InterMat Staff

After a disappointing loss Friday evening at Clarion, the Princeton wrestling team bounced back for a 34-6 victory at Franklin & Marshall. The win, Princeton's third on the season, sends the team into finals break with some positive momentum; the Tigers know that the Ivy League season and EIWA Championships wait on the other side of this break. A forfeit win for Garrett Frey, his 21st on the season, gave Princeton a 6-0 lead to open the match. Franklin & Marshall would cut the lead in half at 133, but Luis Ramos scored an 11-1 major decision at 141 to open a 10-3 lead. Ramos, who led 2-0 after the first period, scored a reversal and near fall in the second period to take control of the match. Freshman Brandon Rolnick, whom head coach Chris Ayres believes is close to a breakthrough during his first season, grabbed a big 15-2 win at 149 to extend the lead to 14-3. Rolnick led 5-0 after the first period and 10-0 after the second en route to the convincing win. Junior Daniel Kolodzik continued his impressive season with a first-period technical fall over Eric Norgard at 157. Kolodzik gained the edge with a takedown 12 seconds into the match, then scored near fall points on five different moves in the first period to earn a 16-0 win at the 3:00 mark. Classmate Andy Lowy earned his first win of the season in dramatic fashion, scoring a reversal at the final whistle to take an 8-6 victory over Anthony Bongarzone at 165. Bongarzone scored the first three points of the final period to force a tie, but Lowy was able to reverse a takedown in the final seconds to get the win. Freshman Ryan Callahan completed a perfect weekend with a 6-5 win over Matt Fullowan at 174. Callahan scored first with a first-period takedown, then added an escape and a takedown in the second to open a four-point lead. Fullowan rallied in the third, but Callahan used one last escape to clinch the match. Senior captain Travis Erdman also completed a perfect weekend, and he scored Princeton's only pin of the day. He took down Matt Latessa 1:13 into their 184-pound match and scored the pin within the next 40 seconds. His win at 1:47 gave Princeton a 31-3 lead. Freshman Dan Santoro dropped a tight 5-4 match due to riding time at 197, but sophomore Charles Fox ended the dual with a 2-1 win over Daniel Canfield at 285. Neither wrestler would earn a takedown, but Fox rode his opponent for 1:26 of the final period to clinch the extra point and the win. Princeton will return from its break Jan. 29 with a match at Virginia before hosting a critical Ivy League doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 5. Princeton will take on Harvard at 10 a.m., then compete against Brown at 3 p.m. Both matches will be in Dillon Gym, and admission is free. Results: 125- Garrett Frey (P) won by forfeit 133- Jacob Bucha (F&M) Adam Krop 10-4 141- Luis Ramos (P) MD Aaron Velasquez 11-1 149- Brandon Rolnick (P) MD Andrew Murano 15-2 157- Daniel Kolodzik (P) TF5 Eric Norgard 3:00 165- Andy Lowy (P) d. Anthony Bongarzone 8-6 174- Ryan Callahan (P) d. Matt Fullowan 6-5 184- Travis Erdman (Princeton ) pinned Matt Latessa 1:47 197- Colin Ely (F&M) d. Dan Santoro 5-4 285- Charles Fox (P) d. Dan Canfield 2-1

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The North Carolina wrestling team split 10 individual bouts with Hofstra, but the Pride captured three of the final four contests in rallying to a 19-17 victory Saturday afternoon at the David S. Mack Sports Complex at Hofstra University. The Tar Heels' dual record now stands at 4-3 on the season while Hofstra improved to 4-2-1. Freshman Antonio Giorgio earned a victory via technical fall wrestling at 197 pounds for the first time in his career for the Tar Heels. Corey Mock, Thomas Scotton, Zac Bennett and Danny Lopes grabbed decisions for Carolina. The match kicked off at 157 pounds, where the freshman Mock defeated Tyler Banks 8-2 as UNC struck first to take a 3-0 lead. The Tar Heels added to their lead as Scotton improved to 6-1 in dual action with a 10-4 victory as Carolina led 6-0. Hofstra responded with consecutive tight decisions to knot the score at six. The Pride's P.J. Gillespie, ranked 12th at 165 pounds but wrestling at 174, used a third-period takedown to squeak by freshman Andre Petroski 4-3. At 184, Ben Clymer narrowly defeated UNC's Nick Tenpenny 4-2. Carolina then recaptured the lead with Giorgio's convincing win over Matt Loew. The freshman jumped out to a 10-1 lead after the first period and completed the technical fall victory in just 3:46 by a final of 16-1. Bennett, the Tar Heels' regular 197-pounder wrestling at heavyweight, followed that up with a 9-6 victory over Paul Snyder to give Carolina a 14-6 lead.Two consecutive convincing victories gave Hofstra its first lead of the match. At 125 pounds, Steve Bonanno defeated Nick Shields, who was wrestling in his first dual bout in nearly two years, 16-3. Fifth-ranked 133-pounder Lou Ruggirello pinned UNC freshman Pat Owens in 1:43 to give the Pride a 16-14 lead. Lopes put Carolina back ahead with a 9-3 decision at 141 pounds. A flurry near the end of the second period that included a takedown and a three-point near fall proved to be the difference for the Carolina junior. The contest came down to the 149-pound bout between Hofstra's Matt Spataro and Carolina's Daniel Helena. No takedowns were recorded, but a second-period escape gave Spataro the individual victory and Hofstra a 19-17 win. Carolina is back in action Sunday at 1 p.m. at Rutgers.

CLARION, Pa. -- Clarion’s Bekzod Abdurakhmonov posted a fall at 165, and with the match on the line in the final bout, Eagle Joe Waltko won 8-5 at 133-pounds giving Clarion a 22-15 win over visiting Princeton in NCAA Division I wrestling on Friday night. Held at Waldo S. Tippin gym, Clarion raised its record to 2-0 and Princeton fell to 2-6. Friday night’s match started at 141-pounds and the Eagles got off to a fast start when Cameron Moran notched a 10-2 major decision over Zach Bintliff. Moran led 5-0 in the first on a takedown and three-point near fall, and added an escape in and takedown in the second to lead 8-0. an escape and riding time ended the bout. Maybe the most exciting match was at 149-pounds as Clarion’s Anthony White edged Brandon Rolnick 3-2. Rolnick had a first period takedown, while White escaped in the second to make it 2-1. The score stood at 2-1 with 8 seconds remaining and a re-start, but White shot a double leg takedown and scored with one-second remaining to win. Clarion’s #8 ranked James Fleming was out with an injury at 157, and Princeton’s Dan Kolodzik won a technical fall over sub Kyle Braddock to pull the Tigers to within 7-5. Eagle junior Bekzod Abdurakhmonov at 165 brought the Clarion crowd to its feet when he scored a takedown on a fireman’s carry, then rolled Andy Lowy to his back for the fall at 37-seconds of the first period, giving Clarion a 13-8 lead. The lead evaporated when Scott Joseph lost a 6-2 decision to Ryan Callahan at 174, then Steven Cressley lost a 12-2 major decision to Travis Erdman. Clarion head coach Teague Moore argued a call and had a team point deducted during that bout and the team score was tied 12-12. Alex Thomas broke the tie for good with a 10-0 major decision over Dan Santoro at 197-pounds. Thomas had a first period takedown and used a crossface cradle for three back points to lead 5-0. A second period takedown, two third period stalling points and riding time accounted for his 10-0 win. Quintas McCorkle posted an 8-2 win over Charles Fox at heavyweight to give Clarion a 19-12 lead. McCorkle had three takedowns in the match. Princeton fought back with Garrett Frey defeating Tom Gowing 7-2 at 125. Gowing wrestled a spirited match against the nation’s #13 ranked wrestler. Gowing had a third period takedown to narrow the score to 5-2 in the third and was trying for a fall when he gave up a reversal in the final seconds. With Clarion ahead 19-15 entering 133-pounds, the match was on the line when Joe Waltko battled Adam Krop. Tied 3-3 after the first period, Waltko had a second period escape and a takedown with two-seconds remaining in the second for a 6-3 lead. Krop escaped in the third, Waltko had a late takedown that secured his 8-5 win and put Clarion in the win column 22-15. CLARION: the Golden Eagles are now 2-0 against Princeton, having defeated the Tigers 38-6 last year… Clarion wrestles at Davidson next Saturday at 8am – then drives over to Chapel Hill to battle North Carolina at 3pm… Sunday the Eagles wrestle at #13 Virginia Tech… Waltko is 18-4, White 14-6, Fleming 19-4, Abdurakhmonov 15-4, Thomas 10-6, McCorkle 14-7. Results: 141- Cameron Moran (CL) maj. Dec. Zach Bintliff (P) 10-2 149- Anthony White (CL) dec. Brandon Rolnick (P) 3-2 157- Dan Kolodzik (P) t. fall Kyle Braddock (CL) 17-0, 3:47 165- Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (CL) wbf Andy Lowy (P) 0:37 174- Ryan Callahan (P) dec. Scott Joseph (CL) 6-2 184- Travis Erdman (P) maj. Dec. Steven Cressley (CL) 12-2* 197- Alex Thomas (CL) maj. Dec. Dan Santoro (P) 10-0 285- Quintas McCorkle (CL) dec. Charles Fox (P) 8-2 125- Garrett Frey (P) dec. Tom Gowing (CL) 7-2 133- Joe Waltko (CL) dec. Adam Krop (P) 8-5

HAMPTON, Va. -- The University of Wyoming wrestling team went unbeaten in three duals Saturday in the 31st annual Virginia Duals and finished in fifth place among some of the top teams in the nation. After going 1-1 on Friday, with a win over Bucknell and a loss versus Lehigh, the Cowboys came out Saturday with something to prove. They did that, beating Old Dominion, Buffalo and a Virginia team that was ranked as high as ninth in the country. "There were no easy teams here," Wyoming coach Mark Branch said. "Every match was a dogfight. We started off (Friday) pretty slowly and I was extremely disappointed. We showed improvement as the day went on Saturday, and our third dual was the best we've wrestled all year, putting away a good Virginia team." Branch had to be impressed with the work of some of his wrestlers on the second day of the event, including redshirt freshman Tyler Cox, who wrestled up to 133 pounds against Virginia and took home a 5-2 decision over Joe Spisak. Jimmy Belleville, a 157-pound sophomore, recovered from a tough day Friday to win three straight matches Saturday. Junior Joe LeBlanc suffered his first loss of the season Friday at the 184-pound level, but went on to win three straight matches Saturday, and junior Shane Onufer went 5-0 in the 165-pound ranks. "We didn't know what to expect (coming in),"Branch said. "We had a lot of questions to be answered and we still do. ... It's part of the learning process. Wrestling is a reality sport and we don't want to be fooled. We know what we have to work on and how we need to get better. We've taken some bumps and bruises because of it, but we've also learned a lot." Saturday's Results: Versus Old Dominion (Wyoming 20, Old Dominion 16) 125 pounds: No. 19 Cox lost to No. 4 James Nicholson in a 16-8 major decision. 133: Kasey Garnhart lost to No. 13 Kyle Hutter in a 4-0 decision. 141: Chase Smith lost to Brennan Brumley in a 2-1 decision. 149: No. 20 Cole Dallaserra defeated Scott Festejo in a 17-3 major decision. 157: Belleville defeated Chad Lowman with a pin at the 2:03 mark. 165: No. 6 Onufer defeated Dan Rivera in a 6-0 decision. 174: Dallas Hintz defeated Tristan Warner in a 7-4 decision. 184: No. 2 LeBlanc defeated Joe Budi in a 14-2 major decision. 197: Lee Helbig lost to Jacob Henderson in a 4-2 decision. Heavyweight: Joe O'Farrell lost to Grant Chapman in an 8-3 decision. Versus Buffalo (Wyoming 23, Buffalo 12) 125: Michael Martinez defeated Sean Walton in a 14-6 major decision. 133: Jake Eitzen lost to Kevin Smith by a pin at the 5:36 mark. 141: Chase Smith lost to Andrew Schutt in an 8-5 decision. 149: No. 20 Dallaserra lost to Desi Green in a 5-3 decision. 157: Belleville defeated Mark Lewandowski in an 8-2 decision. 165: No. 6 Onufer defeated John-Martin Cannon in a 4-0 decision. 174: Patrick Martinez defeated Brian Sheehan in a 5-0 decision. 184: No. 2 LeBlanc defeated Jimmy Hamel in a 10-0 major decision. 197: Helbig defeated Tyler Peter in a 9-7 decision. Heavyweight: Jack Tennant defeated Brett Correll in a 12-10 decision. Versus Virginia (Wyoming 24, Virginia 11) 125: Michael Martinez defeated No. 20 Matt Snyder in an 8-4 decision. 133: No. 19 Cox defeated Joe Spisak in a 5-2 decision. 141: Smith defeated Gus Sako in a 4-3 decision. 149: No. 20 Dallaserra defeated Derek Valenti in an 8-2 decision. 157: Belleville defeated Nicky Gordon in an 8-6 decision. 165: No. 6 Onufer defeated Conner Miller with a pin at the 1:46 mark. 174: Hintz lost to No. 4 Chris Henrich by an 18-3 technical fall. 184: No. 2 LeBlanc defeated No. 18 Jon Fausey in a 9-6 decision. 197: Helbig lost to Stephen Doty in a 3-2 decision. Heavyweight: O`Farrell lost to Jack Danilkowicz in a 5-2 decision.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Dakota State posted a 4-0 record at the Wolfpack Duals hosted by North Carolina State on Saturday, Jan. 8. The Bison improve to 6-1 in duals and won every bout they entered a wrestler in the first three matches of the day. NDSU opened with a 45-6 win over Mercyhurst and followed up with a 49-6 victory over Campbell. The Bison then defeated Anderson 46-6 and ended the day with a 27-18 win over host North Carolina State. No. 18 sophomore 125-pounder Trent Sprenkle recorded three pins and a technical fall to lead four Bison with 4-0 records. Junior Justin Solberg at 133 pounds, senior Kenny Moenkedick at 184 pounds and junior Drew Ross at 197 pounds also went 4-0. Redshirt freshman Trevor Johnson went 3-0 at 141 pounds, while fellow redshirt freshman Steven Monk was 2-0 at 165 pounds. Against Mercyhurst, the Bison captured five of their nine win by fall. Sprenkle opened with a pin of T.J. Stanton in 3:48 and Solberg followed up with a pin of his own of Levi Smeltzer in 5:28. Sophomore Mark Erickson recorded a pin of Shane Foster in 2:51 at 149 pounds and Monk then pinned Clint Schaefer in 1:53. Ross pinned Michael Pollard in 2:40 at 197 pounds. The Bison forfeited the heavyweight bout in all four duals. The Bison continued their strong performance against Campbell, winning seven of nine by fall. Sprenkle, Erickson and Ross all picked up their second pins of the day. No. 16 Vince Salminen pinned Jake Fose in 3:44 at 157 pounds. In his first action of the day, junior Tyler Johnson pinned Joel Caudill in 1:05 at 165 pounds. Sophomore Mac Stoll won by fall at 174 pounds as did Kenny Moenkedick at 184 pounds. Against Anderson, Sprenkle earned his third straight pin. Senior Geoff Martin and sophomore Tyler Wells both picked up wins in their first bouts of the day. Martin defeated Ian Harper by technical fall, 27-12, at 141 pounds and Wells pinned Brian Onofrio in 3:38 at 165 pounds. Sprenkle again opened strong against North Carolina State, earning a technical fall win, 26-11, over Pedram Rahmatabadi. Solberg shut out Conor Hovis at 133 pounds, 11-0. After a forfeit win at 141 pounds by Trevor Johnson, the Bison dropped their first bout of the day as No. 1 Darrion Caldwell pinned Erickson in 45 seconds. Salminen then lost his first bout of the day in a 13-6 decision to Colton Palmer. The Bison bounced back to win the next four straight bouts to clinch the 27-18 win. NDSU will host Northern Iowa on Friday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m. to open Western Wrestling Conference action.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University of Iowa wrestling team matched a season-high five pins en route to a 49-0 win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes scored bonus points in seven of 10 matches to post their highest point total and largest margin of victory this season. "When we made the decision not to go to the (NWCA National) duals, this meet here was important this weekend," said Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands. "Whether it was tonight or tomorrow, this was an important part of it. Tonight, with a team like Southern Illinois Edwardsville, we flexed our muscles when we needed to, but we have to do that against better teams as well." The win marked Iowa's 69th consecutive dual meet victory, a program best and the second highest total in NCAA wrestling history. Defending NCAA champion Matt McDonough opened the competition by pinning SIUE's Paul Meyers in 1:47. McDonough improved to 12-1 overall and 8-0 in dual competition while recording his fifth fall of the season. Redshirt freshman Tony Ramos and sophomore Mark Ballweg followed McDonough's performance with a pair of bonus-point scoring efforts. Ramos recorded a technical fall over John Petrov and Ballweg put Lawrence Blackful on his back in 2:03 to record his team-leading sixth pin. Senior Matt Ballweg extended Iowa's lead to 22-0 with a 16-1 technical fall over Derrick Pousson. Ballweg recorded nearfall points in each period and earned a takedown with two seconds remaining in the match to extend his lead to 15-1. He earned a riding time point for the technical fall. Freshman Derek St. John improved to 9-2 overall with a 9-2 decision against Kyle Lowman. St. John earned two takedowns in the opening period to build a 4-1 advantage before cruising to the 9-2 decision and extending Iowa's lead to 25-0 heading into intermission. Senior Aaron Janssen opened the second half with a first period pin over Gabe Hocum. Janssen scored three takedowns in the opening frame before putting Hocum on his back at the 2:46 mark to earn his first fall of the season. Freshman Ethen Lofthouse nailed five takedowns in en route to his 14-7 decision over Michael Dace before the Hawkeyes recorded back-to-back falls at 184 and 197. Sophomore Grant Gramball earned his first pin of the season with a 2:28 fall against Deshoun White and senior Luke Lofthouse put Robert Cooney on his back in 3:36 to extend the Hawkeyes' lead to 46-0. Junior Blake Rasing ended the night with a 7-4 decision against David Devine Jr. Rasing used a third period takedown and a bonus point for riding time to improve his dual meet record to 7-1. "We've got a big dual meet next Sunday," explained Brands. "It's not a secret that we have to gear up for it. From the outside looking in it may be a mismatch by the rankings. But we have to be ready to go down there and put it to some guys because we didn't do that this past weekend. We need to step up to a bigger challenge and next week is a bigger challenge." The seventh-ranked Hawkeyes (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will wrestle No. 2 Oklahoma State (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, OK. Results: 125 - Matt McDonough (I) pinned Paul Myers (SIUE), 1:47 133 - Tony Ramos (I) tech. fall John Petrov (SIUE), 20-5 in 5:55 141 - Mark Ballweg (I) pinned Lawrence Blackful, III (SIUE), 2:03 149 - Matt Ballweg (I) tech. fall Derrick Pousson (SIUE), 16-1 157 - Derek St. John (I) dec. Kyle Lowman (SIUE), 9-2 165 - Aaron Janssen (I) pinned Gabe Hocum (SIUE), 2:46 174 - Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Michael Dace (SIUE), 14-7 184 - Grant Gambrall (I) pinned Deshoun White (SIUE), 2:28 197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) pinned Robert Cooney (SIUE), 3:36 Hwt. - Blake Rasing (I) dec. David Devine, Jr. (SIUE), 7-4

RALEIGH, N.C. ­— Senior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell wrestled four times Saturday at the NC State Duals, won all four by pin and made all kinds of wrestling history in the process. With his four victories Saturday, Caldwell became just the second wrestler in NC State history to win 100 or more matches in a career. Caldwell, the 2009 NCAA champion at 149 pounds, trails only Sylvester Terkay (1990-93) in career victories at NC State. Terkay went 122-14 in his four-year career, which he capped by going 41-0 in 1993 and winning the national championship at heavyweight. “I was talking to a reporter last week who told me he was looking forward to watching Darrion go from a champion to a legend,” Wolfpack head coach Carter Jordan said. “He’s going to have to win another championship to do that, but he’s becoming a legend here at NC State. “Winning 100 matches, that’s amazing. He’s only the second guy in school history to do that, and the names at the top of that list are the very greatest wrestlers in the history of this program. Some of them, like Sylvester Terkay and Tab Thacker, those guys rank among the all-time greats in the history of the sport. Darrion is making his mark as one of the great ones. The numbers speak for themselves.” With his four victories Saturday, Caldwell now has 55 pins for his career, moving him past Thacker (54 pins from 1981-84) and into second place in the school record book for career falls. Terkay holds the school career mark for pins with 64. All four of Caldwell’s pins on Saturday came in the first period. Of his 55 career pins, 46 are first-period pins. Caldwell’s career won-lost record now stands at 100-12, giving him a winning percentage of .893, second in program history only to Terkay’s .897. “It was a very special day for me,” said Caldwell, who improved to 6-0 on the season. “It was a long time coming and I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I was six wins shy of 100 back before my injury, and it was a long wait to get back out there. And it was especially sweet to have my family here for it, my mom and dad and girlfriend.” Caldwell’s last defeat was by injury default two seasons ago to Oklahoma’s Kyle Terry, snapping a 29-match winning streak. The last time an opponent actually defeated Caldwell by outscoring him on the mat was in the wrestlebacks of the 2008 NCAA Championships. He has now wrestled 45 consecutive matches without being defeated, although that is not an official winning streak because of the default. “I was not aware of that,” Caldwell said. “That’s just a testament to the hard work that the coaches and I have put in. The proof’s in the pudding.” With Caldwell leading the way, NC State won three of four matches Saturday, scoring victories over Anderson, Mercyhurst and Campbell. The Wolfpack (5-3) dropped its final bout of the day, 27-18 to North Dakota State, which went unbeaten in four matches. The Wolfpack won all nine contested bouts in a 35-6 rout of Anderson, allowing the six points on a forfeit at 141 pounds. Caldwell and 165-pounder Colin Genthert recorded pins, and 125-pounder Pedram Rahmatabadi and 174-pounder Quinton Godley each had a victory by major decision. The Wolfpack’s second match went to the final bout on the card before heavyweight Eloheim Palma snapped a 20-20 tie by pinning Jeffrey Pollard and lifted NC State to a 26-20 victory. Caldwell and 197-pounder KaRonne Jones also won by fall, and Godley won by a technical fall. NC State won eight of nine contested matches in defeating Campbell 29-7. Caldwell had the only pin, but KaRonne Jones won by a technical fall. Campbell had two points deducted from its team score for flagrant misconduct. NC State got victories from Caldwell, Palmer and Godley in the loss to North Dakota State, plus Palma was beneficiary of a forfeit at heavyweight, but the Wolfpack dropped six matches, including a major decision, a technical fall and a pin. NC State will return to action next weekend with a pair of road matches. The Pack will be at VMI at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 14, and at Virginia at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15. NC State 35, Anderson 6 125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) major dec. Andrew Rankin, 14-4 133 - Conor Hovis (NCS) dec. Joseph Perry, 7-2 141 - Ian Harper (AU) won by forfeit 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Dalton Harper at 2:35 157 - Colton Palmer (NCS) dec. Nick Giulietti, 8-2 165 - Colin Genthert (NCS) pinned Brian Onofrio at 6:00 174 - Quinton Godley (NCS) major dec. Trevor Sanford, 15-5 184 - Nijel Jones (NCS) dec. Sean O’Connell, 7-5 197 - KaRonne Jones (NCS) dec. Zoi Oulette, 5-2 Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) dec. Chase Duke, 10-4 North Dakota State 45, Mercyhurst 6 125 - Trent Sprenkle (NDS) pinned T.J. Stanton at 3:48 133 - Justin Solberg (NDS) pinned Levi Smeltzer at 5:28 141 - Trevor Johnson (NDS) dec. Tony D’Urso, 4-1 149 - Mark Erikson (NDS) pinned Shane Foster at 2:51 157 - Vince Salminen (NDS) dec. Jordan Shields, 4-1 165 - Steve Monk (NDS) pinned Clint Schaefer at 1:53 174 - Mac Stoll (NDS) won by forfeit 184 - Ken Moenkedick (NDS) dec. Londele Cox, 6-0 197 - Drew Ross (NDS) pinned Michael Pollard at 2:40 Hwt - Nathan Sharp (MC) won by forfeit NC State 26, Mercyhurst 20 125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) dec. T.J. Stanton, 7-2 133 - Michael Baxter (MC) technical fall Conor Hovis, 15-0 141 - Tony D’Urso (MC) won by forfeit 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Shane Foster at 2:41 157 - Colton Palmer (NCS) dec. Jordan Shields, 3-2 165 - Clint Schaefer (MC) dec. Colin Genthert, 10-5 174 - Quinton Godley (NCS) technical fall Eric Lundgren, 21-6 184 - Nijel Jones (NCS) dec. Londele Cox, 7-5 197 - Michael Pollard (MC) pinned KaRonne Jones at 1:52 Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) pinned Jeffrey Pollard at 1:10 North Dakota State 49, Campbell 6 125 - Trent Sprenkle (NDS) pinned Tanner Biedelspach at 3:34 133 - Justin Solberg (NDS) dec. Gabriel Gardner, 5-1 141 - Trevor Johnson (NDS) major dec. Brad Merriman, 15-2 149 - Mark Erikson (NDS) pinned Darien Peele at 3:40 157 - Vince Salminen (NDS) pinned Jake Fose at 3:44 165 - Tyler Johnson (NDS) pinned Joel Caudill at 1:05 174 - Mac Stoll (NDS) pinned Justin Sparrow at 2:53 184 - Ken Moenkedick (NDS) pinned Peter Comis at 2:59 197 - Drew Ross (NDS) pinned John Merickel at 1:23 Hwt - Parker Burns (CU) won by forfeit NC State 29, Campbell 7 125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) dec. Tanner Bidelspach, 1-0 133 - Conor Hovis (NCS) dec. Gabriel Gardner, 8-4 141 - Brad Merriman (CU) won by forfeit 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Darien Peele at 2:40 157 - Colton Palmer (NCS) vs. Jake Fose, 5-3 165 - Colin Genthert (NCS) dec Ryan Ham, 10-9 sv 174 - Quinton Godley (NCS) dec. Peter Comis, 7-3 184 - Nijel Jones (NCS) dec. John Merickel, 7-4 197 - KaRonne Jones (NCS) technical fall Justin Sparrow 15-0 Hwt - Parker Burns (CU) dec. Eloheim Palma, 3-1 Two teams points deducted from Campbell’s team score for flagrant misconduct following the 174-pound match. Peter Comis was ejected for the remainder of the day’s matches. Mercyhurst 37, Anderson 12 125 - T.J. Stanton (MC) technical fall Andrew Rankin, 16-1 133 - Michael Baxter (MC) pinned Joseph Perry at 2:04 141 - Tony D’Urso (MC) dec. Ian Harper, 4-2 149 - Shane Foster (MC) pinned Dalton Harper at 4:39 157 - Jordan Shields (MC) major dec. Nick Giulietti, 10-1 165 - Clint Schaefer (MC) pinned Brian Onofrio at 4:13 174 - Trevor Sanford (AU) won by forfeit 184 - Eric Fulmer (MC) major dec. Sean O’Connell, 8-0 197 - Zoi Oulette (AU) injury default Zoi Oulette, at 4:12 Hwt - Nathan Sharp (MC) dec. Michael Pollard, 5-2 Mercyhurst 36, Campbell 9 125 - T.J. Stanton (MC) dec. Tanner Bidelspach, 4-0 133 - Levi Smeltzer (MC) pinned Gabriel Gardner at 5:55 141 - Tony D’Urso (MC) dec. Brad Merriman, 3-2 149 - Shane Foster (MC) pinned Darien Peele at 6:32 157 - Jordan Shields (MC) dec. Jake Fose, 6-3 165 - Clint Shaefer (MC) dec. Joel Caudil, 10-3 174 - Eric Lundgren (MC) pinned Ryan Ham at 2:42 184 - John Merickel (CU) dec. Londele Cox, 4-2 197 - Eric Fulmer (MC) pinned Justin Sparrow at 2:32 Hwt - Parker Burns (CU) pinned Jeffrey Pollard at 1:57 North Dakota State 46, Anderson 6 125 - Trent Sprenkle (NDS) pinned Andrew Rankin at 4:35 133 - Justin Solberg (NDS) major dec. Joseph Perry, 9-0 141 - Geoff Martin (NDS) technical fall Ian Harper, 27-12 149 - Mark Erikson (NDS) major dec. Dalton Harper, 11-3 157 - Vince Salminen (NDS) pinned Nick Giulietti at 1:30 165 - Tyler Wells (NDS) pinned Brian Onofrio at 3:38 174 - Mac Stoll (NDS) dec. Trevor Sanford, 9-6 184 - Ken Moenkedick (NDS) pinned Sean O’Connell at 2:22 197 - Drew Ross (NDS) injury default Zoi Oulette at 1:34 Hwt - Chase Duke (AU) won by forfeit North Dakota State 27, NC State 18 125 - Trent Sprenkle (NDS) technical fall Pedram Rahmatabadi, 26-11 (4 pts) 133 - Justin Solberg (NDS) major dec. Conor Hovis, 11-0 141 - Trevor Johnson (NDS) won by forfeit 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Mark Erikson at 0:45 157 - Colton Palmer (NCS) dec. Vince Salminen, 13-6 165 - Steven Monk (NDS) pinned Colin Genthert at 2:54 174 - Quinton Godley (NCS) dec. Mac Stoll, 3-2 184 - Ken Moenkedick (NDS) major dec. Nijel Jones, 11-3 197 - Drew Ross (NDS) dec. KaRonne Jones, 10-4 Hwt - Eloheim Pamla (NCS) won by forfeit Campbell 21 Anderson 18 125 - Tanner Bidelspach (CU) major dec. Andrew Rankin, 10-2 133 - Gabriel Gardner (CU) dec. Joseph Perry, 9-4 141 - Ian Harper (AU) dec. Brad Merriman, 16-11 149 - Dalton Harper (AU) pinned Darien Peele at 6:27 157 - Jake Fose (CU) dec. Nick Giulietti, 10-3 165 - Brian Onofrio (AU) dec. Ryan Ham, 8-4 174 - Trevor Sanford (AU) pinned Joel Caudill at 1:09 184 - John Merickel (CU) dec. Sean O’Connell, 6-0 197 - Justin Sparrow (CU) won by forfeit Hwt - Parker Burns (CU) dec. Chase Duke, 3-2 Note - Campbell had a point deducted from its team score for unsportsmanlike conduct following the 141-pound match.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 2 nationally, dominated No. 15 Michigan 24-12 in the championship final of the 2011 Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. The victory gave the Nittany Lions the Virginia Duals title for the first time since 1991 and keeps head coach Cael Sanderson's squad undefeated on the year. Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) completed an undefeated weekend with a strong 8-2 win over Michigan's Sean Boyle at 125, giving Penn State an early 3-0 lead. All-American Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) majored No. 18 Zac Stevens 12-3 at 133 to give the Lions a 7-0 lead after two bouts. In the dual's premier match-up, top-ranked Kellen Russell of Michigan notched another one point win over Penn State's seventh-ranked Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), 2-1, at 141. No. 7 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) then dominated Eric Grajales 6-2 at 149, including 2:50 in riding time before freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, put on a clinic on his way to a 19-4 technical fall over Aaron Hynes. With Penn State up 15-3, Michigan's Dan Yates posted a tough 8-2 win over Nittany Lion freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.), but that win was answered by Nittany Lion Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.). Ruth, ranked No. 2 at 174, pinned Michigan's Jonathan Beck at the 1:06 mark to put Penn State on top 21-6. Michigan's Hunter Collins then posted a 9-4 win over Lion sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) at 184. Fischer had moved up a couple weight to take on the Wolverine. No. 15 Anthony Biondo of Michigan then downed Penn State's Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) 9-4 at 197, cutting Penn State's lead to 21-11. Nittany Lion junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight, beat No. 9 Ben Apland 3-0 in the final bout to give the Lions the 24-12 final margin. Penn State moves to l1-0 on the year, it's best since going 12-0 in 1971-72 (no losses or ties). Taylor was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his performance at 157 as well. Penn State won the takedown battle 19-8 and notched a 6-0 edge in bonus points. The title is Penn State's first at the event since winning the crown in 1991 and the Nittany Lions now own a 25-24 edge in the all-time series with the Wolverines. The two teams will meet again in Ann Arbor on Feb. 6 in the conference dual (this dual does not count as one of Penn State's eight Big Ten duals). Penn State returns to action in a nationally televised home match-up with No. 21 Pittsburgh on Jan. 21. Action in the Big Ten Network live event begins at 6 p.m. in Rec Hall. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: Brad Pataky PSU dec. Sean Boyle UM, 8-2 3-0 133: #6 Andrew Long PSU maj. dec. #18 Zac Stevens UM, 12-3 7-0 141: #1 Kellen Russell UM dec. #7 Andrew Alton PSU, 2-1 7-3 149: #7 Frank Molinaro PSU dec. Eric Grajales UM, 6-2 10-3 157: #3 David Taylor PSU tech fall Aaron Hynes UM, 19-4 (TF; 4:53) 15-3 165: Dan Yates UM dec. James Vollrath PSU, 8-2 15-6 174: #2 Ed Ruth PSU pinned Jonathan Beck UM, WBF (1:06) 21-6 184: Hunter Collins UM dec. Nick Fischer PSU, 9-4 21-9 197: #15 Anthony Biondo UM dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 9-4 21-12 285: #7 Cameron Wade PSU dec. #8 Ben Apland UM, 3-0 24-12 Attendance: 2,600 Records: Penn State 11-0 (1-0 Big Ten), Michigan 4-2 (0-0 Big Ten) Up Next for Penn State: Home vs. #20 Pittsburgh, Friday, Jan. 21, 6 p.m. in Rec Hall BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Senior Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.) took on Michigan's Sean Boyle in a rematch of their meeting at the Southern Scuffle last week (won by Boyle 11-3). Pataky came out hot, shooting swiftly three times but not breaking through Boyle's defense. But on Pataky's fourth effort, the Lion senior got the takedown to take an early 2-0 lead. Pataky then turned Boyle for three back points and a 5-0 lead. Pataky spent the next minute trying to turn Boyle again. Boyle fought off Pataky's efforts for back points but the Pataky ride out allowed the Lion to carry a 5-0 lead with 2:11 into the second period. Pataky chose down to start the middle stanza and used a shoulder roll to escape at the 1:22 mark. Boyle shot low and took Pataky down and in the process, Pataky took a long injury time out before the Lion senior was able to continue, still leading 6-2. Boyle then cut Pataky loose to a 7-2 Penn State lead, looking for another takedown. Pataky fought off a Boyle shot and carried the 7-2 lead with 1:13 in riding time into the third period. Boyle chose neutral to start the third period. Pataky got in low on Boyle's right leg, working long for another takedown, but Boyle was able to force a stalemate at the 1:14 mark. Pataky got in again on Boyle's right leg but another stalemate forced a reset with :17 left. Pataky's strong performance allowed the Nittany Lion senior to avenge the loss in the scuffle to win 8-2 and put Penn State up 3-0 early. 133: No. 6 Andrew Long (Creston, Iowa) took on Michigan's Zac Stevens, ranked No. 18, at 133. Long gained control of Stevens' arm, pulled him down to the mat and reached around the Wolverine for a takedown at the 1:59 mark. Stevens scrambled to an escape after a short Long ride. Long continued to pressure the ranked Wolverine, looking for an opening to pick up a second takedown. The Lion sophomore gained control of Stevens' left leg but the Michigan grappler was able to scoot off the mat to force a reset at the :23 mark. Long used a beautiful double leg to drive through Stevens at the :10 mark and, with the ride out, led 4-1 after the opening stanza. Long chose down to start the middle period and worked his way to an escape and a 5-1 lead with 1:20 on the clock. Long spent the next minute shooting Stevens off the mat, forcing the Wolverine into a stall warning with :50 on the clock. Long turned a double leg into a takedown with a nice side step on the edge of the mat to move out to a 7-1 lead and then added another ride out to carry that lead into the final period. Stevens chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 7-2 deficit. Long caught Stevens with a shoulder throw, nearly turning him to his back. The takedown and a cut by Long gave him a 9-3 lead with 1:31 left. Long countered a low Stevens shot and added another takedown to lead 11-3 at the :50 mark. Long then rode the ranked Wolverine for the rest of the period and, with the bonus point, notched a convincing 12-3 major. 141: In one of the marquee battles of the tournament, Nittany Lion freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 7 at 141, met top-ranked Kellen Russell of Michigan. The bout was a rematch of the Southern Scuffle semifinal from last week, won by Russell 4-3. Alton and Russell exchanged heated shots during the first :30, with neither man picking up a go-ahead takedown. The early flurry was followed by hand fighting in the center circle. After a scoreless first period, Russell chose down to start the second. Russell escaped at the 1:50 mark to lead 1-0. Russell began leaning on his collar ties to force Alton into a mistake, but the Penn State true freshman was able to keep Russell at bay. Down 1-0, Alton chose down to start the third period. Russell was able to gain control of Alton's arm, breaking the lion freshman down and building up over a minute's worth of riding time. Alton continued to work hard on the bottom, trying to escape to tie the bout, but Russell clinched the riding time point. Alton escaped with :05 left but Russell's 1:47 in riding time gave the top-ranked Wolverine the 2-1 win (his second one-point win over Alton), cutting Penn State's lead to 7-3. 149: No. 7 Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) battled Michigan's Eric Grajales at 149. The two-time All-American used a high double to take Grajales down and open up an early 2-0 lead with 1:56 left in the first period. Grajales escaped after a :40 ride, cutting the Lion's lead to 2-1. Neither man found an opening for the remainder of the period and action moved to the second period with Molinaro up by one. The Lion junior chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-1 lead. Molinaro turned a scramble in the middle of the mat into a second takedown and a 5-1 lead with 1:10 left in the period. Molinaro's strong ride forced Grajales into a first stall warning at the :18 mark. The ride-out allowed Molinaro to lead 5-1 with 1:44 in riding time heading into the final period. Grajales chose down to start the final period but Molinaro continued to punish the Wolverine, dominating action and clinching the riding time point. Molinaro cut Grajales loose at the :55 mark, looking for a possible major. But Grajales was able to fight off Molinaro's efforts and keep the damage to a minimum. Molinaro's 6-2 win put Penn State up 10-3. 157: Undefeated freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 3 at 157, met Wolverine Aaron Hynes. Taylor used a low single leg to notch his first takedown :30 into the bout and then began looking for a chance to turn Hynes for back points. Taylor got two back points and then cut Hynes loose with 1:00 on the clock. Taylor then used a quick duck-under for another takedown and a 6-3 lead after letting Hynes loose again. Taylor added another takedown and two more back points to lead 10-2 with 2:08 in time after the first period. Hynes chose neutral to start the second, but Taylor used an ankle pick to take Hynes down again and cut him loose to lead 12-3. Another Taylor takedown and three more back points upped his lead to 17-3. He cut Hynes loose with :20 left and picked up one final takedown at the 4:53 mark for the 19-4 technical fall. 165: Freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) took to the mat at 165 for Penn State to meet Michigan's Dan Yates. Vollrath got in early on Yates' left leg and worked himself into an early takedown to lead 2-1 after a quick Yates escape with 2:25 left in the opening period. Yates tried to shoulder throw Vollrath a couple times but the Lion freshman was able to roll through each attempt and keep his slim lead. Yates nearly took the lead with a strong single leg on the edge of the mat but action moved out of bounds with :18 on the clock, forcing a reset. Leading by one, Vollrath chose down to start the second period. He tried to roll out of trouble but Yates was able to catch him and nearly pick up a stunning pin at the 1:35 mark. Yates' three back points allowed the Wolverine to take a 4-2 lead but Vollrath's effort to avoid the pin kept the bout alive. Yates was able to control the action from the top for the remainder of the period and led 4-2 with 1:54 in riding time heading into the final period. Yates chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 5-2 lead. Yates used a knee pick to take Vollrath down one more time and up his lead to 7-2 with a clinched riding time point a the :55 mark. The ride out gave Yates an 8-2 win and cut Penn State's lead to 15-6. 174: No. 2 Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) faced off against Michigan's Jonathan Beck at 174. Ruth quickly took Beck down and nearly pinned him with a far side cradle. The three back points and a Beck escape gave Ruth a 5-1 lead. Ruth notched another takedown and cut Beck loose, took him down and this time completed the cradle to get a quick pin at the 1:06 mark. 184: With All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) still recovering from injury, 165-pounder Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) jumped up two weights to 184 to take on Michigan's Hunter Collins. Fischer worked his way into early control of Collins' leg, but the Wolverine countered and scrambled his way to a takedown and a 2-0 lead at the 2:21 mark. Fischer escaped and action resumed in the center circle with 1:56 left in the opening period. Collins added another takedown with 1:10 on the clock. Collins then rode Fischer out to carry the 4-1 lead with nearly 2:00 in riding time into the second period. Fischer chose down but Collins was able to control the action from the top again. Fischer escaped at the :15 mark to cut the lead to 4-2, but Collins had already clinched the riding time point. Collins chose down to start the third period and reversed the Lion sophomore to up his lead to 6-2. Fischer escaped, but Collins was able to take him down quickly again to lead 8-4 after cutting the Lion loose. Collins went on to post the 9-4 win and cut Penn State's lead to 21-9. 197: Sophomore Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) got met No. 15 Anthony Biondo of Michigan at 197. Biondo scored quickly, taking a 2-0 lead and then put together a strong ride, trying to turn Ortega for back points. But Ortega was able to fight off the turning opportunities until he escaped at the :48 mark. Leading 2-1 with 2:04 in riding time, Biondo chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Ortega to up his lead to 4-1. Biondo rode Ortega out again and led 4-1 with a clinched riding time point heading into the third period. Ortega chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped, but Biondo answered with a takedown to up his lead to 6-2 with 1:14 on the clock. Biondo cut Ortega loose and took him down again to open up an 8-3 lead. Biondo worked to turn Ortega but the Lion was able to keep off his back until he was cut loose by Biondo at the :22 mark. Biondo went on to notch the strong 8-4 win with 4:33 in riding time to cut Penn State's lead to 21-11. 285: In a battle of ranked heavyweights, No. 7 Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) looked to bounce back from an upset loss against Kent State against No. 8 Ben Apland of Michigan. The bout was a rematch of the Southern Scuffle title bout, won by Wade 4-2 with a late two-point tilt. The duo spent the first half of the opening period trading barbs in the center circle. Wade countered a loose Apland shot at the :31 mark, taking a 2-0 lead in front of the Michigan bench. Wade then rode Apland out to carry that 2-0 lead into the middle period. Apland chose neutral to start the second period and the duo spent the middle period looking for openings. Neither man could score and action moved to the third period with Wade leading 3-0. Wade chose down to start the third and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. The bout would end with that same score as Wade posted the hard-fought 3-0 win and give the Nittany Lions a 24-12 win and the Virginia Duals title.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Coming into the 2011 NWCA/Cliff Keen Nationals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, many thought it was forgone conclusion that No. 2 Oklahoma State would reach the semifinals. Someone forgot to tell Virginia Tech. Kevin DresserAfter defeating Central Michigan in the first round, Virginia Tech rallied to defeat Oklahoma State, 18-16, in the quarterfinals. "I told them to be ready to go two matches," said Virginia Tech coach Kevin Dresser. "I said, 'We're good enough to beat Oklahoma State. But in the event that we don't, we've got to be ready to go. We're preparing for the national tournament. They believed. All it takes is one spark." That spark came at 174 pounds. With Oklahoma State holding onto a slim 10-9 lead after 165 pounds, Virginia Tech fifth-year senior Matt Epperly gave the Hokies the spark they needed by pinning ninth-ranked Mike Benefiel. "This is great for our team," said Epperly, a two-time NCAA qualifier. "When we first got there, everyone said Dresser is never going to make a program at Virginia Tech after it was ripped apart. This is my fifth year there. We're just building and this just proves to everyone that we're building and coming back." Epperly was a four-time state champion for Dresser at Christiansburg and was recruited by Tom Brands to Virginia Tech. He was one of the few wrestles who opted to stay at Virginia Tech after Brands left and Dresser took over. Epperly started the season at 165 pounds, but after struggling with consistency, Dresser made the decision to move him up to 174 pounds. "I gave him the whole month of December off," said Dresser. "He wasn't wrestling well. I brought him into my office about November 26 and said, 'I'll see you on December 26. I said, 'Stay out of trouble.' He's the kind of kid that when he's fresh, he's really good. Obviously, he's really fresh right now." Matt EpperlyVirginia Tech was on the brink of extinction less than five years ago and now stands just two wins away from winning college wrestling's most prestigious dual meet event. So what would it mean to the program to win the National Duals? "That would be huge," said Epperly. "It would be the biggest thing that has ever happened to the program. It would be a huge step for Virginia Tech wrestling. Better things are going to come for this program." Virginia Tech will now face third-seeded Wisconsin in the semifinals on Sunday. The Badgers hammered South Dakota State, 46-3 in the opening round, and topped American, 23-16, in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal match in Division I will pit the nation's No. 1 team, Cornell, against fourth-seeded Minnesota. Rob KollThe Big Red dominated Ohio State, 27-6, in the opening round, before winning narrowly, 18-15, over Missouri in the quarterfinals. "I was really worried about Missouri," said Cornell coach Rob Koll. "I looked at how we matched up. I didn't want it to be 5-5, but I thought there was a good chance it would be 5-5." Both teams won five matches, but Mack Lewnes (174) and Steve Bosak (184) picked up bonus points for Cornell, a major decision and technical fall respectively, which proved to be the difference in the dual meet. Cornell is without two if its starters, All-Americans Mike Grey (133) and Cam Simaz (197). "We've got some guys out, but for the most part we wrestled pretty tough," said NCAA champion Kyle Dake. "We just have to keep chugging along and keep winning those individual matches." Koll was just happy to come out with two victories on Saturday. "I'm happy," said Koll. "I'm relieved. I don't want to lose to Brian Smith, who coached with me for five years. I never would have lived that one down." Koll said it's "terribly disappointing" not to have three-time defending national champion Iowa not competing in Cedar Falls. "I would have liked to have Iowa here with our full team," said Koll. "They beat us every time we've wrestled them. This is a year I think we have a good shot at beating them. I would have really liked to return the favor." J RobinsonMinnesota opened its day with a 26-9 victory over Northern Illinois. In the quarterfinals, Minnesota edged Boise State, 18-17. "They were favored in five and we were favored in five," said Robinson of the dual meet against Boise State. "We knew it was going to come down to bonus points. So we needed bonus points along the way. The Gophers got those much-needed bonus points from No. 2 Mike Thorn at 141 pounds. With the Gophers trailing 4-3, Thorn pinned No. 11 Levi Jones in 49 seconds. Thorn said he wasn't thinking about bonus points right from the start. "I think bonus after a few takedowns," said Thorn. "I was just thinking get to my offense and get it going, turn it around our way." Minnesota is competing with five freshmen in its lineup and without the services of All-American Sonny Yohn (197), who strained his knee and is expected to be out of the lineup for the next two to three weeks. Mike Thorn"We're flying under the radar and we're happy to have it that way," said Thorn, a Big Ten champion and All-American last season. "We'll see if after tomorrow we're still flying under the radar." Robinson believes that improvement throughout the season is integral to the team's success. "Our biggest thing is that we just have to keep improving," said Robinson. "Our young guys have to improve. When you have a guy like (Kevin) Steinhaus, or (Tony) Nelson in there, they come in as freshmen and they win. That's what has to happen and it has to be fueled by the rest of our guys. We just have to keep improving from week to week to week and I think that's what we're doing." Thorn is looking forward to the opportunity to face No. 1 Cornell. "It's cool," said Thorn. "Cornell has a lot of big names. It will be cool to see what our guys can do, if our freshmen can step up. It's going to take a total team effort." The semifinals are set for 11 a.m. CST. Semifinal Projected Matchups Cornell vs. Minnesota 125: No. 14 Frank Perrelli (Cornell) vs. No. 6 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) 133: Joe Stanzione (Cornell) vs. David Thorn (Minnesota) 141: Mike Nevinger (Cornell) vs. No. 2 Mike Thorn (Minnesota) 149: No. 2 Kyle Dake (Cornell) vs. Danny Zilverberg/Pat Smith (Minnesota) 157: No. 10 D.J. Meagher (Cornell) vs. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota) 165: No. 3 Justin Kerber (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) 174: No. 2 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) vs. No. 8 Scott Glasser (Minnesota) 184: No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) vs. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) 197: Maciej Jochym (Cornell) vs. Joe Nord (Minnesota) 285: Oney Snyder (Cornell) vs. No. 9 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) Wisconsin vs. Virginia Tech 125: Tom Kelliher (Wisconsin) vs. No. 11 Jarrod Garnett (Virginia Tech) 133: No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin) vs. No. 8 Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) 141: Danny Arnel (Wisconsin) vs. No. 5 Chris Diaz (Virginia Tech) 149: No. 10 Cole Schmitt (Wisconsin) vs. No. 9 Brian Stephens (Virginia Tech) 157: Kalvin York (Wisconsin) vs. No. 5 Jesse Dong (Virginia Tech) 165: No. 2 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) vs. No. 14 Pete Yates (Virginia Tech) 174: Shawn Perry (Wisconsin) vs. Matt Epperly (Virginia Tech) 184: No. 5 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin) vs. No. 16 Tommy Spellman (Virginia Tech) 197: Derrick Borlie (Wisconsin) vs. Chris Penny (Virginia Tech) 285: No. 18 Eric Bugenhagen (Wisconsin) vs. David Marone (Virginia Tech)

DeKALB, Ill. -- No. 17 Central Michigan defeated Northern Illinois, 21-13, in the Mid-American Conference wrestling opener for both teams Thursday night. The Chippewas (2-4 overall, 1-0 MAC) won six of the dual's 10 bouts, scoring bonus points at 133 and 174 pounds. The win was CMU's 15th in its last 16 meetings with NIU (2-5 overall, 0-1 MAC) and its 63rd victory in its last 65 MAC duals. CMU opened the match with three straight wins, then held on as Northern Illinois won three of the night's final five bouts. The match began at 285 pounds, where No. 3 Jarod Trice earned a 2-0 decision over Dakota Greenhaw. Trice rode out Greenhaw in the second period, then escaped in the opening minute of the third period to secure the victory. Christian Cullinan earned his first career MAC victory at 125 pounds, using riding time to edge Nick Smith, 5-4. The match was tied 4-4 entering the third period, but Cullinan rode out Smith for the final two minutes to gain the decisive riding time point. No. 9 Scotti Sentes earned a bonus point with an 11-1 major decision at 133 pounds. Sentes scored three takedowns, two back points and built a riding time advantage of nearly four minutes in the win. Northern Illinois picked up its first win of the dual at 141 pounds when Tristen DeShazer claimed a 4-1 decision over Scott Mattingly. Mattingly led 1-0 entering the third period, but DeShazer scored an escape and takedown in the third period and added the riding time point. Donnie Corby scored a pair of takedowns in a 6-2 decision over Kevin Fanta at 149 pounds. Corby's victory stretched the Chippewas' lead to 13-3. No. 17 Bryan Deutsch drew the Huskies within 13-7 with a major decision over Ryan Cubberly at 157 pounds. Deutsch scored a takedown and three back points in the first period, then added a second takedown in the final period while building a riding time advantage of more than three minutes. Matt Mougin made it two straight wins for NIU with a 7-5 decision over Eric Cubberly at 165 pounds. Mougin led 4-0 after takedowns in the first and second period, while Cubberly tied the score at 4-4 with a takedown and two back points in the third period. Mougin reversed Cubberly later in the period to go in front for good. No. 5 Ben Bennett put a pair of bonus points on the scoreboard with an 18-2 technical fall at 174 pounds. Bennett scored three takedowns and nine back points in the win. At 184 pounds, Northern Illinois' Brad Dieckhaus took down Chad Friend in sudden victory for a 3-1 decision. Dieckhaus and Friend traded escapes in the second and third period, respectively, to send the match to overtime. Dieckhaus's victory drew the Huskies within 18-13. Riding time was the difference at 197 pounds, where Craig Kelliher posted a 4-3 decision over Mike Lukowski in the final bout of the night. Kelliher took a 3-2 lead with a takedown in the third period, and while Lukowski tied the score at 3-3 with a late escape, Kelliher's riding time advantage of 1:13 gave him the victory. CMU is back in action this weekend when it competes at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Chippewas face No. 9 Virginia Tech in the first round on Saturday. Results: 285: No. 3 Jarod Trice (CMU) dec. Dakota Greenhaw, 2-0; CMU 3-0 125: Christian Cullinan (CMU) dec. Nick Smith, 5-4; CMU 6-0 133: No. 9 Scotti Sentes (CMU) maj. dec. Israel Montemayor, 11-1; CMU 10-0 141: Tristen DeShazer (NIU) dec. Scott Mattingly, 4-1; CMU 10-3 149: Donnie Corby (CMU) dec. Kevin Fanta, 6-2; CMU 13-3 157: No. 17 Bryan Deutsch (NIU) maj. dec. Ryan Cubberly, 10-2; CMU 13-7 165: Matt Mougin (NIU) dec. Eric Cubberly, 7-5; CMU 13-10 174: No. 5 Ben Bennett (CMU) tech. fall Caleb Busson, 18-2 at 6:31; CMU 18-10 184: Brad Dieckhaus (NIU) dec. Chad Friend, 3-1 SV1; CMU 18-13 197: Craig Kelliher (CMU) dec. Mike Lukowski, 4-3; CMU 21-13 Match began at 285 pounds.

HAMPTON, Va. -- The 2011 Virginia Duals conclude today in Hampton, Virginia. Fans can watch today's action courtesy of USA Wrestling's free webcast. Virginia Duals Website (Results, Brackets, Schedule) Feed 1 Feed 2 Feed 3 Feed 4 Chat Room

FAIRFIELD, CT -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team won its sixth straight match easily downing Sacred Heart University, 39-3, on Wednesday. The Huskies won the first three bouts, including a win by fall from 133 pounder Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY, Greene Central)to take a 13-0 lead. After Sacred Heart got on the board with a win at 149 pounds, Bloomsburg won the final six matches with Chris Smith (Mineral, Va., Chancelor) at 165 pounds and Nate Graham (Selkirk, NY, Ravena) at 184 pounds both getting wins by fall. For Graham, ranked 25th by the Wrestling Report.com, it was his second straight victory by fall. Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC, E.L. Laney), ranked 33rd by the Wrestling Report.com, won his second straight match by major decision when he posted a 13-3 victory at 157 pounds,while Mike Dessino (Middlesex, NJ, Middlesex) at 174 pounds also posted a win by major decision. The six match winning streak is the longest for the Huskies since 2000-01 when the team won eight straight matches. Bloomsburg, now 10-2, will wrestle at the University of Pennsylvania on Sunday at 1 p.m. Results: 125 – Sean Boylan (BU) maj. Andrew Polidore (SHU), 19-5 133 – Nick Wilcox (BU) pinned Anthony Ricco (SHU), 4:44 141 – Derek Shingara (BU) dec. Justin Belanger (SHU), 4-1 149 – Joe Evangelista (SHU) dec. Matt Hicks (BU), 5-4 157 – Frank Hickman (BU) maj. dec. Anthony Priore (SHU), 13-3 165 – Chris Smith (BU) pinned Sam Sheppard (SHU), 2:05 174 – Mike Dessino (BU) maj dec. Jonathon Rizzitello (SHU), 8-0 184 – Nate Graham (BU) pinned Sam Morrison (SHU), 2:03 197 – Richard Perry (BU) dec. Brandon Lapp (SHU), 5-0 285 – Zac Walsh (BU) dec. Jordan Miron (SHU), 4-0

NC State won six of 10 bouts, including a pin by heavyweight Eloheim Palma in the decisive final match of the evening, and defeated Rider 21-14 in a dual wrestling match Wednesday at Lawrenceville, N.J. The Wolfpack won four of the first five bouts to take a 12-4 lead, but needed a 4-2 decision from sophomore 197-pounder KaRonne Jones over Joe Ferber to take a 15-14 team lead heading into the heavyweight bout. Palma pinned Evan Craig at the 4:54 mark to make the final margin of victory seven points. Senior 149-pounder Darrion Caldwell, back in action after missing 16 months following shoulder surgery, had to battle to take out Zac Cibula by a 10-7 decision. Caldwell, the 2009 NCAA champion, led 5-4 heading into the third period before pulling away in the final two minutes. He improved to 2-0 on the season and 96-12 for his career, tying him with Mike Lombardo for second place in school history for career wins. Sylvester Terkay won 122 matches from 1990-93. Junior 141-pounder Darrius Little won a 10-4 decision over Aaron Nestor to improve his record to 17-6, and junior 157-pounder Colton Palmer took a 6-3 decision over Ramon Santiago to improve to 16-8. The victory evened NC State’s dual-match record to 2-2 on the season. The Broncs fell to 3-4. The Wolfpack will be back home at Reynolds Coliseum on Friday for intrasquad matches in Beauty and the Beast, a combined exhibition with the NC State gymnastics team. Admission is free and the public is encouraged to attend. The Pack will return to action on Saturday with four matches at the NC State Duals, beginning at 1 p.m. at Reynolds Coliseum. NC State will lead off the afternoon vs. Anderson, then will take on Mercyhurst at 2:30, Campbell at 4, and North Dakota State at 7. Admission to the duals is free. Results: 125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) dec. Chuck Zeisloft, 10-8 133 - Jimmy Kirchner (RU) major dec. Conor Hovis, 17-6 141 - Darrius Little (NCS) dec. Aaron Nestor, 10-4 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) dec. Zac Cibula, 10-7 157 - Colton Palmer (NCS) dec. Ramon Santiago, 6-3 165 - Jim Resnick (RU) major dec. Colin Genthert, 12-0 174 - Rob Morrison (RU) dec. Quinton Godley, 3-1 (ot) 184 - James Brundage (RU) dec. Nijel Jones, 8-3 197 - KaRonne Jones (NCS) dec. Joe Ferber, 4-2 Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) pinned Evan Craig at 4:34

NORMAN, Okla. -- Oklahoma Head Wrestling Coach Jack Spates, who is in his 18th season with the Sooners, announced today that he plans to retire from the position at the end of the current season. “This is something that I had planned for quite a while,” Spates said. “Our wrestlers, recruits and my friends and colleagues are aware that this is the direction I plan to take. “I’ve been blessed by my tenure at OU. I’ve worked with the greatest kids, athletic director and president. I will leave with a smile on my face. It’s a young man’s game and a sport that requires tremendous passion and energy and I feel God is leading me in another direction at this time.” That direction may involve ministerial work. Spates received a master’s degree in theology and education from Baptist Bible Seminary in 1980. “About eight years ago, God brought me back to faith and I’m very excited about the plans that He has for me,” Spates said. “I anticipate that those plans are in the ministry and probably campus ministry.” OU President David L. Boren said Spates impact reached outside of wrestling. “Coach Spates has made a great contribution to the University of Oklahoma, not only as a coach but also as a mentor and role model,” Boren said. “The entire university community is grateful for his many years of service. We wish him well in the future.” Joe Castiglione, OU’s Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Program and Athletics Director, said Spates was inspirational with his enthusiasm. “I congratulate Jack on a wonderful career and on all his notable accomplishments within the sport of wrestling,” he said. “He has been a successful and passionate advocate for the Sooners and the sport for many years. His daily enthusiasm for the job has not only been refreshing, it has been inspiring. “He has led our program to national prominence and further secured Oklahoma’s name among the top wrestling programs. We are and will always be grateful for Jack’s leadership and know that he will continue to be a positive influence on those he mentors in the future.” Spates’ start in wrestling was the result of a high school prank. Spates was 15 years old and just 90 pounds when some of his friends signed his name to a wrestling team form without his knowledge. “I could never have envisioned the career I’ve had in the sport,” he reflected. “Wrestling has been so special to me and has impacted by whole life. “And I am so proud to have been associated with the University of Oklahoma. I will always be a Sooner.” Spates’ OU mark currently stands at 235-96-12, including a 5-1 mark this season. Including his time as head coach at Cornell, he is 309-110-13. He has been honored three times as Big 12 Coach of the Year and was the 2006 National Coach of the Year. He has coached two Big 12 conference team titles, 53 All-Americans and six national champions at OU. He has also led 30 Oklahoma wrestlers to individual Big 12 titles. Under Spates’ direction, the Sooners have accepted six team trophies over the last nine seasons as a top-four finisher at the NCAA Tournament. He is also third among active head coaches for most All-Americans produced during his tenure with 53. Spates became the University of Oklahoma's 12th head wrestling coach in 1993. At that time, OU's average finish at the NCAA Championships was 23rd over the previous three seasons. Recently, his Sooner teams have placed in the nation's top four in six of the past nine seasons, including third-place finishes in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006. Not only has Spates built programs into regional and national powers, he has also served as a mentor to several Division I head coaches. Among those are Rob Koll, head coach at Cornell, and Brian Smith, head coach at Missouri, both of whom were assistants to Spates. As a wrestler, Spates won the New York State Championship and placed third in the nation, becoming a high school All-American. As a collegiate wrestler at Slippery Rock, he claimed the collegiate national championship in 1973 and was NCAA runner-up the following year at 118 pounds. He compiled a 118-8 career record, the second-best win total in school history. Subsequently, Spates was inducted into the Slippery Rock Athletic Hall of Fame. Spates began coaching as the head assistant at Baptist Bible College in 1975. He quickly earned a reputation as a builder of programs when he helped lead the small private school to six conference championships. After leaving Baptist Bible College in 1981, Spates entered the business world before returning for one year as an assistant coach at Pittsburgh where he helped direct the Panthers to their first winning season in five years. From there, Spates served as head assistant coach at the U.S. Military Academy. While Spates was West Point, the Black Knights attained their highest ever NCAA finish (13th) and were ranked as high as No. 11 during the 1987 season. Spates helped recruit Army's highest-rated class, which was judged No. 7 in the nation. He was also named runner-up for national assistant-coach-of-the-year honors. Spates became the head coach at Cornell in 1988. During his five years with the Big Red, he became Cornell's all-time winningest coach by percentage. S pates compiled a 74-14-1 record and developed a program that offered no scholarships into an Eastern and national power. His last two Cornell teams dominated the Eastern Championships, crowning nine individual champions. Cornell also steadily improved at the NCAA Championships, rising from no national placing to finishes of 20th, 15th and 10th place. Spates was named New York Collegiate Coach of the Year, Eastern Coach of the Year and New York State Wrestling Man of the Year. Spates also wears many hats outside the world of wrestling. He graduated magna cum laude from graduate school and was awarded the Greek Award for Proficiency in the Koine Greek Language as well as the Literacy Award for Dissertation of Publishable Quality. Spates' dedication to education is still evident today as his program regularly produces Academic All-Big 12 and Academic All-America selections. Author of the highly-acclaimed wrestling book Mat Snacks: Wrestling Stories to Feed the Spirit and Tickle the Funny Bone, Spates has developed a reputation as a motivational speaker for businesses, schools and civic clubs. Spates is also a songwriter who has written ballads for all six of his national champions. Spates, a native of Smithtown, NY, and his wife, Barby, reside in Norman. He is the proud father of four children: Jessica, Jeremy, Justin and Jenilyn. Castiglione said that a national search will be conducted to identify Spates’ successor.

Loaded field meets at Clash for team glory While the potential match between No. 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota (also champions of The Clash the last two years) and No. 4 Brandon, Florida is the talk of the national wrestling community, there is much more to discuss heading into The Clash IX this coming Friday and Saturday in Rochester, Minnesota. Thirteen schools in the 32-team field are ranked in the Fab 50, while there are 30 individuals in the field that are also nationally ranked. During the last five editions of The Clash, the tournament committee has awarded $1,000 college scholarships to approximately five deserving wrestlers -- in addition to recognizing the top performing team and individuals during the course of the two-day competition. That will continue this coming year as well. Wrestling on the first day of the Clash, which is tomorrow, is split into four 8-team brackets that are wrestled during two sessions. Brackets "A" and "B" are wrestled during the morning (9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m. Central Time), while Brackets "C" and "D" are wrestled in the late afternoon (4 p.m., 6 p.m., and 8 p.m. Central Time). Teams will wrestle in three dual meets to determine their position for the three matches of round-robin wrestling on Saturday. Round-robin wrestling on Saturday is split into the same morning and late afternoon time blocks. Teams that earn a top four finish wrestle in the late afternoon against those with the corresponding finish on Friday; while those in the bottom four wrestle on Saturday morning. A top four finish is guaranteed by winning the opening dual match on Friday. The following teams appear in the Fab 50: Bracket A: No. 1 Apple Valley, Minnesota; No. 21 Roseburg, Oregon; and No. 39 Bettendorf, Iowa Bracket B: No. 4 Brandon, Florida; No. 35 Glenbard North, Illinois; and No. 44 Grand Island, Nebraska Bracket C: No. 10 Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; No. 42 Kasson-Mantorville, Minnesota; No. 46 Montini Catholic, Illinois; and No. 48 Carl Sandburg, Illinois Bracket D: No. 6 Simley, Minnesota; No. 13 Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa; and No. 45 St. Michael-Albertville, Minnesota The following individuals are ranked in their respective weight classes: 103: No. 16 Kyle Gliva (Simley, Minnesota) 112: No. 19 Jordan Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 119: No. 5 Thomas Gilman (Skutt Catholic, Nebraska) and No. 14 Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) 125: No. 11 Kevin Norstrem (Brandon, Florida); No. 13 Dakota Trom (Apple Valley, Minnesota); and No. 20 Tanner Werner (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa) 130: No. 11 Joey Gosinski (Glenbard North, Illinois); No. 12 Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minnesota); No. 13 Rossi Bruno (Brandon, Florida); and No. 15 Ben Morgan (Forest Lake, Minnesota) 135: No. 4 Tyler Liberatore (Brandon, Florida) and No. 9 Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, Minnesota) 140: No. 4 Jake Sueflohn (Arrowhead, Wisconsin); No. 6 Jake Short (Simley, Minnesota); No. 10 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, Minnesota); No. 16 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, Illinois); and No. 20 Bo Schlosser (Bettendorf, Iowa) 152: No. 1 Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, Minnesota); No. 6 Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, Illinois); No. 9 Cody Caldwell (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa); and No. 13 Clark Glass (Brandon, Florida) 160: No. 4 Steven Keogh (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and No. 6 Wally Figaro (Brandon, Florida) 171: No. 6 Jake Waste (Apple Valley, Minnesota) and No. 16 Austin Gabel (Ponderosa, Colorado) 189: No. 4 Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin) 285: No. 1 Cody Krumwiede (Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa); No. 12 Brodie Berrie (Bettendorf, Iowa); and No. 13 Chris Lopez (Carl Sandburg, Illinois) For First Day Brackets: http://www.clashmn.com/Clash9/Clash9Brackets.htm Direct Link to the event as it happens: http://www.trackwrestling.com/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=396009 "Team advancement" -- The original: the 31st Virginia Duals For the 31st time, the Peninsula Wrestling Association will host the Virginia Duals at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. The event will again feature two divisions of college, three divisions of high school, and new this year is a middle school division. This is the seventeenth year for the National high school division, and the sixteenth year for the American and Black & Blue high school divisions. The National division is the premier high school bracket, and features sixteen -- more or less -- elite high school programs from across the country. This year, there are six nationally-ranked teams: No. 10 Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania; No. 26 Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania; No. 27 Christiansburg, Virginia; No. 31 Cox, Virginia; No. 40 South Plainfield, New Jersey; and No. 41 Nazareth, Pennsylvania. These six teams are also the top six seeds. Wyoming Seminary is the top seed, with Canon-McMillan and South Plainfield seeded fourth and fifth respectively. In the bottom half of the draw, Christiansburg is the second seed, while Nazareth and Cox are seeded third and sixth. St. Mark's, Delaware (seeded eighth) will be seeking to defend the championship; Nazareth was runner-up last year, and tournament champions in 2007; while Christiansburg had been in five consecutive Virginia Duals championship matches prior to last year (champions in 2008 and 2009). The following individuals are ranked within their respective weight classes: 112: No. 1 Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, New Jersey); No. 3 Conner Schram (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania); and No. 9 JR Wert (Christiansburg, Virginia) 119: No. 7 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, Virginia) and No. 8 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) 130: No. 2 Zach Horan (Nazareth, Pennsylvania); No. 7 Brandon Jeske (Cox, Virginia); and No. 20 Solomon Chisko (Canon-McMillan, Pennsylvania) 145: No. 8 Blake Roulo (Matoaca, Virginia); No. 15 Henry Carlson (Cox, Virginia); and No. 17 Nick Catalano (Canon-McMillan, Virginia) 152: No. 19 Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) and No. 20 David Wesley (St. Christopher's, Virginia) 285: No. 18 Terrance Jean-Jacques (Wyoming Seminary, Pennsylvania) National Division Bracket: http://virginiaduals.org/2011_NationalHS_Bracket.pdf American Division Bracket: http://virginiaduals.org/2011_American_Bracket.pdf Black & Blue Division Bracket: http://virginiaduals.org/2011_B&B_Bracket.pdf Results will be available on Track Wrestling throughout the competition tomorrow and Saturday A tournament almost as old as high school wrestling itself Twenty-four teams from Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico will convene upon Geary, Oklahoma for what has to be the nation's oldest high school wrestling tournament. The 67th annual Geary Invitational features many unique traditions that are as old as the event itself. Two of those in particular would be the fact that there is no seeding, which means the expected feature matchups can happen at any time; and there is the opportunity for wrestlers that take third to challenge for true second place, if they did not compete against the defeated finalist earlier in the tournament. A pair of teams in the field is nationally ranked -- No. 19 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma, and No. 36 Broken Arrow, Oklahoma -- while a third team (Claremore, Oklahoma) was in the team rankings earlier this season. Four wrestlers in the field are nationally ranked, including a pair in the 160 pound weight class -- No. 7 Kyle Crutchmer (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma) and No. 16 Zach Skates (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma). Also in the rankings is No. 16 Calib Freeman (Claremore, Oklahoma) at 112 pounds and No. 13 Chase Ferman (Broken Arrow, Oklahoma) at 135. Another potential big-time match could happen at 119 pounds, with a pair of two-time state champions, both only juniors at present, possibly in the bracket: Josh Walker (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma) and Kyle Garcia (Choctaw, Oklahoma). Best from the Golden State "Battle for the Hat" With two of the traditional major in-season tournaments in the state of California both being contested next week, as opposed to one in each of the two weeks after this one, it will be the Doc Buchanan Invitational hosted by Clovis High School that serves as the ultimate pre-test for the best wrestlers and teams in California. The top seven teams in the December edition of state rankings compiled by The California Wrestler, including three nationally-ranked teams -- No. 7 Bakersfield, No. 9 Clovis, and No. 23 Oakdale -- are in this field. The following nationally-ranked wrestlers are in the field: 103: No. 19 Isaiah Locsin (Live Oak, California) 119: No. 15 Stevan Knoblauch (Clovis West, California) 125: No. 4 Alex Cisneros (Selma, California); No. 6 Fabian Garcia (Turlock, California); and No. 7 Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North, California) 135: No. 18 Chris Mecate (Redlands East Valley, California) 140: No. 8 Nick Pena (Selma, California) and No. 14 Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, California) 145: No. 18 David Ferry (Oakdale, California) 160: No. 5 Vinny Waldhauser (Oak Ridge, California) and No. 9 Justin Lozano (Selma, California) 171: No. 4 Bryce Hammond (Bakersfield, California); No. 12 Zach Nevills (Clovis, California); and No. 14 Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, California) 189: No. 7 Lucas Sheridan (De La Salle, California) For further coverage of the tournament -- links to streaming video and updated results -- check out the Clovis Wrestling website, http://www.cloviswrestling.com. Competition on both days starts at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time (12 noon in the east), with finals slated for 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday evening. Ohio State Duals The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) sanctions the unofficial dual meet state championship in the Buckeye State for each of the three divisions. Eight teams in each division will be after the championships, which will be held this Sunday at three different locations across the state. No. 47 Wadsworth will be after a third consecutive State Duals championship in Division I; however, standing in their way will be No. 5 St. Edward and No. 18 Massillon Perry. The fifth-ranked Eagles are the top seed, and also pretty clear favorites to make the championship match. On the other hand, the two-time defending champion Grizzlies will have to be a very young, but formidable, Cincinnati Moeller squad in the opening round just to advance to a collision with Massillon Perry in the semifinal. Perennial champions in Division II, No. 3 St. Paris Graham will yet again serve as hosts for this event and are the strong favorites. Nominal challenges should come in the semifinal from Walsh Jesuit and in the final from Oak Harbor, though the Falcons should claim yet another trophy. In Division III, there will be a new champion as Cuyahoga Hts. did not qualify for this year's event; however, the clear favorite is St. Peter Chanel, which is coming off a title at the Brecksville Holiday Invitational Tournament just last week. Updated Fab 50 team rankings released The updated national Fab 50 team rankings were posted yesterday. Apple Valley, Minnesota remains in the number one position after winning the Cheesehead with nine finalists but only one champion. Moving up to the second position, from the number three ranking, is Blair Academy, New Jersey. The Buccaneers had five champions in that tournament. New to the Fab 50 this week is No. 41 Nazareth, Pennsylvania; No. 48 Carl Sandburg, Illinois; and No. 50 Crown Point, Indiana.

The collegiate wrestling season is a grind. Many of the nation's best wrestlers will miss twenty five percent of their season due to injury. Most coaches will have gone batty from stress by the start of the conference schedule. Like the competitors they love to write about, wrestling journalists can also suffer the strain of a tough season on the mat. We start the year with such promise. Witty criticisms and prognostications we hope will make us seem clairvoyant come March. But by December the reality starts creeping in that we are fallible, too. Though journalists typically don't like to admit mistakes, I think there should be some level of corrective behavior among our profession, just as there is with any good wrestler or coach. It's the least I can do seeing that it's always been much easier to write a column than it is to strap on the boots and take a whipping six days a week. Joe McFarland (Michigan) "McFarland, who recently helped raise the money for and plan the massive stand-alone Bahna Wrestling Center in Ann Arbor, is likely on a short leash if he doesn't improve the team's showing at Big Tens and NCAAs." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 15, 2010 Joe McFarland (Photo, Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)My biggest dork-up of the season was thinking McFarland should be worried about the performance of his team after the 52nd-place finish last year at NCAAs. While there were indicators of trouble, I didn't take into account that McFarland and his staff have always developed wrestlers and that his big recruits were still young. The 11th-ranked Michigan squad has shown growth across the weight classes, with solid performances from No. 9 heavyweight Ben Apland to No. 18 Zac Stevens. Oh yeah, he's also coaching the No.1 ranked 141-pound wrestler in Kellen Russell, who many predicted (not me) would be bested by Penn State upstart Andrew Alton. Rande Stottlemyer (Pittsburgh) "There is no area of America with more folkstyle wrestling talent than Western Pennsylvania and Rande Stottlemyer is responsible for holding onto that talent." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 15, 2010 While Pitt should still be concerned about losing recruits to Penn State, the Hall of Fame coach's conference title was well-earned and rather than a flash of brilliance, might be the indicator of new energy in the program. The 26th-ranked Panthers are actually healthier than that paltry ranking with redshirting 197-pounder Matthew Wilps recently winning Midlands. The team has swagger and should be in the running to repeat their conference topping run of 2010. Anthony Robles (Arizona State) "If Sanders can stay off bottom and avoid getting underneath Robles he should pull off a close decision." -- T.R. Foley, Nov. 19, 2010 Anthony Robles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)I stand by the prediction insomuch as the Sun Devil senior had lost to Minnesota's Zach Sanders in a close match last season. However, what I couldn't have realized was that Robles somehow went from good to silly good on top. I don't want to hear any bull crap from critics who claim having only one leg is an advantage. There is no room in the discussion for that narrow-minded bastardization of Robles' accomplishments. Instead, the real discussion should be whether or not an undefeated NCAA title run will be enough to secure him the Hodge. His domination of opponents is possibly the most complete in the country, even better than David Taylor. Basically, I missed the memo on how much the Arizona native had improved over the summer. Brandon Precin and Matt McDonough beware. Germane Lindsey (Ohio) "Lindsey is talented and will again be an All-American, but in a matchup with Bailey he's short on experience and practice room competition. Assuming a healthy and motivated Bailey (and why not?), this won't be very close." -- T.R. Foley, Nov. 19, 2010 I was overzealous in my endorsement of Oklahoma Sooner Zack Bailey heading into his NWCA All-Star Classic matchup with the Ohio stud. While I did think that Bailey would prevail, a fall was highly unlikely. Lindsey is a hard worker with good work on his feet and bottom work that would make it difficult for any opponent to wrangle their way into a fall, much less Bailey who is not much of a pinner. Best of luck to the always-entertaining Lindsey. Penn State Freshmen (David Taylor, Ed Ruth, Andrew Alton) "Top 10 Impact Freshmen: (1) Logan Stieber (Ohio State), (2) Chris Perry (Oklahoma State), (3) David Taylor (Penn State), (4) Chris Villalonga (Cornell), (5) Ed Ruth (Penn State), (6) Jake Deitchler (Minnesota), (7) Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State), (8) Jake Swartz (Boise State), (9) Derek St. John (Iowa), (10) Marshall Peppelman (Cornell). Honorable Mention: Eric Grajales (Michigan), Mike McMullen (Northwestern), David Thorn (Minnesota), Jon Fausey (Virginia), Andrew Alton/Dylan Alton (Penn State)." -- T.R. Foley, Oct. 5, 2010 David Taylor (Photo/Cliff Fretwell)David Taylor, Ed Ruth and Andrew Alton should have been 1-2-3. With only two losses between the three wrestlers as of Jan. 1, there are no freshmen candidates more dominant than this trio. Their success has been the catalyst for the message boards and prognosticators to speculate about the chances of Penn State competing for the NCAA team title in 2011. I was hesitant to list all Penn State freshmen in the top five, a feeling I now regret as they are ripping through their competition with a bevy of falls and tech falls. I guess it makes me wonder: Could this Penn State team finish with three NCAA champion freshmen? What would that mean for legacy of Coach Cael? Is this along with Cornell indicative of a shift in talent eastward? Are we witnessing the apocalypse? For now I'm tapped of predictions. There's too much wrestling to be wrong about and I don't like recycling column ideas.

BOONE, N.C. -- The 12th-ranked Virginia Tech wrestling team rolled to a pair of victories Tuesday night, beating host Appalachian State 39-7 and dominating Cambpell, 48-0. With the wins, the Hokies move to 8-2 overall and head into this weekend’s big tournament with a little momentum. In the opener, Jarrod Garnett got things started with a pin and then freshman Devin Carter picked up a technical fall. Chris Diaz picked up a five-point win and then Brian Stephens pinned his man to make it 20-0. Jesse Dong made his official season debut with a pin at 157 pounds. He had wrestled unattached the first semester, posting a 14-1 mark. Pete Yates made his season debut at 165 pounds, but suffered a 6-4 loss in sudden victory to previously ranked Kyle Blevins. At 174 pounds, Matt Epperly picked up a quick pin of Brandon Lietz. John Dickson lost 14-5 at 184 pounds to make it 32-7. Chris Penny and David Marone each picked up wins, a decision by Penny and a major decision by Marone, to account for the final score. In the second match of the night, Garnett and Carter continued their hot streaks with each picking up a pin. Diaz earned a technical fall and then Stephens pinned his man to make it 23-0. Dong poured it on with a technical fall and then Yates rebounded from a tough opening loss with a technical fall. Nick Vetterlein went at 174 pounds and picked up a 13-6 win for the Hokies. Dickson pinned Justin Sparrow at 184 pounds and then Penny recorded a major decision to make it 45-0 and Marone finished things up with a decision to wrap up the 48-0 win. With his two wins, Diaz now has 98 for his career and can join the 100-win club this weekend. Tommy Spellman, ranked 16th in the country at 184 pounds, was held out for the night to rest up, but should be ready to roll this weekend. Tech will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for its biggest weekend of the season at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. The seventh-seeded Hokies will open with unseeded, but 17th-ranked Central Michigan in the opener Saturday at 11 a.m., local time (noon Eastern). #12 Virginia Tech (7-2) 39, Appalachian State (3-5) 7 125: #11 Jarrod Garnett (VT) fall Tony Gravely 133: #8 Devin Carter (VT) tech fall Chris Johnson, 21-4 141: #5 Chris Diaz (VT) dec. Mike Kessler, 7-2 149: #9 Brian Stephens (VT) fall Russ Benner 157: #5 Jesse Dong (VT) fall Travis Puckett 165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) dec. #14 Pete Yates, 6-4 (SV) 174: Matt Epperly (VT) fall Branden Lietz 184: Austin Trotman (ASU) maj. dec. John Dickson, 14-5 197: Chris Penny (VT) dec. Paul Glover, 7-3 285: David Marone (VT) maj. dec. Marc Tyson, 11-0 #12 Virginia Tech (8-2) 48, Campbell (0-4) 0 125: #11 Jarrod Garnett (VT) fall Tanner Bidelspach 133: #8 Devin Carter (VT) fall Gabriel Gardner 141: #5 Chris Diaz (VT) tech fall Brad Merriman, 16-0 149: #9 Brian Stephens (VT) fall Darien Peele 157: #5 Jesse Dong (VT) tech fall Jake Fose, 16-1 165: #14 Pete Yates (VT) tech fall Joel Caudill, 19-4 174: Nick Vetterlein (VT) dec. Ryan Ham, 13-6 184: John Dickson (VT) fall Justin Sparrow 197: Chris Penny (VT) dec. John Merickel, 7-4 285: David Marone (VT) dec. Parker Burns, 7-0

Takedown Wrestling Media’s Scott Casber, and his broadcast team, will have the call at the 2011 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals, live, from the UNI dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. On January 8, 2011, livesportsvideo.com will LIVE stream 5 featured mats, featuring some of the best teams in the country, from all divisions! Live action from the event will be available on LiveSportsVideo.com for a pay-per-view subscription of $5.00. Click here to order and watch the games. Based in Syracuse, N.Y., LiveSportsVideo.com was founded by Bob Feldmeier, Sr. and Jake Feldmeier, both former student-athletes at Princeton, and holds U.S. Patent Number 7,340,765 for streaming and archiving sports online. Any wrestling program choosing to stream their content online can utilize this service for free. Please Contact Westbrook Shortell for more information. Takedown Wrestling Media was started 14 year ago as a single one-hour radio program broadcast from Clear Channel's KXNO studios in Des Moines. TDR quickly added Internet distribution of its audio format and over time began to broadcast live events along with its weekly program. Founder Scott Casber is well-known throughout the wrestling community, speaking to wrestling groups around the country and promoting the sport wherever he can. TDR TV was born as an addition to the radio program, initially available only on the Internet, but now available on 31 different web sites, as well as 7 different cable systems serving over 7.2 million homes. More information can be found at: Takedownradio.com The National Wrestling Coaches Association, established in 1928, is a professional organization dedicated to serve and provide leadership for the advancement of all levels of the sport of wrestling with primary emphasis on scholastic and collegiate wrestling programs. The membership embraces all people who are interested in amateur wrestling.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The University Iowa Athletic Department has reinstated Hawkeye junior Montell Marion to the Hawkeye wrestling team. This reinstatement will allow the Marion to practice with the team. A decision on whether or not Marion will be allowed to compete for the Hawkeyes will be made at a later date. Marion was suspended from the Hawkeye wrestling team May 5, 2010, for violations of the University of Iowa Athletic Department student-athlete code of conduct. Montell Marion (Photo/Morgan Hennessy)"I want to thank the University of Iowa, Gary Barta, Fred Mims and Tom Brands for giving me this opportunity to prove myself worthy," said Marion. "I understand that there will be some mixed emotions about me rejoining the team, but I am confident that my actions will demonstrate that the University has made the right decision in providing me with this opportunity." "This decision has been made because of the positive steps that Montell has made in his life," said University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands. "It is a continuing process and there is always a lot of work to do. In the last seven months, Montell has demonstrated that he knows there is work to do and that work will continue. I feel confident that Montell’s actions will show that the correct decision has been made." Marion posted a 37-9 record in two seasons with the Hawkeyes. He picked up his first all-America honor last season, placing second at 141 pounds at the 2010 NCAA Championships. The Des Moines, IA, native placed third at the 2010 Big Ten Championships. "Montell has made some poor decisions and he continues to pay a significant price," said University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta. "With that said, I’m proud of the changes he is making in his life. I support the plan that has been put in place and, more importantly, I’m encouraged with his commitment going forward. I would take great pride in one day watching Montell walk across the graduation stage."

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- George Mason University 197 Cayle Byers, Hofstra University 133 Lou Ruggirello and Old Dominion University 125 James Nicholson are the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestlers of the Month for all competition in December, 2010. Byers, a junior from Chugiak, Alaska, beat the number one ranked wrestler in the nation of Kent State on his way to a runner-up finish in the Southern Scuffle, losing on a tie breaker in the finals to the second ranked wrestler from Cornell. Byers improved to 16-1 on the season and is ranked second by Amateur Wrestling News, third by InterMat and WIN. Ruggirello, a senior from Walden, NY, went 10-2 in December. He went 4-1 at Cliff Keen, losing 2-0 to the third ranked wrestler from Wisconsin, and defeated three top-20 wrestlers. Ruggirello finished runner-up at the Southern Scuffle, losing in the finals to the ninth ranked wrestler from Penn. Ruggirello improved to 14-3 on the season and is ranked fifth by AWN and InterMat, eighth by WIN. Nicholson, a senior from Des Moines, Iowa, went 5-0 in December, winning his weight class at the Sourthern Scuffle. He defeated a top 20 wrestler from Oregon State and a top 10 wrestler from Minnesota to improve to 14-0 on the season. Nicholson is ranked fourth in the nation.

Bloomsburg's Frank Hickman won a major decision over Colton Palmer in the final match Tuesday afternoon to stave off an NC State rally and preserve a 28-18 victory for the Huskies at Nelson Field House. The Huskies (9-2) jumped to an 18-0 lead after four matches thanks in large measure to pins by Nathan Graham at 184 pounds and Jacob Dabashinsky at 197. The Pack (1-3) then won four out of the next five bouts to pull within striking distance heading into the finale, but Hickman got off to a quick start in his bout with Palmer and went on to win by a 13-5 major decision. After Bloomsburg jumped to the 18-0 lead, sophomore Eloheim Palma (5-2) got NC State on the scoreboard with a 3-1 decision over Zach Walsh. Redshirt-sophomore Pedram Rahmatabadi (7-5) cut the lead to 18-9 by pinning Sean Boylan in 43 seconds in the match at 125 pounds. Nick Wilcox stopped the Wolfpack's momentum with a pin of freshman Conor Hovis at 133 pounds, forcing NC State to record pins in two of the final three matches just to force a tie. Junior 141-pounder Darrius Little (16-6) got three points back with a 6-1 decision over Derek Shingara. The decision also avenged a 4-1 loss that Little suffered at the hands of Shingara last week at the Southern Scuffle. Darrion Caldwell, the 2009 national champion at 149 pounds, was up next. Caldwell was making his season debut for the Pack after missing 16 months due to shoulder surgery. He looked to be in midseason form, rolling up a 12-0 lead on Josh Roosa before pinning him at the 4:54 mark. The pin was 51st in Caldwell's career. He now needs four more to pass Tab Thacker (1981-84) for second place in school history in career falls. The victory was the 95th for Caldwell, which places him one shy of tying Mike Lombardo (1985-88) for second place in school history. Sylvester Terkay (1990-93) holds the school records for career pins (64) and career victories (122). At 95-12, Caldwell's career winning percentage now stands at .888, placing him in third place in the Wolfpack record book, just .001 behind Thacker (92-11-1) and .009 behind Terkay (122-14). NC State returns to the mat Wednesday with a 4 p.m. match at Rider. Results: 165 - Josh Veltre (BU) dec. Colin Genthert, 8-3 174 - Mike Dessino (BU) dec. Quinton Godley, 7-2 184 - Nathan Graham (BU) pinned Nijel Jones at 1:22 197 - Jacob Dabashinsky (BU) pinned KaRonne Jones at 6:56 Hwt - Eloheim Palma (NCS) dec. Zach Walsh, 3-1 125 - Pedram Rahmatabadi (NCS) pinned Sean Boylan at 0:43 133 - Nick Wilcox (BU) pinned Conor Hovis at 4:49 141 - Darrius Little (NCS) dec. Derek Shingara, 6-1 149 - Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Josh Roosa at 4:54 157 - Frank Hickman (BU) major dec. Colton Palmer, 13-5

EDMOND, Okla. -- Nebraska-Omaha stayed No. 1 in the NCAA Division II wrestling rankings and will take the favorite’s role into this weekend’s NWCA Division II National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, according to the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll that was released Tuesday. The two-time defending national champion Mavericks received seven of eight first-place votes in balloting of coaches from around the country to finish with 159 points. UNO has been No. 1 in every poll the past two-plus seasons. St. Cloud State (Minn.) collected the other first-place vote and stayed second with 153 points. Augustana (S.D.) remained third with 140 points, followed by Western State (Colo.) and Newberry (S.C.). Rounding out the top 10 is Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.), Minnesota State, Nebraska-Kearney, Central Oklahoma and Grand Canyon (Ariz.). Sixteen teams will compete in the NWCA Division II National Duals, which open Saturday morning and run through Sunday afternoon at the UNI Dome on the Northern Iowa campus. Joining Nebraska-Omaha in the field will be No. 2 St. Cloud, No. 3 Augustana, No. 4 Western State, No. 5 Newberry, No. 7 Minnesota State, No. 9 Central Oklahoma, No. 10 Grand Canyon, No. 11 Upper Iowa, No. 12 Wisconsin-Parkside, No. 13 North Carolina-Pembroke, No. 14 Findlay and No. 20 San Francisco State along with Central Missouri, Limestone (S.C.) and Minnesota State-Moorhead. The top 20 poll, with points and the teams’ last ranking following by the top-eight rankings at each weight: Rank School (State) Points Last Ranking 1. Nebraska-Omaha 159 1st 2. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 153 2nd 3. Augustana (S.D.) 140 3rd 4. Western State (Colo.) 131 4th 5. Newberry (S.C.) 129 5th 6. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 106 9th 7. Minnesota State 105 6th 8. Nebraska-Kearney 100 8th 9. Central Oklahoma 99 12th 10. Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 97 11th 11. Upper Iowa 88 10th 12. Wisconsin-Parkside 70 13th 13. North Carolina-Pembroke 64 20th 14. Findlay (Ohio) 61 7th T15. West Liberty (W. Va.) 43 14th T15. Fort Hays State (Kan.) 43 15th 17. Adams State (Colo.) 29 16th 18. Ashland (Ohio) 27 17th 19. East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 14 18th 20. San Francisco State (Calif.) 10 19th Others receiving votes: Belmont Abbey (N.C.), Colorado State-Pueblo, Gannon (Pa.), Minnesota State-Moorhead, Southwest Minnesota. NCAA Division II Individual Rankings 125 Pounds 1. Andy Forstner, Minnesota State 2. Russell Weakley, North Carolina-Pembroke 3. Trevor Franklin, Upper Iowa 4. Alex Meger, Augustana (S.D.) 5. Josh Smith, Nebraska-Kearney 6. Connor McDonald, Newberry (S.C.) 7. Alex Johns, Indianapolis (Ind.) 8. Ben Sergent, Findlay (Ohio) 133 Pounds 1. Kyle Pedretti, Upper Iowa 2. Todd Wilcox, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 3. Ryan Link, Pittsburgh-Johnstown 4. Aldon Isenberg, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 5. B.J. Young, Newberry (S.C.) 6. Michael Magaha, Limestone (S.C.) 7. Cody Gillenwater, Central Missouri 8. Trison Graham, Central Oklahoma 141 Pounds 1. Jay Sherer, Augustana (S.D.) 2. Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha 3. Andre Harrison, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 4. Dalton Jensen, Nebraska-Kearney 5. Naveed Bagheri, San Francisco State (Calif.) 6. Jimmy Savala, Chadron State (Neb.) 7. Gabe Suarez, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 8. Deral Brown, Newberry (S.C.) 149 Pounds 1. Esai Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha 2. T.J. Hepburn, Nebraska-Kearney 3. Nate Herda, Augustana (S.D.) 4. Jeremy Espinoza, Findlay (Ohio) 5. Dale Debacco, Newberry (S.C.) 6. Josh Hensley, Adams State (Colo.) 7. Mitchell Means, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 8. Jesse Snider, Colorado Mines 157 Pounds 1. George Ivanov, Nebraska-Omaha 2. Marcus Edgington, Augustana (S.D.) 3. Dillon Bera, Wisconsin-Parkside 4. Seth Phalen, West Liberty (W.Va.) 5. Sean Byrnes, Newberry (S.C.) 6. John Sundgren, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 7. Cory Dauphin, Central Oklahoma 8. Justin Morris, Western State (Colo.) 165 Pounds 1. Josh Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 2. Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 3. Jake Varilek, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 4. Derrick Adkins, Central Oklahoma 5. Joey Wilson, Nebraska-Kearney 6. Matt Gille, Wisconsin-Parkside 7. Gavin Nelson, Augustana (S.D.) 8. Justin Grant, Colorado State-Pueblo 174 Pounds 1. Luke Rynish, Wisconsin-Parkside 2. Anthony Petrella, Gannon (Pa.) 3. Ryan Pankoke, Nebraska-Omaha 4. Victor Carazo, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 5. Tim Darling, Kutztown (Pa.) 6. Shamus O’Grady, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 7. Ben Becker, Minnesota State 8. Mason True, Findlay (Ohio) 184 Pounds 1. Bryant Blanton, Newberry (S.C.) 2. Charlie Pipher, Western State (Colo.) 3. Aaron Norgren, Minnesota State 4. Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha 5. Mic Berg, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 6. Brady Anderson, Mary (N.D.) 7. Ryan Becerra, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 8. Tanner Keck, Central Oklahoma 197 Pounds 1. Donovan McMahill, Western State (Colo.) 2. Ty Copsey, Augustana (S.D.) 3. Mitch Knapp, West Liberty (W.Va.) 4. Luke McPeek, Adams State (Colo.) 5. Jarrett Edison, Central Oklahoma 6. Carl Broghammer, Upper Iowa 7. Frank Morgan, King (Tenn.) 8. Daniel Stevenson, Findlay (Ohio) 285 Pounds 1. Jacob Kahnke, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 2. Charlie Alexander, Western State (Colo.) 3. Ben Hohensee, Nebraska-Kearney 4. Matt Meuleners, Northern State (S.D.) 5. Taylor Escamilla, Nebraska-Omaha 6. J.D. Ramsey, West Liberty (W.Va.) 7. Chris Dempsey, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 8. Brian Rodas, Southwest Minnesota

BUIES CREEK, N.C. -- Former Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy (CVCA) prep stars Rocco Caponi and Jarrad Turner – both natives of Ohio - have been named Assistant Wrestling Coaches with the rising Campbell University Wrestling program, Head Coach Joe Boardwine announced this week. Rocco Caponi was a State Champion, Walsh Ironman Tournament Runner-Up, 2x State Finalist and Junior National Freestyle Champion for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. He then put together a highly successful career spanning five years at the University of Virginia. While with the Cavaliers, he won three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) titles and qualified for the NCAA Division I Championships four times. Caponi was ranked as high as 6th in the nation in NCAA D 1 and posted a 40-2 record going into the 2008 NCAA Championships. "We're excited to have Rocco as an important part of our program," said first-year head coach Joe Boardwine. "His experience as a competitor is very valuable, and having dominated the ACC, he brings a wealth of knowledge to our team. He helped take Virginia from the basement of the ACC to the top, and that's something our guys and new recruits can learn from. Building a high-level program from the ground-up is our exact goal here at Campbell." Caponi won over 110 matches during his UVA career while wrestling mostly in the 184-pound weight class. "I am very happy to become part of the Campbell University family," said Caponi. "I truly believe through hard work we will bring this program into the national spotlight. It is a privilege and an honor to work around so many great people in such a lovely setting." Caponi earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Virginia in 2008, and also received his Master's of Education in Educational Psychology from UVA in 2009. Jarrad Turner comes to Campbell University as the new Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing and Promotions in addition to serving as an Assistant Wrestling Coach. As Campbell's top athletic marketing officer, Turner oversees the marketing and promotions efforts for all of Campbell's 20 athletic programs including game promotions, print and electronic media advertising sales, licensing, and merchandising. Turner served as the Assistant Athletic Director for Marketing at Mercer University in Georgia prior to joining Campbell's administrative team. Turner was a standout for CVCA in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He was a Medina Invitational Champ, NHSCA High School All-American and a two-time placer at the prestigious Walsh Ironman Tournament. From CVCA, Turner wrestled for the Nittany Lions of Penn State in the Big 10 conference, where he was a Freestyle All-American at the University Nationals and a 4-year letter winner. "I am thrilled to welcome Jarrad Turner to Campbell and to our growing wrestling program as an Assistant Wrestling Coach," said Head Coach Joe Boardwine. "I trained Jarrad in high school– so I've known him for a long, long time. He has something important to teach our guys - because he is a great success story of what is possible in college wrestling…. If you are willing to work hard at our sport for years – you can pass up the competition. Even if someone is beating you in high school –if you discipline yourself to work hard enough for long enough……you will go much further in D 1 wrestling than they do. If you want it bad enough – it is only a matter of time," Boardwine asserted. Turner was a very successful NCAA D 1 coach while serving as the Graduate Assistant Coach for the Kent State Golden Flashes' during that program's upswing into the Top 25. Turner earned two Bachelors degrees from The Pennsylvania State University and a Masters degree in Sports Administration from Kent Sate University. "What's great about Jarrad is he is a terrific example for our wrestlers as both a bright, successful professional and also a high-level wrestler," said Boardwine. "He provides our program with yet another important person – in addition to all the support we already have - who really wants to see our wrestling program in the Top 25 in the nation." For the first time, Campbell University Wrestling now has three coaches employed at CU working on the CU Wrestling program in an official capacity. "I'm excited to be at Campbell and back working with Coach Joe (Boardwine)," Turner stated. "He has a championship vision for the wrestling program and very good plans laid out to accomplish that vision. It's going to be a lot of fun. This is a growing, thriving university. The whole athletic department and broader university are ready to take the athletic program to another level," Turner concluded. New Campbell Head Coach Joe Boardwine and his assistants, Rocco Caponi and Jarrad Turner, each live on the CU campus in Buies Creek, North Carolina. "I love the fact that we are all right here on campus," said Head Coach Joe Boardwine. "Our wrestlers have continuous access to mentoring, coaching and training at a very high-level. Combine that with Campbell's 1:19 full professor-to-student ratio – and our wrestlers have the kind of one-on-one attention that leads to D 1 wrestling and academic excellence. They're not just a number."

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia 174-pound senior Chris Henrich (Lansdale, Pa.) has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week for the second time this season and the fourth time in his career following a second-place finish at the Southern Scuffle last week. Henrich was the lone finalist among ACC competitors at the Scuffle, taking runner-up honors to Penn State's Ed Ruth, who knocked off both No. 2 ranked Henrich and No. 1 ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell en route to being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler. Henrich cruised in his other four matches, winning three by major decision or tech fall and one in a medical forfeit. He also picked up a fall in UVa's Dec. 18 dual at Campbell, needing less than one period to pin Peter Comis. Henrich now has 115 career wins and needs just one victory to match the school record, set by Mike Krafchick (1991-95). Henrich, a native of Lansdale, Pa., was also named ACC Co-Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 30, sharing the honor with Maryland's Mike Letts. Virginia returns to dual action on Friday, taking on Buffalo at 11 a.m. at the Virginia Duals in Hampton.

USA Wrestling's Jason Bryant and Jeff Byers, the voice of Penn State wrestling, will go "On the Mat" this Wednesday, January 5. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum. The show can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:05 - 6:00 PM CST on AM 1650, The Fan. E-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Bryant works at USA Wrestling as the Coordinator of Grassroots and Social Media. He will preview the Virginia Duals and the National Duals events taking place this weekend. Byers is the play-by-play voice for Penn State wrestling. Each Wednesday he hosts the Cael Sanderson show. Byers will provide an update on this year's surging Penn State team.