InterMat Staff

Please Note: All times Eastern Midlands Championships Event Date: Wednesday, December 30 All Day Air Date: Sunday, January 3 at 7:00 p.m. Oklahoma State at Iowa Event Date: Saturday, January 16 at 8:00 p.m. Air Date: Sunday, January 17 at 10:00 p.m. Indiana at Wisconsin Event Date: Friday, January 22 at 8:00 p.m. Air Date: LIVE Penn State at Ohio State Event Date: Sunday, January 24 at 2:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 7:00 p.m. Ohio State at Purdue Event Date: Friday, January 29 at 7:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 11:00 p.m. Illinois at Northwestern Event Date: Sunday, January 31 at 3:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 7:00 p.m. Minnesota at Illinois Event Date: Friday, February 5 at 8:00 p.m. Air Date: LIVE Michigan at Ohio State Event Date: Friday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 11:00 p.m. Purdue at Michigan State Event Date: Sunday, February 7 at 1:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 7:00 p.m. Iowa at Minnesota Event Date: Sunday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m. Air Date: LIVE Ohio State at Iowa Event Date: Friday, February 19 at 8:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 12:00 a.m. Michigan at Northwestern Event Date: Sunday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. Air Date: LIVE Iowa at Wisconsin Event Date: Sunday, February 21 at 2:00 p.m. Air Date: Same Day Delay at 11:00 p.m. Big Ten Championships Event Date: Sunday, March 7 at 2:00 p.m. Air Date: LIVE

Eric Guerrero

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- McDaniel won three of the final four matches, including getting major decisions from Will Yeo (Lexington Park, Md./Great Mills) and Brock Glotfelty (Grantsville, Md./Northern Garrett), to take a 17-15 victory over Waynesburg in non-conference wrestling action on Wednesday. The Green Terror (3-3) and Yellow Jackets (2-4) split the 10 bouts with five victories apiece but the two major decisions proved to be the difference. Clinging to a 3-2 lead but facing overtime with Matt Zimmerman's 1 minute, 38 seconds of advantage time, Scott Forrester (Manchester, N.J./Manchester Twp.) took his shot off a restart late in the third period and recorded the bout-winning takedown just before the final horn sounded for a 5-3 victory at 174. Yeo notched a takedown and near-fall late in the third period to extend his 13-9 lead to a 18-9 victory and earn a major decision to give the Green Terror a 13-12 edge. A late three-point near fall gave Cody Catalina turned a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 victory at 197. Glotfelty recorded a 10-0 win at heavyweight to overcome the two-point deficit and give his team the victory. Alex Crown staked the Yellow Jackets to a 3-0 lead in the match with a 6-2 victory at 125. Tommy Goretsas (Hampstead, Md./North Carroll) evened the match with a 2-1 win at 133. After a pair of escapes in the final two periods, Goretsas recorded a takedown midway through the first sudden victory period for the victory. Nick Garber re-established a three-point margin for Waynesburg with a 5-0 win at 141. Keyed by a four-point near fall in the second period, Brent Lowe (Dumfries, Va./Forest Park) once again knotted the match with an 8-2 win at 149. A 7-0 Jon Sanko victory at 157 once again gave the Yellow Jackets the advantage before a Jared Roberts 8-2 win at 165 stretched the lead to 12-6. The Green Terror returns to action at home against No. 12 Delaware Valley on Friday. Match time is 7 p.m. Results: 125: Alex Crown (W) dec. Earl Eppard 6-2; 133: Tommy Goretsas (M) dec. Josh Mollica 2-1 (SV1); 141: Nick Garber (W) dec. Michael Tancredi 5-0; 149: Brent Lowe (M) dec. Garrett Johnston (W) 8-2; 157: Jon Sanko (W) dec. Matt Peters 7-0; 165: Jared Roberts (W) dec. Tony Vorndran 8-2; 174: Scott Forrester (M) dec. Matt Zimmerman 5-3; 184: Will Yeo (M) maj. dec. Robert Schultz 18-9; 197: Cody Catalina (W) dec. Joe Camlin 5-3; HWT: Brock Glotfelty (M) maj. dec. Melvin Warrick 10-0.

BLACKSBURG -- Fresh off a successful weekend at the Virginia Duals, the Virginia Tech wrestling squad (10-3) will host three dual meets this weekend, including its ACC opener against the University of North Carolina on Saturday. Tewch, which moved up to 15th in the country as a team in the latest InterMat team poll, will host UNC (3-4-1, 1-1 ACC) Saturday at 2 p.m. On Sunday, the Hokies will take on Gardner-Webb at 4 p.m., and then will take on UNC Greensboro immediately following that match. G-W and UNCG will wrestle each other at 2 o’clock. Saturday’s match will feature one of the top individual matchups nationwide this weekend as Tech’s Jesse Dong will take on UNC’s Thomas Scotton at 157 pounds. Dong defeated No. 2 Cyler Sanderson last weekend at the Duals en route to a 5-0 weekend where he earned Outstanding Wrestler honors from the Duals and ACC Wrestler of the Week. Dong is 20-2 in attached matches and 24-3 overall. He is ranked fifth in the country while Scotton is ranked third. Scotton defeated Dong 4-2 in overtime earlier this year at the Hokie Open in Salem. Scotton holds a 22-2 record on the season and has defeated six opponents ranked in the top 15. Virginia Tech features four ranked wrestlers in its injury-depleted lineup. Jarrod Garnett is 16th at 125 pounds, Chris Diaz is ninth at 141 pounds, Dong at 157 pounds and Tommy Spellman re-entered the top 20 this week at 184 pounds, coming in at 20th. The Hokies will rely on these four for bonus points to try and offset forfeits and injuries. Tech beat Gardner-Webb 46-3 earlier this year at the ACC Challenge. G-W is 0-6 on the year and wrestles Friday night at home. The Hokies have not faced the Spartans (1-4) this season. Head coach Kevin Dresser also announced Thursday that sophomore Anthony Trongone has left the team and school for personal reasons. The starting 174-pounder was 9-4 this year and qualified for the NCAAs last season.

BOONE, N.C. -- UNC Greensboro won seven of the 10 bouts to lead from wire to wire and stay unbeaten in the Southern Conference as they defeated Appalachian State, 28-13, on Thursday evening in Varsity Gym. The Spartans improved to 2-4 overall this season in dual matches and 2-0 in the SoCon. The Mountaineers fell to 2-7 on the year and 0-1 in the league. The match began at 133 pounds where Casey Boyle scored a 5-3 decision over Jacob Earp. Freshman Ivan Lopouchanski followed with his 25th win of the year as he pinned Chris Collura at the 2:53 mark of the first period. Appalachian State’s Savva Kostis cut into the Spartan lead with a second period pin of Matt Barbo at 149 pounds. Travis Sheehy built UNCG’s lead to 12-6 with his 11-4 decision over Chip Powell. Kyle Blevins pulled the Mountaineers within 12-10 after his major decision victory over Victor Hojilla at 165 pounds. That was as close as the home team would get the rest of the evening as Byron Sigmon answered with a major decision of his own at 174 pounds to put UNCG ahead, 16-10. Appalachian’s Austin Trotman scored a 15-8 win over Andrew Saunders at 184 pounds, but the Spartans would go on to win the final three matches of the night. Ryan Sughrue started it off with a 5-1 decision against Dylan Temple at 197 pounds. Peter Sturgeon followed at heavyweight by defeating Ken Altarac, 3-1, to clinch the victory for UNCG. True freshman Eric Chandler capped off the evening for the Spartans with a pin over Brett Boston just 31 seconds into the second period at 125 pounds. The Spartans return to action on Sunday as they travel to Blacksburg, Va. for a pair of dual matches. UNCG will take on Gardner-Webb at 2 p.m. before facing No. 15 Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. Results: 133: Casey Boyle (UNCG) dec. Jacob Earp (ASU) 5-3 UNCG 3-0 141: Ivan Lopouchanski (UNCG) fall Chris Collura (ASU) 2:53 UNCG 9-0 149: Savva Kostis (ASU) fall Matt Barbo (UNCG) 4:11 UNCG 9-6 157: Travis Sheehy (UNCG) dec. Chip Powell (ASU) 11-4 UNCG 12-6 165: Kyle Blevins (ASU) major dec. Victor Hojilla (UNCG) 10-1 UNCG 12-10 174: Byron Sigmon (UNCG) major dec. Carter Downs (ASU) 9-1 UNCG 16-10 184: Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Andrew Saunders (UNCG) 15-8 UNCG 16-13 197: Ryan Sughrue (UNCG) dec. Dylan Temple (ASU) 5-1 UNCG 19-13 285: Peter Sturgeon (UNCG) dec. Ken Altarac (ASU) 3-1 UNCG 22 13

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Four consecutive technical falls by Filip Novachkov, Nick Fisher, Geoff Doss and Travis Rasmussen sparked the Cal Poly wrestling team to a 32-9 victory over San Francisco State in a non-conference dual meet Thursday night in the Golden Gators' Main Gym. With the win, Cal Poly improved to 5-2 on the year, two more victories than all of last season. San Francisco State fell to 1-6 and is now 1-37 all-time against the Mustangs in dual meets. Novachkov earned an 18-2 win over Kamil Smart at 141 pounds to improve to 17-4 while Fisher was a 20-4 winner over Aaron Wilson at 149 to lift his mark to 9-2. Doss posted a 19-2 triumph over Isaiah Jimenez at 157 and is now 9-5 for the season. Rasmussen (pictured above) completed the blitz of technical falls with a 22-7 win over Ian Wrenn at 165. Rasmussen is now 11-9. The Mustangs led 20-6 at that point. The winning streak didn't stop there as Steven Vasquez, Kelan Bragg and Ryan Smith all won by decision, giving Cal Poly seven straight wins after a forfeit at 133 pounds, the opening bout of the evening. Vasquez beat Gene Choi 4-1 at 174, Bragg was a 6-2 winner over Zach Jimenez at 184 and Smith earned a 10-7 win over Vince Bordi at 197, giving the Mustangs a 32-6 advantage. San Francisco State's lone win on the mat was a 5-3 overtime decision by Steve Franklin against Jim Powers at 285. Mustang 125-pounder Micah Ferguson completed the scoring with a 6-1 decision against Pierre Bondoc at 125. Cal Poly returns home to host Stanford next Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Boise State on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m. for Pacific-10 Conference dual meets. Results: 133 – Naveed Bagheri (SFS) won by forfeit 141 – Filip Novachkov (CP) tech. fall Jamil Smart (SFS), 18-2 149 – Nick Fisher (CP) tech. fall Aaron Wilson (SFS), 20-4 157 – Geoff Doss (CP) tech. fall Isaiah Jimenez (SFS), 19-2 165 – Travis Rasmussen (CP) tech. fall Ian Wrenn (SFS), 22-7 174 – Steven Vasquez (CP) dec. Gene Choi (SFS), 4-1 184 – Kelan Bragg (CP) dec. Zach Jimenez (SFS), 6-2 197 – Ryan Smith (CP) dec. Vince Bordi (SFS), 10-7 285 – Steve Franklin (SFS) dec. Jim Powers (CP), 5-3 SV 125 – Micah Ferguson (CP) dec. Pierre Bondoc (SFS), 6-1

Les Gutches of Corvallis, Ore. has been named to the new position of Director of Program Development for USA Wrestling, the national governing body for wrestling in the United States. Gutches, who has a strong business background and a lifetime in wrestling as an athlete and coach, will be responsible for developing new or expanded programs, events and activities for USA Wrestling. He will work closely with state associations to increase membership and programs in underdeveloped markets in all styles of the sport. He will also expand strategic partnerships with other organizations, and assist in promotion and marketing activities. He will also oversee the State Services staff of the organization, and work with a talented team which includes Manager of State Services Tony Black, Membership Services Assistant Shonna Vest, Manager of Coaches Education Cody Bickley and State Services Assistant Marge Civil. “Les Gutches has an incredible reputation for integrity and performance,” said Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director. “He is a tremendous motivator, a wonderful father, a respected coach and one of our greatest champion athletes. His presence, leadership and work ethic will take USA Wrestling membership to new heights. We are excited to welcome Les Gutches to our team and are confident that his efforts will impact the entire wrestling community.” Gutches will begin at his new job at the USA Wrestling corporate headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo. on February 1. “I have been involved with USA Wrestling from my time as a PeeWee wrestler through the Senior level. I also went into coaching and remained active in the organization,” said Gutches. “To come back with the opportunity to help grow USA Wrestling and the sport in general is an exciting prospect to me. I have been in the business world for a number of years and am very excited to return to wrestling. I’m going to have the opportunity to combine my passion for the sport with an ability to apply my professional and academic experience. This is the perfect place for me.” Gutches comes to USA Wrestling after serving as four years as a commercial lender and credit analyst for Citizens Bank, Inc. in Corvallis. Among his duties was to generate and develop new business relationships for the company, as well as assisting business clients in measuring performance and strategic decision making. He received a Masters of Business Administration from the Oregon State University’s College of Business in 2006, where he was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society. His undergraduate degree at Oregon State was in Anthropology with a minor in German Language and Literature. He was a three-time NCAA First-Team Academic All-American as an undergraduate. He served eight years as an assistant wrestling coach at Oregon State, helping build the Beavers into one of the nation’s top programs. Gutches helped coach five athletes to NCAA All-American honors. In addition to athlete instruction, he had responsibilities that included business and alumni relations activities for the program. He was also a club coach with the Orange Crush Wrestling Club, working with athletes from the university as well as the Corvallis community. Gutches has also been an active clinician for many years, teaching young athletes on many levels. “Membership is the lifeblood of USA Wrestling. Our membership allows USA Wrestling to invest in and grow the sport at all levels. It is exciting to me that I can make an impact in an area that is so important to the organization. I see this as a position where I can make a difference in the sport on a daily basis,” said Gutches. As an athlete, Gutches grew up within the USA Wrestling system, competing on the local, state and national level for many years in Oregon. In fact, he was the first athlete to win USA Wrestling national titles in all five existing age group levels at the time – Cadet, Junior, Espoir, University and Senior. He competed in the World Championships on four age-group levels, as well. He won a Cadet World silver medal in 1989 and an Espoir World bronze medal in 1993. Gutches won three state high school titles at South Medford High School Gutches had a remarkable career at Oregon State Univ., winning NCAA titles in 1995 and 1996, and placing fifth in the 1994 NCAA Championships. He received the Dan Hodge Trophy as the nation’s top college wrestler in 1996. He became one of the best U.S. freestyle athletes of his era. His top achievement was winning the gold medal at the 1997 World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Krasnoyarsk, Russia at 85 kg/187.25 pounds. He added a World bronze medal in 1999. After his senior year in college, Gutches won both the U.S. Nationals and Olympic Team Trials to make the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. He placed seventh in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Ga. Gutches won all of the major events on the international circuit, including 1999 World Cup, the 1999 Pan American Games and the 1998 Goodwill Games. He also captured five straight U.S. Nationals titles. Gutches was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009, and was a James E. Sullivan Award finalist in 1997. He was the 1997 Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year, as well as Freestyle Wrestler of the Year for USA Wrestling and the U.S. Olympic Committee. He and his wife Jennifer have two young children, Lexi (5) and Logan (2). “I have been involved in wrestling clubs as a competitor and coach on the local, state and national levels,” said Gutches. “I have seen firsthand what makes a great club. It all comes down to one thing – investment. For coaches, the most important resources they have to invest are their time and expertise. They invest in each of their wrestlers, to help them become the best athletes and individuals that they can. USA Wrestling is committed to investing in the success of its state organizations. We will look at everything, from how we market our programs to the product itself, and how to best serve all of our members.”

For wrestling fans Dan Gable is someone that needs no introduction. As a coach and competitor he gained fame and acclaim that transcended the boundaries of his sport. On Friday night he will cross the lines into another sport, mixed martial arts. No, Gable won’t be stepping in the cage; but he will be an invited guest on the Inside MMA show on January 15, 2010. "This is a unique opportunity for the sport of wrestling to get national television coverage," stated Scott Casber, host of the Takedown Wrestling TV Show. "Dan Gable is one of the biggest names in the sport of wrestling and I think people are going to be very interested in what he has to say." Inside MMA will air live from the University of Iowa on Friday night at 9:00 pm (ET) on HDNet. The show will preview the Oklahoma State-Iowa dual on Saturday and examine the relationship between wrestling and mixed martial arts. Dan Gable and Scott Casber will both be on the discussion panel with MMA legends Guy Mezger and Pat Miletich, and hosts Bas Rutton and Kenny Rice. "This is going to be quite a production," said Scott Casber. "Normally they shoot the studio in Los Angeles but they have taken the whole production on the road for this broadcast. They spent the week shooting in Stillwater and Iowa City and have interviewed John Smith and Tom Brands." The Iowa-Oklahoma State is one of the most highly anticipated dual meets of the year. The top-ranked and undefeated Hawkeyes just won the 2010 National Duals while the fifth-ranked Cowboys won the 2010 Virginia Duals. The Inside MMA broadcast will feature a panel discussion that looks at all sides of the wrestling-MMA relationship. "We will talk about a number of wrestlers that have made the transition to mixed martial arts; discuss how MMA can promote and support wrestling as well as what wrestling can continue to do for MMA,; and we will look the future of both sports,"said Casber. For Casber and wrestling fans alike the spotlight on wrestlers in mixed martial arts has been a long time coming. "For a long time wrestling distanced itself mixed martial arts and that is something that is something that is changing,"offered Casber. "The more wrestlers that are moving into MMA and having success, the closer the two sports are being drawn together. Wrestling has a lot to offer mixed martial arts and it can benefit tremendously from the exposure that MMA can offer."

On Saturday, two college wrestling dynasties, Oklahoma State and Iowa, will meet at 7 p.m. CST at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Between them, the two programs have won 56 NCAA championships. The Big Ten Network will air a taped-delay broadcast of the dual meet on Sunday at 9 p.m. CST. No. 1 Iowa has won a school-record 51 consecutive dual meets. The last team to defeat Iowa was Oklahoma State on January 5, 2008. The Cowboys, who are ranked No. 3, have won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Hawkeyes. Last weekend, Iowa won its third straight NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals title, while Oklahoma State won the Virginia Duals. Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Saturday's dual meet. Matchups are subject to change. 125: No. 9 Chris Notte (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 4 Matt McDonough (Iowa) McDonough, an undefeated freshman with a record of 19-0, is wrestling with a lot of confidence right now. He won a Midlands title last month and then went 4-0 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals last weekend, which included victories over No. 5 Andrew Long of Iowa State, No. 6 Zach Sanders of Minnesota, and No. 14 Alan Bartelli of Boise State. Notte, a returning NCAA qualifier, made the move down from 133 pounds to 125 pounds this season. He is 15-4 this season with his last loss coming to Anthony Robles in the semifinals of the Reno Tournament of Championships on December 20. Bottom Line: With the way McDonough is wrestling right now, it would be surprising to see him lose this match, especially in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Notte, though, is a solid competitor and should be in the match. Looking at common opponents, McDonough defeated Minnesota's Zach Sanders, 6-4, while Notte lost to Sanders, 11-5. Prediction: McDonough (Iowa) dec. Notte (Oklahoma) 133: No. 6 Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State) vs. Nate Moore (Iowa) The expectations were very high for Oliver entering the season ... and the freshman has lived up to the hype. He is 17-2 this season with his only losses coming to No. 2 Jayson Ness and No. 5 Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly. Iowa has listed both Moore and Dennis as potential starters. Indications are that Moore will get the start over Dennis, who is recovering from an ankle injury and did not compete last weekend at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Moore, a two-time Iowa state champion with a prep record of 181-3, has done a nice job filling in for Dennis. He placed sixth at the Midlands, which included victories over No. 9 Scott Sentes of Central Michigan and No. 14 Matt Fisk of Lehigh. Bottom Line: Two years ago, Oliver and Moore were two of the nation's top recruits from the Class of 2008. Both have progressed nicely after redshirt seasons and the expectations remain high for both wrestlers. This could potentially be a rivalry in the making ... if both stay in the same weight class in the coming years. Oliver is the pick, but expect it to be a very competitive match. Prediction: Oliver (Oklahoma State) dec. Moore (Iowa) 141: No. 5 Jamal Parks (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 11 Montell Marion or Dan LeClere (Iowa) Parks, an NCAA qualifier last season, has been solid for the Cowboys. He is 20-3 and won the Reno Tournament of Champions. The Hawkeyes are deep in this weight class with Marion, LeClere, and possibly Joe Slaton if he becomes eligible to compete. Marion is 16-4, while LeClere is 10-3. Marion defeated LeClere at the Midlands ... and then wrestled three of the four matches at the NWCA Cliff/Keen Matches, so it appears he has the upper hand. Bottom Line: This is a crucial match for both teams. Parks defeated Marion, 11-5, at the 2007 Kaufman-Brand Open, but both have come a long way since that meeting. Marion was pinned in his last match against Minnesota's Mike Thorn, a wrestler Parks has beaten the past two seasons. Regardless of whether it's Marion or LeClere that gets the call for the Hawkeyes, Parks is the pick. Prediction: Parks (Oklahoma State) dec. Marion (Iowa) 149: Quinten Fuentes (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) Metcalf is 19-0 and has picked up bonus points in 16 of his 19 matches. He has beaten four wrestlers ranked in the top 10, including No. 2 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin, who he defeated 9-2 in the finals of the Midlands. Fuentes has stepped in for the injured Albert White, who may miss the remainder of the season. Fuentes has struggled with consistency this season. He won seven of his first nine matches this season, but has lost five of his last seven heading into Saturday's dual meet. His most notable win this season came against No. 16 Barrett Abel of UC Davis on December 18, but Abel came back to pin him last weekend at the Virginia Duals. Bottom Line: Metcalf should dominate this match from start to finish. He won 20-8 over Fuentes last season. Expect a similar result on Saturday. Prediction: Metcalf (Iowa) major dec. Fuentes (Oklahoma State) 157: No. 13 Neil Erisman (Oklahoma State) vs. Aaron Janssen or Jake Kerr (Iowa) Erisman, a Big 12 runner-up last season, comes into Saturday's match with an 18-6 record. Last weekend, Erisman went 3-1 at the Virginia Duals, losing only to No. 6 Cyler Sanderson of Penn State, 5-4. The Hawkeyes have used both Janssen and Kerr in dual meets this season. Janssen went 3-0 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals ... and will most likely get the start against Erisman. Bottom Line: All six of Erisman's losses this season have come to wrestlers ranked above him, so he should be able to beat whoever Iowa puts out on the mat. No bonus points here. Prediction: Erisman (Oklahoma State) dec. Janssen (Iowa) 165: No. 12 Alex Meade (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) Morningstar is 15-2 with both losses coming to Iowa State's Jon Reader in December. Morningstar came back to beat Reader last weekend at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Meade, a freshman, is 20-4 with his signature win coming against Minnesota's Dustin Schlatter on December 4. Two of his four losses have come to No. 8 Dan Vallimont of Penn State. Bottom Line: Although Meade is a confident and talented freshman who should have a very successful career in a Cowboy singlet, it will be a tall order to go into Carver-Hawkeye Arena and beat the senior Morningstar. Both are tough to score on, so expect a tight, low-scoring match that could be decided by one takedown. Meade will be game, but Morningstar's big match experience could prove to be the difference. Prediction: Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Meade (Oklahoma State) 174: No. 7 Mike Benefiel (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) Borschel is at the top of his game right now. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals after going 4-0 with wins over four ranked opponents. Not only has he been winning, but he has been putting a lot of points on the scoreboard. Benefiel was one of the nation's top recruits in 2007. He began his career at Northwestern, but some unfortunate circumstances led to Benefiel leaving the program in December of 2008. He enrolled at Oklahoma State in the fall. However, because of transfer rules, Benefiel was not eligible to compete for the Cowboys until mid-December. He has been impressive this season, going 24-1. He was name Outstanding Wrestler at the Reno Tournament of Champions. Bottom Line: This is one of the most anticipated matches in the dual meet. Both wrestlers are hot and wrestling at a very high level right now. Benefiel, though, has yet to beat an opponent ranked in the top 10, while Borschel continues to knock off ranked opponent after ranked opponent. Benefiel certainly has the tools to win this match, but he has never been in an environment like he will see at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Prediction: Borschel (Iowa) dec. Benefiel (Oklahoma State) 184: No. 13 Clayton Foster (Oklahoma State) vs. No. 9 Phil Keddy (Iowa) Keddy, a two-time All-American, has as many losses this season (five) as he had all of last season, but he has wrestled a brutal schedule, already facing five of the top 10 wrestlers in his weight class. He went 2-2 at the NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals last weekend, but both losses were in overtime ... one being a tiebreaker loss to No. 1 Kirk Smith of Boise State. Foster, who moved down from 197 pounds to 184 pounds, started the season with a bang, winning his first 10 before suffering an injury that kept him out of the Reno Tournament of Champions and two dual meets. He came back at the Virginia Duals last weekend, where he lost 9-3 to No. 12 David Erwin of Penn State. Bottom Line: This could be a swing match in the dual meet. Neither wrestler is firing on all cylinders right now, which makes it difficult to predict. Keddy has not lost at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since February 17, 2008. Prediction: Keddy (Iowa) dec. Foster (Oklahoma State) 197: No. 7 Alan Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) vs. Brodie Ambrose or Luke Lofthouse (Iowa) Gelogaev was a bit of a phenomenon entering this season. He trained under Russian wrestling legend Buvaisar Saitiev in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia for five years before moving to the U.S. His wrestling resume is littered with impressive freestyle wrestling credentials, but he is still transitioning to folkstyle wrestling. He is currently 20-1 and ranked No. 7. The only blemish on his record came on December 1 against Oklahoma's Eric Lapotksy, a match he lost 10-4 and struggled mightily from the bottom position. Since then, Gelogaev has reeled off 11 straight victories, which includes a tournament title at the Reno Tournament of Champions, where he dominated the competition. With Chad Beatty out of the lineup for the Hawkeyes, either Ambrose or Lofthouse will get the call. Ambrose has yet to compete this season, while Lofthouse is 14-9. Bottom Line: Gelogaev's confidence seems to be growing as he becomes more and more comfortable with folkstyle wrestling. Since the Reno Tournament of Championships, Gelogaev has completely crushed his competition. Oklahoma State will be looking for bonus points here. Prediction: Gelogaev (Oklahoma State) major dec. Lofthouse (Iowa) 285: No. 1 Jared Rosholt (Oklahoma State) vs. Blake Rasing or Jordan Johnson (Iowa) Rosholt, a two-time All-American, is the No. 1 heavyweight in the country. He is currently 20-1 and has not lost since the first week of the season. He was dominant at the Virginia Duals last weekend, going 4-0 with three pins, which included a pin over No. 5 Zach Rey of Lehigh. Iowa starter Dan Erekson, a returning All-American, has been out all season, so Raising and Johnson have filled the void. Johnson is 11-2 with losses to No. 4 David Zabriskie of Iowa State (4-1) and No. 9 D.J. Russo of Rutgers (pinned). He scored a 3-2 victory over No. 10 Tucker Lane of Nebraska at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. Rasing is 9-8 on the season, but has dropped seven of his last nine matches. Bottom Line: Rosholt should win this match, but bonus points would be a surprise. Both of Iowa's reserve heavyweights have shown they can compete with the top heavyweights. Prediction: Rosholt (Oklahoma State) dec. Johnson (Iowa) Dual Meet Prediction: Iowa 16, Oklahoma State 16 This article also appears on the official site of the Big Ten Network.

Kirk Ledger

Shane Onufer

On Friday at 9 p.m. EST, Inside MMA on HDNet will be in Iowa City to preview one of the biggest NCAA wrestling duals of the year between Iowa and Oklahoma State. Guests Dan Gable, Guy Mezger, Scott Casber, and Pat Miletich discuss the impact of college wrestling on MMA. The impact college wrestling has had on mixed martial arts (MMA) is undeniable. Of the 22 fighters on the UFC 100 card, 11 were former college wrestlers. MMA icon Randy Couture was a three-time All-American at Oklahoma State and three-time Olympic team alternate in Greco-Roman. Current UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was an NCAA champion at Minnesota. The list goes on and on. In a series of interviews discussing college wrestling's impact on MMA, Scott Casber talks with several wrestlers who have entered the world of MMA, including Randy Couture, Daniel Cormier, Cole Konrad, Tommy Rowlands, Marty Morgan, and others. Randy Couture Tommy Rowlands Aaron Simpson Mark Munoz Cole Konrad Marty Morgan Daniel Cormier Ben Askren Thom Ortiz B.J. Thomas Dennis Deliddo & DeWayne Zinkin

This week: From the University of Iowa, Inside MMA previews one of the biggest NCAA wrestling duals of the year between Iowa and Oklahoma State. Guests Dan Gable, Guy Mezger, Scott Casber and Pat Miletich discuss the impact of college wrestling on MMA. Additional featured interviews with Iowa Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands and Oklahoma State Cowboy head coach John Smith on Friday night. http://hd.net/insidemma.html Where to Watch: Cable Providers Dish Network Direct TV

Clarion University freshman 149-pound grappler James Fleming (West Mifflin) was named today as the PSAC and EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) “Wrestler of the Week” for his performance for the Golden Eagles at the 30th Annual Virginia Duals over the weekend. Fleming, a true freshman, boosted his season record to 14-5 as he registered three impressive wins in Clarion’s three dual meets. He had a technical fall and two pins for his 3-0 weekend. On Friday Fleming led Clarion to a 20-18 upset win over #25 ranked Old Dominion as he notched a 17-2, technical fall win over ODU’s John Nicholson, who entered the match with a 19-4 record. In Clarion’s second dual the Golden Eagles lost 42-6 to #4 ranked Oklahoma State, but Fleming pinned the Cowboys Quinten Fuentes (#14 by WIN) at 4:06. Fuentes had a 14-6 record and a team leading 11 pins entering the bout. Fleming pinned Michigan’s Mike Sears at 3:46 in his last match, although the Eagles fell 29-15. “Jim had a great weekend and is really deserving of these honors,” said Clarion’s fourth year head coach Teague Moore. “He works very hard every day to improve his skills and has a great attitude towards wrestling. We’re proud to have him in blue and gold.” Fleming, the son of John Fleming and Regina Fitzgerald, was a 4-time PIAA placewinner at West Mifflin High under coach Tony Salopek. He had a career record of 130-15. CLARION NOTES: The Golden Eagles wrestle at Eastern Michigan on Friday night, then return home to host #16 ranked Edinboro on Sunday, January 15th at 2pm.

Wyoming Seminary with their second win on the gauntlet Continuing along on their journey through the nation's toughest schedule -- Wyoming Seminary, PA traveled to Council Rock South, PA and came home with a tournament championship. They were champions at Hopewell, fourth at the Ironman, third at the Beast, and third at the Cheesehead. The Knights scored 243 points, which was enough to upend defending champions Central Mountain, PA. The Wildcats scored 219, as the teams swapped places from last year. Each school was without a nationally ranked wrestler in the tournament; top-ranked Mike McMullan (285) sat out for Wyoming Seminary, while Jordan Rich (135) was out for Central Mountain. Eight Knights wrestlers made the championship finals, half came home with championships. Title winners were Dominick Malone (112), Kyle Johnson (119), Simon Kitzis (135), and Chris Moon (160). Coming in second place were Eric Morris (130), Cohl Fulk (140), Jay Wieller (171), and Matt Bilodeau (189). Malone, ranked 12th in the country, defeated 15th ranked Chris Donaldson (Salesianum, DE) 1-0 in the semifinal match; Donaldson would end up finishing third. On the other hand, it was a five-for-five night in the finals for the Wildcats of Central Mountain. Brian Brill (140), Andrew (145) and Dylan (152) Alton, Dylan Caprio (171), and Zach Corl (285) all rose to the top step of the podium for their awards photo. Andrew Alton defeated Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) 10-6 in a much anticipated matchup involving two of the nation's elite seniors; Dziewa is ranked third at 140, while Alton is ranked first and 145. The only other squad with multiple champions was Paulsboro, NJ -- whose pair of nationally ranked wrestlers Joe Duca (125) and Zach Greenwald (215) was tops in their weight class. Rounding out the champions were Zain Retherford (Line Mountain, PA) at 103 pounds; Dan Neff (Solanco, PA) at 130; and Jamie Callender (Council Rock North, PA) at 189. Two other interesting notes from the tournament: (1) Sussex Central, DE had three finalists -- none were able to win a championship as Brandon Shultie (125), Ryan Walls (135), and Jay Matheus (160) all were second place finishers (2) Beast of the East champion Matt Idelson (Garnet Valley, PA) lost his quarterfinal match at 215 pounds by an 8-7 score against Todd Hall (Athens, PA) but then defaulted out of the tournament in his consolation match. Apple Valley repeats as champions at a weather-marred Clash In relatively dominant fashion -- Apple Valley, MN repeated at the Clash Duals with four of their five victories in dominating fashion. The Eagles opened with a first round bye in Friday morning Bracket "A" competition before earning a 55-12 victory over Carl Sandburg, IL; and then dominating Grand Island, NE 50-19 in the championship final. About the only negative on the day was that state champion Dakota Trom (119) lost to a freshman Colin Holler (Carl Sandburg, IL) 5-3, as Apple Valley won 20 out of 28 matches. Montini Catholic, IL joined Apple Valley as a champion in morning session competition on Friday, earning the top spot in Bracket "B." The Broncos had a first round bye and then advanced to the final with a 46-15 win over Hastings, MN; and they defeated Roseburg, OR 33-23 in the bracket final. Simley, MN became the third team to advance to the first place pool on Saturday evening with two dominating wins on Friday afternoon from Bracket "C." They beat Owantonna, MN by a 58-13 score; and dominated Waverly Shell-Rock, IA 60-7 in a match where the only Go-Hawk wins came from their pair of nationally ranked wrestlers -- No. 2 Jacob Ballweg (135) and No. 13 Cody Krumwiede (215). Simley won three lower weight matches by one point or in overtime to remove all doubt from the dual meet; Juan Torres beat Tanner Werner 11-9 in overtime at 112 pounds, Dylan Wright beat a former two-time state champion Eric Devos 6-4 in overtime at 119 pounds, and Jake Short defeated state runner-up Jordan Rinken 2-1 at 130 pounds. Park Hill, MO was the favorite in Bracket "D" heading into the tournament. However, due to the massive storm that hit the midwest region of the United States on Wednesday and Thursday of last week, Park Hill was one of five teams that had to pull out of the event. The two other Show-Me State teams, Blue Springs and Oak Grove, also had to pull out -- as did Independence, IA and Skutt Catholic, NE. One team was added to the event -- Zumbrata-Mazeppa, MN -- and there were some adjustments to the brackets in order to create seven teams per Friday bracket. There was also obviously no eighth place pool on Saturday morning. Inheriting the top seed in the "D" bracket was Wisconsin Rapids, WI -- and they were able to capitalize upon that position into the first place pool during Friday afternoon bracket competition. Coming off the first round by, life was not easy for Wisconsin Rapids against Sturgis, SD. This came down to the last match of the dual meet, as Ryan Lubeck (Wisconsin Rapids) held on to a 4-3 victory over Nate Wilson to seal a 35-30 margin of victory. One upset in favor of Sturgis was that Chris Vinson defeated 18th ranked Curt Fuller 2-1 at 285 pounds. An outcome that went against Sturgis was that NHSCA Sophomore Nationals third place finisher Clint Wilson was forced to injury default out of the match at 189 pounds in this dual meet. After that match, Wisconsin Rapdis did upend Kasson Mantorville, MN 44-14 to win the bracket. Proceeding onward to the Saturday pools, Apple Valley swept those three matches; 32-20 over Simley in the opening match, 45-12 over Wisconsin Rapids, and then closing it out with a 40-16 victory over Montini Catholic. The other three teams split matches against each other. Montini Catholic opened with a 34-22 victory against Wisconsin Rapids, Simley followed it up with a 29-26 defeat of Montini Catholic, and Wisconsin Rapids closed things out with a 29-27 result over Simley. Some notable results included: Kurtis Julson (Simley) upsetting No. 19 Steve Keogh (Apple Valley) 1-0 in overtime at 160 pounds, Montini Catholic closing out the last three matches against Wisconsin Rapids with victories by two or less points, No. 16 Jake Waste (Apple Valley) defeated Devin Peterson (Wisconsin Rapids) for the second time this year 5-3 in overtime at 171 pounds, Montini Catholic still couldn't beat Simley even with a 3-1 edge in one point matches, and No. 15 Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic) avenged a loss at the Cheesehead with a 4-2 victory over Jordan Kingsley (Apple Valley) at 103 pounds. Summarizing all pool placement results: http://www.clashmn.com/Clash8/Results/Clash8Day2.html All-Tournament Team: 103 -- Morgan Engbrecht (Sturgis, SD) 6-0; 112 -- Eric Bauer (Hastings, MN) 6-0; 119 -- Colin Holler (Carl Sandburg, IL) 6-0; 125 -- Alex Manley (Baylor, TN) 5-0; 130 -- Seth Lange (Sturgis, SD) 6-0; 135 -- Tyler Argue (Mount Carmel, IL) 6-0; 140 -- Jacob Ballweg (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA) 6-0; 145 -- Seth Thomas (Roseburg, OR) 6-0; 152 -- Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, MN) 5-0; 160 -- Jordan Campa (STMA, MN) 6-0; 171 -- Jake Waste (Apple Valley, MN) 5-0; 189 -- Michael Kroells (Scott West, MN) 6-0; 215 -- Cody Krumwiede (Waverly Shell-Rock, IA) 6-0; and 285 -- Evan Knutson (Wausau West, WI) 5-0. Other nationally ranked undefeated wrestlers: No. 15 Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic, IL) 5-0 at 103; No. 8 Josh Keszler (Sturgis, SD) 6-0 at 125; No. 16 at 130 Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, MN) 5-0 at 125; No. 17 at 130 Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, MN) 5-0 at 135; No. 14 Noah Budi (Kaukauna, WI) 5-0; and No. 20 Sani-Jonathan Fuimaono (Punahou, HI) 5-0. Clovis dominates at home in the Doc Buchanan In chapter one of a back-to-back prelude to the California State Wrestling Tournament, the host squad at the Doc Buchanan was unkind to over fifty guest teams as part of a dominating performance. Despite only two finalists -- Tommy Burriel (189) was the sole champion -- Clovis, CA made its statement with ten placers to score 211 team points. One champ, one runner-up, three third place finishers, two finishing fifth, one in sixth, and two in seventh was enough to distance itself from the second place team by just less than 50 points. The only two teams with multiple champions in the event battled it out for second place. With all eight placing wrestlers winning their final match -- Bakersfield, CA came in second place scoring 163 points. Champions were Bryce Hammond (160) and Brian Schoene (215), while two other wrestlers came in third place, three others in fifth, and another wrestler took home seventh place. Finishing in third place with 156-1/2 points was Selma, CA. Alex Cisneros (112) and Nick Pena (135) -- both of whom are nationally ranked -- came home with gold medals for Selma, Justin Lozano (160) earned a second place finish, two other grapplers finished in third place, while one wrestler earned fourth place. Cisneros -- ranked third nationally -- defeated the 11th ranked Stevan Knoblauch (Clovis West, CA) 8-3 in a rematch of last year's state final; the finals match was the only one involving a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers. Jesse Delgado (Gilroy, CA) became only the third wrestler to ever earn four titles at the Doc Buchanan, navigating his way through the absolutely brutal 125 pound weight class. Avenging a 3-2 quarterfinal loss at the Reno Tournament of Champions, Delgado defeated Chris Martinez (Clovis West, CA) 1-0 in the semifinal match. That was after Martinez beat former state runner-up AJ Valles (Sanger, CA) 2-1 in the quarterfinal round. In the championship final, Delgado defeated the freshman sensation -- and Reno ToC champion - Isaiah Martinez (Lemoore, CA) 7-1. In order to advance to the Doc Buchanan final, the freshman Martinez (LeMoore, CA) earned a 20-5 technicall fall in the quarterfinal against Adam Magnusson (Madera South, CA), and then defeated Vince Rodriguez (Clovis North, CA) 4-1 in the semifinal. Rodriguez defeated Chris Martinez 6-5 for third place in a battle of rival wrestlers from the Clovis Unified School District. After losing quarterfinal bouts, both Valles and Magnusson lost their next match and failed to place in the weight class bracket. The other showcase weight class of this tournament had three-time state placer James Cook (Madera, CA) coming home with the tournament championship at 171 pounds. In the semifinal round, Cook defeated fellow state placer Dominic Kastl (Gilroy, CA) 7-6; while Zach Nevills (Clovis, CA) upset nationally ranked Martin Fabbian (Buchanan, CA) 2-1 in another battle of state placement wrestlers. Cook secured the weight class title with a first period fall in 1:40, while Fabbian defeated Kastl 4-2 for third place. Rounding out the weight class champions were Vincent Gomez (Bakersfield Frontier, CA) at 103 pounds; Zach Zimmer (Clovis West, CA) at 119; Shane Tate (Oakdale, CA) at 130; Napoleon Aniciente (Las Vegas, CA) at 140; Derik Rizo (Foothill, CA) at 145; Nick Sierra (Lemoore, CA) at 152; and Drew Meulman (St.. Francis, CA) at 285. Telford keys Spartan victory at Virginia Duals After a runner-up finish in the National Division at last year's Virginia Duals -- St. Mark's, DE came into this year's event somewhat heavy favorites to finally win the championship. However, that almost came to a screeching halt late Friday evening. Heading into the last match of the evening, eighth seeded South Plainfield, NJ had a 29-24 lead in the dual meet. The Tigers had won seven matches, including a pin by freshman Troy Heilmann (112) against ninth ranked Tyler Pendergast. The silver lining for the Spartans was that third ranked in the nation Bobby Telford was on duty in the heavyweight bout, where a pin was absolutely necessary as South Planfield had the criteria should the match had ended in a technical fall. Telford delivered that pin late in the second period with sixteen seconds left on the clock, and St. Mark's won that dual meet 30-29. Along with a 65-17 victory over Hopewell, VA in the opening round -- the Spartans moved onto a semifinal date with Phillipsburg, NJ. Despite 13th ranked Sean Boylan (125) losing a 3-1 decision to Matt Lane, St. Mark's only lost three other matches in the dual meet as they moved on to the championship final against Nazareth, PA with a 42-20 semifinal victory. The Blue Eagles reached the final on the strength of a 62-6 opening round victory over Columbia, NY; a 37-24 quarterfinal defeat of Eastern Regional, NJ; and a 45-24 victory over Bethlehem Liberty, PA in the semifinal. The Hurricanes had an interesting path to the semifinal with a 33-28 victory over Camden Catholic, NJ in the opening round where it took a 6-4 victory from Justin Williams (285) to seal the deal; and then it was 35-30 upset over Cox, VA in the quarterfinal. The squads split matches at seven in that dual meet, but four pins for Bethlehem Liberty compared to four decisions for Cox sealed that deal. Quarterfinal losers South Plainfield and Cox moved onto the consolation semifinals with a pair of consolation bracket wins. The Tigers would defeat Bethlehem Liberty 37-31 in that round, while Cox and Phillipsburg wrestled to a 32-32 tie; however, Cox won the dual meet on the eighth criteria to bump the score up to 33-32 for the Falcons. South Plainfield defeated Cox for third place by a 34-26 score. The following wrestlers went undefeated for the tournament with at least four victories in contested matches. Wrestlers are listed at the lowest weight class in which they wrestled. Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, NJ) -- 103 pounds; Caleb Richardson (Cox, VA) -- 112; Bryan Whitt (Cox, VA) -- 119; Anthony Marino (Bethlehem Liberty, PA) -- 125; Nick Schenk (St. Mark's, DE) -- 130; Nick Heilmann (South Plainfield, NJ) and John Horak (Phillipsburg, NJ) -- 135; Hank Stinson (Eastern Regional, NJ) -- 140; Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA) and Anthony Baldosaro (Eastern Regional, NJ) -- 145; Ryan Krecker (Nazareth, PA) and Oliver Burkhardt (Phillipsburg, NJ) -- 152; Chris Pintado (Bethlehem Liberty, PA) and Ben Bradley (Nazareth, PA) -- 171; Mike Wagner (South Plainfield, NJ) -- 189; Connor O'Hara (Cox, VA), Cody Klempay (Canon McMillan, PA), and Aaron Bradley (Nazareth, PA) -- 215; and Ross Burbank (Cox, VA) and Bobby Telford (St. Mark's, DE) -- 285. Dorsay was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the National Division. Two wrestlers listed -- both unranked -- had notable wins over ranked opposition during the course of the tournament. Whitt defeated 13th ranked Robert Deutsch (Eastern Regional, NJ) 5-3; while Wagner defated 20th ranked Matthew Loew (Wantagh, NY) 4-3. Grundy, VA won the American Division at the 30th annual Virginia Duals with a 48-23 victory over Haddonfield, NJ in the championship final. Outstanding Wrestler honors went to Alex Morales (Lexington, SC) -- who competed at 171 pounds. Brookville, VA defeated Ocean Lakes, VA 36-22 to win the Jim Greene Black and Blue Division -- where Outstanding Wrestler honors went to Peter Ormsby (Chancellor, VA) competing at 160 pounds. Hauppauge best in the Empire this weekend Many of the top teams in New York State and a selection of other teams from the New England region convened upon Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake, NY for the seventh annual Eastern States Classic. The 74-team field had remarkable balance, and the wrestling over two days was rather competitive and of high quality. Despite being one of only two teams to win two championships, and the only school with three finalists, second place was all that would be in the cards for Rocky Point, NY. Titles from Stephen Dutton (140) and Anthony Volpe (160) -- as well as a runner-up finish from Billy Coggins (171) -- only were able to muster the Eagles 137 points, as no other grapplers pulled out a top eight finish. Despite only having one champion -- Mark West (96) -- Hauppauge, NY stood on top of the field with 162-1/2 points. Key to the victory was third place finishes from Ken Collado (119) and Chanse Menendez (171), as well as a fifth place finish from Kevin Panebianco (135). Johnson City, NY was the only other team than Rocky Point to come up with a pair of champions in this year's Eastern States Classic. Like ten days ago at the Tieke/Bernabi, Sean McCormick (112) and Lance Moore (285) stood on top of the podium. After beating defending state champion Arik Robinson (Peru, NY) last week in the final, McCormick beat the other 103 pound state chamion from last season in this week's final in a 5-4 victory over Brian Realbuto (Somers, NY). Realbuto had beaten Robinson -- ranked sixth in the nation at this weight class -- in the semifinals by an 8-6 decision. The finals' feature bout involved a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers at 135 pounds, with 10th ranked Andrew Lenzi (Fordham Prep, NY) defeating the 16th ranked Cody Ruggirello (Valley Central, NY) 6-5. With that effort, Lenzi was named Most Oustanding Wrestler among middleweights and the overall Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament. Featuring four state finalists from last year, the 125 pound weight class was considered the tournament's toughest. When all was said and done, the only wrestler without a state title over his career emerged as champion. The bottom bracket semifinal featured a pair of runners-up from last year, with 19th ranked Justis Flamio (Mahopac, NY) defeating 2008 state champion Quinton Murphy (Holley Central, NY) by 9-0 major decision. In the top half of the draw, it was a battle of state champions, as Steven Rodrigues (Fox Lane, NY) upset ninth ranked -- at 130 -- Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY) 6-5. Flamio defeated Rodrigues 8-4 for the title, while Murphy upset Wilcox 2-0 for third place. Flamio earned the MOW award for the lowerweights. The biggest upset of the tournament had to be the relatively disappointing performance from Alex Smith (Timberlane, NH) -- who came into the tournament 15th nationally after a third place finish at the Beast of the East. Smith placed eighth in the event with a 8-4 quarterfinal loss to eventual runner-up Ryan Tompkins (Beacon, NY); a 3-2 loss in the consolation quarterfinal to Ali Hasan (Valley Central, NY); and then losing by fall in the seventh place match to Josh Manuel (Tioga, NY). Earning the MOW award for upperweights was Tyler Beckwith (Greene, NY) -- champion of the 171 pound weight class. Rounding out the weight class champions are Zach Bridson (Timberlane, NH) at 103; Nick Kelly (Shenendehowa, NY) at 119; Bob Dierna (Wayne, NY) at 130; Mitch Wightman (Warwick Valley, NY) at 145; Guiseppe Lanzi (Amsterdam, NY) at 152; Mike McGrath (Kingston, NY) at 189; and Kyle Colling (Pioneer, NY) at 215. Where final matches actually matter One couldn't imagine that nation's oldest wrestling tournament had ever seen a finish like this one. Three teams finished 2-1/2 points apart of the championship. The eventual champions were undefeated in first place matches. The runners-up had what one might call a minor collapse, going 1-6 in first place matches. The third place team, which was the on paper tournament favorite when Bishop Lynch, TX scratched from the event, almost got it done with depth. Tournament champions -- Claremore, OK -- got the job done with a 4-0 performance in championship matches and three complimentary fifth place finishes. Tournament champions for Claremore -- in a 122-1/2 team point effort - were Gunnar Woodburn (103), Calib Freeman (112), and Josh (130) and Nick (140) Haugen. By the time that Shane Woods (215) secured a 14-0 major decision in his championship bout, the damage was done. Tuttle, OK had already lost six matches for first place -- as Colton Roberts (112), Sterling Hawkins (125), DJ Boles (135), Dylan Coppenbarger (140), Jerod Williams (160), and Jake Simpson (171) all had runner-up finishes. When an addition third place finish was added to the puzzle, Tuttle scored 121 team points. The only team other than champions Claremore to secure multiple weight class titles was Broken Arrow, OK -- which utilized the championships of Chase Ferman (125) and Keithen Cast (171) to secure a third place finish with 120 points. Cody Johnson (189) and Terry Williamson (285) came up short in championship matches, where a victory from either one would have propelled Broken Arrow to the team title. The squad also had one third place and three fourth place finishers. Matt White (Woodward, OK) had the best quality performance of the tournament in winning the title at 160 pounds. In this tournament where there is no seeding, White -- ranked 18th nationally at 152, but without a state title in his career -- drew state champions in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. In the quarterfinal, White defeated Zach Skates (Broken Arrow, OK) by a 3-1 score. Then in the semifinal round, he defeated two-time state champion Cory Dauphin (El Reno, OK) 3-2. The championship bout was a not as close 6-3 decision over Williams. On the unfortunate side of the ledger was the fact that Ronnie Balfour (Tulsa Union, OK) -- ranked 12th nationally at 160 pounds -- had to default out of his 171 pound semifinal against Simpson and drop back to sixth place. Rounding out the tournament champions were Kyle Garcia (Choctaw, OK) at 119 pounds; Cory Williamson (Geary, OK) at 135; Kyle Ash (Tulsa Union, OK) at 145; Ben Morgan (Catoosa, OK) at 152; Jace Bennett (Canyon Randall, TX) at 189; and Cody Dauphin (El Reno, OK) at 285. A Grizzly day at the OHSWCA State Duals For the second consecutive year -- Wadsworth, OH defeated St. Edward, OH in the final match of the Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association (OHSWCA) Division I State Duals. This year's match was less dramatic, though the lead did change on multiple occasions, with the host Grizzlies taking it over one last time after the 152 pound match. Moving up from 145, Brad Squire -- ranked eighth in the country -- defeated Dominic Abounader by a 12-4 major decision. The score was 21-18 at that point. Though Nick Sulzer -- ranked fourth in the nation - also wrestling up one weight at 171 for St. Edward, was able to cut the deficit to one at 24-23 after a 25-10 technical fall over Bart Randolph; Wadsworth swept the last three matches to finalize the margin. Caleb Busson (189), Nick Tavanello (215), and Ben Buzzelli (285) -- all favored to take home Division I state titles -- won by 9-2 decision, first period pin, and 3-2 decision respectively. The turning point of the match came at 135 pounds, where after giving up the initial takedown of the match, Louden Gordon (Wadsworth) did a back flip and caught Mark Martin with a pancake to reverse him to his back for the fall with five seconds left in the first period. That turned a 12-8 team score deficit into a 14-12 lead for Wadsworth. Rounding out the place finishers in Division I: Elder took third, Twinsburg was fourth, Mason fifth, Mentor sixth, Marysville seventh, and Springboro eighth. As expected -- Graham, OH did walk away with the Division II state dual meet crown. Oak Harbor was second, Aurora third, Beaver Local fourth, Padua fifth, West Branch sixth, Claymont seventh, and Greenville eighth. However, a notable match outcome occurred in the semifinal round as a pair of state champions did battle at 119 pounds. It was the 11th ranked Nick Brascetta (Graham) upsetting fifth ranked Ty Mitch (Aurora) by a 4-3 decision; this avenged a Walsh Ironman quarterfinal match where Mitch came out on top 7-3. The Division III tournament contained the most drama, as Cuyahoga Hts defeated West Jefferson by a 29-28 count in the championship bout. However, West Jefferson was deducted two team points after the 119 pound match where Aaron Branham had procured a third period pin. The wrestler was called for misconduct in the celebration, and the coach was also dinged in arguing the call with the official. Rounding out the place finishers in that division were Dixie in third, Monroeville took fourth, Waynedale fifth, Heath sixth, Elmwood seventh, and Troy Christian eighth.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- With two wins Saturday, the No. 18 Virginia wrestling team placed seventh at the Virginia Duals, hosted at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Va. It marks the third time Virginia has placed in the prestigious event in 16 all-time appearances. Virginia (10-3), seeded seventh in the tournament, went 2-1 Saturday and finished the Duals with three wins in five matches. UVa started the day with a 21-15 win over No. 23 Old Dominion before dropping a 21-18 decision to No. 24 Virginia Tech. In the seventh-place match, the Cavaliers rebounded to down Michigan, 19-13, for UVa's second win over the Wolverines in as many days. Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) and heavyweight Jack Danilkowicz (R-Jr., Green Oaks, Ill.) each picked up three wins on the day. Henrich, ranked fourth nationally at 174 pounds, went 5-0 at the Duals and upped his record to 20-2 this season. Danilkowicz and Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) each went 4-1 in the Duals. Salopek, ranked 19th nationally at 184 pounds, is now tied with Henrich for the team lead in wins (20-6). Shawn Harris (R-So, Cleveland, Ohio) also went 2-0 Saturday for Virginia. UVa wrapped up the day with a 19-13 victory over Michigan (4-7). The Cavaliers notched six individual wins, with Harris providing UVa bonus points with his 18-4 major decision over Mark Boyer. Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.), Danny Clarke (R-Fr., Ramsey, N.J.), Henrich, Salopek and Danilkowicz all recorded wins by decision against the Wolverines (4-7). Virginia won four matches against Virginia Tech (10-2), with Kellon Balum (Sr., Herndon, Pa.) and Brent Jones (Sr., Burke, Va.) winning decisions at 149 and 197, respectively, while Henrich and Danilkowicz each won by forfeit. The individual matches were close throughout, with only one bout resulting in bonus points. The Old Dominion match went down to the final weight class, and Danilkowicz secured the team win for the Cavaliers with a 9-3 decision over ODU's Grant Chapman. Entering the heavyweight bout, the Cavaliers held a three-point lead over ODU (4-3). No. 18 Danny Gonsor (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) racked up a technical fall against Joey Sheridan at 157 pounds, while Henrich had a major decision over former NCAA qualifier Eric Decker at 174. Valenti, Harris and Salopek also picked up wins for Virginia at 141, 149 and 184, respectively. The Cavaliers will have rematches with Virginia Tech and ODU in Charlottesville in the coming weeks. UVa and Virginia Tech will meet in an ACC dual in Memorial Gymnasium on Jan. 23, while the Monarchs and Cavaliers will battle at Mem Gym on Feb. 6. Virginia returns to action at 1 p.m. next Sunday with a dual at Penn at The Palestra in Philadelphia. No. 18 Virginia 21, No. 23 Old Dominion 15 125: No. 7 James Nicholson (Old Dominion) dec. Matt Snyder (Virginia), 5-3; UVa 0, ODU 3 133: Justin LaValle (Old Dominion) dec. Matt Cubillos (Virginia), 5-0; UVa 0, ODU 6 141: Derek Valenti (Virginia) dec. Craig Wilson (Old Dominion), 3-1; UVa 3, ODU 6 149: Shawn Harris (Virginia) dec. John Nicholson (Old Dominion), 7-1; UVa 6, ODU 6 157: No. 18 Danny Gonsor (Virginia) tech fall Joey Sheridan (Old Dominion), 16-1; UVa 11, ODU 6 165: No. 15 Chris Brown (Old Dominion) dec. Michael Chaires (Virginia), 6-1; UVa 11, ODU 9 174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (Virginia) major dec. Eric Decker (Old Dominion), 10-1; UVa 15, ODU 9 184: No. 19 Mike Salopek (Virginia) dec. Joe Budi (Old Dominion), 7-3; UVa 18, ODU 9 197: Jesse Strawn (Old Dominion) pinned No. 16 Brent Jones (Virginia), 4:17; UVa 18, ODU 15 285: Jack Danilkowicz (Virginia) dec. Grant Chapman (Old Dominion), 9-3; UVa 21, ODU 15 No. 24 Virginia Tech 21, No. 18 Virginia 18 125: No. 16 Jarrod Garnett (Va. Tech) dec. Ross Gitomer (Virginia), 2-1; UVa 0, VT 3 133: Brock LiVorio (Va. Tech) dec. Matt Snyder (Virginia), 7-1; UVa 0, VT 6 141: No. 12 Chris Diaz (Va. Tech) dec. Derek Valenti (Virginia), 7-2; UVa 0, VT 9 149: Kellon Balum (Virginia) dec. Nick Murray (Va. Tech), 9-8; UVa 3, VT 9 157: No. 7 Jesse Dong (Va. Tech) dec. Danny Gonsor (Virginia), 7-1; UVa 3, VT 12 165: Matt Epperly (Va. Tech) pinned Michael Chaires (Virginia), 6:20; UVa 3, VT 18 174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (Virginia) won by forfeit; UVa 9, VT 18 184: Tommy Spellman (Va. Tech) dec. No. 19 Mike Salopek (Virginia), 2-1; UVa 9, VT 21 197: No. 16 Brent Jones (Virginia) dec. Chris Penny (Va. Tech), 8-2; UVa 12, VT 21 285: Jack Danilkowicz (Virginia) won by forfeit; UVa 18, VT 21 No. 18 Virginia 19, Michigan 13 125: Sean Boyle (Michigan) dec. Matt Snyder (Virginia), 5-1; UVa 0, UM 3 133: Zac Stevens (Michigan) major dec. Ross Gitomer (Virginia), 15-5; UVa 0, UM 7 141: Derek Valenti (Virginia) dec. Mark Weber (Michigan), 7-5; UVa 3, UM 7 149: Shawn Harris (Virginia) major dec. Mike Sears (Michigan), 18-4; UVa 7, UM 7 157: Danny Clarke (Virginia) dec. Mark Boyer (Michigan), 7-3; UVa 10, UM 7 165: Aaron Hynes (Michigan) dec. Beau Fisher (Virginia), 4-0; UVa 10, UM 10 174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (Virginia) dec. Justin Zeerip (Michigan), 3-1; UVa 13, UM 10 184: No. 19 Mike Salopek (Virginia) dec. Hunter Collins (Michigan), 9-5; UVa 16, UM 10 197: No. 9 Anthony Biondo (Michigan) dec. No. 16 Brent Jones (Virginia), 13-10; UVa 16, UM 13 285: Jack Danilkowicz (Virginia) dec. Ben Apland (Michigan), 6-5; UVa 19, UM 13

HAMPTON, Va. -- Kent State (10-1) overcame an 18-4 deficit against Virginia Tech to cap off a perfect 3-0 day at the Virginia Duals Saturday in the Hampton Coliseum. The 13th ranked Golden Flashes started their day with a 33-9 pounding of conference rival Ohio, followed by a 30-6 bashing of Michigan and a 25-18 comeback victory over Virginia Tech in the fifth place round. The Hokies took four of the first five matches against the Flashes, including pins at 141 and 157. With his team trailing by 14 points, Ross Tice (165) began the rally with a 3-2 decision over Jason Epperly. "We needed to get that 165 match." Head Coach Jim Andrassy said of his team's 18-4 deficit. "Ross did a nice job against a good opponent and got us the one we needed." Keith Witt took a forfeit at 174 to make it 18-13. Redshirt sophomore Dustin Kilgore had little trouble with Tommy Spellman in a 10-0 major decision. Adam Cogar (197) and Brendan Barlow (285) followed major decisions of their own. Cogar topped Chris Penny 11-2 and Barlow ended the day with 14-5 thumping of Andrew Miller. KSU's conditioning showed according to Andrassy as the Flashes finished the grueling weekend 4-1. "I've yet to see a team that's in better shape than us," Andrassy said. "Our guys live the right lifestyle." The Flashes' upper weights had success all day beginning with a pin by Witt against Ohio's Steve Wilson in the first period. Redshirt freshman Casey Newburg (184) followed with a 21-5 technical fall victory over Brian Driscoll, to help hand the Bobcats (7-2) just their second loss of the season. Despite having wrestlers available at both weights, Ohio opted to forfeit both 197 and 285. The Flashes jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Bobcats after victories from Troy Opfer (125) and Danny Mitcheff (133). Opfer downed Gabe Ramos 4-2, while Mitcheff earned 13-4 major decision over Quentin Keyes. The Bobcats responded with wins at 141 and 149, before redshirt freshman Mallie Shuster won a tight battle at 157, 3-0 over Clay Tucker. Shuster was then one of eight Flashes to win against the Wolverines. Shuster's 8-3 win over Mark Boyer, was the fourth of five straight KSU wins beginning with Mitcheff. The fifth-year senior topped Zac Stevens 11-5 on his way to a 3-0 day. "I'm really proud of Danny and the way he handled himself this weekend," Andrassy said. "He caught some bad breaks yesterday, but he didn't let that bother him. He's really methodical and has become the complete wrestler. He's the example of how I want our younger guys to be like." Redshirt freshman Chase Skonieczny (141) claimed a 4-1 decision over Michigan's Mark Weber followed by a an 11-2 major decision from Tommy Sasfy. Obie Simpson capped off the five straight victories with a 4-3 win over Aaron Hynes. "Obie showed a lot of character in that match," Andrassy said. "He was losing going into the third period, scored and rode him out." Kilgore, who went 5-0 on the weekend, recorded a 21-5 technical fall over Hunter Collins. Cogar followed with a 9-2 decision, before Joe Tymoszczuk pinned Ben Apland in the second period. "Adam Cogar, Ross Tice, and Keith Witt are all getting better," Andrassy said. "They are learning how to be more consistent." The Golden Flashes return to action next weekend with three meets at the Wendy's Duals in Ashland.

HAMPTON, Va. -- The 10th-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad (8-1-1) capped off the Virginia Duals with a 22-15 victory over No. 14 Penn State to earn third place Saturday evening in Hampton, Va. The victory over the Nittany Lions was the second top-20 win for Oklahoma this weekend and the fourth of its season. The Sooners tallied a 3-1 record in Virginia, including a win over No. 18 Virginia Friday afternoon. OU also topped Bucknell, 28-7, and dropped its first dual of the season to Lehigh, 18-16. "Overall, it was a good weekend," OU head coach Jack Spates said. "We had an exceptional first day and then dropped a heartbreaker in the semifinals today where we failed to seal the deal. Our team was greatly disappointed and we had an opportunity to bounce back against a great Penn State team this evening, which we did. I think it shows the character of our guys by not hanging our heads and ending with a great win." Picking up victories for the Sooners against Penn State were Kendric Maple at 133 pounds, No. 5 Zack Bailey at 141 pounds, No. 4 Kyle Terry at 149 pounds, No. 8 Jeff James wrestling at 174 pounds and No. 3 Eric Lapotsky at 197 pounds. Bailey (14-5) and Terry (16-2) both turned in impressive performances, each going a perfect 4-0 at the tournament. “We had some great performances this weekend, especially from our rookies,” Spates said. “I believe this weekend has only bolstered our confidence.” Next up, the Sooners will head to the Lonestar Duals next Saturday, Jan. 16, where they will be challenged by Harvard, Nebraska-Kearney, Northwestern and Brown in Arlington, Texas. Results: 125: No. 12 Brad Pataky (PSU) dec. No. 13 Jarrod Patterson (OU), 8-6 133: Kendric Maple (OU) pinned Bryan Pearsall (PSU), WBF (5:27) 141: No. 5 Zack Bailey (OU) maj. dec. Adam Lynch (PSU), 16-4 149: No. 4 Kyle Terry (OU) dec. No. 5 Frank Molinaro (PSU), 5-2 157: No. 2 Cyler Sanderson (PSU) dec. No. 11 Shane Vernon (OU), 5-2 165: No. 8 Dan Vallimont (PSU) dec. No. 16 Tyler Caldwell (OU), 6-4 (sv) 174: No. 8 Jeff James (OU) dec. Justin Ortega (PSU), 2-1 (tb) 184: No. 4 David Erwin (PSU) dec. Erich Schmidtke (OU), 9-3 197: No. 3 Eric Lapotsky (OU) pinned Clay Steadman (PSU), WBF (2:31) 285: No. 18 Cameron Wade (PSU) dec. No. 12 Nathan Fernandez (OU), 2-0

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- After winning two of three matches on Saturday at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the seventh-ranked University of Maryland wrestling team won one of two on Sunday to finish seventh in their first ever appearance at the tournament. Maryland started the day with a rematch against No. 8 Cornell at 9 a.m. local time. The Terps were unable to duplicate previous success against Cornell, having beaten the Big Red when they were ranked No. 4 on Nov. 21. Cornell won the first four matches against Maryland en route to a 19-15 victory. "When you lose four of the first five matches it makes it tough to get a win," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "We won three of the next five, but to have a shot you need to at least split the matches." Maryland was able to bounce back against No. 22 Wisconsin, coming back from a 15-7 deficit to win 21-18 and earn a seventh place finish. Trailing by eight points heading into the match at 174 pounds, No. 6 Mike Letts got a technical fall over Jimmy Duffy to bring the team score to 12-15. Corey Peltier dropped an 8-7 decision to Travis Rutt at 184, but the Terps won the final two matches to overcome the Badgers. No. 4 No. 4 Hudson Taylor got a crucial pinfall over Jackson Hein that tied the score at 18-18. The outcome of the match came down to heavyweight Patrick Gilmore, who earned a 6-4 overtime victory over Eric Bugenhagen to give Maryland the win. It was the second time this season that a dual match had come down to Gilmore - he also helped secure the win over Cornell on Nov. 21 by winning the final match, also in overtime, to propel Maryland to a victory. Maryland finished the weekend 3-2 to bring its season record to 10-3. All in all, McCoy was pleased with the performance, considering the NCAA Tournament is still two months away and the mistakes he has seen are fixable. "We thought we could do better but as a team we did OK," said McCoy. "Patrick Gilmore went 0-3 yesterday and came back to go 2-0 today. Kyle John and Josh Asper also wrestled well. I'm more disappointed with some of the individual mistakes. It's Jan. 10 so we have time to fix things. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. We just need to tweak a few things." Maryland will have yet another tough test next Sunday. The Terps travel to Ashland, Ohio, where they will face Ashland, No. 19 Kent State and Purdue as part of the Wendy's Duals. No. 8 Cornell 19, No. 7 Maryland 15 125 - Frank Perrelli (COR) dec. James Knox, 9-3 (3-0) 133 - No. 12 Mike Grey (COR) major dec. No. 10 Steven Bell, 11-3 (7-0) 141 - No. 6 Kyle Dake (COR) dec. No. 8 Alex Krom, 5-4 (10-0) 149 - Corey Manson (COR) dec. Jon Kohler, 8-4 (13-0) 157 - Kyle John (MD) dec. John Basting, 6-3 (13-3) 165 - No. 17 Josh Asper (MD) dec. No. 12 Justin Kerber, 9-4 (13-6) 174 - No. 1 Mack Lewnes (COR) dec. No. 6 Mike Letts, 8-2 (16-6) 184 - No. 17 Steve Bosak (COR) dec. Corey Peltier, 9-3 (19-6) 197 - No. 4 Hudson Taylor (MD) pinfall over George Kocher, 4:42 (19-12) 285 - Patrick Gilmore (MD) dec. No. 17 Josh Arnone, 7-1 (19-15) No. 7 Maryland 21, No. 22 Wisconsin 18 125 - Pat Strizki (MD) dec. Drew Hammen, 4-1 (3-0) 133 - No. 6 Tyler Graff (WIS) dec. No. 10 Steven Bell, 5-2 (3-3) 141 - Cole Schmitt (WIS) dec. No. 8 Alex Krom, 6-2 (3-6) 149 - No. 2 Kyle Ruschell (WIS) pinfall over Jon Kohler, 4:16 (3-12) 157 - Kyle John (MD) major dec. Greg Burke, 14-4 (7-12) 165 - No. 1 Andrew Howe (WIS) dec. No. 17 Josh Asper, 6-2 (7-15) 174 - No. 6 Mike Letts (MD) tech. fall over Jimmy Duffy, 18-1; 4:47 (12-15) 184 - Travis Rutt (WIS) dec. Corey Peltier, 8-7 (12-18) 197 - No. 4 Hudson Taylor (MD) pinfall over Jackson Hein, 2:11 (18-18) 285 - Patrick Gilmore (MD) dec. (OT) Eric Bugenhagen, 6-4 SV1 (21-18)

CEDAR FALLS, Idaho -- The No. 9 Boise State wrestling team capped off an impressive weekend at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Sunday (Jan. 10), beating No. 7 ranked Cornell 20-19 to place fifth in the 16-team tournament. The Broncos finished the weekend with a 4-1 record, improving their overall record this season to 8-1 (1-0 Pac-10 Conference). Boise State's only stumble of the tournament came in a hard fought 20-12 quarterfinal round loss to No. 1 Iowa. After finishing Saturday with a 2-1 record, Boise State opened Sunday's action with a 22-12 win against No. 18 Wisconsin. The win advanced the Broncos to the fifth-place match where they would face Cornell. Boise State won five matches against the Big Red, including two crucial major decisions and one win by fall. After dropping the opening match at 125 pounds, Andrew Hochstrasser earned the Broncos a 3-3 tie with a 7-2 decision against Mike Grey at 133 pounds. Cornell extended its' lead to 6-3 with a win at 141 pounds, but Jason Chamberlain answered by giving the Broncos their first lead of the dual with a 14-5 major decision over Hicks Manson at 149 pounds. He was followed by Adam Hall, who also earned a major decision, 14-3, against John Testy-Bastings at 157 pounds. The Broncos extended their lead with wins at 174 and 184 pounds, first with Nate Lee winning the 174-pound match by fall (4:58) against Colin McDonald. Kirk Smith then put the Bronco lead just out of reach at 20-9, with a 4-2 decision over Steve Bosak at 184 pounds. Cornell scored 10 points in the final two matches, winning the 197-pound match by major decision and the heavyweight match by fall. Their late rally fell just short, however, as the Broncos held off for the one-point upset. Boise State will now look to next Friday (Jan. 15) when the Broncos travel to Bozeman, Mont. to face North Dakota State in a non-conference dual. Boise State 20, Cornell 19 125 - Frank Perrelli (Cornell) dec. Alan Bartelli (BSU) 2-1 133 - Andrew Hochstrasser (BSU) dec. Mike Grey (Cornell) 7-2 141 - Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. Levi Jones (BSU) 6-1 149 - Jason Chamberlain (BSU) major dec. Hicks Manson (Cornell) 14-5 157 - Adam Hall (BSU) major dec. John Testy-Bastings (Cornell) 14-3 165 - Justin Kerber (Cornell) dec. Michael Cuthbertson (BSU) 3-1 174 - Nate Lee (BSU) fall Colin McDonald (Cornell) 4:58 184 - Kirk Smith (BSU) dec. Steve Bosak (Cornell) 4-2 197 - Cam Simaz (Cornell) major dec. Matt Casperson (BSU) 10-2 HWT - Taylor Moore (Cornell) fall Sam Zylstra (BSU) 00:32 Boise State 22, Wisconsin 12 125 - Alan Bartelli (BSU) dec. Drew Hammen (UW) 6-2 133 - Andrew Hochstrasser (BSU) dec. Tyler Graff (UW) 6-4 141 - Levi Jones (BSU) dec. Cole Schmitt (UW) 6-4 149 - Kyle Ruschell (UW) dec. Jason Chamberlain (BSU) 3-1 157 - Adam Hall (BSU) fall Greg Burke (UW) 6:12 165 - Andrew Howe (UW) dec. Michael Cuthbertson (BSU) 10-8 174 - Nate Lee (BSU) dec. Jim Duffy (UW) 12-7 184 - Kirk Smith (BSU) major dec. Travis Rutt (UW) 11-2 197 - Trevor Brandvold (UW) dec. Matt Casperson (BSU) 8-2 HWT - Eric Bugenhagen (UW) dec. Sam Zylstra (BSU) 3-1

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Notre Dame pulled off a sweep, going 3-for-3 Saturday and Sunday to capture the title in the 2009 NAIA National Duals. On Sunday, the top-ranked Falcons defeated No. 7 Missouri Valley, 26-7, in the championship match. Derek Foore (197), Kevin Hardy (165), Adam Koballa (141), Dante Rini (125) and Orlando Scales (HWT) all garnered three wins over the weekend, as NDC Wrestling won is biggest title in the program’s four years. In the title match against Missouri Valley, the Falcons won seven bouts. Five of those wins (Hardy-Bittenger-Denman-Foore-Scales) came in succession after Notre Dame had held a 12-7 advantage through the first five bouts of the match. An 18-3 tech fall win by No. 7 Derek Foore over 11th-ranked Charlie Gibbs at 197 clinched the title for the Blue & White. The back-to-back wins over ranked foes by Foore and then Scales (7-5 decision over No. 8 Travis Ewart), were an appropriate end to the tournament - over the two days in Iowa NDC grapplers went 14-2 in bouts against ranked wrestlers (Top-12 of each weight class in Dec. 22 NAIA Coaches’ Poll). “Our guys were so focused and well-prepared,” said NDC Head Coach Frank Romano, whose Falcons became the first Ohio wrestling program to win a national title since 1976. “Our coaches did a great job with the kids and our athletes listened; they were ready to go. Winning on this stage is just an amazing feeling.” That stage, the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, was the centerpiece of the collegiate wrestling world Saturday and Sunday, with the Top-16 teams in NCAA-I, II and III also competing in the National Duals, as were junior college and women’s teams. More than 50 teams competed in the annual event, which dates back to 1989. Earlier on Sunday in the Falcons’ semifinal match, Notre Dame topped McKendree (Ill.) by a score of 29-8. With their three-match sweep in Cedar Falls, NDC is now 6-1 on the season. In their semifinal match against McKendree (4-4), the Blue & White rode back-to-back major victories by Adam Koballa (10-1 over Kyle Williams at 141) and Jeffrey Pelton (11-2 over No. 5 Ryan Jahn at 149) to a 29-8 win. Notre Dame also got a boost from a come-from-behind 4-3 win by Derek Foore over No. 1 Andrew Sanchez at 197 pounds. Over the three matches, Foore, Hardy, Koballa, Rini and Scales each went 3-0. Foore and Hardy each had two wins against ranked opponents and each bagged a No. 1-ranked opponent in the process. Foore, a junior from Wadsworth, Ohio, is now 17-0 this season. Koballa’s sweep in Cedar Falls marked three victories in what is now a nine-bout win streak for the 2009 NAIA National Champion; Koballa is now 18-2 this season. The Notre Dame Wrestling Falcons will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 17, when they travel to Alliance, Ohio, to compete in the Mount Union-hosted Purple Raider Open. NOTES FROM THE NEST ... GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME: Notre Dame has improved their final standing in each of the three years the program has competed in the National Duals. In 2008, NDC made the 16-team field but didn’t place. The Falcons placed sixth a year ago. In 2007 (the program’s first season), Notre Dame did not qualify for the NAIA National Duals. MAKING A STATEMENT: Over the 48 hours in Cedar Falls, Notre Dame dispatched three Top-10 NAIA teams (No. 8 Oklahoma City, No. 4 McKendree and No. 7 Missouri Valley by a combined score of 97-15. TOP OF THE HEAP: Iowa defeated Iowa State, 19-12, to claim the NCAA-I title on Sunday at the UNI-Dome. Other champions included Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA-II), Augsburg-Minn. (NCAA-III), Iowa Central (Junior College) and Oklahoma City (Women). WINTER WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s trek to Cedar Falls, Iowa, included a 13-1/2-hour bus ride through snow storms and a rough climate outside the warm environs of the UNI-Dome. Temperatures in Cedar Falls remained under zero for most of the trip, with the wind chill hitting 14-below at one point.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The top-ranked University of Nebraska at Omaha wrestling team won the first six matches and trampled second-ranked Newberry, 25-6, to repeat as champions and win its fifth NWCA National Duals title Sunday afternoon at the UNI-Dome. The dual was a rematch of last year's finals match where UNO edged Newberry, 23-19. The dual started with redshirt freshman Terrell McKinney upsetting third-ranked Matt Oliver in the 125-pound match. McKinney scored a take down with seven seconds left in the match to earn the 8-6 win. The Omaha native finished the weekend with a 4-0 record in his first National Duals. Senior Cody Garcia defeated Sheridan Moran 7-2 at 133. The second-ranked Garcia finished the weekend 4-0 and improved to 28-0 on the year overall. Junior and sixth-ranked Mario Morgan collected a 6-2 win over Deral Brown in the 141-pound match. The Chicago native went 4-0 on the weekend. In the 149-pound match Tait Weatherbee met Dale DeBacco. Weatherbee scored a take down and near fall late in the third period and held on for the 5-4 win to put the Mavs up 12-0 in the dual. Weatherbee finished the weekend with a 2-2 record. Redshirt freshman George Ivanov finished his impressive weekend with a 4-1 win over Latra Collick in the 157-pound match. Ivanov finished the weekend 4-0 in his first National Duals. Fifth-ranked Ryan Pankoke collected a 12-2 major decision over Sean Byrnes at 165 to put UNO up 19-0 in the dual. Pankoke finished the weekend 3-1. Curtis Chenoweth earned Newberry its first points of the dual with a 8-4 win over sophomore Brett Rosedale in the 174-pound match and put the score at 19-3 in favor of the Mavs. Rosedale finished the weekend 2-1. Newberry's top-ranked Bryant Blanton defeated redshirt freshman Mitch Brown 3-1 in the 184-pound match and gave Newberry three more points. The 197-pound showdown saw fourth-ranked senior Jacob Marrs battle Newberry's top-ranked Keeno Griffin. Marrs came away with a late take down to give seal an 8-6 win over Griffin. The two All-Americans squared off at last year's National Tournament in the finals with Griffin winning that match. Marrs went 4-0 on the weekend. Third-ranked 285-pounder Elijah Madison defeated Jake Elkins, 8-4. Madison finished the weekend with a 3-1 record. The Mavericks will host two events next week. On Jan. 15, Lindenwood (4-1) visits for UNO’s first home dual of the 2009-10 season. The dual match is slated for a 7 p.m. start in Sapp Fieldhouse. The 2010 Brand Open will follow on Jan. 16. Wrestling will get underway at 9 a.m.

HAMPTON, Va. -- Virginia Tech wrestler Jesse Dong was named Outstanding Wrestler for the National College Division at the Virginia Duals late Saturday night after the event ended. Dong, a sophomore from Westerville, Ohio, went 5-0 for the weekend. He beat No. 2 Cyler Sanderson of Penn State in the opener, then picked up a pin, a technical fall, beat No. 18 Danny Gonsor of Virginia 7-1 and then ended the weekend with a pin.

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Army’s Richard Starks posted a win against a nationally ranked wrestler but Rutgers won seven of 10 bouts on the way to a 28-10 victory over the Black Knights, Sunday at Christl Arena. Army went 2-1 as the host of Sunday’s quad match and is now 3-3 on the season. Rutgers, which allowed just 13 points in its three matches, improved to 10-4. Starks, ranked 17th, earned a 3-1 decision against Lamar Brown, Matt Kyler cruised to a major decision and Collin Wittmeyer won a decision but Rutgers won the first three matches and never trailed on the way to its 10th victory. In the other match, the Merchant Marine Academy defeated Boston 24-18. “I have been saying since early in the season, we have to work harder and smarter than everyone in the country,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “We wrestled hard just not too smart. Even in losing to a very good Rutgers team, we wrestled hard. We just need to get in better position and continue to work hard.” Rutgers jumped out to an early lead as Joseph Langel collected three takedowns, an escape and riding time for an 8-0 win against Steven West at 125 pounds. The Scarlet Knights, who scored 39 points in each of their first two wins on Sunday, extended their lead to 10-0 as #16 Billy Ashnault scored a fall in 1:33 at 133 pounds against Travis Coffey. Rutgers’ Trevor Melde started strong and then held off Casey Thome for a 10-5 win at 141 pounds. Melde has a takedown and five back points in the first period and a reversal in the second. Melde led 9-1 after Thome escaped in the second period. Thome continued to push and scored two takedowns but lost his first match of the day. Kyler got Army on the scoreboard with an impressive performance at 149 pounds. Ranked eighth in the latest Intermat poll, Kyler collected six takedowns, two near fall points, riding time and a penalty point when David Greenwald applied head scissors for a 16-3 major decision making the team score Rutgers 13, Army 4. Kyler won all three of his matches on Sunday with a fall, technical fall and major decision. The Scarlet Knights extended their advantage to 16-4 when Daryl Cocozzo posted a 4-0 decision over Daniel Young at 157 pounds. Cocozzo had a first period takedown, a third period escape and two minutes of riding time to give Rutgers a 12-point lead. Rutgers increased its lead to 19-4 when Greg Zannetti scored a 2-1 win at 165 pounds. Army’s Rudy Chelednik was wresting up a weight class and picked up riding time from the top position during a strong second period. Chelednik escaped to start the third period but Zannetti scored a takedown and erased Chelednik’s riding time advantage to bump the Rutgers lead. Daniel Rinaldi won the third straight Rutgers match with a 5-1 decision over Jacob Vetter at 174 pounds. Rinaldi had two takedowns and an escape to give Rutgers a 22-4 lead. Wittmeyer halted the Rutgers winning streak with a gutsy 3-2 win at 184 pounds. After Daniel Seidenberg escaped, Wittmeyer secured a takedown near the edge of the mat with 15 seconds remaining in the second period. While Seidenberg had a minute of riding time, Wittmeyer escaped in the third period for the 3-2 win that made the team score 22-7 Rutgers. Wittmeyer won all three of his matches via decision on the day. In one of the marquee matches of the day, Starks, ranked #17 and Brown, ranked #18, felt each other out in the first three minutes with neither wrestler scoring a point. Brown chose down to start the second and needed just 13 seconds to escape for a 1-0 lead. Starks, though, went on top 2-1 with a takedown at the edge of the mat with 16 seconds left in the second period. Starks chose down in the final period and quickly escaped for the 3-1 lead, though Rutgers led 22-10. Dominick Russo, ranked #10 in the latest poll, closed the match with a first-period fall. Army’s Ryan Cook scored an early takedown but Russo worked a reversal and then the pin to make the final score 28-10. Army, which wrestled four matches in the last three days, will compete at the New York State Championships, Saturday and Sunday in Ithaca, N.Y. “Every win builds our confidence,” said Barbee. “As a team, things are slowly coming together. We have a lot of tough matches remaining and need to keep our nose to the grindstone and keep working. Rutgers 28, Army 10 125: Joseph Langel (R) major dec. Steven West, 8-0 133: #16 Billy Ashnault (R) pinned Travis Coffey, 1:33 141: Trevor Melde (R) dec. Casey Thome, 10-5 149: #8 Matt Kyler (A) major dec. David Greenwald, 16-3 157: Daryl Cocozzo (R) dec. Daniel Young, 4-0 165: Greg Zannetti (R) dec. Rudy Chelednik, 2-1 174: Daniel Rinaldi (R) dec. Jacob Vetter 5-1 184: Collin Wittmeyer (A) dec. Daniel Seidenberg, 3-2 197: #17 Richard Starks (A) dec. #18 Lamar Brown, 3-1 285: #10 Dominick Russo (R ) pinned Ryan Cook, :47 Merchant Marine Academy 24, Boston 18 125: Jordan Alfaro (MMA) dec. Ryan Dowd, 6-4 133: Fred Santaite (B) won by forfeit 141: Abbie Rush (B) tech fall Garrick Skubon, 22-4, 6:17 149: Martin Bell (MMA) dec. Andrew Swank, 6-3 157: Dan Twito (MMA) dec. Nestor Taffur, 9-6 165: Kyle Czarnecki (B) dec. Vincent Renaut, 7-2 174: Justin Diesel (MMA) pinned Hunter Meys, 4:13 184: Brock Mantella (B) major dec. Erik Schott, 10-1 197: Eric Vincent (MMA) dec. Dan Kennedy, 5-3 285: :Judd Connell (MMA) pinned Nate Lavallee, :20

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Behind a pin by Zach Molitor (JR, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS) at 174 pounds, the Augsburg College wrestling team captured its fifth National Wrestling Coaches Association/Cliff Keen Division III National Duals title with an 18-15 championship-match triumph over rival Wartburg College (Iowa) on Sunday afternoon at the University of Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome. Molitor, ranked No. 3 nationally in his weight class, captured pins in both of Augsburg's matches on Sunday, a 4:30 pin in the Auggies' 22-14 win over Coe (Iowa) in the semifinals and a 3:52 pin of Wartburg's No. 7-ranked Dylan Azinger in the championship match. “In a high-pressure situation like that, Zach Molitor excels,” said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. “He wants to put himself in a situation like that for the team. He did a great job of doing what he does best. He wrestled hard and caught his opponent at the right time, and got the fall. He had an unbelievable weekend.” Augsburg, now 7-0 in dual meets, claimed its second straight National Duals title and fifth in the nine-year history of the Division III event. The Auggies also claimed their third straight victory over their biggest wrestling rival, defending national champion Wartburg. Augsburg and Wartburg will meet again in a dual meet on Feb. 4 in Waverly, Iowa. On the weekend, the No. 2-ranked Auggies, now 7-0 in dual meets this season, scored four wins over ranked opponents, topping No. 22 Wisconsin-Whitewater 33-7 and No. 10 North Central (Iowa) 25-12 on Saturday, then beating No. 3 Coe 22-14 in the semifinals on Sunday morning. Wartburg, ranked No. 5 nationally, is now 13-1 in dual meets. “This is a total team effort – not just the 15 guys were were able to weigh in this weekend, but all the 30-plus guys on the roster that worked hard and put their blood and sweat together to capture a national dual-meet title,” Matzek said. “It puts all the hard work and all the sacrifices that these guys put in every day into perspective. Being a student-athlete, managing their time, it's not for nothing; it's for winning big meets like this. There may be teams in the nation that work as hard as us, but no one works harder than us.” In the nine-year history of the Division III National Duals in its current 16-team format, Augsburg has captured five titles (2002, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010), while Wartburg has four titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008). Augsburg and Wartburg have met in eight of the nine National Duals finals, with the Auggies winning five times. Augsburg and Wartburg have been the powers of NCAA Division III wrestling over the past two decades, with Augsburg winning 10 national championships (1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007) and Wartburg winning seven titles (1996, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009). Against opponents from Divisions II and III since 1989-90, Augsburg is now 245-21, having lost just 16 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 campaign. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is now 247-23 since the 1979-80 season and 171-13 since the 1989-90 season. In a match where each team won five bouts, Molitor's pin proved to be the deciding points for the Auggies to capture the title against Wartburg. Molitor, who finished sixth nationally last year, is now 14-2 on the season. He won all four matches on the weekend, including a major decision win against Wisconsin-Whitewater on Saturday. Defending 197-pound national champion Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) also had a strong weekend, winning all four of his bouts to remain unbeaten at 12-0. He had a pin and major decision on Saturday, then scored two wins over ranked wrestlers on Sunday, topping Coe's No. 6-ranked Rob Kramer 5-3 and Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Byron Tate 6-1. Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) also came up big for the Auggies on Sunday with two key victories at 133 pounds – an 11-2 major-decision win against Coe, and a 7-6 triumph over Wartburg's Matt Kelly. Jafari Vanier (SR, Minneapolis, Minn./Bloomington Kennedy HS), a two-time national runner-up who returned to the Auggies this weekend after a two-season absence, also scored two big wins on Sunday at 141 – an 8-3 win over Coe and a 7-4 win over Wartburg's No. 5-ranked Chris Sandy. Vanier placed second in the national tournament at 133 pounds in both 2006 and 2007. Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) dominated his competition over the weekend at 157, as the No. 5-ranked wrestler claimed four wins, including one by major decision. On Sunday, he scored a 7-1 win over Coe's No. 9-ranked Dale Handley, then topped Wartburg's Adam Weber 7-4. Adams is now 23-2 on the season. On the weekend, Augsburg won 25 of 40 individual bouts, including five wins against Wartburg and six wins against Coe. Among other Minnesota schools, No. 9-ranked Concordia-Moorhead placed sixth in the tournament, while No. 11-ranked St. John's placed eighth. On Sunday, the Cobbers topped the Johnnies 22-13 before falling 26-17 to top-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse in the fifth-place match. After the loss to the Cobbers, the Johnnies fell 25-20 to Cornell (Iowa) in the seventh-place match. Augsburg will travel to face St. John's in its next dual meet, on Thursday (1/14) in Collegeville, Minn. The junior varsity squads from both teams will meet at 5 p.m., with the varsity match to follow at 7 p.m.