InterMat Staff

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hello Wrestling Fans! Scott Casber, Jeff Murphy, Steve Foster, Ryan Freeman, and Geoff Murtha will be back in TDR's home based Brute Adidas studios for another 2 hour show this week brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods. This week its the State of the State of Wrestling. Join us as we take the national Temperature of the sport through our guests opinions and observations. LIVE 9 AM to 11 AM 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 Bob Selby- Wrestling radio analyst 9:20 Chad Wiltsey- The Wrestling Talk.com 9:40 Earl Smith- D1collegewrestling.net 10:01 Andy Hamilton- Iowa City Press-Citizen 10:20 Mike Finn- Editor, Writer with WIN Magazine 10:40 Troy Nickerson- Cornell University NCAA Champion 10:50 Maureen Roshar- Wildrose Resort

EDMOND -- Back-to-back upsets by Trison Graham and Ky Corley sparked No. 9-ranked Central Oklahoma to a hard-earned 20-15 victory over No. 15 Fort Hays State Thursday night at Hamilton Field House. The eighth-ranked Graham rallied from a 7-2 second-period deficit for a thrilling 11-9 overtime triumph over previously unbeaten and No. 4-rated Alton Isenberg at 133 pounds, while the unranked Corley knocked off No. 3 Andre Harrison at 141 as the Bronchos earned their fifth straight dual win in improving to 7-2. Those two early wins helped offset an FHSU fall at 149 and a Tiger upset at 165, with UCO getting consecutive major decisions from 174 Kelly Henderson and 184 Tanner Keck and a shutout from 197 Jarrett Edison in clinching the win before the final bout. “Trison had a tough, gutsy win and showed a lot of heart in coming back like he did,” UCO coach David James said. “That was obviously a big win for us and Ky came through with another one. He did a great job controlling that match, especially in the first two periods. “There were a lot of good things, but I also thought we did just enough to get by in some matches and we can’t keep doing that.” FHSU won the first match at 125 to take a 3-0 lead and Isenberg threw Graham to his back for a four-point move in the opening minute in their showdown before adding another near-fall early in the second period to grab a 7-2 lead. Graham got back in the match with an escape and takedown in the final minute of that period to make it 7-5 and he added two more takedowns in the final stanza – the final one with 13 seconds remaining – to force overtime. The sophomore lightweight completed the comeback with another single-leg takedown 18 seconds into the one-minute sudden-victory period. Corley was not to be outdone, getting the go-ahead takedown 54 seconds into his match with Harrison and then adding another early in the second period to take a 4-0 lead. Harrison escaped to make it 4-1, but neither wrestler scored in the final period and Corley added a riding time point to cap the upset and give the Bronchos a 6-3 lead. The Tigers came back with a first-period fall at 149 to go ahead 9-6 and then UCO’s Cory Dauphin tied it with an easy 9-2 decision at 157 as the seventh-ranked freshman had three takedowns and a reverse. FHSU went in front 12-9 when Travis Budke knocked off No. 4 Derrick Adkins 4-1 at 165, but the Bronchos won the next three weights to put the dual away. Henderson put UCO in front to stay with an 8-0 major decision at 174, scoring a takedown and two near-falls in opening up a 7-0 first-period lead en route to that rout, and Keck had three takedowns and a reverse in an 11-3 major decision at 184. Edison sealed the win with a 4-0 shutout at 197, getting a takedown at the second period buzzer to take a 3-0 lead before controlling Steven Kyler in the third period to add a riding time point. FHSU ended the dual with a win when Justin Glenn nipped Cody Dauphin 3-2 in the second tiebreaker. Dauphin rode Glenn in the first 30-second tiebreaker, but Glenn earned a two-point near-fall with 10 seconds left in the second tiebreaker to snap the 1-1 deadlock before giving up a late escape. The Bronchos return to action Saturday, going to Grand Prairie, Texas for four matches at the Lone Star Duals. Results: 125 – Rory Wilkerson, FHSU, dec. Zach Housley, 7-3. 133 – No. 8 Trison Graham, UCO, dec. No. 4 Aldon Isenberg, 11-9 (SV). 141 – Ky Corley, UCO, dec. No. 3 Andre Harrison, 5-1. 149 – No. 7 Mitchell Means, FHSU, pinned Michael Walkup, 1:45. 157 – No. 7 Cory Dauphin, UCO, dec. Derek Koehn, 9-2. 165 – Travis Budke, FHSU, dec. No. 4 Derrick Adkins, 4-1. 174 – Kelly Henderson, UCO, major dec. Aaron Berscheidt, 8-0. 184 – Tanner Keck, UCO, major dec. Chris Luna, 11-3. 197 – Jarrett Edison, UCO, dec. Steven Kyler, 4-0. 285 – Justin Glenn, FHSU, dec. Cody Dauphin 3-2 (TB2).

Tonight Minnesota hosts Indiana at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Gophers enter the dual meet with a record of 8-3 and are coming off a fourth-place finish at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. The Hoosiers are 10-2 this season and are coming off a 3-0 performance at the IU Duals. The dual meet, which begins at 7 p.m. CST, will be streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com. Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown with predictions. 125: Justin Brooks (Indiana) vs. No. 5 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) Sanders, a two-time All-American, is off to a strong start in his junior season. He is currently 19-2 and has several wins over ranked opponents this season, including No. 10 Frank Perrelli of Cornell, No. 14 Ben Kjar of Utah Valley, No. 18 Alan Bartelli of Boise State, and No. 19 Trent Sprenkle of North Dakota State. Sanders was hammered by Anthony Robles, 20-2, in the NWCA All-Star Classic, but his only official losses this season have come to No. 4 James Nicholson of Old Dominion and No. 8 Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State. Brooks, a talented redshirt freshman, has started the season 12-11, but several of his losses have come to ranked opponents. He has already faced five of the nation's top 10 wrestlers at 125 pounds. Bottom Line: Sanders has put up bonus points against all but one unranked opponent this season. Brooks could keep it competitive early on, but look for Sanders to pull away after the first period. Prediction: Sanders (Minnesota) maj. dec. Brooks (Indiana) 133: Matt Ortega (Indiana) vs. David Thorn (Minnesota) Expectations are high at Minnesota for Thorn, a four-time state champion and Junior National freestyle champion. The redshirt freshman was sidelined in the early part of the season. His first major test came at the Southern Scuffle, where he went 3-2 and reached the round of 12. Thorn went 2-2 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, losing decisions to No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State and No. 3 Tyler Graff of Wisconsin. Ortega, a four-time New Mexico state champion, has been the starter in each of his first three seasons with Hoosiers. He went 23-13 two seasons ago as a freshman, but struggled with consistency last season, going 10-18. He has started this season 14-9. Bottom Line: This will mark the home debut for Thorn. The redshirt freshman raised some eyebrows by avoiding bonus points against All-Americans Hochstrasser and Graff. If Thorn pushes the pace, look for him to get bonus points against Ortega. Prediction: Thorn (Minnesota) maj. dec. Ortega (Indiana) 141: Mitchell Richey (Indiana) vs. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota) Thorn, a returning All-American, has sights on finishing at the top of the podium in Philadelphia. He admits that he is wrestling without any pressure in his senior season and is performing at a very high level. His only loss this season came in the finals of the Southern Scuffle to No. 1 Kellen Russell of Michigan. At the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, Thorn went 4-0 with two pins and outscored his other two opponents 17-2. His pin over Levi Jones proved to be the difference in Minnesota's 18-17 victory over Boise State. Richey has gone through some growing pains in his true freshman season. He is coming off a 3-0 performance at the IU Duals, but dropped six straight matches prior to that performance. Bottom Line: Thorn seems to completely overwhelm virtually every unranked opponent he faces. Prediction: Thorn (Minnesota) pins Richey (Indiana) 149: No. 15 Kurt Kinser (Indiana) vs. Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota) Kinser, a senior, has been a staple in the Indiana lineup since his freshman season. He is a three-time NCAA qualifier who has amassed a career record of 99-41. He also has 40 career pins, which rankes third on Indiana's all-time list. He spent his sophomore and junior seasons at 157 pounds, but moved down to 149 pounds for his senior season. His results this season have been mixed. He has some nice wins, including two victories over No. 8 Brian Stephens of Virginia Tech, but also some head-scratching losses. He had a disappointing performance at the Southern Scuffle, where he failed to place, losing to two unranked opponents. Zilverberg, a redshirt freshman, brings a 12-7 mark into his match tonight against Kinser. He has dropped his last five matches, but three of those losses came at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Zilverberg won the FILA Junior Nationals in freestyle in last spring, which included victories over Penn State freshmen Andrew Alton and Dylan Alton. Bottom Line: Experience will be the difference in this match. Look for Kinser to control the match and pick up the 100th win of his career. Prediction: Kinser (Indiana) major dec. Zilverberg (Minnesota) 157: No. 6 Paul Young or Alex Warren (Indiana) vs. Joe Grygelko (Minnesota) Young, like Kinser, moved down a weight class for his senior season. The two-time NCAA qualifier is 20-4 this season. All four of his losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Young was dinged up in his last competition at the IU Duals, so it remains to be seen if he even steps on the mat tonight. If he's not able to go, Warren, a natural 141-pounder, will take the mat for the Hoosiers. Grygelko has split time with Alec Ortiz in the lineup. He went 2-2 at the Southern Scuffle and 0-2 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Bottom Line: If Young is in the lineup, look for Indiana to win and pick up bonus points. If Young is held out, the match should swing Minnesota's way. Prediction: Young (Indiana) maj. dec. Grygelko (Minnesota) 165: Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) vs. No. 7 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) Yohn, an NCAA qualifier last season, has established himself as a legitimate All-American threat at 165 pounds. He reached the finals of the Southern Scuffle before losing to No. 3 Justin Kerber of Cornell, 6-4. He has a win this season over No. 11 P.J. Gillespie of Hofstra and split two matches with No. 13 Dallas Bailey of Hofstra. At the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, Yohn went 2-2, losing only to No. 2 Andrew Howe of Wisconsin and No. 3 Kerber. Indiana has high hopes for the redshirt freshman LeBlanc. He was ranked as the No. 46 recruit by InterMat coming out of high school. LeBlanc went 20-2 last season as a redshirt. He comes into tonight's match with a 7-5 mark on the season and is still looking for his first win over a ranked opponent. Bottom Line: Yohn is the more established college wrestler, but LeBlanc certainly has the talent to make this match interesting. Prediction: Yohn (Minnesota) dec. LeBlanc (Indiana) 174: Nick Avery (Indiana) vs. No. 8 Scott Glasser (Minnesota) Glasser has been a steady performer this season for the Gophers. He is 21-5 this season, with four of his five losses coming to wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Glasser looked to be on track for All-American honors last season, but had a disappointing NCAAs, failing to place as the No. 5 seed. Avery, a senior, comes into tonight's match with a 9-11 record, but has only faced one wrestler currently ranked in the top 20. Bottom Line: Glasser should control the action in this match. Avery has only given up bonus points in one of his 11 losses this season, but don't be surprised to see him give up bonus points in this match. Prediction: Glasser (Minnesota) major dec. Avery (Indiana) 184: Eric Cameron (Indiana) vs. No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) Steinhaus has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the country this season. He has wins this season over several ranked wrestlers. Steinhaus seems to be getting stronger with every match he wrestles. He proved that he compete with the top 184-pounders in the country at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Steinhaus took No. 1 Kirk Smith of Boise State to overtime, before losing 3-1. He also dropped close matches to No. 3 Steve Bosak of Cornell and No. 4 Travis Rutt of Wisconsin. Cameron is a two-time NCAA qualifier who started the season ranked 20th. He has struggled with consistency this season and comes into tonight's match with a 12-11 record. Bottom Line: Before the season, many would have predicted this to be a tossup match. But Steinhaus is clearly wrestling at a higher level right now than Cameron. Prediction: Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. Cameron (Indiana) 197: No. 6 Matt Powless (Indiana) vs. Joe Nord (Minnesota) Powless has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the country this season. After going 30-15 last season, Powless has started his junior season 27-2, with both losses coming to No. 1 Cam Simaz of Cornell. He has wins over No. 7 Micah Burak of Penn, No. 12 Brent Haynes of Missouri, and No. 13 Anthony Biondo of Michigan. Nord has done an admirable job filling in for the injured Sonny Yohn. He won two matches at the NWCA/Cliff National Duals. Bottom Line: If Minnesota had Yohn in the lineup, it would have been the marquee matchup of the dual as it would pit No. 5 vs. No. 6. Powless is clearly not the same wrestler Minnesota saw last season when he lost 8-2 to Yohn. Prediction: Powless (Indiana) maj. dec. Nord (Minnesota) 285: No. 19 Ricky Alcala (Indiana) vs. No. 7 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) Nelson, like Steinhaus, has stepped into the Gopher lineup and made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman. He is a big, strong, athletic heavyweight who competed at 215 pounds in high school, but has filled out nicely and should be in the mix for All-American honors this season. Nelson owns a record of 18-2 record and is coming off a 4-0 performance at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Alcala, a graduate student, transferred to Indiana this season after UC Davis' wrestling program was discontinued after last season. He is a strong heavyweight who keeps solid position and doesn't surrender many points. The two-time NCAA qualifier comes into tonight's match with a 21-6 record. Bottom Line: Nelson defeated Alcala, 2-0, at the Southern Scuffle. Look for a similar result tonight, with Nelson coming out on top again. Prediction: Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Alcala (Indiana) Dual Meet Prediction: Minnesota 27, Indiana 12

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – West Virginia University wrestling coach Craig Turnbull today announced the signing of 157/165-pound wrestler Alex Meade, a former No. 1 recruit in the country. Meade, a Camden, Del., native, comes to WVU from Oklahoma State where he redshirted the 2008-09 season before competing last season at 165 pounds for the Cowboys. He will wrestle at 157 pounds for the Mountaineers and is eligible to compete immediately as a redshirt sophomore. “Out of high school, Alex was one of the top recruits in the country,” Turnbull says. “He visited many schools, including West Virginia, and received attention nationwide. He and his father felt that Coach (Greg) Jones would be an outstanding mentor both from a wrestling and personal perspective. They were very impressed with everything that they saw. Coach Jones and Alex share the same athletic background and style of wrestling.” At Caesar Rodney High, Meade compiled an impressive 125-4 record throughout his career, including 39-0 as a junior and 44-0 as a senior. A three-time state champion, Meade was also a member of the Junior World team, a two-time Beast of the East champion and two-time FILA cadet freestyle national champion. He was recruited by some of the nation's top programs, including offers from Iowa State, Ohio State and Nebraska. Last season at Oklahoma State, he earned a 29-10 record, including a 15-3 mark in dual meets. He defeated four eventual All-Americans during the year, including three wins over Oklahoma's Tyler Caldwell. He also defeated eventual NCAA champion Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota, No. 4 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa and Wyoming's No. 11 Shane Onufer. Meade placed fourth at the Big 12 Championships last year and earned a spot at the NCAA Championships. Before redshirting in 2008, he compiled a 19-2 record, which included a string of 12 straight victories. His 19 wins tied for the lead among OSU's redshirts. “He has tremendous potential and we hope to provide him with an environment that he can reach all of his goals and come out with a degree that's useful for him,” Turnbull says. The Mountaineers wrestle against Michigan State on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Coliseum along with the schools' gymnastics teams in a "Beauty and the Beast" event. The dual meet is a “Dollar Night,” with all tickets, hotdogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for the purchase of $1.

Junior Joe Klinkel and freshman Matt Sefcik each posted key wins for Buena Vista, while the Beavers also used the benefit of three open weights, to top visiting Simpson College inside of Siebens Fieldhouse on Wednesday night, 28-23. The dual started at 157 pounds and the Beavers trailed 15-0 heading into Klinkel's 184-pound bout. He jumped out to a 10-2 lead after two periods and went on to give BVU key bonus points at the time with a 14-4 major decision over Tanner Erdman. After the Storm forfeited to sixth-ranked Brian Broll at 197 pounds to get the Beavers back within 15-10, it was Sefick, who made his debut this past Saturday, fighting off his back early in the second period with a reversal and a pin, giving BVU its first lead at 16-15. Following back-to-back forfeits by Simpson at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively, Buena Vista was able to secure the win. Buena Vista improves to 2-1 overall (1-1 IIAC) and will take the mat again on Saturday when it travels to Mt. Vernon, Iowa, to take part in the Cornell Matman Invite, beginning at 9:00am.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Olympic gold medalist, author and hometown hero Henry Cejudo hopes to add another gold medal to his remarkable life story by competing in the 2012 London Olympics. The 23 year-old wrestling powerhouse plans to return to competition as soon as possible. As a fierce competitor and uncompromising athlete, he has stayed loyal to an aggressive training regimen since winning the gold medal in 2008. The youngest gold medalist in United States wrestling history, Cejudo achieved his dream of becoming an Olympian at 21 years old. An improbable goal for an unlikely hero, his character and spirit were strengthened through a childhood spent fighting for survival on and off the mat. Cejudo is confident that the dedication, determination and desire that propelled him from adversity to Olympic gold will serve him again in 2012. “Winning another gold medal for my country would be an honor for me” stated Cejudo. “Training to perform at the Olympic level takes everything you have in your body, heart, mind and soul. I have always been committed to wrestling and the United States; I am ready to put everything I have behind that commitment again.” Cejudo plans to return to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he trained for four years prior to winning the Olympic gold medal in Beijing. “Henry Cejudo is the reigning Olympic champion. Anytime you have an athlete of that caliber in your program is a huge lift,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “We are excited about his return and look forward to his quest for another Olympic title.” “Getting Henry back is exciting for American wrestling. It is always great for our program to have our Olympic champions on the mat,” said National Freestyle Coach Zeke Jones. “He has a lot of work to do. We will have a chance to evaluate where he is at, and set a training and competition schedule for him.” About Henry Cejudo Olympic gold medalist and author, Henry Cejudo, achieved his dream of becoming an Olympic gold medalist at just 21 years old. Henry made history by becoming the youngest American wrestler to bring home the gold. The American born son of undocumented immigrants from Mexico, Cejudo spent his early years in fear of his criminal father and immigration officials. He struggled to find consistency in his chaotic world as he fought for survival on and off the wrestling mat. His amazing story of determination and triumph has won the hearts of America. A story that was captured by Henry Cejudo and Bill Plaschke in a book titled “American Victory.” Henry continues to achieve his dreams with another book deal, adidas shoe endorsement and inspiring millions of young athletes and troubled youth through his work with numerous charities. Many have expressed that Cejudo represents everything that is right with this country and that his journey embodies the ethos of the American Dream.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Tommie Hooper of Southern Oregon has been named inaugural NAIA National Wrestler of the Week, the national office announced Wednesday. Hooper was selected based on his performances from Jan. 3 – 9. Hooper went 5-0 at 157 pounds for the Raiders at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Currently ranked third nationally in his weight class, the junior scored bonus points in four of his bouts via pins, including a 2:32 stick of then-No. 6 Michael Hader of Great Falls (Mont.). Hooper registered a 7-5 decision over then-No. 4 Josh Ballard of McKendree (Ill.) in the fifth-place dual. Southern Oregon finished the event with a 2-2 record and placed sixth as a team after suffering a 25-13 loss to McKendree. A native of Burns, Ore., Hooper is off to an 11-4 start in his junior campaign, with eight of his victories resulting in bonus points (seven pins, one major decision). Hooper has twice been named an All-America honorable mention. The next Wrestler of the Week announcement will be on Jan. 19. Nominees: Joshua Chappa, Cumberland (Tenn.); Chris Chionuma, Lindenwood (Mo.); Brad Cusatis, Hastings (Neb.); Derek Murdock, Cumberlands (Ky.); Drew Smith, Morningside (Iowa); Eric Gruis, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.); Tommy Prettty, Campbellsville (Ky.); Andrew Sanchez, McKendree (Ill.). 2011 Composite Award Winners (Schedule) Week 1: Tommie Hooper, Southern Oregon

MOUNT PLEASANT -- Central Michigan sophomore 174-pounder Ben Bennett (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS) has been named Mid-American Conference Wrestler of the Week. Bennett won all four of his matches last week as the Chippewas went 2-2 in four duals, including a 21-13 win at Northern Illinois in the MAC opener. He posted an 18-2 technical fall against NIU's Caleb Busson on Thursday, then swept his three matches at National Duals on Saturday. Among his three wins at National Duals were two decisions against nationally ranked opponents: No. 10 Luke Manuel (Purdue) and No. 20 Dorian Henderson (Missouri). Bennett, ranked fifth nationally at 174 pounds, improved to 19-4 overall including 8-1 in duals. He has won nine of his last 10 bouts and has not surrendered an offensive point in his nine victories. Bennett earns the conference's weekly honor for the second time this season and third time in his career. CMU, ranked 12th in this week's InterMat poll, hosts No. 18 Michigan on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the first wrestling match at McGuirk Arena.

Quartet of ranked teams to collide on Saturday at Marmion No. 12 Montini Catholic, Illinois will be hosting a trio of fellow nationally-ranked teams for a quad on Saturday when No. 5 St. Edward, Ohio; No. 11 Iowa City West, Iowa; and No. 46 Montini Catholic, Illinois come calling to the home of the Cadets. Wrestling is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. Central Time (Noon ET), and look for a live webcast through http://www.illinoismatmen.com. Round 1: Marmion Academy vs. St. Edward, Iowa City West vs. Montini Catholic Round 2: Marmion Academy vs. Iowa City West, St. Edward vs. Montini Catholic Round 3: Marmion Academy vs. Montini Catholic, St. Edward vs. Iowa City West Projected weight-by-weight lineups for each team: 103: No. 10 Phillip Laux (Iowa City West), No. 17 Johnny Jimenez (Marmion); Anthony Stanley (St. Edward), Tommy Pawleski (Montini Catholic) 112: No. 6 Jered Cortez (Marmion); Edgar Bright (St. Edward), Ernest Willis (Iowa City West), Michael Gibson (Montini Catholic) 119: No. 19 Dean Heil (St. Edward); George Fisher (Marmion), Kegan Wakefield (Iowa City West), Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic) 125: Markus Scheidel (St. Edward), Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West), Eddie Greco (Marmion), Chris Garcia (Montini Catholic) 130: No. 3 Ben Whitford (Marmion); Colin Heffernan (St. Edward), Dakota Bauer (Iowa City West), Michael Sepke (Montini Catholic) 135: Brian Wendling/Nick Barber (St. Edward), Gradey Gambrall (Iowa City West), Bryce Brill (Marmion), Drew Vrebenec/Julian Gonzalez (Montini Catholic) 140: No. 19 Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West); Russ Rauber (St. Edward), Angelo Silvestro (Marmion), John Sullivan (Montini Catholic) 145: Matt Van Curen (St. Edward), Garrett Hathaway (Iowa City West), Eddie Gonzalez (Marmion), Frank Baer (Montini Catholic) 152: No. 6 Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic); Mark Martin (St. Edward), Britt Thompson (Iowa City West), Eddie Breen (Marmion) 160: No. 19 Justin Koethe (Iowa City West); Domenic Abounader (St. Edward), Dan Rowland (Marmion), Dimitri Willis (Montini Catholic) 171: Jacob Davis (St. Edward), Mike Watkins (Iowa City West), Jon Wolfgram (Marmion), Connor Winel/Anthony Ferraro (Montini Catholic) 189: James Suvak (St. Edward), Mickey Pelfrey (Iowa City West), Pat Knudtson (Marmion), Doug Diedrick/Bubba TreDerick (Montini Catholic) 215: Ty Walz (St. Edward), Sean Beasley (Iowa City West), Oscar Garza (Marmion), Edgar Ruano (Montini Catholic) 285: No. 11 Greg Kuhar (St. Edward); AJ Bailey (Iowa City West), Alex Fritz (Marmion), Ross Ferraro (Montini Catholic) Another showcase dual meet event in Chicagoland While the show at Marmion Academy is the perceived main event of the wrestling weekend around Chicago, there will be another awesome quad out in Orland Park. Three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 24 Crystal Lake Central, No. 43 Minooka, and No. 48 Carl Sandburg -- will be joined by Sycamore for a great Saturday afternoon of wrestling. The home-standing Eagles are on a big time hot streak, having earned a 30-22 victory over No. 35 Glenbard North, Illinois over the holidays and making it to the championship bracket of The Clash with victories over No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin and No. 46 Montini Catholic, Illinois. Seven of their wrestlers are rated inside the top 12 of their weight within Class AAA according to the most recent rankings published by Illinois Matmen. This includes three that are ranked second overall -- Colin Holler (135), Nick Fishback (145), and No. 13 Chris Lopez (285). Defending state champions (decided by dual meets) Minooka has five individuals ranked inside the top 12 of their weight in Class AAA. On the other hand, Crystal Lake Central is a very star-laden team with seven wrestlers raked inside the top four of their Class AA weights. Those wrestlers are Kyle Fugiel (103), Clayton Lutzow (130), Trevor Jauch (140), Jason Fugiel (145), No. 7 Joey Kielbasa (152), No. 3 Gage Harrah (189), and No. 3 Austin Marsden (215). Ohio stars converge on Top Gun A star-studded field has been assembled for the 25th anniversary of the Asics Top Gun Tournament. Seeking a fifth consecutive championship, which would be their sixth overall (and eclipse the five that St. Edward, Ohio possesses), is No. 3 Graham, Ohio. While they are the strong favorites to do so, the rest of the field is strong -- headlined by No. 18 Massillon Perry, Ohio. Though no wrestler has ever won four Top Gun championships, three more wrestlers are in position to earn their third tournament title this year -- No. 5 Johhni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, Ohio) at 130 pounds, No. 7 Nick Brascetta (Graham) at 140, and No. 8 Alex Utley (CVCA, Ohio) at 189. Life however will not be easy for Brascetta and Utley. Standing in Brascetta's way is Zach Dailey (Massillon Perry), a returning tournament champion in his own right; while No. 6 Huston Evans (Graham) already has a 3-1 victory over Utley to his credit at the Walsh Ironman last month. Another item to note is that Brascetta was named Outstanding Wrestler last year, and should he be named again, he would become only the third wrestler in tournament history to win the award twice. Other defending champions include Jordan Conaway (New Oxford, Pennsylvania) at 112 pounds; No. 18 Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry) at 119; No. 3 Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit) at 135; and No. 11 Matt Stephens (Graham) at 152 pounds. Isaac Jordan (Graham) won the tournament in 2009, but is out this weekend with an injury. Four additional wrestlers are nationally ranked: No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA) at 103 pounds, No. 11 Ryan Taylor (Graham) at 112, No. 5 Bo Jordan (Graham) at 145, and No. 9 Logan Erb (Wapakoneta) at 215. Blue Eagles to be tested by neighborhood rivals With all hands on deck, No. 41 Nazareth, Pennsylvania has been able to rebound from a 14th place finish at the Beast of the East with a pretty dominant championship at the Bethlehem Holiday Wrestling Classic and a third place finish at the Virginia Duals. Four Blue Eagle wrestlers won championships at the Bethlehem Holiday: No. 2 Zach Horan (130) and Aaron Bradley (285), along with Franco Ferraina (125) and Ryan Krecker (160) -- each of who were making their season debut. At the Virginia Duals, they earned victories over No. 26 Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania; No. 31 Cox, Virginia; and No. 40 South Plainfield, New Jersey. Tonight, Nazareth hosts No. 17 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania; while on Saturday night, the Blue Eagles travel to No. 16 Easton, Pennsylvania. Finest from Mid-Atlantic seek Mount Mat Madness championships Twenty-nine teams from five states and the District of Columbia will convene at the Community College of Baltimore County just outside of Baltimore, Maryland at Mount Mat Madness VIII. The annual tournament hosted by Mt. St. Joseph High School features twelve wrestlers that are defending tournament champions and/or nationally ranked. The lone team in the national rankings is two-time defending event champions No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania. Some additional notable teams in the field include Caesar Rodney, Delaware; David Brearley, New Jersey; McDonogh, Maryland; Robinson, Virginia; and St. Mark's, Delaware. The featured weight class of this tournament will be at 152 pounds, where No. 8 Codey Combs (Sussex Central, Delaware) seeks a rare fourth championship. However, also in this weight is No. 6 (at 145) Lex Ozias (Southern Garrett, Maryland) - one of the three wrestlers seeking a third MMM title this weekend. In addition, Beast of the East and Cheesehead runner-up Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) - who is ranked No. 19 nationally - is in this bracket. The other weight class featuring multiple defending tournament champions is 171 pounds, where No. 17 Bubba Scheffel (Southern Garrett, Maryland) seeks a third MMM title, but will to go through another defending tournament champion in Matt Miller (John Carroll, Maryland). In fact, Miller owns a one-point victory over Scheffel earlier in the season. Also after a third championship is No. 8 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) at 119 pounds. However, life will not be easy as Super32 champion Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Maryland) - ranked No. 15 in the nation at 125 pounds - will join him in the weight class. Additional wrestlers after repeat championships include Kaleb Lemaire (Caesar Rodney, Delaware) at 112 pounds, Cody Broomall (Sussex Central, Delaware) at 135 pounds, and Matthew Mauk (St. Mark's, Delaware) at 189. Other nationally-ranked wrestlers include No. 7 Micah Hight (Caesar Rodney, Delaware) at 103 pounds and No. 15 Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Maryland), who already won the Beast of the East as a freshman. Fans can follow the tournament on both Friday and Saturday at http://www.mountmatmadness.com Challenging weekend on deck for Jaguars No. 30 Jackson Memorial, New Jersey will travel to Rutgers University on Friday night to participate as part of a two match undercard prior to the Rutgers vs. Bucknell dual meet. Their opponent will be a formidable Delbarton, New Jersey squad that features a pair of Beast of the East finalists in No. 5 Jeff Canfora (135) and No. 11 Devon Gobbo (140). The next afternoon, as part of the Shore Conference/GMC Challenge, Jackson Memorial will face off against No. 40 South Plainfield, New Jersey in a battle of the Group 4 and Group 3 state champions from last season. Amyloidosis awareness the theme at Escape the Rock This year's Escape the Rock tournament at Council Rock South High School outside of Philadelphia is also being designed to serve as a fundraiser/awareness event for amyloidosis (for further information on the disease, check out http://www.amyloidosis.org). The lone nationally-ranked team in the field is No. 17 Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania. However, four state championship teams are present in the field: Camden Catholic, New Jersey; Paulsboro, New Jersey; Colonial Forge, Virginia; and Central Mountain, Pennsylvania. Four weight classes stand out as ones to watch during the tournament on Friday and Saturday. Anchoring the 103 pound weight class is No. 2 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic); however, Billy Rappo (Council Rock South) will seek the upset special to provide the host school with a spark in the opening weight class. The 112 weight class could feature a preview of something which is seen very deep in the Class AA state tournament, as No. 13 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic) and No. 20 (at 119) Zain Retherford (Line Mountain) are both present in the field. At 140 pounds is a pair of Super32 placers and state title contenders in two-time state placer Matt Martoccio (Council Rock South) and defending tournament champion Dan Neff (Solanco, Pennsylvania). Three standout wrestlers are present at 152 pounds in state runner-up Kyle Dehaut (Bethlehem Catholic), defending tournament champion Brian Brill (Central Mountain), and three-time state placer Jayshon Wilson (Carlisle, Pennsylvania). Additional defending tournament champions include Retherford, competing at 112 this weekend, and Zach Corl (Central Mountain) at 285 pounds. For full information: http://www.crsd.org/5034011314232/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=53842&5034011314232Nav=|&NodeID=3817 Trifecta of number one's to meet in Michigan on Saturday On Saturday, No. 38 Detroit Catholic Central, Michigan is hosting its annual Super Duals. The field this year is yet again very strong with the top ranked team in three of four divisions in Michigan high school wrestling present -- No. 38 DCC (Division 1), No. 14 St. John's (Division 2), and Dundee (Division3). Rounding out the field are Richmond (second in Division 3), Temperance Bedford (fifth in Division 1), and Clarkston. In the overall rankings compiled by Michigan Grappler, the field includes four of the top five teams along with the 13th team in the state. The following wrestlers are ranked either first or second in their division by Michigan Grappler: 103: No. 12 Zac Hall (St. John's) and Mitch Rogaliner (Temperance Bedford) 112:No. 8 Jacob Schmitt (St. John's), Malik Amine (Detroit Catholic Central), and Stephen Ireland (Richmond) 125: Ken Bade (Detroit Catholic Central) and Josh Pennell (St. John's) 130: No. 17 Joe Rendina (Dundee) and Casey Martin (Richmond) 135: Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central) and Joey White (Dundee) 140: Brian Gibbs (Temperance Bedford), Payne Hayden (St. John's), and Chris Rau (Dundee) 145: Travis Curley (St. John's) 152: Jordan Wohlfert (St. John's) 160: No. 1 Taylor Massa (St. John's) 171: Matt Vandermeer (Clarkston) 189: No. 15 Justin Heiserman (Dundee) Another Golden State Showdown Like last week at the Doc Buchanan Invitational hosted by Clovis High School, this weekend's Temecula Valley Invitational Tournament features all three nationally-ranked teams from the state of California plus a slew of teams ranked in the top ten by The California Wrestler. No. 7 Bakersfield, No. 9 Clovis, and No. 23 Oakdale are among the teams in the field; as are top ten in the state Lemoore, De La Salle, Gilroy, Poway, and Clovis West. An unfortunate feature of this tournament is that there are a few of the key wrestlers that will be out due to injury. This includes a pair for Bakersfield in Coleman (145/152) and Bryce (160/171) Hammond, along with No. 18 Chris Mecate (135) for Redlands East Valley. Both Hammond brothers are in the top 20 nationally for their respective graduating classes, while Bryce is ranked fourth nationally at 171 pounds. None the less, the following nationally-ranked wrestlers are in the field: 103: No. 19 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak) 112: No. 10 (at 119) Nashon Garrett (Chico) and No. 14 Victor Lopez (Calexico) 119: No. 15 Stevan Knoblach (Clovis West) 125: No. 6 Fabian Garcia (Turlock) 135: No. 7 (at 125) Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North) 140: No. 14 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore) 145: No. 18 David Ferry (Oakdale) 171: No. 12 Zach Nevills (Clovis) and No. 14 Nikko Reyes (Clovis West) 189: No. 7 Lucas Sheridan (De La Salle) Two additional names to watch are freshman sensation Nick Nevills (285) for Clovis, champion at the Doc Buchanan and runner-up at the Cheesehead; as well as sophomore Micah Perez (103) for Central Union, who is making his season debut in this weight class, but was nationally ranked inside the top ten here during the preseason. Quad Cities Collision Neighborhood rivals Davenport Assumption and No. 39 Bettendorf will meet in a dual meet this evening, as two of the finest teams in all of Iowa will battle it out at Bettendorf High School. Ranked first in Class 2A by The Predicament, this is really the only true barometer for Davenport Assumption against an elite team during the course of their season. On the other hand, Bettendorf (ranked third in Class 3A) has been hardened through their schedule to date facing elite competition at the Keith Young Invitational, Cedar Rapids Duals, Battle at Waterloo, and The Clash. Though there were some early struggles as Bettendorf sorted through varying lineup issues, things seemed smooth this past weekend as they finished second in their Friday bracket and swept three matches on Saturday to finish fifth overall. Even that is a relative term, as No. 20 Bo Schlosser (140) was not in the lineup; however, it has been reported that he is ineligible for the duration of the season. Five of the projected weight class matchups involve a pair of wrestlers ranked inside the top ten for their respective classification by The Predicament. 103: Drake Swarm (Bettendorf) vs. Tony Devriese (Davenport Assumption). Both ranked second. 112: Logan Ryan (Bettendorf) vs. Kyle Springer (Davenport Assumption). Third against seventh. 119: Richie Eikenberry (Bettendorf) vs. Topher Carton (Davenport Assumption). Sixth against first. 145: Drake Chase (Bettendorf) vs. Brody Grothus (Davenport Assumption). Sixth against third. 285: No. 12 Brody Berrie (Bettendorf) vs. Tyler Swope (Davenport Assumption). Both raked second. Updated rankings will be released next week Look for updated team rankings and individual weight class rankings to be posted next week. The rankings will reflect all competition in the season to date, which includes this big weekend of events. The graduating class rankings will follow suit either next week or the week after that.

MADISON, Wis. -- Redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt is Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week for the week of Jan. 10, the league announced Tuesday. The honor is Schmitt’s first weekly conference honor of his career. To earn the award, the New Glarus, Wis., native secured four wins at 149 lbs. to help the Badgers place third at the NWCA National Duals last weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The No. 10 wrestler at 149 lbs. in the country at the time, Schmitt captured a 4-3 decision over American’s No. 8 Ganbayar Sanjaa and defeated No. 9 Brian Stephens (Virginia Tech), 6-5. In addition, Schmitt opened the tournament by pinning South Dakota State’s James Hamilton at 5:31 to help Wisconsin defeat the Jackrabbits, 42-3. To wrap up the weekend, he shut out Minnesota’s Daniel Zilverberg, 7-0, to extend his overall record to 15-4 (excluding open tournaments). After sweeping his competition last weekend, Schmitt is now ranked No. 7 at 149 lbs. Schmitt is the second Badger to receive the accolade this season. Junior Travis Rutt (184 lbs.) was named the Big Ten Conference Wrestler of the Week for Nov. 23, 2010 after posting four-straight wins, including three over ranked opponents from Nov. 19-21. Wisconsin joins Illinois and Michigan as the only three teams in the conference thus far to have two athletes win the award for the 2010-11 season. Schmitt and the rest of the Wisconsin wrestling team return to the mat Sunday as they host Illinois at 1 p.m. at the UW Field House.

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- James Nicholson was named the Colonial Athletic Association co-wrestler of the week for all matches from Jan. 4-10, the CAA announced on Wednesday. Nicholson, who is ranked No. 4 in the nation at 125 and 17-0 on the season, went 3-0 at the Virginia Duals, picking up wins by major decisions, technical fall and pin. The Des Moines, Iowa native pinned Edinboro’s Bijan Banks in the first period of his first match before dominating VMI’s John Pope in a 19-2 technical fall. In his final match of the tournament, he topped No. 19 Tyler Cox of Wyoming in a 16-8 major decision. It is the third CAA honor of the season for Nicholson, as he was named the conference Wrestler of the Month for November and December. Nicholson and the Monarchs are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 15 when they travel to Fairfax, Va. to compete in the CAA Duals.

MINNEAPOLIS -- In 2001, the University of Minnesota wrestling team broke new ground for the program, capturing the first national championship in school history. Minnesota will honor the 2001 National Championship team as it celebrates the tenth anniversary of it monumental win this Friday during the Gophers dual against Indiana. The 2001 NCAA Wrestling Championships will long be remembered as a national tournament with impressive firsts and as a stunning breakthrough for the Gophers. The venue, Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa, was labeled as the "lion's den" and served as an ideal location for the eventual storybook result. That result, an improbable one, vaulted Minnesota into the national spotlight, long reserved for the Iowas and Oklahoma States of the world. And the way in which the Gophers captured the 2001 NCAA crown can be appropriately classified as groundbreaking and extraordinary. Unorthodox? Yes, the road to the national title for Minnesota was not typical of the path taken in years past by NCAA champion teams. Remarkable? You bet. Fans and followers of collegiate wrestling will look back at the 2001 NCAA Championships as a national tournament with unprecedented qualities. Record breaking? In more ways than one. The Golden Gophers broke several school and national records along the way to the national crown. A full team effort? Without a doubt. The national title was won for the Maroon and Gold grapplers, not on the backs of two or three dominant individuals, but through the hard work, will and determination of all 10 members of the squad. Minnesota won the national crown by utilizing a full team effort to earn an NCAA-record 10 All-Americans. It was the first time in NCAA championships history that 10 wrestlers from the same team had earned the prestigious All-American honor in one NCAA tournament. In addition, no team in the history of the national tournament had won the team title without a finalist, but Gold Country captures the national crown despite not placing a single wrestler in the championship matches. "We knew that the only way that we could win the title was to have a team effort. We knew that we couldn't win with a lot of ones and twos, but we thought we could win with 10 All-Americans. And that's what we did," Minnesota head coach J Robinson, now in his 25th year with the team, said. "Everybody earned this championship. Everybody. That was the key." Minnesota Golden Gopher All-Americans: 125: Leroy Vega (Portage, Ind.) - Second at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs 133: Brett Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho) - Fifth at Big Tens, Eighth at NCAAs 141: Chad Erickson (Apple Valley, Minn.) - Second at Big Tens, Eighth at NCAAs 149: Jared Lawrence (Sandpoint, Idaho) - First at Big Tens, Sixth at NCAAs 157: Luke Becker (Cambridge, Minn.) - Second at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs 165: Brad Pike (Brownsdale, Minn.) - Third at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs 174: Jacob Volkmann (Henning, Minn.) - Fourth at Big Tens, Fourth at NCAAs 184: Damion Hahn (Lakewood, N.J.) - Third at Big Tens, Fifth at NCAAs 197: Owen Elzen (Eyota, Minn.) - Third at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs 285: Garrett Lowney (Freedom, Wisc.) - First at Big Tens, Third at NCAAs

Durham, N.C. -- The Citadel wrestling team raced out to a 25-0 lead at Duke and never looked back as the Bulldogs won their third straight dual with a 31-9 thrashing of the Blue Devils on Tuesday night. Duke (0-1) and The Citadel (4-5) met for the 41st time overall with the Blue Devils leading the all-time series 28-10-3. However, the Bulldogs have now won the previous six matches. Duke has not defeated The Citadel since 2001. The 22-point win over the Blue Devils ties the record for the largest margin of victory over Duke for The Citadel. The Bulldogs also won by 22 points when they earned a 25-3 decision on Feb. 12, 1962 in Durham. The 31 points is also tied for the most points scored against the Blue Devils with the squad that won 31-16 on Jan. 24, 2004. Richard Alarcon started things off at 125 with a forfeit win. Tyler Sim then used a pair of takedowns in the first period at 133 pounds before pinning Duke's Nick Adamo just before the opening stanza ended at the 2:54 mark to give the Bulldogs a 12-0 team lead. At 141 pounds, Jordan Dix used three early takedowns in the first period and a late takedown in the third to hold off Duke's Mike Bell, 12-9. Derek Royster then picked up a takedown in each of the three periods to down the Blue Devils' Andrew Guardado, 8-3. Pierre Frazile would continue to keep the Bulldogs rolling as he used three takedowns in the first period and two late takedowns in the third period to defeat Duke's Chris Mullen, 11-5 and increase The Citadel's team lead to 21-0. No. 9 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj was in a battle with Duke's Willy Mello early, but three late takedowns by the Bulldog in the final period would seal Mello's fate as Luvsandorj improved to 25-4 on the season with a 12-4 major decision at 165 pounds. The match of the night would take place at 174 pounds as No. 32 J.C. Oddo squared off with Duke's Brett Klopp, who came in with a record of 19-6. An early takedown by Oddo would be matched when Klopp reversed and then registered a three-point nearfall to end the first period. A late takedown by Oddo in the third period would not be enough as Klopp reversed it and scored the win, 10-4, to give Duke their first points of the match. Justin Sparrow put things back in The Citadel's favor at 184 pounds as he overcame an early takedown by Duke's Diego Bencomo with an escape and a takedown of his own before pinning the Blue Devil at the 1:49 mark to put the Bulldogs in a commanding 31-3 team lead. At 184 pounds, the Blue Devils' Brian Self and Kelby Smith swapped escape points, but the difference in the match proved to be a point for unnecessary roughness assessed against Smith to give Duke the 2-1 victory. At heavyweight, Duke's Brian Self used a takedown in each of the first two periods and two in the final period to upend Luke Johnson, 10-4, to complete the action. Results: 125: Richard Alarcon (CIT) wins via forefit 133: Tyler Sim (CIT) pinned Nick Adamo (DUKE), 2:54 141: Jordan Dix (CIT) dec. Mike Bell (DUKE), 12-9 149: Derek Royster (CIT) dec. Andrew Guardado (DUKE), 8-3 157: Pierre Frazile (CIT) dec. Chris Mullen (DUKE), 11-5 165: #9 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (CIT) major dec. Willy Mello (DUKE), 12-4 174: Brett Klopp (DUKE) dec. #32 J.C. Oddo (CIT), 10-4 184: Justin Sparrow (CIT) pinned Diego Bencomo (DUKE), 1:49 197: Brian Self (DUKE) dec. Kelby Smith (CIT), 2-1 HWT: Andrew Fulk (DUKE) dec. Luke Johnson (CIT), 10-4 The Citadel heads to Arlington, Texas on Saturday to take on tough national competition at the Lone Star Duals when they face No. 22 Stanford, No. 7 Oklahoma, Utah Valley and Northern Colorado. A full recap and agate will follow the action. For more information on Bulldog Wrestling, visit CitadelSports.com.

Having achieved success both as a former West Virginia University wrestler and recent position as an assistant head coach, sixth-year coach Greg Jones has been promoted as an associate head coach, WVU coach Craig Turnbull announced today. “Through his competitive career, Greg achieved a lot that many wrestlers don’t even come close to,” Turnbull says. “He won three NCAA Championships and was even named the Outstanding Wrestler at the NCAA Championships one year. Having one of the greatest wrestlers in the history of our program come back to coach for us is a tremendous benefit to the team. It has a tremendous ripple effect and transcends all areas of the program.” A three-time national champion and All-American, Jones is looked upon not only for his coaching but also recruiting abilities. ‘Not only was Greg an outstanding wrestler, but the kind of person you would want in the program,” Turnbull said. “He was a good student, spoke well to the media, stood for all the right values, had a solid work ethic, and he carries that into his coaching career.” As a Mountaineer, Jones went 126-4 over his four years and was a four-time Eastern Wrestling League champion in the 174-lb weight class. He ended his career with a 51-match win streak. “My belief is that he will be as good of a coach as he was a wrestler,” Turnbull says. “As he continues to mature into the profession, he is going to assume more and more responsibilities. The title change is very appropriate and well-deserved.“

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Lehigh sophomore Robert Hamlin, has been named EIWA Wrestler of the Week, it was announced Sunday night. Hamlin posted a 3-0 record over the weekend at the Virginia Duals to remain unbeaten in dual meet competition this season. The highlight of the weekend for Hamlin was a 7-6 win over top-ranked Joe LeBlanc of Wyoming Friday afternoon. Hamlin was rested in Lehigh’s first match of the Virginia Duals, a 33-6 win over UNC-Greensboro, but made the most of his first action of the day against the Cowboys. The Vermont native took the two-time Wyoming All-American down twice, once in the first period and once late in the second to build a 5-4 lead. Hamlin was taken down early in the third period, but escaped to take a one point lead and was able to hold off LeBlanc from there. With his win, Hamlin is believed to be the first Lehigh wrestler to defeat the No. 1 wrestler in the country at his weight class since Jon Trenge knocked off Jake Rosholt of Oklahoma State at 197 in 2005. On Saturday, Hamlin won decisions over Michigan’s Hunter Collins and Kent State’s Casey Newburg, with both victories coming by 10-4 scores. He was one of four Mountain Hawks to win at least three matches without a loss at the Virginia Duals, joining freshmen Frank Cagnina and Austin Meys and junior Zach Rey. For the season, Hamlin is now 17-1 with the lone loss coming to Wisconsin’s Trevor Rutt in the semifinals of the Midlands Championships. Hamlin went on to place third in the event. Hamlin is the second Lehigh wrestler to be named EIWA Wrestler of the Week this season Lehigh went 2-2 at the Virginia Duals to place fourth in the national college division. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats on Saturday when they travel to Annapolis, Maryland to face EIWA rival Navy. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start from Halsey Field House with live audio coverage at Lehighsports.com.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- For the second time this season, Oklahoma State’s Jordan Oliver earned Big 12 honors as the sophomore 133-pounder was tabbed as the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, it was announced today. The recognition comes on the heels of Oliver earning Outstanding Wrestler distinction at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals this past weekend. Oliver’s five results at the event were a 20-5 technical fall win over Purdue’s Akif Eren, a 10-2 major decision win over No. 7 Devin Carter of Virginia Tech, a 3:17 pin of Northern Iowa’s Ryan Jauch, a 2:26 pin of Iowa State’s Ben Cash and a 2:41 pin of Missouri’s Nathan McCormick. Despite having three of his matches ended before the 3:20 mark, Oliver still finished with 19 takedowns and six nearfalls in his five bouts at National Duals. The Easton, Pa., native was recognized as the Big 12 Wrestler of the Month this past November. Ranked No. 1 in the nation at his weight class, Oliver sports a 13-0 record this year with 12 of those 13 wins coming with bonus points attached. He has one win by major decision, four wins by technical fall and seven wins by fall. He leads OSU with a staggering 46 dual match takedowns and 13 dual match nearfalls. Oliver and the Cowboys host the reigning NCAA Champion Iowa Hawkeyes at 2 p.m. this Sunday in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

National title sealed up at The Clash Coming into the weekend, much was made of No. 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota and their quest for a national championship. It was said that if they were able to win this tournament -- with the probability of a main event head-on dual meet against No. 4 Brandon, Florida -- that the national title would be theirs. Prior to that main event dual, Apple Valley had to win five other matches to set it up. In their Friday morning bracket, the Eagles lost only three total matches in upending Neuqua Valley, Illinois, 66-7, and Vacaville, California, 68-6, to set up their bracket championship match against No. 39 Bettendorf, Iowa. Against the first of four nationally-ranked teams they would see on the weekend, it was another clinical domination, as Apple Valley won eleven of the weight classes in a 47-9 victory. To open the championship round-robin, Apple Valley took 12 of 14 weight classes against No. 48 Carl Sandburg, Illinois in a 55-9 victory. Then it was a match against No. 6 Simley, Minnesota -- where Apple Valley would take nine of the weight classes in a 42-20 victory. Prior to the head-on collision with Apple Valley, Brandon had wins over the following five opponents: 55-6 over Stewartville, Minnesota (12 matches won); 48-12 over Owatonna, Minnesota (10 matches won); 43-18 over No. 35 Glenbard North, Illinois (10 matches won); 40-23 over No. 6 Simley, Minnesota (nine matches won); and 37-24 over No. 48 Carl Sandburg, Illinois (nine matches won). With the final dual meet starting at 140, circumstances favored Apple Valley, as that meant the match started with part of their "murderous middle" and with a couple of Brandon's not as strong wrestlers. An opening pin for No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (140) and a 6-3 decision win for Daniel Woiwor (145) gave Apple Valley a 9-0 lead heading into the first pair of ranked wrestler vs. ranked wrestler matches. Both of these would go in the favor of Apple Valley -- No. 1 Destin McCauley (152) with an 8-5 decision over No. 13 Clark Glass, and No. 4 Steven Keogh (160) with a 1-0 decision over No. 6 Wally Figaro. After the 3-1 decision by No. 6 Jake Waste (171) over Kyle Koziel, it was an 18-0 lead for Apple Valley. Brandon would finally get on the board with wins from Mike Ettore (189) and Lorenzo Martinez (215) to reduce the deficit to 18-7. However, a four-pack of wins from Matt Hechsel (285), Seth Gross (103), No. 19 Jordan Kingsley (112), and Stephen Mincey (119) extended the Apple Valley lead out to 34-7 and made the last three matches -- which placed nationally-ranked wrestlers against one another -- immaterial from the team perspective. Nonetheless, Brandon won all three of those matches to close down the dual meet final score to 34-16. No. 11 Kevin Norstrem (125) defeated No. 13 Dakota Trom, 6-4, No. 13 Rossi Bruno (130) defeated No. 12 Mark Hall, 5-3, while No. 4 Tyler Liberatore (135) defeated No. 9 Matt Kelliher, 7-3. At the same time, Simley defeated Carl Sandburg, 41-16, to take third in the championship round-robin. Final Standings for other round-robins on Saturday evening: Second Place: No. 39 Bettendorf, Iowa 3-0; No. 35 Glenbard North, Illinois 2-1; No. 13 Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa 1-2; No. 46 Montini Catholic, Illinois 0-3 Third Place: No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin 3-0; Vacaville, California 2-1; No. 45 St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota 1-2; Owatonna, Minnesota 0-3 Fourth Place: No. 42 Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota 3-0; Hastings, Minnesota 2-1; No. 21 Roseburg, Oregon 1-2; No. 44 Grand Island, Nebraska 0-3 Champions of round-robins on Saturday morning: Fifth Place -- Forest Lake, Minnesota; Sixth Place -- Albert Lea, Minnesota; Seventh Place -- Frazee, Minnesota; Eighth Place -- Mount Carmel, Illinois Summary of dual meets involving ranked teams defeated on Friday: Bracket A -- No. 39 Bettendorf over No. 21 Roseburg 33-28 (7-7 matches), No. 1 Apple Valley over No. 39 Bettendorf 47-9, Vacaville over No. 21 Roseburg 37-27 (8-6 matches) Bracket B -- No. 35 Glenbard North over No. 44 Grand Island 48-21 (10-4 matches), No. 4 Brandon over No. 35 Glenbard North 43-18, Owatonna 31-27 over No. 44 Grand Island (7-7 matches) Bracket C -- No. 48 Carl Sandburg over No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids 30-24 (9-5 matches/including 6-0 in those decided by two points or less), No. 46 Montini Catholic over No. 42 Kasson-Mantorville 33-24 (8-6 matches), No. 48 Carl Sandburg over No. 46 Montini Catholic 30-27 (7-7 matches), No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids over No. 42 Kasson-Mantorville 38-26 (8-6 matches) Bracket D -- No. 13 Waverly-Shell Rock over No. 45 St. Michael-Albertville 32-24 (7-7 matches), No. 6 Simley over No. 13 Waverly-Shell Rock 34-28 (7-7 matches) The following wrestlers were selected to the all-tournament team (all went 6-0 for the tournament): 103 -- Jon Marmelejo (Glenbard North, Illinois); 112 -- Juan Torres (Simley, Minnesota); 119 -- No. 14 Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa); 125 -- No. 11 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Florida); 130 -- No. 13 Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Florida); 135 -- No. 4 Tyler Liberatore (Brandon, Florida); 140 -- No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota); 145 -- No. 4 (at 140) Jake Sueflohn (Arrowhead, Wisconsin); 152 -- No. 1 Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, Minnesota); 160 -- No. 4 Steven Keogh (Apple Valley, Minnesota); 171 -- Travis Mallo (Mason City, Iowa); 189 -- No. 4 Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin); 215 -- Nick Edling (St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota); 285 -- No. 13 Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) For full information and results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=396009 Clovis asserts Golden State superiority Hosting the Doc Buchanan Invitational this past weekend, No. 9 Clovis, California was an unkind host in a showcase of the finest wrestling that California has to offer. The home squad dominated the team standings with 220 points on the strength of three champions, three second place finishers, and three other placers. Finishing second in the standings with seven placers, but just one champion in AC Brown (215) was No. 23 Oakdale, California with 140 points. Champions for Clovis were Jonas (112) and Daniel (119) Gayton as well as freshman Nick Nevills (285). Daniel Gayton earned his title with a pin against No. 15 Stevan Knoblach of Clovis West, California in the championship match. Finishing second were Juan Salas (130), No. 12 Zach Nevills (171), and Dakota Gordon (189). Nevills lost in the final to No. 14 Nikko Reyes of Clovis West, California by a 5-3 score. In addition, Clovis had two non-point scoring extras place inside the top four at 160 and 189 respectively. No school other than Clovis had multiple champions, and only three even placed two into the finals. Already mentioned, Clovis West had No. 15 Knoblach place second at 119 and No. 14 Reyes earned the championship at 171 with two victories over nationally-ranked wrestlers (beating Nevills in the final, and earning a second period pin against No. 9 (at 160) Justin Lozano of Selma in the semifinal). Oakdale had a titlist in Brown at 215, while Garrett Fortado placed second at 215. Lemoore, California had No. 14 Isaiah Martinez win the 140 pound weight class, while Steven Wood finished second at 285. Martinez was named the tournament's overall Outstanding Wrestler, and Reyes earned Outstanding Wrestler honors for upper-weights. The featured bout of the championship round came at 125 pounds, where No. 4 Alex Cisneros of Selma, California defeated No. 6 Fabian Garcia of Turlock, California 4-3 in the tiebreaker with a last-second reversal on a standing switch. That performance earned Cisneros the Oustanding Wrestler award for lower-weights. Three other nationally-ranked wrestlers also won weight class titles. One of them was No. 7 Lucas Sheridan (189) of De La Salle, California, who also won the award for most falls in the least time (four in 11:19). Another was No. 18 Chris Mecate (135) of Redlands East Valley, California with a 6-4 overtime decision over Natrelle Demison of Bakersfield, California; Demison reached the final with 4-2 upset victory over No. 8 (at 140) Nick Pena of Selma, California. The third was No. 5 Vinny Waldhauser (160) of Oak Ridge, California. Other weight class champions included Emilo Saveeda (103) of Pittman, California; Nicholas Villareal (130) of Gilroy, California; Michael Gonzalez (145) of Sultana, California; and Napoleon Aniciete (152) of Las Vegas, Nevada. No. 7 Bakersfield, California finished in seventh place with 80 points; however, the Drillers were without the services of state placers Timmy Box (140/145) and Coleman Hammond (145/152), while No. 4 (at 171) Bryce Hammond won an early round match at 160 pounds before defaulting out with a minor injury. Blue Knights traveling circus yields title No. 8 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania continued its seemingly never-ending journey high and wide through the United States for competition at the Virginia Duals this past weekend. For the second time, the Blue Knights stopped upon a championship as the won the National High School Division. In wrestling on Friday, Wyoming Seminary dominated Grassfield, Virginia and Camden Catholic, New Jersey amassing 21 victories from a possible 28 individual matches. However, things got a little tighter on Saturday, when the Blue Knights depended upon victories in the last two weight classes to beat No. 40 South Plainfield, New Jersey and No. 27 Christiansburg, Virginia in the semifinal and final. The first 12 weight classes of the dual meet against South Plainfield were split 6-6, but Wyoming Seminary trailed 25-22. A 22-12 major decision from A.J. Vizcarrando (215) put the Blue Knights on top to stay, as No. 18 Terrance Jean-Jacques (285) sealed the deal with a first period fall. It was a similar scenario in the final, as Christiansburg had taken seven of the first 12 matches to lead 27-24 heading into the last two weight classes. This time it was Vizcarrando securing the first period fall, and then Jean-Jacques sealing the deal with a 5-2 decision. Undefeated wrestlers for the title-winning Wyoming Seminary squad were Tyler Ponte (103), No. 8 Dominick Malone (119), Tyler Fraley (125), No. 19 Eric Morris (152), AJ Vizcarrando (215), and No. 18 Terrance Jean-Jacques (285). It was a slightly tighter path to the final for the Blue Demons from Christiansburg, who defeated Middletown, Pennsylvania 39-30 (8-6 in matches), Timber Creek, New Jersey 35-24 (9-5), and No. 41 Nazareth, Pennsylvania 33-28 (8-6). Finishing third was No. 41 Nazareth, who defeated No. 40 South Plainfield 30-28 in the third place match. Consolation semifinal losers were No. 26 Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania and No. 31 Cox, Virginia. Canon-McMillan lost 30-23 in the quarterfinal to South Plainfield before being upended by Nazareth 32-26 in consolation action. Cox lost 35-27 to Nazareth in the quarterfinal before being upended 37-29 by South Plainfield in consolation action. For full National Division results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=401009 Pair of No. 1s put on a classic at WCCA Though it was an unexpected event, it quickly became one of the most anticipated regular season matches in recent history. Ranked first in the country at 119 pounds, Jimmy Gulibon from Derry Area, Pennsylvania decided to move up one weight class for this past weekend's Westmoreland County Coaches Association Wrestling Tournament. Normally this would be no big deal; however, in the 125 pound weight class at this tournament was Nico Megaludis of Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania. Like Gulibon, Megaludis is the No. 1 wrestler in the nation at his weight class. The pair of wrestlers dominated their way to the finals with four technical falls, one pin, and one bye between them. In the championship match, it was Megaludis winning 4-3 with a takedown inside the last 30 seconds of the match. The victory, which happened to be in his home gym, made him a four-time WCCA champion. Joining Megaludis as a four-time champion on this evening was No. 13 (at 140) Travis Shaffer of Derry Area who won the 145 pound weight class. Other nationally-ranked wrestlers to win weight class titles were No. 3 Evan Henderson (140) of Kiski Prep, No. 12 (at 145) Robert Henderson of Kiski Prep at 152, and No. 12 Travis McKillop (160) of Burrell. Emerging on top in an incredibly close team race -- four teams from the 17 team field ended up within 16 points of one another -- was Greater Latrobe with 177-1/2 points. Even without a champion, they placed a tournament-high 11 wrestlers, five inside the top three. Hempfield was second with 174-1/2 points, No. 25 Burrell finished third with 162 points, while Franklin Regional was fourth with 161-1/2. For full bracket/results: http://wrestlingreport.com/WCCA Archbishop Spalding stands atop the competitive Battlefield Sweeping seven dual meets over the course of two days saw Archbishop Spalding, Maryland to the championship at the 9th annual Marines.com Battlefield Duals jointly hosted by Colonial Forge and Hayfield High School in Stafford, Virginia. In pool competition, they were 5-0 including a key 35-31 victory over Robinson, Virginia. During the cross-pool portion, they earned a 27-21 victory over Colonial Forge, Virginia and a 45-21 victory over Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Robinson, Colonial Forge, and Connellsville each went 5-2 for the competition to round out the Gold Division standings. After a 4-1 performance in pool competition, Robinson split their cross-pool matches; beating Connellsville 46-30 but falling short against Colonial Forge 30-25. Likewise, Colonial Forge went 4-1 in pool competition (losing 30-28 to Connellsville) and split their cross-pool matches with a victory over Robinson and loss to Archbishop Spalding. Connellsville was 5-0 in pool competition, and suffered losses to both Archbishop Spalding and Robinson in cross-pool matchups. Finishing undefeated for tournament champion Archbishop Spalding were Michael Still (103), Will Switzer (140), No. 16 Charlie Lynch (145), and KK Smith (189). For full results: http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=413009 Tulsa Union wins the nation's oldest tournament It was an incredibly close team battle at the 67th annual Geary Wrestling Tournament between No. 19 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma and No. 36 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Each team had six wrestlers place inside the top six. Tulsa Union had two champs, four second place finishers, and three other medalists (fourth, fifth, sixth). Broken Arrow had three champs, two second place finishers, one third place wrestler, and two other medalists (fifth and sixth). Champions for Tulsa Union were Kyle Ash at 152 pounds and No. 7 (at 160) Kyle Crutchmer at 171; while Josh Walker (119), Brian Crutchmer (130), Throcon Samuels (145), and Blasé Walser (189) finished in second place. Winning titles for Broken Arrow were No. 135 (at 135) Chase Ferman at 140 pounds, No. 16 Zach Skates at 160, and Cody Johnson at 215; Tanner Bailey (135) and Quin Hulsey (285) took second place; while Caleb Clark (119) earned third place. Claremore, Oklahoma joined Broken Arrow with a tournament-high three champions: Gunnar Woodburn (103), No. 16 Calib Freeman (112), and Michael Williams (135). Other weight class champions were Jake Goodwin (119) of Bishop Lynch, Texas; Josh Smith (125) of Choctaw, Oklahoma; Justin Hughes (130) of Duncan, Oklahoma; Keilan Torres (145) of Altus, Oklahoma; Austin Schafer (189) of Edmond North, Oklahoma; and Caleb Cline (285) of Norman North, Oklahoma. Link to tournament information: http://www.gearyschools.org/vnews/display.v/SEC/Geary%20Wrestling%20Tournament Ohio State Duals Recap The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) hosted its annual state dual meet championships this past Sunday at three locations across the state. The Division I (big-school) tournament featured three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 5 St. Edward, No. 18 Massillon Perry, and No. 47 Wadsworth. St. Edward dominated their way to the championship match with a 54-18 quarterfinal win over Mayfield and a 50-10 victory over Cincinnati Elder. On the other hand, Massillon Perry and Wadsworth had to duke it out in a semifinal slug-fest. That match was set by opening round wins for each squad: Massillon Perry upending Beavercreek 58-6, while Wadsworth knocked off Moeller 34-13 in a match with only one fall and two major decisions (both having margins of eight points). The first twelve bouts of that semifinal match featured nine that were decided by one or two points. Of the other three, No. 18 Mitch Newhouse (119) and Zach Dailey (140) earned a 9-3 decision and a fall respectively for Massillon Perry, while No. 8 Kagan Squire (125) scored an 11-4 decision for Wadsworth. When No. 6 Nick Tavanello (215) of Wadsworth scored a 3-1 overtime decision at 215 pounds over Anthony Wise, the Grizzles had a 21-18 lead in the dual meet having won seven of the first 12 weight classes. However, Doug Mayes (285) of Massillon Perry scored a first period pin at 1:28 over Jake Crowley to propel the Panthers to the lead. David Bavery (103) then sealed the deal with a 9-1 major decision victory in the last match to give Massillon Perry the 28-21 victory. Then, the championship final match started with a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers taking to the mat, as No. 18 Newhouse of Massillon Perry met up with No. 19 Dean Heil of St. Edward for the third time this season at 119 pounds. The pair of wrestlers split two earlier meetings, and this match reflected that trend. The action was back-and-forth, but when the day was done, Heil emerged as a 7-6 winner in the tiebreak. Though Massillon Perry did rally to take a 10-7 lead after Zach Dailey's 14-5 major decision at 140 pounds, St. Edward won five consecutive matches to put the dual meet out of reach. Coming through with big wins were juniors Matt Van Curen (145), Mark Martin (152), Jacob Davis (171), and James Suvak (189), along with sophomore Domenic Abounader (189). Anthony Wise of Massillon Perry stemmed the tide with a 7-5 overtime victory over Ty Walz at 215 pounds. However, No. 11 Greg Kuhar (285) would seal the deal for the Eagles with a 3-2 victory over Doug Mayes. The teams split the last two bouts, and St. Edward ended up champions on the strength of a 34-16 victory. No. 3 Graham emerged as champions in the Division II tournament, while St. Peter Chanel won the Division III tournament.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The No. 4 Wisconsin wrestling team earned third place at the 2011 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals by defeating No. 5 Minnesota, 19-17 on Sunday. Wisconsin is now 8-1 overall in dual action this season. Fast Facts The Badgers had five undefeated wrestlers at the Duals, including redshirt sophomore Tyler Graff (133 lbs.), redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt (149 lbs.), junior Andrew Howe (165 lbs.), junior Travis Rutt (184 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Derrick Borlie (197 lbs.). Wisconsin finished 3-1 overall in the event. The Badgers captured victories over South Dakota State and American on Saturday and dropped its only dual of the weekend to No. 12 Virginia Tech in the semifinals Sunday morning. In the first match of the third place dual, redshirt sophomore Tom Kelliher lost to No. 6 Zach Sanders in a 12-4 major decision. Kelliher registered four escapes in the matchup to finish the NWCA Duals with a 2-2 overall record. Sanders' victory gave Minnesota a 4-0 lead over the Badgers. At 133 lbs., No. 3 Graff earned his fourth win of the Duals over David Thorn. Graff captured a 7-3 decision over Thorn, making the score 4-3 in favor of Minnesota heading into the 141 lbs. bout. Redshirt freshman Danny Arnel then fell to No. 2 Mike Thorn at 4:31. Before pinning Arnel, Thorn scored three takedowns and nine nearfall points. Arnel finished the Duals with a 0-3 record, and the fall gave the Gophers a 10-3 lead. No. 10 Schmitt earned his fourth win of the NWCA Duals with a 7-0 decision over Minnesota's Danny Zilverberg. Schmitt scored a reversal and four nearfall points to narrow Minnesota's lead to 10-6. After wrestling two previous matches at 174 lbs. and one at 165 lbs., redshirt freshman Shawn Perry returned to his regular weight class at 157 lbs. Perry defeated Alec Ortiz by an 11-2 major decision, tying the dual at 10 apiece. At 165 lbs., No. 2 Howe finishes an undefeated NWCA Duals with an 8-3 decision over No. 7 Cody Yohn. Howe's win included three takedowns, an escape and riding time to put the Badgers ahead 13-10. The Gophers then regained the lead, 14-13, when redshirt freshman Kalvin York lost to No. 8 Scott Glasser by a 15-5 major decision. All of York's points resulted from escapes, and he ends the Duals with a 0-4 record. No. 5 Rutt also finishes the NWCA Duals with an undefeated record after earning a 3-2 decision against No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus. Rutt scored a takedown and an escape in the win, putting UW back on top 16-14. At 197 lbs., Borlie paved the way to a Badger third-place title. Borlie defeated Joe Nord in an 8-3 decision, which included three takedowns, an escape and riding time. No. 18 redshirt senior Eric Bugenhagen could not pull out a win against No. 9 Tony Nelson, but sealed the victory for Wisconsin. Bugenhagen and Nelson each earned an escape, but Nelson ended the match with riding time, resulting in a 3-2 decision. Bugenhagen finished the weekend with a 3-1 dual record. The Badgers return to the mat at the UW Field House on Sunday, Jan. 16, to take on Big Ten Conference foe Illinois at 1 p.m. Results: 125: No. 6 Zach Sanders (M) maj. dec. Tom Kelliher (W), 12-4 133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (W) dec. David Thorn (M), 7-3 141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (M) pinned Daniel Arnel (W), 4:31 149: No. 10 Cole Schmitt (W) dec. Danny Zilverberg (M), 7-0 157: Shawn Perry (W) maj. dec. Alec Ortiz (M), 11-2 165: No. 2 Andrew Howe (W) dec. No. 7 Cody Yohn (M), 8-3 174: No. 8 Scott Glasser (M) maj. dec. Charles York (W), 15-5 184: No. 5 Travis Rutt (W) dec. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (M), 3-2 197: Derrick Borlie (W) dec. Joe Nord (M), 8-2 285: No. 9 Tony Nelson (M) dec. No. 18 Eric Bugenhagen (W), 2-1

Cedar Falls, Iowa -- Clackamas CC entered the tournament with a NJCAA #7 ranking, but are sure to move up considerably as they posted three convincing wins over highly ranked teams including double-digit defeats of top-ranked Harper College and defending NJCAA national Champion Iowa Central CC. Impressive showing considering the Cougars are not at full strength and did not receive many bonus points from top-ranked Terrence Williams and Tyrell Fortune in the first two matches. 2nd-ranked 165 lber Derrick Mestrovich was missing from the line up and is currently nursing an injury. The Cougars rolled past perennial power Iowa Central in the opener 27-13 Saturday, gaining 18 valuable points on pins by Kegan Handlovic (125), Cody Randall (141) and Matt Melendrez (157). "This was a huge win to get us started and our guys believing in our chances," said head coach Josh Rhoden. The Cougars then stunned 2010 NJCAA non-scholarship champion Harper in Sunday morning's semifinals to the tune of a 24-9 beat down to advance to the championship match. "We got a great start from our lower weights and our guys were fired up," exclaimed Rhoden on the semifinal victory. "We knew who we were up against and we showed up big time." The Cougars got huge wins over several highly-ranked Harper opponents including Handlovic's dec over #2 Eduardo Dominguez, Melendrez's fall over #1 Phillip Starnes, Williams (#1 174) dec over top-ranked 165 lber Luke Roth and Fortune's dec over #3 Adam Chalphant. The other semifinalist, Labette CC easily dispatched Cougar Region 18 rival SW Oregon CC 34-4 to set up the title match. Matt Melendrez is named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler on the heels of his three consecutive wins by fall. Clackamas began the championship match with a fall by Handlovic and a decision by Martin Gonzalez (133) over 7th-ranked Ty Fittje to kick off the contest with a 9-0 CCC lead. Labette quickly retaliated with a pair of wins to draw close at 9-7 before Melendrez pinned his third victim in just over four minutes to make it 15-7 CCC. Clackamas put the dagger in deeper as CCC won the next three bouts including a huge technical fall by Williams (165), who is wrestling down a weight class in place of Mestrovich, to give Clackamas all it needed in the 30-10 rout. "In this final match we just kept talking about finishing the tournament with a big one and our guys stepped up huge to take this win back home to Clackamas, added Rhoden. "Our kids really wanted to deliver the program's first National Dual Championship to the college." Melendrez, with his three falls, was selected the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. "Matty wrestled an incredible tournament for us. He is wrestling exactly as we hoped he would when we signed him a year ago," said Rhoden. "Our coaches are so happy for him because his commitment level is matching his talent level." The Cougars are back in action at home on January 14th for alumni night as they host a three-way dual meet with Montana State-Northern University and NJCAA #2-ranked North Idaho [schedule]. #7 Clackamas 27 #8 Iowa Central 13 125 Kegan Handlovic (CCC) FALL Joshua Heinzer (IC) 4:50 133 #4 Brandon Wright (IC) DEC Martin Gonzalez (CCC) 4 - 2 141 #12 Cody Randall (CCC) FALL Jose Flores-Diaz (IC) 4:29 149 Ryan Davis (IC) C DEC Billy Goldsberry (CCC) 7 - 4 157 Matthew Melendrez (CCC) FALL Kenneth Chacon (IC) 1:20 165 #1 Tarrence Williams (CCC) DEC Jason Trushcheff (IC) 10 - 3 174 Justin Martin (CCC) DEC #9 Austin Gelbach (IC) 4 - 0 184 Kolton Kersten (IC) DEC Brett Sanchez (CCC) 10 - 4 197 #3 Dominic Pica (IC) MD Jordan Krich (CCC) 16 - 7 HWT #1 Tyrell Fortune (CCC) DEC #5 Seth McGregor (IC) 6 - 4 #7 Clackamas 24 #1 Harper 9 125 Kegan Handlovic (CCC) DEC #2 Eduardo Dominguez (HC) 9 - 7 133 Martin Gonzalez (CCC) DEC Tim Schewilgel (HC) 9 - 3 141 Cody Randall (CCC) DEC Brandon Schyndel (HC) 3 - 1 149 #10 Mike Ryan (HC) DEC Billy Goldsberry (CCC) 4 - 3 157 Matthew Melendrez (CCC) FALL #1 Phillip Starnes (HC) 3:39 165 #1 Tarrence Williams (CCC) DEC #1 Luke Roth (HC) 5 - 3 174 Josh Ronne (HC) DEC Justin Martin (CCC) 11 - 4 184 Brett Sanchez (CCC) DEC #5 Arber Bebo (HC) 7 - 2 197 Joe Patricelli (HC) DEC Brett Fredericksen (CCC) 7 - 0 HWT #1 Tyrell Fortune (CCC) DEC #3 Adam Chalphant (HC) 4 - 3 #7 Clackamas 30 #5 Labette 10 125 Kegan Handlovic (CCC) FALL Garrett Jones (LCC) 2:12 133 Martin Gonzalez (CCC) DEC #7 Ty Fittje (LCC) 7 - 6 141 #9 Jordan Basks (LCC) MD #12 Cody Randall (CCC) 11 - 2 149 Michael Perez (LCC) DEC Billy Goldsberry (CCC) 4 - 3 157 Matthew Melendrez (CCC) FALL #8 Kayton Marshall (LCC) 4:06 165 #1 Tarrence Williams (CCC) TF5 #8 John Hambleton (LCC) 21 - 5 (6:41) 174 Justin Martin (CCC) DEC #8 Gage Martin (LCC) 9 - 4 184 Brett Sanchez (CCC) DEC Kyle Buckley (LCC) 9 - 3 197 #1 Walker Clarke (LCC) DEC Jordan Krich (CCC) 6 - 3 HWT #1 Tyrell Fortune (CCC) MD Reno RedLeaf (LCC) 10 - 2

HAMPTON, Va. -- After a respectable showing against No. 2 Penn State, the Kent State wrestling team topped Lehigh 18-16 for third place Saturday at the Virginia Duals inside the Hampton Coliseum. The Golden Flashes (7-5) won four matches in a 27-15 semifinal loss to the Nittany Lions and got bonus points from Matt Cathell and Ross Tice to make the difference in a split of 10 matches against the Mountain Hawks. "We beat two ranked teams and we gave Penn State the hardest battle they've had all year," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "I think we're as good as (runner-up) Michigan, we just didn't get a chance to wrestle them here." Junior Nic Bedelyon gave the Flashes an early lead against Lehigh with an 8-5 win over Mitch Berger. Two matches later, KSU got a key victory from juniors Chase Skonieczny (141), who jumped out to a 5-0 lead and "literally hung on for the win," according to Andrassy, referring to Skonieczny's leg riding from the top position. "Chase holding on for that win and Ross Tice getting a tech fall is what really helped us tonight." Tice (165) worked his tilt to perfection, using it in all three periods in a 17-2 technical fall over Josh Fitch. One match earlier, Cathell scored a 9-0 major decision over Brian Tanen and the Flashes held a 15-6 lead after six bouts. Dustin Kilgore (197) extended the lead to 18-13, with a convincing 6-2 win over Joe Kennedy. Lehigh's last hope was for its No. 1 ranked heavyweight, Zach Rey, to record a pin at heavyweight. With Brendan Barlow standing in the way, Rey was content with a 5-3 decision victory. Earlier in the day, Barlow upset No. 6 Cameron Wade of Penn State 10-5. "Brendan went hard for seven minutes," Andrassy said. "He frustrated Wade and capitalized on his mistakes. He also did a good job against Rey." Kent State captured the final three matches against the Nittany Lions, including a second period pin from Kilgore. Sophomore Casey Newburg (184) earned a 6-2 win over Nick Fischer and Tice knocked off Jake Kemerer 8-2. Bedelyon led after the first period of his match, but got caught in a cement mixer and was pinned in the second period by Brad Pataky. Redshirt freshman Brandonn Johnson gave No. 2 Ed Ruth a tight battle. Johnson scored a first period takedown and a third period reversal. Penn State went on to defeat Michigan 24-12 in the championship match. The Flashes' third place finish matched its highest showing in their history at the Virginia Duals. The Golden Flashes return to action Jan. 15 at the Wendy's Duals in Ashland, which includes a match-up with Purdue. "I think the improvement from our guys is really going to start to show," Andrassy said of the upcoming schedule. Penn State 27, Kent State 15 125: Brad Pataky (PS) pin Nic Bedelyon, 4:02 133: Andrew Long (PS) dec. Tyler Small, 6-1 141: Andrew Alton (PS) pin Chase Skonieczny, 3:32 149: Frank Molinaro (PS) maj. dec. Marcel Clopton, 8-0 157: David Taylor (PS) tech fall Matt Cathell, 19-4 165: Ross Tice (KS) dec. Jake Kemerer, 8-2 174: Ed Ruth (PS) dec. Brandonn Johnson, 11-8 184: Casey Newburg (KS) dec. Nick Fischer, 6-2 197: Dustin Kilgore (KS) pinned Justin Ortega, 4:59 285: Brendan Barlow (KS) dec. Cameron Wade, 10-5 Kent State 18, Lehigh 16 125: Nic Bedelyon (KS) dec. Mitch Berger, 8-5 133: Frank Cagnina (L) dec. Tyler Small, 8-1 141: Chase Skonieczny (KS) dec. Stephen Dutton, 7-4 149: Joey Napoli (L) dec. Marcel Clopton, 4-1 157: Matt Cathell (KS) maj. dec. Brian Tannen, 9-0 165: Ross Tice (KS) tech fall Josh Fitch, 17-2 174: Austin Meys (L) maj. dec. Brandonn Johnson, 10-2 184: Robert Hamlin (L) dec. Casey Newburg, 10-4 197: Dustin Kilgore (KS) dec. Joe Kennedy, 6-2 285: Zach Rey (L) dec. Brendan Barlow, 5-3

PHILADELPHIA -- Zac Walsh's (Denville, NJ, Morris Knolls) win by decision in the final bout of the day helped rally Bloomsburg University to a 25-23 win over 23rd ranked University of Pennsylvania on Sunday in collegiate wrestling action. The win also extended the Huskies winning streak to nine. Walsh's win capped a furious comeback for the Huskies that saw them fall behind by a score of 14-0 after the Quakers got two wins by major decision and one by fall in the first three matches. Bloomsburg's Josh Roosa (Mountaintop, Crestwood) though got things started for the Huskies earning a 12-2 win at 149 pounds over Andrew Lenzi. Roosa picked up four takedowns in the match and had a two-point near fall along with one point for riding time. At 157 pounds Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC, E.L. Laney) earned a win by injury default to close the gap to 14-10. At 165 pounds Penn's Stephan Burak put the home team back up by 10 points after getting a win by fall over Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY, Greece Olympia). But the Huskies answered the pin by the Quakers in a big way. First Mike Dessino (Middlesex, NJ, Middlesex) posted his 11th win by fall earning the win in 4:53. Dessino was trailing 3-2 after one period, but Dessino was able to turn Canaan Bethea and scored the pin. At 184 pounds Nate Graham (Selkirk, NY, Ravena) kept the Huskies momentum going when he scored a late first period pin in 2:43. Graham picked up a takedown just 30 seconds in and then continued to work till he secured the pin. The win gave the Huskies a 22-20 lead with two bouts left. At 197 pounds seventh-ranked Micha Burak posted a 7-0 win over Richard Perry (Meriden, CT, Middletown) putting Penn back on top 23-22 with one match to go. At 285 pounds Walsh and Kyle Cowan would square off for the match. After a scoreless first period, Cowan chose bottom to start the second and scored a late escape to go up 1-0. In the third period with the wrestlers starting neutral, Walsh was finally able to get a takedown with 20 seconds left to lead 2-1. Cowan escaped with eight seconds to go, but Walsh won the bout and the match for the Huskies with 2:08 of riding time. Bloomsburg coach John Stutzman was naturally thrilled for his team. “The guys are really starting to believe in the system,” said Stutzman. “Anytime you beat a good team it shows that what we are doing is working. Penn has been ranked in the top 25 this year so this is obviously a huge win for the program.” The win was the first-ever for the Huskies over the Quakers in four career meetings. Bloomsburg, now 11-2, will be idle till hosting EWL-rival West Virginia on Friday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. Results: 125 - No. 19 Mark Rappo (Penn) def. Sean Boylan (BU), 13-5 (Penn, leads 4-0) 133 - No.4 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) def. Nick Wilcox (BU), 13-2 (Penn, leads 8-0) 141 - No. 13 Zack Kemmerer (Penn) def. Derek Shingara (BU), FALL 3:56 (Penn leads, 14-0) 149 - Josh Roosa (BU) def. Andrew Lenzi (Penn), 12-2 (Penn leads, 14-4) 157 - Frank Hickman (BU) def. Brad Wukie (Penn), Inj. Def. (Penn leads, 14-10) 165 - Gabriel Burak (Penn) def. Josh Veltre (BU), FALL 4:54 (Penn leads, 20-10) 174 - Mike Dessino (BU), def. Canaan Bethea (Penn), FALL 4:53 (Penn leads 20-16) 184 - Nathan Graham (BU), def. Harrison Cook (Penn), FALL 2:43 (BU leads, 22-20) 197 - No. 7 Micah Burak (Penn) def. Richard Perry (BU), 7-0 (Penn leads, 23-22) 285 - Zac Walsh (BU) def. Kyle Cowan (Penn), 3-2 (BU leads, 25-23)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa. -- The Mizzou wrestling squad pulled off their second upset of the day on Sunday afternoon, knocking off No. 2 Oklahoma State by a 21-19 for the team’s second win over a top-six team on the day. The win clinched fifth place for the Tigers, their highest NWCA National Duals finish since 2007 when they finished in second. Missouri beat No. 6 Boise State 21-12 earlier in the day. The Tigers quickly found themselves in a 9-0 hole after two matches, but Todd Schavrien got the Tigers on the scoreboard with a 7-2 decision. Down 2-1 after the first, Schavrien recorded an escape and a takedown in the second to take the 4-2 lead. Another takedown, plus riding time, gave the senior his fifth win on the weekend. Oklahoma State claimed the 149 pound match to extend their lead to 12-3, but the Tigers clawed back in it with three consecutive wins, starting with a huge win by Nick Gregoris. The 157-pounder got a takedown a little more than a minute into the match, and turned No. 14 Neil Erisman to his back for a three point near fall 20 seconds later. Gregoris kept working tough on top, and eventually stuck Erisman on his back for the fall at 2:35. The Tigers tied the match up 12 apiece with Zach Toal’s win at 165 over No. 16 Dallas Bailey. With a 5-3 lead heading to the third, Bailey escaped in 13 seconds and took Toal down 20 seconds later to tie the match. Bailey rode Toal for over a minute, draining Toal’s riding time, but the Tiger grappler worked an escaped with under 20 seconds left to get the victory. An injury default at 174 gave the Tigers six more points, pushing their lead to 18-12. The Cowboys took a 3-2 decision at 184 and a major decision at 197 to take a one point lead, but a victory by Dom Bradley clinched the dual for the Tigers. Bradley built up a 5-0 heading to the third, where his opponent escaped for his only point of the match. The Tiger junior collected 1:30 of riding time, giving him a 6-1 win. Missouri returns to Columbia next weekend for the first time in 2011 when they’ll host Chattanooga and SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday, Jan. 15. The tri-meet is part of the annual Beauty and the Beast event, co-hosted with MU gymnastics. Action gets started at 2 p.m. between the Tigers and UTC. Results: 125 No. 8 Jon Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 5 Alan Waters (MU), 3-1 0 3 133 No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) fall No. 19 Nathan McCormick (MU), 2:41 0 9 141 No. 11 Todd Schavrien (MU) dec. Josh Kindig (OSU), 7-2 3 9 149 No. 5 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. No. 19 Kyle Bradley (MU), 3-1 3 12 157 Nick Gregoris (MU) fall No. 14 Neil Erisman (OSU), 2:35 9 12 165 No. 11 Zach Toal (MU) dec. No. 16 Dallas Bailey (OSU), 6-5 12 12 174 No. 19 Dorian Henderson (MU) wins by injury default 18 12 184 No. 10 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 11 Mike Larson (MU), 3-2 18 15 197 No. 4 Clayton Foster (OSU) major dec. No. 11 Brent Haynes (MU), 12-3 18 19 HWT No. 6 Dom Bradley (MU) dec. Tyson Yoder (OSU), 6-1 21 19

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Oklahoma City University notched its fourth consecutive NWCA National Duals championship with a 25-13 victory over Simon Fraser (British Columbia) on Sunday at the UNI Dome. The two-time defending Women's College Wrestling Association champion Stars improved to 16-0 in duals. OCU also knocked off Cumberlands (Ky.) 32-7 earlier Sunday to complete pool play and make the championship dual. The Stars defeated Simon Fraser in the final for the second consecutive year. Against Simon Fraser, Kristie Davis defeated Justina DiStasio 6-0, 6-0 at 72 kilograms (158 pounds) to give OCU a 17-13 dual lead. The Stars' Melissa Simmons followed with a pin of Taylor Dicks, then OCU's Brittany Delgado closed the dual with a 3-0, 2-0 victory over Hillary Greening. Danielle Lappage put Simon Fraser ahead 12-10 with a win. Amberle Montgomery answered for OCU with a 2-1, 1-1 victory to tie the dual 13-13. “It was pretty exciting,” OCU coach Archie Randall said. “Going into the sixth weight, it was tied. It could have gone either way. We moved every single girl up in the last four weights. We made a move, and it paid off. “The competition level has changed a lot in the past four years. It's tougher, and the technique is higher. It was a good tournament, and we wrestled well. The national tournament will be tough, too.” Against Cumberlands, Simmons and Kristi Garr stuck pins for OCU. The Stars won the final five matches of the dual. OCU has yet to lose in dual competition since Nov. 29, 2008. The Stars have gone 49-0-1 in duals since then. The Stars face Missouri Baptist at 2 p.m. Thursday in St. Louis before taking on Lindenwood (Mo.) at 7 p.m. Thursday in St. Charles, Mo. OCU aims for its third WCWA title in a row on Jan. 29 in Atherton, Calif. Oklahoma City 25, Simon Fraser 13 44: Nicole Woody, OCU, dec. Daphne Hodgson, 3-0, 5-0 (OCU leads 3-0) 48: Victoria Anthony, SFU, tech. fall Kristi Garr, 8-2, 6-0 (Dual tied 4-4) 51: Joey Miller, OCU, dec. Tessa Ma, 6-0, 3-2 (OCU leads 7-5) 55: Helen Maroulis, SFU, dec. Michaela Hutchison, 1-0, 6-0 (SFU leads 8-7) 59: Ashley Hudson, OCU, dec. Laura Ardon, 3-2, 4-2 (OCU leads 10-9) 63: Danielle Lappage, SFU, dec. Audrey Morehouse, 6-0, 2-0 (SFU leads 12-10) 67: Amberle Montgomery, OCU, dec. Jenna McHatchy, 2-1, 1-1 (Dual tied 13-13) 72: Kristie Davis, OCU, tech. fall Justina DiStasio, 6-0, 6-0 (OCU leads 17-13) 80: Melissa Simmons, OCU, pinned Taylor Dicks, 2-0, 0:59 (OCU leads 22-13) 90: Brittany Delgado, OCU, dec. Hillary Greening, 3-0, 2-0 (OCU wins 25-13) Oklahoma City 32, Cumberlands 7 44: Nicole Woody, OCU, dec. Opelia Felipe, 1-0, 4-0 (OCU leads 3-0) 48: Kristi Garr, OCU, pinned Katie Clemens, 1:58 (OCU leads 8-0) 51: Gabrielle Henry, UC, dec. Joey Miller, 1-0, 0-4, 2-0 (OCU leads 9-3) 55: Michaela Hutchison, OCU, pinned Andrea Hughes, 0:42 (OCU leads 14-3) 59: Cianah Hee, UC, dec. Ashley Hudson, 3-1, 1-4, 2-0 (OCU leads 15-6) 63: Amberle Montgomery, OCU, dec. Lauren Louive, 2-0, 3-0 (OCU leads 18-6) 67: Kristie Davis, OCU, dec. Christen Paysse, 2-2, 2-0 (OCU leads 21-7) 72: Melissa Simmons, OCU, pinned Megan Agajanian, 0-1, 2-0, 0:41 (OCU leads 26-7) 80: Brittany Delgado, OCU, dec. Sydney Nelson, 1-0, 4-0 (OCU leads 29-7) 90: Karon Scott, OCU, dec. Lakia Henderson, 1-0, 1-0 (OCU wins 32-7)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- For a second straight year, Notre Dame Wrestling has claimed the NAIA title at the National Duals. On Sunday, Notre Dame trounced perennial powerhouse Lindenwood (Mo.) in the championship match to close out the weekend, 4-0 on the national stage at the UniDome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Wrestling Falcons advanced to the Sunday-afternoon final with a 29-4 victory over Missouri Valley earlier in the day. The Blue & White then topped the Lindenwood Lions, 31-16, in the title match. With Sunday's action in the books, Notre Dame has now gone 7-0, outscoring foes, 238-46, over the last two years at what is the nation's preeminent mid-season event across all levels of collegiate wrestling. In dual competition, NDC is undefeated in 14 matches since losing to Ohio State early in the 2009-10 season (Nov. 22, 2009). Late Sunday afternoon, top-ranked (NAIA Coaches' Poll) Notre Dame (5-0) preserved that run with a thrilling victory over No. 7 Lindenwood. After losing four of the first five bouts of the match and falling behind, 19-4, a gritty Lions squad cut the NDC lead to three (19-16) with three straight wins, two of which came in hard-fought and low-scoring decisions. That trio of wins put senior Derek Foore, the top-ranked (Coaches' Poll) grappler at 197 pounds, on the spot. And Foore delivered in a big way. With his third pin of the tournament, Foore downed Ryan Rozell in a mere 57 seconds, and that fall sealed the championship title for the Blue & White. Lindenwood (4-4) subsequently forfeited the heavyweight bout, which led to NDC's final 31-16 tally in the scorebook. “It's a big thrill to win the National Duals,” said Notre Dame Head Coach Frank Romano, who was named NAIA Coach of the Year last season (2009-10) after leading Notre Dame to the College's first national championship in any sport. “With all the talent in this building, to come away with a victory in back-to-back years, that's just not something I could have imagined.” In the day's opening match -- NDC's semifinal victory over Missouri Valley -- Notre Dame dropped the opening bout at 125 pounds and then rattled off nine straight wins. The match was highlighted by Kevin Hardy (165 pounds) earning a 4-3 decision over No. 5-ranked Preston McKinney, Alex Denman topping No. 3 Jesse Alter in a 5-4 bout (184), Derek Foore throttling No. 3 Charlie Gibbs in a 12-1 major (197) and Orlando Scales downing Travis Ewart in a battle between the top two heavyweights in the NAIA (Scales No. 1, Ewart No. 2). For the two-day event, Notre Dame went 4-0 and outscored opponents, 141-31. Foore was dominant for the Falcons, going 4-0 with three falls and a major. He is now 11-0 with seven pins on the season. Scales also went 4-0 and did Thomas Straughn at 157. In a 16-team field that featured 95 Top-10 grapplers, Foore, Scales and Straughn all collected two wins over Top-10 foes. NOTES FROM THE NEST ... HOME AWAY FROM HOME: With its performance over the weekend, Notre Dame has now won seven straight matches at the UniDome -- the Cedar Falls home of the National Duals since 2006. The Blue & White are 10-2 in their last 12 matches at the National Duals, dating back to 2009. NEW KING OF THE JUNGLE: With its title on Sunday, Notre Dame became the second NAIA squad to repeat at the National Duals. Lindenwood won the NAIA crown at the Duals in 2007 and 2008. Those titles came at the apex of a fine run for the Lions that included NAIA national championship wins in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009. CEDAR FALLS, BY THE NUMBERS: Among the 16 teams competing at the 2011 NAIA National Duals: 15 ranked teams, 95 Top-10 wrestlers, nine top-ranked wrestlers, five returning national champions and 24 returning All-Americans.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The No. 1 UNO wrestling team won its third straight NWCA National Duals title on Sunday with a 17-15 win over No. 3 seed Augustana (S.D.) at the UNI Dome. The two-time defending champions of the event, the Mavs rallied from a 12-6 deficit by winning three of the last four weight groups to take home their third title in a row. Taylor Escamilla earned a 3-1 decision over Lance Peters at 285 pounds to clinch the thrilling comeback for UNO, the second time on the day that UNO won a dual in the last match. Nebraska-Omaha capped the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record in the duals. Mario Morgan, George Ivanov and Ryan Pankoke all went 4-0 on the weekend for the Mavs. The championship dual started off with Augustana taking an early 6-0 lead. Alex Meger defeated the Mavs' Cody Tyler, 11-6, at 125 pounds, then Jason Jeremiason won a 2-0 decision over Sim Bribieseca. Morgan then faced off at 141 pounds against Augustana's Jay Sherer in a rematch of last year's National Championship match, which Sherer won 3-1 in overtime. Sherer came into the duals ranked first in Division II, with Morgan second. This time around, Morgan got the best of Sherer to get the Mavs on the board. At 149 pounds, top-ranked Esai Dominguez was upset by Nate Herda, 7-3. The loss was only the second of the year for Dominguez, 24-2. Herda is ranked third in the NWCA Coaches Poll. Dominguez, who had compiled two falls and a major decision on his way to the finals, was not able to get a takedown of Herda, who recorded two of his own. Trailing 9-3 in the team race, UNO got a big boost from Ivanov, who won an 8-6 decision in overtime over Marcus Edgington. Ivanov rallied from behind to force an overtime period, then earned the sudden victory via a takedown. The win gave Ivanov a perfect 4-0 weekend and improved the sophomore to 17-3 on the year. UNO fell behind 12-6 when Nathan Sigman was defeated by fifth-ranked Gavin Nelson, 2-0, at 165 pounds, meaning UNO's last four wrestlers had to come through with points. Pankoke turned the tide with an 11-1 major decision over Carl Serck. Pankoke recorded three takedowns and earned three near-fall points on his way to the victory that drew the Mavs within 12-10 with three weight groups to go. Aaron Denson kept the Mavs rolling with a 16-3 major decision over Matt Morris, giving UNO the 14-12 lead heading into the final two matches. Denson earned four takedowns and six near-fall points on his way to improving to 3-1 at the duals and 17-4 overall on the year. At 197 pounds, second-ranked Tyler Copsey handed the Mavs' Matt Baker his first loss of the weekend in a 3-2 decision. Baker went 3-1 for the Mavs at the duals to improve to 23-8 on the year. Copsey's win gave Augustana a 15-14 lead going into the final heavyweight match-up between Escamilla and Peters. The fifth-ranked Escamilla, who earlier in the day had won a sudden victory match to advance the Mavs to the finals, came through again for UNO, earning the 3-1 decision over Peters to win the trophy for the Mavs. Escamilla recorded a second period escape and takedown to take a 3-0 lead, then held on in the third period for his second huge victory of the day. Results: 125 - Alex Meger dec. Cody Tyler (UNO), 11-6 133 - Jason Jeremiason dec. Sim Bribieseca (UNO), 2-0 141 - Mario Morgan (UNO) dec. Jay Sherer, 3-3 149 - Nate Herda dec. Esai Dominguez (UNO), 7-3 157 - George Ivanov (UNO) dec. Marcus Edgington, 8-6 165 - Gavin Nelson dec. Nathan Sigman (UNO), 2-0 174 - Ryan Pankoke (UNO) major dec. Carl Serck, 11-1 184 - Aaron Denson (UNO) major dec. Matt Morris, 16-3 197 - Tyler Copsey dec. Matt Baker (UNO), 3-2 285 - Taylor Escamilla (UNO) dec. Lance Peters, 3-1