-18 victory. The Orange and Blue dominated The Citadel with Delgado (125) and Futrell (133) opening their bouts with pins of 4:57 and 2:23, respectively to give the Illini an early 12-0 lead. At 141, Armstrong posted a 8-6 decision over Jordan Dix and Terrazas recorded a 20-6 major decision over David Ivashchenko to make the score 19-0. Morse extended the lead with his 17-2 technical fall over Pierre Frazille while Polz defeated William Connell in a 16-5 major decision to bring the Illini a 28-0 lead. At 174, Blanton pinned Turtogtokh Lucsandori to add six points to the team score. Kelby Smith posted a 6-2 decision over Illinois' Martin Smith to bring the score to 28-3 while Walker pinned Justin Sparrow to clench the victory and a final score of 48-3. Delgado started the Illini's final dual of the day with a 18-7 major decision over Utah Valley's Colby Christensen, with Futrell earning a 25-9 technical fall and Daryl Thomas recording a 19-10 major decision to put the Illini ahead 13-0. Terrazas kept the momentum going with a 6-3 decision while Morse extended the Illini's lead with his 17-2 technical fall over Napolean Aniciete to make the score 21-0. Polz (165) and Blanton (174) turned in back-to-back major decisions to push the lead to 29-0 with three weights left. Dallago and Patrick Walker defeated their respective opponents by pins, while Bryan Chamberlain pinned Martin Smith (197) to make the final score 41-3. The Fighting Illini will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to compete against Lehigh at 11 a.m. CT and Clarion at 1 p.m. CT. Illinois 32, North Carolina 9 125 - #17 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Brian Bokoski (North Carolina) TF 18-2 133 - #3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) over Brock Livorio (North Carolina) Pin 0:00 141 - #18 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) over Tucker Armstrong (Illinois) Pin 0:00 149 - #10 Eric Terrazas (Illinois) over Jonathan Burns (North Carolina) Dec 9-4 157 - #18 Corey Mock (North Carolina) over Kyle Dooley (Illinois) Dec 9-5 165 - Conrad Polz (Illinois) over Kyle Kiss (North Carolina) Maj 12-1 174 - #3 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) over #18 Thomas Ferguson (North Carolina) Maj 20-6 184 - Tony Dallago (Illinois) over Alex Utley (North Carolina) Dec 11-8 197 - #17 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) over Nick Tenpenny (North Carolina) Dec 9-4 HWT - Patrick Walker (Illinois) over Frank Abbondanza (North Carolina) Maj 10-2 Illinois 24, #24 Kent State 18 125 - #4 Nicholas Bedelyon (Kent State) over #17 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) Dec 9-3 133 - #3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) over Steve Mitcheff (Kent State) Pin 0:00 141 - Tyler Small (Kent State) over Daryl Thomas (Illinois) Pin 0:00 149 - Ian Miller (Kent State) over #10 Eric Terrazas (Illinois) Dec 3-2 157 - #20 Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Mallie Shuster (Kent State) Pin 0:00 165 - Conrad Polz (Illinois) over Ross Tice (Kent State) Dec 5-3 174 - #3 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) over Brandonn Johnson (Kent State) Pin 0:00 184 - Casey Newburg (Kent State) over Tony Dallago (Illinois) Dec 7-4 197 - #17 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) over #20 Keith Witt (Kent State) Dec 5-3 HWT - #14 Brendan Barlow (Kent State) over Patrick Walker (Illinois) Dec 5-2 Illinois 48, The Citadel 3 125 - #17 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Richard Alarcon Jr. (Citadel) Pin 4:57 133 - #3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) over Kyle Casaletto (Citadel) Pin 2:23 141 - Tucker Armstrong (Illinois) over Jordan Dix (Citadel) Dec 8-6 149 - #10 Eric Terrazas (Illinois) over David Ivashchenko (Citadel) Maj 20-6 157 - #20 Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Pierre Frazile (Citadel) TF 17-2 165 - Conrad Polz (Illinois) over William Connell (Citadel) Maj 16-5 174 - #3 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) over #9 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) Pin 4:35 184 - Tony Dallago (Illinois) over John Duane (Citadel) Inj 197 - Kelby Smith (Citadel) over Martin Smith (Illinois) Dec 6-2 HWT - Patrick Walker (Illinois) over Justin Sparrow (Citadel) Pin 2:16 Illinois 41, Utah Valley 3 125 - #17 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) over Colby Christensen (Utah Valley) Maj 18-7 133 - #3 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) over Derek Malan (Utah Valley) TF 25-9 141 - Daryl Thomas (Illinois) over Avery Garner (Utah Valley) Maj 19-10 149 - #10 Eric Terrazas (Illinois) over Josh Wilson (Utah Valley) Dec 6-3 157 - #20 Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Napoleon Aniciete (Utah Valley) TF 17-2 165 - Conrad Polz (Illinois) over Ethan Smith (Utah Valley) Maj 14-4 174 - #3 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) over Monte Shmaulhaus (Utah Valley) Maj 14-6 184 - Tony Dallago (Illinois) over David Prieto (Utah Valley) Pin 5:25 197 - Bryan Chamberlain (Utah Valley) over Martin Smith (Illinois) Dec 8-2 HWT - Patrick Walker (Illinois) over Eric McCallister (Utah Valley) Pin 2:35

LARAMIE, Wyo. -- The War Memorial Fieldhouse served as the friendly confines to the Wyoming wrestling program Saturday, as four Cowboys took home tournament titles at the Cowboy Open. Seniors Michael Martinez (125 pounds), Chase Smith (149), Shane Onufer (165) and Joe LeBlanc (184) each won their respective weight class, finishing a combined 14-0 in the Elite brackets. Martinez began with a 12-2 major decision over Marco Tamayo of Colby Community College, and followed it up with a 3-2 decision over Boise State's Isaac Romero. Sophomore Tyler Cox, competing unattached, would have wrestled Martinez in the 125-pound title match, but the UW coaches chose not to wrestle the match, giving the championship win to Martinez. Smith started the day with a 10-0 major decision over Mikie Burgess (Colorado School of Mines), and went on to win two more matches to make it to the title bout with teammate Brandon Richardson. Smith and Richardson battled into two overtimes, and Smith secured a 4-2 decision with a late takedown. Onufer began his tournament by pinning Jorge Benitez of Western State at the 6:30 mark, and went on to win two more matches before beating Steve Vasquez of Cal Poly in the championship bout in a 5-1 decision. Onufer has won the Cowboy Open in his weight class every year since 2008. LeBlanc got the Open started off right, winning by technical fall 17-2 over Nick Petersen of Colorado Mesa, then pinning Ryan Swanson (Colorado School of Mines) at the 6:38 mark. He took a tough 3-2 decision over Jake Schwartz of Boise State in the final for the tournament crown. Other notable performances for the Pokes included Cox, who went 3-0 (not counting the final-match forfeit) with one major decision and two falls. Redshirt freshman Zach Zehner was second in the 133-pound bracket (Elite) and finished 3-1. Redshirt freshman Brandon Richardson was second in the Elite 149-pound bracket, going 3-1. Redshirt freshmen Dakota Friesth and Robert Stroh were third and fourth, respectively, at 157. Redshirt freshman Shane Woods was second in the 174-pound bracket, going 3-1, while senior Dallas Hintz was third at 174 pounds, going 6-1. Redshirt junior Alfonso Hernandez was third at 197 pounds, tallying a record of 5-1 on the day, and redshirt freshman Leland Pfeifer went 3-1 to finish third at heavyweight. “I'll have to look at it a little better to reflect, but with 10 mats going, there were a lot of good things I saw and there was stuff I was pulling my hair out about,” Wyoming coach Mark Branch said regarding his team's overall performance. “Technically, I thought we saw a lot of clean stuff. … We really improved in some of those areas that we were sloppy in last week but my biggest concern is immaturity and letting matches get away from us that we should've won. I did see a lot of positives, but some of these kids showed their immaturity and their lack of experience and that's not OK.” The Pokes will head to the Kearney Open in Nebraska on Saturday for their third event of the season. “Hopefully we can see more improvement and grow up a little,” Branch said. “We have to make sure when we have a match within our grasp, we take care of it. I'm not hitting the panic button by any means, though. We've got time.”

BRISTOL, R.I. -- The Stevens Institute of Technology wrestling team recorded their first tournament victory in school history at the Roger Williams Invitational in Bristol, R.I. on November 12. The Ducks scored 163.5 points to take top honors, beating out runner-up Messiah College by 19.5 points. Individually, one grappler won his weight class, three others took third in their respective classes and another finished sixth. Sophomore CJ Caserta (Mt. Arlington, N.J.) came out on top of his 149-lbs. class, winning all five bouts he wrestled in. Caserta was victorious in his first round match by a fall in 5:40. He then recorded a major decision win in the second round, 13-0, and followed that up with another fall in the quarter finals, 1:46. Caserta tallied decision victories in his final two bouts, 3-2, and 5-1, respectively to win 149. Junior Ryan Dormann (Mickleton, N.J.), freshman Jake Odell (South Windsor, Conn.) and freshman Tyler Maher (Raleigh, N.C.) each took third place in their respective weight classes. Dormann, 174, went 5-1 on the day, dropping his only bout the semifinal match by an 8-6 decision. Dormann advanced in his first match with a bye then registered a 5-0 decision victory and a fall in 1:38 to move onto the semis. After his setback, Dormann earned a major decision by way of a forfeit and claimed third place in a 4-1 decision. Odell also moved onto the semis before his first loss (major decision, 14-3). He tallied two technical fall wins, two major decisions and a fall to take third place in 157. Maher, a heavyweight, earned a bye victory in the first round, won by fall in 18 seconds in the second and posted a 5-1 decision victory in the quarters. He was another Stevens grappler to be on the wrong end of a semifinal loss, 7-3, decision, before winning his last two matches in decisions, 6-1, 6-0, respectively. Freshman Damian Murberg (Hillsdale, N.J.) placed sixth in 185 by going 5-2. Murberg won his first two matches with a bye and fall in 4:10. He then lost in a 9-3 decision before rolling off three more victories to set up his fifth place match. In that match, Murberg was a forfeit downfall. There were 16 wrestlers that took part in the Invitational and each grappler won at least one bout. As a team, the Ducks posted an overall record of 45-27. Stevens returns back to Hoboken for a dual match against Yeshiva University on November 16 at 7 p.m. For all the latest updates on Stevens Athletics, visit www.stevensducks.com. Also, “like” Stevens Athletics on Facebook and follow @StevensDucks on Twitter. The opponents from each bout will be posted at a later date. Team Scores: Stevens 163.5 Messiah 144 Johnson & Wales University 135 Rhode Island College 90 Coast Guard Academy 80.5 Bridgewater State University 78.5 Roger Williams 73.5 University of Southern Maine 68 Norwich 48 MIT 42 WPI 34

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Beating Lehigh in its home gym is no easy task as the Panthers' win ended the Mountain Hawks' 26-match home winning streak. “This was a total team effort,” Pitt coach Rande Stottlemyer said. “And we did it in their gym. That was a hard-fought win.” The key match of the night, as many expected it would be, was at 197, a rematch between Pitt national qualifier Matt Wilps and Joe Kennedy. With Pitt leading 15-10, Wilps, ranked seventh in the nation by InterMatWrestle.com, came through with a thrilling come-from-behind win over the ninth-ranked Kennedy to clinch the match for the Panthers. Kennedy looked poised to avenge a 2-1 overtime loss to Wilps in the semifinals of last week's Buffalo Open. The Lehigh senior scored a third-period takedown to take a 3-1 lead. But a late flurry resulted n an escape and a double-leg takedown by Wilps for the win. “That's what you expect out of an upperclassmen and a guy who wants to be on the podium at the NCAAs this year,” Stottlemyer said. Knowing Lehigh had four wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the final five weight classes, Pitt did exactly what it needed to early in the match. The Panthers took a 15-0 lead with decisions in the first five matches. Junior Anthony Zanetta got things rolling for the Panthers with a 9-2 decision over freshman Mason Beckman. In a battle of former Pennsylvania state champions, Zanetta improved to 5-0 on the season, fueled by three takedowns. Pitt sophomore Shelton Mack followed Zanetta by defeating Chris Dinnien for the second time this season. Mack had four takedowns in a 10-5 win. The Panthers continued their dominance on their feet with freshman Travis Shaffer's win at 141. Wrestling in his first career college dual meet, Shaffer used an escape and a takedown in the third period to shut out Alex Abreu, 3-0. The Mountain Hawks finally tallied their first takedown at 149 as Kyle Rosser took an early 2-0 lead over Pitt All-American Tyler Nauman. Rosser fell to Nauman, ranked third in the country, at the Buffalo Open in a match that wasn't really close, but nearly pulled off the upset this time around. In a match that was tightly contested from start to finish, Nauman turned a Rosser takedown attempt into one of his own late in the final period to seal a 7-6 win. Returning national qualifier Donnie Tasser's 6-2 win at 157 finished off the run for Pitt. Also, his two takedowns gave the Panthers a 12-1 advantage (24-2 in points) from the neutral position through five matches. Coach Stottlemyer was pleased with his team's performance, giving credit to everyone involved, including assistant coaches Jason Peters and Matt Kocher for having the team ready for each opponent. Three of the Panthers' four losses came to nationally-ranked wrestlers. Pitt consistently has an elite program, but Lehigh has always been a tough match, as evident by the 15-38 all-time record the Panthers had against the Mountain Hawks entering Saturday's match. Even during an outstanding 2009-10 season that saw the Panthers finish 17-1-1, the Mountain Hawks were the lone blemish on the schedule. “This is a great start, but we'll keep our feet on the ground,” Stottlemyer said. “it's a long season.” The Panthers will have little time to dwell on the victory as they have a match at Drexel on Sunday. The match with the Dragons is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Results: 125 – Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) dec. Mason Beckman (Lehigh) 9-2 133 – Shelton Mack (Pitt) dec. Chris Dinnien (Lehigh) 10-5 141 – Travis Shaffer (Pitt) dec. Alex Abreu (Lehigh) 3-0 149 – Tyler Nauman (Pitt) dec. Kyle Rosser (Lehigh) 7-6 157 – Donnie Tasser (Pitt) dec. Shane Welsh (Lehigh) 6-2 165 – Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. Tyler Wilps (Pitt) 7-4 174 – Nate Brown (Lehigh) dec. P.J. Tasser (Pitt) 4-3 184 – Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) major dec. Andy Vaughan (Pitt) 18-6 197 – Matt Wilps (Pitt) dec. Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) 4-3 285 – Zach Rey (Lehigh) pinned Joel Yahner (Pitt) 1:01

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Two members of the Central Michigan wrestling program, both competing unattached, claimed individual titles at the Michigan State Open on Saturday. Junior Ben Bennett won the open 184-pound division, while freshman Nick Hodgkins was the champion in the freshman/sophomore 149-pound division. Bennett and Hodgkins were among nine Chippewas, all competing unattached, who placed in the top six of their respective weight classes on Saturday. Bennett was dominant in his run through the 184-pound bracket, posting a major decision and three consecutive pins to win the title. He pinned Michigan State's Ian Hinton in just 2:34 in the finals. Hodgkins, meanwhile, recorded four straight major decisions before besting Illinois' Caleb Ervin, 8-3, in the freshman/sophomore 149-pound final. In five matches, Hodgkins out-scored his opponents by a combined total of 58-11. Finishing runner-up were sophomore Scott Mattingly (open 141-pound division) and freshman Mike Ottinger (freshman/sophomore 165-pound division). Mattingly won four matches to advance to the final, where he was edged by defending national champion Kellen Russell (Michigan), 5-2. Ottinger won four straight bouts before falling in the final, 3-2, to Michigan State's Nick Proctor. CMU opens the dual meet season next Sunday (Nov. 20), traveling to Chattanooga to face Stanford at noon and Chattanooga at 3 p.m.

BROCKPORT, N.Y. -- Clarion senior heavyweight Quintas McCorkle (Sr. Alexandria, Va.) defeated Oklahoma's Kyle Colling 2-1 to win the 285-pound individual title and 5 Golden Eagles earned places to lead Clarion on Saturday at the Oklahoma Invitational held in Brockport, N.Y. Also earning places on Saturday for Clarion were third place Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Sr. Tshkent, Uzbekistan) at 165, and Alex Thomas (Jr. Seaford, De.) at 197, along with fourth place Joe Waltko (Jr. Alison Park/North Allegheny) at 133 and Mark Havers (Fr. Bradford) at 157. McCorkle opened the bracket at 285-pounds with a 14-5 win over Pat Krenz (Brockport), then won 3-2 in the second tie breaker over #16 ranked Elijah Madison (Oklahoma) who was the second seed. McCorkle escaped in the second overtime, then rode Madison out for the win. In the finals McCorkle had a first period takedown that stood up in a 2-1 win. “Q really stuck to the game plan,” said first year head coach Matt Dernlan about the finals match. “He controlled his tie ups and the tempo. It was a very nice win and a great day for him.” Adurakhmonov was 3-1 on the day, opening with a 3-2 over Oklahoma's Chase Nelson, then lost 3-2 to #6 ranked Scott Winston of Rutgers. Bekzod came back for a 4-1 win over Alex Smith of Army, and a 3-1 win over Pat Graham of Oklahoma for third place. Thomas was 4-1 in placing third at 197. He won 11-5 over Orion Ross of Army, lost 8-6 to Christian Boley (Maryland) who was the eventual champion, then came back with a forfeit, a 3-2 win over Dallas Brown of Maryland and pinned Paul Glover of Brockport at 3:39 for third. Waltko, in his first outing, took fourth place with a 3-2 record at 133. He opened with a fall over Ryan Reed (Brockport), then defeated Geoff Alexander (Maryland) 5-3, before losing to Oklahoma's #12 rated Jordan Keller 4-1 (Keller was the eventual champion). Waltko came back with a 2-1 win over Mike DeMarco (Rutgers), then lost to Alexander 9-7 for third place. Havers, a true freshman, had his second strong outing at 157-pounds. He lost his opener 5-1 to Paul Hancock (Army), then came back with three straight wins over Tom Rispoli (Brockport) F 3:56; 6-5 over Domenic Roberts (Maryland) and F 1:52 over Hancock. He lost a 3-2 decision for third to james Rafferty (Army). Also participating at the Invitational were Trey Hicks (Jr. Amityville, N.Y.) at 125, Devin Cook (So . Bedford ) and Tyler Bedelyon (So. Lewistown) at 141, Ryan Darch (So. Battavia, N.Y.) at 174, Nick Milano (So. Erie/Prep) at 184 and Brandon Contreras (So. Rochester, N.Y. ) at 285-pounds. Hicks was 1-2, Cook 1-2, Bedelyon 0-2, Darch 1-2, Milano 1-2, and Contreras 0-2. CLARION NOTES: Oklahoma won the team scoring with 182 points, Maryland second with 174.5, Rutgers third at 163, Army fourth with 125.5, Clarion fifth with 91, American sixth with 65, Brockport seventh with 36.5 and Buffalo eighth with 12… Clarion will wrestle at Lehigh next Sunday – opening the dual meet season … Clarion wrestles Illinois at 1 and Lehigh at 4pm.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Junior Josh Asper won most outstanding wrestler and redshirt sophomore Christian Boley captured his first individual title of the season as the Maryland wrestling team finished second at the Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational on Saturday. Seven different Terrapin wrestlers placed in the top-3 of their respective weight classes. “Today was a great day,” said head coach Kerry McCoy. “We had some ups and downs, but overall I am happy with the team's performance. Christian and Josh did a great job, but everyone contributed. Spencer and Geoffrey fought back after tough losses, and we improved from last year's performance. We will continue to build.” The Terps won two individual titles on the day. Asper, ranked third by InterMat, improved to 7-0 on the season and won the 165-pound championship over No. 6 Scott Winston of Rutgers. In the 197-pound title match, Boley defeated No. 19 Dan Rinaldi of Rutgers to improve to 6-0. Senior Kyle John, ranked 15th, finished second at 157 pounds. John picked up two victories including one by fall over Rutgers' Joe McCauley 21 seconds into the match which is the fastest of his career and the 10th fastest fall in program history. In addition to John, sophomore Shane Gentry and redshirt sophomore Jimmy Sheptock earned runner-up honors at 125 pounds and 174 pounds, respectively. Gentry won two matches, one by major decision and one by fall, before facing No. 3 Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma in the final. Sheptock improved his record to 4-0 before losing a close final to No. 18 Greg Zannetti of Rutgers. Sophomore Spencer Myers and freshman Geoffrey Alexander responded from early losses to finish third in their respective weight classes. Myers, ranked third at 285 pounds, was upset by Oklahoma's Kyle Colling in the quarterfinals. Myers rebounded by winning all four matches in the consolation draw including a victory over No. 16 Elijah Madison of Oklahoma. Alexander gained a measure of revenge by knocking off Clarion's Joe Waltko in the third-place match after losing to Waltko in the quarterfinals of the main draw. Team Results: 1. Oklahoma 182 2. Maryland 174.5 3. Rutgers 163 4. Army 125.5 5. Clarion 91 6. American 65 7. Brockport 36.5 8. Buffalo 12

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Northwestern junior Levi Mele took home the title at 125 lbs. at the Michigan State Open Saturday while six others placed in their respective weight classes. Three Wildcats made it to the finals in Saturday's tournament, which was the first of the season for Northwestern. Mele went 5-0 Saturday and won his title at 125 lbs. with three falls, including his pin in the second period (4:12) of Northern Illinois' Nick Smith during the finals. Mele opened the tournament by pinning Eastern Michigan's Greg Egbert, (3:15) and Michigan State's Brenan Lyon (6:42) in the second round and won two more matches by a decision before reaching the finals. Pierce Harger finished second at 165 lbs. and was one of two Wildcats to compete in the weight class. Harger and Kevin Bialka both made it to the semifinals on the same side of the bracket and were supposed to meet in the semis, but Harger advanced to the finals due to an injury for Bialka. Harger had two byes before defeating Michigan's Dave Johnson, who was wrestling unattached, 8-5 in his first match and beat Notre Dame's (Ohio) Jared King 7-0 to reach the semis. He met another Wolverine in the finals and fell 11-3 to Dan Yates for runner-up honors. Bialka began the day with an 18-1 tech fall over Kafuba Donzon from Indiana Tech and had a 12-2 major decision over Central Michigan's Anthony Pace (unattached) before he defaulted out of the tournament. Bialka ended up placing fourth, along with James Myers from Olivet, as they both were unable to compete in the third-place match due to injury. Lee Munster also took second for Northwestern at 174 lbs. He won three-straight matches, including a pin of Central Michigan's Anthony Bill in 2:04, to face Michigan's Justin Zeerip in the finals. Zeerip placed first with a 5-0 decision. At 197 lbs., Alex Polizzi opened up with a 12-4 major decision over Olivet's Justin Leonard and defeated Central Michigan's Chad Friend 5-3 in the second round but did not compete in the semifinals due to an injury. Polizzi ended up with a fourth place finish. John Schoen also wrestled at 197 and finished fifth. He dropped his first bout but came back for a 17-0 tech fall over Findlay's Andrew Tumlin and then defeated Indiana's Garret Goldman 3-2 to wrestle for fifth. In the fifth place match, Schoen had another close bout, defeating Northern Colorado's Nick Bayer 6-4. Colin Shober went 3-2 to finish sixth at 141 lbs. He dropped his opening bout to Purdue's Nick Lawrence, 5-3, but won three straight matches, including a major decision, to earn a spot in the fifth place match. Shober then met another Purdue wrestler, Brandon Nelson, and was shutout 6-0. John Coukos (Freshman/Sophomore division, 133), Jameson Oster (133), Pat Greco (141), David Helmer (149), Kaleb Friedley (149), Dylan Marriott (157), Robert Kellogg (174), Marcus Schrewsbury (unattached, 184) and Mike McMullan (heavyweight) also wrestled Saturday but did not place. Northwestern continues tournament action next week and heads east for the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa. Competition runs all day on Sunday, Nov. 20.

The Minnesota wrestling team opened the season at the 41st annual Bison Open today in Fargo, N.D. For the day, the Gophers brought home nine titles, which was the same amount as last year. Zach Sanders (125), David Thorn (133), Nick Dardanes (141), Dylan Ness (149), Jake Deitchler (157), Cody Yohn (165), Kevin Steinhaus (184), Sonny Yohn (197) and Tony Nelson (Hwt) all brought home titles for the Gophers. Minnesota will next start up its dual matches of the 2011-12 season. First up will be a matchup against No. 5 Cornell on Friday November 18, at 5:30 p.m. CST. On that Sunday the Gophers will head to take on the defending NCAA National Champions the Penn State Nittany Lions at 11 a.m. CST. That match will be live on the Big Ten Network.

BROCKPORT, N.Y. -- The tenth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team won its 13th-straight Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic title Saturday and remains the only team to ever win the event. Additionally, five Sooners claimed individual titles and five more garnered top-five finishes. “I think we got exactly what we needed out of this tournament,” head coach Mark Cody said. “We know now what we need to work on moving forward. Overall, I was very excited with the way they competed and fought.” The Sooners won the team portion with 182 total points. The Sooners closest competition was Maryland who finished with 174.5 points. Rutgers (163), Army (125.5) and Clarion (91) rounded out the top five. Going undefeated on the day to capture individual crowns were Jarrod Patterson (125 pounds), Jordan Keller (133), Kendric Maple (141), Matt Lester (157) and Erich Schmidtke (184). Sooners earning second place finishes were Nick Lester at 149 pounds and Kyle Colling at 285 pounds. Additionally, Bubby Graham (165) and Chase Nelson (165) earned fourth place finishes. Elijah Madison (HWT) finished fifth and two Sooners – Justin DeAngelis (149) and Nolan McBryde (174) – claimed sixth among their respective weight classes. "This tournament really opened up a lot for us,” Cody said. “We have a lot to work on and this showed us.” The Sooners return to dual action next Friday, Nov. 18, when they host No. 9 Missouri at 7 p.m. inside McCasland Field House. Final Team Standings 1. Oklahoma (145.5 points) 2. Maryland (174.5) 3. Rutgers (163) 4. Army (125.5) 5. Clarion (91) 6. American (65) 7. Brockport (36.5) 8. Buffalo (12)

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Hawkeye wrestling fans in attendance for Saturday's final day of wrestle-off competition in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex saw some familiar performances, as well as several new faces trying to break their way into the 2011-12 lineup. Returning All-Americans Matt McDonough (125) and Derek St. John (157) each picked up bonus-point wins, while redshirt freshman Bobby Telford beat defending Big Ten Champion Blake Rasing at heavyweight. “We saw some good things today, and we saw some things that we still need to work on,” explained Head Coach Tom Brands. “We'll continue to work, and to figure out our lineup at the tournament in St. Louis next week.” McDonough kicked off the event at 125 by pinning redshirt freshman Matt Gurule in 4:26. The defending Big Ten Champion, McDonough led the Hawkeyes with 14 pins last season. At 133, senior Tyler Clark scored a 4-2 decision over sophomore and 2011 NCAA qualifier Tony Ramos. Brothers Mark Ballweg and Jake Ballweg followed with decisions at their weights, with Mark scoring a 2-0 decision over sophomore Nick Trizzino at 141, and Jake posting a 9-3 win over freshman Brody Grothus at 149. St. John scored the lone major decision of the morning, beating redshirt freshman Michael Kelly, 12-4, at 157. Redshirt freshman Mike Evans posted a 4-2 victory over redshirt freshman Nick Moore at 165. NCAA qualifier Ethen Lofthouse scored eight takedowns en route to his 22-7 technical fall at 174 over freshman Kris Klapprodt. At 184, senior Vinnie Wagner had a 2-1 lead in the second period before injury defaulting to redshirt freshman Jeremy Fahler. Sophomore Tomas Lira scored the second pin of the day, sticking freshman Josh Haug in 4:43 at 197. After a scoreless first period in the heavyweight bout, Telford rode Rasing the entire second period and added an escape in the third period to win, 2-0. The Hawkeyes open the season Nov. 19 at the Lindenwood University Open in St. Louis. Iowa hosts its first dual of the season Nov. 25 with the Iowa City Duals. The Hawkeyes face Baker (3 p.m.), Cornell College (5 p.m.) and Iowa Central (7 p.m.) on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Season and single-meet tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Season tickets for nine home duals (including the Iowa City Duals) are available for $67. Single-meet tickets for the Iowa City Duals (11/25), Illinois (12/2), Northern Iowa (12/8), Northwestern (1/15) and Wisconsin (2/5) are $10 for adults, $5 for children. Single-meet tickets to Oklahoma State (1/7) and Minnesota (1/29) are $13 for adults, $7 for children. Kids under five-years old are admitted free to all home events. Thursday's Results 133 - Aldon Isenberg dec. Matt Gurule, 13-9 141 - Nick Trizzino pinned Charlie Joseph, 2:13 157 - Joey Trizzino maj. dec. Stew Gillmor, 14-0 157 - Joe DuCharme dec. Patrick Rhoads, 6-4 OT Friday's Results 133 - Tony Ramos dec. Aldon Isenberg, 15-8 133 - Tyler Clark dec. J.J. Krutsinger, 8-2 141 - Nick Trizzino pinned Charlie Joseph, 1:33 141 - Mark Ballweg maj. dec. Nate Moore, 11-2 149 - Jake Ballweg maj. dec. Jake Kadel, 13-4 149 - Brody Grothus dec. Ethan Owens, 7-1 157 - Derek St. John maj. dec. Joey Trizzino, 15-2 157 - Michael Kelly dec. Joe DuCharme, 4-2 165 - Nick Moore maj. dec. Walt Gillmor, 12-3 184 - Jeremy Fahler tech. fall Josh Haug, 19-2 in 4:40 Hwt. - Blake Rasing pinned Tom Flood, 1:41 Hwt. - Bobby Telford maj. dec. Brodie Ambrose, 9-1 Saturday's Results 125 - Matt McDonough pinned Matt Gurule, 4:26 133 - Tyler Clark dec. Tony Ramos, 4-2 141 - Mark Ballweg dec. Nick Trizzino, 2-0 149 - Jake Ballweg dec. Brody Grothus, 9-3 157 - Derek St. John maj. dec. Michael Kelly, 12-4 165 - Mike Evans dec. Nick Moore, 4-2 174 - Ethen Lofthouse tech. fall Kris Klapprodt, 22-7 184 - Jeremy Fahler won by injury default over Vinnie Wagner 197 - Tomas Lira pinned Josh Haug, 4:43 Hwt. - Bobby Telford dec. Blake Rasing, 2-0