InterMat Staff

The No. 4 Minnesota Gophers defeated a respectable hard fighting CSUB Roadrunner team 26-6 for West Coast NCAA Division I wrestling action on Saturday Dec 11 at the Icardo Athletic Center. With much respect, the CSUB Roadrunners fought hard against the top nationally ranked Gophers wrestling program whose record is (5-1). The final score did not relay the close efforts of CSUB wrestlers. Roadrunners sole victories came from 133-pounder Jose Mendoza, recruited from Selma High School and 157-pound Andrew Balch a state champion who graduated from the Central Valley at Buchanan High School. Mendoza man handled Bart Reiter for the win at 8-6. Andrew Balch served an arsenal of delicious underworld tilts which surprised Alec Ortiz 7-5 for the decision. Minnesota losses came via the unranked athletes against the Roadrunners whose dual record now stands at 0-2. Some outstanding efforts came from CSUB Roadrunners wrestler Riley Orozco who is the number 18th-ranked wrestler whose opening match of the evening encountered No. 5 Sonny Yohn. The Wrestling match went down to the wire with a final score of 7-4 to give the Golden Gophers a solid lead. Zach Sanders (Photo/Joey Krebs)No. 6 Zach Sanders pushed the Golden Gophers' advantage to 10-0 with a 21-10 come from behind major decision over Frank Lomas. Elijah Nacita took a 4-3 first period lead over No. 2 Mike Thorn, but die-hard Thorn battled back to take an 8-5 decision. Thorn remains undefeated this season at 141 pounds (15-0) and is ranked number two in the nation. 16 of the 20 participating wrestlers who competed in the dual were nationally ranked in at least one of the six Division I Wrestling polls. Minnesota sealed the victories in the remainder weight classes for the final Gopher win and score at 26-6. Results: 197: No. 5 Sonny Yohn (M) dec. Riley Orozco (CSUB), 7-4 285: Ben Berhow (M) dec. David Morgan (CSUB), 9-3 125: No. 6 Zach Sanders (M) major dec. Frank Lomas (CSUB), 21-10 133: Jose Mendoza (CSUB) dec. Bart Reiter (M), 8-6 141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (M) dec. Elijah Nacita (CSUB), 8-5 149: Danny Zilverberg (M) dec. John Cardenas (CSUB), 8-6 157: Andrew Balch (CSUB) dec. Alec Ortiz (M), 7-5 165: No. 6 Cody Youhn (M) dec. Trevor Hall (CSUB), 11-5 174: No. 10 Scott Glasber (M) dec. Joey Granata (CSUB), 11-5 184: No. 15 Kevin Steinhaus (M) major dec. Brady Garner (CSUB), 18-6

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Northwestern wrestling's Big Ten dual season got off to a promising start Wednesday evening as the ninth-ranked Wildcats dispatched of host Indiana, 28-9, at University Gymnasium in Bloomington. NU (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) handed the Hoosiers their first loss thanks in part to key wins against highly ranked opponents by No. 7 Andrew Nadhir (149) and No. 5 Jason Welch (157). Those swing-match victories, coupled with pins by No. 2 Brandon Precin (125) and Aaron Jones (184) as well as a major decision by No. 16 Levi Mele (133) and a one-point win by 20th-ranked Kaleb Friedley (141), allowed Drew Pariano to win his first league dual match as NU head coach. "We have high standards for our team this season so we came to Indiana with the expectation of performing well tonight," Pariano said. "We did well to not give away some close matches early but we need to put those away sooner and not let it come down to that. I thought Nadhir and Welch wrestled smart matches against quality opponents, Aaron Jones showed he is gaining more and more confidence and wrestling well, and I'm proud of how (John) Schoen battled today. This is only the beginning of the Big Ten season for us so we have to continue to improve." Precin opened the action at 125 pounds against Justin Brooks with a quick takedown and three sets of near-fall points to take a 9-0 lead at the end of the first period. Still dominating the match in the third, Precin rolled Brooks to secure at least a tech fall but worked for over a minute to earn his fourth fall of the year and the full six points for NU. Sixteenth-ranked Levi Mele got the nod at 133 pounds for Northwestern, where he jumped to a 5-2 advantage with two takedowns in the first period. Mele carried a four-point lead into the third and, after collecting three near-fall points, was able to expand his decision to a 10-2 major thanks to 1:03 of riding time. Mele improved to 8-1 on the year with the win. In his first Big Ten dual match and first career match as a ranked wrestler, Kaleb Friedley surrendered an early takedown to Mitchell Ritchey but came back with a reversal in the opening period. He scored again on a reversal late in the second and a key takedown in the third to take a 6-2 lead, but Ritchey scored on a reversal with 10 seconds to go. It was too little too late for the Hoosier, however, as Friedley held on for the 6-5 win and improved to 14-1 in his true freshman season. That brought about a matchup of two top-11 wrestlers in Nadhir and IU's three-time national qualifier Kurt Kinser, with Nadhir getting on the board first with an escape in the second period. The one-point lead stood through the start of the third when Kinser answered with an escape, but Nadhir's relentless aggressiveness paid off in the final 15 seconds when he was finally able to finish a shot, win the match 3-1 and remain unbeaten at 12-0 on the year. It was a third straight edge-of-your seat match at 157 where Welch met two-time NCAA qualifier Paul Young, who looked as if he'd take an early lead with control of Welch's left leg for nearly a full minute before Welch was able to slip free and avoid the takedown. The action intensified in the second when Young scored an escape on the edge of the mat only to be quickly taken down by Welch, who wisely kept his feet in the circle in the process. One more escape was all the scoring Welch would need to earn a 4-1 victory -- his 10th of the year -- and give NU a 19-0 cushion in the team score. The home team picked up its first victory at 165, where NU's Kevin Bialka fell behind Ryan LeBlanc by a 7-2 score. Bialka notched a takedown in the third to pull within 7-5, but couldn't come up with another '2' after cutting LeBlanc, who held on for the 8-5 win. Looking to counter the Indiana victory, Brian Roddy, Jr. scored a quick takedown against Nick Avery in the first and nearly had a second in the waning moments of the period but was unable to finish before the horn sounded. He made up for it by riding out the entire second period, collecting near-fall points along the way and going on to win, 6-1, while also moving to 6-1 in the won-loss column this year. Senior Aaron Jones kept NU in cruise control at 184 against Eric Cameron, using his strength to build a 3-0 lead despite dealing with a cut lip in the second period. He began the third period on top and soon managed to get perpendicular to Cameron, getting Cameron's shoulders to the mat for the pin at the 6:03 mark to put away the match for the Wildcats. Taking on a ranked competitor in No. 14 Matt Powless, John Schoen wrestled as the aggressor at 197 pounds by executing quickly on a double leg and later getting Powless to his back to take a 5-0 lead. Powless came alive in the second and closed the frame with a takedown to tie the score at six. A free escape to begin the third gave Schoen a 7-6 lead -- with riding time in his favor - but the Hoosier finally got the takedown with 17 seconds remaining to send the bout to sudden victory. Half a minute went by in the extra session before Powless finished a shot to win, 10-8, and deny Schoen the chance at the upset. The dual match ended with one final tight bout, with Indiana's Ricky Alcala getting around for a takedown of NU's Ben Kuhar with only three seconds remaining to break a 6-6 tie and win, 8-6. After returning from Bloomington, the Wildcats prepare for another road trip Sunday, one that will bring them to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville where the 'Cats will dual with the host Cougars as well as Northern Illinois. Results: 125: #2 Brandon Precin (NU) FALL Justin Brooks (IU), 6:30 (NU 6, IU 0) 133: #16 Levi Mele (NU) dec. Matt Ortega (IU), 10-2 (NU 10, IU 0) 141: #20 Kaleb Friedley (NU) dec. Mitchell Ritchey (IU), 6-5 (NU 13, IU 0) 149: #7 Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. #11 Kurt Kinser (IU), 3-1 (NU 16, IU 0) 157: #5 Jason Welch (NU) dec. #9 Paul Young (IU), 4-1 (NU 19, IU 0) 165: Ryan LeBlanc (IU) dec. Kevin Bialka (NU), 8-5 (NU 19, IU 3) 174: Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU) dec. Nick Avery (IU), 6-1 (NU 22, IU 3) 184: Aaron Jones (NU) FALL Eric Cameron (IU), 6:03 (NU 28, IU 3) 197: #14 Matt Powless (IU) dec. John Schoen (NU), 10-8 (SV1) (NU 28, IU 6) 285: Ricky Alcala (IU) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 8-6 (NU 28, IU 9)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota redshirt freshman Kevin Steinhaus has been honored as the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week after leading the No. 3 Golden Gophers to three wins over the weekend. Steinhaus, now ranked ninth in the country at 184 pounds by Intermat, earned a 3-2 decision win over then-No. 8 Josh Ihnen of Nebraska, helping Minnesota score a 26-8 victory over the then No. 15 Cornhuskers on Thursday. The 184 pounder followed with an 18-6 major decision over Cal State Bakersfield's Brady Garner in a 26-6 Minnesota win on Sunday afternoon. Steinhaus concluded his week by tallying another major decision over Cal State Fullerton's Todd Noel, winning by a 12-3 score in the Gophers' 39-0 triumph over the Titans on Sunday evening. Steinhaus, now 14-2 overall this season and 6-1 in duals, has rocketed up the national rankings in the last two weeks from unranked to No. 15 last week to No. 9 in the latest poll following the redshirt freshman's three-win weekend. The award is the first Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honor for Steinhaus and the first for Minnesota since Ben Berhow was honored with the accolade on Dec. 15, 2009. Minnesota returns to action later this month at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. The two-day event begins on Wednesday, Dec. 29.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling program will host a free wrestling clinic on Sunday, Jan. 2, from 10 a.m.-noon at the Bahna Wrestling Center. The clinic is open to all ages and skill levels and will feature technique and practice-planning instruction from Wolverine All-American Tyrel Todd (2006-09) as well as members of the U-M coaching staff. Video cameras will be permitted. As a Wolverine wrestler, Todd was a three-time NCAA All-American -- at 184 (2007, '08) and 197 (2009) pounds -- earning national finishes of third, fourth and fifth place. He captured the Big Ten 197-pound title as a senior (2009) and won the prestigious Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at 184 pounds in 2007. Todd posted a 121-30 career record, including a 54-11 mark in dual meets, to rank 16th among Michigan's all-time winningest wrestlers. He accumulated 22 career falls, leading the team with 10 during his senior season. A two-time team captain, Todd garnered Big Ten Distinguished Scholar (2009) and Academic All-Big Ten (2006) honors off the mat. Todd has also excelled in freestyle wrestling, placing fourth at the 2008 Olympic Trials and fifth at the 2007 U.S. Open in the 84 kg/185-pound division. He is currently training for the 2012 Olympic Games and is in his first season as an assistant coach at Cal Poly. The Wolverines will hold an open practice, beginning at 1 p.m., following the clinic. All participants are invited to remain at the Bahna Wrestling Center to observe practice. For any further information regarding the clinic, please contact the Michigan wrestling office at 734-647-1223.

OREM, Utah -- Air Force Academy 141-pounder Cole VonOhlen (Jackson, Minn./Jackson County Central HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced Tuesday by the league. VonOhlen helped lead Air Force to a pair of victories on Friday, as the Falcons defeated Coe, 21-13, and Western State, 26-12, to open their 2010-11 dual slate. VonOhlen, ranked 11th in the nation at 141 pounds, outscored his opponents 22-2 in his two bouts. VonOhlen opened the day with a 4-0 decision over Coe's Chris LeClere, ranked sixth in Division III. Meanwhile, he posted a technical fall over Western State's Jesse Cruz in his second match of the day. Air Force's victory over Western State broke a five-match losing streak to the Mountaineers, dating back to the 2005-06 season. The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its fifth year of competition, is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Other Nominees: Northern Iowa: David Bonin, 157 pound, sophomore, (Broussard, La./Comeaux HS) South Dakota State: Jimmy Hamilton, 149 pounds, freshman (Manchester, Mich./Manchester HS) Utah Valley: Wyatt Ray, 141 pounds, sophomore (Roy, Utah/Roy HS) Wyoming: Tyler Cox, 125 pounds, redshirt freshman (Gillette, Wyo./Campbell County HS) 2010-11 WWC Wrestlers of the Week Nov. 16 – Cole Dallaserra (Wyoming)/Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) Nov. 24 - Cole Dallaserra (Wyoming/Flint Ray (Utah Valley) Dec. 1 - Vince Salminen (North Dakota State) Dec. 7 - Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) Dec. 14 - Cole VonOhlen (Air Force)

Five champs not enough for Allen at Mid-America Nationals Despite having five wrestlers win individual titles at the Mid-America Nationals, 25th-ranked Allen, Texas took second place to 18th-ranked Tulsa Union, Oklahoma. Winning titles for Allen were Bo Nickal (125), Jarrod Trotter (130), No. 17 (at 145) Oliver Pierce (152), Ophir Bernstein (189), and Nick Cobb (215). Five other wrestlers earned placement -- third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth -- for the Eagles, as they totaled 235-1/2 points for the tournament. What took Tulsa Union to the top was the fact they had seven finalists -- three champs, four second-place finishers -- among their ten placers to total 260-1/2 points. Champions were Josh Walker (119), Kyle Ash (160), No. 9 (at 160) Kyle Crutchmer (171); second-place finishers were Brandon Martin (103), Brian Crutchmer (130), Connor Baxter (135), and Throcan Samuels (145). Outstanding Wrestler honors went to Cadet freestyle champion Pierce, who won the 152 pound weight class over No. 12 Ryne Cokeley (St. James Academy, Kansas) 3-0; Cokeley had a semifinal win 5-3 in overtime against No. 13 Jeromy Davenport (Sallisaw, Oklahoma). Calib Freeman (112) -- ranked 15th nationally -- was one of four champions for Claremore, as he defeated No. 11 Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville, Oklahoma) 4-1 in the championship final. Others to win titles for the 21st-ranked Claremore squad were Gunnar Woodburn (103), Michael Williams (135), and Nick Haugen (145). With only three other placers -- fourth, fifth, and eighth -- they finished third scoring 179-1/2 total points. Rounding out the tournament champions were No. 14 Taylor Moeder (St. James Academy, Kansas) at 140 pounds and Caleb Cline (Norman North, Oklahoma) at 285 pounds. Wonderful Waverly Coming off of a second place finish at the Keith Young Invitational with five champions at that event (No. 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota took first with No. 12 Bettendorf, Iowa and defending state champions Denver-Tripoli, Iowa finishing tied for third), the Go-Hawks faced another challenging Saturday at the Five Seasons Duals in Cedar Rapids. After No. 11 Waverly-Shell Rock won their first two duals meets, 84-0 against Cedar Rapids Washington and 49-15 over Linn-Mar, their semifinal match was against No. 14 Iowa City West, Iowa. With the dual meet starting at 189 pounds, the Go-Hawks faced a 10-0 deficit before No. 1 Cody Krumwiede secured a fall at 285 pounds to spark a six match spurt. This included the first of two big upset wins on the day for senior Tanner Werner at 125 pounds - a 6-4 win over No. 16 Jack Hathaway in which he rallied back from a 4-0 third period deficit. Iowa City west won the next three matches, including an 8-5 victory for No. 12 Elijah Sullivan over Jordan Rinken at 140 pounds in a battle of returning state runners-up. Iowa City West then chose to give No. 7 Cody Caldwell a forfeit at 152 pounds in hope of getting pins from Britton Thompson and No. 12 Justin Koethe who would bump up one weight class each to 160 and 171 pounds. However, that was not to be, as Thompson was held to a 10-8 decision victory. When Waverly-Shell Rock chose to forfeit the last match, the Go-Hawks would come away with a 33-31 victory. It was onto the championship final for the Go-Hawks, where a meeting with Bettendorf was on the docket. After suffering a 5-4 defeat in the starting match at 215 pounds, Krumwiede would continue his reign of terror with a second consecutive pin over No. 12 Brodie Berrie in a battle of state champions at 285 pounds. As part of a five match win streak from 119 to 140 pounds, Werner came away with a 6-0 victory over two-time state runner-up Connor Ryan at 125 pounds to cap off a stellar opening two weeks to the season. When all was said and done, the Go-Hawks had won nine of the matches and secured the Five Seasons Duals championship with a 41-23 victory. A Clash in Iowa With the complete and total success of The Clash Duals (held annually in Rochester, Minnesota), organizers in the Waterloo area decided to create an event with a similar format. The Battle of Waterloo, to be held at Young Arena this Friday and Saturday, features 32 Iowa schools competing in a dual meet tournament. Each team will have three dual meets on Friday as part of an eight-team “umbrella” bracket, and three more dual meets on Saturday against those teams finishing in the same position of bracket competition on Friday. Half of the field is composed of teams ranked in the top 15 of the most recent IWCOA Dual Rankings for each division. This includes nationally-ranked teams No. 11 Waverly-Shell Rock, No. 12 Bettendorf, and No. 14 Iowa City West; along with defending state champions Denver-Tripoli and Don Bosco. Eleven wrestlers in this tournament are nationally ranked in their weight class (indicated with *), with fourteen additional wrestlers ranked either first or second in their state tournament weight class according to preseason rankings published by The Predicament. 103: Andrew Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) 112: *Dylan Peters (Denver-Tripoli) 119: *Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock), Kody Kreiz (Louisa-Muscatine) 125: Connor Ryan (Bettendorf), *Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West), Gunnar Wolfensperger (Denver-Tripoli) 130: Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf), *Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli), Jesse Etherington (Charles City) 135: Grady Gambrall (Iowa City West), Adam Perrin (North Scott), Brandon Welter (Don Bosco) 140: *Bo Schlosser (Bettendorf), *Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West) 152: *Cody Caldwell (Waverly-Shell Rock), Britton Thompson (Iowa City West) 160: *Justin Koethe (Iowa City West), Garrett Smith (Denver-Tripoli) 171: Travis Mallo (Mason City) 189: *Brandon Abernathy (Indianola), Jared Bartel (Mason City), Blaize Cabell (Independence) 285: *Cody Krumwiede (Waverly-Shell Rock), *Brodie Berrie (Bettendorf) Link to pairings for Friday competition: http://www.wrestlingbattleofwaterloo.org/news_article/show/71870?referrer_id=228416-news Top seeded teams are Iowa City West, Denver-Tripoli, Bettendorf, and Waverly-Shell Rock. The lone opening first round match with a pair of ranked teams is Louisa Muscatine and Osage facing one another. Cavaliers double the pleasure After winning the season opening Ray Oliver Invitational hosted by McDonogh High School outside of Baltimore, Maryland, Archbishop Spalding travelled to Ocean City for the War on the Shore Tournament hosted by Stephen Decatur High School. The Cavaliers -- whose home base is near Annapolis, Maryland -- dominated the field with five finalists (two champs), nine total placers, and 190 points. Champions for Archbishop Spalding were Mike Still (103) and No. 15 (at 140) Charlie Lynch (152); while Cole Gallagher (112), Brady Gaynor (135), and Will Switzer (145) earned second place medals. A close battle for second place occurred between Sussex Central, Delaware and La Plata, Maryland. Despite just a single placer in each first through fourth, the Golden Knights used a tournament high eleven total placers to score 159 points -- enough to finish in second place by a single point over La Plata. Codey Combs -- ranked 3rd nationally at 152 pounds -- was the lone champion for Sussex Central, while Cody Broomall (140) was the sole runner-up. The tournament was smooth sailing for La Plata until the semifinal round, one in which six of their seven semifinalists were sent to the backside of the draw. The lone finalist -- Josh Lopez -- fell to Combs in the final. However, in good news for La Plata, all six semifinal losers won their next consolation match and all but one followed up that win with a victory in the third place match. Other weight class champions were Thomas Payne (Poquoson, Virginia) at 112 pounds, Paul O'Neil (Gonzaga, DC) at 119, No. 10 (at 119) Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Maryland) at 125, Kyle Bauer (Wheeling Park, West Virginia) at 130, Johnny McClanathan (Great Bridge, Virginia) at 135, Salaman Riddell (Old Mill, Maryland) at 140, Brady Massaro (145) and Tyler Mill (171) winning titles for Mt. St. Joseph, Maryland, Alex Zwier (Caravel Academy, Delaware) at 189, along with Kyle (215) and Stephen (285) Snyder winning titles for Good Counsel, Maryland. Who will become Kings of the Mountain The host Wildcats from Central Mountain, Pennsylvania, seek to defend their championship against a formidable field this coming weekend at the King of the Mountain. Even though they return as champions of the KOTM and Pennsylvania big-school state tournament, they are not favored in this event. There are three nationally-ranked teams in the field - No. 10 High Point, New Jersey, No. 23 Massillon Perry, Ohio, and No. 49 Council Rock South, Pennsylvania. In addition to Central Mountain, the field features six other teams that were either champions or runner-up in their respective state individual or dual meet tournaments: High Point, Benton (PA), Schuylkill Valley (PA), Fort LeBeouf (PA), Reynolds (PA), and Parkland (PA). Eleven wrestlers in the field are nationally ranked in their respective weight classes (marked with asterisk). Four other wrestlers are unranked but have a state finals appearance to their credit career to date. 112: *Zain Retherford (Line Mountain, Pennsylvania) 119: Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry, Ohio) 125: *Mason Beckman (Reynolds, Pennsylvania) and (*at119) Nick Francavilla (High Point, New Jersey) 130: Arty Walsh (Schuylkill Valley, Pennsylvania) and Coltin Fought (Benton, Pennsylvania) 135: *Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, Pennsylvania) 140: Zach Beitz (Juniata, Pennsylvania) 145: *Matt Martoccio (Council Rock South, Pennsylvania) 160: *John Guzzo (High Point, New Jersey) 171: *Nathaniel Brown (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) and (*at152) Ethan Orr (High Point, New Jersey) 189: Stephan Ceramuga (Commodore Perry, Pennsylvania) 285: *Zach Corl (Central Mountain, Pennsylvania) and *William Smith (High Point, New Jersey) Top teams ride momentum heading into Reno TOC All three of the nationally-ranked teams in the 16th annual Reno Tournament of Champions field come into the event riding strong positive momentum from their performances last weekend. No. 13 Roseburg, Oregon won the coast classic; No. 18 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma won the Mid-American nationals as the host team; while No. 24 Easton, Pennsylvania dominated conference rivals Parkland with a 41-21 dual meet victory. Fourteen nationally-ranked wrestlers are featured in the tournament. 112: No. 5 Nashon Garrett (Chico, California) 119: No. 17 Stevan Knoblauch (Clovis West, California) 125: No. 3 Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North, California), No. 12 Kyle Garcia (Choctaw, Oklahoma), and No. 15 Fabian Garcia (Turlock, California) 135: No. 10 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California) 140: No. 19 Jacob Falk (West Jordan, Utah) 152: No. 10 (at 160) Seth Thomas (Roseburg, Oregon) 160: No. 9 Kyle Crutchmer (Union, Oklahoma), No. 16 Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, California), No. 17 (at 152) Zach Brunson (Churchill, Oregon), and No. 20 Steve Congenie (Villa Park, Illinois) 171: No. 20 Dylan Fors (Roseburg, Oregon) 189: No. 5 Lucas Sheridan (De La Salle, California) Tournament website: http://rtoc.net/index.asp Wrestling starts at 12 noon ET (9 a.m. PT) on both Friday and Saturday, with the championship finals starting at 8 a.m. ET (5 PT) on Saturday evening. Lumps of coal for all in the Gopher State courtesy of Apple Valley Best in the nation Apple Valley, Minnesota will travel to the Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota to dole out their annual beating of the best from the rest of the Gopher State. They are seeking a fourth consecutive tournament title and thirteenth in the last fifteen years. The Eagles bring back four defending champions to the tournament, of the seven in all that return from the December 2009 edition. In addition to Apple Valley, three other nationally-ranked teams from the Gopher State are present in the field: No. 9 Simley, No. 42 Kasson-Mantorville, and No. 47 STMA. All three teams that top the Minnesota divisional rankings are present in the field -- Apple Valley, Simley, and Jackson County Central. Four of the 35 teams come from other states, with the pair of North Dakota teams being formidable entries -- Bismarck and West Fargo. The following nationally-ranked wrestlers are present in the tournament field: 103: No. 19 Kyle Gliva (Simley) and No. 20 Tommy Thorn (STMA) 112: No. 19 Jordan Kingsley (Apple Valley) 130: No. 16 Ben Morgan (Forest Lake) and No. 20 Dakota Trom (Apple Valley) 135: No. 7 Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley) and No. 19 Bronson Steuber (Jackson County Central) 140: No. 7 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley) and No. 9 Jake Short (Simley) 152: No. 1 Destin McCauley (Apple Valley) 160: No. 6 Steven Keogh (Apple Valley) 171: No. 6 Jake Waste (Apple Valley) 215: No. 16 Michael Kroells (Scott West) 285: No. 2 Donny Longendyke (White Bear Lake) In addition, these are additional wrestlers ranked first in the state of Minnesota by The Guillotine: defending MCT champion Nate Thomas (Kasson-Mantorville) at 112 pounds, Sam Brancale (Eden Prairie) at 119, Garrett Garness (Kasson-Mantorville) at 135, Daniel Woiwor (Apple Valley) at 145, Dan Dick (Simley) and Cooper Moore (Jackson County Central) at 160, along with Matt Hechsel (Apple Valley) and Broc Berge (Kasson-Mantorville) at 189. These wrestlers from the North Dakota were state finalists last year: Joe Schumacher (Bismarck) at 140, Kip Jangula (Bismarck) and Preston Lehmann (West Fargo) at 171, and Eric Lehmann (West Fargo) at 189. Diverse field to convene on Kansas City In five years, the Kansas City Wrestling Classic has been known by as many names -- or so it seems. However, the constant feature has been a field that includes many of the best wrestlers from across the great Midwest and beyond. This year's 32-team field features teams from nine different states. Fourteen teams in this field finished either first or second in their state tournaments last year, with four of those teams appearing in the national rankings: No. 21 Claremore, Oklahoma, No. 25 Allen, Texas, No. 28 Collins Hill, Georgia, and No. 37 Oak Park, Missouri. The weekend of wrestling to be held at the Hale Arena, attached to Kemper Arena in the American Royal Complex, will also commence on Thursday night with a showcase dual meet placing state champions Platte County, Missouri (Class 2A) against Claremore. Additionally on Thursday night, there will be junior high and youth tournaments along with select high school duals. Wrestling on Friday night features three matches for each wrestler -- eight pools of four wrestlers each. The top two wrestlers in each pool advance to the gold bracket for Saturday's competition, with the bottom two being placed in the Silver bracket. Saturday wrestling seeks to guarantee competitors four-plus matches. The tournament can be followed on TrackWrestling. Eight wrestlers in the tournament field are nationally ranked, in addition to defending champion Skyler Wood (Platte County, Missouri) at 125 pounds. 103: No. 16 Daniel Lewis (Blue Springs, Missouri) and Noah Teaney (Oak Park, Missouri) 112: No. 15 Calib Freeman (Claremore, Oklahoma) 119: No. 7 Thomas Gilman (Skutt Catholic, Nebraska) 125: No. 4 Bricker Dixon (Park Hill, Missouri) 130: No. 5 Cody Brewer (Oak Park, Missouri) 152: No. 17 (at 145) Oliver Pierce (Allen, Texas) 189: No. 17 Dallas Smith (Neosho, Missouri) Clovis dominates Clovis West Shootout The two-day Clovis West Shootout had some surprises, but one of them was not the ultimate winner of the event. No. 16 Clovis, California swept their six dual meets, all with margins of 27 or more points. With two of the matches being clean sweeps, the average match score was 58-1/2 to 11. In what was a surprise, the teams from the Central section did not dominate the event. The visitors emerged with a winning record across the six rounds of wrestling. Clovis obviously was the home champion and overall champion, Buchanan was runner-up for the home group, Vacaville was champion of the road group with a 5-1 record, and Laguna Hills was runner-up in the road group. It's late early in Alaska While the scholastic wrestling season is just under way in the other 48 states that sanction wrestling -- or in the case of New Jersey, starting this weekend -- the end of season state championships were just conducted in Alaska with a couple of teams travelling to Reno for the Reno TOC this coming weekend. In the small-school division (Class 1A-2A-3A), Bethel was the champion with 228-1/2 points, while the host school Nikiski took second with 169-1/2 points. Link to results: http://www.akmat.org/Results/10-11Results/3A_State/3A_State.htm In the big-school division (Class 4A), Wasilla took home the title with 200-1/2 points, while Service finished in second with 177 points. Link to results: http://www.akmat.org/Results/10-11Results/4A_State/4A_State.htm

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University wrestling team (6-0) opens Big Ten competition on Wednesday, Jan. 15, playing host to the No. 9 Northwestern Wildcats (7-0) in a 7 pm tussle. The battle of undefeated squads is being streamed live at BigTenNetwork.com (subscription required). In addition, IUHoosiers.com will be running a live blog during the match. PROBABLE LINEUPS 125 lbs.- Justin Brooks (9-6) vs. No. 2 Brandon Precin (12-0) 133 lbs.- Matt Ortega (10-5) vs. Robert Joyce (4-3) or No. 19 Levi Mele (7-1) 141 lbs.- Mitchell Richey (10-7) vs. Kaleb Friedley (13-1) 149 lbs.- No. 11 Kurt Kinser (11-3) vs. No. 7 Andrew Nadhir (11-0) 157 lbs.- No. 9 Paul Young (11-2) vs. No. 5 Jason Welch (9-1) 165 lbs.- Ryan Konz (9-8) or Ryan LeBlanc (1-0) vs. Kevin Bialka (5-4) 174 lbs.- Nick Avery (5-6) vs. Brian Roddy, Jr. (5-1) 184 lbs.- Eric Cameron (6-8) vs. Aaron Jones (10-1) 197 lbs.- No. 14 Matt Powless (15-1) vs. John Schoen (8-2) 285 lbs.- Ricky Alcala (12-3) vs. Ben Kuhar (6-7) Indiana has won the last four meetings with the Wildcats, and owns a 45-27-4 advantage in the all-time series. Up to seven nationally-ranked wrestlers could be in action Wednesday night in Bloomington. In the most recent Intermat rankings, three Hoosiers are slotted in the top-20 while Northwestern posts four ranked grapplers in their potential line-up. For IU, Paul Young and Kurt Kinser are currently ranked 9th and 11th in the 157-pound and 149-pound weight classes, respectively. Matt Powless, owner of a 15-1 record, is slotted 14th at 197 pounds. Northwestern's ranked student-athletes include: Brandon Precin (No. 2, 125 lbs.), Levi Mele (No. 19, 133 lbs.), Andrew Nadhir (No. 7, 149 lbs.) and Jason Welch (No. 5, 157 lbs.).

Nebraska senior Jordan Burroughs was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Monday, Dec. 13, for his performance during the second week of December. The honor marks the third time in Burroughs' career that he has been named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, and the first time since the 2008-09 season. The last Husker wrestler to earn the conference honor was last season when Craig Brester was named Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 14. Burroughs earned the honor after going 2-0 during the week with two technical fall victories to improve his season record to 13-0 and 8-0 in dual play. Burroughs defeated No. 6 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) by technical fall, 23-7 (5:54), in the Huskers' dual against Minnesota on Dec. 9, before defeating Jon Brascetta (Oregon State) by technical fall, 26-9 (5:17), on Dec. 11. In the Huskers' dual against Oregon State, NU trailed the Beavers 9-12 before Burroughs brought the Huskers back to give them a 14-12 lead with two matches remaining in the dual. Nebraska won the dual, 17-16. On the season, Burroughs has recorded 54 takedowns through eight duals and has yet to give up a takedown. The Sicklerville, N.J., native has been dominant all season having won seven out of his last eight matches by fall or technical fall, while racking up a team-leading 41 team dual points. Burroughs and the Huskers return to the mat on Dec. 29-30, when they travel to the Midlands Wrestling Championships in Evanston, Ill.

St. Cloud State University redshirt sophomore Jacob Kahnke (Shakopee/Prior Lake H.S.) was named as the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 13. Kahnke gained the league thanks to a first place finish at the 2010 Holiday Inn & Suites/Husky Open in the 285-pound bracket on Dec. 11. Kahnke rolled to a 4-0 record in the tournament, which moves his 2010-11 season record to 10-2 overall. Kahnke earned two consecutive pins in the opening two rounds of the tournament on Dec. 11, and then charted an 8-2 victory over UW-Parkside's James Malecheck in the semi-finals. In the championship match, Kahnke notched a 4-0 victory over Minnesota's Jacob Kettler. Of note, Kahnke is currently ranked #2 at 285-pounds in the latest NCAA Division II national coaches' poll. As a team, the Huskies are also ranked #2 in the nation in the latest Division II coaches' poll. At the 2010 Husky Open, Kahnke was joined in the winners' circle by teammates junior Tad Merritt (165-pounds) and junior Lucas Munkelwitz (197-pounds) who both earned first place finishes in their respective weight brackets. The Huskies will enjoy a break for the holiday before returning to action on Jan. 1 with a trip to the Grand Canyon Duals in Phoenix, Ariz.

Waterloo wrestling legend, Bob Siddens, and Don Huff, two-time high school state champion, will be radio show guests this week. “On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum and can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Central time on AM 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Siddens lead the Waterloo West Wahawks to 11 state championships and a dual meet record of 327-23-3 as the head wrestling coach from 1950 – 1977. He is a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and officiated the NCAA Division I tournament 27 times. Huff won two state titles at Waterloo West in the 1950s under Siddens' tutelage and served as an assistant under Siddens until taking over as the head coach in 1977, a post he served until 1998. Huff recently completed a book entitled, “Siddens! Win with Humility, Lose with Dignity…But Don't Lose!”

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- First-year head coach Joe Boardwine has announced that Josh Fisher, Ryan Krecker, Scotty Hardiman, and Joey Rizzolino have signed National Letters of Intent to attend Campbell University in the fall of 2010 and join the Campbell wrestling program. The quartet is the first group of wrestlers to sign NLIs during the early signing period for Boardwine at Campbell. Josh Esparza and John Weakley have also joined Campbell's program as transfers from UC-Davis and Oklahoma, respectively. Fisher and Krecker will join Campbell after being named to InterMat's prestigious list of the nation's top 100 recruits in all weight classes for the class of 2011. Fisher is the three-time defending West Virginia state champion who is looking for his fourth state title this season at Roane County High School. He has compiled a high school career record of 125-1 through three years of high school wrestling. Fisher pinned his way through the state tournament in West Virginia last year and has had considerable success nationally. He was the 2009 National Champion at 112 pounds at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia and the National Runner-Up at 119 pounds at the 2010 FloNationals in Akron, Ohio. Boardwine projects Fisher as a 125 or 133 pound wrestler for the Camels. "Josh Fisher is possibly the most accomplished recruit, on paper, that Campbell has ever had in the early signing period – in terms of high school state titles," said Boardwine. "He has proven himself on the national level and we think he has huge upside that will be realized once he gets into a college wrestling room and starts on our strength-training program. We expect him to make an immediate impact in the lower weights for us." Krecker has placed twice in the AAA division at the Pennsylvania State Championships while representing Nazareth High School. He is currently ranked #1 in the state at 160 lbs. by PA PowerRankings.com. He finished third at the Beast of the East national tournament in 2009 and Boardwine projects him as a 149 or 157-pounder for the Fighting Camels. "Ryan comes from one of the top high school programs in the nation, and is very explosive and athletic," said Boardwine. "Once we can get him on campus here at Campbell and start working on some specific areas of his training and wrestling he may develop quite quickly and become very tough to beat in the East Regional early in his career." Hardiman is a defending state champion and three-time state placer for Hibriten H.S. in North Carolina. Hardiman has posted a 100-3 record following his freshman year in high school. Hardiman also won the Freestyle State Championship twice before representing the North Carolina National Team in Fargo. Boardwine projects Hardiman as a 141 or 149-pounder at CU. "Scotty is sort of flying under the radar right now, but we think he is very good," said Boardwine. "He trains year-round to take on the best nationally. A lot of his losses to the very top guys nationally are close, where some fine-tuning could make the difference. He has the athleticism and commitment to the sport to become a very good NCAA D1 wrestler."" Rizzolino placed at in the AAA division at the Pennsylvania State Championships when he made it to the finals two years ago. He is currently ranked #1 in the state at 140 lbs. by PAPowerRankings.com. He has also finished as high as second at the national level, in the Reno Tournament of Champions. Boardwine projects Rizzolino as a 133 or 141-pounder for Campbell. "Joey also comes from one of the nation's very best high school programs over the past 10-20 years," said Boardwine. "We like the fact that he understands how important it is to work hard in the room, wrestle a tough schedule and set high expectations for yourself. Joey did not have his best performance at the state tournament last year but he was very close to being in the AAA State Finals in Pennsylvania as a sophomore. We look for him to be a hard-nosed, lower middleweight that will scrap with anybody and can compete for a starting role early in his career." Esparza transfers to Campbell after the wrestling program at UC-Davis was discontinued. Esparza saw time at 174 pounds for the Aggies and should see mat time there for the Camels. Esparza placed fourth in the state as a high school senior at the California State High School Championships. Esparza also competed at the NHSCA High School Senior Nationals, compiling a 2-2 record. He wrestled for the storied Clovis High program, where his team won the California State Championships. "Josh is very passionate about working to become an NCAA All-American," said Boardwine. "He has been a great addition to our program in terms of attitude and work ethic and has started taking a leadership role." Weakley spent two years at Ohio State wrestling for the Buckeyes before transferring to Oklahoma where he was a member of the wrestling and football teams. Weakley placed top eight at Big 10 Championships as a true-freshman while starting for the Buckeyes the entire season at 197 pounds. He also was Champion of the Ashland Open and placed third at the Michigan State Open. Weakley attended Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy where he compiled a 189-8 record in high school. He was a two-time Ohio state champion and a four-time state qualifier. Weakley was named outstanding wrestler at the state tournament his junior and senior year. John was a three-time national finalist for Greco and Freestyle at the USA Wrestling Fargo Nationals - where he was a three-time Fargo All-American. Weakley also captured the championship at the prestigious Iron Man Tournament at Walsh Jesuit H.S. in Ohio - the nation's toughest high school tournament - as a junior. "John has been away from the sport for a bit, so there will be a period of readjusting to training and competition," said Boardwine. "But he is still in very good shape and is brutally strong. If he can get his timing back and get into the swing of making weight and competing again week-in and week-out, he could present a major problem for his competition in the East Regional and beyond."

James Fleming's opponents know it's coming. But unlike John Smith's low single, or Steve Mocco's foot sweep, there's no spark in the eye to belie a man about to strike. Instead Fleming, a 157-pounder for Clarion, strikes like a Boa in wait, dawdling atop his prey until the right moment. And like the Boa, Fleming's move isn't as painful at the moment of impact as it is when squeezed. "I've been wrestling a pretty long time and that's the first move that's made me turn over," said Clarion coach Teague Moore. "It's like the worst thing (former Oklahoma State teammate) Eric Guerrero would do with his one-on-one, but worse. It just compels you to turn over." James Fleming (Photo/Clarion Sports Information)The move is a modified side-headlock from the top position -- at least in official Clarion-talk. Fleming, a sophomore and returning NCAA qualifier, gained some notoriety for the move last season, but it wasn't until Oklahoma's Matt Lester met Fleming at this year's Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic on Nov. 13 that the notoriety exploded into full-on dramatic television when Oklahoma coach Jack Spates ran onto the mat when Lester screamed in pain from the move. For his part Spates said he was doing what he thought was necessary to protect his athlete, an impulse Moore said he understands. However, because the official only deducted one team point and didn't award "scream points" essentially a penalty for clearing out of a legal move or tilt, Moore is concerned that a precedent has been set and opponents will choose to scream instead of fighting. "Our guy has come up with a new move from top that hurts, but that is legal and effective," said Moore. "I think it sends a bad signal if a coach can stop the action and there's no penalty." Spates said he was never concerned about match points or team points, only that he would protect his wrestler. "I told the referee to give the back points," said Spates. "I just wanted to protect my guy out there choking." James Fleming (Photo/Clarion Sports Information)And there's the problem: choking versus legal pain. Everyone wants to know what makes the move work and what makes it legal versus illegal. According to Pat McCormick, the head of officiating for the NCAA, the move is completely legal in application. However, McCormick said that the move can become potentially dangerous if the lock is slipped across the throat and into a blood or air choke. What if guys slide the lock across their throat intentionally? "I know guys are trying to put my lock across their throat," said Fleming, whose creativity is at the center of the controversy. "I understand they don't want to get turned, but I see kids all the time acting like they're getting choked or tapping out and alls I'm doing is putting my lock across the jaw." "You can't enforce pain for the sake of enforcing pain," said Spates, who consulted with his wrestler and said that the lock was across the throat. "My kid is turning purple and I'm out there to make sure doesn't pass out. He might mean to apply the choke but you can't just enforce pain." To a degree Spates is right but what is legal pain and what is not legal pain is a very subjective minefield of interpretation made by the hundreds of NCAA eligible referees. What works in one match could easily result in a disqualification in another. Add-in the confusion over the location of the arm to the referee's difficulty in distinguishing a legal versus illegal lock and you have an atmosphere primed for disagreement. "We've already made this sport a little too sissy," said Moore. "I don't think we should legislate out the pain. What is the other option?" Teague Moore (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)Of course mean words won't get an NCAA Division I wrestler to conform to your desire to see them in the supine position, but college wrestling should always look to protect itself from a move, that if applied improperly, could result in wrestlers rendered unconscious on the mat (something that has never happened in one of Fleming's matches -- for "Choke" See: Nick Simmons). The ultimate goal is to make the referees aware that the wrestler applying the hold is LEGAL if he puts it across the jaw and drives them to their back. The move is ILLEGAL only if the referee has already stopped the misapplication of the hold and warned the offending wrestler and they repeat the offense. This is good news for Fleming, who claims he gets the arm across the jaw every time. Referee education will take place in the offseason, according to McCormick. In the meantime coaches and athletes will work on a counter to Fleming's half-headlock, boa constrictor legal manipulation of the jawbone. And that's the real lesson, wrestlers: for every move there's a counter. Time to get creative.

MONTREAL, Can. -- Former Edinboro University wrestling standout Josh Koscheck lost in his bid for the UFC welterweight championship on Saturday night. Fighting in the main event of UFC 124 in Montreal, the hometown of his opponent, champions George St. Pieree, Koscheck lost by unanimous decision to the fighter who many consider pound for pound the greatest in the sport. The five rounds ended with all three judges scoring it 50-45. This marked the second meeting between the two, with St. Pierre winning by decision in 2007. The rivalry between the two intensified this summer as they served as opposing coaches on the Ultimate Fighter, the television show that gave Koscheck his start. Koscheck is a former four-time All-American at Edinboro, including winning the national championship at 174 lbs. in 2001. He finished his career with a 128-17 record.

CLIFTON PARK, N.Y. -- Binghamton wrestling defeated Army and Ohio Sunday afternoon at Shenendehowa High School. The Bearcats posted a 22-13 win over the Black Knights before holding off Ohio, 17-16. It was the first win for BU against both opponents who each had won the previous four matches against the Bearcats. Junior No. 17 Justin Lister looked strong in posting a pair of wins at 157, including a 17-2 tech fall against Ohio. Sophomore 149-pound Donnie Vinson and junior 165-pound Matt Kaylor also won twice, fortifying BU's strength in the middle of its lineup. Vinson and Kaylor remained unbeaten in duals (9-0). Sophomore John Paris was the unsung hero of the day, stepping into a starting role as BU juggled its lineup and winning both his matches. The Bearcats won seven of 10 bouts against Army, highlighted by sophomore 10th-ranked Nate Schiedel's major decision up at 197. The team score was knotted at 12-12 with three bouts remaining. Paris was inserted into the lineup at 184 and earned a 12-5 decision before Schiedel bumped up a weight and rolled to a 9-0 win to clinch the team victory - the first in five all-time matches against Army. Against Ohio, BU won four of the first six bouts and then held on for the narrow victory when sophomore Cody Reed, bumped up to heavyweight, wrestled a solid match and surrendered only a 6-4 decision. Ohio could've tied the match with a major decision or won it with a tech fall or pin. Paris earned a 6-5 decision at 184 to provide BU's final three points. "We earned two very solid wins today," head coach Pat Popolizio said. "Justin (Lister) is finally starting to look sharp. He was very aggresive, especially in the Ohio match, and is starting to come into his own again. John (Paris) had a huge day, stepping up at 184 and winning both matches. He's a team player and that helped us a lot today. Now we will focus on getting healthy. Going into the break 7-2 is certainly one of our better starts to a season." Binghamton is off until hosting Buffalo and Merchant Marine Academy on January 2 at the West Gym. Binghamton 22, Army 13 125: Ryan Gerondel (BU) dec. Travis Coffey (A), 8-5 133: Jordan Thome (A) maj. dec. Dan Riggi (BU), 11-2 141: Casey Thome (A) pinned Brian Guilfoyle (BU), 4:27 149: Donnie Vinson (BU) dec. Daniel Young (A), 6-4 157: #14 Justin Lister (BU) dec. Jimmy Rafferty (A), 4-1 165: Matt Kaylor (BU) dec. Jake Vetter (A), 14-8 174: Collin Wittmeyer (A) dec. Ryan McGarity (BU), 4-2 184: John Paris (BU) dec. Wil Brown (A), 12-5 197: #14 Nate Schiedel (BU) maj. dec. Daniel Mills (A), 9-0 285: Lance Moore (BU) dec. Christian Botero (A), 10-4 Binghamton 17, Ohio 16 125: Kyle Ciccarello (O) dec. Ryan Gerondel (BU), 7-3 133: Anthony Jerome (BU) dec. Jake Wojcik (O), 3-0 141: #9 Germane Lindsey (O) maj. dec. Brian Guilfoyle (BU), 10-2 149: Donnie Vinson (BU) dec. Brad Squire (O), 10-3 157: #14 Justin Lister (BU) tech. fall Chris Kline (O), 17-2 165: Matt Kaylor (BU) dec. Steve Wilson (O), 14-8 174: Nick Purdue (O) dec. Ryan McGarity (BU), 9-3 184: John Paris (BU) dec. Ryan Garringer (O), 6-5 197: #16 Erik Schuth (O) dec. #14 Nate Schiedel (BU), 5-4 285: Jeremy Johnson (O) dec. Cody Reed (BU), 6-4

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. -- After cruising to a 13-0 lead after three bouts, Penn watched as Rider crept back into the dual with wins in three of four middleweight matches, forcing the Quakers to come up big in the upper weights in order to take the team win. Harrison Cook came up with a big momentum-changing win in dominating fashion at 184 pounds, shutting down and shutting out Joe Ferber, 6-0. Then, at 197 pounds, Penn's highest-ranked wrestler took care of one of Rider's top wrestlers with a 9-1 major decision for No. 7 Micah Burak over Tyler Smith. Those two wins gave Penn an insurmountable lead at 23-12, and after a forfeit at heavyweight by the Red and Blue, Penn took the dual, 23-18. The Quakers are now 3-2 in dual meets this season. Mark Rappo wasted no time getting things started for Penn, shooting off the whistle and locking down the takedown with a single to the right leg just 18 seconds in. After Zeisloft escaped, Rappo came right back for a second takedown followed by three backpoints after catching Zeisloft while he attempted to roll out. In the second, after escaping quickly, Rappo countered a Zeisloft shot with a go-behind before adding two more takedowns for a 16-4 lead after two. At the end of the final period, Rappo had added eight more points, including 3:03 of riding time for a 24-9 win. Peterkin scored first against Kirchner at 133, rolling through a shot attempt by Kirchner for two points and then three nearfall with a spladle. Kirchner was able to use it against Peterkin for a reversal, but Peterkin answered with a reversal of his own with 30 seconds to go. Peterkin was close to tilts in the second, but settled for a full ride to build a 2:45 lead in riding time. In the third, Peterkin escaped in short time before adding a takedown with headlock. At 141, Kemmerer ducked under Aaron Nestor's handfighting for a single to the right calf a minute in to take an early lead. After Nestor worked out, Kemmerer again went low to the right, finishing a scramble on the edge of the mat for a second score. In the middle period, it took Kemmerer a minute to escape, but he finally earned the point at the one-minute mark before scoring a takedown off a restart following the escape. In the third period, Kemmerer put together a combination, shooting a double before sliding behind for another two points. Andrew Lenzi pushed the pace in the first period at 149 against Zac Cibula, but couldn't finish any of his five shots. In the second, Cibula chose down and escaped quickly to take the first lead of the bout, 1-0. Cibula went back to a headlock on the edge, picking an ankle to up his lead to 3-0. In the third, Lenzi went for the score again, finishing with 11 shots in the bout but couldn't get the points. Brad Wukie came out firing in the 157-pound match, scoring a takedown and two back points in the first 15 seconds. Ramon Santiago escaped before scoring a takedown of his own in a furious first period. In the second period, Santiago was able to earn three nearfall points with a turn from top position. Wukie escaped with 16 seconds left and was in on a single but the buzzer sounded before he could finish. In the third, Santiago was able to counter a Wukie shot into a throw of his own, locking in the fall at 5:40. Gabriel Burak worked hard for the first half of his opening period against No. 12 Jim Resnick, fighting in a scramble near the edge of the mat for about 35 seconds before securing the takedown by gaining position on Resnick's back. Burak finished the period on top, with 1:24 of riding time. Burak added a second takedown in the middle period, going low to the foot and finishing a scramble with the points and very close to a pin. Resnick rode hard all third period, looking for a tilt. Three stall warnings called on Burak gave Resnick two points, making the searched-for tilt possible winning points. However, time ran out and Burak scored a 4-2 win. After a scoreless first period at 174, Rob Morrison scored first with an escape seven seconds into the second period. Morrison came in on a single, passing by and getting to the left leg in the final minute of the second, finishing a scramble for a 3-0 lead. On a restart, Giffin went up on the whistle, getting one point before the end of the period. It took 30 seconds in the third period but Giffin escaped again and came right back for a takedown. Morrison escaped to tie the match, 4-4, with a minute left. Morrison came in again with a shot in the final fifteen seconds, scoring the takedown after a scramble with nine seconds left and a 6-4 win. Harrison Cook needed to get momentum back on Penn's side and got a good start in the first period, wrestling to the whistle for a takedown with 0.7 seconds left on the clock. In the second, Cook worked an escape 11 seconds in and the countered a shot from Joe Ferber with a sweep-around for two more points. Cook rode all third period, looking for a turn, but the 3:25 riding time was good for a 6-0 win. No. 7 Micah Burak controlled the first period against Tyler Smith, utilizing his patented 2-on-1 into shots, finally getting points with just over one minute to go in the first period. Micah chose neutral for the second period, and after forcing a stall warning on Smith, turned the 2-on-1 into a takedown once again. While riding, Burak forced a second stall on Smith, getting a point. In the third, Burak beat the start, getting an escape point quickly. Working the edge of the mat, Burak rushed in with a double, pushing Smith down to his backside for two more points. Burak's 3:22 of riding time gives him a 9-1 win. The Quakers are back in action at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, North Carolina Dec. 29-30. Results: 125 - Mark Rappo (Penn) def. Chuck Zeisloft (Rider), 24-9 (Penn leads, 5-0) 133 - No. 11 Rollie Peterkin (Penn) def. Jimmy Kirchner (Rider), 11-2 (Penn leads, 9-0) 141 - Zack Kemmerer (Penn) def. Aaron Nestor (Rider), 10-2 (Penn leads, 13-0) 149 - Zac Cibula (Rider) def. Andrew Lenzi (Penn), 3-0 (Penn leads, 13-3) 157 - Ramon Santiago (Rider) def. Brad Wukie (Penn), FALL 5:40 (Penn leads, 13-9) 165 - Gabriel Burak (Penn) def. No. 12 Jim Resnick (Rider), 4-2 (Penn leads, 16-9) 174 - Rob Morrison (Rider) def. No. 19 Scott Giffin (Penn), 6-4 (Penn leads, 16-12) 184 - Harrison Cook (Penn) def. Joe Ferber (Rider), 6-0 (Penn leads, 19-12) 197 - No. 7 Micah Burak (Penn) def. Tyler Smith (Rider), 9-1 (Penn leads, 23-12) 285 - Evan Craig (Rider) win via forfeit (Penn leads 23-18)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestlers, ranked No. 5 nationally, shut out visiting Lock Haven 48-0 in a non-conference dual in Rec Hall today. Over 4,000 fans filled Rec Hall to watch Penn State dominate their neighbors and stay undefeated on the year. With a starting line-up featuring six freshmen, the Nittany Lions control the dual from start to finish. Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 125, majored LHU's Nick Hyatt and sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) pinned Evan Kolb at the 1:40 mark to put Penn State up 10-0 quickly. True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 141, broke through a defensive effort from LHU's Justin Loudon to post a 13-4 major. No. 6 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) then made quick work of Lock haven senior Owen Wilkinson, picking up a 17-1 technical fall at the 3:52 mark in the 149-pound bout. Freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, put on a clinic at 157 as well, getting a 19-4 technical fall over Seth Creasy at the 6:27 mark to put Penn State up 24-0 heading into intermission. Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) made his Penn State dual meet debut and picked up a forfeit win at 165 and sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) stepped in at 174 and notched a thrilling, last second win. Fischer picked up a takedown with just :07 left in the bout to beat Lock Haven's Mike Khoury 7-5 win. With No. 5 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) injured, freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 174, moved up to 184 and made short work of Lock Haven's Jacob Bateman. Ruth pinned the bigger Bald Eagle at the 2:53 mark to put Penn State up 39-0. True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) downed Lock Haven's Derrick Caldwell 8-6 at 197 and junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 at heavyweight, pinned LHU's Harry Turner at the 2:15 mark to put an exclamation mark on the dual and give Penn State the 49-0 shut-out. Penn State rolled up 18 bonus points thanks to three pins, two technical falls, two majors and a forfeit. The Nittany Lions won the takedown battle 23-3. The shutout was Penn State's second of the year, following up on a 45-0 win over Harvard in November. The 48-0 win is Penn State's most lopsided shutout win since a 54-0 win over Millersville on Jan. 25, 1983. The last time Penn State had two shutouts in one season was the 2006-07 season when the Lions beat Clarion (47-0) and Rider (41-0). Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, returns to action on Sunday, Dec. 19, when Ohio State invades Rec Hall for the Lions' Big Ten opener. Action begins at 2 p.m. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: #18 Frank Martellotti PSU maj. dec. Nick Hyatt LHU, 15-6 4-0 133: Bryan Pearsall PSU pinned Evan Kolb LHU, WBF (1:40) 10-0 141: #10 Andrew Alton PSU maj. dec. Justin Loudon LHU, 13-4 14-0 149: #6 Frank Molinaro PSU tech. fall Owen Wilkinson LHU, 17-1 (3:52) 19-0 157: #3 David Taylor PSU tech. fall Seth Creasy LHU, 19-4 (6:27) 24-0 165: James Vollrath PSU win by forfeit 30-0 174: Nick Fischer PSU dec. Michael Khoury LHU, 7-5 33-0 184: #12 Ed Ruth PSU pinned Jacob Bachman LHU, WBF (2:53) 39-0 197: Nick Ruggear PSU dec. Derrick Caldwell LHU, 8-6 42-0 285: #6 Cameron Wade PSU pinned Harry Turner LHU, WBF (2:15) 48-0 BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: True freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 18 nationally at 125, put his undefeated record on the line against Lock Haven senior Nick Hyatt. Martellotti got the bout's first takedown at the 2:25 mark. Keeping control of the senior Bald Eagle, Martellotti built up over a minute's worth of riding time before Hyatt escaped at the :56 mark. Martellotti then used a standing cradle to take Hyatt down and add three back points. A short ride-out gave the Lion freshman a 7-1 lead after one period. Hyatt chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 7-2 deficit, but Martellotti continued to pour it on, getting his third takedown at the 1:30 mark to move out to a 9-3 lead after a Hyatt escape. Another Martellotti takedown and Hyatt escape gave the Lion an 11-4 lead heading to the final stanza. Martellotti chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 12-4 lead. But Hyatt got his first takedown after a scramble at the 1:22 mark, cutting the lead to 12-6. Hyatt worked hard to turn Martellotti for back points, but the Lion freshman was able to withstand the effort and work his way to a reversal at the :08 mark, clinching the major. The 15-6 major put Penn State up 4-0. 133: Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) faced off Lock Haven's Evan Kolb. Kolb quickly took a 2-0 lead with a takedown in front of the Penn State bench. But Pearsall was able to roll his way to a reversal, tying the match at 2-2. He then worked his way to control of Kolb's legs, turning him to his back and picking up a fast fall at the 1:40 mark. Penn State led 10-0. 141: True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 141, met Lock Haven senior Justin Loudon. As usual, Alton notched a takedown quickly, getting Loudon to his back for three near fall points and then resetting his control, looking for another first period pin. He cut Loudon loose after a reset and, leading 5-1, picked up another quick takedown to lead 7-2 after a Loudon escape. Alton continued to pressure Loudon, but could not pick up a third takedown in the first. Trailing 7-2, Loudon chose down to start the second stanza and escaped to a 7-3 deficit (but Alton had 1:33 in riding time). Alton used a high double after a Loudon stall to notch his third takedown and lead 9-4 after Loudon escape at the :50 mark. Loudon got in on Alton's leg but the Lion freshman forced a stalemate with :10 left. Leading 9-4 with over 2:00 in riding time, Alton chose down to start the third period. Loudon rode Alton for :30 before Alton escaped to a 10-4 lead. Alton continued to force the pressure and Loudon continued to back off the mat, trying to avoid Alton's pin attempts. Alton used a quick late takedown to secure the major, picking up the 13-4 win the riding time point. 149: Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) put his No. 6 ranking at 149 on the line against LHU senior Owen Wilkinson. Molinaro wasted no time in taking a lead on the Bald Eagle senior. A low double led to a takedown and then swift work up top allowed Molinaro to turn Wilkinson to his back for two near fall points. Molinaro then reset himself and turned Wilkinson for three more back points and, after allowing the LHU senior up, led 7-1. Molinaro countered a slight Wilkinson shot and took him down once more to lead 9-1 with :40 left in the opening period. Leading 9-1, Molinaro chose down to start the second period. A quick reversal gave the Lion an 11-1 lead and Molinaro turned Wilkinson again for three more back points to lead 14-1. One more three point turn gave Molinaro a 17-1 tech fall at the 3:52 mark. 157: True freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 in the country at 157, met Lock Haven junior Seth Creasy. Taylor scored quickly, taking the Bald Eagle down to lead 2-1 just :10 into the bout. He then gained control of Creasy's left leg and forced a :40 scramble that nearly led to a second takedown. But action moved out of bounds and a reset was called with 1:30 on the clock. Taylor moved out to a 4-1 lead after the reset and immediately began looking for a chance to turn the Lock haven junior for back points. Taylor spend the remainder of the period in control, working to turn Creasy. He almost picked up two back points at the end of the period, but the clock struck zero. Trailing 4-1, Creasy chose down to start the second stanza and was allowed up by Taylor. The Lion freshman immediately took Creasy down again and cut him loose to lead 6-3 with 1:48 on the clock. Creasy forced a scramble that nearly caught Taylor, but the Nittany Lion was able to fight off the move and force a reset. Taylor then responded with another takedown to lead 8-3 with just over a minute left in the period. Creasy was allowed out again, only to be quickly taken down by Taylor once more. Taylor turned the veteran Bald Eagle for three back points and led 13-4. He turned him again as time expired, nearly picking up the pin. But the buzzer sounded and, with three back points, Taylor led 16-4 heading into the final period. Taylor chose top to start the third period, looking to pick up the fall. Creasy was able to fight off Taylor for a bit, but the Lion freshman turned him once more and picked up three more back points to post the 19-4 tech fall at the 6:27. Penn State lead 24-0 at halftime. 165: With red-shirt freshman starter Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) held out of the dual for medical reasons, classmate James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) made his Penn State dual meet debut up a weight at 165 and won by forfeit as Lock Haven did not weigh in anyone at 165. 174: Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) stepped in at 174 for Penn State and took on Lock Haven's Michael Khoury. Khoury scrambled his way to a 2-0 lead with a takedown at the 2:06 mark. Fischer escaped at the 1:27 mark and action resumed in the center circle. Khoury added another takedown and then put together a strong ride but got hit with a locked hand call. Still, the strong first period allowed Khoury to lead 4-2 with over 1:30 in riding time after one period. Khoury chose down to start the second period and steadily worked himself to an escape, but Fischer immediately turned in on the Bald Eagle and worked his way to a takedown on the edge of the mat with :29 left. Trailing 5-4, Fischer then rode Khoury out to kill the clock. Trailing by one but giving up :40 in riding time, Fischer chose down to start the second period and got a quick escaped to tie the bout at 5-5 with riding time, at this point, not a factor. Fischer gained control of Khoury's right leg but the Bald Eagle was able to flee the mat to force a reset with 1:20 on the clock. Khoury got hit with a first stall warning at the :58 mark as Fischer continued to pressure the Bald Eagle to the outside circle. Fischer countered a high Khoury shot, gained control of the Bald Eagle and picked up a clinching takedown with :07 on the clock. A short ride-out allowed Fischer to post a 7-5 win and put the Lions up 33-0. 184: With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) out with an injury, freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 12 at 174, moved up to 184 to take on Lock Haven's Jacob Bachman. Ruth bolted through a high double early, taking Bachman down to lead 2-1 at the 2:28 mark. The duo battled evenly for much of the period until Ruth took the bigger Bald Eagle down for another takedown and a 4-1 lead. Maintaining control of the turn, Ruth bided his time until Bachman's shoulders were flat and picked up the pin at the 2:53 mark, giving the Lions a 39-0 lead. 197: True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) got the call for Penn State at 197 and met Lock Haven's Derek Caldwell. Ruggear wasted no time, getting an early takedown to lead 2-1 after a quick Caldwell escape. The duo battled evenly for the remainder of the first period with neither wrestler finding a solid opening to score and Ruggear led by one after the opening period. Caldwell chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape to tie the bout at 2-2. Ruggear picked up a stall at the :07 mark and action moved to the third period tied 2-2. Ruggear chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 3-2 lead at the 1:44 mark. He then moved out to a 5-2 lead with a strong high double leg at the 1:26 mark. Ruggear cut Caldwell loose and immediately began looking for another takedown. The Lion rookie countered a Caldwell shot and rolled through for a third takedown and a 7-3 lead with :33 left. But Caldwell was injured and a brief timeout was called. Action resumed with Ruggear in control. Caldwell worked his way to an escaped and then added a late takedown to cut the lead to 8-6, but time ran out and Ruggear got the 8-6 decision. 285: Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 6 at heavyweight, met talented Lock Haven sophomore Harry Turner. Wade took Turner down a the 1:32 mark and quickly turned the talented Bald Eagle to his back for three near fall points. A quick reset and another turn led to three more back points and Wade lead 8-0 at the :57 mark. Wade then turned him one more time and flattened him for a pin at the 2:15 mark. The victory secured the 48-0 shutout.

BLOOMSBURG -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team swept three matches on Sunday at the Bloomsburg Duals. The Huskies beat Buffalo 21-12; East Stroudsburg 38-6, and Drexel 23-17. With the wins the Huskies improved to 8-2 on the season. Bloomsburg will be idle till Dec. 28-29 when it travels to North Carolina for the Southern Scuffle. BLOOMSBURG 21 BUFFALO 12 The Huskies opened the match with a 4-1 win by Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ, St. Marks) at 125 pounds before the Bulls came back and scored a 4-3 win at 133 by Kevin Smith. At 141 Buffalo’s Andrew Schutt scored a takedown just 11 seconds into the match, but from there it was all Derek Shingara (Shamokin, Shamokin) for the Huskies as he went on to post an 11-5 win putting Bloomsburg on top 6-3. Buffalo’s Desi Green posted a 9-4 win at 149 pounds to knot the score at 6-6 before the Huskies scored wins in the next four matches to open a 21-6 lead. Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC, E.L. Laney) started the rally for the Huskies with a 6-2 win at 157 pounds, then Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY, Greece Olympia) posted a 4-3 win at 165 pounds. Veltre held off John-Martin Cannon in the final 10 seconds of the match when Cannon made an attempt for a takedown. At 174 pounds Mike Dessino (Middlesex, NJ, Middlesex) scored his ninth pin of the season when he recorded the fall over Brian Sheehan in 6:06. Dessino scored a third period reversal then quickly put Sheehan on his back to earn the six points for the Huskies. Bloomsburg continued its winning streak with a win by Nate Graham (Selkirk, NY, Ravena) at 184 pounds who scored a takedown with 20 seconds left to post a 4-3 victory. Buffalo cut the lead to 21-9 with a win at 197 pounds, 6-2, by Josh Peters, then made the final 21-12 with a win at heavyweight by Brett Correll, 3-1, who scored a last second takedown to get the victory. BLOOMSBURG 38 EAST STROUDSBURG 6 Bloomsburg opened the match getting a forfeit at 125 pounds. East Stroudsburg came back and won the next two matches. At 133 Jordan Toledo posted a 7-5 victory, while at 141 pounds Adam Hluschak faced a rematch from last week’s PSAC championships against the Huskies Derek Shingara. Hlushak gained a measure of revenge with a 4-3 win, getting a takedown at the buzzer. The Huskies came back and won the next seven bouts. Matt Hicks (Allentown (Annapolis, MD), St. Mary's, MD) started things for the Huskies with an 8-0 win at 149 pounds before a win by forfeit at 157 pounds for Frank Hickman. Chris Smith (Mineral, Va., Chancelor) then dominated his opponent at 165 pounds getting a pin in just 1:12, followed by Dessino getting his second pin of the day, this one in just 2:29. At 184 pounds Graham scored an easy win by major decision, 15-2, followed by Jake Dabashinsky (Schuylkill Haven, Blue Mountain) winning 6-5 on riding time. At heavyweight, Zac Walsh (Denville, NJ, Morris Knolls) closed out the match for the Huskies with a 4-1 win at heavyweight. BLOOMSBURG 23 DREXEL 17 The Huskies posted a 23-17 win over Drexel in the day’s final match. After Sean Boylan earned a win by forfeit for the Huskies at 125 pounds, Nick Wilcox posted a 10-7 win over Frank Cimato at 133 pounds to put the Huskies on top 9-0. The Dragons were penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct. Drexel, though, came back with a win by decision, 2-1, getting the win on riding time. Then at 141 pounds the Dragons scored a win by fall in 5:53 to make the score 9-8. At 157 pounds the Huskies Frank Hickman scored a dominating win by technical fall, 18-2 to put Bloomsburg on top by six points. Hickman had three, three-point near falls in the final period to give the Huskies a 14-8 lead. The Huskies added to their lead when Josh Veltre posted a 3-2 win at 165 pounds. Veltre got an escape and a takedown in the second period for his points. At 174 pounds Dessino pulled out a tough 2-0 win over Justin Wieller. Dessino got a third period escape and riding time for the 2-0 win. At 184 pounds Graham won his third match of the day by a 7-2 score over Shawn Fausey. Graham allowed just two escapes in the match and earned a point after racking up 3:54 in riding time. Drexel closed out the match wins at 197 and a forfeit at heavyweight. Bloomsburg 21 Buffalo 12 125 Sean Boylan (Bloomsburg ) DEC Sean Walton (Buffalo) 4 - 1 133 Kevin Smith (Buffalo) DEC Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg ) 4 - 3 141 Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg ) DEC Lemual Schutt (Buffalo) 11 - 5 149 Desmond Green (Buffalo) DEC Matthew Hicks (Bloomsburg ) 9 - 4 157 Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg ) DEC Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) 6 - 2 165 Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg ) DEC John-Martin Cannon (Buffalo) 4 - 3 174 Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg ) FALL Brian Sheehan (Buffalo) 6:06 184 Nathan Graham (Bloomsburg ) DEC James Hamel (Buffalo) 4 - 3 197 Josh Peters (Buffalo) DEC Jacob Dabashinsky (Bloomsburg ) 6 - 2 285 Brett Correll (Buffalo) DEC Zachary Walsh (Bloomsburg ) 3 - 1 Bloomsburg 38 East Stroudsburg 6 125 Sean Boylan (Bloomsburg ) For Forfeit (East Stroudsburg ) 133 Jordan Toledo (East Stroudsburg) DEC Jeremiah Biddle (Bloomsburg ) 7 - 5 141 Adam Hluschak (E. Stroudsburg ) DEC Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg ) 4 - 3 149 Matthew Hicks (Bloomsburg ) MD Tyler Wilton (East Stroudsburg ) 8 - 0 157 Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg ) For Forfeit (East Stroudsburg ) 165 Christopher Smith (Bloomsburg ) FALL Thad Frick (East Stroudsburg ) 1:12 174 Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg ) FALL Jesse Dunn (East Stroudsburg ) 2:29 184 Nathan Graham (Bloomsburg) MD brendan McKeown (E. Stroudsburg ) 15 - 2 197 Jacob Dabashinsky (Bloomsburg ) DEC Eddie Ebewo (East Stroudsburg ) 6 - 5 285 Zachary Walsh (Bloomsburg ) DEC Will Weaver (East Stroudsburg ) 4 - 1 Bloomsburg 23 Drexel 17 125 Sean Boylan (Bloomsburg ) For Forfeit (Drexel ) 133 Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg ) DEC Frank Cimato (Drexel ) 9 - 7 141 Josh Yurasits (Drexel ) DEC Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg ) 2 - 1 149 Austin Sommer (Drexel ) FALL Matthew Hicks (Bloomsburg ) 5:53 157 Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg ) TF5 Charles Aungst (Drexel ) 18 - 2 ( (6:06)) 165 Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg ) DEC Joe Booth (Drexel ) 3 - 2 174 Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg ) DEC Justin Wieller (Drexel ) 2 - 0 184 Nathan Graham (Bloomsburg ) DEC Shawn Fausey (Drexel ) 7 - 2 197 Brandon Palik (Drexel ) DEC Jacob Dabashinsky (Bloomsburg ) 7 - 1 285 Callender, Jamie (Drexel ) For Forfeit (Bloomsburg ) Drexel -1 Unsportsmanlike Conduct - Coach 133

PITTSBURGH -- Each team won five matches, but a major decision by junior Ross Tice (165) made the difference as Kent State topped No. 17 Pittsburgh 16-15 Sunday at Fitzgerald Field House. The Golden Flashes also came out on the winning end of an 11-10 battle at 157 and a match that needed six extra sessions at 149. "We're a much better team than we were four weeks ago," Head Coach Jim Andrassy said. "Today was very similar to Missouri, Iowa State and Virginia and I feel like we could easily be 6-1 right now instead of 3-4." The meet started at 125, where junior Nic Bedelyon (125) found himself in a 4-1 hole in the first period. Bedelyon (10-1) scored the next six points with two escapes and a pair of takedowns to claim a 7-4 decision and give the Flashes an early 3-0 lead. Pitt responded with back-to-back wins at 133 and 141 to take a 6-3 lead. In a battle of freshman, Shelton Mack scored three takedowns in a 6-2 victory over Tyler Small (133). Junior Chase Skonieczny (141) led nationally ranked Tyler Nauman 3-2 after two periods, but came up on the short end of a 5-4 decision. The longest match of the day came at 149 as junior Marcel Clopton needed three sudden victory periods and three tiebreaker sessions to edge Dane Johnson 2-1. In the third tiebreaker, Clopton got to his feet and was deliberately pushed out-of-bounds resulting in a penalty point. "Marcel did a great job of riding him in overtime," Andrassy said. "And that was the fourth time in the match he got pushed out like that and the ref finally called him on it." The most action-packed match came at 157, as senior Matt Cathell edged Donnie Tasser 11-10. All four takedowns in the match belonged to Tasser, but Cathell scored a pair of three-point near falls and used 1:25 of riding time for the deciding 11th point. "Matt really controlled him from the top and turned him a number of times," Andrassy said. "We thought he would get back points a couple other times, but we didn't get the call." Tice (165) then surprised the Pitt crowd with a 10-1 major decision over senior Adam Counterman. Tice recorded three takedowns and had a two-point tilt in his dominant performance. "Ross came out hard early and really kept the pressure on," Andrassy said. "It was one of those matches we thought ahead of time could go either way hand and his extra point ended up winning it for us." Trailing 13-6, the Panthers clawed back with two straight wins at 174 and 184. Freshman Brandonn Johnson (174) trailed 4-0 early and his comeback bid came up short in a 6-5 loss to Ethan Headlee. Sophomore Casey Newburg (184) scored the opening takedown in a 12-7 loss to Max Thomusseit. "Brandonn wrestled well against another ranked guy," Andrassy said. "He's getting better and he reminds me of Dustin (Kilgore) the way he goes hard for seven minutes and doesn't get tired. He's inches away from becoming a great wrestler." Junior Dustin Kilgore claimed another victory over a Top 10 opponent, defeating No. 8 Zac Thomusseit 9-5. Kilgore started the third period with a reversal and scored a two-point near fall to seal the win. Junior Brendan Barlow (285) then gave No. 2 Ryan Tomei all he could handle in a 6-5 loss. Tomei's second period escape in with one second remaining made the difference. "Brendan had a beautiful takedown in the second period," Andrassy said. "I think we're a Top 15 team and we'll have a chance to prove that at the Scuffle." The Golden Flashes take a 17-day break from competition, before heading to Greensboro, N.C. for the Southern Scuffle Dec. 29-30.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- No. 11 Lehigh won seven of ten bouts and beat three ranked wrestlers as the Mountain Hawks headed into their final exams/holiday break with a 23-9 win over No. 14 Central Michigan Sunday inside Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall. Junior Brian Tanen and sophomore Robert Hamlin delivered bonus wins for Lehigh, which improves to 7-2 on the dual season. Wrestling: Service Electric 2 Post Match Show Central Michigan, Dec. 12, 2010 “I’m really pleased with the way we wrestled today,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “They had four All-Americans in their lineup and we wrestled well against all four guys. There were a lot of close calls and tight matches. The visiting Chippewas (1-4) struck first as Christian Cullinan won 5-2 over senior Mitch Berger at 125 and appeared to be headed to a 6-0 lead after two bouts. A second-period reversal put ninth-ranked Scotti Sentes ahead of freshman Frank Cagnina, but not before Cagnina had gone over a minute of riding time. In the third period Cagnina chose neutral, and after several attempts at a takedown, finally gained control of Sentes for a takedown in the final seconds of the match. A 1:02 riding time advantage gave Cagnina the 3-2 upset win. “That was huge for us,” Santoro said. “Any time you beat an All-American it’s huge. Frank has been a little buzz saw. He scored in the final seconds and it sparked the team.” Central Michigan regained the lead when Scott Mattingly edged Stephen Dutton 4-3 at 141 but from there Lehigh rolled off three straight wins to take control of the dual. Sophomore Joey Napoli tied the dual at six with a 10-4 win over Donnie Corby at 141, but it was Tanen who delivered the spark, winning a 9-1 major decision over Adam Miller to give Lehigh a four point lead heading into intermission. Tanen used a modified headlock to score five first period points and added a third period escape, a takedown and riding time to secure the major. “Brian can flat out wrestle,” Santoro explained. “He’s doing some great things. He’s done a great job filling in and has done better now that he’s been getting that exposure.” Lehigh picked up its second win over a ranked opponent at 165 as junior Brandon Hatchett downed ninth-ranked Mike Miller 8-6. After struggling to find his offense recently, Hatchett scored a pair of first period takedowns to lead 4-2. He added a third period takedown that gave the necessary cushion to extend Lehigh’s lead to 13-6. Freshman Austin Meys gave No. 3 Ben Bennett all he could handle at 174, but came up just short in a 1-0 setback. The only points of the match were a second period escape from Bennett as Meys chose neutral in the third but was unable to score a takedown. Hamlin moved to 9-0 on the season with an impressive 14-5 major over Chad Friend at 184. Hamlin totaled six takedowns in the win, including three in the third period as he built the necessary margin to earn the bonus point. Junior Joe Kennedy then kept things rolling with a 12-6 decision over Craig Kelliher at 184. Kennedy gave up a takedown in the opening seconds of the bout but was able to compensate with a reversal and four takedowns of his own. One of the most anticipated bouts of the day was at heavyweight where top ranked junior Zach Rey squared off against No. 5 Jarod Trice of Central Michigan. Both men played things close to the vest with minimal offensive shots. Tied at one, after three periods and sudden victory, Rey escaped in the first 30 second tiebreaker and then rode out Trice to win 2-1 and join Hamlin at 9-0 on the season. The Mountain Hawks will have the two and a half weeks off from competition before returning to action at the Midlands Championships, December 29 and 30 in Evanston, Ill. Results: 125 – Christian Cullinan (CMU) dec. Mitch Berger (LU) 5-2 133 – Frank Cagnina (LU) dec. Scotti Sentes (CMU) 3-2 141 – Scott Mattingly (CMU) dec. Stephen Dutton (LU) 4-3 149 – Joey Napoli (LU) dec. Donnie Corby (CMU) 10-4 157 – Brian Tanen (LU) maj. dec. Adam Miller (CMU) 9-1 165 – Brandon Hatchett (LU) dec. Mike Miller (CMU) 8-6 174 – Ben Bennett (CMU) dec. Austin Meys (LU) 1-0 184 – Robert Hamlin (LU) maj. dec. Chad Friend (CMU) 14-5 197 – Joe Kennedy (LU) dec. Craig Kelliher (CMU) 12-6 285 – Zach Rey (LU) dec. Jarod Trice (CMU) 2-1, t.b.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Fueled by a pair of upset victories from freshmen Chris Perry and Blake Rosholt and resounding bonus-point victories from returning All-Americans Jordan Oliver and Clayton Foster, the Oklahoma State wrestling team handed Bedlam Series rival Oklahoma a 22-12 defeat in front of 4,449 fans in Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday. The win improved the second-ranked Cowboys to 3-0 on the year, with two of those wins coming over teams ranked in the top 10. No. 8 Oklahoma fell to 5-1 in defeat. “I look at it as a good win, and a good win for several freshmen,” OSU coach John Smith said. “I am not going to be too hard on their performances, but a few of them, it didn't cut it tonight." With the dual starting at 184 pounds, Perry had a chance to avenge his loss earlier in the season to No. 13 Erich Schmidtke, and he did so by a comfortable 6-1 margin. Perry bagged a takedown with 51 seconds left in the first period and rode the Sooner out for the rest of the period. Perry opened the second period with a quick escape to build his advantage to 3-0, then after Schmidtke got on the board with an escape to start the third, Perry added a final takedown and riding time to seal his 6-1 win. “First time I had ever started a dual off. I'd never had that experience,” Perry said. “I think this time, I talked to some of our coaches just about controlling your emotions before a match. Just relax and don't hype it up; you can exhaust yourself. I felt like I handled it pretty well. I was calm. I felt like my conditioning was there. My legs were underneath me. It's fun. It's still fun. You have to stay focused, but I felt good." Foster followed Perry’s upset win with a demoralizing 14-3 major decision win over Keldrick Hall that put the Cowboys up in the dual by a 7-0 score and put the Sooners into a bad situation. Foster took Hall down five times, and Hall was also slapped for stalling twice. The key moment of the dual came at heavyweight, however, where the unranked Rosholt scored a 4-3 upset win over No. 8 Nathan Fernandez. Rosholt -- who weighed in at 214 pounds -- was giving up approximately 55 pounds to the highly-favored Fernandez, but controlled the bout from the start. Rosholt bagged the first takedown of the bout in the first period and nearly turned Fernandez to his back twice before getting hit for locking his hands and then yielding an escape. With the score deadlocked at two going into the second period, Fernandez took his first lead with an escape 23 seconds in. The third period started with Rosholt in the down position. The weight differential figured to be an issue in that circumstance, but the Cowboy hit a switch with 25 seconds left to score a reversal. Riding time was no factor, so the reversal proved to be the difference in the freshman’s big win. "It's a big win for me, for sure. It's definitely my best one yet,” Rosholt said. “It's only my third match to really come out and prove myself in a weight that I am a little bit small for." Smith said Rosholt’s win could springboard him into bigger things. "You look at Blake's match, and he did a pretty good job,” Smith said. “As far as the first takedown of the match, it was an important takedown. He pretty much out-wrestled him in the first period, but then it ended up 2-2. Obviously, the reversal in the third period is something you don't see very often out of heavyweights. He's got a big upside to him and he wrestled a wrestler that has been wrestling well this year and who is hot, coming off wrestling well in Las Vegas. It should give him a real boost.” Rosholt’s win gave the Pokes a commanding 10-0 lead in the dual, but after No. 7 Jarrod Patterson of Oklahoma nipped No. 5 Jon Morrison at 125 pounds, the OSU advantage was trimmed to 10-3. That is where Oliver put things out of reach by pinning Jordan Keller in 3:51. Oliver bagged a quick takedown and had Keller on his back for two three-point nearfalls in the first period. Keller elected to start the second period in the neutral position, but Oliver turned him to his back again and eventually scored the pin to put the Cowboys up in the dual, 16-3 and suck the life out of any Sooner comeback. "I think that after Blake, the only one that was motivated by it was Oliver,” Smith said. “He goes out and gets two first-period cradles and puts the guy to his back. The guy had some serious flexibility to get out of them, but then he hooked him back up and gets the pin in the second period.” The Pokes and Sooners traded wins by decision for the rest of the way, but the bout was out of reach at that point. The Cowboys break for final exams, then return to action when they travel to Tempe, Ariz., to face Arizona State at 8 p.m. CST on Jan. 2. Results: 184: No. 16 Chris Perry (OSU) dec. No. 13 Erich Schmidtke (OU), 6-1 197: No. 4 Clayton Foster (OSU) major dec. Keldrick Hall (OU), 14-3 285: Blake Rosholt (OSU) dec. No. 8 Nathan Fernandez (OU), 4-3 125: No. 7 Jarrod Patterson (OU) dec. No. 5 Jon Morrison (OSU), 2-1 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) pinned Jordan Keller (OU), 3:51 141: No. 6 Zack Bailey (OU) dec. No. 20 Luke Silver (OSU), 8-5 149: No. 4 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Nick Lester (OU), 5-2 157: Matt Lester (OU) dec. No. 10 Albert White (OSU), 1-0 165: No. 8 Dallas Bailey (OSU) dec. 18 Chase Nelson (OU), 2-1 174: No. 7 Tyler Caldwell (OU) dec. No. 11 Mike Benefiel (OSU), 3-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jumping out to a 12-0 lead via two Edinboro forfeits, the No. 22 Ohio State wrestling team recorded its first dual win of the 2010-11 season after beating the Fighting Scots, 31-14, Sunday afternoon at McComb Fieldhouse in Edinboro, Pa. A key major decision by senior Colt Sponseller at 157 pounds gave the Buckeyes (1-2) a little breathing room midway through the match en route to their fifth-consecutive win over Edinboro (1-4-1). With a four-point lead (12-8) after the completion of four matches, Sponseller, ranked 14th, posted a 9-0 major decision against Johnny Greisheimer to extend the Buckeye lead to 16-8. The senior captain from Glenmont, Ohio, moves to 11-1 on the season courtesy of three takedowns, a pair of escapes and a riding time advantage. Ohio State proceeded to win three of the next five matches at 165, 174 and 197 pounds to secure the win. Redshirt-sophomore and 165-pounder Jared Kusar already owned a 7-2 lead in the second period vs. Ethan Saylor before pinning the Fighting Scot at the 4:52 mark. Mathematically still able to win the match, Edinboro’s chances were dashed following redshirt-freshman and No. 14 Nick Heflin’s 2:33 pin against Chris Hrunka at 174 pounds. Classmate C.J. Magrum recorded the final Buckeye win at 197 pounds, beating Shawn Fendone, 7-4. Magrum erased a 3-2 lead by Fendone in the third period by way of a takedown and three-point nearfall despite Fendone’s riding time advantage. Edinboro found itself digging out of an early hole when it forfeited matches at 125 and 133 pounds. Redshirt-junior Bo Touris was slated to start at 125, while sophomore and 10th-ranked Ian Paddock was rested at 133 pounds. The Fighting Scots earned a pair of bonus points in their first two wins of the afternoon, keeping them very much in the match. At 141 pounds, Kasey Davis handed Buckeye freshman Randy Languis a 19-7 loss, before No. 15 Torsten Gillespie shut out redshirt-junior Sean Nemec, 8-0, at 149 pounds. Nearly as quickly as Ohio State had taken a 12-0 lead, Edinboro had swiftly pulled to within four. At 184 pounds, redshirt-freshman Peter Capone lost a tough 4-3 decision to No. 3 Chris Honeycutt. With the scored tied at, 2-2, at the end of the second, Capone took a 3-2 lead in the third on an escape, but Honeycutt answered with a takedown for the victory. Heavyweight Johnny Hiles dropped a 2-0 decision to Michael Horton. A third-period escape by Horton, plus riding time was enough to give Edinboro its fourth win on the afternoon. The Buckeyes will open their Big Ten Conference schedule at Penn State at 2 p.m. Dec. 19. The Nittany Lions entered action Sunday second (tie) in the conference with a 5-0 record. Results: 125 Bo Touris (OSU) forfeit 0-6 (OSU) 133 No. 12/No. 10 Ian Paddock (OSU) forfeit 0-12 (OSU) 141 Kasey Davis (EU) maj. dec. Randy Languis (OSU), 19-7 4-12 (OSU) 149 No. 15/No. 12 Torsten Gillespie (EU) maj. dec. Sean Nemec (OSU), 8-0 8-12 (OSU) 157 No. 14/No. 9 Colt Sponseller (OSU) maj. dec. Johnny Greisheimer (EU), 9-0 8-16 (OSU) 165 Jared Kusar (OSU) fall over Ethan Saylor (EU), 4:52 8-22 (OSU) 174 No. 14/No. 19 Nick Heflin (OSU) fall over Chris Hrunka (EU), 2:33 8-28 (OSU) 184 No. 3/No. 3 Chris Honeycutt (EU) dec. Peter Capone (OSU), 4-3 11-28 (OSU) 197 C.J. Magrum (OSU) dec. Shawn Fendone (EU), 7-4 11-31 (OSU) 285 Michael Horton (EU) dec. Jonathan Hiles (OSU), 2-0 14-31 (OSU)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The 21st-ranked Purdue Wrestling team topped the University of Missouri for the second straight season on Sunday, taking an 18-15 win over the 16th-ranked Tigers at Holloway Gymnasium in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. The Boilermakers improve to 14-8-1 all-time against Missouri, improving to 3-0-1 this season, while the Tigers fall to 6-4 on the year. Missouri handled most of the first half of the lineup, taking three decisions en route to a 9-7 lead at the intermission. No. 8 Alan Waters topped Purdue freshman Camden Eppert at 125 pounds, 6-0, 17th-ranked junior Todd Schavrien took a 6-4 sudden victory from Purdue senior Akif Eren at 141 pounds, and freshman Kyle Bradley earned a 3-1 decision against Boilermaker senior Sam Patacsil at 149 pounds. Junior Jake Fleckenstein put the Boilermakers on the board at 133 pounds, taking down favored Missouri sophomore Nathan McCormick, 4-2. McCormick took the early lead, reversing Fleckenstein in the second period, but an escape in the second and another to start the third knotted the count at 2-2. The match appeared headed for sudden victory, but Fleckenstein got his offense working at the right time, scoring a takedown in the last 20 seconds and riding McCormick out for the win. The Boilermakers secured the first bonus points of the day at 157 pounds as 15th-ranked senior Colton Salazar reeled off a 12-4 major decision over Tiger junior Danny Gonsor. Salazar turned in a dominant display in the contest, scoring five takedowns and never really taking much of a threat from Gonsor after the two collided heads in the first frame and the Tiger junior took the brunt of it. Salazar moves to 189 career takedowns with the effort, now just one shy of the Boilermakers' all-time leaderboard. The second half of the lineup favored the Boilermakers on paper and they held true, winning three of five matches, including a pair of major decisions to build the margin of victory. Ninth-ranked Zach Toal pushed the Missouri lead to 12-7 at 165 pounds, taking a 7-3 decision over Purdue freshman Kyle Mosier. Mosier worked hard on top and scored a slick reversal in the third period on the Tiger freshman, but was unable to put him on his back in the loss. The Old Gold and Black proceeded to erase the deficit and rallied a six-point lead with three straight wins at 174, 184 and 197 pounds. In the only contest of the day to feature ranked grapplers on both sides, No. 15 senior Luke Manuel worked for a hard-fought 2-1 decision over 17th-ranked Dorian Henderson at 174 pounds. The pair traded escapes in the match, but Manuel's tough ride to start the third period was the difference as the Boilermakers earned three much-needed team points. No. 12 Purdue junior A.J. Kissel had the most thrilling match of the day at 184 pounds, using a late burst to earn a 10-2 major decision. Missouri sophomore Mike Larson wrestled Kissel tough for the first five minutes, allowing just one takedown to the Boilermaker, and refusing to go to his back. Kissel took bottom position to start the third and after an escape, worked for a takedown and then turned Larson for three back points to grab the bonus tallies. Ninth-ranked senior Logan Brown put on a dominant display at 197 pounds, rolling out six takedowns en route to a 13-5 major decision over Missouri sophomore Jake Glore. Brown now has a team-best 51 takedowns on the season and 291 for his career, good for seventh all-time. The Boilermakers open Big Ten Dual competition next Sunday, traveling to n Fifth-ranked junior Dom Bradley could only go for a tie for the Tigers, needing six points to clear the lead, but Purdue senior Roger Vukobratovich wrestled a solid match and held it to a decision, 7-3. The Boilermakers open Big Ten Dual competition next Sunday, traveling to ninth-ranked Illinois for a 1 p.m. (ET) start time. Visit PurdueSports.com this week for The Scott Hinkel Show and a full preview of next weekend's event. Results: 125- Alan Waters (Missouri) DEC Eppert, Camden (Purdue University) 6-0 133- Fleckenstein, Jake (Purdue University) DEC Nathan McCormick (Missouri) 4-2 141- Todd Schavrien (Missouri) SV Eren, Akif (Purdue University) 6-4 149- Kyle Bradley (Missouri) DEC Patacsil, Sam (Purdue University) 3-1 157- Salazar, Colton (Purdue University) MD Dan Gonsor (Missouri) 12-4 165- Zach Toal (Missouri) DEC Mosier, Kyle (Purdue University) 7-3 174- Manuel, Luke (Purdue University) DEC Dorian Henderson (Missouri) 2-1 184- Kissel, A.J. (Purdue University) MD Mike Larson (Missouri) 10-2 197- Brown, Logan (Purdue University) MD Jake Glore (Missouri) 13-5 285- Dominque Bradley (Missouri) DEC Vukobratovich, Roger (Purdue University) 7-3

Link: Photos (Tech-Fall.com) Eric Lopez (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Sometimes the most difficult aspect of a job is the finish. This is magnified when the expectations are high. Fresno City College has spent the entire season as the front runner -- the team everyone guns for. They embraced that role and finished a perfect season with the CA Community College State Championship. Placing all 10 wrestlers and crowning four champions, Fresno City out distanced second place Cerritos College, 185.5 to 125.0. Sacramento City College finished third, lead by state champion Jesse Hellinger at 184 pounds. The tournament's Outstanding Wrestler was Eric Lopez of Victor Valley College. Lopez becomes Victor Valley's first state champion. Fresno City (Photo/John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com)Fresno City College Head Coach, Paul Keysaw was quick to sing the praises of his team. "All year we have felt the pressure of being the front runner, with the bulls-eye on our back. This team rose to the occasion and have been an absolute joy to coach." Key to their success has been Fresno City's coaching staff. "These coaches have done everything I have asked for -- and then some. We share a common philosophy and I'm proud to have such an outstanding staff." Finals Results: 125: Estavan Cabanas, Cerritos dec. A J Jaramillo, West Hills, 10-6 133: Charlie Seang, Delta dec. Bryan Magno, Bakersfield, 5-2 141: Kevin Rojas, Fresno City dec. Kyle Chene, Santa Ana, 3-2 149: Conrad Rangel, Fresno City tech. fall Anthony Harris, Sacramento City 157: Eric Lopez, Victor Valley major dec. Cody Bollinger, Cerritos, 10-2 165: Tigran Adzhemyan, Fresno City dec. Vlad Dombrovskiy, Sierra, 4-2 174: Martin Fabbian, Fresno City major dec. Sam Temko, Skyline, 12-4 184: Jesse Hellinger, Sacramento City dec. Fito Juarez. Fresno City, 3-1 197: Jordan Williams, Sierra major dec. Trever Gwin, Palomar, 14-3 285 Jose Lopez, Cerritos dec. Luis Contreras, Fresno City, 4-0 Team Standings (Top 5): 1. Fresno City 2. Cerritos 3. Sacramento City 4. Sierra 5. Cuesta Fresno City's Championship team included eight freshmen. The expectations are high and the sights are squarely set.

MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin wrestling team's home match against Michigan, originally scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 12, has been postponed due to inclement weather. The match will be made up at a later date that is still to be determined.

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- The No. 13 Rutgers wrestling team (9-1) used solid wrestling throughout its lineup to win a pair of duals over George Mason and Princeton this evening at College Ave. Gym. The Scarlet Knights downed GMU, 36-9, in their opening dual and followed up with a shutout victory over in-state rival Princeton, 42-0. RU started the dual with George Mason at 285. DJ Russo (Netcong, N.J.), the third-ranked heavyweight in the nation, started strong for the Scarlet Knights as he picked up a fall on Hunter Mansplie just 1:40 into the match to give RU a 6-0 lead. Matt Fusco (Belleville, N.J.) kept the RU momentum going as he earned a 3-2 decision over Zack Huxford. GMU didn’t wrestle anyone at 133 pounds which allowed RU to take a 15-0 lead. After the Patriots took bouts at 141 and 149, Daryl Cocozzo (River Edge, N.J.) snatched momentum back with a pin of Shohei Takagi at the 1:27 mark of the match. Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, N.J.) earned a 6-1 decision and then No. 18 Alex Caruso (Green Brook, N.J.) pinned Greg Scott at 4:32 to push RU’s lead to 30-6. George Mason forfeited at 184 and then earned a victory by decision at 197 to end the match at 36-9 in favor of the Scarlet Knights. Russo again set the tone for RU in the Princeton matchup as he pinned Bobby Grogan with just a second left in the first to give the Scarlet Knights an early 6-0 lead. The next match was perhaps the most exciting of the day as Joe Langel (Howell, N.J.) took on No. 13 Garrett Frey of Princeton. Frey took a 4-2 lead into the second and started down. Langel rode out Frey for the entire second frame to earn a huge advantage in riding time. Langel still found himself down with a minute and a half remaining in the final frame but used a timely escape to even the score. With just under 30 seconds left, Frey took a shot at Langel’s legs which Langel blocked and turned into a take down for a 5-4 advantage which sent the College Ave. crowd into a frenzy. Langel was able to ride out Frey for the remainder of the frame and earned the 6-4 victory. After the Langel victory, RU ran off three straight victories by decision from Mike Demarco (Lyndhurst, N.J.), Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.) and No. 5 Mario Mason (Moorestown, N.J.). Cocozzo earned a 14-2 major decision over Dan Kolodzik to push the RU lead to 22-0 before Princeton forfeited bouts at 165 and 174. A Dan Rinaldi (Lodi, N.J.) tech fall and Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, N.J.) decision closed out a 42-0 victory for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers returns to action on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 as it travels to Evanston, Illinois for the 48th Midlands Championships. Rutgers 36, George Mason 9 285: No. 3 DJ Russo (RU) pins Hunter Mansplie (GM), 1:40 125: Matt Fusco (RU) dec. Zack Huxford (GM), 3-2; Rutgers leads, 9-0 133: George Mason forfeits; Rutgers leads, 15-0 141: Deny Herndon (GM) dec. Jordan Beverly (RU), 5-4; Rutgers leads, 15-3 149: Brandon Bucher (GM) dec. Joe Mcauley (RU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 15-6 157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) pins Shohei Takagi (GM), 1:27; Rutgers leads, 21-6 165: Nick Visicaro (RU) dec. Aaron Keeton (GM), 6-1; Rutgers leads, 24-6 174: No. 18 Alex Caruso (RU) pins Greg Scott (GM), 4:32, Rutgers leads, 30-6 184: George Mason forfeits; Rutgers leads, 36-6 197: No. 6 Cayle Byers (GM) dec. Mike Wagner (RU), 6-2; Rutgers wins, 36-9 Rutgers 42, Princeton 0 285: No. 3 DJ Russo (RU) pins Bobby Grogan (PU), 2:59; Rutgers leads, 6-0 125: Joe Langel (RU) dec. No. 13 Garrett Frey (PU), 6-4; Rutgers leads, 9-0 133: Mike DeMarco (RU) dec. Adam Kropp (PU), 5-2; Rutgers leads, 12-0 141: Trevor Melde (RU) dec. Zach Bintliff (PU), 4-1; Rutgers leads, 15-0 149: No. 5 Mario Mason (RU) dec. Brandon Rolnick (PU), 9-3; Rutgers leads, 18-0 157: Daryl Cocozzo (RU) m. dec. Daniel Kolodzik (PU), 14-2; Rutgers leads, 22-0 165: Princeton forfeits; Rutgers leads, 28-0 174: Princeton forfeits; Rutgers leads, 34-0 184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) tech. fall Travis Erdman (PU), 16-1 (7:00); Rutgers leads, 39-0 197: Mike Wagner (RU) dec. Charles Fox (PU), 6-1; Rutgers wins, 42-0