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Link: Event Coverage (Schedule, Articles, Links, Results) Link opens in new window InterMat and TOM have teamed up to provide a live blog throughout the 2010 Walsh Ironman. 2010 Walsh Ironman

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- UNCG redshirt sophomore Ivan Lopouchanski has been named the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Month for the month of November, the conference office announced on Wednesday afternoon. Lopouchanski had a great month as he went 11-1 and won a pair of tournament titles and defeated three nationally-ranked wrestlers, including No. 6 Kurt Kinser from Indiana. He also won both Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week honors in the month. Lopouchanski began his season at the Hokie Open where he went a perfect 5-0, including a pin against Iowa State’s Nate Carr (who is now ranked No. 16) in the semifinals. In the finals, he defeated Virginia Tech’s Brian Stephens, then-ranked No. 16, 9-4. He followed that up the next weekend by winning the NC State Open with a pair of 16-0 technical falls and two other wins. UNCG then began the dual match portion of its schedule and Lopouchanski started off with a 9-7 victory over No. 16 Cole Schmitt from No. 4 Wisconsin. Two days later, he dropped his only match of the season in a rematch with Virginia Tech’s Brian Stephens, 9-7, in overtime. He rebounded later in the day with a win against North Carolina. The Spartans then went to the Hoosier Duals over Thanksgiving weekend and Lopouchanski continued to shine as he defeated No. 6 Kurt Kinser from Indiana, 6-2. He also had a pair of wins later in the day. Also nominated for the award was Appalachian State’s Austin Trotman, The Citadel’s Turtogtokh Luvsandorj and Davidson’s Alex Radsky.

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Scoring wins in six of 10 bouts, the top-ranked Augsburg College wrestling team claimed a 31-12 triumph over Minnesota State University Moorhead in a dual meet on Wednesday evening at MSUM's Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse. Augsburg (1-1 in dual meets), the defending NCAA Division III national champions and top-ranked team in the latest national poll, used three pins and one major decision to score the convincing victory over Division II MSU Moorhead (0-2). Augsburg leads the all-time series against MSU Moorhead 14-0, a series dating to the 1991-92 season. Since 1989-90, the Auggies are now 251-22 against opponents from Divisions II and III, losing just 17 matches to non-Division I teams since the 1995-96 campaign. Tony Valek (JR, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West), the defending 149-pound national runner-up and current No. 2-ranked 149-pounder nationally, improved to 9-0 on the season with a third-period pin of Connor MacGregor. At 197 pounds, Brad Baus (JR, Mukwonago, Wis.) claimed a 1:23 pin of MSUM's Brian Woelfel to improve to 8-2 on the year, while Brandon Bahr (JR, Bemidji, Minn.) scored a 2:35 pin of Kody Kalkbrenner at 184 pounds. "We performed well tonight as a team," said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. "We were lead by our upperclassmen, who kept their momentum going from this past weekend. Tony Valek, Brad Baus, Brandon Bahr all ended their matches with falls." Augsburg's Cody Hansen (SO, Albert Lea, Minn.) improved to 7-1 on the season with a 12-3, major-decision win at 141, and Jon Priess (SO, Waconia, Minn.) scored a 6-1 win at 157. "Cody Hansen wrestled a great match versus a very tough opponent and not only won, but dominated the entire match," Matzek said. "Jon Priess is starting to get back into the swing of competition after a 5 year stint in the Army Rangers." Evan Forde (133), Jacob Bennett (165), Trent Sovde (174) and Jon Swart (HWT) all claimed decision victories for the Dragons. "The effort was there throughout the entire squad," Matzek said. "We still must make some adjustments and continue to improve, to be where we want to be at the NWCA National Duals." Augsburg returns to action with a pair of meets on Saturday (12/11) at 9 a.m., with the Augsburg varsity competing at the St. Cloud State Open, and the Auggie White Team (junior varsity) competing at the Wartburg (Iowa) Dick Walker Invitational. Results: 141 -- Cody Hansen (AUG, 6-1) maj. dec. Brady Schneeberger (MSUM, 5-6) 12-3 (Augsburg 4-0) 149 -- No. 2 Tony Valek (AUG, 9-0) pinned Connor MacGregor (MSUM, 5-6) 6:10 (Augsburg 10-0) 157 -- Jon Priess (AUG, 3-5) dec. Tyler Steinwand (MSUM, 4-6) 6-1 (Augsburg 13-0) 165 -- Jacob Bennett (MSUM, 10-8) dec. Justin Bowland (AUG, 4-4) 7-4 (Augsburg 13-3) 174 -- Trent Sovde (MSUM, 9-3) dec. Josh Kohler (AUG, 5-4) 3-1 (Augsburg 13-6) 184 -- Brandon Bahr (AUG, 5-4) pinned Kody Kalkbrenner (MSUM, 5-4) 2:35 (Augsburg 19-6) 197 -- Brad Baus (AUG, 8-2) pinned Brian Woelfel (MSUM, 3-5) 1:23 (Augsburg 25-6) HWT -- Jon Swart (MSUM, 6-5) dec. Niko Bogojevic (AUG, 7-2) 2-1 (Augsburg 25-9) 125 -- No. 2 Josh Roberts (AUG, 7-3) wins by forfeit (Augsburg 31-9) 133 -- Evan Forde (MSUM, 6-6) dec. Cody Madsen (AUG, 4-4) 6-1 (Augsburg 31-12)

The 17th edition of the Walsh Ironman yet again features a star studded field. Four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their weight class are scheduled to compete, along with seven that are ranked second in the nation. Four of the nation's top eight teams are in the field, as are 15 of the Fab 50. What: The 17th Walsh Ironman Where: Walsh Jesuit High School -- Cuyahoga Falls, OH When: Friday 12-10-10 and Saturday 12-11-10 Schedule: Preliminary rounds (up to the quarterfinals) start at 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Saturday wrestling starts at 10:00 a.m. with the quarterfinals, the semifinals will follow, as will all consolation matches including those for seventh place. Matches for first, third, and fifth will be wrestled Saturday evening starting at 6:30 p.m. Tournament Website: http://www.walshironman.com Special Honoree: Bill Barger will be honored as the Ironman Legacy Award winner this year. Barger, the long-time head coach at Walsh Jesuit High School is the primary founder and visionary of the Walsh Ironman tournament. His squads won nine out of ten state championships from 1991-2000. Seven Walsh Jesuit alumni have gone on to earn nineteen All-American medals at the NCAA Division I Championships. InterMat Coverage: InterMat will be providing live blog coverage of all three sessions, available from the InterMat home page. In addition, a recap will be provided on Friday night, with a finals recap to be published on Sunday. 103: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, PA), No. 2 Nathan Tomasello (CVCA, OH), No. 9 Joey McKenna (Blair Academy, NJ). Commentary: The opening weight class features the top two ranked wrestlers in the country, who have met twice in the last five months. Cruz won the pair of meetings in the pool stage of the Cadet National freestyle tournament, and in an overtime championship final match at the Super 32 Challenge. The other legitimate contender for the championship is the freshman McKenna, who was Cadet National Greco-Roman champion this summer. Outside of these three wrestlers, the high end quality is rather limited with Cadet National Greco-Roman medalist Micah Hight (Caesar Rodney, DE) representing the best of the rest. Other Cadet freestyle All-Americans include Brent Fleetwood (Smyrna, DE) -- champion at 84 pounds -- and Armando Torres (Elyria, OH) -- eighth at 91 pounds. Roadblocks to the Cruz-Tomasello final are as follows based on the seeding. Cruz is likely to face Torres in the quarterfinal round and McKenna in the semifinal. Tomasello is looking at a relatively clear path to a semifinal date with either Fleetwood or Preseason Nationals runner-up Johnny Jimenez (Marmion Academy, IL). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: A trio of freshmen -- Anthony Tutolo (Walsh Jesuit, OH), David Bavery (Massillon Perry, OH), and Tyler Ponte (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Friday Match to Watch: McKenna v Hight. Predicting a Finals Match: Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) over Tomasello (CVCA) 112: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, IL), No. 8 George DiCamillo (St. Ignatius, OH), No. 11 Zeke Moisey (Bethlehem Catholic, PA), No. 14 Ryan Taylor (Graham, OH). Commentary: Last year's champion from 103 -- DiCamillo -- received no favors with his draw. Prior to the quarterfinal round, he could see a returning state placer at 112 pounds in Artem Timchenko (Massillon Perry, OH). In addition, the pre-tournament favorite Jered Cortez (Marmion Academy, IL) -- twice a Cadet National freestyle finalist is the projected semifinal opponent. The bottom half of this weight has a similar dynamic with second seed Max Hvolbek (Blair Academy, NJ) -- second at National Prep last year, third at the Ironman -- possibly facing a returning state placer at 112 pounds in Edgar Bright (St. Edward, OH) prior to the quarterfinal. The projected semifinal would be against state champion Ryan Taylor (Graham, OH) -- with whom Hvolbeck split matches last year. However, there is a big-time poison pill in this weight class with two-time Super 32 Challenge placer Moisey being an unseeded wrestler. His placement within the bracket could play huge implications in the overall course of the tournament. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Moisey, Michael Olsen (Park Hill, MO), and Michael Screptock (Oregon Clay, OH). Friday Match to Watch: The two previously mentioned matches -- DiCamillo vs. Timchenko, and Hvolbek vs. Bright. In addition, Ironman and National Prep placer Judson Preskitt (Bishop Lynch, TX) vs. Cody Stainbrook (Walsh Jesuit, OH). Predicting a Finals Match: Cortez (Marmion Academy) is the pick to win the weight. Should Moisey draw into the bottom half, he is my pick to reach the final, if not, it's wide open, and the pick is Taylor (Graham) to set up a very intriguing matchup with a boatload of history behind it. 119: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA), No. 9 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, PA), No. 11 Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA), No. 12 Dean Heil (St. Edward, OH), No. 13 (at 125) Caleb Richardson (Blair Academy, NJ). Commentary: The number one ranked wrestler in this weight class is Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ) -- and he can't even make it out of the practice room. That would be testament to the depth within the Blair program. Multi-time state champion Richardson was able to upend Silver, despite having finished behind him in a couple of tournaments last season. He is the fourth seed in this weight class, and is likely to face a very familiar foe in Dance at the quarterfinal stage of this tournament. The winner of that match is looking at a semifinal date against Gulibon, a two-time state champion that has lost a grand total of two matches in his career -- one of them coming in last year's Ironman semifinal at 112 pounds to Silver. The bottom half of this bracket possesses more overall depth despite having just the two nationally-ranked wrestlers in Malone and Heil. Malone, seeded second, is looking at a quarterfinal match against either two-time state champion David Jeffrey (Parkersburg South, WV) or Randy Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, PA). Heil, seeded sixth, is looking at a matchup against state runner-up Mitch Newhouse (Massillon Perry, OH) prior to the quarterfinals with state runner-up Corey Keener (Blue Mountain, PA) waiting in the semifinal round. Friday Match to Watch: Heil vs. Newhouse, in what could be a preview of the Division I state final in Ohio, Jeffrey vs. Cruz, and Nick Goebel (Elmwood, OH) vs. Jake Smith (Robinson, VA) in a matchup of third place-finishers at the state tournament. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Micah Jordan (Graham, OH) -- ranked 19th in the Class of 2014 -- along with George Fisher (Marmion Academy, IL) who went 4-2 in Cadet freestyle and gets to practice with Cortez on a daily basis. Predicting a Finals Match: Gulibon (Derry Area) over Malone (Wyoming Seminary) 125: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA), No. 3 (at 130) Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ), No. 4 Bricker Dixon (Park Hill, MO), No. 7 Geoff Alexander (Shady Side Academy, PA), No. 8 (at 130) Alex Cisneros (Selma, CA), No. 9 Kagan Squire (Wadsworth, OH). Commentary: Finally we hit upon a weight that has the traditional fireworks associated with an Ironman weight class. Six wrestlers that are top ten in the nation caliber, with multiple kids that are close to the top in the nation. The weight class also features some legit names behind the first six plus three solid freshmen. None of the four quarters provides a clean path to the semifinal round. Defending Ironman champion Beckman, who beat a true gauntlet to win the 119 pound weight class last year, is looking at a quarterfinal against either two-time National Prep medalist Chris Dinnien (Germantown Academy, PA) or Preseason Nationals runner-up Courtland Hacker (Broomfield, CO). The other quarter up top could feature a battle of top 20 Class of 2012 wrestlers in Kagan Squire and two-time state champion Alex Cisneros. Two-time National Prep champion Grey, second seed in this weight class, is looking at a quarterfinal date with returning Ironman placer and Super 32 Challenge champion Alexander or state champion and Super 32 placer Chris Caton (Northside Christian Academy, NC). The other quarter bracket of the bottom half is led by two-time Junior National freestyle All-American Bricker Dixon (Park Hill, MO) who will likely face three-time state champion and FloNationals runner-up Josh Fisher (Roane County, WV) in the quarterfinals. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: A trio of freshmen -- Shawn Spearman (Erie McDowell, PA), Tony Dailey (Massillon Perry, OH), and Jack Bass (Robinson, VA). Friday Match to Watch: Alexander vs. Caton and Squire vs. Joey Ward (Moeller). Squire beat the former state placer Ward in overtime this past weekend. Predicting a Finals Match: Beckman (Reynolds) over Grey (Blair Academy) 130: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 4 Johnni DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit, OH), No. 7 Brandon Jeske (Cox, VA), No. 9 Ben Whitford (Blair Academy, NJ), No. 13 (at 135) Todd Preston (Blair Academy, NJ). Commentary: One of the few shortcomings in the sensational high school career of DiJulius is his inability to earn an All-American honor in four Fargo appearances. However, each time he has left with a winning record. This sensational career includes two third place-finishes at the Ironman along with three state finals appearances (two titles). It would be a storybook start to his senior season if he could win an Ironman title in his home gymnasium. While his path as the top seed is not easy, it could be harder. Take for instance the position of Preston, Junior National freestyle All-American and National Prep champion, who is the third seed in this weight. He is looking at a match prior to the quarterfinals against Jack Clark (McDonogh, MD), ranked third in the Class of 2014 and a FILA Cadet freestyle champion. Then, a quarterfinal match with multi-time state champion Rusty Maness (Graham, OH) would be next. Only after that could he even think about the semifinal round against most likely second seed Whitford. The four-time Cadet National finalist (double champion this year), Whitford is looking at a quarterfinal match against one of two wrestlers that finished third at their state tournament -- Dylan Durso (Reynolds, PA) or Brandon Choate (Blue Mountain, PA). In the top half, DiJulius is looking at a quarterfinal match against returning Ironman placer and Super 32 Challenge placer Brent Fickel (Padua, OH) prior to a likely semifinal with Jeske -- second at National Preps, champion at the FILA Cadet and Cadet National freestyle tournaments, and ranked third in the Class of 2013. Projected quarterfinal opponent for Jeske would be either two-time state placer David Makara (Burrell, PA) or state runner-up and Super 32 Challenge placer Russell Coleman (Park Hill, MO). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Tanner Bailey (Broken Arrow, OK) -- a freshman whose older brother Dallas is a redshirt freshman at Oklahoma State and currently ranked seventh at 165 pounds. Friday Matches to Watch: Makara vs. Coleman, Durso vs. Choate, and Preston vs. Clark. Predicting a Finals Match: DiJulius (Walsh Jesuit) over Whitford (Marmion Academy) 135: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH), No. 1 (at 140) Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ), No. 2 Steve Spearman (Erie McDowell, PA), No. 5 Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, OH), No. 11 chris Mecate (Redlands East Valley, CA), No. 16 Chase Ferman (Broken Arrow, OK). Commentary: Like the 125 pound weight class, it is weights such as these that make the Walsh Ironman arguably the nation's pre-eminent tournament. Stieber and Ormsbee are also ranked seventh and eighth overall in the Class of 2011 as college prospects. While the top half of this bracket -- where Stieber is the first seed - is stronger than the bottom half, it can be argued that the second seed Ormsbee has the harder journey to the anticipated finals match. The other quarter of the top half is absolutely brutal with projected preliminary matches featuring defending Walsh Ironman champion Skonieczny against Cadet National freestyle runner-up Bryce Brill (Marmion Academy, IL) with Super 32 Challenge champion Spearman facing a local rival in the solid Adam Matthews (Reynolds, PA). Stieber is looking at what is by Ironman standards a manageable quarterfinal match against either state champion Gabe Lavey (Hanover, VA) or state runner-up Dan Mirman (Medina Highland, OH). Three-time National Prep champion, and Junior National freestyle champion Ormsbee is looking at a quarterfinal date against two-time state placer and 2009 Super 32 Challenge champion Mecate prior to an open-ended semifinal match. Ferman has finished fifth and seventh at the Ironman the last two years and was fourth in Junior National freestyle this summer though yet to win a state title. He is projected to face either two-time Ironman placer Case Garrison (Graham, OH) or Zach Dailey (Massillon Perry, OH). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Willie Fox (Gilroy, CA), NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion, RC Ramirez (Wyoming Seminary, PA), and state qualifier Tyler Zymroz (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA) Friday Match to Watch: Lavey vs. Mirman, Skonieczny vs. Brill, Spearman vs. Adam Matthews, and Garrison vs. Dailey Predicting a Finals Match: Stieber (Monroeville) over Ormsbee (Blair Academy) 140: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Cam Tessari (Monroeville, OH), 3 (at 135) Nick Pena (Selma, CA), No. 6 Nick Brascetta (Graham, OH), No. 12 (at 145) Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, PA). Commentary: Tessari seeks to win a second consecutive Ironman championship, though this is a tournament in which he suffered his only career scholastic losses during his freshman and sophomore years. Should he get through the projected path of Cadet National freestyle All-American Angelo Silvestro (Marmion Academy, IL) and Super 32 Challenge placer Andrew Romanchik (Padua, OH) -- which is a very reasonable presumption -- Tessari is looking at a semifinal date with state champion Pena. Pena is a three-time state placer who placed fourth in Tessari's Ironman weight class last year. Pena's path through the semifinal involves projected matches against National Prep medalist Russ Parsons (Blair Academy, NJ) and either two time state runner-up Nick Babcock (Broomfield, CO) or National Prep medalist Cohl Fulk (Wyoming Seminary, PA). The bottom half of this drawis similar in terms of structure, there is solid balance and two big names. However, it can be said the peripheral names are slightly more credentialed than those in the top half. Two wrestlers that finished third in last year's Ironman are on a collision course for the semifinal round this year: three-time state placer (2009 state champion) Brascetta and National Prep champion (two-time finalist) Evan Henderson. Brascetta is looking at a quarterfinal match against one of two state placers -- Nate Ball (Wadsworth, OH) or Jeremy Landowski (Burrell, PA) -- while Henderson has a tougher path to the quarterfinal with returning state placer and Super 32 Challenge placer Austin Matthews (Reynolds, PA) standing in his way. The quarterfinal would be against one of two state placers, Blake Kastl (Gilroy, CA) or returning Ironman placer Tyler Argue (Mount Carmel, IL). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: State qualifier Tyler Manion (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA), former state qualifier Chase Boontjer (Foothill PC, CA), and Logan Bosley (Christiansburg, VA). Friday Matches to Watch: Babcock vs. Fulk, Ball vs. Landowski, Evan Henderson vs. Austin Matthews, and Argue vs. Kastl. Predicting a Finals Match: Tessari (Monroeville) over Brascetta (Graham) 145: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 6 Bo Jordan (Graham, OH), No. 8 (at 140) Travis Shaffer (Derry Area, PA), No. 11 Travis Himmelman (Conifer, CO), No. 14 Henry Carlson (Cox, VA). Commentary: Beyond the top four wrestlers in this weight class, there is not much overall depth at the national level. Therefore, since the top seed Carlson is opposite of the other three nationally-ranked wrestlers, the bracket is rather lopsided. The only realistic hurdle to the final for the three-time state champion and Junior National freestyle All-American Carlson is two-time National prep medalist Robert Henderson (Kiski Prep, PA). However, the bottom of the draw features NHSCA Junior National runner-up, two-time state champion, and Junior National Greco-Roman medalist Himmelman as the second seed. His path to the semifinal is manageable with only state champion Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, VA) really standing in his way at the quarterfinal level. The other quarterfinal in the bottom half is likely to feature FloNationals champion Shaffer facing state champion Bo Jordan, who is the second ranked wrestler in the Class of 2013. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Two-time state qualifier and FILA Cadet freestyle All-American Matt Van Curen (St. Edward, OH) and Dylan Milnoas (Blair Academy, NJ) who is ranked tenth in the Class of 2014. Predicting a Finals Match: Bo Jordan (Graham) over Carlson (Cox) 152: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Ian Miller (Oak Harbor, OH), No. 9 Matt Stephens (Graham, OH), No. 15 Duke Pickett (Woodberry Forest, VA). Commentary: Despite the lack of truly heavy hitters on the national level, this is a rather deep weight overall in terms of national quality. The top seed in this weight, Miller, broke out as a star in last year's Ironman when he reached the final and took Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy/Cornell) to the absolute brink. Miller would go on to win a state title and go undefeated this summer at the Junior National Duals in freestyle. The path to a second consecutive Ironman final will not be easy, starting with state runner-up Lorenzo Thomas (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA) as the projected quarterfinal opponent. The other quarterfinal in the top half should feature a pair of National Prep runners-up in Junior National freestyle All-American Duke Pickett (Woodberry Forest, VA) facing Cadet National freestyle runner-up Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Second seed Stephens, twice an Ironman placer and state runner-up in 2009, is looking at a very tough quarterfinal match against one of two state runners-up: Mark Martin (St. Edward, OH) or Kyle Dehaut (Bethlehem Catholic, PA). The likely semifinal opponent for the wrestler exiting this quarter is third seed Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, IL), twice an Ironman placer and state champion. Robertson would have to escape a quarterfinal match against either returing state placer and Cadet National freestyle All-American Victor Pereira (Newark Memorial, CA) or freshman Patrick Coover (Blair Academy, NJ) who was a Cadet National champion in Greco-Roman this past summer. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: State qualifier Mike Petrime (Massillon Perry, OH) and Cadet National Greco-Roman medalist Tyler Metzler (Oviedo, FL). Friday Matches to Watch: Martin vs. Dehaut and Pereira vs. Coover. Predicting a Finals Match: Miller (Oak Harbor) over Stephens (Graham) 160: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 Jason Luster (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA), No. 12 (at 171) Vinny Waldhauser (Oak Ridge, CA), No. 14 Zach Skates (Broken Arrow, OK), and No. 15 (at 171) Geordan Speiller (Oviedo, FL). Commentary: Four nationally-ranked wrestlers appear in this weight class, though one of them stands out ahead of the rest of the field. Despite a sub-standard Super 32 Challenge while competing up one weight class at 171 pounds in the midst of football season, Luster is a sensational talent as shown by twice being a National Prep finalist (champion this past year) and twice finishing third at the Ironman. His path to the final most likely involves a quarterfinal match against two-time state placer Travis McKillop (Burrell, PA) -- the only wrestler to defeat Cody Wiercioch during his freshman season in which he won titles at Powerade and the state tournament. The other quarterfinal in the top half of the draw is likely to feature a battle of state champions with Isaac Jordan (Graham, OH) facing Cody Allala (Hopewell, VA). The other three nationally-ranked wrestlers then populate the bottom half of the draw with top 100 Class of 2011 prospects Waldhauser and Skates paired to meet in the quarterfinal round. Waldhauser was a state runner-up this past year and a two-time state placer, while Skates is a multi-time state champion and Ironman placer. Speiller -- a state champion and Junior National Greco-Roman medalist -- has a path to the semifinal round most likely involving a quarterfinal match against two-time state champion Rich Eva (Christiansburg, VA). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Adam Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA) and Michael Mocco (Blair Academy, NJ) Friday Match to Watch: Eva vs. state placer Kyle Roddy (Brecksville, OH). Predicting a Finals Match: Luster (Pittsburgh Central Catholic) over Waldhauser (Oak Ridge) 171: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 Chris Phillips (Monroeville, OH), No. 17 Kyle Ryan (Graham OH). Commentary: Like last year's 171 pound weight class, this weight class features limited high profile wrestlers at this point. However, last year, multiple wrestlers emerged to be higher profile by season's end. This weight class is arguably the tournament's weakest overall. Three-time state champion, and Ironman champion as a freshman, Phillips should absolutely walk through this weight class starting with a quarterfinal against either Dakota DesLauriers (Burrell, PA) or Lee Wildes (Oviedo, FL). DesLauriers is placed at state as a freshman and is Cadet National freestyle All-American, while Wildes was a Junior National Greco-Roman medalist. The semifinal match for Phillips should be against either three-time National Prep medalist Trey Adamson (Bishop Lynch, TX) or state champion Chris Smith (Parkersburg South, WV). The bottom half of the draw features a pair of state runners-up and Ironman placers in the former state champion Ryan and Konner Witt (Oak Harbor, OH). Those two are seeded to meet in the semifinal, and it is my guess that they will. Friday Match to Watch: DesLauriers vs. Wildes Predicting a Finals Match: Phillips (Monroeville) over Ryan (Graham) 189: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Morgan McIntosh (Calvary Chapel, CA), No. 6 Alex Utley (CVCA, OH), No. 7 Huston Evans (Graham, OH), No. 7 (at 215) Jay Taylor (Burrell, PA), No. 12 Sam Wheeler (Copley, OH). Commentary: There are very few wrestlers in the country that have the natural talent, ability, and tenacity to maintain contact with -- let alone match up against -- the sensational McIntosh, a Junior National freestyle champion who is ranked second in the Class of 2011. Bound for Penn State next year, he is a two-time state champion and three-time state placer. Even with four other nationally-ranked wrestlers present in this weight, and Ironman championship should notched to the resume of McIntosh on Saturday night. Seeded first, McIntosh should breeze his way into a semifinal match against either Taylor or Chaz Gresham (Goshen, OH). Taylor won state last year in Florida before moving up to the Keystone State, and has earned All-American honors in many national tournaments. Twice a state placer, Gresham increased his visibility nationally when he placed fourth at 171 pounds in the Super 32 Challenge. Down in the bottom half of the draw is three nationally-ranked wrestlers. Utley, the second seed, has twice placed in the Ironman and earned state runner-up honors to superstar wrestlers (Zach Toal in 2009 and Phillips this past year). As a key piece to a winning football program, Utley does have limited off-season competitive wrestling, though what he has done has been successful, and he already is signed with the University of North Carolina. His projected quarterfinal match is against Preston Quam (San Clemente, CA), fifth in the state last year and fourth at FloNationals. The other part of the bottom half features state champion Evans facing state runner-up Wheeler in a battle of absolute physical specimens. Friday Matches to Watch: Gresham vs. Joe Tayse (Massillon Perry, OH) -Tayse qualified for state as a freshman as district champion, but went a disappointing 0-2 at state. Taylor vs. James Suvak (St. Edward, OH) -- despite failing to make the state tournament, Suvak was a NHSCA Sophomore Nationals champion Predicting a Finals Match: McIntosh (Calvary Chapel) over Utley (CVCA) 215: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Tanner Hall (Meridian, ID), No. 4 Tank Knowles (Calvary Chapel, CA), No. 9 Nick Tavanello (Wadsworth, OH). Commentary: Compared to last year's bracket at this weight class, there is a lot of depth. Only Knowles was a nationally-ranked wrestler in last year's bracket. This year's grouping has two more nationally-ranked wrestlers and some others whom are credentialed. None the less, the pair of favorites is pretty clear -- and they are Hall and Knowles. Twice a state champion, Hall came into the past off-season as by no means a superstar. However, he left it one of the elite wrestlers in the Class of 2011. That is what happens when you compete in almost everything and thrive all the time. Hall was a FILA Cadet double champion, FILA Junior double All-American, and Junior National double finalist (champ in freestyle). Knowles won a state title last year after earning titles at the Ironman and in Reno, during the postseason, he was runner-up at FloNationals and a Junior National Greco-Roman medalist. Looking at the top half of the draw, in which Hall is the number one seed, his likely quarterfinal match would be against either Cadet National freestyle champion Ty Walz (St. Edward, OH) or state qualifier Matt Meadows (CVCA, OH). The other quarter bracket is intriguing with two-time state placer Brian Beattie (Burrell, PA), Carlos Martinez (Oviedo, FL), Ironman placer and state champion Cody Johnson (Broken Arrow, OK), as well as former state placer Mark Meyer (Graham, OH). Knowles is the second seed and headlines the bottom half of the draw. His likely quarterfinal is against two-time Ironman placer, but zero-time state qualifier, Jason Gott (Elyria, OH). The other quarterfinal in the bottom half of the draw should place state champion Tavanello against Ironman and state placer Anthony Wise (Massillon Perry, OH). This matchup has played out many times -- virtually every time the score has either been 3-2 or the match has gone to overtime with Tavanello winning. Predicting a Finals Match: Hall (Meridian) over Knowles (Calvary Chapel) 285: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 5 Brooks Black (Blair Academy, NJ), No. 9 Doug Vollaro (Oviedo, FL), No. 19 Terrance Jean-Jacques (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Commentary: This is one of those weights where the absence of a specific wrestler can be truly felt, and that is the case with Junior National freestyle champion Greg Kuhar (St. Edward, OH) not entered in the tournament. Kuhar, ranked 11th in this weight class nationally, was a key contributor on the defensive line of a state title winning football team whose season ended last weekend. As for those competing, Cadet National and FILA Cadet double champion Black is the favorite. Last year, Black placed at both the Ironman and Beast as a freshman, and was runner-up at the National Prep Championships, he is currently the top ranked Class of 2013 wrestler in the country. His most formidable challenger should be Vollaro, a state champion who was runner-up to Black in all four major tournaments this spring/summer, Greco-Roman and freestyle at both the FILA Cadet and Cadet Nationals. Vollaro was also runner-up at the Preseason Nationals, losing to top-ranked Cody Krumwiede in the final. The two other contenders in this weight are Jean-Jacques, a New England Regional champion and NHSCA Junior National runner-up last year, and state champion Ross Burbank (Cox, VA). Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Levi Pickerel (Toledo Central Catholic, OH), backup to a state finalist last year, and state alternate Carlos Lugo (Akron SVSM, OH) Predicting a Finals Match: Black (Blair Academy) over Vollaro (Oviedo) Team: There are fifteen of the top fifty teams in the nation in this field, starting with four of the top eight: No. 2 Graham (OH), No. 3 Blair Academy (NJ), No. 5 St. Edward (OH), and No. 8 Wyoming Seminary (PA). However, of these teams only Graham comes into Ironman at perceived full strength. As discussed in the 119 pound preview, Evan Silver has been closed out of the Blair Academy lineup, which effects overall squad depth. After winning a state title in football this past weekend, St. Edward is without two starters in nationally ranked Kuhar and Cadet National freestyle All-American Dominic Abounader (160). Wyoming Seminary has seen National Prep medalist Garrett Hammond return to his home school, lost former Cadet freestyle All-American Matt Bilodeau due to injury, and will be without the services of double Junior National All-American Tyler Fraley (125) and NHSCA Sophomore National champion AJ Vizcarrando (215). Two of the few teams operating with all hands on deck are No. 17 Marmion Academy, IL and No. 23 Massillon Perry, OH. These two teams have quality depth across their lineups and could be legit threats for third place given the question marks across the field. No. 19 Montini Catholic, IL has their lone nationally ranked Kevon Powell (112/119) not entered in the tournament. Though No. 22 Selma, CA was only slated to send a partial squad, they bring even less than expected with nationally ranked Joey Lozano (160/171) and two-time state placer Nathan Zarate (145) out of the lineup. Other nationally-ranked teams in the tournament include No. 31 Cox (VA), No. 3 Christiansburg (VA), No. 34 Broken Arrow (OK), No. 36 Pittsburgh Central Catholic (PA), No. 43 Burrell (PA), No. 48 Wadsworth (OH), and No. 50 Oviedo (FL). Look for the team race to be very close between Graham and Blair Academy with the superior depth of the Graham squad making it the favorites to come home with the Ironman trophy for the second time in three years. St. Edward is my pick to finish in third, while the race for fourth is wide open.

AMES, Iowa -- Former Iowa State wrestler Andrew Long intends to transfer to Penn State to continue his collegiate wrestling career it was announced Wednesday. Long was the 125-pound runner-up for the Cyclones at the NCAA Championships in March. He finished the season with a 27-7 record. Andrew Long (Photo/Morgan Hennessy)“We gave Andrew a series of steps he needed to accomplish to rejoin our team,” Iowa State head coach Kevin Jackson said. “During that process, Andrew decided that he could best address those issues in a place where he would be starting over. We will honor his decision and support his efforts to address his personal issues.” Long was dismissed from the Iowa State wrestling team in June after violations of team rules. He is currently enrolled as a student at Iowa State. “I want to thank coach Jackson for his support while I have been here,” Long said. “We were working on a process through which I would be able to join the team for the second semester. As I worked through this process I came to the conclusion that I needed a chance to start over somewhere else. ” Andrew Long Kevin Jackson

BALTIMORE, MD -- The 2010 -11 Johns Hopkins Wrestling team has dedicated its season to taking down Autism. This year the Blue Jay wrestling team has partnered with the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute to create the "Take Down Autism Program". This program will raise awareness of autism and allow the wrestlers to raise money for CARD with each takedown they complete. Today the odds of a child being diagnosed with Autism is 1 in 110. Our goal is 110 takedowns during the dual meet season. The wrestlers will also be visiting students and volunteering their time at Kennedy Krieger Institute and local schools. The Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) at Kennedy Krieger Institute is a multi-faceted, multidisciplinary program for children with autism spectrum disorders and their family members. CARD combines research, clinical (assessment and intervention) services, as well as community outreach and training to help improve the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, their families, and the community who cares for them. CARD endorses a flexible approach to treatment, adjusting the core set of methods used and goals of intervention to meet the needs of each child and his or her family. We have created three levels so that everyone can help take down autism. Please click on the Take Down Autism Letter to find out how you can help or visit http://www.giving.jhu.edu/unlimited to make a donation online. Bronze Medal $ .20 for each takedown Total Donation: $22 Silver Medal $1.00 for each takedown Total Donation: $110 Gold Medal $10.00 for each takedown Total Donation: $1,100 Keep track of how many takedowns the Hopkins Wrestling team has during the season at http://www.hopkinssports.com or come out and watch Johns Hopkins Wrestling Take Down Autism. January 5, 2011 at 6:00 pm, Goldfarb Gym on the Homewood Campus January 29, 2011 at 1:00 pm, Goldfarb Gym on the Homewood Campus[cid:37CE88E1-BA45-4AF2-A65A-9FD9B53BF573]

THIS WEEK The seventh-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team (6-0) will travel to Cedar Falls to face Northern Iowa (4-3) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the West Gym. Tickets are $13 for adults and $8 for children, and are available at unipanthers.com. ON THE AIR Radio - Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time All-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and hawkeyesports.com. Live audio broadcasts from all events will be available online at hawkeyesports.com using the All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year). Television - The dual will be aired live on Iowa Public Television. Tim Johnson, former Hawkeye Head Coach Dan Gable and former Iowa State Head Coach Jim Gibbons will call the action. Internet - The 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling media guide, press releases, meet results, and audio broadcasts are available on the University of Iowa's website, hawkeyesports.com. Current wrestling staff and student-athlete head shots are available at pics.hawkeyesports.com. IOWA WINNING STREAKS Iowa has won 67 straight dual matches, which is a school record. The current streak started with a win over Cornell (32-3) on Jan. 12, 2008, which was the first match after Iowa lost to Oklahoma State (19-14) on Jan. 5. The 67-match winning streak ranks fourth-best in NCAA wrestling history behind three Oklahoma State streaks. The Cowboys won 76 straight duals from 1937-51, and had two 69-match streaks (1921-32 and 1996-99). The Hawkeyes have also won 43 consecutive duals on the road, which is also a school record. That streak started with a 20-13 win at Iowa State on Dec. 9, 2007. Iowa has also won its last 29 duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That streak, which ranks fourth-best in school history, started with a 27-13 win over Penn State on Jan. 20, 2008, which was also the first home match after the loss to the Cowboys. The school record is 55 (1/9/1977-12/18/1983). Against Big Ten foes, the Hawkeyes have won their last 28 duals, including 13 at home and 15 on the road. The 28 league duals rank second in school history, while the 13 home duals rank third and the 15 road duals rank fourth. Iowa's school record for consecutive Big Ten wins is 98 (12/13/1975-1/28/1989), while the records for Big Ten home wins is 63 (1/17/1975-1/3/1998) and road wins is 54 (1/19/1974-1/28/1989). NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS The University of Northern Iowa Panthers are 4-3 with wins over McKendree (34-9), Wisconsin-Parkside (34-6), Old Dominion (19-15) and Binghamton (18-15), and losses to Northwestern (6-26), Maryland (16-19) and Bloomsburg (14-18). Head Coach Doug Schwab, who is in his first year with the Panthers, served as an assistant coach at Iowa from 2006-07 to 2009-10. He was a three-time All-American and Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes from 1998-2001. He won the 1999 NCAA title at 141 pounds and finished his collegiate career with 130 wins, which ranks 10th-best in school history. Schwab is assisted by UNI alums Mark Schwab (1990) and Randy Pugh (2000), as well as former Hawkeye Joe Slaton and Nebraska alum Tolly Thompson (1997). The Panthers are led by junior heavyweight Christian Brantley, who is ranked 14th by WIN, 16th by Intermat and 17th by AWN with a 7-0 dual record. THE SERIES Iowa leads the series with Northern Iowa, 42-8-2. The Hawkeyes have won the last 35 meetings with the Panthers, and hold a 20-5-1 advantage in Cedar Falls. Iowa won the last meeting, 48-3, Dec. 10, 2009, in Iowa City. Northern Iowa's last win in the series was a 17-15 victory during the 1973-74 season. HAVEN'T WE MET? Following are past collegiate career results of potential Iowa-Northern Iowa match-ups: 125 - Matt McDonough (Iowa) is 1-0 vs. Caleb Flores (Northern Iowa) McDonough pinned Flores in 4:39 at 2009-10 dual 133 - Nate Moore (Iowa) is 4-0 vs. Ryan Jauch (Northern Iowa) Moore pinned Jauch in 1:39 at 2008 Northern Iowa Open Moore dec. Jauch, 15-8, at 2009 Brand Open Moore pinned Jauch in 4:00 at 2009 DuHawk Open Moore pinned Jauch in 2:42 at 2009-10 dual 133 - Tony Ramos (Iowa) is 1-0 vs. Ryan Jauch (Northern Iowa) Ramos dec. Jauch, 7-4, at 2010 DuHawk Open 141 - Mark Ballweg (Iowa) is 0-1 vs. Alec Hoffman (Northern Iowa) Hoffman maj. dec. Ballweg, 14-4, at 2008 Northern Iowa Open 174 - Ethen Lofthouse (Iowa) is 1-0 vs. Brice Wolf (Northern Iowa) Lofthouse dec. Wolf, 6-5, at 2010 Brand Open 184 - Grant Gambrall (Iowa) is 1-0 vs. Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa) Gambrall dec. Loder, 8-3 0 at 2010 Grand View Open Hwt. - Blake Rasing (Iowa) is 1-1 vs. Christian Brantley (Northern Iowa) Rasing dec. Brantley, 11-9 in TB-1, at 2007 Jim Fox Open Brantley dec. Rasing, 3-2, at 2009-10 dual LAST MEETING - IOWA 48, NORTHERN IOWA 3 The top-ranked Hawkeyes (9-0) recorded six pins and three major decisions en route to a 48-3 win over Northern Iowa (3-4) Dec. 9, 2009, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 45-point victory margin was Iowa's largest in the 79-year series. The Hawkeyes collected 29 takedowns on the evening, allowing just one for the Panthers. Hawkeye redshirt freshmen Matt McDonough (125) and Nate Moore (133), sophomore Montell Marion (141) and senior Brent Metcalf (149) gave the Hawkeyes a convincing 24-0 lead with their pins. Moore, who was filling in for senior starter Daniel Dennis, made the most of his dual meet debut by scoring a first-period pin over Ryan Jauch in 2:42. Marion, who was also making his first dual appearance in a Hawkeye singlet, built a 6-2 lead over Trent Washington before decking him in 3:28. Junior Aaron Janssen took Iowa into the intermission with an 11-1 major decision over Tyson Reiner at 157. Seniors Ryan Morningstar (165) and Jay Borschel (174) got the Hawkeye fans back on their feet with second-period pins, giving Iowa a 40-0 lead. Morningstar led 1-0 going into the third period before recording the fall over David Bonin in 5:32. Borschel had a 5-0 lead over Jarion Beets before recording the pin in 4:44 to pick up his 70th career win. Major decisions from seniors Phillip Keddy (184) and Chad Beatty (197) built the Hawkeye lead to 48-0. Keddy recorded the most takedowns of the night (6) in his 14-5 win over Andy O'Loughlin, while Beatty tallied five takedowns in his 15-5 victory over Dustin Bauman. Northern Iowa's Christian Brantley recorded the Panther's only win and takedown of the night, scoring a 3-2 decision over Hawkeye sophomore Blake Rasing at heavyweight to end the dual. Iowa 48, Northern Iowa 3 125 - Matt McDonough (I) pinned Caleb Flores (UNI), 4:38 133 - Nate Moore (I) pinned Ryan Jauch (UNI), 2:42 141 - Montell Marion (I) pinned Trent Washington (UNI), 3:28 149 - Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Trevor Kittleson (UNI), 3:49 157 - Aaron Janssen (I) maj. dec. Tyson Reiner (UNI), 11-1 165 - Ryan Morningstar (I) pinned David Bonin (UNI), 5:32 174 - Jay Borschel (I) pinned Jarion Beets (UNI), 4:44 184 - Phillip Keddy (I) maj. dec. Andy O'Loughlin (UNI), 14-5 197 - Chad Beatty (I) maj. dec. Dustin Bauman (UNI), 15-5 Hwt. - Christian Brantley (UNI) dec. Blake Rasing (I), 3-2 HAWKEYES BEAT IOWA STATE, MICHIGAN STATE Iowa kept its 67-match winning streak intact with a 22-13 victory over #14 Iowa State Friday night and a 29-10 win over Michigan State Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The sixth-ranked Hawkeyes improved to 6-0 on the season, while handing the Cyclones (4-1) and Spartans (4-1) their first dual losses. Against Iowa State, the Hawkeyes used wins at six weights - including four major decisions - to post its seventh-straight win over Iowa State, and it's 30th over the Cyclones in Iowa City. The win also gave Iowa a 7-6 edge in the 2010-11 Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series. A crowd of 13,378 saw the Hawkeyes record their 28th straight win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That attendance total ranks ninth in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history, and is the 15th largest dual crowd in NCAA history. At the intermission, officials from both schools announced the creation of the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy, which will be presented to the winner of the intrastate rival each year. Highlights for Iowa included Mark Ballweg's 3-1 upset over Cyclone senior Chris Drouin at 141, as well as major decisions from sophomores Matt McDonough (125) and Grant Gambrall (184) and redshirt freshmen Tony Ramos (133) and Derek St. John (157). Ballweg, who was not ranked, took Drouin, who was ranked 11th in the nation by Intermat, 13th by WIN and 19th by AWN, down with 11 seconds left in the bout for the win. Iowa opened the 2010-11 Big Ten season against the Spartans, winning seven bouts on the night. The Hawkeyes came out strong in front of 6,031 fans, scoring two pins and second-period technical fall to take a 17-0 lead. McDonough recorded his first pin of the season, sticking Eric Olanowski in 3:48 at 125. Ramos accumulated eight nearfall points and scored three takedowns to defeat Josh Harper, 16-1 in 5:13. Ballweg followed by scrambling off his back and pinning Joel Trombly in 2:05. St. John, senior Jake Kerr (165), Gambrall and senior Luke Lofthouse (197) each recorded decisions. Gambrall led 1-0 early in the second period of his match with Ian Hinton when both wrestlers were awarded one point for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Hawkeye sophomore kept his cool and rode Hinton the entire third period to post the 3-1 win. WRESTLERS CROWN FOUR CHAMPIONS AT NORTHERN IOWA OPEN The Hawkeyes sent 16 competitors to Saturday's Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, crowning four individual champions and 12 placewinners. Senior Aaron Janssen won the 165-pound title for the Hawkeyes, while true freshmen Michael Kelly (157), Mike Evans (174) and Bobby Telford (Hwt.) each won titles while competing unattached. Iowa's other placewinners included junior Vinnie Wagner (184-2nd), redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino (133-4th) and Tomas Lira (184-5th), and true freshmen Ethan Owens (141-6th), Jake Ballweg (149-3rd), Nick Moore (157-3rd), Walt Gillmor (165-3rd) and Jeremy Fahler (174-6th). All of Iowa's true freshmen were competing unattached. IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY Iowa's overall dual meet record is 881-215-30 (.796) in 101 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 51 NCAA champions have won a total of 78 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 15 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 102 Big Ten champions have won a total of 186 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 140 all-Americans have earned all-America status 286 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 37 two-time honorees. PARDON OUR PROGRESS! As friends of the UI and fans of the Hawkeyes know, the UI Athletics Department is well into a multi-million dollar revitalization of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. This important and exciting project has reduced for this season the number of ticket windows that are operational on game nights. Fans attending Iowa's home wrestling are invited to avoid meet night delays by purchasing their event tickets online or in advance. If your schedule doesn't allow for an advance purchase, we recommend you consider arriving at the arena a little earlier than originally planned. The North entrance is no longer accessible from the outside of the facility. Fans can enter and purchase tickets at the West and South entrances. Arena doors will open 90 minutes before an event. The East entrance will serve as the event pass gate. USA WRESTLING ANNOUNCES 2012 OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS BIDS USA Wrestling has received seven proposal packets from bid cities and their potential local organizing committees to jointly host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling and Weightlifting. The target date for the event is the weekend of April 20-21, 2012. Each bid proposal includes hosting both the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling and Weightlifting. The wrestling event will feature competition in the three Olympic styles of the sport - men's freestyle, Greco-Roman and women's freestyle. The weightlifting event will include both men's and women's weight divisions. The competition will determine the U.S. athletes in both sports who will qualify to represent the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. Listed alphabetically below are the bid cities, with the organizations which have submitted the bid, along with the proposed arena where the event might be held: Columbus, OH (Greater Columbus Sports Commission - Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center); Council Bluffs, IA (Council Bluffs Convention & Visitor Bureau & Council Bluffs Olympic Trials Committee (Iowa) - Mid-America Center); Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Sports Commission - Greensboro Coliseum Complex); Hampton, VA (Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau - Hampton Coliseum); Iowa City, IA (University of Iowa Athletics Department and Iowa City/Coralville Area Convention & Visitors Bureau - Carver Hawkeye Arena); Oklahoma City, OK (Oklahoma City All Sports Association and Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau - Cox Arena); Pontiac, MI (Triple Sports & Entertainment, LLC/Silverdome Venue - The Silverdome). The group of seven bid cities will be reduced to between three and four finalist bids, with an announcement from USA Wrestling and USA Weightlifting expected on Dec. 20. The organizing committees selected as finalists will be invited to make an in-person presentation on behalf of their bid during the week of Jan. 10-14, 2011. A committee will review the finalist bid presentations. The committee will include USA Wrestling staff and athletes, as well as representatives from USA Weightlifting. An announcement on the bid selected to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling and Weightlifting is targeted for Jan. 17, 2011. This will be the second consecutive Olympic quadrennium in which USA Wrestling will partner with another National Governing Body within the Olympic family to hold the U.S. Olympic Team Trials side-by-side. In 2008, USA Wrestling partnered with USA Judo for a joint U.S. Olympic Team Trials event. Since USA Wrestling became the sport's National Governing Body for the sport in 1983, eight different cities have hosted the U.S. Olympic Team Trials event. In 1992 and 1996, the final U.S. Olympic Team Trials event for wrestling was split into two events, with men's freestyle in one city and Greco-Roman in another city. Women's freestyle wrestling was added to the event in 2004, after the International Olympic Committee included the discipline for the first time in the Olympic program at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. INTERVIEW POLICIES & PROCEDURES Members of the Hawkeye wrestling team and coaching staff are available for interviews Tuesday afternoons from 2:40-3:25 p.m. in the Field House Practice Facility. If you are interested in scheduling an interview outside that time, please contact Assistant Sports Information Director Traci Wagner at 319-430-6349. ALL IN THE FAMILY On the 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling team, there are three sets of brothers, two wrestlers whose fathers wrestled at Iowa and two uncle-nephew combinations. Senior Matt Ballweg (157), sophomore Mark Ballweg (133/141) and freshman Jacob Ballweg (141) are brothers who hail from Waverly. They are the fifth set of three brothers to wrestle at Iowa, and the third set to be on the roster at the same time. The other sets of three brothers to compete for the Hawkeyes are Ed Banach, Lou Banach and Steve Banach; Marty Kistler, Harlan Kistler and Lindley Kistler; Mike Uker, Ben Uker and Joe Uker; and Lenny Zalesky, Larry Zalesky and Jim Zalesky. Junior Stew Gillmor (149/157) and freshman Walt Gillmor (165) are brothers from Donahue, while sophomore Nate Moore (133) and freshman Nick Moore (157/165) are brothers from Iowa City. Sophomore Matt McDonough (125/133) and redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino have fathers who wrestled for the Hawkeyes. Mike McDonough wrestled at Iowa from 1974-76, while Mark Trizzino was an all-American (1984) and four-year letterwinner (1981-84) for the Hawkeyes. Senior Luke Lofthouse (197) is the uncle of Hawkeye redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse (174). Nick Trizzino's uncle, Scott Trizzino, was a three-time all-American (1978-79-81) and four-time letterwinner (1977-79, 1981) for the Hawkeyes. WRESTLING SUMMER CAMPS For dates and more information about 2011 Iowa Wrestling Summer camps visit www.iowawrestlingcamps.com. CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Mike Zadick, Kurt Backes and Danny Song earned a total of one Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze medal, five NCAA titles, nine conference titles and 12 All-America honors. UP NEXT The Hawkeyes (6-0) will try for their 22nd Midlands title Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, IL. The defending team champion, Iowa has won the most team titles (21) in the 46 years of the meet. All matches will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Northwestern's campus.

OREM, Utah -- Northern Iowa 184-pounder Ryan Loder (Granite Bay, Calif./Granite Bay HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced Tuesday by the league. Loder picked up his first tournament title of the 2010 season, claiming the 184‑pound title at the UNI Open. The redshirt freshman finished the day with a perfect 4‑0 record including three wins by fall. Loder picked up a 6‑2 decision over Timmy McCall (Wisconsin) before pinning Iowa’s Tomas Lira in 5:52. The Granite Bay, Calif. native continued to roll, pinning Missouri’s Westin Keleher in 6:30 before taking the title with a pin over Iowa’s Vinnie Wagner in 6:54. The conference award is Loder's first of his career. The Western Wrestling Conference, which is in its fifth year of competition, is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Other Nominees: Air Force: Cole VonOhlen, 141 pounds, SO, Jackson, Minn. (Jackson County Central HS) North Dakota State: Vince Salminen, 157 pounds, SR, Billings, Mont. (Skyview HS) Northern Colorado: Brandon Kammerzell, 174 pounds (usually 165), JR, Eaton, Colo. (Eaton HS) Utah Valley: Ben Kjar, 125 pounds, SR, Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS) Wyoming: Joe LeBlanc, 184 pounds, JR, Meeker, Colo. (Meeker HS) 2010-11 WWC Wrestlers of the Week Nov. 16 – Cole Dallaserra (Wyoming)/Cole VonOhlen (Air Force) Nov. 24 - Cole Dallaserra (Wyoming/Flint Ray (Utah Valley) Dec. 1 - Vince Salminen (North Dakota State) Dec. 7 - Ryan Loder (Northern Iowa)

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Mike Letts has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week for the second consecutive week, the league office announced Tuesday. Letts, a senior, won the 174-pound title at the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday by going 6-0, including a 9-4 decision over No. 14 Ed Ruth of Penn State. Letts, currently ranked eighth by Intermat, is 3-1 against top-15 opponents. The Parkesburg, Pa., native started the open tournament with a 16-0 technical fall over Virginia Tech’s Angel Malvestuto followed by a 10-2 major decision over Shane Stark of Lehigh. After topping J.C. Oddo of Citadel, 3-1, Letts advanced to the finals thanks to a decision over Rutgers’ Alex Caruso, ranked No. 20 by AWN Magazine. On the season, Letts is 15-1 with his only loss coming in overtime to then-No. 8 Tyler Caldwell of Oklahoma. Maryland has won three of the five ACC Wrestler of the Week awards this season. Josh Asper won the award on Nov. 16. Letts is expected to take on No. 15 Ryan Patrovich this weekend when the Terps travel to Hofstra for a duals meet.

Youth Movement at Ray Oliver Invitational Though the field lacked the cache of having a plethora of nationally-ranked teams and wrestlers, one could have came to The McDonogh School to identify the stars of the future. Five freshmen emerged as weight class champions in a tournament that had remarkable balance among the 21-team field. Nine schools had a champion, and no school came home with more than two wrestlers standing on top of the podium. Coming off an off-season marked by multiple major injuries, Jack Clark (McDonogh, Maryland) made his returning to competitive wrestling with a championship at 130 pounds. Ranked third among all wrestlers in the Class of 2013, the FILA Cadet freestyle champion navigated through close matches against two National Prep placers and a Beast of the East runner-up. In Friday's quarterfinal round, Clark knocked off Daniel Sanchez (Georgetown Prep), who finished fifth at National Preps, by a 4-3 score. He then defeated Beast of the East runner-up Tyler Pendergast (St. Mark's, Delaware), 7-4. In the championship final, it was a pin at the 6:20 mark in overtime against Shane Arechiga (Good Counsel, Maryland), who was sixth at National Preps after taking seventh at the Beast of the East. Another freshman champion was Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Maryland) who won his three matches prior to the final at 215 by fall, fall, and 17-5 major decision. In the championship final, he earned a 3-1 victory against state runner-up Joey Spicer (Sussex Central, Delaware). Older brother Stephen Snyder was champion at 285 pounds. Team champions Archbishop Spalding, Maryland, were anchored by two champions -- freshman Logan Breitenbach at 125 pounds and No. 15 (at 140) Charlie Lynch at 145 pounds. The squad also had three other finalists, as finishing in second place were Michael Still at 103 pounds, Brady Gaynor at 135 pounds, and K.K. Smith at 189 pounds. They also had a wrestler take home third and fifth place honors in totaling 182-1/2 points as a team. Finishing in second, also with seven placers, was Caesar Rodney, Delaware. Freshman Micah Hight and senior Issah Meade were champions for the Riders at 112 and 160 pounds respectively. Three others finished in third, two in fifth, as the squad totaled 169-1/2 points. Despite having a tournament high eight placers, anchored by their lone champion freshman Brent Fleetwood at 103 pounds, it was not enough for Smyrna, Delaware, to rise up above third in the standings. Other placers for Smyrna were John Archangelo, second at 112 pounds, with two wrestlers in third and fifth and a single wrestler taking fourth and sixth respectively. Other weight class champions included: Paul O'Neil (Gonzaga, DC) at 119 pounds, John McClanahan (Great Bridge, Virginia) at 135 pounds, the duo of Josh Snook and Michael Mauk for St. Mark's, Delaware at 171 and 189 pounds, and a pair of wrestlers from Sussex Central, Delaware, in Cody Broomall at 145 and No. 3 Codey Combs at 152 pounds. Combs was named Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament. Top-ranked team showcases its depth at Keith Young Invitational Without the presence of two nationally-ranked wrestlers -- Brandon Kingsley at 140 and Steven Keogh at 160 - Apple Valley, Minnesota, still dominated an elite field of Iowa teams at the Keith Young Invitational hosted by Cedar Falls High School. With five champions, three other finalists, and placing all but one wrestler inside the top six, the Eagles scored 273-1/2 points. Though also with five champions, No. 11 Waverly-Shell Rock only had three other placers in totaling 214 points. Tied for third were No. 12 Bettendorf and Denver Tripoli, which was last year's Class 2A state champion, with 147-1/2 points. The Class 1A state champions of last year, Don Bosco, finished in sixth with 121-1/2 points. Two of the five champions for Apple Valley defeated a fellow nationally-ranked wrestler to win their weight class; No. 1 Destin McCauley earned a 12-3 major decision against No. 7 Cody Caldwell of Waverly Shell-Rock at 152 pounds, while No. 20 Dakota Trom pinned No. 15 Brandon Sorensen (Denver-Tripoli) in 1:59. That result was the first loss of Sorensen's high school career after an undefeated freshman season. Also earning titles for the Eagles were No. 7 Matt Kelliher at 135 pounds, Daniel Woiwor at 145 pounds, and No. 6 Jake Waste who won his title at 171 pounds in the tiebreaker. Anchoring the Go-Hawks effort was Cody Krumwiede, who is ranked No. 1 in the nation at 285 pounds. With four pins in the tournament, including one in the final against No. 12 Brody Berrie (Bettendorf) at the 3:37 mark, Krumwiede now has 100 such outcomes in his career. Other Waverly-Shell Rock champions were Andrew Steiert at 103 pounds, No. 16 Eric Devos at 119 pounds, Tanner Werner at 125 pounds, and Jordan Rinken at 140 pounds. Despite being without the services of three two-time state placers, and finishing without a champion, Bettendorf still showed their tremendous depth in placing nine wrestlers. That was the second most in the tournament. Finishing as runners-up were Nate Shaw at 189 pounds and No. 12 Brodie Berrie at 285 pounds. Those out of the lineup were two-time state runner-up Connor Ryan at 125 pounds, state champion No. 10 Bo Schlosser at 140 pounds, and Dominic Chase at 152 pounds. Affirming that depth, "backup" wrestler Taylor Wickett is a returning state placer finished third at 140 pounds, one of three wrestlers to do so. Denver-Tripoli tied for third place with a pair of champions, Garrett Smith at 160 pounds and No. 13 Dylan Peters who defeated No. 19 Jordan Kingsley of Apple Valley 6-2 at 112 pounds. Sorensen was a runner-up, while four other wrestlers earned placement honors. Rounding out the weight class champions were Jared Bartel (Mason City) at 189 pounds and Connor Herman (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) at 215 pounds. 'Super Seven' rules Cougar Invite for Brandon No. 4 Brandon dominated a field that featured two other nationally-ranked teams -- No. 23 Springstead and No. 50 Collins Hill, Georgia -- along with five other teams that finished inside the top five of their state tournaments last year. Going seven-for-seven in championship bouts, the Eagles scored a total of 293 points. Those champions were No. 13 (at 130) Kevin Norstrem winning the 125-pound weight class, No. 8 (at 125) Rossi Bruno winning the 130-pound weight class 2-1 in the ultimate tiebreaker, No. 6 Tyler Liberatore wining 3-1 in overtime at 135 pounds, No. 10 Clark Glass at 152 pounds and earning Outstanding Wrestler honors for upper-weights, No. 8 Wally Figaro at 160 pounds, Kyle Koziel at 171 pounds, and Michael Ettore at 189 pounds. Another pair of Brandon wrestlers placed third, while yet another pair finished fifth. On the strength of their overall depth, which manifested itself in wrestling through the quarterfinals, Collins Hill scored 213 points to distance itself from the rest of the field. Their lone champion was Nick Holbert at 215 pounds. Four others for Collins Hill finished in second place: Sean Russell lost a narrow 3-2 decision to Richie Bliss at 103 pounds, Drew Ferguson-Mitchell lost 3-2 at 112 pounds, Bazell Patridge was runner-up at 125 pounds, while Mac Bennett lost a 5-3 match at 189 pounds. Four other wrestlers earned top six placements to give the squad a total of nine on the podium; one in third, two in fifth, and one in sixth. Finishing third in this stellar field was Springstead with 191 points, which was close to 60 points ahead of fourth place Winter Springs. Six wrestlers from this squad made it to the championship match, where they split the matches. Champions were No. 3 Richie Bliss at 103 pounds, Cody Ross at 140 pounds, and John Dreggors at 285 pounds. Runners-up were Virgil Toms at 130 pounds, Nick Soto at 135 pounds, and Shawn Landgraff at 160 pounds. Rounding out the champions at the Cougar Invitational were Dalton Langford (Riverdale) at 112 pounds, No. 14 Earl Hall (South Dade) at 119 pounds who was named Outstanding Wrestler among the lower weights, and No. 9 Pete Baldwin (Osceola) at 145 pounds. Another Hawkeye State showdown Last weekend at the Keith Young Invitational, the field included all three Iowa state champions, national No. 1 Apple Valley (Minnesota), and four other teams ranked in the top ten of Iowa's big-school division. The season's second weekend brings about another showcase event in Iowa -- the 19th annual Five Seasons Duals, which are co-hosted by Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington. Five of the top eight teams in Iowa's big-school division appear in the fifteen team dual meet bracketed tournament. Bracket chart link is here, http://www.scribd.com/doc/44605568/2010-5-Season-s-Pairings-Poster. This includes the three top teams, all of which appear in the top 15 of the InterMat Fab 50 rankings: No. 11 Waverly-Shell Rock, No. 12 Bettendorf, and No. 14 Iowa City West. Bettendorf is opposite of the other two "big three" teams, and have the easier overall path, with only Mason City realistically standing in the way as a semifinal opponent; Mason City ranked seventh in Iowa's big-school division. Iowa City West and Waverly-Shell Rock are slated to meet in the other semifinal match, though Iowa City West would have to get past a quarterfinal match against Urbandale after a first round bye; Urbandale is ranked eighth in the big-school division. The 15-team field features seven wrestlers ranked first in their weight class during the preseason for Iowa's big-school division, according to The Predicament. Another ten wrestlers are ranked second in the big-school division, with another ranked second in the medium-school division. Eight wrestlers are nationally ranked (*). 103: Andrew Steiert (Waverly-Shell Rock) 112: Colby Knight (Urbandale) 119: Eric Devos (Waverly-Shell Rock)* 125: Connor Ryan (Bettendorf), Jack Hathaway (Iowa City West)* 130: Alex Hernandez (Bettendorf), Jesse Etherington (Charles City) 135: Grady Gambrall (Iowa City West) 140: Bo Schlosser (Bettendorf)*, Elijah Sullivan (Iowa City West)* 145: Gabe Moreno (Urbandale) 152: Cody Caldwell (Waverly-Shell Rock)*, Britt Thompson (Iowa City West) 160: Justin Koethe (Iowa City West)* 171: Travis Mallo (Mason City) 189: Jared Bartel (Mason City) 285: Cody Krumwiede (Waverly-Shell Rock)*, Brody Berrie (Bettendorf)* Terrific Tulsa Mid-America Nationals field Tulsa, Oklahoma will be home to a formidable field of 30 schools from three states this coming weekend. Anchoring the tournament is a trio of nationally-ranked teams: No. 18 Tulsa Union, Oklahoma, No. 21 Claremore, Oklahoma, and No. 25 Allen, Texas. Tuttle, Oklahoma joins Claremore and Allen in this field as teams that won state championships during the prior season. Seven nationally-ranked wrestlers are present in the field, including a pair of wrestlers at 112 and 152 pounds. Freshman sensation No. 12 Gary Wayne Harding (Collinsville, Oklahoma) and two-time state champion No. 15 Calib Freeman (Claremore, Oklahoma) lead a field at 112 pounds that also includes Junior National freestyle All-American Justin Lombardo (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma). A pair of InterMat Top 100 Class of 2011 prospects anchor the 152-pound weight class - No. 12 Ryne Cokeley (St. James Academy, KS) and No. 13 Jeromy Davenport (Sallisaw, Oklahoma). Also in this weight class is two-time state placer Kyle Ash (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma). Yet another Top 100 Class of 2011 prospect Taylor Moeder (St. James Academy, KS) is ranked 14th nationally, and could have a terrific finals matchup at 140 pounds with two-time state champion Nick Haugen (Claremore, Oklahoma). The 145-pound weight class is led by a pair of super sophomores, both winning state titles as freshmen, No. 17 Oliver Pierce (Allen, Texas) and Zach Beard (Tuttle, Oklahoma). Junior National double All-American Kyle Crutchmer (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma) is ranked ninth in the nation at 160 pounds, and could see state champion Dylan Ussrey (East Central, Oklahoma) in the championship match. The 119-pound weight class features a pair of wrestlers from the Class of 2014 that rank in the top 20 nationally, Bo Nickal (Allen, Texas) and Cadet National freestyle All-American Will Steltzen (Collinsville, Oklahoma). In addition, this bracket could also include two-time state champion Josh Walker (Tulsa Union, Oklahoma). Six seek repeat War on the Shore Some of the best wrestlers in the mid-atlantic region of the United States will be battling it out at the War on the Shore Invitational hosted by Stephen Decatur High School at the Wicomico Youth and Center in Ocean City, Maryland. Thirty-two teams from four states and Washington, D.C. constitute the field, which features six wrestlers seeking to defend titles they earned last year. Thomas Payne (Poquoson, Virginia) won the 103-pound weight class last year and enters the tournament favored to do so at 112 pounds. Charlie Lynch (Archbishop Spalding, Maryland) is ranked 15th at 140 pounds, won last weekend's Ray Oliver Invitational at 145 pounds, and is projected to compete at either 145 or 152 this coming week. Should he be at 152 pounds, that would place him in the same weight as another defending champion -- Codey Combs (Sussex Central, Delaware), who is ranked third nationally in this weight class. Lynch and Combs are but two of the formidable names that will populate the 145 and 152-pound weight classes. Two-time National Prep medalist Brady Massaro (Mt. St. Joseph's, Maryland), state runner-up last year as a freshman Anthony Cimirosi (Rising Sun, Maryland), and multi-time state champion Ron Vaughters (Old Mill, Maryland) are also slated to be in this area of the field. Codey Combs is one of three Sussex central wrestlers seeking to defend tournament championships. Joey Spicer seeks a repeat championship in the 215-pound weight class, while Jay Matheus did not wrestle in the Ray Oliver Invitational this past weekend, but if competing would be wrestling at either 160 or 171 pounds. Finally, KK Smith (Archbishop Spalding, Maryland) is favored to repeat in the 189-pound weight class. Though Spicer is a defending champion in this event, he is not the favorite in this weight class, as he lost in the Ray Oliver final to freshman sensation Kyle Snyder (Good Counsel, Maryland). A rematch is highly likely during the course of this tournament. A third nationally-ranked wrestler, Nathan Kraisser (Centennial, Maryland) is present in this tournament field. Ranked 10th nationally, Kraisser will find himself challenged by National Prep medalist Paul O'Neill (Gonzaga, DC) and Beast of the East placer Chris Donaldson (Salesanium, Delaware). Two other featured weight classes in this tournament are those at 130 and 285 pounds. Three-time state champion and Kent State signee Kyle Bauer (Wheeling Park, West Virginia) is the headline wrestler at 130 pounds. However, two-time National Prep medalist Shane Arechiga (Good Counsel, Maryland) and National Prep medalist Tito Onyekweli (DeMatha, Marylad) stand in his way of a championship. The 285-pound weight class features both returning Delaware state finalists --Wayne Purnell (Salesanium) and Katteem Harmon (Indian River) -- as well as Ray Oliver Invitational champion Stephen Snyder (Good Counsel, Maryland). Cox over Christiansburg at Hopewell Classic Despite five champions at the Hopewell Classic, No. 32 Christiansburg finished in second place to No. 35 Cox in a field that featured seventeen teams exclusively from Virginia. Champions for the Blue Demons were Kyle Dulaney at 103 pounds, J.R. Wert at 112 pounds, No. 11 Joey Dance at 119 pounds, Logan Bosley at 140 pounds, and Ryan Wade at 171 pounds. Two other wrestlers took second, while one took fifth, as Christiansburg totaled 246-1/2 points. It was superior depth ruling the day for Cox, as they had nine finishers inside the top three to end up with 285 points overall. Champions were No. 7 Brandon Jeske at 130 pounds, No. 14 Henry Carlson at 145 pounds, and Ross Burbank at 285 pounds. Another trio of wrestlers was runners-up, another trio in third place, while it was a single wrestler in fourth and a pair in fifth. The featured bout of the finals had a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers competing for the title at 152 pounds, No. 17 (at 160) David Wesley of St. Christopher's defeated No. 10 (at 145) Blake Roulo 5-3 in the tiebreaker. Caravan Falls to pair of nationally-ranked teams Over the weekend No. 30 Mount Carmel, Illinois did battle with a pair of nationally-ranked teams. The Caravan fell short in both dual matches -- falling to defeat against No. 18 Marmion Academy, Illinois, 54-20 on Thursday evening and No. 20 Montini Catholic, Illinois, 32-24 on Saturday. Catching up with Oklahoma Open A listing of championship and consolation finals results: http://web.me.com/short.bits/ITW_Results_2010-11/OK_Open.html Fab 50 team rankings updated The second Fab 50 of the season was posted today. The following notable movements occurred: Oviedo, Florida drops from No. 17 to No. 50. State champion, multiple-time national tournament placer, and nationally-ranked Jay Taylor transferred to Burrell, Pennsylvania. In addition, the Lions lost an early season dual to South Dade, Florida. Springstead, Florida drops from No. 23 to No. 30 after a third place finish at the Cougar Invitational -- Brandon, Florida won the tournament with Collins Hill, Georgia finishing in second place. Mount Carmel, Illinois falls out of the rankings from No. 30 after being blown out in dual meets by Minooka, Illinois and Marmion Academy, Illinois as well as losing to Montini Catholic, Illinois. Christiansburg, Virginia and Cox, Virginia essentially swaps positions in the rankings after Cox finished first with Christiansburg second at the Hopewell Classic. Cox goes from No. 35 to No. 31, with Christiansburg sliding down one position from No. 32 to No. 33. Glenbard North, Illinois is one of two new teams to the rankings, moving in all the way to No. 29 after a dominating championship at the Conant Invitational, a field that included No. 35 Crystal Lake Central, Illinois. The Panthers also blew out No. 44 Minooka, Illinois, in an early season dual meet. Burrell, Pennsylvania is the other addition to the rankings. Their stock was boosted by the move in of Jay Taylor, which bolsters a squad that already had five state tournament medalists on the roster. Blue Springs, Missouri also dropped out of the rankings falling from the No. 49 position.

In the high desert town of Victorville, California's top community college wrestlers will do battle this weekend for the state championship. Victor Valley College will play host to what should be the coronation of the Fresno City College Rams as champions. But things in the desert are not always as they seem. Campaigns in this hostile and unforgiving environment can just as easily be triumphant like T.E. Lawrence and the Battle of Aqaba, or end in bitter disappointment like Rommel in North Africa. Fresno City has used great depth in their lineup to wear down all competitors, while in turn getting stronger as the campaign nears its end. At last week's North Regionals, Fresno had an astounding nine finalists and crowned seven champions. The championship trophy is within their sight, but in the desert you need to guard against chasing a mirage. The 125 weight class should provide plenty of fireworks. Estevan Cabanas of Cerritos was the dominant wrestler, until losing a close match to Fresno's Chris Padilla at the State Dual Championship. A rematch is possible in the semifinals. Padilla's second place finish at regionals placed him and Cabanas on the same side. The bottom half of the bracket features Delta's David Sok and West Hills' A. J. Jaramillo. Shasta's Gonzalez and Santa Rosa's Pilgrim should provide a strong test for the contenders. Fresno City's Tigran Adzhemyan lifts Cerritos' Eric Sauvageau at the State Dual Championship (Photo/John Sachs)Fresno City's Marty Rubalcaba has been the dominant wrestler all season at 133. His superior technical skills and strength should carry him through to the finals. The bottom half of the bracket should be very competitive with Alex Perez of West Hills, Charlie Seang of Delta, and Chabot's Alex Williams leading the charge. Any journey through the desert is full of danger and surprise. Deadly snakes and poisonous spiders lurk at every turn. The finalists at 141 will have to be at their most vigilant from the first whistle. This weight class should provide the tournament's most competitive quarter finals. Strength and speed are the hallmarks of the 149 weight class. The strength and size of Sierra's Marquez Ford, Sac City's Anthony Harris, and Santa Rosa's Wesley Young will be put to the test by the quickness and cunning of the likes of Fresno's Conrad Rangel, Mt. San Antonio's Chris Abeyta, and Victor Valley's Jimmy Arazia. At 157 Eric Lopez of Victor Valley leads the way. Jake Shilling of Fresno is fresh off an impressive performance at the North Regionals. Sierra's Tyler Johnson, Mt. SAC's Taylor Sare, and Cody Bollinger of Cerritos will be strong contenders. Early in the season 165 looked to be the toughest weight class in the State. Nothing has happened since to alter that view. The top four wrestlers should make safe passage to the oasis of the semi-finals, with Tigran Adzhemyan, Fresno City versus Dustin Rocha, West Hills and Eric Sauvageau, Cerritos meeting Vlad Dombrovskiy from Sierra. Similar to the 149 weight class, 174 is loaded with talent. Sam Temko of Skyline College has dispatched all comers this year, but an injury default in the finals last week puts Sam on the same side as the South-1, A. J. Smith of Bakersfield. A deep field competes on the bottom half of the bracket, led by Fresno's Martin Fabbian. Picture your hard working, blue collar, tough guys at 184. There are very few first period pins in this weight class. Grueling, hard fought seven-minute matches will be the norm. Regional winners Jesse Hellinger of Sac City and Sean Dougherty of Cuesta need to avoid the quicksand if they hope to survive to the finals. At 197 the top four seeds should march through to the semifinals. Brad Carls, Bakersfield and Marco Delgado, Modesto should rendezvous on the top half of the bracket. Mario Delgado, Cerritos and Jordan Williams, Sierra are the highest seeds in the bottom half. Lucas Keene of Fresno City is capable of making some big noise and might benefit from a Fresno City sirocco. If there is anything that can be considered a shoo-in it would be the heavyweight finalists. Jose Lopez of Cerritos and Luis Contreras of Fresno City have been on a collision course for the State Finals, but the beauty of heavyweight wrestling is its unpredictability. The team title is Fresno City's to lose. The race for second and third should be spectacular. Sac City, Cerritos, and Sierra are favored; but Mt. SAC and West Hills will press hard to make themselves known. Journeys that began in the late summer heat, now come to a dramatic conclusion in the California desert.

Wrestling bills itself as "the oldest and greatest sport." Yet, sadly, too many wrestlers, coaches and fans have little understanding of the history of wrestling, and the famous individuals who have participated in the sport. Richard White has set about to correct that situation with Wrestlers in History: Real People and Legends. This new 246-page book, published by Westview, Inc., tells the stories of an incredible variety of individuals who have wrestled, from figures from mythology, to military leaders, to U.S. Presidents and corporate CEOs. Meet the author Richard White has an interesting history of his own. Born in northwest Indiana 85 years ago, White was introduced to wrestling at Roosevelt High in East Chicago, Indiana. White then headed south to Terre Haute, where he did his undergraduate studies at Indiana State. During White's time at ISU during World War II, the school did not have a wrestling program ... but White competed in an AAU (American Athletic Union) tournament in Indianapolis, where he placed third in the heavyweight bracket. Continuing in the world of academia, White later earned a Ph.D. in physiology, and taught medical students at the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee for 44 years. So how did White come to write Wrestlers in History? "My interest in writing a book came from Don Sayenga, the wrestling historian," White said in an interview with InterMat. "Reading his work 30 years ago in Amateur Wrestling News, I called Don to talk about Teddy Roosevelt and his involvement with wrestling. That gave me the idea that I should write a book about the history of wrestling." White may have known he'd be destined to write such a book even earlier. "Since high school I collected books and magazines about wrestling and wrestling history, along with books from ancient times," said White. (That's nearly 70 years worth of materials.) White's quest to obtain knowledge about wrestling knew no bounds. In his research trips to nine countries over the years, White acquired books on wrestling, and visited various sites of interest to fans of the sport, including the Tokyo Museum of Sumo Wrestling, and the home of early 1900s professional wrestling champ George Hackenschmidt. "I thought there would be general interest in a comprehensive history of wrestling," White continued. "There are other books that have taken on this subject in different ways -- Graeme Kent's 1968 book, Pictorial History of Wrestling, and Mike Chapman's American Encyclopedia of Wrestling. In the summer of 2008, I decided, 'Heck, I'm going to do this!' So I started writing a book at age 83." Covering a lot of ground, one individual at a time When asked how he would describe his book, White said, "It's a comprehensive history of the sport that non-wrestlers or any history buff would enjoy. It captures the scope of the times of the individuals I write about." In a nutshell, Wrestlers in History tells the stories of famous individuals who have wrestled. White's book organizes these stories into broad sections, starting with characters from ancient times ... then an overview of great Americans who have wrestled ... a presentation of the connections between amateur and professional wrestling ... then wrestling in other parts of the world. Art GriffithReaders of Wrestlers in History will come to learn the wrestling backgrounds as well as "big-picture" aspects of some giants of history, including ancient Greek Olympians such as Plato, Pythagoras and Milo ... and the thirteen U.S. Presidents who had wrestled at one time, including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt. The book also provides historical perspective on organized amateur wrestling in the U.S., starting with the first AAU mat event in 1888. Into this narrative White weaves in concise biographies of legendary coaches such as Oklahoma State's Ed Gallagher and Art Griffith, and Charles Mayser at Iowa State who helped shape the sport ... along with the stories of all-time amateur mat greats like Bruce Baumgartner and Dan Gable. Pleasurable time-travel Ask Richard White what he enjoyed most about writing Wrestlers in History, and a couple things came to mind. "The biographies are the most engrossing," said White. "I felt like I really came to know the people I wrote about." In addition, White said, "I had a great deal of fun describing the various styles of wrestling over time�collar and elbow, Cornish, Westmoreland. Some books mention these styles without describing them." From reading Wrestlers in History, it appears White also enjoyed writing about the connections between amateur wrestling and old-school professional wrestling in the chapter titled "Real Professionals." In that chapter, White provides fascinating details about the life of the pro wrestlers from early in the 20th century, including William Muldoon, Tom Jenkins, Frank Gotch, and George Hackenschmidt. The popularity of these early sports superstars helped give amateur wrestling a firm toehold in much of the U.S. Wrestlers in History: Real People and Legends brings together a wide range of facts from various sources about individuals who participated in wrestling at some point in their lives. The book provides readers of all ages a sense of the importance of wrestling as it shaped the lives of individuals and whole societies. And it incorporates positive historical comments about wrestling -- such as historian Will Durant's assertion that in ancient Greece, no one could be considered to be intelligent unless they wrestled -- that could be used to help promote the sport even today. Wrestlers in History: Real People and Legends may be purchased at major bookstores, as well as online at Amazon.com

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The No. 16 Missouri Tigers wrestling team (6-3) pulled out a big 19-15 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes on Sunday afternoon at the Hearnes Center. The Tigers were able to win four of the last five matches on the day to secure the win, the team's third in a row. Starting off at 125 pounds, freshman Alan Waters, ranked No. 11 in the country, battled No. 5 Nic Bedelyon of Kent State in perhaps the most anticipated match of the day. After a scoreless first period, Waters was able to turn Bedelyon on his back for a two-point nearfall late in the second. Bedelyon escaped with six seconds left in the period, cutting Waters' lead to 2-1 heading to the third. Waters scored an escape midway through the third, and held on for a 3-1 victory. The win was improved Waters' record to 19-0 on the season, which includes a 9-0 dual record. The true freshman has now defeated three nationally-ranked opponents, including two in the top-10 at 125. After Kent State picked up a decision at 133, senior Todd Schavrien, ranked No. 13 in the country, put the Tigers back on top with bonus points. The Poway, Calif., native defeated KSU's Chase Skonieczny by a 12-0 major decision. Schavrien jumped out to a big lead early as he scored a takedown 46 seconds into the match. Skonieczny was hit with two stall warnings, giving Schavrien another point, and he then scored a three-point nearfall for a 6-0 lead after the first. A reversal and another nearfall put him up 11-0 after two periods, and riding time gave the senior the 12-0 win. Kent State took the next two matches, as Marcel Clopton beat Brandon Wiest 4-1 and No. 20 Matt Cathell knocked off Danny Gonsor, 6-0, to give the Golden Flashes a 9-7 lead at the break. Coming out of the intermission, the Tigers answered, as they would win the next three matches to jump out to a 16-9 lead. Following the break, No. 12 Zach Toal faced off against No. 24 Ross Tice at 165. After a scoreless first, action picked up in the second. Tice, who chose bottom to start the period, picked up a quick escape and then took Toal down 20 seconds later. Toal recovered and scored a reversal to cut the lead to 3-2. After Tice escaped again, Toal took him down with 22 seconds left in the period, evening the score at 4-4 heading to the third. The third period was all Toal, as he escaped in 18 seconds and scored a takedown a minute later to pick up the 7-4 victory. No. 15 Dorian Henderson kept the momentum going for the Tigers at 174 pounds against Brandon Johnson. Johnson held a 1-0 lead after two periods, as he escaped in the second. However, Henderson picked up the pace in the third, reversing Johnson just five seconds into the period and then scoring a two-point nearfall for a 4-1 lead. Johnson bounced back, getting an escape and a takedown late in the third, but Henderson's riding time gave him the 5-4 decision. At 184, Mike Larson faced off with Casey Newburg, with Larson besting Newburg by a 4-3 score. The two remained tied after two periods, as Larson scored a pair of escapes in the second to Newburg's takedown, leaving the match at 2-2 heading to the third. With Newburg starting down, he picked up an escape in seven seconds, but Larson scored a takedown a minute later to give him the victory and extend Mizzou's lead to 16-9. Kent State battled back though, as No. 1 Dustin Kilgore scored a win by fall over Jake Glore to cut the Mizzou lead to 16-15 heading to the final match. The heavyweight battle pitted No. 5 Dom Bradley against No. 12 Brendan Barlow. After a slow first period, Bradley started down in the second and immediately escaped. He then took Barlow down 20 seconds later, though Barlow would work an escape before the period ended as Bradley led 3-1 heading to the third. Barlow escaped to start the third, cutting the lead to 3-2. With under 10 seconds left in the match, Barlow took shot in on a single on Bradley, and as Bradley attempted to escape the hold, he ran out of bounds and was hit for a fleeing-the-mat penalty with just seconds left, tying the match and sending it to sudden death overtime. Bradley kept his composure, though, and scored a takedown just as overtime was about to end, giving him the 5-3 win and securing the 19-15 victory for Mizzou. Next weekend the Tigers head to West Lafayette, Ind., for a top-25 battle against No. 23 Purdue. Action gets underway at 11 a.m. CT and will be aired live on Big Ten Network. Stay tuned to mutigers.com for more information. Results: 125 No. 11 Alan Waters (MU) dec. No. 5 Nic Bedelyon (KSU), 3-1 3 0 133 Tyler Small (KSU) dec. No. 17 Nathan McCormick (MU), 8-6 3 3 141 No. 13 Todd Schavrien (MU) major dec. Chase Skonieczny (KSU), 12-0 7 3 149 Marcel Clopton (KSU) dec. Brandon Wiest (MU), 4-1 7 6 157 No. 20 Matt Cathell (KSU) dec. Danny Gonsor (MU), 6-0 7 9 165 No. 12 Zach Toal (MU) dec. No. 24 Ross Tice (KSU), 7-4 10 9 174 No. 15 Dorian Henderson (MU) dec. Brandon Johnson (KSU), 5-4 13 9 184 Mike Larson (MU) dec. Casey Newburg (KSU), 4-3 16 9 197 No. 1 Dustin Kilgore (KSU) fall Jake Glore (MU), 3:35 16 15 HWT No. 5 Dom Bradley (MU) dec. No. 12 Brendan Barlow (KSU), 5-3 (SV) 19 15

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- No. 5 Penn State sent 29 wrestlers into action at the 2010 Nittany Lion Open, had 16 quarterfinalists and ended the day with four champions. Three freshmen and a junior claimed titles for head coach Cael Sanderson and the Nittany Lions. Penn State sent eight wrestlers into the finals with half of them winning their bouts. Freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 18 at 125, went 5-0 to win at 125 with two pins, a tech fall and a major. Classmate Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 12, put on a show at 141, going 6-0 to claim the title with five pins. The fifth pin was a :39 fall over No. 20 Zack Kemerer of Penn in the finals. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 5 nationally, continued his superb run with a 6-0 day at 157. Taylor claimed the title with a 9-3 dismantling of Virginia Tech's Jesse Dong (who reached the NCAA round of 12 last year). Taylor had a fall, a tech and three majors. Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight, went 5-0 with three tech falls, a pin and a major. Penn State's outstanding afternoon was tempered, however, in the finals at 184. No. 6 Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) was beating No. 14 Nathan Schiedel of Binghamton with just seconds to go in the final when the returning All-American was injured and suffered an injury default to take second place. Wright went 5-1 on the day. Just seconds before that, two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 2 at 149, was upset in overtime by No. 10 Mario Mason of Rutgers. Mason downed Molinaro 3-1 (sv), giving the Lion junior a 5-1 record on the day. Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 174, dropped a hard-fought 9-4 decision to No. 8 Mike Letts of Maryland in the finals. Ruth went 5-1 for second place with two pins and two tech falls. True freshman Dirk Cowburn (Coudersport, Pa.), wrestling unattached at 165, advanced to the finals where he was pinned by No. 3 Josh Asper of Maryland. Cowburn went 5-1 for his runner-up finish. Senior Adam Lynch (Mifflinburg, Pa.) was solid at 141, going 5-1 to take third place. His only loss came to Alton in the semifinals. Sophomore James English (York, Pa.) also took third at 149, going 5-1. His only loss was a 3-1 decision to No. 10 and eventual champ Mason of Rutgers in the semifinals. Red-shirt freshman James Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.) took fourth at 157. He lost to Taylor in the semis and went 3-2 on the day to take fourth place. Freshman Nate Morgan (McCook, Neb.), wrestling unattached at 125, went 4-2 to take second place while classmate Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, Pa.), unattached at 133, went 4-3 to take eighth. Sophomore Nick Fischer (Unionville, Pa.) went 3-3 at 165 and placed eighth while classmate Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) went 4-2 at 197 to take sixth place. True freshman Nick Ruggear (Oxford, Pa.) was also 4-2 at 197 and finished seventh. Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.), ranked No. 12 nationally at 165, went 3-2 and did not place at 165 while sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) went 4-2 and did not place at 133. Unattached wrestlers who grabbed victories but did not place included Cameron Kelley (Pittsford, N.Y.), 1-2 at 125; Rob Vollrath (Richboro, Pa.), 0-2 at 133 but beat a non-rostered entrant; Seth Beitz (Juniata, Pa.), 1-2 at 141; John Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.), 1-2 at 285 and Kyle Moran (Oxford, Pa), who went 3-2 at 141. Other attached wrestlers competing included Andrew Church (Erie, Pa.) at 174 while other unattached grapplers competing included David Church (Erie, Pa.) at 149, Thomas Gorman (East Patchogue, N.Y.) at 157, Brandon Phillips (Timonium, Md.) at 174) and Justin Haug (Galeton, Pa.) at 165. Other champions at the event included Mitchell Port of Edinboro at 133 and Zac Thomusseit of Pittsburgh at 197. The Nittany Lions, now 5-0 this year, return to action at home on Dec. 12 when Lock Haven comes to town for a 2 p.m. dual. Fans wishing to purchase single dual meet tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling season can place their orders by calling 814-865-5555 or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office. The box office is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Ticket pricing is $8 for adults and $5 for youth, and there will be a limit of eight tickets per order. Group sales are also available. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a matchup between two of the nation's top programs, the No. 3 Minnesota wrestling team came up just one point short, losing to No. 2 Oklahoma State 17-16 on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion. Despite being a lower body injury that nearly kept him out of competition this weekend, redshirt senior Scott Glasser started the dual out for the Gophers at 174 lbs., taking on Oklahoma State's Mike Benefiel in one of the most anticipated matches of the day. Glasser, ranked 11th in the nation by Intermat, blanked tenth-ranked Benefiel with a 3-0 decision in the first of two-straight decision that went in Minnesota’s favor . Unranked redshirt freshman Kevin Steinhaus pulled off the upset of the dual after Glasser's opening win, scoring an 8-2 decision against No. 8 Chris Perry. But the Cowboys would get on the board in the third match of the day, when Minnesota redshirt junior Sonny Yohn and Oklahoma State's Clayton Foster battled in a rematch of this year's NWCA All-Star Classic. Foster, ranked fourth in the country, wore No. 5 Yohn down throughout the match and held on for a 7-4 decision to cut the Gophers lead in half 6-3. Jordan Oliver (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)Minnesota (3-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) would regain its momentum in the heavyweight match between No. 9 Tony Nelson, a redshirt freshman, and Blake Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Nelson scored a 5-1 decision over the Cowboys' heavyweight to give Rosholt his first loss of the season. Oklahoma State would pick up a slight upset of its own in the following match, however, when No. 9 John Morrison handed No. 4 Zach Sanders his first loss of the season with a 7-5 decision in the first overtime period. Sanders scored a late takedown near the end of the third period and dropped Morrison's riding time under one minute to force the one-minute overtime period. But Morrison's takedown sealed the match for the Cowboys and No. 1 Jordan Oliver's 22-7 major decision over sophomore Thane Antczak gave Oklahoma State its first lead of the dual at 9-11. All-American redshirt senior Mike Thorn briefly put the Gophers back on top with a major decision (11-3) over No. 19 Luke Silver but a pair of decisions in the Cowboys favor (No. 5 Jamal Parks over Danny Zilverberg 2-0 at 149 lbs. and No. 10 Albert White over Pat Smith 10-3 at 157 lbs.) put Oklahoma State up 17-13 heading into the day's finale - a 165 lbs. matchup between No. 9 Cody Yohn and No. 7 Dallas Bailey. Sunday's finale didn't disappoint as Yohn, a redshirt sophomore, tried valiantly to earn a tie for the Gophers, eventually picking up a 6-4 decision over Bailey, who had beaten Yohn earlier this year. Minnesota returns to action next Thursday on the road against Nebraska. Results: 174: No. 11 Scott Glasser (MINN) dec. No. 10 Mike Benefiel (OSU) 3-0 184: Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) dec. No. 8 Chris Perry (OSU) 8-2 197: No. 4 Clayton Foster (OSU) dec. No. 5 Sonny Yohn (MINN) 7-4 285: No. 9 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Blake Rosholt (OSU) 5-1 125: No. 9 John Morrison (OSU) dec. No. 4 Zach Sanders (MINN) 7-5 133: No. 1 Jordan Oliver (OSU) tech. Thane Antczak (MINN) 22-7 141: No. 4 Mike Thorn (MINN) maj. No. 19 Luke Silver (OSU) 11-3 149: No. 5 Jamal Parks (OSU) dec. Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 2-0 157: No. 10 Albert White (OSU) dec. Pat Smith (MINN) 10-3 165: No. 9 Cody Yohn (MINN) dec. No. 7 Dallas Bailey (OSU) 6-4

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Trevor Hall (Sr., Battle Ground, Battle Ground HS) and Riley Orozco (Sr., Fallon, Nev., Church County HS) each posted fifth places finishes to pace CSUB at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational Saturday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Hall, a 165-pounder, was the lone Roadrunner to advance to the championship semifinals where he faced No. 4 Justin Kerber of Cornell. Kerber defeated Hall by a 7-3 count. In the consolation semifinals, Hall dropped a 12-7 decision to Joe Booth of Drexel. Hall was awarded fifth place by medical default againt No. 6 P.J. Gillespie of Hofstra. Orozco, who is ranked No. 19 at 197 pounds, lost to Indiana's Matt Powless (No. 18) in the championship quarterfinals. Orozco's opened consolation action by pinning Oregon State's Chad Hanke 4:59 into their bout. In the consolation semis, Michigan's Anthony Biondo (No. 15) defeated Orozco 4-0. The fifth place match saw Orozco take on Jamelle Jones of North Idaho College. Orozco handed the second ranked wrestler in junior college a 5-2 defeat for the position. Three CSUB competitors earned eighth place showings. No. 18 David Morgan (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Centennial HS) placed eighth at heavyweight. Morgan advanced to the championship quarterfinals before falling to No. 11 Nathan Fernandez of Oklahoma. Morgan earned a 7-3 decision over Boise State's T.J. Felix to begin his consolation bracket. Morgan lost 3-1 in overtime to UNC Greensboro's Peter Sturegon in the consolation semifinals. Columbia's Kevin Lester beat out Morgan for seventh place by taking a 3-2 decision. Jose Mendoza (So., Selma, Calif., Selma HS) finished eighth at 133 pounds. Mendoza advanced to the round of 16 before losing to No. 5 Filip Novachkov. Mendoza won two consolation matches on day one and opened Saturday with a 8-4 victory over Michigan's Zac Stevens (correction to Friday's story). No. 12 Ian Paddock defeated Mendoza in the consolation semis 11-3, sending Mendoza into a seventh place mattch against No. 6 Scott Sentes of Central Michigan. Sentes defeated Mendoza 8-3. Andrew Balch (So., Clovis, Calif., Buchanan HS) began his tournament with a match against No. 3 Adam Hall of Boise State where he lost 11-4. Balch won four straight matches in the consolation bracket on Friday (correction to Friday's story). Balch began Saturday with a medical default victory over No. 11 Peter Yates of Virginia Tech. In the consolation semis, No. 20 DJ Meagher of Cornell handed Balch a 9-1 defeat. No. 12 Colton Salazar of Purdue defeated Balch 5-2 for eighth place. In other Roadrunner action on Saturday, Cornell's Frank Perrill (No. 19) defeated Tyler Iwamura (So., San Diego, Calif., Santa Fe Christian HS) in the consolation bracket at 125 pounds. No. 16 Elijah Nacita (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., Bakersfield HS) lost his consolation round match at 141 pounds to Cornell Chris Villalonga 7-1. In the team race, CSUB tied for eighth with Purdue (68.5). No. 1 Cornell took home the top team honors with 140 points. "We competed well this weekend," said CSUB Head Coach Mike Mendoza. "We showed overall improvement as a team." The Roadrunners return to the mats for a pair of home duals next weekend. CSUB hosts No. 6 Minnesota on Saturday, Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. On Sunday, Dec. 12, the Roadrunners host San Francisco State (No. 18 in NCAA Division II) for a 2 p.m. tilt.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Senior/junior captain Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) became just the eighth Wolverine wrestler all-time to win two individual Cliff Keen Invitational titles, capturing the 141-pound crown to headline the No. 21-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's sixth-place finish (86.5 points) on the second and final day (Saturday, Dec. 4) of competition of the annual event held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Four total Wolverines placed at their respective weight classes. Russell knocked off a pair of top-10 opponents in his final two matches to improve to a perfect 10-0 on the season. The Wolverine captain edged Cal Poly's ninth-ranked Boris Novachov -- who had defeated Oklahoma's top-ranked Zack Bailey in the semifinals -- 3-2 in the championship match, using a lightning-quick duck under midway through the opening period and battling through a couple late flurries to stay in control throughout. Russell made quick work of Illinois' second-ranked Jimmy Kennedy in the morning semifinal round, ending the bout at the 1:16 mark with his first pin of the season. Russell converted on a duck under on the edge early in the opening period before catching Kennedy in a half shortly off the ensuing restart and quickly turning the Illini wrestler to his back. After three consecutive wins over ranked opponents, junior/sophomore Ben Apland (Woodridge, Ill./Downers Grove South HS) could not quite manage a fourth in the heavyweight final, where he fell to Oklahoma's 11th-ranked Nathan Fernandez, 4-0. The Sooner wrestler used a body lock late in the first period to drive Apland to his back -- but out of bounds -- and rode out the third period to accumulate 1:17 in time advantage. Apland picked up his biggest win of the season in the semifinal round, using a pair of third-period takedowns and riding time to edge Central Michigan's fifth-ranked Jarod Trice. After a scoreless first period, Apland rode a majority of the second to accumulate nearly two minutes of riding time. He earned a quick escape in the third and flurried out of a CMU single in the final 20 seconds to take Trice to the mat. The Chippewa wrestler escaped and locked up Apland in the waning seconds, but Apland converted the throw attempt to add a second takedown at the buzzer. Fifth-year senior captain Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) could not maintain his early advantage over Indiana's 18th-ranked Matt Powless in the third-place contest as the Hoosier wrestler converted on a late first-period takedown and third-period reversal to win, 8-3. Biondo split his morning matches, narrowly falling, 7-6, to Purdue's 10th-ranked Logan Brown before edging 19th-ranked Riley Orozco, 4-0, in the consolation semifinals. Biondo used an immediate first-period single leg and 2:44 in riding time to win the latter bout. Sophomore/freshman Dan Yates (Hesperia, Mich./Hesperia HS) split a pair of day-two matches, cruising past North Dakota State's Tyler Johnson, 8-2, to ensure placing in the tournament before falling to Cal Poly's sixth-seeded Ryan Desroches, 7-3, in his subsequent bout. He used three takedowns to roll in the former bout but was outscrambled by Poly's Desroches before suffering an injury in the third period and ultimately defaulting out of the seventh-place contest to finish the weekend with a 3-2 record. The Wolverines were doomed by big moves in a couple of their early wrestleback matches as sophomore Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy) and junior Zac Stevens (Monroe, Mich./Monroe HS) were unable to overcome early deficits in back-to-back losses at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Sophomore/freshman Eric Grajales (Brandon, Fla./Brandon HS) sacrificed an early lead to Virginia Tech's 11th-ranked Brian Stephens, giving up a pair of second-period takedowns to fall, 6-4. Michigan's remaining day-two competitor, senior/junior Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS), lost 5-1 to Ohio State's Nick Heflin on late takedowns in the second and third periods. All four Wolverines missed placing by just one match. The Wolverines will hit the road next Sunday (Dec. 11), heading to Madison, Wis., to square off at Wisconsin in their Big Ten Conference opener. The dual is slated for a 1 p.m. CST start at the Wisconsin Field House.

LAS VEGAS -- The eighth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling team (5-0) took home five individual medals and placed fourth over a talented field of 42 teams at the 29th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Cornell won the title with 140 points, followed by Wisconsin (101.5) and Boise State (101). Oklahoma checked in just behind Boise State with 99 points. Oklahoma was led by senior Nathan Fernandez, ranked No. 11, who claimed the heavyweight title after going an impressive 5-0 and defeating Michigan's Ben Apland, 4-0. Fernandez (13-1) bested his performance from last year when he placed third overall. Eighth-ranked Jarrod Patterson claimed second place at 125 pounds after defeating Ohio State's No. 5 Logan Stieber, 2-1, in the semifinals before falling to ASU's third-ranked Anthony Robles, 13-1, in the finals. The sophomore and reigning Big 12 Champion is now 12-2 on the year after posting a 4-1 record at the Invitational. Fellow sophomore Tyler Caldwell (12-2) finished in fourth place in the 174-pound weight class. In rout to his fourth place finish the nation's No. 7-ranked wrestler went 4-2 and defeated Oregon State's 12th-ranked Colby Covington, 6-0, in the quarterfinals and Illinois' fifth-ranked Jordan Blanton, 2-0, in consolation action. Senior Zack Bailey (141 pounds) and redshirt-sophomore Erich Schmidtke (184) each placed fifth in their respective weight classes. Bailey, ranked No. 1 among 141-pounders, defeated Hofstra's Vicente Vareta, 4-1, and Schmidtke routed Illinois Tony Dallago by a major decision of 19-7 to earn the top-five finish. Bailey posted his first and second losses of the season, but still holds an astounding 13-2 record. Schmidtke went 4-2 on the weekend and claimed an impressive, 7-2, victory over Navy's 12th-ranked Luke Rebertus. Oklahoma will return to action to face in-state foe and second-ranked Oklahoma State for Bedlam on Sunday, Dec. 12 in Stillwater. For a Detailed look at how the Sooners faired on Saturday check out the OU wrestling blog.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The University of Northern Iowa recorded 14 top-six place finishers at the 58th UNI Open Saturday with Terrance Young (125 lbs.) and Ryan Loder (184 lbs.) each claiming their respective weight titles. UNI also finished with three runner-up finishes. Young picked up two wins by fall before topping Minnesota State-Mankato’s Andy Forstner in the finals by an 8-3 decision. Caleb Flores also placed at 125 pounds, finishing fifth. Loder claimed the 184-pound title with a fall over Vinnie Wagner (Iowa) in 6:54. Loder finished the day with three pins. At the 133 pounds Ryan Jauch took runner-up honors, falling to Minnesota’s Drew Lexfold by a 7-6 score. Jauch finished the day with a 4-1 record including a major decision win and a technical fall. The Panthers had two placewinners at 141 pounds with Aaron Senzee finishing second and Seth Noble finishing third. At 149 pounds, Jamal Lawrence finished fourth for the Panthers. David Bonin earned runner-up honors at 157 pounds falling in overtime to Iowa’s Mike Kelly 5-3. 165 pounds, John Simon took sixth place while Brice Wolf finished fifth for the Panthers at 174 pounds. UNI had two top-six finishers at 197 and 285 pounds as Joe Johnson took third and Andy O’Loughlin took fifth at 197 pounds while Christian Brantley took third and Blayne Beale finished fifth at 285 pounds. UNI returns to action Thursday, hosting in-state rival Iowa at 7 p.m. in the West Gym.

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Clarion’s Alex Thomas (So. Seaford, De.) took “OW” honors winning at 197-pounds, and teammates James Fleming (So. West Mifflin) at 157-pounds and Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Jr. Tashkent, Uzbekistan) at 165 won individual titles, leading the Golden Eagles to the 2010 PSAC Wrestling Team Title on Saturday at Bloomsburg. Clarion fifth year head coach Teague Moore, who was brought in to restore the Golden Eagles NCAA Div. I wrestling tradition, was excited with the team title. Clarion had not won a PSAC team championship since 1994. “I have so much respect for the Clarion tradition and what this means to our team, pin club, alumni and fans that I’m overwhelmed,” said Moore. “We really wrestled as a total team today. Three champions, two seconds, three thirds and a fourth showed our team balance. I couldn’t be happier.” Clarion won the team title with 135.5 points, Bloomsburg was second with 110.5, Edinboro third at 109, Lock Haven fourth with 93 and Gannon fifth with 54.5 Rounding out the ten team field were Millersville at 53.5, Mercyhurst seventh with 52.5, E. Stroudsburg eighth at 48, Shippensburg ninth with 41 and Kutztown tenth with 35. Thomas rolled through the PSAC field at 197-pounds pinning all four opponents. In the finals he pinned Edinboro’s Shawn Fendone at 0:51 with a power half nelson. He pinned Fendone in the PSAC finals a year ago. Thomas pinned Travis Stem (LH) in the opening round at 1:57, then pinned Dan Cox (Mill) at 1:32, before pinning Mercyhurst’s Michael Pollard at 5:56 in the semi’s. Thomas raised his season record to 7-3. “I was really happy with my wrestling today, and winning the “OW” is really an honor,” said Thomas. “I was looking for the half nelson against Fendone and was able to use it to win the match”. Fleming also looked masterful in winning at 157. He defeated Edinboro’s John Greisheimer 10-2 in the finals. Fleming used a five-point move in the second period to take a 5-0 lead. After escaping to start the third, he again took Greisheimer to his back for a four-point move and a 10-2 major decision. Fleming opened the PSAC’s with a pin over Dakota Kuhn (Mill) at 2:30, then pinned Bloom’s Frank Hickman at 5:58 in the semi’s. Fleming, ranked #13 in the country, is now 14-1 on the season. Abdurakhmonov posted a hard-earned 2-1 win in the finals over Bloomsburg’s Josh Veltre. The first period showed no scoring, but a one-minute flurry toward the end of the period had the Nelson Fieldhouse fans on their feet. The Golden Eagle appeared to have a takedown several times, but great counter wrestling kept the period scoreless. Bekzod rode Velte the entire second period, escaped to start the third, gave up a stall point in the final seconds, but won the match with over 1:30 in riding time. He opened the PSAC’s with a pin at 2:19 over Jesse Dunn of E. Stroudsburg and then majored Zack McKendree (Gannon) 8-0. Bekzod’s season record is now 12-2 and his is ranked 18th in the latest poll. Also taking second place were Joe Waltko (So. Allison Park) at 133 and Cameron Moran (Jr. James City/Kane) at 141, while Anthony White (Fr. Phila) at 149, Steven Cressley (So. Punxsutawney) at 184 and Quintas McCorkle (Jr. Alexandria, Va.) at hwt were third and Scott Joseph (Sr. Export) at 174 ended fourth. Waltko lost 10-6 in the finals at 133 to Bloomsburg’s Nick Wilcox. Waltko led 4-3 entering the second period, but Wilcox had a takedown and three near fall points to put the match out of reach. Waltko pinned Jordan Toledo (E.S.) at 6:40 and defeated Evan Kolb (LH) 5-3 to get to the finals. He is 14-3 this season. Moran lost in the finals at 141 to Bloom’s Derek Shingara 9-6. Moran was leading 3-0 late in the second and gave up a takedown on the edge to make it 3-2. Shingara countered a Moran third period single leg with a Peterson roll that put Moran to his back for a five-point move and fell behind 7-3. Moran reversed to make it 7-5, but couldn’t get any closer. Moran pinned Arthur Scott (Gannon) at 4:04, then decisioned Justin Loudon (LH) 8-3 to get to the finals. Moran is now 7-4 this year. White, only a freshman, was 3-1 in taking third place. He defeated Shane Foster (Mercyhurst) 9-3 for third place. White opened with an 8-4 win over Tyler Wilton (ES), lost 3-2 to Ethan Swope (Gannon) and wrestled back with a 7-5 win over Ken Stank (Shipp). White is now 12-6. Cressley was 3-1 overall in placing third at 184-pounds. He defeated Jacob Bachman (LH) 8-5 for third place. Steven opened with a 15-9 win over Brendan McKeown (ES), then lost to Chris Honeycutt (ED) 11-2, and wrestled back to defeat Jason Foor (Mill) 18-3 to get to third. He is now 7-5. McCorkle was also 3-1 in finishing third at heavyweight. McCorkle won his third place match 5-1 over Bloom’s Zach Walsh. McCorkle opened with a 7-3 win over Will Weaver (ES), then lost a 3-2 tb match to Edinboro’s Ernest James, but rebounded for a 4-1 win over Stefan Tighe (Gannon). Joseph was 3-2 in finishing fourth at 174-pounds. He opened with a 9-5 win over Chris Hrunka (ED), and 2-1 tb win over Jeff Jacobs (ES), before losing to Shane Smith (Mill) by fall, then wrestled back and defeated Hrunka 7-5 before losing 8-6 to Mike Khoury (LH). Joseph is 8-8 this year. Also wrestling for the Golden Eagles was Thomas Gowing at 125. He was 0-2 in the tournament. CLARION NOTES: The last Clarion PSAC title was in 1994 under then coach Jack Davis… Before that Clarion posted 11 team titles under legendary coach Bob Bubb, and the first came in 1965 under then coach Frank Lignelli… Clarion’s 3 individual titles is the most since 1997 when Sheldon Thomas, Chris Marshall and Bryan Stout won titles… The 3 titles gives Clarion 111 individual champions in its history. Team Scores: 1. CLARION 135.5 2. Bloomsburg 110.5 3. Edinboro 109.0 4. Lock Haven 93.0 5. Gannon 54.5 6. Millersville 53.5 7. Mercyhurst 52.5 8. E. Stroudsburg 48.0 9. Shippensburg 41.0 10. Kutztown 35.0 “OW” – 197 Alex Thomas - Clarion

LAS VEGAS -- Led by No. 1 ranked junior Andrew Howe (165 lbs.), the No. 4 Wisconsin wrestling team place second at the 29th Annual Cliff Keen Invitational with 101.5 points at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Saturday. Howe captured the invitational title at 165 lbs. for the second-straight year after he defeated No. 4 ranked Justin Kerber of Cornell, 10-3, in the championship match. Earlier in the day, Howe recorded a 2-0 decision over Hofstra’s No. 6 P.J. Gillespie in the semifinals. No. 1 Cornell claimed the title with 140 points with three wrestlers placing first. No. 1 Mack Lewnes (184 lbs.), No. 4 Steve Bosak (184 lbs.) and No. 2 Cam Simaz (197 lbs.) all won the championship match in their weight class for Cornell. For the Badgers, No. 11 junior Travis Rutt (184 lbs.) and redshirt sophomore No. 3 Tyler Graff (133 lbs.) also finished strong after slating second place accolades in their respective weight classes. No. 15 Andrew Saunders (North Carolina-Greensboro) dropped a 7-2 decision to Rutt in the semifinals to give him a pass to the championship match. After a hard fought battle, Rutt fell to Bosak, 2-0, marking his first defeat of the season. Graff placed second and faced his first loss of the season after falling to No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser of Boise State, 7-3. In the semifinals, Graff defeated No. 8 Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra) 2-0 in the semifinals Saturday morning. Graff’s finish marks his career-best at the annual invite after he placed third last year at the Cliff Keen in 2009. Also helping the Badgers to their second place finish was No. 18 redshirt sophomore Cole Schmitt (149 lbs.) and No. 13 redshirt senior Eric Bugenhagen (Hwt.), who also placed for the Badgers. Bugenhagen fell in yesterday’s quarterfinals but was able to work his way up to a fourth place finish in the consolation bracket Saturday before falling to Jarod Trice (Central Michigan), 3-2, in the third place match. After falling yesterday in the quarterfinals, redshirt sophomore No. 18 Cole Schmitt finished seventh after cementing a 5-0 decision over Hofstra’s Justin Accordino. The Badgers made a large jump after slating fifth place at the end of day one on Friday. Boise State and Oklahoma finished in third and fourth place, respectively, at the conclusion of Saturday’s events. The Cardinal and White jumped seven places since last year when the program finish ninth at the Cliff Keen Invite. Wisconsin represented the Big Ten Conference with pride. The remaining conference teams all placed among the top 16. Illinois notched fifth place (91.0 points), Michigan placed sixth (86.5 points), Purdue finished ninth (68.5 points), Ohio State (12th, 63.5 points) and Indiana slated the No. 16 spot to wrap up the league teams in the field of 36 squads at the invitational. Several Badgers also competed in the UNI Open on Saturday. Freshman Timmy McCall (184 lbs.) was the only member of the Cardinal and White who placed in the tournament. McCall recorded a 4-2 win over Upper Iowa’s Mitchell Schultz. Check out complete results. The Badgers host back-to-back duals on Saturday and Sunday. Wisconsin faces the University of Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. (CT) Saturday and takes on Michigan at 1 p.m. (CT) Sunday. Both duals take place at the UW Field House in Madison, Wis. and will broadcast live on UWBadgers.com.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The sixth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team opened the 2010-11 Big Ten dual season Saturday, defeating Michigan State, 29-10, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes used wins at seven weights to remain undefeated a 6-0, while handing the Spartans (4-1) their first loss of the season. A replay of the live video stream on bigtennetwork.com will be aired on the Big Ten Network Tuesday at 5 p.m. (CT). Former Hawkeye NCAA Champion Brent Metcalf was part of the broadcast team. The Hawkeyes came out strong in front of 6,031 fans, scoring two pins and second-period technical fall to take a 17-0 lead. Sophomore Matt McDonough recorded his first pin of the season, sticking Eric Olanowski in 3:48 at 125. Redshirt freshman Tony Ramos accumulated eight nearfall points and scored three takedowns to defeat Josh Harper, 16-1 in 5:13. Redshirt freshman Mark Ballweg followed by scrambling off his back and pinning Joel Trombly in 2:05. All three Hawkeyes are undefeated this season, with McDonough and Ballweg at 6-0 and Ramos at 3-0. "You look at McDonough, Ramos and Ballweg coming out of the chute," said Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands, who picked up his 30th Big Ten dual victory with the win. "That's 17 points, boom. That was good." The Spartans put their first points on the board when Dan Osterman scored a 12-2 major decision over Hawkeye sophomore Jeret Chiri at 149. Iowa responded with decisions from redshirt freshman Derek St. John (157) and senior Jake Kerr (165) to build a 20-4 lead. St. John, who is undefeated at 6-0, scored the first takedown, but Cheza scored a reversal and three nearfall points to take a 5-2 lead into the second period. St. John chipped away at the lead, scoring two takedowns in the second period and one in the third while accumulating 2:50 of riding time to secure the 9-7 win. Michigan State scored its second win of the night at 174 when Curran Jacobs scored a 6-5 win over redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse. Iowa responded with decisions from sophomore Grant Gambrall (184) and senior Luke Lofthouse (197) to secure its 67th straight dual win. Gambrall led 1-0 early in the second period of his match with Ian Hinton when both wrestlers were awarded one point for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Hawkeye sophomore kept his cool and rode Hinton the entire third period to post the 3-1 win and remain undefeated at 6-0 this season. "The 184-pound match made it interesting," said Brands. "The bottom line is if somebody is clubbing you, you stop it now. Someone lays heavy hands on you; you give them back to him. I'm not saying in an unsportsmanlike way, but you stop it now. That's what Gambrall did. It wasn't a temper thing; he didn't lose his temper. He stopped the nonsense. All of the finger grabbing, you have to stop that stuff. And he stopped it. It spilled over into our area, the fans got excited and the referee had to sort it out. They go back to wrestling and Gambrall does a good job; as cool as a cucumber. That's important." Michigan State won the final bout of the night when heavyweight Mike McClure defeated Hawkeye junior Blake Rasing, 4-2. The Hawkeyes also sent 16 competitors to Saturday's Northern Iowa Open in Cedar Falls, crowning four individual champions and 12 placewinners. Senior Aaron Janssen won the 165-pound title for the Hawkeyes, while true freshmen Michael Kelly (157), Mike Evans (174) and Bobby Telford (Hwt.) each won titles while competing unattached. Iowa's other placewinners included junior Vinnie Wagner (184-2nd), redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino (133-4th) and Tomas Lira (184-5th), and true freshmen Ethan Owens (141-6th), Jake Ballweg (149-3rd), Nick Moore (157-3rd), Walt Gillmor (165-3rd) and Jeremy Fahler (174-6th). All of Iowa's true freshmen were competing unattached. The Hawkeyes (6-0) will travel to Cedar Falls to face Northern Iowa (4-3) Thursday at 7 p.m. in the West Gym. The dual will be aired live on Iowa Public Television. Tickets are $13 for adults and $8 for children, and are available at unipanthers.com. Northern Iowa Head Coach Doug Schwab served as an assistant coach at Iowa from 2006-07 to 2009-10. Schwab was a three-time all-American and Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes from 1998-2001. He won the 1999 NCAA title at 141 pounds and finished his collegiate career with 130 wins, which ranks 10th-best in school history. Results: 125 - Matt McDonough (I) pinned Eric Olanowski (MSU), 3:48 133 - Tony Ramos (I) tech. fall Josh Harper (MSU) 16-1, 5:13 141 - Mark Ballweg (I) pinned Joel Trombly (MSU), 2:05 149 - Dan Osterman (MSU) maj. dec. Jeret Chiri (I), 12-2 157 - Derek St. John (I) dec. David Cheza (MSU), 9-7 165 - Jake Kerr (I) dec. Ben Boudro (MSU), 4-2 174 - Curran Jacobs (MSU) dec. Ethen Lofthouse (I), 6-5 184 - Grant Gambrall (I) dec. Ian Hinton (MSU), 3-1 197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Tyler Dickenson (MSU), 12-5 Hwt. - Mike McClure (MSU) dec. Blake Rasing (I), 4-2

Laramie, Wyo.--- The 22nd-ranked Nebraska Wrestling team upset the 14th-ranked Wyoming Cowboys, 20-12, on Saturday night to extended its' winning streak to five straight duals. The Huskers improved their record to 5-1 on the season. Nebraska collected victories in the first two matches to gain a 7-0 lead on the Cowboys, and never looked back. In the first match, Andy Johnson (NU) defeated L.J. Helbig (UW) by decision at 197 pounds, 10-4, to get the Huskers rolling. Johnson was followed by a victory from heavyweight Tucker Lane (NU), who took down Joe O'Farrell (UW) by major decision. After dropping the 125-pound match, Mike Koehnlein (NU) defeated Chase Smith (UW), before Ridge Kiley upset 16th-ranked Michael Martinez (UW) at the 133-pound weight division to extend the Huskers lead to 13-3, before Wyoming was able to take the next two matches to tighten the lead to 13-6. Nebraska took the next two matches as senior Jordan Burroughs (165) added another major decision to his season total as he defeated Patrick Martinez (UW), 19-7. Caleb Kolb got the last points for NU as he won by decision over Dallas Hintz (UW), 7-1. In the duals most anticipated match of the night, 2nd-ranked Joe LeBlanc (UW) used a takedown in extra time to defeat 10th-ranked Josh Ihnen (NU) by the score of 5-3. The Huskers return to the mat on Thursday, Dec. 9, to take on the nationally-ranked Minnesota Gophers on at the NU Coliseum. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m. Results: 197-Andy Johnson (NU) by decision over L.J.Helbig (UW), 10-4 (NU 3, UW 0) HWT- #8 Tucker Lane (NU) by major decision over Joe O'Farrell (UW), 11-3 (NU 7, UW 0) 125- Tyler Cox (UW) by decision over David Klingsheim (NU), 6-5 (NU 7, UW 3) 133-Ridge Kiley (NU) by decision over #16 Michael Martinez (UW), 3-1 (NU 10, UW 3) 141-Mike Koehnlein (NU) by decision over Chase Smith (UW), 4-1 (NU 13, UW 3) 149-Cole Dallaserra (UW) by decision over Ross Grande (NU), 5-1 (NU 13, UW 6) 157- Shane Onufer (UW) by decision over Tyler Koehn (NU), 4-2 (NU 13, UW 9) 165-#2 Jordan Burroughs (NU) by major decision over Patrick Martinez (UW)19-7 (NU 17, UW 9) 174-Caleb Kolb (NU) by decision over Dallas Hintz (UW), 7-1 (NU 20, UW 9) 184-#2 Joe LeBlanc (UW) by decision over #10 Josh Ihnen (NU), 5-3 (NU 20, UW 12)

LAS VEGAS -- After Friday's quarterfinals at the 2010 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Cornell coach Rob Koll wasn't too happy with his team's performance despite the fact that his team sat in first place. On Saturday, after Cornell wrapped up the team title in Las Vegas, outdistancing second-place Wisconsin by 38.5 points, it was a different feeling for the Big Red coach. Cornell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)"I feel a little bit better tonight," said Koll, who was named 2010 Coach of the Year by InterMat. "We won just about every match since then. So I can't be anything but satisfied. The kids wrestled well." Cornell was without the services of two of its top wrestlers, Mike Grey (133) and Kyle Dake (149), but still scored 140 points and crowned three champions in Mack Lewnes (174), Steve Bosak (184), and Cam Simaz (197). "You put Dake and Grey in there, you can see what kind of team we have," said Koll. "A lot of people wondered if we had enough kids to do it at a national level. I think this should give our team a lot of confidence." Lewnes, who is ranked No. 1, won his third straight Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title with a 6-2 win over Central Michigan's Ben Bennett at 174 pounds. The match was scoreless after one period, but Lewnes used a second period reversal and third period takedown to pace him to the victory. Steve Bosak (Photo/Larry Slater)Bosak, who entered the event ranked fourth, avenged a previous loss with his finals victory over Wisconsin's Travis Rutt. The two met last season at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in a high-scoring match won by Rutt, 10-9. This time it was a low-scoring affair won by Bosak, 2-0. Simaz and Purdue's Logan Brown battled to a scoreless first period in the finals at 197 pounds. But Simaz eventually pulled away, picking up a takedowns in each of the final two periods and adding an escape and riding time point for the 6-0 victory. Michigan's Kellen Russell (141) and Wisconsin's Andrew Howe (165) both claimed their second tournament titles in Las Vegas. Russell, who won this event as a true freshman in 2007, navigated his way through a bracket that included the nation's top three wrestlers at 141 pounds. He pinned second-ranked Jimmy Kennedy in the semifinals before edging 2009 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion Boris Novachkov of Cal Poly, 3-2, in the finals. Oklahoma's Zack Bailey, who entered the event ranked No. 1, finished fifth. Kellen Russell (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)Russell is expected to be the new No. 1 at 141 pounds after his performance in Las Vegas. But he admits that he doesn't put too much stock in rankings. "In college, I don't really see rankings mattering that much," said Russell, a two-time Big Ten champion and 2009 All-American. "When you get to the nationals, everybody is even there. Everybody is tough that you wrestle. There's no easy match that you have at NCAAs. It's nice to maybe have a seed at NCAAs, but really in the end it doesn't matter that much." Howe, an undefeated NCAA champion last season, registered a 10-3 victory in the finals over Cornell's Justin Kerber. Boise State finished third, only a half point behind runner-up Wisconsin, and crowned three champions, which was more than any other program. Winning titles for Boise State were Andrew Hochstrasser (133), Jason Chamberlain (149), and Adam Hall (157). The second-ranked Hochstrasser defeated Wisconsin's third-ranked Tyler Graff, 7-3, to win a deep weight class at 133 pounds that included six of the nation's top 10 wrestlers. "Not every weight class has that, but I was lucky enough to have a lot of good competitors," said Hochstrasser. "It's a fun time to go in and show what you've got." Chamberlain, who is ranked third, topped a past champion at this event, Corey Jantzen of Harvard, 4-2, to capture the title at 149 pounds. Hall avenged a loss from last month's NWCA All-Star Classic by beating Arizona State's Bubba Jenkins, 2-1, in the tiebreaker. Adam Hall (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)Hall said Hochstrasser and Chamberlain's victories before him gave him extra motivation. "You don't want to be the only guy in the finals that comes home without a championship," said Hall. "There were three of us in the finals. I was thinking the entire time three for three. I needed to stay disciplined to make it three for three." Boise State is currently ranked No. 2. Still, Hall knows there are naysayers who don't believe Boise State can compete with other more established college wrestling powers. "We're working hard and we're trying to get to where we're a perennial power every year," said Hall. We're recruiting the right guys and doing the right things. I feel we have the best coaches in the country because they complement each other. You look at all these other programs and they have seven coaches. We have three. We're doing the things with that we have because we don't necessarily have the budget. They don't call us Budget State University for nothing." Arizona State's Anthony Robles put together a dominating two days to win the title at 125 pounds. The Sun Devil senior outscored his five opponents 71-5, picking up three major decisions, a major decision, and a decision. He was named Outstanding Wrestler of the event. Anthony Robles (Photo/Tony Rotundo, Tech-Fall.com)"There are some tough guys out here," said Robles. "You have to go into every match one hundred percent. It's really anybody's match. For a full seven minutes you have to wrestle all out." He faced familiar opponents in the semifinals and finals. In the semifinals, Robles won by technical fall, 16-0, over Virginia Tech's Jarred Garnett, a wrestled he defeated in Las Vegas in 2008. He won by major decision, 13-1, in the finals over Oklahoma's Jarrod Patterson, which marked the third meeting between the two and second this season. Robles knows that familiar opponents will give him different feels to try to solve him, which doesn't concern him. "I've seen different styles from different wrestlers," said Robles. "With this being my fifth year, I think I've seen all the different styles that are going to come at me, so it's just a matter of what they bring to the table and how I'm going to adjust to it. I think a big difference for me this year is that I'm comfortable. I know what they're bringing, so it's just about me executing my style on top of them." At heavyweight, Oklahoma's Nathan Fernandez claimed the title with a victory in the finals over Michigan's Ben Apland, 4-0. The Sooners finished fourth in the team standings, two points behind third-place Boise State. Final Team Standings (Top 10) 1. Cornell 140 2. Wisconsin 101.5 3. Boise State 101 4. Oklahoma 99 5. Illinois 91 6. Michigan 86.5 7. Virginia Tech 74.5 8. Cal State-Bakersfield 68.5 8. Purdue 68.5 10. Oregon State 66.5 Finals Results 125: No. 3 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) major dec. No. 8 Jarrod Patterson (Oklahoma), 13-1 133: No. 2 Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise State) dec. No. 3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin), 7-3 141: No. 3 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. No. 9 Boris Novachkov (Cal Poly), 3-2 149: No. 3 Jason Chamberlain (Boise State) vs. No. 7 Corey Jantzen (Harvard), 4-2 157: No. 3 Adam Hall (Boise State) dec. No. 2 Bubba Jenkins (Arizona State), 2-1 TB 165: No. 1 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) dec. No. 4 Justin Kerber (Cornell), 10-3 174: No. 1 Mack Lewnes (Cornell) dec. No. 6 Ben Bennett (Central Michigan), 6-2 184: No. 4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. No. 11 Travis Rutt (Wisconsin), 2-0 197: No. 2 Cam Simaz (Cornell) dec. No. 10 Logan Brown (Purdue), 6-0 285: No. 11 Nathan Fernandez (Oklahoma) dec. Ben Apland (Michigan), 4-0