InterMat Staff

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- No. 4 James Nicholson scored a first period takedown of No. 7 Zach Sanders of Minnesota and held on for a 4-2 victory and claim the 125 pound championship at the Southern Scuffle. A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Nicholson was dominant in the two-day event, giving up no more than two points in his five victories. He beat No. 20 Jason Lara of Oregon State 8-1 in the semifinals before dispatching Sanders in the finals.. Kyle Hutter took fourth place at 133 pounds while Joey Metzler earned a sixth place finish at 149. Senior Kyle Hutter (133) made a run to the semifinals before falling to No. 9 Rollie Peterkin of Pennsylvania, 6-4. The senior defeated No. 19 Zac Stevens 4-1 to reach the final four. Hutter Came back from the loss to beat Edinboro's Aaron Schopp 11-6. He lost a hard fought 3-2 overtime decision to Oregon State's Garrett Drucker to take fourth. Metzler dropped a 9-4 decision to No. 14 Ivan Lopouchanski of UNC Greensboro to take sixth place. Metzler (149) knocked off his second-straight ranked wrestler this morning, beating Lopouchanski of 5-4. He defeated No. 10 Kurt Kinser of Indiana 2-1 in his previous match. Metzler fell in the semifinals to No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell, 7-0. Metzler dropped an 11-6 decision to Scott Sakaguchi and now moves to the fifth place match where he will once again face Lopouchanski. Brennen Brumley won his first match in the consolation bracket at 141 with a first period pin over Army's John Belanger. He lost his next match 5-1 to Augustus Sako of Virginia. Brumley finished the tournament with a 3-2 record. Chad Lowman lost his first match at 157 to No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana 11-2. He came back with a strong 16-0 tech. fall over VMI's Nicholas Emison before falling to Liberty's Julian Colon in his next match, 7-3. Senior Dan Rivera went 2-2 overall, dropping his first match before pinning Eli Sanchez of Liberty in the first period. He beat VMI's Joeseph 2-1 in overtime before falling to Bloomsburg's Josh Veltre, 6-3. Tristan Warner wrestled Byron Sigmon of UNCG for the second time this season, and for the second time wrestled into overtime, falling 3-1. He came back with a 9-3 triumph over Chris Hrunka of Edinboro and a 5-2 win over VMI's Matt Brock. He fell 4-0 to Justin Zeerip of Michigan. Jacob Henderson picked up a 5-3 win over Indiana's Tanner Kriss before bowing out with a 5-2 loss to Navy's Greg Prioleau. Grant Chapman also earned a win with a 4-2 win over Daniel Miller, also of Navy, before losing to James Payne of UNC, 8-6.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team continued its outstanding early season run, claiming the Co-Championships of the 2010 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Penn State, ranked No. 4, tied No. 1 Cornell for the team crown. The Nittany Lions sent four wrestlers to the finals in front of a rowdy crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex and crowned three champions. Red-shirt freshmen David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) won titles at 157 and 165 while junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) forged the tie with a title winning decision in the tournament's final bout at heavyweight. Ruth's sizzling title-run at 174 earned him the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler Award. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) almost made it four for four in the finals for Penn State with a one-point loss to the nation's top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 149. The Nittany Lions sent 15 wrestlers into action at the two-day event and eight placed. True freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) bounced back from a loss in his first bout yesterday to reel off six straight wins before a loss in the consolation semifinals. Martellotti, ranked No. 16 nationally at 125, would end the event with a 6-3 record and a sixth place finish and is 18-3 on the year. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) had a solid return to the mat after missing the first semester with an injury. Pataky went 3-2 with a major and a tech fall. While not placing at 125, Pataky's first action of the year should spur him on to more action at the Virginia Duals on Jan. 7-8. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 4-2 at 133. The Lion went 1-1 today, picking up crucial bonus points with a pin in his first bout before losing in the sixth round of consolations. Pearsall had two pins during the tournament for the Nittany Lions and is now 13-6 overall. At 141, true freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) gave up a last-second takedown to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan and dropped a 4-3 decision in a thrilling upset bid in the semifinals. The 9th-ranked 141-pounder rebounded for two wins in wrestle-back to take third place. Alton went 6-1 on the day with three pins and a major. He is now 19-1 on the year. Senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) lost to No.11 Michael Mangrum of Oregon State in his quarterfinal match-up and then lost again in wrestle-backs to finish one win shy of placing. Lynch went 3-2 with a pin and a major at the tourney and is 7-3 overall. After a quarterfinal win, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 at 149, crushed No. 15 Torsten Gillespie 9-1 That win moved him into the finals where he met No. 1 Kyle Dake of Cornell. Molinaro set the offensive tempo, taking shot after shot in the finals but Dake was able to spend the match on the edge of the mat and used a third period escape to post the 1-0 win. Molinaro went 6-1 on the day with three majors and a technical fall. Molinaro improves to 14-2 on the year. Sophomore James English (York, Pa.) capped off an outstanding performance for the Nittany Lions by taking 7th place. English posted a 1-1 mark on day two and went 5-2 at the tournament with a pin. He is now 13-4 overall. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, continued to dominate the field with a 23-6 technical fall over Michigan's Brandon Zeerip in the semifinals. The win moved him into the finals where he took on No. 9 Paul Young of Indiana. In another dominating performance, Taylor made short work of the Hoosier senior, turning the veteran Big Ten grappler numerous times on his way to a decisive 18-2 technical fall at the 4:06 mark. Taylor was simply unchallenged at the event, going 6-0 with four technical falls and two pins. Taylor is still undefeated on the year with a 19-0 mark. Classmate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) continued his hot run. After losing in the first round yesterday, Vollrath won nine straight matches to take third place. Included in his run was a 5-3 victory over No. 7 Bryce Saddoris of Navy. Vollrath now sports 21-4 record. Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) took No. 6 Paul Gillespie to the limit as the Hofstra grappler needing riding time to win 2-1 in the quarters at 165. Kemerer then lost his first wrestle-back and bowed out of the tournament with a 3-2 record, one win shy of placing. Kemerer is 11-5 on the year. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) bowed out of the tournament after a 3-2 showing yesterday. Ranked No. 10 at 174, red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) gave notice to the country with a thorough 11-5 win over No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the semifinals. Ruth then took on No. 2 Chris Henrich of Virginia in the finals. In a feat rare for any wrestler, yet alone a freshman, Ruth dominated the second-ranked Cavalier on his way to a 7-2 win. In beating the No. 1 and No. 2 seed in the same afternoon, Ruth won the Scuffle crown with a 5-0 record (including two pins and a major). Ruth will head to the Virginia Duals with a 17-1 record. With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from an injury at 184, red-shirt freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) went 0-2 yesterday and was Penn State's only competitor at that weight. Red-shirt freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) went 1-2 at 197 yesterday and was eliminated as Penn State's only wrestler at that weight as well. Junior heavyweight Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 nationally, continued to roll and beat No. 12 Clayton Jack 7-4 in the semifinals, setting up a finals bout against No. 7 Ben Apland of Michigan. Wade needed a win to force a tie in the team race and he gave the packed house all they could handle. Down 2-1 with time running out, Wade turned Apland for two back points as the Lion faithful roared and, with a riding time point, notched a 4-2 thriller to take the title at heavyweight. The win allowed Penn State to forge a tie in the team race as well. Wade went 6-0 with three pins to win the title and now has a 16-2 overall record. The Nittany Lions and Big Red each had 151.5 points while Oregon State was a distant third with 132.5. Michigan claimed fourth with 132 while Minnesota wrestled to a fifth place finish with 126.5 points. Penn State went 65-22 on the day with 36 of those bouts earning bonus points. Penn State had 15 pins, six technical falls and 15 majors while placing eight wrestlers in the top eight. Cael Sanderson's Nittany Lions return to action at the Virginia Duals on January 7-8 in the new year. The two-day dual meet tournament takes place in Hampton, Virginia. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

Evanston, Ill. -- The No. 14 Nebraska wrestling will have two wrestlers in the semifinal round of the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill., as the Huskers competed in the first two sessions of the annual tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 29. Senior Jordan Burroughs and sophomore Josh Ihnen both won the first three matches at their respective weight classes to advance to the semifinals, and helped the Huskers climb to No. 9 in the team-standings after two sessions. Burroughs (NU), who is the 2nd-ranked wrestler at 165-pounds in the country, won his first two matches by technical fall over Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) and Robert Nash (Michigan State) to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Burroughs improved his season record to 16-0 by defeating No. 15 Ryan DesRoches (Cal Poly), 20-8. Burroughs will wrestle Chris Spangler (Iowa St.) in the semifinals. Ihnen (NU) reached the semifinals after collecting three straight decisions to open the tournament at 184-pounds. Ihnen defeated over Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh) and Joe Barczack (Illinois) in the first two rounds, before taking down over Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers) in a tight 3-2 decision. 10th-ranked Ihnen will take on 4th-rated Grant Gambrall (Iowa) in the semifinals. Mike Koehnlein (NU) and Andy Johnson (NU) were the other Huskers who were able to reach the quarterfinals before being knocked to the wrestleback bracket. Koehnlein was most impressive after defeating his first two opponents by major decision in the 141-pound bracket, including an upset of No. 20 Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern). In the quarterfinals, the senior fell No. 4 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) in a tough 3-1 decision. Johnson's run to the quarterfinals also included an upset of a nationally-ranked opponent after he defeated No. 20 Brent Haynes (Missouri) , 6-3, in the second round, but wasn't able to pull the upset off in the quarterfinals falling to No. 13 Joe Kennedy (Lehigh), 6-2, in the 197-pound bracket. Along with Koehnlein and Johnson, Nebraska will have Ridge Kiley (NU) and James Nakashima (NU) competing in the wrestleback bracket during session III on Thursday. Session III of the Midlands Championships will begin at Noon on Thursday, Dec. 30. Championship, third and fifth-place matches will start at 7:15 p.m. Championship matches will be aired on the Big Ten Network on tape delay on Jan. 8, at 3 p.m. Full results and next round's opponents are listed below.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Six Oregon State wrestlers are alive in the championship round of the Southern Scuffle and the Beavers are fourth out of 34 teams after day one of competition on Wednesday. The Beavers saw 14 wrestlers compete on Wednesday, including three unattached entries, with each winning at least two bouts apiece. Jason Lara (125 pounds), Kelly Kubec (133), Garrett Drucker (133), Mike Mangrum (141), Chad Hanke (197) and Clayton Jack (heavyweight) all go into the final day of competition on Thursday with the chance at taking first. “This was a very good day of competition,” Oregon State head coach Jim Zalesky said. “Every one of our wrestlers competed well and we’re in very good standing with a number of guys who could accomplish some great things on Thursday. We have one day remaining of competition in 2010 and our guys will go out strong.” Lara wrapped up two major decisions to remain in competition for first at the 125-pound class. He downed Brett Boston of Appalachian State an Zach Huxford of George Mason and will open Thursday against Virginia’s Matthew Snyder. Kubec went 3-0 Wednesday, earning one via fall and one via major decision. He opened with a 2:06 fall against Campbell’s Gabe Gardner, and defeated Navy’s Ben Levin, 10-2. He capped off his day with a 6-4 win over Bloomsburg’s Nick Wilcox, and will square off with Minnesota’s David Thorn to open competition Thursday. Joining Kubec at the 133-pound class was Drucker, who also went 3-0 with wins over Indiana’s Matt Ortega, Lock Haven’s John Trumbetti and Edinboro’s Aaron Schopp. He will face Penn’s Rollie Peterkin to start Thursday. Kubec and Drucker could square off for first on Thursday if both go 2-0 to start the day. Mangrum is the fourth Beaver to remain in the championship round. He picked up decisions over North Carolina’s Darius Little and Liberty’s Kurtis Becker and a pin over Army’s Casey Thome. He goes against Penn State’s Adam Lynch on Thursday. Hanke and Jack needed just two victories to remain in contention for their respective weight class titles. Hanke defeated North Carolina’s KaRonne Jones over technical fall then downed Penn’s Micah Burak and will take on George Mason’s Cayle Byers Thursday. Rounding out the six is Jack, who opened with a pin of Edinboro’s Michael Horton in 6:07. He went on to take down Lock Haven’s Henry Turner via major decision. He will open Thursday with Minnesota’s Benjamin Burhow Thursday. Scott Sakaguchi (149 pounds) paced the Beavers in the consolation round with a 4-1 record. He will be joined Thursday by RJ Pena (unattached at 157 pounds with a 3-1 record), Jon Brascetta (3-1 at 165 pounds), Brice Arand (3-1 at 184 pounds), Taylor Meeks (unattached at 184 pounds with a 3-1 record) and Taylor Johnson (2-1 at 197 pounds). Alex Elder (3-2 at 157 pounds) and Ty Vinson (2-2 at 184 pounds) also competed Wednesday but were knocked out of the Southern Scuffle. The Beavers will go into Thursday’s competition fourth out of 34 teams, just one point shy of No. 3 Michigan, which has 49.5 points. Cornell leads the pack with 54 points and is followed by No. 2 Penn State (50.5 points), Michigan, Oregon State and Kent State and Minnesota, which are tied for fifth with 43.5 points. Live stats for day two are available on uncgspartans.com. Visit osubeavers.com Thursday afternoon for a full recap and list of results for the Oregon State wrestlers.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Iowa State sent three wrestlers through to the semi-finals of the 2010 Midlands Championships. It was a very positive second session Wednesday as the Cyclones went 9-3 and finished the day in fifth place with 49 points, despite leaving several starters at home. Lehigh leads the team scoring with 65 points. Iowa State seniors Jon Reader (174) and Chris Drouin (141), along with sophomore Chris Spangler (165) will all be looking for another victory to send them to the finals. Drouin got revenge against Mark Ballweg of Iowa for his dual loss (Dec. 3) with a 5-3 victory in overtime in their 141-pound bout. Drouin found himself down 3-1 late in the third period, but scored a late takedown and then the decisive takedown in overtime to defeat the Hawkeye grappler. Drouin will wrestle top-seeded Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in his semi-final match. Carr Jr. found himself in a difficult match with Minnesota freshman Dylan Ness in the 149-pound weight class. Ness, who is the younger brother of 2010 Hodge Trophy recipient and national champion Jayson Ness, just managed to out-scramble Carr en route to a 4-2 decision in favor of Ness. Spangler hit yet another last-second takedown to defeat Ethan Headlee of Pittsburgh at 165 pounds and move into the semi-finals Thursday. Spangler won 3-2 and will face 2009 national champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska in the semis. “I really wanted to dominate a little more than I did,” Spangler said. “But I managed to get wins in two difficult situations, which means a lot because coach Jackson preaches to us to do whatever it takes to get the victory, and I feel like that is what I did.” Reader earned his 14th bonus point victory in 16 matches. The Cyclone senior racked up over five minutes of riding time in an 11-2 major decision over Iowa’s Ethen Lofthouse at 174 pounds. Reader will wrestle fourth-seeded Mike Letts of Maryland in the semi-finals. Cole Shafer notched an impressive victory on the bottom side of the bracket by pinning Michigan State’s eighth-seeded Ian Hinton with only one minute remaining in the match at 184 pounds. Shafer jumped out to an early lead over Ryan Loder of UNI, but could not hold on as Loder staged a furious comeback to win 8-6 in overtime. Kyle Simonson racked up the riding time in a 4-0 victory over Marty Smith of Illinois. Simonson was in a close match with Mike McClure of Michigan State before McClure caught him in a cradle and ended the match with only 40 seconds left. Matt Gibson earned a tough 7-4 victory against David Wade of Eastern Michigan. Gibson was down early to Wisconsin’s Eric Bugenhagen before locking up a cradle and earning the pin at the 2:17 mark. Michael Moreno rode tough en route to a pin over Robert Nash of Michigan State. Moreno then scored a takedown in the sudden victory period to beat Trevor Hall of Cal St. Bakersfield by a score of 6-4. The true freshman is only one victory away from becoming a Midlands placewinner. Chris Drouin, Chris Spangler and Jon Reader will wrestle in the semi-finals tomorrow, while Nate Carr Jr., Michael Moreno and Matt Gibson look to wrestle all the way to third place on the bottom of the bracket.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- With six quarterfinalists and four more individuals alive in the consolation bracket, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team sits in third place (49.5 points) after the first day of competition at the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday (Dec. 29) at the Greensboro Coliseum. The Wolverines benefited greatly from bonus points, totaling 10 pins -- including four in their first five bouts of the tournament -- and eight major decisions to surge into the team race. Michigan will be represented in the quarterfinals at the lowerweights and upperweights as junior Zac Stevens (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS), senior/junior captain Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy), sophomore/freshman Brandon Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS), sophomore/freshman Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS), fifth-year senior captain Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) and junior/sophomore Ben Apland (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) all posted perfect records through the preliminary rounds. Stevens dominated his opening-day opposition at 133 pounds, single-handedly earning eight team points with two pins -- his second and third of the season -- and a major decision. Stevens, ranked No. 19 in the latest InterMat poll, cruised into the quarterfinals with a quick first-period pin against North Carolina's Pat Owens in his final match of the day, catching Owens in a cradle off a roll attempt at the 1:52 mark. The Wolverine junior earned a quicker fall in his first contest, using a head scoop with a half finish to pin Campbell's Dominique Whitfield at the 48-second mark. Russell, the nation's No. 1-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, similarly made little work of his day-one competition, securing a first-period fall before outscoring his latter two opponents by a combined 20-0 margin. Russell rolled past Ohio's Darrin Boing, 14-0, to advance into the quarterfinals, converting on three takedowns and earning six back points off an arm bar and subsequent power half. He collected his second pin of the season in the pigtail round, using a half to stick Gardner-Webb's Richie Spicel at 1:51. Making his U-M varsity debut, Zeerip claimed a series of decision victories to earn his spot in the 157-pound quarterfinals, including an 8-3 decision against Hofstra's Tyler Banks in his final match of the day. Zeerip benefited from a big move in the match's first 30 seconds, shooting in deep on a high crotch and locking up a cradle out of the ensuing scramble to take a quick five-point advantage. The Wolverine rookie added a counter takedown in the second and riding time to ice the match. Yates rallied from an early deficit to knock off The Citadel's fourth-seeded Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, 4-2, to advance into the 165-pound quarterfinals. After a second-period escape knotted the score at two apiece, the Wolverine rookie struck deep on a late single leg and, when Luvsandorj tried to kick out, wrapped up the other ankle for the winning takedown. Yates earned his second fall of the season in the opening round, using a Cobra to pin George Mason's James Kaden at 4:15. Advancing to the Southern Scuffle's 197-pound quarterfinals for the second consecutive year -- he placed third in 2009 -- Biondo earned two falls and a major decision to contribute eight team points. His pins came in similar fashion, combining quick single legs and a pair of match-ending crossface cradles to defeat Army's Daniel Milly (0:52) and Hofstra's Matt Loew (1:18). The Wolverine captain, ranked 15th nationally, scored four takedowns and a first-period cradle for three back points to roll past Lock Haven's Derek Caldwell, 13-2, in his second bout. Apland, ranked seventh nationally, also earned bonus points in both of his day-one matches, reversing Navy's Mike Landis straight to his back to earn a 3:23 fall before rolling to an 8-0 major decision -- behind three counter takedowns -- over Viriginia's Derek Papagianopolous to advance into the heavyweight quarterfinals. Sophomore Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy), fifth-year senior Aaron Hynes (Mt. Morris, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS), senior/junior Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) and fifth-year senior Chad Bleske (Washington, Mich./Romeo HS) remain active in the wrestlebacks at 125, 157 and 174 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, and will need to win two more matches to guarantee a top-eight finish. The Wolverines return to the mats Thursday (Dec. 30) for the second and final day of competition at the Southern Scuffle. The morning session, featuring the quarterfinals and continued wrestlebacks, is slated for a 9 a.m. start at the Greensboro Coliseum.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The University of Iowa wrestling team is in third place with 52.5 points after the first day of competition at the 48th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Lehigh leads the team race with 65.0 points, and Wisconsin is in second with 58.5. Hawkeye sophomores Matt McDonough (125) and Grant Gambrall (184), and redshirt freshman Tony Ramos (133) all posted 3-0 records on the day to advance to Thursday's championship semifinals. Of the 17 Hawkeyes that started the tournament Wednesday morning, nine are still competing in the event. McDonough, who is the tournament's top seed and defending Midlands champion at 125, helped the Hawkeye team score with three bonus point victories. He opened the tournament with a match-ending 18-2 technical fall in 5:58 over Triton's Jose Torres. McDonough ended the day with two pins, sticking Northern Illinois' Nick Smith in 6:04 and #8 seed Frank Lomas of Cal Bakersfield in 4:54, to remain undefeated at 10-0 this season. The Marion, IA, native will face #5 seed Ryan Mango of Stanford in the semifinals. McDonough scored a 12-4 major decision over Mango in his first match of the 2009 Midlands Championships in the pair's only collegiate career meeting. Ramos, who is the #3 seed at 133, posted a 14-3 major decision over American's Kevin Tao in his opening bout and a 7-4 win over Nebraska's Ridge Kiley in the second round. He then beat Hawkeye teammate Tyler Clark, 3-1, in the quarterfinals, to remain undefeated at 7-0. Ramos will face #2 seed B.J. Futrell of Illinois in the semifinals in the pair's first collegiate career meeting. Gambrall, who is seeded #1 at 184, recorded three major decisions in a solid first day of competition. The Hawkeye sophomore beat Cleveland State's Corbin Boone (16-3) in the opening match, Central Michigan's Chad Friend (9-1) in the second round and Stanford's Don Scherer (9-0) in the quarterfinals. Gambrall will face #4 seed Josh Ihnen of Nebraska in the semifinals. The Iowa City, IA, native has a 1-1 collegiate career record against Ihnen, losing a 7-4 decision at the2009 Brand Open and winning a 6-1 decision at the 2009 Grand View Open, while competing unattached at both events. Still alive for the Hawkeyes in the consolation bracket are seniors Luke Lofthouse (#2 seed at 197) and Aaron Janssen (165), junior Tyler Clark (#11 seed at 133), sophomore Mark Ballweg (#4 seed at 141), redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse (#9 seed at 174) and true freshman Mike Evans (174). Evans is competing unattached. Thursday's championship semifinals and consolation matches are set to start at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans can listen to a live broadcast at hawkeyesports.com using the XXL All-Access subscription. Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, is in second place after the first day of the 2010 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. Penn State is just behind pre-tournament favorite Cornell heading into the second day of the event, hosted by North Carolina-Greensboro, which concludes tomorrow. Penn State sent 15 wrestlers into action at the Scuffle with two at 125, one at 133, two at 141, two at 149, two at 157, two at 165, and one each at 174, 184, 197 and heavyweight. The Nittany Lions had an outstanding day with all but three wrestlers staying alive through nearly 12 hours of wrestling. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) and No. 16 Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) both wrestled at 125 for the Nittany Lions, with Pataky making his season debut. Pataky shook the rust off early picking up two impressive wins before dropping a last second 5-4 decision to No. 13 Frank Perrelli of Cornell in the third round. He bounced back in fine fashion, however, with 7-1 win in his first consolation bout and he moves into the consolation's fifth round with a 3-1 mark. Martellotti got a first round bye then dropped a touch decision into Penn's Mark Rappo in the second round. The loss to Rappo was Martellotti's first of the year and the true freshman bounced back to win three straight with two majors to stay alive and move into tomorrow's fifth round of wrestle-backs. He went 3-1 on the day. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) was Penn State's lone entrant at 133. Pearsall was solid, winning his first two bouts before dropping a hard-fought 5-2 decision to Edinboro's Eric Morrill in the third round. He closed out the first day with a pin of Navy's Allen Stein to go 3-1 on the day and move into tomorrow's fifth round of consolations. New Nittany Lion Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) was not able to wrestle at the event due to NWCA weight certification guidelines. He will make his Nittany Lion debut at the Virginia Duals. True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 9, and senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) both wrestled at 141 for Penn State. Both Lions were superb and combined to go 6-0 with each advancing to the quarterfinals. Alton was stunning, going 3-0 with three pins. His pins came at 6:24, 0:22 and 1:23 giving him a 16-0 record as a true freshman with 13 pins. His 13 pins have him tied for sixth on Penn State's all-time pins-in-a-season list. Lynch was equally impressive, rolling to three wins, including a first round pin of No. 14 Germaine Lindsey of Ohio. Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 6 nationally, and teammate James English (York, Pa.) both wrestled at 149. Like 141, both of Penn State's entries at 149 were perfect on the day, combining for a 6-0 record with each advancing to the quarterfinals. Molinaro notched a major and a technical fall on his way to a 3-0 day and a date in tomorrow's quarterfinals. English matched Molinaro's record, picking up a pin and a major on his way to a 3-0 mark and a quarterfinal appearance. Freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), undefeated at 13-0 and ranked No. 3 nationally, and teammate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) wrestled at 157. Taylor was dominating, picking up two technical falls and a pin on his way to a 3-0 mark. Taylor is 16-0 on the year with four pins, five tech falls and six majors heading into his quarterfinal date tomorrow morning. Vollrath dropped a tough first round decision and then roared back with four straight wins, including two majors, to stay alive and move into tomorrow's fifth round of wrestle-backs. Freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) returned to action for Penn State after an illness earlier in December and sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) both wrestled at 165. Kemerer was perfect on the day, going 3-0 with a major and two decisions to move into tomorrow's quarterfinals. Fischer won his first bout, then dropped his second bout. He then won two consolation bouts before bowing out of the tournament with a tough 4-3 loss to Navy's Mason Bailey. Fischer went 3-2 on the day for Penn State. Freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 10 nationally, was Penn State's entrant at 174. Ruth got a first round by and then pinned Army's Robert Doyle in the second round. He followed that up with an 11-3 dismantling (including 5:28 in riding time) of Michigan's Justin Zeerip to go 2-0 on the day and move into the quarterfinals. With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from an injury, freshman Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) got the call at 184 for the Nittany Lions. Church lost two tough decisions on day one and was eliminated in the consolations, going 0-2 on the day. Freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) took to the mat for Penn State at 197. He had a first round bye and the lost his second round match-up to North Carolina's Caylor Williams. Ruggear bounced back for a strong win in the third round of consolations before bowing out of the tournament in the next conso round. Ruggear went 1-2 on the day. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 nationally, was Penn State's entrant at heavyweight. Wade dominated his first three opponents, getting two pins and a decision to go 3-0 and move into tomorrow morning's quarterfinals. Penn State is second in the team race with 50.5 points (using only one scorer per weight). Pre-tourney favorite Cornell is in first with 54.0 while Michigan is in third with 49.5. Oregon State follows with 48.5 with Kent State and Minnesota tied for fifth with 43.5 each. The Nittany Lions went 40-10 overall with 10 pins. Penn State continues action in the Southern Scuffle beginning tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Penn State's next home dual is a nationally televised match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Big Red wrestling team advanced seven wrestlers to the quarterfinals at the Southern Scuffle on Wednesday to sit in first place in the team race. Frank Perrelli (125), Kyle Dake (149), Craig Eiffert (157), Justin Kerber (165), Mack Lewnes (174), Steve Bosak (184) and Cam Simaz (197) all advanced in their respective weight classes. Michael Alexander is still alive in the consolation bracket at 174 pounds. The Big Red has 54 team points and is followed by Penn State (50.5), Michigan (49.5), Oregon State (48.5), Kent State (43.5) and Minnesota (43.5). Cornell notched 32 wins on the day which included 11 pins, three technical falls and four major decisions. Wrestling will begin at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Day one is complete at the 48th Midlands Championships and Lehigh finds itself in first place in the 44-team field. The Mountain Hawks placed four wrestlers in Thursday’s championship semifinals while three others remain alive in the consolations and can earn a place in the top eight with a win in Thursday’s opening round of consolations. Lehigh ten scoring wrestlers racked up 65 team points to lead the field, 6.5 points ahead of second place Wisconsin. Iowa (52.5 points), Pittsburgh, (49.5) and Iowa State (49) round out the top five teams. The story of the day for the Mountain Hawks was the performance of freshman Austin Meys, who reached the semifinals at 174 on the strength of three falls. The tournament’s No. 7 seed, Meys pinned Mikey England of Iowa State and Mike Evans of Iowa in the first session, then decked the No. 2 seed, Stanford’s Nick Amuchastegui in 4:31 in the quarterfinals. Meys countered an Amuchastegui shot and used a spladle-like maneuver to put the Cardinal grappler on his back. With that win, Meys moves into the semifinals where he will face No. 3 seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan. Bennett beat Meys 1-0 back on December 12. Sophomore Robert Hamlin and senior Zach Rey began the day as Lehigh’s two lone remaining undefeated wrestlers, and both men moved into the semifinals while improving their season records to 12-0. Hamlin, the No. 2 seed at 184, began his day with a major decision win over Spencer Patrick of Stanford and added two more wins to earn a matchup with No. 3 seed Travis Rutt of Wisconsin in the semis. Rey, top-ranked heavyweight in the nation and the No. 1 seed, outscored his three opponents 21-2 on the day to move into the semifinals, where he will meet No. 4 seed Ryan Flores of American. It will be Rey’s first match against Flores since the 2009 EIWA finals where Flores, wrestling for Columbia, won 6-1 in sudden victory. Also reaching the semifinals for Lehigh was junior Joe Kennedy, the No. 3 seed at 197. Like Rey, Kennedy yielded just two points in three bouts, both coming in a quarterfinal win over Nebraska’s Andy Johnson. Next up for Kennedy is the No. 10 seed, Matt Wilps of Pittsburgh who is competing unattached. Of the five Mountain Hawks to reach the quarterfinals, only junior Brandon Hatchett was defeated. The No. 8 seed at 165, Hatchett dropped a 9-5 decision to defending national champion Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. Hatchett began his day with a pin and then avenged a loss to Corey Lear of Bucknell with a 7-1 win. He will face No. 12 seed Conrad Polz of Illinois on Thursday with the winner earning a spot in the top eight. Freshman Stephen Dutton has impressed at 141, winning three bouts including two by major decision. Dutton won his opening bout before dropping a wild 9-7 decision to No. 4 seed Mark Ballweg of Iowa in the round of 16. Both of Dutton’s majors came in the consolations, to earn the true freshman a matchup with No. 10 seed Mike Koehnlein of Nebraska with a top-eight place at stake. With freshman Frank Cagnina not competing at 133, Lehigh’s coaches selected senior 184-pounder Kadeem Samuels to be Lehigh’s tenth point scorer, and Samuels has so far affirmed the coaches’ decision. Samuels dropped a tough 12-6 decision to No. 4 seed Josh Ihnen of Nebraska in the first round but battled back with three straight wins in the consolations to survive until Thursday. A win Thursday over Dan Scherer of Stanford would give Lehigh two place winners at 184. Although limited to ten point scorers, Lehigh entered 12 attached men in the tournament and all 12 won at least one match. Among the remaining point scorers, senior Mitch Berger went 2-2 with a pin before bowing out in the third round of consolations at 125. Sophomore Joey Napoli went 1-2 at 149 with all three bouts decided by one or two points. At 157, junior Sean Bilodeau returned to action with a strong start winning by fall in the pigtail round and then by decision, but after a 5-0 loss to Darryl Cocozzo of Rutgers, Bilodeau defaulted out of the tournament. Lehigh’s two non-scores enjoyed solid runs as well. Senior Kyle Rosser went 2-2 at 149 with a first round fall, while junior Brian Tanen went 2-2 at 157 with two wins over Big Ten foes. The 48th Midlands Championships conclude Thursday from Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena. Session three, with the championship semifinals and consolations begins at noon CT while session four featuring the championship finals will begin at 7 p.m.

Related Link: InterMat Midlands & Southern Scuffle Coverage EVANSTON, Ill. -- Dylan Ness may have started the day unseeded and unattached, but he was far from unknown. Dylan NessThe true freshman brother of 2010 NCAA champion Jayson Ness, Dylan went 4-0 and took down two seeded wrestlers at 149 pounds on the first day of action at the 48th Annual Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern University. "Dylan doesn't really surprise me," said his father, Jay Ness. "He can step up, he always has. He's unpredictable, and stronger than opponents think he is. [Minnesota] is doing a great job with him, and he's wrestling well here." Wrestling unattached with his father in his corner, Dylan upset No. 4 Eric Terrazas of Illinois in the first round, then recorded two straight falls to get to the quarters. Wearing a navy blue and white singlet, Ness fought off numerous shot attempts by Iowa State's athletic No. 5 seed, Nate Carr, Jr., then scored in the third period to advance by a 4-2 decision to Saturday's semifinals. "I knew he was quick, so I just tried to keep a close distance so he couldn't use his quickness," Dylan Ness said. "I just tried to keep that forward pressure, which helped me win at the end." Despite the daunting prospect of facing Bucknell All-American Kevin LeValley in the semis, Ness plans to stay loose and use the training tips he has learned from his brother and the Golden Gophers' coaching staff. "I'm just here to have fun," Dylan Ness said. "I know I'm the younger underdog here, so it's nice coming out here and wrestling without having any pressure." InterMat's own T.R. Foley called it first, but indeed, notorious Maryland superfan Robin Ficker was on hand to lend his considerable vocal support to the Terrapins. Robin Ficker (Photo/Morgan Hennessy)A longtime wrestling fan, Ficker's son, Flynn, wrestled heavyweight at UC Davis in the early 2000s. Once Flynn graduated, Robin chose to support a program a bit closer to home. His getup at Northwestern today included a Terps flag, a hat and a shirt to go along with Bermuda shorts. "This is easier because I live near Maryland," Ficker said, laughing. Then he added, "The NCAAs are in Philly this year, so we're looking forward to having 10 guys eating Philly cheesesteaks in March!" Ficker is an attorney and politician who wrote an editorial to the Washington Post last year that was critical of its lack of coverage of the Terps' program. Ficker has proven himself to be fiercely passionate and genuine about subjects he respects (such as wrestling). "It's very competitive, the guys are highly disciplined and in great shape, it's one on one," Ficker said. "They work hard every day, long hours, giving up things that normal college students have. I'm just trying to be a positive force behind the Maryland team. We have a wonderful coach in Kerry McCoy, and if he doesn't deserve support, who does?!" A quick glance at the brackets after Session 2 reveals some dandy match-ups still in tact. No doubt most wrestling fans in Evanston are salivating at the thought of these potential clashes in the finals on Saturday night. 125: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. No. 2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) 165: No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) 285: No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) vs. No. 2 Ryan Tomei (Pittsburgh) As evidenced on day one, however, crazy things can happen on the mat. So we'll wait until the semis are concluded before we being breaking down those battles. In the meantime, final team scores following today's action can be found on www.intermatwrestle.com and www.NUSports.com. Be sure to tune into Foley's always-entertaining running notebook for detailed analysis and poignant witticisms. Semifinal Pairings 125: No. 1 Matt McDonough (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Ryan Mango (Stanford) No. 2 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) vs. Anthony Zanetta (Pittsburgh) 133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. No. 10 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) No. 5 B.J. Futrell (Illinois) vs. No. 8 Tony Ramos (Iowa) 141: No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) vs. No. 15 Chris Drouin (Iowa State) No. 4 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly) vs. No. 8 Tyler Nauman (Pittsburgh) 149: No. 3 Kevin LeValley (Bucknell) vs. Dylan Ness (Minnesota) No. 7 Andrew Nadhir (Northwestern) vs. No. 18 Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin) 157: No. 13 James Fleming (Clarion) vs. No. 20 (at 165) Chase Nelson (Oklahoma) No. 20 Daryl Cocozzo (Rutgers) vs. Kyle John (Maryland) 165: No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. No. 11 Zach Toal (Missouri) No. 2 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) vs. Chris Spangler (Iowa State) 174: No. 3 Jon Reader (Iowa State) vs. No. 16 Mike Letts (Maryland) No. 5 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan) vs. Austin Meys (Lehigh) 184: No. 4 Grant Gambrall (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Josh Ihnen (Nebraska) No. 5 Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) vs. No. 6 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) 197: Nate Patrick (Sunkist) vs. Byron Tate (Wartburg) No. 13 Kennedy (Lehigh) vs. Matt Wilps (Pittsburgh) 285: No. 1 Zach Rey (Lehigh) vs. No. 4 Ryan Flores (American) No. 2 Ryan Tomei (Pittsburgh) vs. No. 8 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan)

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Mike Finn, editor of Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine, and Ben Askren, 2008 Olympian and two-time NCAA champion for Missouri, will go “On the Mat” this Wednesday, December 29. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:05 - 6:00 PM CST on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Finn is the editor of Wrestling Insider Newsmagazine. He was named journalist of the year by the National Wrestling Media Association in 2006. Finn will provide an end mid-season update on the college wrestling season. Askren was an Olympian 2008 and an NCAA champion for Missouri in 2006 and 2007. Askren will face two-time NCAA champion Jake Herbert in “Super Match” at the Midlands on Thursday, Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. Askren and Herbert faced each other in the finals of the 2006 NCAA tournament.

InterMat will not be running a running notebook for the finals. You can check finals results. There will be a final recap posted following the conclusion of tonight's action. 3:25 p.m. CST: The Herbert-Askren "Supermatch" is being held live on Flowrestling right now. 3:20 p.m. CST: Heavyweights Ryan Tomei (Pitt) and Jarrod Trice (CMU) made it interesting in the first. The defending Midlands champion Trice was mobile in his defense and Tomei attacked with intent. Period ended 0-0. Trice earned 1:34 in ride-time before kicking out Tomei to end the period. Trice escaped with :3 to spare in ridetime, making the score 2-1 which is how it ended. Trice advances. 3:13 p.m. CST: Heavyweights Flores (American) and Rey (Lehigh) were scoreless in the first with Flores avoiding a Rey single with a rather acrobatic kick out. Flores locked up a merkle and looked to turn Rey but was reversed and gave up two quick back points. Flores moved from bottom but was caught in several stalemates from his scrambles. Rey cut Flores after earning a minute of ride time, making the score, 4-1 headed to the third. After a quick escape Flores looked for offense but came up short, losing 5-2. 3:10 p.m. CST: Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) and Wilps (UN-Pitt) didn't get much going in the first. The second started with Kennedy on bottom and earning the escape at 1:20 but got caught in a scramble at the end of the period and was planted to his back to give up a 5 point move. another takedown and an escape made it an 8-2 final in favor of the redshirt Wilps. 3:00 p.m. CST: 184 lbs. Hamlin (Lehigh) and Rutt (Wisconsin). Not a lot in the first; Rutt escaped in the second. Hamlin earned a single takedown midway through the period. Then it went bonkers with the duo getting takedowns within 10 seconds of each other and Rutt securing a 4-3 advantage. Great second period of action. The escape made it 4-4 at the start of the third. hamlin missed on an ill-advised inside trip with :45 remaining and loses 6-4 to the Wisconsin wrestler, Rutt. 3:00 p.m. CST: 197 lbs. D-III National Champ Byron Tate (Wartburg) and Nathan Patrick (Sunkist) started off exchanging takedowns and with Tate coming out of the period up 5-4. The Wartburg star tacked on another pair of takedowns in the second to make the score 9-5 into the third. Tate wins 9-6. 2:50 p.m. CST: 184 lbs. Grant Gambrall (Iowa) and Ihnen (Nebraska) kept it hand fighting-only in the first period with Gambrall escaping early in the second. More hand fighting and fakes. Ihnen escaped to start the third with more action as Ihnen's high crotch is met by Gambrall's hip and then a forehead to the mat. No change. Regulation ends tied, as does overtime. Gambrall escaped in the rideout but Ihnen takes a locked hands call on Gambrall to eek out a reverse and the 4-2 win. 2:50 p.m. CST: 174 lbs. Austin Meys (Lehigh) and Ben Bennett (CMU) got it going late int he first with a Meys takedown stuffed and Bennett finding space to throw a leg though he never got more than a one count. First period was 2-0 Bennett. Bennett is out to tstart the third but immediately put into danger against Meys who seems to have pinning combinations from ever conceivable position. Bennett got out of bounds and out of trouble. Meys stayed aggressive in the second, but the score remained 3-0. Neutral to start the third. Meys high crotch was stuffed and Bennett gets in it to win it 6-0. 2:50 p.m. CST: 174 lbs. Reader (Iowa State) earned a nice takedown from a single to start the match, tacked on a reversal in the second. Letts (Maryland) chose neutral to start the third and Reader earned an immediate go-behind takedown. Final score 7-0. 2:40 p.m. CST: 165 lbs. Howe (Wisconsin) looked dominate early. He then looked dominate later. He also scored many points. Howe wins 12-3. 2:40 p.m. CST: Burroughs (Nebraska) and Spangler (Iowa State) were active early. Then the doubles started... However the match was called at the end of the first with what looks like (complete speculation) a busted orbital. Will get back with more information as it comes available. 2:30 p.m. CST: 157 lbs. Nelson (Oklahoma) earned a quick two against side-headlock guru, James Fleming (Illinois) to start the match. Fleming escaped after some pretty awesome upper-body drama (Remember: Nelson was down 14-0 against Patacsil before the mixer-to-pin) and they ended the period. Apparently we learned that Nelson also has a filthy left-sided headlock which he threw and earned the fall. Nelson is my new favorite wrestler, sorry Anthony Jones (Michigan State). 2:30 p.m. CST: Quick takedown at 157 lbs. for Cocozzo (Rutgers) against Kyle John (Maryland) and holds on to an arm and head from behind for the majority of the period. John choose neutral in the second which proved to be smart as he earned the quick takedown and started into a tilt that ended with a three point nearfall. Cocozzo got into a bad position during a third period scramble and barely avoided a fall. John with a late takedown and backs to win 10-3 2:20 p.m. CST: What a start to the LeValley (Bucknell) and Ness (UN-Minnesota) match! LeValley earned a hard fought single and laced up a two-on-one tilt immediately where he leaned comfortable at 5-0. Rolling out of the tilt, Levalley was caught high on Ness' hips and was thrown in a seated cement-mixer. It looked over, but Levalley fought from his back and eventually earned an escape. The first period ended 6-5. Another LeValley escape in the second and the score was 7-5. LeValley earned a nice takedown at the end of the second to make it 9-5. Final score, 10-6 LeValley. 2:20 p.m. CST: Schmidtt (Wisconsin) earned two takedowns against Nadhir (Northwestern) in the first two periods. Nadhir cut Schmidtt in the third hoping for several takedowns but it never materialized. Schmidtt wins 9-4. 2:10 p.m. CST: Kennedy (Illinois) and Drouin (Iowa St.) kept it kind in the first at 0-0. Kennedy worked hard to keep legs in against the former Arizona State All-American securing two minutes of ride time in the second period. Kennedy took the lead early in the third with an escape. He followed that with a quick takedown and wins with the final score 4-0. A very Kennedy-like match. 2:10 p.m. CST: Novachkov (Cal Poly) and Nauman (Pitt) wrestled to a scoreless first period, though there was an interesting throw attempted by the Mustang wrestler. Novachkov rode a right side bar for the entire first minute of the second period, and kicked Nauman for an escape after accruing 1:23 in ride time. Novachkov chose neutral in the third and sent the match to OT. Then it went to OT rideout where Nauman escaped in his :30 but was reversed by Novachkov who wins 3-2. 1:57 p.m. CST: Graff (Wisconsin) finished a nice single early in the first to head into the second with a 2-1 lead, where he very intelligently chose neutral against the lanky Sentes (CMU). Graff was back on a single which he finished to an ankle-level double and threw a saddle on the very agile bottom wrestler, Sentes. He stayed on top in the third until Sentes escaped with a modified kimura lock - it's apparent that Sentes has been training some jiu-jitsu. Another takedown late and the final score 7-2. 1:57 p.m. CST: B.J. Futrell (Illinois) blasted Ramos (Iowa) to start the first period and tacked another on to make the score 4-1. Ramos escaped in the second and launched several attacks, hoping to wear down Futrell. The Iowa wrestler finally made a shot count and got into a crackdown but Futrell stayed locked in the crotch until time expired in the period. Futrell escaped to start the third but was immediately banged for stalling. Futell hit a nasty underhook reshot to a double and extended his lead to 7-3 with one minute remaining. The Iowa hustle was on but the flurry was too little, too late. Final score, 9-6 Futrell. 1:40 p.m. CST: Mango (Stanford) gave defending NCAA Champion Matt McDonough (Iowa) all he could handle in the first, fighting off the first takedown attempt with over-hook scramble into a stalemate. McDonough, however, managed to break through early in the second and get a set of back points. From there McDonough poured it on and proved to have a little too much for the rising Stanford star. McDonough wins 10-1. 1:40 p.m. CST: Precin (Northwestern) scored a quick takedown and rode out Zanetta (Pitt) for the majority of the first period. The match was never close, Precin wins 6-0. 12:30 p.m. CST: Welch misses on a Russian drag and was taken down within :15. After that, a quick cradle and the fall for Patacsil at 2:02. 12:25 p.m. CST: No. 1 Jake Patacsil and No. 2 Jason Welch (Northwestern) will be facing each other in this round of consolations. I'll let you know what happens. Also, Lehigh is in the lead, which marks the first time the Mountain Hawks have ever led Midlands. 12:16 p.m. CST: The semifinals will take place following a round of consolation matches. 8:46 p.m. CST: That concludes the running notebook coverage but we will be back online tomorrow for the semifinals at 12 p.m. CST. Team scores can be found in InterMat and NUSports.com following the conclusion of tonight's consolation round. You know it's coming, right? Howe vs. Burroughs... 8:44 p.m. CST: The heavyweight winners: Trice (CMU) 8-3; Flores (American) 6-2; Rey (Lehigh) 10-2; Tomei (Pitt) 7-2. 8:39 p.m. CST: File this under "Musings:" Referees get a lot of garbage thrown their way, but they deserve some recognition for a job well done in Evanston. This Midlands has been the best officiated large college tournament I've witnessed in a while. The Zebras have allowed wrestlers to use every inch of the mat - even one hand has been enough to continue action. Referees haven't flinched in allowing the wrestlers to continue their moves on nearby mats, allowing there's been a safe buffer. Of course, some fans and coaches would tell you these same referees have also hosed a couple of their wrestlers, but bias is always present and no one, not even the coaches are without fault. Good on you, Stripes. 8:35 p.m. CST: The 197 lbs. winners: Tate (Wartburg) 6-4; Patrick (Sunkist) 9-4; Kennedy (Lehigh) 6-2; Whilps (UN-Pitt) 3-2. 8:25 p.m. CST: The 184 lbs. winners: Gambrall (Iowa) 9-0; Inhen (Nebraska) 3-2; Rutt (Wisconsin) 3-0; Hamlin (Lehigh) 6-3. 8:10 p.m. CST: The 174 lbs. winners: Meys (Lehigh) Fall 4:31; Letts (Maryland) 9-1; Reader (Iowa State) 12-2; Bennett (CMU) 1-0. 8;05 p.m. CST: Imagine this scenario. Amestugachi has Austin Meys in a single. Meys pushes down Mooch's head and rolls beneath Mooch's far leg, like a modified spladle without the nearside leg. Well, whatever it was, it worked. Meys by fall in the second. I hope there is a video available. 8:00 p.m. CST: 165 lbs. results: Toal (Mizzou) 3-1; Spangler (Iowa State) 4-2; Howe (Wisconsin) 9-5; Burroughs (Nebraska) by bunches. 7:56 p.m. CST: Plenty of chatter re: Fleming's move from top. All looks good from the press box... 7:54 p.m. CST: John (Maryland) Fall 4:47; Fleming (Clarion) 20-4; Cocozzo 6-2; Nelson (Oklahoma) Fall 4:05. 7:44 p.m. CST: By far the most impressive performance of the tournament! No. 1 Jake Patacsil is winning 14-0 to start the second and got taken down with a cement job to his back and stuck by Chase Nelson (Oklahoma). Never give up, kids. 7:39 p.m. CST: Nadhir (Northwestern) 5-1; Ness (UN-Minnesota) 4-2; Schmitt (Wisconsin) 12-5; LeValley (Bucknell) 13-1. All will advance to tomorrow's semifinals. 7:33 p.m. CST: Drouin(Iowa State) 3-0; Nauman (Pitt) 9-5; Kennedy (Illinois) 11-2; Novachkov (Cal Poly) 3-1. All will be wrestling in tomorrow's semifinals. 7:31 p.m. CST: OT in the battle for Iowa at 141 lbs. Drouin with the late takedown in regulation. Pushes the pace to start the period and hits a sweet wrist-led duck for the come-from-behind win, 5-3 7:26 p.m. CST: Kevin LeValley might not be the prettiest man in the room, but he's getting really handy on top. The No. 1 seed at 149 lbs. opened up a 4-0 lead in the first period and didn't look back, finishing Cibula (Rider) 13-1. 7:15 p.m. CST: Graff (Wisconsin), TF 23-6; Futrell (Illinois), 5-2; Ramos (Iowa) 3-1; Sentes (Central Michigan) by Fall 7:54. All advance to tomorrow's semifinals at 133 lbs. 7:13 p.m. CST: Ryan Mango (7-3); Brandon Precin (6-2); Matt McDonough (Fall in 4:54); and Anthony Zanetta (4-1) all advance to tomorrow's semifinals at 125lbs. 7:10 p.m. CST: Not a lot of action in the first five minute of Waters (Mizzou) v. Mango Stanford. The pace was also slowed by several minutes of blood time for both wrestlers. Mango found space for a double early in the second to move the score to 3-2 after a quick escape. Quick re-attack by Mango was stuffed and sent to the mat for an extended scramble which Mango eventually won on a double finish. The score was 5-3 after the escape but with :10 remaining Waters was unable to score and gave up a later attempt. Final 7-3. 7:00 p.m. CST: We are back and everyone is probably wondering how I missed the opportunity to talk about the athlete that stood out most in the first two rounds: Tristen DeShazar (Northern Illinois). It would have been much easier to notice his upsets of No. 8 Jon Kohler (Maryland) and Trevor Melde (Rutgers) had he not pinned them in :33 and :15, respectively. Now he meets up with No. 1 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois). Good luck to Mr. Upset Special. 4:33 p.m. CST: Round is over. Team scores will be updated on the Midlands home page. As for me, time for pho - it's freezing in Chicago. Back at 7 p.m. CST. 4:27 p.m. CST: Big boys are scoring points. No. 4 Ryan Flores (American) wins 8-0 and No. 10 McMullen (Northwestern) pins Tyler Perry (Mizzou)in the first. 4:25 p.m. CST: Fun match between No. 8 Blake Rasing (Iowa) and No. 9 Christian Brantley (N. Iowa). We saw Brantley spin out and score from what looked like a sure single leg finish on the mat for Rasing. They scrapped hard in what could be the toughest weight class of the tournament. Brantley wins. 4:10 p.m. CST: No. 1 seed Zac Thommuseit (Pitt) loses to former Illinois wrestler Nathan Patrick (Sunkist Kids) 2-1. Thommuseit is the first top seed to lose. 4:10 p.m. CST: Let's make it a trifecta of Bison. No. 9 Jay Hahn (Bucknell) takes down No. 8 Alex Thomas (Clarion) in overtime to get the 6-4 victory. He faces Nathan Patrick (Sunkist Kids) in this evening's quarterfinals. 4:05 p.m. CST: Another Bucknell wrestler, this time 184 lbs. Joe McMullan in an close match against No. 6 Eric Schmidtke (Oklahoma), falls 3-2. 4:00 p.m. CST: Cameron Croy (Harvard) ends his overtime match with Rob Waltko (Bucknell) in the wrestlebacks with a cradle and fall. 3:45 p.m. CST: No big surprises recently. 3:25 p.m. CST: 174 lbs. No. 7 Austin Meys (Lehigh) is looking tough. Won his match agaisnt Evans (Iowa) though I missed the score. Bunches of back points. 3:20 p.m. CST: Air Burroughs 21-7. I don't know how you can stop that double... 3:12 p.m. CST: Bubby Graham (American) keeps his upset-seed (No. 4) alive by beating Boudro (Michigan State) 8-0. Tonight is a matchup with No. 5 Zach Toal (Mizzou). 3:01 p.m. CST: After an intense third period on top 165 lbs. Chris Spangler (Iowa State) beats No. 3 Tyler Caldwell (Oklahoma)2-1. 2:50 p.m. CST: No. 2 Jason Welch trailed the majority of his match against Donnie Tasser (Pitt). The 3-3 3rd period was interrupted by a Tasser injury time. Tasser got out with :50 to wrestle but Welch kept up the pace with several attacks. This backfired and Tasser was able to hit the best duck-under of the tournament taking the score to 6-3. Late escape and takedown, 8-4 in favor of Tasser. Biggest upset of Midlands goes against host school, Northwestern. 2:40 p.m. CST: Fleming (Clarion) went up 8-0 in the first against Brian Tanen (Lehigh)(Yes, it's what you're thinking). He finished the match with a technical fall 15-0. 2:35 p.m. CST: Patascil by tech fall in 2:03... 2:34 p.m. CST:157 lbs. No. 1 Jake Patacsil is wearing knee high socks. Legality? 2:25 p.m. CST: No. 7 Bradley (Missouri) rode No. 10 Lester (Oklahoma) for the final two minutes to earn the riding time point and the 5-4 victory. Michael Lightner = Less-than-happy. 2:23 p.m. CST: Early contender for match of Midlands was No. 5 Nate Carr Jr. and Ben Dorsay (Maryland). 4-4 Carr Jr. after the second, with every 15 seconds punctuated by flips and scrambles. Dorsay started on bottom in the third and worked immediately for a reversal, but ended with an escape. Tied ballgame, 4-4. Carr Jr with an underhook to opposite side ankle pick to end the match 6-4. 2:07 p.m. CST: No. 4 Mark Ballweg and Steve Dutton (Lehigh)go down to the wire with several of Dutton's doubles missing before landing a right side high crotch to tie it up. Overtime was a Ballweg double converted to a single on the mat and the win 9-7. 1:53 p.m. CST: No. 10 McCormick (Missouri) and No. 7 Keller (Oklahoma) into Overtime and Keller turned him from a crab ride turned power-half. McCormick was desperate for retribution but to no avail. 6-2 Keller ... and Sammie Henson goes nutty. 1:52 p.m. CST: Tucker Lane (Nebraska) is withdrawing from the tournament with a minor injury. 1:24 p.m. CST: Greg Cannon (Oklahoma) was all over No. 5 Ryan Mango in their second round match at 125 lbs. Then Mango got some sweet offense going from his feet and strung together a series of turns and wins by major decision, 14-3. 1:21 p.m. CST: Brantley Hooks emerges from the quicksand and pins Kyle Dooley (Illinois) in a stack which he landed from a roll which came from Dooley draping over the top during defending the double. 1:15 p.m. CST: Brackets for Round 1, including pigtails and wrestlebacks can be found at http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/nw-2009-midlands-championships.html 1:00 p.m. CST: Spencer Myers (Maryland) gives No. 3 DJ Russo a battle at heavyweight, losing 3-2. 12:54 p.m. CST: There has been a Robin Ficker sighting. 12:53 p.m. CST: End of round upset at heavyweight. Helgerson (Wartburg) beats No. 5 Tucker Lane (Nebraska) 4-2. 12:02 p.m. CST: Kadeem Samuels (Lehigh) is a talented kid. Two enormous doubles in the first against No. 4 Josh Ihnen. Gave up an equalizer at the end of the first making the score 4-4 headed into the second. Ihner made a showcase of solid top work and extended his lead through the second. 11:45 a.m. CST: No. 6 Jake Kerr (Iowa) took a beating from Kevin Bialka (Northwestern) 7-2. Kerr looked sluggish (sick?) and Bialka kept Kerr's offense in check with an over-hook - where he also able to score some short offense. Big win for the Illinois native. 11:41 a.m. CST: Bubby Graham (American) claws back against No. 3 Josh Asper (Maryland) to get the takedown (sick duck to a double) at the buzzer. Final score 7-6. 11:37 a.m. CST: Miller (Ohio N.) did not stop the double. Burroughs wins by technical fall 21-6. 11:31 a.m. CST: We have our first Jordan Burroughs and Andrew Howe sightings of the day. Burroughs is wrestling D-3 National Champion Luke Miller (Ohio Northern) and Howe bested Mike Moreno (UN-Iow St) 17-5. 11:30 a.m. CST: Illinois fans hoping to see Jordan Blanton wrestle today will have to wait. The 2010 NCAA All-American was scratched this morning from competition. 11:28 a.m. CST: David Bonin (N. Iowa) fought back from 6-2 by putting together a string of takedowns to eventually outscore and then hastily pin No. 3 Derek St. John (Iowa)with :02 seconds left in regulation. Welsh-Ryan went nutty. 11:20 a.m. CST: You have one guess on how No. 4 James Fleming (Clarion) pinned Adam Miller (C. Michigan). 11:15 a.m. CST: Action Jackson Morse (UN -Illinois) just threw a nasty little headlock against Brantley Hooks (Bucknell). Score is 7-1 and Hooks is swimming in quicksand from bottom. 10:55 a.m. CST: Dane Johnson (Pitt) and Dylan Ness (RS-MN) battled to the round's most exciting match. Ness is legit on top and controlled the majority of the second period. A defiant Johnson choose bottom in the third, got the reversal early in the period but gave away the quick escape. After several failed attempts Johnson gets the double with 15 seconds left. Two is called, control is established. Time is running out. Exciting, right? Until Ness rolls a lateral drop from his back and pins Johnson with :01 second remaining. 10:33 a.m. CST: Tristan DeShazer (N. Illinois) pins No. 8 Jon Kohler (Maryland) in the first period. 10:28 a.m. CST: Another upset at 149 lbs: Eric Terrazas (Illinois) falls to Dylan Ness, a redshirting freshman at Minnesota. 10:14 a.m. CST: 149 lbs. update: Isaac Duke (Case) upsets No. 3 seeded Corey Jantzen (Harvard) 4-3 in the pigtail round. Alan Waters is still undefeated... 12:06 a.m. CST: Updates will be posted when action gets underway at 9:30 a.m.

2010 Southern Scuffle

Last week Nebraska's 2009 NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs asked a simple question of his 2000+ fans on Facebook, "Burroughs or Howe ... Who ya got?" Most of the responses indicated Burroughs would take the match by a few points, probably a result of the question being posted to his friends. Burroughs' approach to the hype surrounding his possible matchup with Howe is admirable for its humor but is also indicative just how connected the wrestling community has become in recent years. The Midlands finals will be broadcast on a tape delay on the Big Ten Network on Jan. 8 at 3 p.m. CT. Fans will be able to watch the entire Southern Scuffle on a free live broadcast, which could include the much-anticipated matchup between 2010 NCAA champion Kyle Dake of Cornell and 2009 NCAA champion Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State. The connectivity of the wrestling community and the transparency and willingness of those in traditional media roles to host event coverage has meant that fans can have more access to information with less work. Fans who were once sentenced to a season of scouring forums and waiting for text messages for match updates can finally access technology that provides unprecedented coverage of events across the country and forms of media. For the fan, it's meant more live action when you want it. For the best wrestler's it's meant they've become minor Facebook celebrities. Of course, these dream-like scenarios are subject to the competitors making the finals of the Midlands and Southern Scuffle. These tournaments are difficult, with almost every ranked wrestler competing in either Evanston or Greensboro. It's only 50/50 that Dake, Caldwell, Howe, and Burroughs will all make the finals without suffering an injury or being upset along the way. There is even speculation that Caldwell won't show at all. (Caldwell is listed as a "game-time decision.") However, fans know that these four grapplers are the absolute most elite competitors in the sport and should they meet like expected on Thursday night the hype will be justified. Andrew Howe (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)I'll leave it to the Mat.com forums and Facebook for predictions. I don't know who will win, but in my opinion, the winners will come from who answers the following questions: "Can Howe stop that double?" and "Does Caldwell suffer from 'ring rust'"? For Howe to win and outperform expectations he'll need to defend one of the most dominating double legs in a decade of college wrestling. Howe is leaning on the talents of Donny Pritzlaff and Jared Frayer to not only push him in the room but provide him scouting report that will both slow down Air Burroughs and give him opportunities to score from controlling positions. To find those positions Howe will probably want to close the distance and look for a bad shot from Burroughs to put them in a front head lock situation -- from there Howe can score his offense. If Howe is wary of chasing the more agile Burroughs -- and he should be -- he'll need to keep his hands low and stalk to close distance, probably wanting to find a two-on-one or something else to controls Burroughs' hands and limit the double. Do that and he could win. Don't and we have plenty of evidence on YouTube and Flowrestling of what happens to wrestlers who can't stop the Burroughs double. Darrion Caldwell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)Caldwell wrestled well in the 2009 freestyle season, but there are some lingering, if not unfair, questions about his stamina. His match against Brent Metcalf in 2009 should have left most fans aware that the he could wrestle and had the ability to keep the pedal pegged for seven full minutes (sans an injury time). The debate about his stamina has always been while he was expected to be in peak condition, but 20 months out from his last college wrestling match leaves even more questions. Folkstyle has proven to be a fickle style for anyone coming off a layoff and can get the best of even well-tuned, highly conditioned athletes. Not only will Caldwell be facing a tough field for two full days of wrestling, but he'll be capping it off with a seven minute tussle against the agile, youthful Kyle Dake. Last year Dake showed that in spite of having to endure five months of massive weight loss, he was able to compete at an enviable pace. Kid Dynamite is coming off an injury of his own and Caldwell's convalescence might be the boost he needs to best an opponent from the hottest team in the country. However, their prime time battle will be won after an evening of tossing, lifting, rolling, scrambling and creativity. If ever a non-NCAA finals match were meant for prime time, it's this one. This is a special week for wrestling. The community is defined by its loyalty for the sport and passion for top-notch competition. Unlike other college sports, we've navigated away from the inconsequential gossip surrounding athletes and coaches. Yes, we've indulged in some gossip-driven tales of improprieties from time to time, but we tend to focus on the competition and the competitor. We've all waited for a mid-season week like this, when the athletic drama of our sport is showcased for fans in the stands. And now, fans at home can sit back, open a laptop and enjoy the very best in college wrestling. So ... Who ya got?

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Christmas break was a quick one for the NC State wrestling team. The Wolfpack took off Dec. 22-25, but was back together Dec. 26 in preparation for the UNCG Southern Scuffle, which will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. The Southern Scuffle has evolved into one of the top in-season tournaments of the college wrestling season, and its proximity to Raleigh makes it a natural for NC State. This will mark the Wolfpack’s fifth consecutive appearance at the Southern Scuffle and its sixth in the last seven years. NC State finished seventh in 2006 and 10th in 2008. This year’s field will be highlighted by Cornell, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by intermatwrestle.com. Minnesota (No. 4) and Penn State (No. 7) are also ranked in the top 10 and will be in the field, along with Michigan (No. 16), Hofstra (18), Kent State (20), Virginia (26), and Edinboro (28). “We’re excited about the Southern Scuffle,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “It’s a great tournament with excellent competition so we get a chance to measure ourselves against top-caliber competition. And because it’s in Greensboro it gives our fans a chance to come and watch us wrestle.” The Southern Scuffle will be the last in-season tournament of 2010-11 for NC State, which is 1-1 in duals and has participated in the Wolfpack Open, the Pembroke Classic and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. The Southern Scuffle also could mark the return to the mat for Darrion Caldwell, who underwent shoulder surgery in September 2009 and missed all of last season while recuperating. Caldwell, who went 38-1 two seasons ago and won the national championship at 149 pounds, is entered in the Southern Scuffle, but Jordan is still mulling over whether to turn Caldwell loose on Wednesday. “It’ll be a game-time decision,” Jordan said. “He’s looked great in practice and he’s itching to go. I mean, he really is wrestling well in practice. At the same time, he could wind up wrestling five tough bouts or more in a span of two days. I just don’t know whether it’s right to subject him to that or not at this point. We practice one last time [on Tuesday] and how he looks then will play a part in my decision.” Jordan said that regardless of whether Caldwell wrestles in Greensboro or not, he will definitely be in the lineup when the Pack returns to dual-match action Jan. 4-5 at Bloomsburg and Rider, respectively.

Hempstead, NY -- For the second time this month, the Hofstra Wrestling team will face some of the country’s best wrestlers when the Pride return to action on Wednesday and Thursday, December 29-30 in the 2010 Southern Scuffle at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. The Southern Scuffle, which Hofstra Head Wrestling Coach Tom Shifflet created while head coach at UNC Greensboro in 2004, promises to preview some of the matches that will be seen in March at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. Seven of the 10 weight classes will have seven or more top 20 ranked wrestlers competing while the 149-pound division will have five top 20 grapplers, 157 will have four top 10 wrestlers, and 165 will have four in the top 20. In addition to #18 Hofstra, the 2010 Southern Scuffle field includes: #1 Cornell, #4 Minnesota; #7 Penn State; #16 Michigan; #20 Kent State; and #25 Virginia; Air Force; Appalachian State; Army; Bloomsburg; Boston University; Campbell; The Citadel; Duke; Edinboro; Gardner-Webb; George Mason; Liberty; Lock Haven; Navy; North Carolina; North Carolina State; Ohio; Old Dominion; Penn; Princeton; UNC Greensboro; Utah Valley; and VMI. Hofstra, which last wrestled on Sunday, December 11 in a 22-17 dual match victory over Maryland before breaking for semester finals and the Christmas holidays, will be making its fourth appearance in the Scuffle after a third-place finish in 2007, an eighth-place finish in 2008, and a 23rd place finish, with just five wrestlers, in last year’s Scuffle. Unlike last year, the Pride will enter a full line-up of wrestlers for the double-elimination, NCAA Championship format competition that features seven of the current top 25 teams in the most recent InterMat Division I Poll. In the 2009 Scuffle, Ryan Patrovich placed fifth at 174 pounds while P.J. Gillespie was eighth at 165 pounds. The Pride, 3-2-1 on the season, is ranked in the top 25 in four of the six weekly polls and is also receiving votes in a fifth. The Pride is ranked 17th by the Wrestling Report (TWR), 18th by InterMat, 24th by Amateur Wrestling News (AWN) and 25th by WIN Magazine. Hofstra continues to receive votes in the National Wrestling Coaches Association/USA Today Coaches Poll. Individually, seven Pride wrestlers continue to be ranked in the weekly polls conducted by InterMat, Division I College Wrestling (DICW), Amateur Wrestling News (AWN), the Wrestling Report (TWR) and WIN this week. Leading Hofstra is senior Lou Ruggirello (Walden, NY), off to a 10-1 start with four pins and ranked fourth by InterMat, DICW, AWN, and TWR, and fifth by WIN at 133 pounds. Junior P.J. Gillespie (Long Beach, NY), 8-2 on the season at 165 pounds, is ranked fifth by AWN and TWR, sixth by InterMat and DICW, and eighth by WIN. Senior Ryan Patrovich (Bohemia, NY), 7-3 on the season at 174, is ranked 14th by DICW, 15th by InterMat, AWN and WIN, and 16th by TWR. Sophomore Steve Bonanno (Wantagh, NY), 7-5 on the season at 125 pounds, is ranked 15th by InterMat, 16th by DIWC and TWR, 17th by AWN and 18th by WIN. Sophomore Justin Accordino (Wilkes-Barre, PA), 8-5 at 149 pounds, is ranked 18th by TWR, 19th by InterMat and 21st by DICW. Junior Vince Varela (Rio Rancho, NM), 7-6 on the year at 141 pounds, is ranked 16th by AWN and 27th by TWR. Junior Ben Clymer (Germansville, PA), who is 2-3 this year, is ranked 31st by TWR.

MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin wrestling team’s dual match against Michigan, originally scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 12, has been rescheduled, the Wisconsin athletic department announced. The Badgers will now compete against the Wolverines on Friday, Feb. 4, 2011 at 7 p.m. (CT) at the UW Field House. The event was originally postponed due to inclement weather. The Badgers (5-0-0 dual record) are currently ranked No. 4 in the country according to the NWCA/USA Today Division I Coaches Poll after most recently defeating Northern Iowa, 23-14, on Dec. 11. Wisconsin returns to the mat Dec. 29-30 to compete in the Midlands Invitational in Evanston, Ill. UW hosts its next event at the UW Field House on Jan. 16 when it opens Big Ten Conference competition against Illinois.

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan's wrestling program will close the calendar year at the Midlands Championships, hosted by Northwestern University, Dec. 29-30. CMU will be one of 32 teams in the tournament. Fourteen teams are ranked in this week's InterMat top 25. "It's going to be really good competition," said CMU head coach Tom Borrelli. "It will be similar to the Cliff Keen Invitational, where we had nine of the top 15 teams in the country. This is the same type of event and will be a great challenge for our guys." Midlands will mark the Chippewas' first competition since a 23-9 dual loss at No. 12 Lehigh on Dec. 12. Borrelli said the 17-day layoff has given the Chippewas an opportunity to improve conditioning and continue to refine technique. "We haven't competed the way we would have liked this semester and haven't had the results we would have liked to have," Borrelli said. "We don't feel like we're competing at the level we want to compete at, so this tournament will give us a chance to right some things and redeem ourselves a little bit." Chippewas Open New Practice Facility: CMU held its first practice this week in its new practice facility at the CMU Events Center. Built as part of the Events Center construction project, the new practice room has space for three full mats and fitness equipment. The practice room is just steps away from the competition floor in McGuirk Arena. "During dual meets our guys will be able to warm up in the wrestling room and then run from the wrestling room, where they’re comfortable, right into the arena to wrestle a match," Borrelli said. "That is a perfect situation that not many other programs in the country have." Follow Midlands Online: Brackets and team standings will be updated throughout the tournament at Northwestern's official Midlands page at nusports.com. Midlands Pre-Seeds Announced: Three Chippewas are included in the Midlands Championships pre-seeds: Scotti Sentes (No. 6, 133 pounds), Ben Bennett (No. 3, 174 pounds) and Jarod Trice (No. 7, heavyweight). Official seeds for the tournament will be announced next week. Reviewing the 2009 Midlands: Jarod Trice won the heavyweight title to lead CMU to a third-place finish at the 2009 Midlands Championships. Trice was CMU's first Midlands champion since Wynn Michalak in 2005. Ben Bennett was runner-up at 174 pounds, and six other Chippewas placed in the top eight of their weight class. The Chippewas' third-place finish was their fifth top-four finish in six seasons. CMU finished with 118 team points, the most it has ever scored at Midlands. In the Rankings: CMU is ranked No. 17 in this week's NWCA/USA Today coaches' poll and No. 25 in this week's InterMat rankings. Four Chippewas are ranked in the top 20 nationally in their weight class by InterMat: Scotti Sentes (No. 10, 133 pounds), Mike Miller (No. 19, 165 pounds), Ben Bennett (No. 5, 174 pounds) and Jarod Trice (No. 8, heavyweight). Trice Travels the World: Junior heavyweight Jarod Trice has competed in a pair of events outside of CMU's schedule this season. In October, Trice placed eighth in Greco-Roman at the University World Championships in Italy. He was the highest placing American in Greco-Roman at the event. In November, Trice represented CMU at the NWCA All-Star Classic in Fresno, Calif. American's Ryan Flores scored a third-period takedown to defeat Trice, 3-1. CMU Adds Four During Early Signing Period: Four high school student-athletes signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Chippewas for the 2011-12 season, including three of the top-60 ranked recruits in the country. Ty Davis (141 pounds), Zach Horan (133), Joey Kielbasa (157) and Devin Pommerenke (285) committed to CMU during the early signing period. Horan (No. 16), Kielbasa (No. 59) and Pommerenke (No. 42) are ranked among the top 60 recruits nationally by InterMat. The group was ranked as the No. 13 recruiting class in the country by W.I.N. Magazine. Coming Up: The Chippewas open Mid-American Conference competition on Thursday, Jan. 6 when they visit Northern Illinois.

Elite wrestlers and teams to wrap up 2010 at Cheesehead On the last two days of the year 2010, seven of the nation's top 14 teams (and eight of the top 25) will travel to Kaukauna, Wisconsin for the Cheesehead Invitational. The pool-to-bracket format will serve as a thorough examination of all the wrestlers in the 25-team field. In addition to the high volume of matches for each wrestler, there will be many high quality matches with 29 weight class ranked wrestlers in the field -- and multiple others that reside outside the rankings but are formidable in their own right. This will be the second of the three major tests for No. 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota on their schedule this year. The Eagles past their first test with flying colors, as they separated from a Minnesota Christmas Tournament field featuring three nationally-ranked teams. And they did so without one of their eight ranked wrestlers in the lineup. Joining Apple Valley in the tournament lineup this week is No. 3 Blair Academy, New Jersey; No. 5 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania; No. 8 Simley, Minnesota; No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; No. 12 Marmion Academy, Illinois; No. 14 Clovis, California; and No. 25 Montini Catholic, Illinois. Blair Academy finished second at the Ironman and won the Beast of the East, Wyoming Seminary was third at the Ironman and second at the Beast of the East, Simley was second at the Minesota Christmas Tournament, while Marmion Academy was fourth at the Ironman and champions of the Dvorak. The nation's No. 1 Class of 2011 recruit Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, Minnesota) -- also ranked first in the country at 152 pounds -- is part of the tournament's feature weight class. Three other nationally-ranked wrestlers are slated to appear in this weight class: No. 6 Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, Illinois), No. 18 Jonathan Rivera (Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia), and No. 19 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania). Robertson was second at the Ironman and champion at the Dvorak; Rivera was runner-up at the Super 32 Challenge; while Morris was fourth at the Ironman and second at the Beast of the East. Below is a listing of the other nationally-ranked wrestlers in the tournament field: 103: No. 6 Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, New Jersey), No. 16 Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minnesota), and No. 17 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy, Illinois) 112: No. 6 Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, Illinois) and No. 19 Jordan Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 119: No. 8 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) and No. 9 Caleb Richardson (Blair Academy, New Jersey) 125: No. 3 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, New Jersey) and No. 13 Dakota Trom (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 130: No. 3 Ben Whitford (Marmion Academy, Illinois), No. 9 Todd Preston (Blair Academy, New Jersey), and No. 12 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 135: No. 2 Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, New Jersey), No. 9 Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, Minnesota), and No. 11 Jameson Oster (Lockport, Illinois) 140: No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (Arrowhead, Wisconsin), No. 6 Jake Short (Simley, Minnesota), and No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 145: No. 1 Alex Dieringer (Port Washington, Wisconsin) 160: No. 4 Steve Keogh (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 171: No. 6 Jake Waste (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and No. 12 Zach Nevills (Clovis, California) 189: No. 4 Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) 285: No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, New Jersey) and No. 18 Terrance Jean-Jacques (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) POWERade packs strong punch The 44th annual POWERade Christmas Wrestling Tournament, hosted by Canon-McMillan High School (just outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), has one of its strongest fields yet with seven teams ranked in the InterMat Fab50 and 22 individuals nationally ranked in their respective weight classes. No. 16 Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania has won the tournament each of the last three years and is the highest ranked team in the 44-team field this year. Last year's runner-up No. 21 Collins Hill, Georgia is the second of the seven ranked teams in this field. The others include: No. 28 Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania; No. 30 Christiansburg, Virginia; No. 32 LaSalle, Pennsylvania; No. 35 Burrell, Pennsylvania; and No. 42 Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania. Heading the individual stories this year is the quest of Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania) to become only the third-ever wrestler to win four POWERade championships. Megaludis -- ranked No. 1 nationally at 125 pounds -- would join Ty Moore (North Allegheny, Pennsylvania) and Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania) to accomplish the feat. The best potential spoiler in the 125-pound weight class bracket would be No. 9 Geoff Alexander (Shady Side Academy, Pennsylvania). Two other individuals in the tournament field are on pace to win POWERade championships every year of their high school career: Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, Pennsylvania) and Cody Wiercioch (Charleroi, Pensylvania). Gulibon, a junior and ranked No. 1 in the country at 119 pounds, has another nationally-ranked wrestler in his weight class -- No. 7 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Virginia). Wiercicoh, a sophomore ranked No. 3 in the country at 160 pounds, has two other nationally-ranked wrestlers in the weight class; however No. 2 Jason Luster (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, Pennsylvania) and No. 12 Travis McKillop (Burrell, Pennsylvania) are slated to meet in the semifinal round. There are two very notable freshmen wrestlers in this year's field, both are ranked in the top five for the Class of 2014 but neither enters the tournament as a seed -- Chance Marseller (Kennard-Dale, Pennsylvania) at 152 pounds and Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) at 130 pounds. These two wrestlers are ranked first and fifth in the freshman class. For a complete listing of all the preliminary seeds, check out http://poweradewrestling.com Below is a listing of the other nationally-ranked wrestlers in the tournament field: 103: No. 20 Sean Russell (Collins Hill, Georgia) 112: No. 3 Conner Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) and No. 9 J.R. Wert (Christiansburg, Virginia) 130: No. 5 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) and No. 20 Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) 135: No. 3 Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) and No. 16 Ty Lydic (Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvania) 140: No. 3 Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania), No. 13 Travis Shaffer (Greater Latrobe, Pennsylvania), and No. 18 Matt Cimato (LaSalle, Pennsylvania) 145: No. 8 Pete Baldwin (Osceola, Florida), No. 13 Robert Henderson (Kiski Prep, Pennsylvania), and No. 18 Nick Catalano (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) 152: No. 10 Chance Marsteller (Kennard-Dale, Pennsylvania) 189: No. 5 Kenny Courts (Central Dauphin, Pennsylvania) Garden State Delights While high-profile individual bracket tournaments are not that big a thing in the state of New Jersey, an exception can be found at Wednesday's Mustang Classic hosted by Brick Memorial High School (postponed from today due to weather issues). The 17-team event features two nationally-ranked teams -- No. 20 High Point, New Jersey, and No. 48 Timber Creek, New Jersey. Also present in the field are seven other teams listed by The Star-Ledger as title contenders in their respective classifications: Southern Regional, Brick Memorial, Ocean Township, Delsea Regional, Paulsboro, St. Peter's Prep, and Delbarton. The following wrestlers are nationally ranked and/or finished in the top six at the single-class New Jersey state tournament last year: 125: No. 14 Nick Francavilla (High Point) and Kyle Casaletto (Southern Regional) 135: No. 5 Jeff Canfora (Delbarton) and Anthony Perotti (West Essex) 140: No. 11 Devon Gobbo (Delbarton) 160: No. 14 John Guzzo (High Point) 171: No. 19 Ethan Orr (High Point) and Colin Hewitt (Franklin Regional) 189: No. 10 James Fox (St. Peter's Prep) 285: No. 17 William Smith (High Point) Also in the state of New Jersey today -- at least still on the schedule as of Sunday - is a big triangular match starting at 10:00 a.m. EST matching three of the preseason favorites in their respective classification -- according to The Star-Ledger -- against each other. David Brearley, the favorites in Group 2, will play host to No. 31 Jackson Memorial and Don Bosco Prep. Both Jackson Memorial and Don Bosco won their groups last year and are favored to do so again; Jackson Memorial in Group 4 (big-school) and Don Bosco Prep in Non-Public Group A. The dual meet docket on Thursday, December 30th features No. 40 South Plainfield (defending champions in Group 3) playing host to Washington Township at 1 p.m. Thursday's scheduled match involving No. 20 High Point (favorites in Group 3) travelling to No. 31 Jackson Memorial has been postponed to the end of January. Buckeye State Battles Other than the already held Walsh Ironman, this week features the two regular season tournaments with the best overall fields. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Medina Invitational Tournament will feature approximately 80 returning qualifiers from the Ohio State tournament; while on Wednesday and Thursday, the Brecksville Invitational Holiday Tournament will feature approximately 85 returning qualifiers from Ohio plus ten from the state of Georgia. Five teams that finished in the top ten of the Ohio state tournament anchor the Medina field; including No. 6 St. Edward and No. 15 Massillon Perry, which finished second and third respectively in Division I (big-school) last year. The other two state runners-up in Ohio, CVCA and Oak Harbor, are also in the 41 team field while Olentangy rounds out the top ten teams. The field also features six nationally-ranked wrestlers -- No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA) at 103 pounds, No. 18 Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry) and No. 19 Dean Heil (St. Edward) at 119, No. 2 Ian Miller (Oak Harbor) at 152, No. 8 Alex Utley (CVCA) at 189, and No. 11 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward) at 285. The featured weight classes will be those at 119 and 189 pounds, where multiple state finalists headline the field. At 119 pounds, Heil is the lone state champion, but he is joined by three state runners-up in Newhouse, Tyler Heminger (Galion Northmor) and Trevor Fiorucci (Oletangy). At 189 pounds, Utley is joined by two other wrestlers that also finished second in the state -- Sam Wheeler (Copley) and Kurt Schaefer (West Salem Northwestern) - to headline the weight class. This year marks the 50th edition of the Brecksville tournament, and the field is headlined by a pair of Ohio state championship teams from last year -- No. 41 Wadsworth and Monroeville. Fifteen other schools (13 from Ohio) also finished in the top-ten of their respective state tournament classification standings. Wadsworth has won this tournament the last two years, and is favored to win it a third straight time, but should be challenged by a pair of teams that finished third in the state tournament last year -- Chanel, Ohio and Pope, Georgia. Like Megaludis at the POWERade, No. 2 Cam Tessari (Monroeville, Ohio) seeks to become only the third four-time champion in event history; the first was Northwestern University head coach Drew Pariano, who wrestled at Fairview High School just outside of Cleveland. While there are likely to be three other state placers in this weight class -- Super 32 and Ironman placer Andrew Romanchik (Padua), Nate Ball (Wadsworth), and Danny Collier (Chanel) -- Tessari is very likely to continue his undefeated record in matches other than at the Ironman. Two weight classes feature a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers -- 189 and 215 pounds. At 189 pounds, it is No. 13 Ian Korb (Cincinnati Elder) and No. 18 Chaz Gresham (Goshen). Then, at 215 pounds, there is a pair of state champions in No. 6 Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth) and No. 9 Logan Erb (Wapakoneta). There is also potential for Korb and/or Gresham to be moving down to the 171-pound weight class, where they would run into No. 3 Chris Phillips (Monroeville). Three wrestlers seek a third tournament championship this year -- No. 4 George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius) at 112 pounds, No. 1 Hunter Stieber (Monroeville) at 135, and Phillips. Should DiCamillo win the 112-pound weight class, he would be on pace to win a fourth Brecksville title next year. Two other nationally-ranked wrestlers in this field are No. 8 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth) at 125 and No. 18 Brent Fickel (Padua) at 130. California Collision On this coming Thursday, two nationally-ranked teams are slated to collide in a dual meet when No. 7 Bakersfield hosts No. 24 Oakdale at 6:00 p.m. PST (9:00 p.m. in the east). The Oakdale lineup features six wrestlers with state tournament experience: Garrett Fortado (112), Tanner Feuerstein (130), Shane Tate (140), No. 19 David Ferry (145), Trent Noon (160), and AC Brown (189). The Bakersfield lineup has nine wrestlers with state tournament experience: Ian Nickell (119), Micah Cruz (130), Natrelle Deminson (135), Maxx Ramirez (140), Timmy Box (145), Coleman Hammond (152), Adam Fierro (160), No. 4 Bryce Hammond (171), and Silas Nacita (189). National rankings updated Be sure to check out the updated national weight class rankings, which are now posted and were used to write the previews for the events listed above. Also, read the separate article discussing the weight class rankings update. Young Cadets make statement at Dvorak Working their way through a 29-team Dvorak Memorial field that featured four other nationally-ranked teams, No. 12 Marmion Academy, Illinois asserted their present and future strength as they won the tournament scoring 204-1/2 points with a trio of champions. All of this came with starting only one senior, Eddie Breen at 152 pounds who did not even place, and without the presence of Jered Cortez at 112 pounds. Winning titles for the Cadets were freshmen Johnny Jimenez (103) and Bryce Brill (135), along with sophomore Ben Whitford (130); junior Angelo Silvestro (140) took second place, while George Fisher (119) and Eddie Greco (125) finished in fourth place. The 130-pound final featured a pair of nationally ranked defending state champions, that had earned pins in the three matches each had preceding the final. The championship final went 12-5 for Whitford to give Joey Gosinski (Glenbard North) his first loss since the consolation quarterfinal match of the 2009 state tournament. To win his title, Jimenez upset Cadet National freestyle champion Phillip Laux (Iowa City West, Iowa) 3-1. No. 33 Crystal Lake Central, Illinois finished second with 199-1/2 points on the strength of four finalists and two others finishing inside the top four. Winning titles for the Tigers were the dynamic duo of upper-weights, Gage Harrah (189) and Austin Marsden (215). Harrah won the award for most falls in the least time, as he wasn't on the mat for even four minutes during his four matches, as all ended in first period falls. Marsden had three falls and a 17-5 major decision in dominating his bracket. Runners-up for Crystal Lake Central were Jason Fugiel (145) and Joey Kielbasa (152), Clayton Lutzow (130) finished third, while Trevor Jauch (140) finished fourth. Third place in the standings was No. 9 Iowa City West, Iowa with 188 points; however, the Trojans were without a nationally-ranked wrestler in Elijah Sullivan at 140 pounds and Kegan Wakefield at 119 pounds, who is ranked third in the state of Iowa. Though not having a single champion, six Iowa City West wrestlers finished either second or third. Both runners-up were upset victims -- Phillip Laux falling 3-1 to Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy) at 103 pounds, and Justin Koethe falling 7-4 against Josh Anthony (Machesney Park Harlem) at 160 pounds. Third place finishers were Jack (125) and Garrett (145) Hathaway, Grady Gambrall (135), and Mickey Pelfrey (189). Fourth place in the standings was No. 26 Glenbard North, Illinois with 179 points. The Panthers had a duo of champions -- Bryan Gonzalez (119) and Brian Murphy (140); Joey Gosinski (130) finished runner-up, while Johnny Gosinski (112) took third place honors. On the way to the title, Murphy defeated two-time state champion and Junior National freestyle All-American Trevor Jauch (Crystal Lake Central) 7-4 in the semifinal before dominating Angelo Silvestro (Marmion Academy) 7-2 in the final. Fifth of the nationally-ranked teams in this field, No. 25 Montini Catholic, Illinois finished fifth with 161-1/2 points as they are building slowly off of their football team's state title. The Broncos were also without the presence of state champion Kevon Powell at 119 pounds. Lone champion for the Broncos was Stephen Robertson, who defeated Joey Kielbasa 3-2 at 152 pounds. This match featured a pair of two-time state champions going against one another, and the victory was Robertson's third over a top ten ranked wrestler this month. Four other Broncos finished inside the top four; Dimitri Willis (160) and Ross Ferraro (285) finished third, while Drew Vrbenec (135) and Edgar Ruano (215) taking home fourth place. Rounding out the weight class champions were Jared Parvinmehr (112) from Barrington, returning state runners-up Eddie Klimara (125) and Edwin Cooper (145) from Providence Catholic, Josh Anthony (160) from Machesney Park Harlem, state champion Jahwon Akui (171) from St. Rita, and Tom Howell (285) from Marist. Other highlights of the week A pair of nationally-ranked teams -- No. 27 Springstead, Florida and No. 49 Oviedo, Florida -- anchors the 28-team field at the 9th annual Zac Jarzynka Memorial Ironman hosted by Oviedo. Eight other teams that finished in the top ten of their state tournaments are present in the field. Watch for a potential matchup of top-tier 152-pound wrestlers at the Lincoln Tournament just outside of Chicago. This would be a match placing state champion, and two-time state finalist, No. 4 Max Schneider (Lane Tech, Illinois) against two-time state champion No. 7 Joey Kielbasa (Crystal Lake Central, Illinois). No. 33 Crystal Lake Central should dominate the 24-team field. Three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 39 Francis Howell Central, Missouri, No. 44 Minooka, Illinois, and No. 47 Neosho, Missouri -- headline the 24-team field at the Granite City Holiday Tournament. The featured weight of this tournament is at 130 pounds with a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers, No. 4 Cody Brewer (Oak Park, Missouri) and No. 8 Zane Richards (Carbondale, Illinois). Other nationally-ranked wrestlers include No. 15 Noah Teaney (Oak Park, Missouri) at 103 pounds, No. 9 Terrell Wilbourn (Francis Howell Central, Missouri), No. 17 Dylan Reel (Washington, Illinois), and No. 9 Sam Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, Illinois). Three of the four top ranked teams in the state of Michigan (according to MichiganGrappler.com) -- No. 13 St. John's, No. 38 Detroit Catholic Central, and Dundee -- will be at the Goodrich Tournament of Champions on Thursday. Also in the field will be three other teams ranked in the top ten of their respective classifications: Hesperia, Greenville, and Springport. The 135-pound weight class will feature three wrestlers ranked first in the state -- Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central), Joey White (Dundee), ad Jordan Bosma (Hesperia). Other nationally-ranked wrestlers in the field include No. 12 Zac Hall (St. John's) at 103 pounds, No. 8 Jacob Schmitt (St. John's) at 112, No. 17 Joe Rendina (Dundee) at 130, No. 1 Taylor Massa (St. John's) at 160, No. 7 Jordan Thomas (Greenville) at 171, and No. 15 Justin Heiserman (Dundee) at 189. No. 16 Easton, Pennsylvania will headline the 15-team field at the Manheim Holiday Wrestling Tournament. The Red Rovers will be seeking their 11th championship in the last twelve years at the event. Most likely to challenge Easton will be Reynolds, Pennsylvania and Robinson, Virginia. Top wrestlers in the field include No. 2 Mason Beckman (Reynolds) at 125 pounds and No. 14 Mitch Minotti (Easton) at 145 pounds.

This was not part of the plan. Up 2-1 with the riding time advantage against Kent State All-American and then-No. 5 Nic Bedelyon, Missouri freshman Alan Waters ignored Coach Brian Smith's advice and chose down to start the third period. The junior All-American Golden Flash couldn't turn Waters, however, eventually cut him and Waters hung on for a 3-1 decision and his first major collegiate upset. Alan Waters"I figured that if I chose neutral and he gets a takedown, we're all tied up," Waters said. "I chose down, so he would have to either waste a minute riding me, or cut me [and] then get two takedowns. He's good on top, but I didn't think he was going to turn me." The irony here is that Smith largely attributes Waters' success this season to the fact that he sticks to his game plan, and doesn't divert from it in a panic. "It's not easy to be a true freshman and wrestle our schedule," Smith said. "[But] Alan wrestles the most–mistake free of my lineup right now. He's one of the few freshmen that I've had come in who are really good in all three positions, which is unusual ... usually they struggle in one of them." But Waters has certainly adapted well to the college scene thus far. He's 22-0, and has climbed from being unranked at the beginning of the season to No. 8 in the country (according to InterMat) heading into the prestigious Midlands Championships at Northwestern. Alan Waters (Photo/Missouri Sports Information)A four-time high school state champion (in four different classes), Waters led his Park Hill Trojans to back-to-back Missouri state championships in 2009 and 2010. He was a double national champ at Fargo in 2007, and finished his high school career with a 182-4 record. According to InterMat, he was the No. 6-ranked wrestler at 125 pounds and No. 40 overall coming out of high school. "It is just [Waters'] attitude," Missouri 133-pounder Nathan McCormick recently attributed to his success. "When he came [to campus] this summer, he was just a sponge. He wanted to learn as much as he could and stayed after our summer workouts to learn moves. He was just trying to put things together, and he really soaked up a ton of knowledge." His high school coach at Park Hill, Bill Erneste, saw that drive from when he first met at Alan at just 8 years old. "He's willing to do whatever it takes," Erneste said. "He just wants someone to guide him, and I think that Brian Smith and the Missouri coaching staff have done a great job of that." In general, Waters is a serious, likable kid with a quiet confidence about him and a burning desire to compete. He doesn't particularly enjoy media attention, but knows what he wants to accomplish and plans on doing everything in his power to do so. "I think a lot of college wrestling is mental," Waters said. "You just have to go out here and expect to win. Being confident in yourself is the main thing." Coach Erneste recalls a story from when Waters was in eighth grade to illustrate this attribute. After losing to a familiar local rival in a schoolboy freestyle national championship, Waters went over to shake the coach's hand. The coach consoled him in a friendly way and said, "Hey Alan, nice job, we'll wrestle you anytime." According to Erneste, Waters went right back to the center of the mat and strapped on the ankle band, raring to go and avenge the previous result. Alan Waters (Photo/Missouri Sports Information)"His strength is his mind," Smith said. "He has no fear of anybody, [and] he embraces the competition." Midlands should provide a good litmus test for the young freshman. He will likely be the fifth seed in a bracket that includes defending NCAA champion Matt McDonough of Iowa, No. 2 Brandon Precin of Northwestern, ODU's fourth-ranked James Nicholson, and Oklahoma's fifth-ranked Jarrod Patterson. "I'm seeing Midlands as an opportunity to possibly beat them -- and learn from them," Waters said. "I should see McDonough before finals, [as] I'm expecting to be on the same side of the bracket as he. Since McDonough is on top right now, it'd be nice to take him out." He added, "I want to be a national champion this year. The Midlands will show me where I'm at." It's difficult for anyone, let alone a true freshman, to survive the meat grinder that is the NCAA Tournament and come out on top. But who knows? As Erneste says, "Alan Waters can do whatever he puts his mind to."

Hello Wrestling Fans! Scott Casber, Jeff Murphy and Geoff Murtha will be LIVE in TDR's home based Brute Adidas studios for another two-hour show this week brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods. LIVE 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. its Takedown Wrestling Radio. Listen on radio, on computer, your Blackberry or iPhone with the iHeartRadio App. Our Guests Include: (All times Central) 9:01 Joe McFarland- Head Coach of the Michigan Wolverines 9:20 Rob Koehler- Founder of Earlsplintz.com 9:40 Jeremy Spates- Assistant Coach Cornell University 10:01 Dan Wirnsberger- Head Coach Bison of Bucknell 10:20 Jeff Murphy- with the Kemin Big 10 and Big 12 report 10:50 Maureen Roshar- Wildrose Resort

Sports fans love a Cinderella story. The U.S. Olympic hockey team upsetting the Russians at the 1980 Winter Olympics is a classic ... as is the Miracle on the Mat, when Rulon Gardner defeated the unbeaten Alexander Karelin to win the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There's another David-upsets-Goliath incident from the world of amateur wrestling that most fans don't know: the wrestling team from tiny Cornell College of Iowa, winning the team title at the 1947 NCAAs, defeating all the major mat superpowers of the era. Arno Niemand describes it as "the remarkable, untold story of the greatest team you've never heard of." Now, thanks to Niemand's new book, The Dream Team of 1947, sports fans will come to know -- and love -- this incredible group of wrestlers and their coach ... and the college and the community that supported them. The other Cornell This season, Cornell University is the college wrestling team to watch, with most magazines and websites ranking them as the top program in NCAA Division I, and, as of this writing, the odds-on favorite to win the team title at the 2011 NCAA Championships in Philadelphia. However, that Cornell is not the subject of The Dream Team of 1947. The Cornell of Niemand's book is located in Mount Vernon, Iowa, about a half-hour's drive north of Iowa City and the University of Iowa. Cornell College is a small Methodist school, founded in 1853 ... a dozen years before the Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York was chartered. (The Iowa school was named in honor of tycoon William Wesley Cornell, a distant relative of Ezra Cornell, who founded Cornell University.) Current enrollment at Cornell of Iowa is about 1,200 students; sixty years ago, enrollment was half that. How a Cornell University wrestler came to write about Cornell College You may already know author Arno Niemand as the founder of Body Bar Systems, and a as a long-time supporter of amateur wrestling. Interestingly, he is a graduate of Cornell University, and was on the wrestling squad that placed third at the 1953 NCAAs at Penn State. So how did he come to write about the wrestling team of Cornell College from six decades ago? Niemand was introduced to wrestling at Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania. It was there that the then-14-year-old Niemand was first introduced to the Cinderella story that would be the subject of his new book. Sitting in his coach's office was a well-worn copy of the February 23, 1948 issue of Life magazine which told the story in words and black-and-white photos of the Cornell College "dream team" that won the 1947 NCAA title. Arno NiemandNiemand continued his wrestling career at Cornell University, where his coach, Jimmy Miller, had wrestled for Lehigh University against Cornell College in the winter of 1947. (Niemand did not know this until researching his book.) If that weren't enough to point Niemand toward writing The Dream Team of 1947 ... in 2003, he read an article in Sports Illustrated about the death of Herb Brooks, the coach of the U.S. hockey Cinderella squad that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. "What caught my eye was a letter in the next issue, saying �What about the Cornell College team of 1947?' I figured all these connections were too important to ignore," said Niemand. "My take on all this was �This is a great David and Goliath story,'" Niemand continued. "To think Cornell went from nothing to national champs in one year is mind-boggling." The great Scott "I wanted to tell the story of Paul Scott, the coach who built the team from nothing immediately after World War II, to winning the title in 1947," according to Niemand. "He drove 5,000 miles the year before, recruiting that team." In fact, The Dream Team of 1947 starts with a biography of Paul Scott, who grew up in eastern Iowa, about 30 miles from Cornell. Although just 5'4", Scott was a natural athlete. Based on his accomplishments playing basketball and baseball in high school, Scott was awarded a half-scholarship to Cornell ... where he started playing football, and was introduced to wrestling, and served as captain of both sports his senior year. Scott graduated from Cornell in 1929, and coached at high schools in the Midwest during the Great Depression, and earned a masters in sociology from Columbia University in New York. He returned to his Iowa alma mater with his wife and baby son in 1941 to take the reins of the Purple wrestling program. In addition to his duties at Cornell, Scott worked as a high school wrestling referee. Through that job, he came to know the top prep matmen of eastern Iowa, which gave him a leg up in his recruiting efforts. "Scott had a great presence about him," according to Niemand. "He was like a walking Rolodex file. He never forgot a face. Wrestlers instantly took to him." The Dream Team becomes reality The pivotal event that helped Scott put together the Dream Team was the 1946 AAU (American Athletic Union) national Championships. That year, he took three seniors from Waterloo West High School (Dan Gable's prep alma mater) -- Dick Hauser, Leo Thomson, and Lowell Lange. At the nationals in New York, Scott reconnected with Rodger Snook, a World War II veteran -- and, prior to that, a three-time New Jersey high school wrestling champ -- who he had first met at the 1943 NAAUs. Scott also met Al Partin, a Chicagoan fresh from service in the Navy. These wrestlers served as the nucleus for the Cornell College wrestling program for the next four years. "This entire team wrestled together as a team," said Niemand. "Scott didn't believe in wrestle-offs." "Scott was able to meld the three freshmen from Waterloo, along with the freshmen who were military veterans, into a successful team," according to Niemand. "The Waterloo freshmen were so disciplined. They got serious coaching from Finn Eriksen and Ray Jarrard." Photo/The Dream Team of 1947The 1946-1947 season was magical for Cornell College wrestlers, compiling a near-perfect 12-0-1 record going up against the top teams in the nation at the time, including Iowa State (Big Six -- now Big 12 -- champs), Illinois (Big Ten champs), and Lehigh. The tie came against Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa), one of the top programs of the era, stocked with all-time greats such as Gerry Leeman, Bill Nelson, and Bill Koll. "The first golden age of wrestling in Iowa was 1947-1952," said Niemand. "ISTC almost won the 1946 NCAA team title. It was a time of giants in wrestling, most of them from ISTC and Cornell College." Cornell wins the mat "grand slam" Paul Scott and his Cornell College matmen traveled to the University of Illinois to compete at the 1947 NCAAs in late March. Before the championships, the two teams favored to take the team title: ISTC, and Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). However, after two days of wrestling, Cornell left Champaign-Urbana with two individual champions (Dick Hauser at 121, and Lowell Lange at 136) and a total of six All-Americans out of eight weight classes. What's more, the Purple ran away with the team title, becoming the first school outside the state of Oklahoma to win an official team title, and first private college to claim that honor. (Note: Back then, there was only one NCAA tournament, where schools of all sizes competed.) A couple weeks later, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the college community and residents of Mount Vernon, the Cornell wrestling team traveled by train to San Francisco, and won the 1947 AAU national team title. Only one other college has won the "grand slam" of NCAA and AAU team titles in the same year -- ISTC, in 1950. What made it possible for Cornell to assemble a great team, and accomplish so much for a small school with only about 600 students? Niemand cited three factors: "The G.I. Bill, which made it possible for servicemen returning home from the war to get a college education, the NCAA's temporary adjustment of the freshman rule which allowed first-year students to wrestle varsity, and a liberal transfer rule." (Note: Freshmen wrestlers were not allowed to compete on varsity teams from 1928 to about 40 years ago, except from 1943-1947.) All of these factors helped coach Paul Scott put together his Dream Team, and guide them to the NCAA and NAAU team titles. However, as Niemand said in the interview for this article, "When the G.I. Bill waned, the fortunes of schools like Cornell and ISTC waned, too. It became harder for them to compete against larger schools in terms of luring top wrestlers and being able to offer scholarships." Sadly, Cornell College's Cinderella story ended in a 1948 automobile accident that injured some of the key members of the wrestling squad, and prevented the team from competing at the 1948 NCAAs. "If it hadn't been for the car wreck, Lowell Lange would've been the first four-time NCAA champ," asserted Niemand. The Dream Team of 1947 brings the story of the Cornell College wrestling squad of sixty years ago to life. Niemand's narrative takes the reader step-by-step through the formation of the team, the 1947 Cinderella season, and subsequent years the team's wrestlers continued their careers at Cornell, along with "where are they now" updates. (As Niemand points out, all the members of that 1947 team completed their educations at Cornell on time.) Along the way, Niemand skillfully weaves in historical background information about the rules, uniforms, travel arrangements and competitive landscape, helping readers of all ages understand and appreciate just how special the accomplishments of those wrestlers of Cornell College were. Related Links Cornell in Life magazine Photo album for 1947 Cornell College team For more information on The Dream Team of 1947, visit the book's official website. To purchase the book, visit Amazon.com after January 1, 2011; the book is also available at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Oklahoma and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Iowa, as well as the bookstore at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The 2010 Midlands Tournament Committee has announced the top contenders for the annual event, which takes place at Northwestern University on Dec. 29-30. Although the final seeding for Midlands may extend beyond the top eight at each weight class, the pretournament contenders reflect only the top eight wrestlers and are subject to change. Final seeding for the event will be determined on Tuesday, Dec. 28. In the field at this year's Midlands are 97 nationally ranked competitors, including four ranked No. 1 in the country at their weight class and five more ranked No. 2. (Source: Dec. 21 AWN Rankings) Weight-by-Weight Top Midlands Contenders 125: 1. Matt McDonough, Iowa 2. Brandon Precin, Northwestern 3. James Nicholson, Old Dominion 4. Jarrod Patterson, Oklahoma 5. Alan Waters, Missouri 6. Ryan Mango, Stanford 7. Joe Langel, Rutgers 8. Frank Lomas, Cal-Bakersfield --Other Contenders-- Anthony Zanetta, Pittsburgh Ryak Finch, Iowa State (Unattached) Thomas Williams, American Derek Reber, Bucknell 133: 1. Tyler Graff, Wisconsin 2. BJ Futrell, Illinois 3. Filip Novachkov, Cal Poly 4. Tony Ramos, Iowa 5. Kyle Hutter, Old Dominion 6. Scotti Sentes, Central Michigan 7. Levi Mele, Northwestern 8. Justin Paulsen, Stanford --Other Contenders-- Frank Cagnina, Lehigh Jose Mendoza, Cal State Bakersfield Jordan Keller, Oklahoma Nate Moore, Iowa Jimmy Kirchner, Rider Cashé Quiroga, Purdue 141: 1. Jimmy Kennedy, Illinois 2. Zack Bailey, Oklahoma 3. Boris Novachkov, Cal Poly 4. Tyler Nauman, Pittsburgh 5. Mark Ballweg, Iowa 6. Chris Drouin, Iowa State 7. Todd Schravrien, Missouri 8. Kaleb Friedley, Northwestern --Other Contenders-- Elijah Nacita, Cal State Bakersfield Mike Koehnlein, Nebraska John Kohler, Maryland Matt Mariacher, American Tristen DeShazer, Northern Illinois Trevor Melde, Rutgers Jon Kohler, Maryland Kenny Jordan, Adams State Shop Now! 149: 1. Kevin LeValley, Bucknell 2. Andrew Nadhir, Northwestern 3. Corey Jantzen, Harvard 4. Ganbayar Sanjaa, American 5. Mario Mason, Rutgers 6. Eric Terrazas, Illinois 7. Cole Schmitt, Wisconsin 8. Nate Carr Jr, Iowa State --Other Contenders-- Joey Napoli, Lehigh Nick Fisher, Cal-Poly Zac Cibula, Rider Dan Osterman, Michigan State Nick Lester, Oklahoma Kyle Bradley, Missouri 157: 1. Steve Fittery, American 2. Jake Patacsil, Central WC 3. Jason Welch, Northwestern 4. Derek St. John, Iowa 5. Walter Peppelman, Harvard 6. Matt Lester, Oklahoma 7. James Fleming, Clarion 8. Bryan Deutsch, Northern Illinois --Other Contenders-- David Cheza, Michigan State Darrel Cocozzo, Rutgers Barrett Abel, Cal Poly Kyle John, Maryland Trent Weatherman, Iowa State Andrew Balch, Cal State Bakersfield 165: 1. Andrew Howe, Wisconsin 2. Jordan Burroughs, Nebraska 3. Josh Asper, Maryland 4. Scott Winston, Rutgers 5. Zach Toal, Missouri 6. Andrew Sorenson, Iowa State 7. Jake Kerr, Iowa 8. Ryan DesRoches, Cal Poly --Other Contenders-- Brandon Hatchett, Lehigh Trevor Hall, Cal State Bakersfield Mike Miller, Central Michigan Brian Cobb, RoadRunner WC Jim Resnick, Rider Chase Nelson, Oklahoma Ethan Headlee, Pittsburgh Conrad Polz, Illinois 174: 1. Jon Reader, Iowa State 2. Nick Amuchastegui, Stanford 3. Ben Bennett, Central Michigan 4. Tyler Caldwell, Oklahoma 5. Mike Letts, Maryland 6. Jordan Blanton, Illinois 7. Dorian Henderson, Missouri 8. Alex Caruso, Rutgers ­--Other Contenders-- Austin Meys, Lehigh Rob Morrison, Rider Ben Jordan, Wisconsin Ethan Lofthouse, Iowa Caleb Kolb, Nebraska Brian Roddy, Northwestern 184: 1. Grant Gambrall, Iowa 2. Robert Hamlin, Lehigh 3. Travis Rutt, Wisconsin 4. Josh Ihnen, Nebraska 5. Erich Schmidtke, Oklahoma 6. Tony Dallago, Illinois 7. Ian Hinton, Michigan State 8. Aaron Jones, Northwestern --Other Contenders-- Mike Larson, Missouri Ryan Loder, Northern Iowa Max Thomusseit, Pittsburgh Corey Peltier, Maryland Lee Munster, Northwestern (Unattached) 197: 1. Trevor Brandvold, Wisconsin 2. Zac Thomusseit, Pittsburgh 3. Jerome Ward, Iowa State 4. Luke Lofthouse, Iowa 5. Joe Kennedy, Lehigh 6. Riley Orozco, Cal State Bakersfield 7. Daniel Mitchell, American 8. Brent Haynes, Missouri --Other Contenders­-- Alex Thomas, Clarion Mario Gonzalez, Illinois John Schoen, Northwestern Jay Hahn, Bucknell Ryan Smith, Cal-Poly Keldrick Hall, Oklahoma Andy Johnson, Nebraska Tyler Smith, Rider 285: 1. Zach Rey, Lehigh 2. Ryan Tomei, Pittsburgh 3. D.J. Russo, Rutgers 4. Ryan Flores, American 5. Dom Bradley, Missouri 6. Tucker Lane, Nebraska 7. Jarod Trice, Central Michigan 8. Nathan Fernandez, Oklahoma --Other Contenders--­ Eric Bugenhagen, Wisconsin Christian Brantley, Northern Iowa Mike McClure, Michigan State Blake Rasing, Iowa Kyle Simonson, Iowa State Atticus Disney, Cal Poly Mike McMullan, Northwestern (Unattached) David Morgan, Cal State Bakersfield David Wade, Eastern Michigan