InterMat Staff

Event: UFC 108: Evans vs. Silva Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas Date: January 2, 2010 I hope you all had a great holiday season! I hope to cap it off for you with some holiday cheer and a little extra spending money for those credit card bills. Those who followed my advice for UFC 107 would have profited by $246! That's enough for a lifetime Platinum subscription to InterMat. Let's see if we can keep the good times rolling … Tonight's UFC 108 card features a light heavyweight, non-title fight between former Michigan State wrestler and former champion Rashad Evans (18-1-1) and knockout artist Thiago Silva (14-1-0), whose only loss is to undefeated champion Lyota Machida. This is a great match-up. It should end with a knockout, and not go the distance of three (3) rounds. If it does go the distance, I would guess that Rashad wins the dance contest. But tonight my money will be on the Brazilan Beast Silva at an attractive +175 underdog odds. I respect the methodic, cautious style of Rashad and his quick-striking power (see the Iceman for details), but Thiago Silva will be fine if Evans takes it to the mat. He may even win by submission. But my guess is that after some toe-to-toe slugging, we will once again see an invisible knife go across the neck of Thiago Silva, as this scary dude notches another scalp for his belt. Take SILVA as a rabid ‘dog and benefit from the generous +175 odds. In what I think may be the "fight-of-the-night." British welterweight Paul "Semtax" Daley (22-8-2) takes on the division's best jiu-jitsu artist, the very lanky Dustin Hazelett (14-4-0). In a pick-em affair, Daley will be trying to end it quickly with a single punch. He devastated favorite Martin Kampmann in his last fight, and his record shows 17 of his 22 wins have come by KO! Hazelett has no chance if they stand and punch. They won't. As soon as Hazelett gets his chance to go to the mat, he will. And, that is where it will end, with Daley's arm bend backwards and his neck getting cranked. The referee will call an end to this affair late in the first round with Hazelett's hand-raised at a true valued price of –115. Lay it and lay it big. Hazelett by submission. Lightweight Joe Lauzon (17-4-0) is another tall and lanky fighter who trains with BJ Penn, and beats most guys, but can't beat the elite (Kenny Florian). Like Hazelett, he wins by submission and his opponent tonight is the experienced veteran slugger, Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout (15-5-1, his draw with Joey Clark). These are two, different styles and the heavily favored Lauzon at –275 is expected to win. I agree. The price is steep, but his arsenal is more complete, and he gets the job done tonight. It's Lauzon by decision for me. Lightweight Jim Miller (15-2-0) takes on journeyman, Duane Ludwig (27-9-0), who has been fighting in the UFC since '03. I'm not sure why this is on the main card tonight, but oddsmakers give Ludwig little chance of winning. A strong puncher, Ludwig will need more to get past Miller, who should end this quickly with a choke submission. There is little value in laying –450, so proceed with caution. The opening event on the main card has Junior Dos Santos (9-1-0), who is on fire with consecutive wins against Mirko Cro Cop, Stefan Struve, and Fabricio Verdum, all formidable opponents, taking on veteran Gilbert Yvel (36-13-1, with one no contest), who has been fighting MMA for 13 years, but is making his UFC debut. The former Pride and Affliction fighter has had two fights this year, against Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo. Enough said. He's been around the block and his physique is impressive. But Dos Santos is younger, quicker, and more accurate with his strikes. His underrated ground game will be used only if he can't end this fight with a KO. An overpriced favorite at –325. Dos Santos still offers the only side to consider here. I like his KO chances and see this one ending in the very first round. Tonight's undercard features two (2) fights that will be shown FREE on Spike TV for those of you interested in mixed martial arts, but unwilling to pay the almost $50 PPV fee. These fights are: Lightweight Cole "Magrinho" Miller (15-4-0) taking on Dan Lauzon (12-2-0), Joe's brother, who makes his UFC debut. Miller is a gateway guy, if you can beat him, you belong in the UFC, lose to him and you get cut. Dan is a tough fighter, but Cole's experience in the big show gives him the edge, and at –160, the value is there. Cole Miller by decision. Former Minnesota All-American, Jacob "Christmas" Volkmann (9-1-0) will try to bounce back from his only loss (to Paulo Thiago) as he takes on powerful striker, Martin Kampmann (15-3-0), who is also coming off a loss (to Paul Daley). This is a classic wrestler vs. striker match-up. Can Volkmann survive the KO long enough to win a decision with body control on the mat? As a +190 underdog I will take my chances on Christmas. The remaining fights will be seen only if viewers get the chance due to shorter main event fights: Middleweight Mark "The Filipino Wrecking machine" Munoz (6-1-0), former Oklahoma State NCAA champion, is too big a favorite here at –400, but he should get by Ryan Jensen (15-4-0). Munoz's only loss was to Matt Hamill, and he struggled against Nick Catone, but I look for him to get back on track tonight with some impressive body control that leads to some fight-ending ground-and-pound in the second round. Lay a limited amount on Munoz. Welterweight wrestler Jake Ellenberger (21-5-0) almost shocked the MMA world by hanging so tough with Carlos Condit. He lost a close decision. He takes on a never-quit Mike "Quicksand" Pyle (18-6-1). Ellenberger is a modest –140 favorite who should out work and out wind Pyle. He gets the clear decision in a boring fight of tactical technique. Lightweight Rafaello Oliveira (9-2-0) made his UFC debut by losing to unknown Nik Lentz. His opponent tonight, John "Quick Guns" Gunderson (22-6-0), makes his UFC debut with more submission wins than KOs, despite his nickname. Gunderson is small for even a lightweight, and I think the bright light experience of Oliveira should help him cash the ticket tonight. I'll make a small play on him at –190 to win by submission. So let's see how we can do with our "fictitious" $1000 bankroll. History is on our side. Let's lay $100 to win $175 in Thiago Silva's upset knockout. Let's lay $138 to win $120 on Dustin Hazelett's predicted submission. Let's lay $165 to win $60 on Joe Lauzon's dominance. Let's lay $90 to win $20 on a Jim Miller bridge-jump. Let's lay $130 to win $40 on red hot Jr. Dos Santos. Let's lay $50 to win $125 on Jacob Volkmann to lay and pray. Let's lay $64 to win $40 on Cole Miller and ask why we didn't lay more? Let's lay $75 to win $20 on Munoz making wrestlers feel proud. Let's lay $112 to win $80 on Ellenberger's work ethic. Let's lay $76 to win $40 on Oliveira to win. In total, we are laying an even $1000 to win $720. That's two (2) underdogs and eight (8) favorites. Good luck and enjoy the fights. I know I will. Don't forget to support your local youth wrestling program, where tomorrow's champions are made.

On Sunday, national wrestling powers Iowa State and Minnesota will clash at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis. The Cylones, under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Jackson, are 2-1 and ranked No. 2, while the Gophers are 3-1 and ranked No. 5. Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of Sunday's dual meet. Matchups are subject to change. 125: No. 13 Andrew Long (Iowa State) vs. No. 3 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) Sanders has clearly established himself as one of the nation's top wrestlers after finishing sixth at the NCAAs last season as a freshman. He has a motor that never stops ... and he is able to create scoring opportunities through constant motion. His only loss this season has come to 2008 NCAA champion Angel Escboedo in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle this past weekend. Long, a three-time Iowa state champion, has been impressive in his freshman campaign. He's coming off a runner-up finish at the Midlands ... and the only wrestler who has defeated him this season is Matt McDonough of Iowa, who has defeated him twice. Bottom Line: Long is a talented freshman who has bright future in front of him, but Sanders, a returning All-American, is the more seasoned and proven wrestler at this point. Sanders defeated Long 6-3 at the Kaufman-Brand Open last season. Expect Long to keep this match competitive, but look for Sanders to eventually wear out the freshman and pull out the victory. Prediction: Sanders (Minnesota) by Decision 133: No. 5 Nick Fanthrope (Iowa State) vs. No. 2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota) Ness, a three-time All-American, has dominated his competition this season. He's 16-0 and has 13 pins. He won the Southern Scuffle this past weekend, picking up three pins, an injury default, and a 7-3 victory in the finals over No. 11 Danny Mitcheff of Kent State. Fanthorpe was a 2008 All-American who has battled injuries over the past two seasons. He's 6-3 this season and coming off a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Midlands after he entered the event as the No. 1 seed. Bottom Line: Ness seems to be at the top of his game right now, while Fanthrope hasn't been at his best. The two met at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in 2007 and Ness won that match 11-8. Both wrestlers have certainly come a long way since that meeting, but Ness is still a cut above Fanthorpe. Prediction: Ness (Minnesota) by Decision 141: Dalton Jensen (Iowa State) vs. No. 6 Mike Thorn (Minnesota) Thorn, a returning NCAA qualifier, is wrestling with a lot of confidence. He has been impressive in the first half of the season, going 11-2. Thorn was on the verge of winning the Southern Scuffle this past weekend. He was up 4-2 in the third period of his finals match against talented true freshman Kyle Dake of Cornell before giving up a reversal and a riding time point to lose 5-4. Interestingly, Thorn's father, John, was an All-American for Iowa State in 1983. Jensen is filling in for the injured Nick Gallick, a two-time All-American who is recovering from a hip injury. He's 9-3 this season, but two of those losses have come to Division II wrestlers. Bottom Line: A Thorn-Gallick match would have been intriguing (Gallick won 7-5 last season), but won't happen because of Gallick's injury. Jensen is a serviceable fill-in for the Cyclones, but Thorn is a legitimate All-American threat this season who has proven that he can compete with the nation's best. Prediction: Thorn (Minnesota) by Major Decision 149: No. 13 Mitch Mueller (Iowa State) vs. David Zilverberg (Minnesota) Mueller has had a solid career for the Cyclones, qualifying for the NCAAs three times, but remains the lone four-year starter from Iowa's State 2005 No. 1 recruiting class who has not reached the All-American podium. He's coming off a solid Midlands performance, where he went 4-2 and placed fourth. Mario Mason has been the starter for the Gophers all season at this weight class, but is not expected to compete against Iowa State. Look for David Zilverberg, who placed eighth at the Southern Scuffle, to get the call for the Gophers. Bottom Line: Mueller is a seasoned veteran who seems to beat the wrestlers he should and lose to wrestlers ranked above him. He had a big win over No. 3 Kyle Borshoff of American at the Midlands, which should give him confidence as he heads into the final months of his collegiate career. Mueller will not only be looking to win, but also pick up bonus points. Prediction: Mueller (Iowa State) by Major Decision 157: Andrew Sorenson/Nate Carr Jr. (Iowa State) vs. Joe Grygelko (Minnesota) The 157-pound weight class was thought to be the weakest link in Iowa State's lineup this season after Cyler Sanderson transferred to Penn State to wrestle for his older brother, Cael Sanderson. Sorenson has stepped up and wrestled well in the early part of the season, winning two tournaments and finishing runner-up in another. But he has yet to beat a ranked opponent and failed to place at the Midlands. Another option here for the Cyclones is Carr Jr., the son of Iowa State great Nate Carr Sr. Carr Jr. has a career record of 18-9. Minnesota is hoping to get 2008 Olympian Jake Deitchler, who placed fourth at the Midlands, in its lineup soon, but expect to see Grygelko on Sunday. Grygelko lost his pigtail match at the Southern Scuffle, but got on a bit of a roll in the consolation bracket, winning four straight matches before losing to Kent State's Mallie Shuster in sudden victory. Bottom Line: This is the lone match that does not include a ranked wrestler. Iowa State will be favored, but Grygelko, who is coming off the best college tournament of his career, could certainly make it interesting. Prediction: Sorenson/Carr Jr. (Iowa State) by Decision 165: No. 3 Jon Reader (Iowa State) vs. No. 4 Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota) This is the marquee matchup of the dual meet. The winner will likely move into the No. 2 spot in the rankings at 165 pounds (behind Wisconsin's Andrew Howe) after No. 1 Jarrod King of Edinboro was throttled, 15-2, in the semifinals of the Southern Scuffle. Reader has been wrestling well all season. He has two wins over No. 5 Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, avenging losses from last season. His only loss this season was to Howe in sudden victory in the finals of the Midlands. Schlatter won the Southern Scuffle this past weekend in impressive fashion. He had wins over the No. 9 (13-1), No. 10 (3-2), and No. 18 (5-1) wrestlers in the country. Bottom Line: Both wrestlers are expected to challenge for NCAA titles this season ... and this should be a tight, low scoring match. One takedown might decide the match. Schlatter defeated Reader in freestyle, 3-0, 3-1 at the 2009 U.S. Nationals. Prediction: Schlatter (Minnesota) by Decision 174: Duke Burk (Iowa State) vs. Scott Glasser (Minnesota) Burke, a three-time NCAA qualifier, is coming off a sixth-place finish at the Midlands, while Glasser is coming off a third-place finish at the Southern Scuffle. Burk transferred from Northern Illinois to Iowa State last season and had a solid first season for the Cyclones, but struggled at the end of the season, dropping four of his last six matches. Glasser, a five-time North Dakota state champion, has battled injuries throughout his career, which have hindered his performance. This past weekend at the Southern Scuffle, Glasser lost his opening-round matches before reeling off eight consecutive wins in the consolation bracket to place third. Bottom Line: This match is a tossup. Both wrestlers have battled injuries and inconsistency over the past two seasons. Minnesota will need this one to have a shot in this dual meet. Prediction: Glasser (Minnesota) by Decision 184: No. 12 Jerome Ward (Iowa State) vs. Kaleb Young (Minnesota) Ward had the biggest win of his young career last month when he defeated All-American Phil Keddy of Iowa in front of over 11,000 fans in Ames. He's strong and very difficult to score on ... but sometimes struggles to his offense rolling. He's coming off s a seventh-place finish at the Midlands. With Sonny Yohn moving up to 197 pounds, Young is expected to step in for the Gophers at 184 pounds. He was slightly above .500 last season (17-16), but failed to win a match this past weekend at the Southern Scuffle. Bottom Line: Ward is the more skilled athlete and should win this match. However, Ward rarely gets bonus points, even against inferior opponents. Prediction: Ward (Iowa State) by Decision 197: No. 1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. No. 18 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota) Varner's wrestling resume speaks for itself: Three-time All-American, NCAA champion, and U.S. World Team member in freestyle. He's strong and technical ... and has thrived under the tutelage of Cael Sanderson and Kevin Jackson. Varner has his sights set on winning World and Olympic medals, while most college wrestlers aren't looking past the NCAA. He's currently 13-0 on the season. Yohn has competed at both 184 pounds and 197 pounds this season with mixed results. He was dominant in winning the Bison Open and Kaufman-Brand Open ... and pinned No. 10 Brent Jones of Virginia at the Southern Scuffle. But he also has some bad losses, like losing 13-1 to No. 10 (at 184) Clayton Foster of Oklahoma State and getting pinned by No. 13 Jesse Strawn. Bottom Line: Varner should have no problem handling Yohn, but the question is whether or not he will be able to pick up bonus points in this match. Prediction: Varner (Iowa State) by Major Decision No. 5 David Zabriskie (Iowa State) vs. No. 10 Ben Berhow (Minnesota) Zabriskie, a two-time All-American, is wrestling at a very high level right now. At the Midlands, Zabriskie defeated defending NCAA champion Mark Ellis of Missouri and No. 3 Zach Rey of Lehigh en route to reaching the finals. While Zabriskie is coming off a great tournament, Berhow is coming off one of the most disappointing tournaments of his college career, failing to place at the Southern Scuffle while losing to an unranked true freshman and getting pinned by another unranked wrestler. Berhow had been wrestling well up to that point this season with wins over NCAA qualifiers David Marone of Virginia Tech and Tucker Lane ... and a close (sudden victory) loss to No. 2 Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State. Bottom Line: Zabriskie is a national title threat this season, while Berhow is still trying to establish himself as a legitimate All-American threat. Zabriskie defeated Berhow 11-6 in the dual meet last February. Prediction: Zabriskie (Iowa State) by Decision Dual Meet Prediction: Iowa State 17, Minnesota 16

Evanston, Ill. -- Alex Krom won the individual championship at 141 pounds and the University of Maryland wrestling team finished sixth at the Midlands Championships, its best finish ever at the prestigious tournament. The Terps had three wrestlers place, as Steven Bell finished runner-up at 133 pounds and Hudson Taylor took fifth at 197 pounds. Maryland finished sixth despite wrestling with eight entrants rather than 10, as Mike Letts and Patrick Gilmore were unable to compete. "It's a pretty good showing for us," said head coach Kerry McCoy. "We're not overly excited about it. To have only eight guys compete and finish sixth is pretty good, and it's a good barometer to see where we are. We have some work to do to get ready for National Duals and correct some errors, but I'm happy with the way our guys are wrestling at this point." Krom had a dominant run, going 5-0 with three pinfalls and one major decision. The 10th ranked wrestler in the country, Krom took a 9-2 decision over one-seed Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the final, becoming the first Maryland wrestler to win a title at the Midlands. To get there, he pinned No. 19 Trevor Melde of Rutgers in the quarterfinals in 1:45 and No. 16 Ryan Prater of Illinois in the semifinals in 2:00. Bell won his first four matches to reach the finals, including a semifinal win over No. 15 Kelly Kubec of Oregon State, but was defeated in the championship match by fourth-seeded and No. 12 Tyler Graff of Wisconsin. Taylor, meanwhile, found himself wrestling a post-collegiate entrant in the semifinals. Because the Midlands Championships is an open tournament, wrestlers of all ages are eligible to enter. Wynn Michalak, who wrestled at Central Michigan, bested Taylor 9-5 in the semifinal round. The loss, however, does not count towards Taylor's record. From there Taylor went on to drop a close match with fourth-seeded and No. 7 Trevor Brandvoid of Wisconsin. He then pinned Patrick Bond of Illinois in 3:55 to take fifth place. The Terps are next in action on Jan. 9 when they compete in the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Propelled by eight placewinners, the No. 18 Virginia wrestling team finished in fifth place Wednesday in the Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Cavaliers recorded 96.5 points, just one point outside of fourth place, held by No. 20 Edinboro. No. 8 Cornell won the event with 164 points and was followed by No. 5 Minnesota (151.5) and No. 13 Indiana (131.5). Fourth-ranked Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) notched UVa's top finish with a runner-up standing at 174 pounds. Henrich (15-2) picked up a 4-0 win over No. 10 Ryan Patrovich of Hofstra in the semifinals before dropping a 6-1 decision to top-ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the championship match. At 184 pounds, Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) notched a third-place podium finish. Salopek blanked Virginia Tech's Tommy Spellman, 2-0, in the consolation championship. Jon Fausey (Fr., Dalmatia, Pa.), competing unattached, scored an eighth-place finish at 184. Nick Nelson (Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.), competing unattached for UVa, scored an impressive third-place finish at 141 pounds. He finished with seven wins in the tournament, including a 3-2 decision over Ohio's Germane Lindsay to claim the third-place match. Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.) took seventh at 141 after eking out a 1-0 decision over Penn's Zach Kemmerer in the seventh-place match. No. 16 Danny Gonsor (So., Cleveland, Ohio), after suffering an upset loss Tuesday, rebounded to take fifth place at 157 pounds. He finished with a pin of Ohio's Clay Tucker in the fifth-place bout. Gonsor's lone loss Wednesday was a narrow 7-5 defeat to No. 4 Matt Moley of Bloomsburg, a defending All-American. Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) placed sixth at 125 pounds. His tournament was highlighted by a 3-2 upset of No. 5 Eric Morrill of Edinboro on Tuesday. He fell into the consolation bracket after dropping a 7-0 decision to top-ranked Troy Nickerson of Cornell, the reigning national champion. Morrill bounced Gitomer in the fifth-place match with a 3-1 win which needed two sudden victory periods. Matt Snyder (R-Fr., Lewistown, Pa.) nabbed seventh place at 125. He finished strong with a 16-9 victory over UNCG's Eric Chandler in the seventh-place bout. Virginia starts the 2010 portion of its schedule Jan. 8-9 at the Virginia Duals in Hampton. Brackets for the event will be announced early next week.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Senior Matt Kyler won the individual championships at 149 pounds and an injured Jordan Thome finished sixth at 133 pounds as the Army wrestling team wrapped up competition at the Southern Scuffle held at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. Army finished with 60 points and placed 12th in the 32-team field. Cornell won the event with 164 points, in front of Minnesota (151.5), Indiana (131.5), Edinboro (87.5) and Virginia (96.5). “We have a lot of work to do and we’re certainly not content with the final results at all of our weight classes,” said Army head coach Chuck Barbee. “We want to do better. We need to get back in the room, make corrections, get tougher and raise our intensity even more. The whole team wrestled hard. Guys need to keep making jumps and making improvements. We can’t be satisfied with winning a match; we need to get on the podium.” Kyler secured two major decisions early Wednesday to move into the finals where he claimed the individual championship when Cesar Grajales of Pennsylvania injury defaulted. Ranked 10th in the latest InterMat rankings, Kyler secured a 17-7 major decision against John Nicholson of Old Dominion followed by a 15-7 major decision over Torsten Gillespie of Edinboro to advance to the finals. Kyler jumped out to a 5-1 in the third period when Grajales defaulted at the 5:22 mark. “Matt wrestled hard,” said Barbee. “He has been working on fundamentals and doing the little things right and that certainly added up. He paid attention to the details and was rewarded.” Thome, a freshman, moved into the semifinals with a hard-fought 8-6 win against Zac Stevens of Michigan. Thome faced Jayson Ness of Minnesota, ranked second in the latest InterMat poll, in the semifinals but injury defaulted, ending his tournament run. Thome, who did not compete in his consolation bout, finished sixth in the event. “Jordan is wrestling really well,” said Barbee. “Any time you put a freshman out there, you never know how he is going to respond. Jordan shows up at game time and loves to compete. It wasn’t a huge surprise how well he wrestled but he was certainly exciting to watch before he was hurt.” Three other Army wrestlers competed during the second day of the 10-mat event. Casey Thome was edged in his quarterfinal bout at 141 pounds by Germane Lindsey of Ohio, 3-2, and then fell in the consolation bracket to Zack Kemmerer of Pennsylvania, 8-3. Nicholas Bundy, who wrestled four times on Tuesday in the 141-pound division, lost his consolation bout to Ivan Lopouchanski of UNC Greensboro, 7-4. Jimmy Rafferty posted a 4-1 mark at 149 pounds during the first day but lost to Savva Kostis of Appalachian State, 13-4. Army will return to dual meet action next week, hosting four matches. On Friday, Army will host Hofstra at 7:30 p.m. at Gillis Field House and then welcome Merchant Marine Academy, Boston University and Rutgers for a Sunday quad-meet at Christl Arena. Wrestling Sunday gets underway at 2 p.m.

GREENSBORO, NC -- Chris Honeycutt led a contingent of seven Edinboro wrestlers to place at the Southern Scuffle, as Edinboro finished fourth out of 31 teams in the two-day event held at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center. Honeycutt took home first place place at 184 lbs. Three Fighting Scots – Torsten Gillespie (149 lbs.), Jarrod King (165 lbs.), and Chris Birchler (285 lbs.) – finished third, with Eric Morrill coming in fifth at 125 lbs. and Ashton Osterberg and Phil Moricone placing eighth at 133 and 174 lbs., respectively. Edinboro finished with 97.5 points. Cornell came away with the title with 164 points, with defending champion Minnesota second (151.5 points) and Indiana (131.5) third. Virginia rounded out the top five with 96.5 points. Honeycutt is redshirting this season, and the two-time national qualifier at 184 lbs. has enjoyed an outstanding campaign while competing in open events. Coming in as the third seed, he won all five of his matches, culminated by a 7-5 decision over Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore, the top seed, in the finals. He trailed 5-3 late in the match, but used a takedown and two near-fall points for the upset. In the semifinals the junior handed Cornell’s Steve Bosak, the second seed, a 5-2 defeat. He improved to 26-1. King, the number one seed at 165 lbs., reached the semifinals in the morning with a 3-0 decision over Pennsylvania’s Steve Burak in the quarterfinals, his 21st straight win to start the season. The defending national champion was surprised in the semifinals by a familiar foe, however, as Rick Schmelyun of Bloomsburg defeated King 15-2. King had earlier defeated Schmelyun in the PSAC finals. King would rebound to pick up a fall over Cornell’s Justin Kerber, then winning a 4-0 decision over Paul Young of Indiana to take home third place. He is now 23-1. Gillespie enjoyed a strong run, winning six of his seven matches at 149 lbs. He actually faced a pair of EWL opponents today, handing Bloomsburg’s Josh Roosa a 4-3 defeat in the quarterfinals, then after losing 14-7 to number one seed Matt Kyler of Army, claiming a 5-1 decision over Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg to reach the consolation finals. He had lost to Hickman in the PSAC’s. Gillespie won by medical forfeit over Liberty’s Frank Gayeski in the third place match. He is now 20-10. Bircher turned in a strong showing at heavyweight, going 5-1. The lone loss was a 3-2 decision to top-seeded Nathan Everhart of Indiana in the semifinals. He won by the same score over Dustin Porter of Gardner-Webb in the third place match. That leaves the senior with a 21-7 record. Morrill was unable to duplicate his recent performance at the Reno Tournament where he upset the top two seeds. Facing a loaded field at 125 lbs., the junior suffered two tight losses. In the quarterfinals he was a 3-2 loser to Virginia’s Ross Gitomer. He came back with two more wins but then suffered another 3-2 setback, this time to third-seeded Zachary Sanders of Minnesota, ranked fourth nationally. Morrill avenged the loss to Gitomer in the fifth place match with a takedown in overtime for a 3-1 decision in sudden victory. That leaves Morrill with a 22-4 ledger. Moricone had a strong early run after just recently returning to competition at 174 lbs. He lost by fall to top-ranked Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the quarterfinals, but came back with a 10-7 decision over Cody Yohn of Minnesota. An injury would derail his efforts for a higher finish, as he was unable to continue in the first period against Scott Glasser of Minnesota, who he had defeated 2-0 in his first match of the tourney. He injury defaulted in the seventh place match with Jacob Ison of Ohio. Moricone is now 10-3. Osterberg turned in a strong showing while filling in for starter Kyle Fluke at 133 lbs. The senior would win five of eight matches to come in eighth. After losing in the round of 16 he picked up three wins in the consolation bracket to reach the stand. Osterberg improved to 13-13.

Evanston, Ill. -- Senior Keegan Davis (Salem, Ore.) posted the highest place for the No. 25 Oregon State wrestling team, finishing third at 157 pounds, lifting the Beavers to a tie for eighth place out of 54 with 65.0 team points at the Midlands Championships. Oregon State tied with American University, edging out No. 20 Illinois and 21 Pittsburgh. The Beavers moved up three spots from yesterday's finish, tacking on 28 team points. Davis found himself narrowly behind in the third place match at 157 pounds before chalking up a final takedown late in the match to earn the 4-3 decision over sixth-seeded Jake Deitchier, wrestling unattached for Minnesota, and his highest placing at the Midlands Championships and first placing of the season. Davis began the day as the only remaining Beaver wrestler in the championship bracket, but fell to top seeded Steve Fittery of American in a 15-5 major decision. Davis came back in the consolation bracket with a 9-6 win over Derek St. John, wrestling unattached for Iowa, before his placing victory. Also competing in the third place match, junior Colby Covington (Springfield, Ore.) had already solidified himself as the only unseeded wrestler guaranteed to place at 174 pounds. Covington opened the final day with three straight nail biting decisions over Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa, wrestling unattached, 5-4, a 9-8 victory over seventh-seeded Shane Riccio of Bucknell and a 2-1 win over fifth-seeded Duke Burke of Iowa State to get to the deciding match. But in the final match, Covington came up just shy of third place in a 5-3 loss to third-seeded Luke Manuel of Purdue. Redshirt sophomore Jason Lara (Midway City, Calif.) earned the first placing for the Beavers, tallying seventh place honors at 125 pounds. Lara started the day off with a 6-3 decision over JJ Krutsinger of Iowa but fell to sixth-seeded Ben Kjar of Utah Valley in a tough 4-3 heartbreaker in the consolation semifinals. But Lara rebounded with a 5-3 decision over ninth-seeded Anthony Zanetta of Pitt to earn his first placing at the Midlands Championships and of his collegiate career. Next to place was sophomore Kelly Kubec (Lake Stevens, Wash.) at 133 pounds, earning seventh place. Kubec started out strong with a fall over Jimmy Kirchner of Rider in 2:22, but came up just short against seventh-seeded Matt Fisk of Lehigh in a 6-4 decision. But Kubec got back to his pinning ways with a 2:08 fall over eighth-seeded Billy Ashnault in the seventh place match. Kubec has now placed in both big tournaments this season and has a team-high tying 10 falls - tied for 42nd all-time in a single season and ninth most for a sophomore in school history. Earlier in the day, freshman RJ Pena (Salem, Ore.) fell just short of a placing match at 149 pounds, losing to seventh-ranked Mitch Mueller of Iowa State, 5-1, in overtime. And sophomore heavyweight Clayton Jack (Vacaville, Calif.) was unable to overcome sixth-seeded Mark Ellis of Missouri, falling 10-1, just out of placing. The Beavers return home to host Wyoming next on Thursday, Jan. 7, in legendary Gill Coliseum beginning at 7:00 p.m.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Two champions, three finalists, seven placers and a third-place finish in the team standings ... That is what the No. 13 Indiana University wrestling team accomplished the last two days at the 2009 Southern Scuffle. Angel Escobedo, ranked second nationally at 125 lbs., concluded his individual title run by avenging his loss to No. 1 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) in last season's NCAA semifinals, defeating the defending national champion when Nickerson suffered an injury in the early goings and could not continue. Escobedo has run his undefeated season record to 19-0, and is all but assured to be slotted as the nation's top-ranked 125-pounder next week. The Griffith, Ind., native also defeated No. 3 Zach Sanders, 8-2, in the semifinals. Escobedo began the championship round by putting IU on top of the podium, and Nate Everhart ended the evening the same way by earning the heavyweight crown. Everhart tallied five victories en route to his championship, inflating his flawless season mark to 21-0. He topped Scott Steele of the U.S. Naval Academy, 3-2, in the finals. It marks the second time this season in which both Escobedo and Everhart have won individual championships at a nationally-prominent tournament, having each done so earlier this year at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Kurt Kinser made a splash as well, advancing to the 157-pound championship match. The Bloomington High School South product's biggest win came over Bloomsburg's Matt Moley, who is ranked third nationally. With a 1-1 score late in the third period, Kinser garnered a takedown in the final seconds to earn a 3-1 triumph. He then came up just shy of snagging Indiana's third individual title, falling to No. 7 Thomas Scotton (North Carolina), 2-1, in the fourth tiebreaker. Paul Young and Trevor Perry each placed fourth in the competition. They combined for five pins during the two-day tournament. Young's season pin total is now a team-high nine falls while Perry has stuck 28 opponents in his career, the eighth most in school history. Eric Cameron and Matt Powless could also be found on the medals stand, both going out with a win in the seventh place match. Cameron and Powless each racked up five victories the last two days. The Cream and Crimson receive little rest after their stellar performance at the Southern Scuffle, returning to action just three days later with a dual match at West Virginia on Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. EST.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Jarod Trice's individual title at heavyweight led Central Michigan to a third-place finish at the 2009 Midlands Championships. Trice, the No. 8 seed, capped his run through the bracket with a 3-2 decision over No. 3 seed David Zabriskie (Iowa State) in the finals Wednesday night. He earned his spot in the championship match by defeating No. 1 seed Aaron Anspach in the quarterfinals and No. 4 seed Dom Bradley in the semis. Trice, just a sophomore, is CMU's first Midlands champion since Wynn Michalak won the 197-pound title as a sophomore in 2005. CMU finished third in the team standings with 118 points, trailing only Iowa (168.5 points) and Iowa State (144.5). It is the Chippewas' fifth top-four finish at Midlands in the past six years, and the 118 team points are the most CMU has ever scored at Midlands. Trice was one of seven Chippewas to finish in the top eight of their weight class. Redshirt freshman Ben Bennett, seeded second at 174 pounds, finished runner-up after dropping a 6-1 decision to No. 1 Jay Borschel in the finals. Also finishing in the top eight were Matt Steintrager (fourth, 125 pounds), Tony D'Alie (sixth, 149 pounds), Steve Brown (sixth, 157 pounds), Tyler Grayson (sixth, 165 pounds) and Eric Cubberly (seventh, 165 pounds). Michalak, a three-time NCAA All-American at CMU and the 2008 NCAA Championships runner-up, represented Chippewa Wrestling Club at Midlands and finished runner-up. The Big Ten Network will air the finals on tape delay on Sunday, Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. Eastern Time. CMU next competes at National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa Jan. 9-10.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Iowa State finished second at the Midlands Championships for the third-straight year Wednesday evening in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The second-ranked Cyclone squad, which scored 144.5 points, capped the event by crowning Jake Varner as an individual champion at 197 pounds in the 2009 tournament’s finals. Iowa’s squad placed first with 168.5 and Central Michigan (118) followed with third place. Iowa State’s Varner added a second Midlands Championship to his impressive wrestling resume with a 6-1 decision of Wynn Michalak of the Chippewa Wrestling Club. Varner controlled the post-collegiate competitor by allowing only one point from an escape. The Cyclone had previously been a champion of the event as a sophomore at 184 pounds in 2007. The 47th edition of the Midlands, hosted by Northwestern, featured over 360 individual entries from around the country. Iowa State’s wrestlers amassed a 48-30 record over the two-day tournament. Making his third-straight Midlands finals appearance at 165 pounds, ISU’s Jon Reader was unable to topple top-seed Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. Reader fell to the Badger in triple-overtime, 3-1 (SV2). The defeat was Reader’s first loss of the 2009-10 season, as his record drops to 11-1. An amazing string of big wins ended for ISU redshirt freshman Andrew Long as he fell in the 125-pound final to Iowa’s Matt McDonough by decision, 9-7. The Creston, Iowa native lead 5-2 after the first period but could not overcome a late barrage of takedown attempts by his opponent. Long recorded a 4-1 mark in the tournament to improve his season record to 14-2. In the last finals match of the evening, third-seeded Cyclone heavyweight David Zabriskie fell to the upset-minded No. 8-seed, Jarod Trice of Central Michigan, 3-2. Zabriskie was unable to find a shot in the last period to take the lead on the larger Chippewa heavyweight. Zabriskie was 4-1 in his senior try at the Midlands and has an 11-1 overall mark this season. ISU 149-pounder Mitch Mueller made the most of his fourth trip to the Midlands by notching his best finish ever. Mueller, who hails from Iowa City, Iowa wrestled to fourth place after previously placing sixth as a sophomore and freshman. Mueller fell in the final Midlands session to Bucknell’s Kevin LeValley by a score of 2-0 in the third-place match. Mueller notched a record of 5-2 in the Midlands to advance to 16-4 in his senior campaign. Cyclone senior Nick Fanthorpe capped his fourth Midlands outing with a fifth-place finish at 133 pounds. Fanthorpe edged Iowa’s Nate Moore in overtime, 2-1 (TB1). Fanthorpe recorded a 4-2 Midlands record and stands at 6-3 overall. Senior 174-pounder Duke Burk fell in the fifth-place match to Missouri’s Dorian Henderson by a score of 3-1 (SV). Burk’s 3-3 mark in the tournament drops his overall record to 10-4. Sophomore Jerome Ward clinched a seventh-place Cyclone finish at 184 pounds in the afternoon session of Midlands wrestling by receiving a medical forfeit. Ward went 4-2 in his second trip to the event. The second-ranked Cyclones return to action with a road trip to dual No. 6 Minnesota Jan. 3 at 2 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior No. 6 John Dergo won the Midlands title at 184 pounds Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, his first title in a major tournament, by defeating American’s No. 2 and second-seeded Mike Cannon, 11-9 in sudden-victory overtime. Dergo beat three two-time All-Americans in a row in Cannon, Missouri’s top-ranked Max Askren and fourth-seeded Louis Caputo (Harvard). Also for the Illini, senior Jimmy Kennedy took second at 141, junior No. 16 Ryan Prater took fifth at 141 and senior Patrick Bond finished sixth at 197. The Illini placed 10th in the 54-team field. “He had an unbelievable tournament,” Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. “He beat three two-time All-Americans in a row, so it was awesome. A lot of times last year, he saw what he was supposed to do and he was a half-step behind. But he’s going full-speed now. There’s no holding back. He’s going as hard as he can every time he wrestles.” Dergo had the most exciting run of the Illini on Wednesday, avenging a loss earlier in the season with a 3-2 win over top-ranked and top-seeded Max Askren (Missouri) in the semifinals to set up a title bout with American’s second-ranked and second-seeded Mike Cannon. Dergo trailed Cannon 8-6 late in the bout but scored a takedown and Cannon was called for a technical violation, giving Dergo a 9-8 lead. Cannon earned a point for the riding-time advantage, tying the bout and sending it to sudden-victory overtime. Dergo stayed aggressive, recording a takedown to win the match and the championship. In the tournament, Dergo defeated Askren, Cannon and Harvard’s fourth-seeded Louis Caputo all for the first time in his career. Kennedy won his third career bout against Iowa’s fourth-seeded Joey Slaton in the semifinals, 6-5, but fell behind early in his championship bout against Maryland’s 10th-ranked and third-seeded Alex Krom and dropped a 9-2 decision to finish second. Prater was one of the bigger surprises of the tournament, reaching the semifinals against Krom before being pinned by the Terrapin. Prater dropped a tight 4-3 bout to Hofstra’s eighth-seeded Lou Ruggirello but rebounded by pinning Iowa’s ninth-seeded Montell Marion in 2:24 to earn fifth place. After Bond dropped his quarterfinal bout on Tuesday, he responded by winning a pair of consolation bouts to stay alive. He began Wednesday by knocking off Purdue’s 12th-ranked and seventh-seeded Logan Brown, 5-3, in the round of 12 to ensure a placing finish. Bond kept rolling with an 8-5 win over No. 11 and sixth-seeded Brent Haynes (Missouri), avenging a dual loss earlier in the season, but dropped a 6-2 match to Iowa’s No. 9 and fifth-seeded Chad Beatty in the consolation semifinals. That set up a fifth-place match with second-seeded and third-ranked Hudson Taylor (Maryland), which Taylor took by fall in 3:55, giving Bond a sixth-place finish. The Illini return to action on Jan. 8 when they host SIUE at Huff Hall at 7 p.m.

EVANSTON, IL -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won its 21st overall and third straight Midlands Championships title with 168.5 points at the 47th annual tournament Wednesday night in Evanston, IL. Iowa State placed second with 144.5, while Central Michigan placed third with 118.0. The Hawkeyes went 3-3 in the finals, crowning three champions in redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (No. 3 seed at 125), and seniors Brent Metcalf (No. 1 seed at 149) and Jay Borschel (No. 1 seed at 174). It was Metcalf's third Midlands title and the first for McDonough and Borschel. Metcalf was named the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament, and took home the Individual High Scorer Award for racking up 32.5 team points. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133) earned the tournaments Fastest Fall Award, sticking his first opponent in 46 seconds. McDonough sparked a strong Iowa start with a 9-7 win in sudden victory over No. 4 seed Andrew Long in the 125-pound title match. Down 5-2 at the end of the first period, McDonough scored an escape and takedown to tie the score at 5-5 in the second period. Long, who accumulated over one minute of riding time in the bout, scored an escape to start the third period to take a 6-5 lead. McDonough scored a takedown near the end of the third period to take a 7-6 lead, but Long's riding time point sent the match into sudden victory. McDonough scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period for the win. The Hawkeye redshirt freshman remains undefeated at 15-0 this season. In a rematch of the 2008 Midlands title match, Metcalf won a 9-2 decision over No. 2 seed Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. The Hawkeye senior improved to 15-0 on the season, scoring team bonus points in five of his six Midlands matches. Borschel picked up his 75th career victory with a 6-1 win over No. 2 seed Ben Bennett of Central Michigan in the finals. The Hawkeye senior scored a takedown and two nearfall points near the end of the first period, an escape early in the second period and accumulated over two minutes of riding time in the match. He is now undefeated at 14-0 this season and is a three-time Midlands placewinner. He placed second in 2007, third in 2008 before winning the 2009 title. Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Joe Slaton (No. 4 seed at 141-3rd), Ryan Morningstar (No. 3 seed at 165-3rd), Phillip Keddy (No. 3 seed at 184-4th) and Chad Beatty (No. 5 seed at 197-3rd), sophomore Montell Marion (No. 9 seed at 141-6th), redshirt freshman Nate Moore (133-6th) and Grant Gambrall (184-6th), and true freshman Derek St. John (157-5th). It is the first time that Beatty, Moore, Gambrall and St. John have placed at Midlands. Slaton, who is 10-1 while competing unattached this season, recorded a dominating 9-0 major decision over No. 8 seed Lou Ruggirello, who was also competing unattached. Morningstar scored a takedown near the end of the second sudden victory period to beat No. 4 seed Nick Marable of Missouri, 4-2. Morningstar, a four-time Midlands placewinner, is now 11-2 on the season. Beatty scored a third-period escape and takedown to score a 6-3 win over No. 4 seed Trevor Brandvold of Wisconsin, improving to 13-2 this season. St. John, who was competing unattached, recorded a medical forfeit over No. 3 seed Steve Brown of Central Michigan for fifth place in his first Midlands appearance. The Hawkeye true freshman is 21-4 while wrestling unattached this season. Moore, who was also wrestling at Midlands for the first time, took No. 1 seed Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State to the tie break period, but lost the bout 2-1. Iowa's next competition will be Jan. 9-10 at the 2010 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The Hawkeyes (9-0) are the defending Division I team champion, and will be making their 17th appearance at the two-day annual tournament, which features top wrestlers from each collegiate athletic division (NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, JUCO and Women's). The Division I field includes eight of the top 10 ranked teams in the most recent USA Today/NWCA coaches poll. All-session tickets are $45 for adults and $35 for seniors and students. Individual session tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the UNI-Dome box office at 877-216-3663 or 319-273-4849. Final Team Standings (Top 10) 1. Iowa - 168.5 2. Iowa State - 144.5 3. Central Michigan - 118.0 4. Missouri - 103.0 5. Wisconsin - 90.5 6. Maryland - 74.5 7. Lehigh - 65.5 8. American - 65.0 Oregon State - 65.0 10. Illinois - 64.0

EVANSTON, IL -- The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team remains in the lead after Tuesday's first day of competition at the 47th annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, IL. Eight of Iowa's nine quarterfinalists advanced to the semifinals, and seven others are still alive in the consolation bracket. The Hawkeyes lead the team race with 100 points. Iowa State is in second place with 92.5 and Missouri is in a distant third with 73.5. Iowa went 22-4 during Tuesday night's second session. Advancing to Wednesday's semifinals are redshirt freshmen Matt McDonough (#3 seed at 125) and Nate Moore (unseeded at 133), and seniors Joe Slaton (#4 seed at 141), Brent Metcalf (#1 seed at 149), Ryan Morningstar (#3 seed at 165), Jay Borschel (#1 seed at 174), Phillip Keddy (#3 seed at 184) and Chad Beatty (#5 seed at 197). McDonough scored an 8-3 decision over #6 seed Ben Kjar of Utah Valley to remain undefeated at 13-0 this season. He will face #2 seed Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Moore continued his string of upsets with a 3-2 win over #7 seed Matt Fisk of Lehigh. He will face #3 seed Steve Bell of Maryland in the semifinals. Slaton, who is competing unattached, posted a 9-6 win over #5 seed Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh Tuesday night, and will face #1 seed Jimmy Kennedy, who is also competing unattached, on Wednesday. Metcalf recorded his 85th career win with a 12-3 major decision over Michigan State's David Cheza. The two-time Midlands champion will put his 13-0 season record on the line when he faces unseeded Eric Albright of Pittsburgh in the semifinals. Morningstar, Borschel, Keddy and Beatty all recorded quarterfinal decisions, and Morningstar, Borschel and Beatty will all face Iowa State opponents in their semifinal bouts. Those match-ups could be crucial to the team race. Morningstar will face #2 seed Jon Reader, Borschel will face #5 Duke Burk and Beatty will wrestle #1 seed Jake Varner. In their careers, Morningstar is 3-1 against Reader, Borschel is 3-0 against Burk and Beatty is 0-1 against Varner. Keddy will face #2 seed Mike Cannon in the semifinals. Still alive in the consolation bracket are senior Dan LeClere (#2 seed at 141), junior Jake Kerr (#10 seed at 157), sophomores J.J. Krutsinger (125) and Montell Marion (#9 seed at 141), redshirt freshman Grant Gambrall (184) and true freshmen Derek St. John (157) and Ethen Lofthouse (174). Wednesday's semifinals and consolation matches are set to start at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Fans can listen to AM-800 KXIC's Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion Mark Ironside call the action through the XXL All-Access audio broadcast on www.hawkeyesports.com. The championships finals and placing matches will start at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Fans can listen live on AM-800 KXIC or www.hawkeyesports.com. The Big Ten Network will air Wednesday's finals Sunday at 7 p.m. (CT). Updated team standings and brackets are available throughout the tournament at www.nusports.com.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Iowa State wrestling team stands in second place with six semifinalists after the first day of the Midlands Championships in Welsh-Ryan Arena Tuesday. At the conclusion of the second session of wrestling, ISU’s 92.5 points trails Iowa (100). Missouri is in third with 73.5 points. ISU’s heavyweight, David Zabriskie, pulled off another stellar victory by defeating returning NCAA champion Mark Ellis by decision, 6-4, in the Midlands quarterfinals. The No. 3-seeded Cyclone fought off the larger, sixth-seeded Tiger opponent on several takedown attempts to prevail as the winner. The victory puts Zabriskie at 100 wins for his Cyclone career. He joins his teammate Jake Varner (197) in the “100-Win Club” as the 34th member. The Branchville, N.J., native moves forward to the Midlands semifinals for the second time in his career. “I was just happy to advance,” Zabriskie said. “I didn’t even know that was my 100th career win. It is definitely rewarding to get that win. The most important aspect of the victory is advancing in the tournament and getting team points.” Three-time NCAA finalist Varner moved onward in the Midlands Championships with a major decision over Matt Wilps of Pitt, 13-2. The win puts Varner into his fourth-straight Midlands semifinals. Redshirt freshman Andrew Long vaulted into the semifinals with an emphatic pin at 125 pounds. The fourth-seeded Cyclone scored a defensive fall over Central Michigan’s fifth-seeded Matt Steintrager after putting him in a risky position from neutral. ISU 133-pound top-seed Nick Fanthorpe returns to the Midlands semifinals for the fourth-straight year. The Naperville, Ill., native advanced with a 6-2 decision of No. 8 Billy Ashnault of Rutgers. Cyclone Jon Reader continued his path towards his third-straight Midlands finals with a major decision of 10th-seed Josh Asper of Maryland. Reader, seeded second at 165 pounds, showed off his offensive prowess en route to the 16-4 victory. Iowa State 174-pounder Duke Burk advanced to the semifinals after grinding out a 9-8 decision against Illinois’s Jordan Blanton. Fifth-seed Burk, a senior, hails from Peoria, Ill. ISU’s Mitch Mueller (149), Boaz Beard (184-Unatt.) and Jerome Ward (184) will wrestle in Tuesday’s consolation action after being bounced in the quarterfinals. The second session of the Midlands began with consolation action. Cyclones Mike Finch (165) and Eric Thompson (HWT) battled to stay alive in the tournament and will wrestle in the fifth consolation round tomorrow, starting at 12 p.m.

EVANSTON, Ill. — Senior Jimmy Kennedy and junior No. 16 Ryan Prater took advantage of a rare opportunity – that two teammates would be seeded in the same weight class at a major tournament – Tuesday in reaching the semifinals of the 141-pound weight class at the 47th annual Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Kennedy, who is redshirting this season, was the No. 1 seed at 141 while Prater was seeded No. 7. Senior No. 6 John Dergo also reached the semifinals at 184 by going 3-0 with a technical fall and a major decision on the day. Kennedy went 3-0 on the first day of the competition and Prater won four bouts, including an upset over No. 7 and second-seeded Dan LeClere (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. Kennedy topped Hofstra’s eighth-seeded Lou Ruggirello, who also is redshirting this season, 9-3 in the quarterfinals. Since Kennedy and Prater are on opposite sides of the bracket, they could meet for the championship if both win their semifinal bouts Wednesday afternoon. Kennedy will face fourth-seeded Joey Slaton of Iowa in the semifinals, while Prater will take on third-seeded and 10th-ranked Alex Krom (Maryland). Dergo, the No. 4 seed, also continued a strong run through the 184-pound bracket with his 6-3 win over fifth-seeded Louis Caputo (Harvard) in the quarterfinals. He’ll get a rematch with top-ranked and top-seeded Max Askren (Missouri), who he lost to at the teams’ dual earlier this season, in Wednesday’s semifinals. Blanton dropped a hard-fought battle with fifth-seeded and 11th-ranked Duke Burk (Iowa State), 9-8, in the quarterfinals after winning his two earlier matches. Blanton will face Purdue’s seventh-ranked and third-seeded Luke Manuel in the consolation round of 12, meaning he needs one more win to ensure that he places. Illinois is in seventh place as a team after the evening session with two wrestlers remaining in the championship bracket (Prater and Dergo) and two left in the consolation bracket (Blanton and Patrick Bond). Kennedy’s point totals don’t count for Illinois’ team points since he is wrestling unattached to preserve his redshirt.

Greensboro, N.C. -- The University of Minnesota wrestling team returned to action at the Southern Scuffle today (Dec. 29), hosted by the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In the first day of the two day event, the Gophers had six wrestlers make it through unscathed and advance to the quarterfinals. In the team standings, Minnesota holds a narrow one-point lead in first place over second place Cornell. The Gophers have 50 points, while the Big Red have 49. In third place is Indiana with 42, just ahead of fourth place Edinboro with 41.5 and fifth place Virginia with 41. In the lower weights the Gophers dominated. Zach Sanders (Wabasha, Minn.) at 125, Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) at 133, and Mike Thorn (St. Michael, Minn.) at 141 all went 2-0 with two falls on the day. At 125, Sanders extends his season record to 10-0, charting his third and fourth falls of the season. Of Sanders 10 wins this season, seven have come by major decision or better. In his first match of the day, Sanders beat Gabriel Gomez of Virginia with a first period pin, and in the second round he beat Brett Boston of Appalachian State with a fall in the third period. Likewise, at 141 Thorn began with first period fall. Just 1:10 into the match, he pinned Dustin Haislip of the Naval Academy, marking his quickest fall of the season. In his next match, Thorn worked a little longer but still earned the same result. With a second left in the second period Thorn notched his second straight fall, this time over Nicholas Bundy of Army. Thorn improves to 9-1 on the season, and now has four falls. The big name when it comes to falls, however, is Ness. Ness improves his team leading record to 13-0, and has won his last four by fall. Ness met Tyler Untrauer of the Air Force in his first match, and was forced to wrestle past the first period for just the third time all season, earning the fall at the 3:13 mark. He then closed his day with yet another first period fall, winning in just 2:25. The two wins extend his team-long winning streak to 15 straight. Also showing his dominance was Dustin Schlatter (Massillon, Ohio). Schlatter tallied two major decisions in winning his third and fourth straight matches of the season. His first win was a 9-1 victory over Kyle Czarnecki of Boston and his second was a 13-4 drubbing of Robby Neill from the Naval Academy. Schlatter now has three major decisions on the season. With two falls, and a major decision, David Zilverberg (Wayzata, Minn.) also reached the quarterfinals. At 149, Zilverberg, scored his first fall of the season, and didn't have to work long to get it. Just 58 seconds into the match, it was over with a pin of Nick Rex of Campbell. Zilverberg followed it with another fall, this time over Pierre Frazile of the Citadel at the 4:03 mark. For his final win, Zilverberg posted an 8-0 shutout of Cesar Grajales of Penn. The final Gopher to end the day unbeaten was Sonny Yohn (Alamosa, Colo.), who did so wrestling a class up, at 197. Yohn tallied a fall at 4:36 over Tim Murphy of Edinboro for his first win, and a 2-0 decision over Neil Delany of the Air Force for his second. Yohn improved to 12-1 on the season, and 6-0 at 197. The Gophers return to action tomorrow as they look to claim six individual titles and with their second Southern Scuffle.

PALM COAST, Fla. -- Augsburg College claimed six champions/co-champions in its annual trip to Florida, competing at its Augsburg Brute/Adidas Sunshine Open on Monday and Tuesday at Flagler Palm Coast High School. The open tournament featured wrestlers from four teams ranked in the top 30 in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III national rankings -- No. 2-ranked Augsburg, No. 6 College of New Jersey, No. 12 Delaware Valley (Pa.) and No. 21 Heidelberg (Ohio). Dickinson State (N.D.), ranked No. 10 in the NAIA national poll, also competed at the tournament. Augsburg claimed titles in five of the 10 weight classes at the tournament, led by 149-pounder Tony Valek (SO, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West). Valek, ranked No. 3 nationally, scored two pins among his five victories, including a 5-4 win over No. 7-ranked Tyler Branham of the College of New Jersey in the championship match. At heavyweight, No. 4-ranked Andy Witzel (SR, Fulda, Minn.) swept his weight class with three of his four wins coming by pin, including two first-period match-enders. At 125, Freddie Vigil (SR, Bakersfield, Calif./South HS) had a technical fall and a major decision among his four victories to win his title. Orlando Ponce (JR, Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS), a national qualifier last season, dominated in winning his weight class, with three pins and a major decision among his five victories. In the title match, he scored a 4:23 pin of Justin Bonitatis of the College of New Jersey, ranked No. 6 nationally. Paul Bjorkstrand (SR, Burnsville, Minn.) and Dusty Holmes (SO, West Fargo, N.D.) shared the crown at 125 pounds, with Bjorkstrand going 3-0 and Holmes going 2-0. Augsburg's two top-ranked wrestlers -- 197-pounder Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) and 157-pounder Jason Adams (SR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) -- were unable to capture titles at the meet. Adams opened his tournament with three pins, but was upset 8-6 by No. 6-ranked Jesse Harrington of Delaware Valley in the semifinals, then suffered a third-period pin in a wrestleback match before rallying to win the fifth-place bout. Massey also collected pins in his first three matches before a forfeit in the final. Cody Hansen (FY, Albert Lea, Minn.) had a solid performance at 141, with a pin and technical fall en route to a second-place finish. Teammates Nathan Lexvold (SO, Kenyon, Minn./Kenyon-Wanamingo HS) and Jake Saatzer (JR, Mound, Minn./Mound-Westonka HS) shared third place at 141. Augsburg returns to action on Sunday (1/3) at 2 p.m., hosting Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a dual meet at Si Melby Hall.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Rutgers wrestling team will close out 2009 at the 47th Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill. at the Welsh-Ryan Arena from Dec. 29-30. The tournament will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Nusports.cstv.com will serve as the official Web site of the Midlands Championships and will have complete session-by-session scheduling, a weight-by-weight preview and up-to-date tournament brackets throughout the two-day affair. Competitors from 31 schools, including 11 top-25 ranked teams, will be in the mix at the event, highlighted by the No. 1 and 2-ranked teams in the country in Iowa and Iowa State. Redshirt junior Dominick Russo (Netcong, N.J.) is the seventh seeded wrestler in the 285-pound bracket. Russo earned a No. 8 billing in the latest InterMat heavyweight rankings and owns an 11-1 record this season.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Collegiate wrestling's finest competitors will be on display when the 2009 UNCG Southern Scuffle takes place on December 29 and 30 from the Greensboro Coliseum's Special Events Center and fans can catch all of the action on their computers with Spartan All Access. More than 400 wrestlers are slated to compete in 10 weight classes, with 53 of them currently ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes according to InterMat. Four wrestlers currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in their weight classes, including defending NCAA champions Troy Nickerson of Cornell (125 lbs.) and Jarrod King from Edinboro (165 lbs.) are slated to compete. This is the seventh year of the UNCG Southern Scuffle and the sixth time it has been held at the Special Events Center. Each year, several future national champions have been on display, sometimes squaring off against competitors they meet down the road at the NCAA Championship in March. This year, King's 165 lbs. weight class and the 285 lb. class with top-ranked Konrad Dudziak of Duke features the most ranked wrestlers with seven. Nickerson's 125 lbs. class features six of the top seven ranked competitors, nearly ensuring some sneak previews of the NCAA Championship in that bracket. There are seven teams ranked in the top 20 in this year's UNCG Southern Scuffle field. Fans can catch all the action by purchasing one of four packages for the Spartan All Access coverage of the Southern Scuffle. Fans can purchase a complete tournament package for $19.95, which will include all three sessions. Session 1, featuring all of Friday's action, and Session 2, which features Saturday's action up to the championship round, can be purchased for $9.95 each. Session 3, featuring only the championship matches on Saturday evening, will be available for $7.95. Martin Fleming and Joey Burridge will call the action from this year's tournament, with two "feature" mats being shown. Matches of significance are typically funneled by tournament officials to these feature mats as often as possible without affecting the integrity of the tournament bracket. Coverage includes teams from all over the country and is not just focused on UNCG wrestlers. However, because care is given to not disrupting the flow of the tournament, decisions are made as the day goes on for which matches will be shown as a part of Spartan All Access. Packages may be purchased by clicking on the gold Spartan All Access login box in the top right side of any page at http://www.UNCGSpartans.com and http://wwww.southernscuffle.com.

BLACKSBURG -- Six Virginia Tech wrestlers will be in action this week at a pair of tough tournaments. Two Hokies will head north to Illinois for the 47th Annual Midlands Championships while four will head south for the Southern Scuffle. Both will take place Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 29&30. The Midlands Championships will be held in Evanston, Ill., on the campus of Northwestern University at the Welsh-Ryan Arena. Information on the event can be found here. Below are the two Tech athletes set to compete at the Midlands: 125: #7 Jarrod Garnett (#2 seed; 7-0) 149: Brian Stephens (Unattached) The Scuffle is held in Greensboro, N.C., and is hosted by UNC Greensboro. The event is held at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center and more information on the event can be found here. Below are the four Hokies who are scheduled to be in action at the event: 149: Taylor Knapp (5-6) 149: Matt Rosen (Unattached) 149: Pete Yates (Unattached) 184: Tommy Spellman (7-4) The Tech team, which is ranked 24th in the country with a 6-1 mark, will hit the mat on Monday, Jan. 4 for a dual meet against Appalachian State (1-5). The match will begin at 6 p.m., inside Cassell Coliseum and admission is free.

Matt Kocher

The Midlands Championships has long been one of the nation's most-anticipated collegiate wrestling events. This year's event, which takes place December 29-30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the campus of Northwestern University, is no exception. The field for the 47th Midlands Championships is expected to be loaded with talent and include four of the nation's top seven teams, three NCAA individual champions, eight wrestlers who have reached the NCAA finals, and close to 30 All-Americans. Below is a weight-by-weight breakdown of this year's event. This preview was done prior to the release of the seeds and the field of wrestlers is subject to change. 125: Northwestern's Brandon Precin, who is redshirting this season, will look to win his second straight Midlands title. He won the Eastern Michigan Open earlier this season with a victory over No. 5 Eric Morrill of Edinboro. No. 7 Jarrod Garnett of Virginia Tech, a returning NCAA qualifier who went 38-8 as a true freshman, is 7-0 this season. Matt McDonough of Iowa, who is ranked No. 8, has been impressive in the early part of the season while going 9-0. No. 13 Andrew Long of Iowa State has a couple of tournament titles under his belt this season. His only loss has come to McDonough. No. 14 Matt Steintrager of Central Michigan, a senior and first-year starter, is 5-0. No. 16 Ben Kjar of Utah Valley placed eighth at the Midlands last season and was seventh at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this season. No. 17 Jason Lara of Oregon State is 16-2 with one of those losses coming to Kjar. No. 18 Jasen Borshoff of American is 9-1with his only loss coming to Steintrager. 133: Defending Midlands champion Dan Dennis, who is ranked No. 4, is back to defend his title. He is 9-0 this season. No. 5 Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State was a Midlands runner-up to Dennis last season and enters this season's event with only three matches under his belt this season. No. 6 Scotti Sentes of Central Michigan, who earned All-American honors last season as a true freshman at 125 pounds, has been dominant all season, going 7-0 with five pins and two major decisions. Steve Bell of Maryland is returning All-American who is expected to challenge for the title. Bell's only loss this season has come to Sentes by pin at the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Collegiate Duals on November 28. Wisconsin's Tyler Graff, who is ranked No. 12, is one of the nation's top freshmen. Graff, a four-time Colorado state champion who went 162-1 as a prep wrestler, placed third at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Lou Ruggirello of Hofstra, who is redshirting this season, is a three-time CAA champion with a career record of 99-21. Kyle Hutter of Old Dominion and Kelly Kubec of Oregon State are ranked No. 14 and No. 15 respectively and should figure into the mix. 141: Interestingly, none of the returning Midlands placewinners in this weight class will be competing in the weight class this year. Two-time All-American Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois, who is redshirting this season, moves up from 133 pounds and looks to be the frontrunner in this weight class. Iowa will likely have three wrestlers entered in this weight class who should all figure into the mix: Daniel LeClere, Joe Slaton, and Montell Marion. LeClere was a Midlands champion and NCAA qualifier in 2008. He is currently 7-1 on the season with his only loss coming to No. 2 Nick Gallick of Iowa State in sudden victory. Slaton, like LeClere, had his best season in 2008 when he won a Midlands title and was an NCAA runner-up at 133 pounds. But Slaton lost his starting spot last season after struggling with his weight. He won the Harold Nichols Cyclone Open this season, going 5-0, which is the only event in which he has competed. Marion is 9-0 this season and defeated LeClere, 11-7, in a wrestle-off earlier this season. Another wrestler expected to challenge for the title is returning All-American Alex Krom of Maryland, who is currently ranked No. 10. No. 11 Tyler Nauman of Pittsburgh is a dangerous wrestler who nearly knocked off J Jaggers in the second round of the NCAAs last season, losing in sudden victory. No. 15 Seth Ciasulli of Lehigh and No. 16 Ryan Prater of Illinois are expected to battle for spots on the podium. 149: Iowa's Brent Metcalf, a 2008 NCAA champion and two-time Midlands champion, is the clear frontrunner in this weight class. Metcalf is 9-0 this season with seven pins and a technical fall. Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell, who is ranked No. 2, was a Midlands runner-up to Metcalf a year ago, losing 14-5 in the finals. Ruschell, a Kentucky native, won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and is 10-0 on the season. No. 3 Kyle Borshoff of American, a returning All-American, has been impressive this season. He is 6-0 and defeated three-time All-American Lance Palmer of Ohio State at the NWCA All-Star Classic. No. 8 Kevin LeValley of Bucknell is 20-3 this season and lost narrowly to Metcalf, 3-2, in a dual meet. Marion Mason of Minnesota, who is ranked No. 9, was one of the nation's top recruits in 2008. This will be his first major test at the Division I level. No. 12 Tony D'Alie of Central Michigan, who placed fourth at the Midlands last season at 141 pounds, is 6-1 this season with his only loss coming to Borshoff. Iowa State's Mitch Mueller is a three-time NCAA qualifier and ranked No. 13. Another wrestler to watch is Oregon State's R.J. Pena, a talented freshman who placed seventh at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. 157: This looks to be the most wide-open weight class at this year's Midlands. No. 5 Steve Fittery of American, who is 13-1 on the season, is the highest ranked wrestler expected to compete in the weight class. Jake Patacsil, who finished up his career at Purdue last season as an All-American, is expected to compete as a post-graduate and should challenge for the title. Patacsil, who placed third at the Midlands last season at 149 pounds, is a monster on the mat. Central Michigan's Steve Brown, who was fifth at the 2008 Midlands at 149 pounds, sent shockwaves through the wrestling world when he defeated NCAA champion Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska on December 19. Minnesota's Jake Deitchler, who earned a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman team at the age of 18, is expected to make his much-anticipated collegiate debut. Deitchler has yet to step on the mat this season but is ranked No. 13. No. 18 Keegan Davis of Oregon State was an NCAA qualifier last season. Purdue's Colton Salazar is a two-time NCAA qualifier and is ranked No. 20. Kyle John of Maryland and Conrad Polz of Illinois could also figure into the mix. 165: This weight class includes four of the nation's top six wrestlers. Wisconsin's Andrew Howe, an NCAA runner-up as a true freshman last season, is ranked No. 2. Howe won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational this season. No. 3 Jon Reader of Iowa State was a Midlands runner-up a year ago and placed fourth at the NCAAs. Reader defeated Howe, 7-5, in the semifinals of the 2008 Midlands. Iowa's Ryan Morningstar, a returning All-American, is the defending Midlands champion in this weight class. Entering this season, Morningstar was 3-0 in his collegiate career against Reader, but fell to the Cyclone for the first time in his collegiate career, 4-3, on December 6. Missouri's Nick Marable, who is ranked No. 6, is a two-time All-American. Marable, who has history of winning tight, low-scoring matches, is 17-0 and has been dominant all season. Of his 17 victories, nine have resulted in bonus points. No. 12 Andy Rendos of Bucknell is a returning All-American who sports a 17-2 record. Rutgers' Scott Winston, a 2009 NCAA qualifier, placed fourth at the 2008 Midlands at 157 pounds. Nick Amuchasteui of Stanford is ranked No. 15 in the country. One non-Division I wrestler to keep your eye on is Colby's Bekzod Abdurakhmonov, a 2009 NJCAA runner-up and the younger brother of former All-American Muzaffar Abdurakhmonov of American. 174: Iowa's Jay Borschel, who has placed second and third at the Midlands, will be looking to capture his first Midlands title this season. Borschel, a 2008 All-American, is 9-0 this season and has earned bonus points in all but one of his matches. Freshman Ben Bennett of Central Michigan beat out defending Midlands champion and NCAA runner-up Mike Miller to earn the starting spot for the Chippewas, forcing Miller up to 184 pounds. Bennett is currently ranked No. 5. No. 6 Mike Letts of Maryland is 15-3 this season with two of those losses coming to No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell and the other to Bennett. He placed fifth at the Midlands a year ago. No. 7 Luke Manuel of Purdue, a two-time NCAA qualifier, placed eighth in this event last year down a weight class at 165 pounds. No. 9 Jordan Blanton of Illinois was fifth at the 2008 Midlands at 184 pounds. Other ranked wrestlers expected to compete in this weight class include No. 11 Duke Burke of Iowa State, No. 12 Dorian Henderson of Missouri, No. 15 Shane Riccio of Bucknell, and No. 18 Robert Hamlin of Lehigh. 184: This is one of the most anticipated weight classes because of its overall strength. It is expected to include seven of the nation's top 12 wrestlers, including No. 1 and No. 2. Missouri's Max Askren, a two-time All-American, is ranked No. 1 but has only competed once this season. No. 2 Mike Cannon of American, also a two-time All-American, was a Midlands champion last year at 174 pounds. Iowa's Phil Keddy, a returning All-American, was a Midlands runner-up last year and is ranked No. 5. John Dergo of Illinois, who is ranked No. 6, is 13-2 this season after moving up from 174 pounds. His only losses have come to No. 1 Askren and No. 4 Kirk Smith of Boise State. Miller, a Midlands runner-up and NCAA runner-up last season at 174 pounds, will get his first major test in his new weight class. He has yet to see an opponent ranked in the top 10 this season. No. 11 David Craig of Lehigh, who was the nation's No. 1 overall wrestler in the country coming out of high school in 2006, has the tools to compete with anyone. Iowa State's Jerome Ward, an NCAA qualifier last season as a freshman, has been wrestling well this season and has a victory over Keddy. Stanford's Zack Giesen won the Reno Tournament of Champions and is ranked No. 13. 197: Iowa State's Jake Varner, a returning NCAA champion and U.S. World Team member in freestyle, is the overwhelming favorite to win the title. Varner is 8-0 this season. The only match this season in which Varner has not earned bonus points was his 5-3 victory over No. 2 Craig Brester of Nebraska at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Hudson Taylor of Maryland, one of the nation's most prolific pinners, has finished third at the NCAAs the last two seasons ... but was a disappointing seventh in this event a year ago. Wisconsin's Trevor Brandvold, who is ranked No. 7, defeated Taylor before defaulting out of the tournament. Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan, who finished his collegiate career in 2008 as a three-time All-American and NCAA runner-up, is expected to compete and should challenge. Iowa's Chad Beatty, an NCAA qualifier last season, is 8-1 this season with his only loss coming to Varner. Freshman Brent Haynes is 15-3 and ranked No. 11. Logan Brown of Purdue and Chad Hanke of Oregon State are both nationally-ranked wrestlers who could figure into the mix. 285: This weight class includes five of the nation's top eight heavyweights ... and that doesn't even include the wrestler who is No. 1 in the pre-tournament rankings, Aaron Anspach, a 2007 NCAA runner-up for Penn State, or defending Midlands champion and NCAA champion Mark Ellis of Missouri. Lehigh's Zach Rey, who is ranked No. 3, is 13-0 this season. Missouri's Dom Bradley, a Junior World champion in freestyle, is ranked No. 4 and has beaten Ellis in both regular-season meetings this season. Iowa State's David Zabriskie, who placed third at this event last year, is ranked No. 4. Pittsburgh's Ryan Tomei has beaten all comers this season with the exception of Rey, who had defeated the Panther twice. D.J. Russo of Rutgers, who is ranked No. 8, was unbeaten on the season before falling to Tomei (by pin) on December 12. Rider's Eddie Bordas is 13-4 this season and ranked No. 17. This article also appears on the official site of the Big Ten Network.

Seven defending champs return to premier Christmas tournament One half of the weight class champions from last year's Powerade Christmas Wrestling Tournament return to the 43rd edition, which will be hosted this Tuesday and Wednesday by Canon-McMillan High School just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Five of these champions are among the 21 nationally-ranked wrestlers in this event. Five state championship winning teams from this past season are present in the field -- Beast of the East runners-up Central Dauphin, PA; Toshiba Business Solutions Classic champions Collins Hill, GA; Osceola, FL; Shady Side Academy, PA; and Christiansburg, VA. Both Pennsylvania state runner-up teams also are present in the field -- Blue Mountain and Benton. Seeking its third consecutive tournament title is Central Dauphin, and the Rams were also runners-up in their Powerade debut back in 2006. The 112 pound weight class stands to be one of the event's showcase brackets with four nationally-ranked wrestlers. Defending tournament champion Jimmy Gulibon (Derry Area, PA) is ranked second in the nation. Others ranked include Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA); Corey Keener (Blue Mountain, PA); and Stephen Myers (Moeller, OH). Shyheim Brown (Central Dauphin, PA) was listed in the preseason rankings, and Bazell Partridge (Collins Hill, GA) was a state champion last year. Two other weight classes feature a trio of nationally-ranked wrestlers. Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA); Mitchell Port (Bellefonte, PA); and TJ Mitchell (Collins Hill, GA) all are present in the 125 pound weight class. Defending Powerade champion Josh Kindig (Blue Mountain, PA); Joel Smith (Collins Hill, GA); and Pete Baldwin (Osceola, FL) are projected to compete at 140 pounds. Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) is first in the nation at 160 pounds, and seeks to become only the second wrestler to win four titles at the Powerade -- the first being Ty Moore (North Allegheny, PA) from 1986-1989. Peppelman will most likely have to beat No. 10 in the nation Eric Hess (Benton, PA) in the Wednesday evening final to do so. Junior Nico Megaludis (Franklin Regional, PA) has won Powerade in each of his scholastic seasons to date, and is competing this year at 119 pounds. One other nationally-ranked wrestler appears in his weight class -- Mike Rhone (Benton, PA). The other weight class with multiple ranked wrestlers is 285 pounds, where defending Powerade champion Karl Green (Mt St Joseph's, MD) and Tyler Demott (Benton, PA) are slated to compete. The other two defending Powerade champions -- Frank Martelotti (130) and Matthew Cunningham (171) of Shady Side Academy, PA -- are not ranked nationally. Martelotti is in a weight without any nationally-ranked wrestlers, while Kenny Courts (Central Dauphin, PA) is present in Cunningham's weight. Rounding out the list of nationally-ranked wrestlers in this tournament are Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, PA) at 103 pounds; Pierce Harger (Moeller, OH) at 152 pounds, though his ranking is at 160 pounds; Jamie Callender (Council Rock North, PA) at 189 pounds; and Nate Gaffney (Connellsville, PA) at 215 pounds. Cheesehead to host nation's elite in the New Year Three of the nation's pre-eminent teams will be making the trip to Kaukauna, WI for the 12th annual Cheesehead Invitational on January 1 and 2. This would include defending tournament champions Brandon, FL; Apple Valley, MN -- which returns to the tournament after having won it two times in the past; and Wyoming Seminary, PA making its debut at the tournament. State tournament champions among the 24-team field include Apple Valley; Brandon; Montini Catholic, IL; and Simley, MN. Apple Valley and Simley finished one-two in the recently completed Minnesota Christmas Tournament, while Montini was champion of the Dvorak Tournament this past week. State-level tournament runners-up in the field are Wyoming Seminary (fourth at Ironman and third at Beast); Kenyon-Wanamingo, MN; Wausau West, WI -- second in this event last year after winning it in 2008; and Yorkville, IL. There are fifteen wrestlers in the field nationally ranked, including four of the seven defending tournament champions. Two of the defending champions, both nationally ranked, are slated to compete at 152 pounds -- Joey Cozart (Brandon, FL) and Derek Olson (Muskego, WI). This pair of wrestlers is slated to be joined by a third nationally-ranked wrestler, Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, MN) -- ranked second in the weight class. Another pair of event champions -- Tyler Liberatore (Brandon, FL) and Colton Rasche (Montini Catholic, IL) -- is slated to compete at 130 pounds. Neither is nationally ranked; however two other wrestlers projected for this weight class are ranked by InterMat. That pair of wrestlers would be Walsh Ironman champion Nate Skonieczny (Walsh Jesuit, OH), and state champion Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, MN) who is twice a Cadet National freestyle All-American. Also in this weight bracket are two of the nation's top freshmen in Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA) and Jake Short (Simley, MN). Morris is ranked third in the Class of 2013, and placed fifth at the Beast of the East; while Short is ranked 12th among all freshmen and a Cadet National freestyle All-American. Yet another defending Cheesehead champion will find himself in a tough weight class, as Noah Budi (Kaukauna, WI) will have fellow nationally-ranked wrestler Jake Waste (Apple Valley, MN) standing in his way at 171 pounds. Rounding out the defending champions is Jon Schuster (Wausau West, WI) at 112 pounds and Rossi Bruno (Brandon, FL) at 119 pounds. Schuster is not ranked nationally, but in his weight class is Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, PA) ranked 12th in the nation. Bruno is ranked 20th in the nation and stands to be challenged by returning state runner-up Dylan Wright (Simley, MN) and former National Prep placer Kyle Johnson (Wyoming Seminary, PA). The closing weight, 285 pounds, is the last one with multiple nationally-ranked wrestlers. Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA) -- after winning the Ironman and Beast of the East -- is the number one ranked wrestler in the country. However, the journey gets no easier here, as Henry Chirino (Brandon, FL) is ranked 8th in the nation; and Lavelle Howard (Plainfield Central, IL) was champion of the Dvorak this past week. Rounding out the nationally-ranked wrestlers in the tournament are Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic, IL) at 103 pounds; Jameson Oster (Lockport, IL) at 125 pounds; Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary, PA) at 135 pounds; Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, MN) at 140 pounds; and Steven Keogh (Apple Valley, MN) at 160 pounds. Blair headlines talented, deep field at Bethlehem Holiday After titles at the Walsh Ironman and Beast of the East, Blair Academy, NJ travels to their third major tournament of the season on Monday and Tuesday of this week at Bethlehem Liberty High School in Pennsylvania. While obviously the favorites, the rest of the field will provide a rigorous test to the Buccaneer squad. It includes two other teams that finished in the top five at the Beast of the East -- St Mark's, DE and Cox, VA. Five other teams finished between 11th and 22nd -- Nazareth, PA; Quakertown, PA; Northampton, PA; Bethlehem Liberty, PA; and Camden Catholic, NJ. Also in the field is perennial power Council Rock South, PA. Nineteen nationally-ranked wrestlers have the potential to appear in the brackets, with a pair of weight classes possibly having a trio of ranked wrestlers. The obvious feature weight class is 189 pounds, where career undefeated junior Andrew Campolattano (Bound Brook, NJ) will be seriously tested against Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ) and/or Antonio Giorgio (Warwick, PA). This trio is ranked first, fifth, and eighth respectively. Also in the weight class is Bobby Lavelle (Council Rock South, PA), NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up this past April at 160 pounds. Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ) is the nation's top ranked wrestler at 112 pounds, which is the other weight with a trio of nationally-ranked wrestlers. Tyler Pendergast (St Mark's, DE) and Caleb Richardson (Cox, VA) are slated to appear in this weight class. There are three other weight classes with a pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers present. One of the tougher weight classes in this tournament should be at 119 pounds where Beast of the East champion Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ) and Sean Dolan (St Mark's, DE) are nationally ranked. Also in the bracket are Bryan Whitt (Cox, VA) and Matt Sausman (Camden Catholic, NJ) -- both were nationally ranked in the preseason. Another weight class with similar quantity and quality is at 125 pounds with a Beast semifinal rematch as a probable finals bout -- Zach Horan (Nazareth, PA) against Sean Boylan (St Mark's, DE). Two other Beast placers are present in this weight -- the freshman TJ Miller (Camden Catholic, NJ) and Scott Wolfinger (Quakertown, PA). State placer Anthony Marino (Bethlehem Liberty, PA) and state qualifier Matt Rappo (Council Rock South, PA) also float in the bracket. The other weight class with potential for fireworks is at 140 pounds. Should Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) compete in this tournament -- he did not compete in the Walsh Ironman or King of the Mountain, but did compete in a mid-week dual meet in between the two tournaments -- there could be a "one v. three" battle between him and Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ) in the final. Also present in this weight class is state champion Taylor Walsh (Camden Catholic, NJ). Other nationally-ranked wrestlers populating the brackets include Max Hvolbeck (Blair Academy, NJ) at 103 pounds; Nick Schenk (St Mark's, DE) at 130 pounds; Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ) at 135 pounds; Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA) at 145 pounds; Jesse Shanaman (Blair Academy, NJ) at 152 pounds; Spencer Myers (Sellinsgrove, PA) at 215 pounds; and Bobby Telford (St Mark's, DE) at 285 pounds. Monroeville Four" anchor Ohio's premier holiday tournament The 49th annual Brecksville Holiday Invitational Tournament features approximately 100 wrestlers with state tournament experience, as well as 15 teams that finished in the top ten of their respective state tournaments (14 from Ohio's three divisions, as well as Pope, GA). Defending tournament champion Wadsworth, OH are strong favorites to repeat as tournament champions. The Grizzlies return eight wrestlers that qualified for the state tournament last year, including six wrestlers that placed. Also present in this field are the top two teams in last year's small-school state tournament -- Troy Christian, OH and Monroeville, OH. The "Monroeville Four" of Hunter (125) and Logan (130) Stieber, Cam Tessari (140), and Chris Phillips (171) headline a list of 11 nationally-ranked wrestlers slated to compete in the tournament. Ty Mitch (Aurora, OH) and Kagain Squire (Wadsworth, OH) were Junior and Cadet National freestyle champions at 119 pounds this past summer in Fargo, ND. This pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers is slated to compete at 119 pounds. Another pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers and defending state champions also present in the 152 pound weight class. David Habat (St Ignatius, OH) and Harrison Hightower (University School, OH) were also champions at the Brecksville Holiday last year. Ranked fourth nationally at 119 pounds, Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH) is in a weight class along with defending tournament champion Jake McCombs (Marysville, OH). The other nationally-ranked wrestler and defending tournament champion in the event is George DiCamillo (St Ignatius, OH) at 103 pounds. Seeking third titles at this year's tournament are the "Monroeville Four" and Habat; while DiCamillo, McCombs, and Hightower seek their second title. The three junior members of the "Monroeville Four" -- Hunter Stieber, Tessari, and Phillips could become the third, fourth, and fifth wrestlers to win four titles in the event should they win titles this year and next year. Top Michigan wrestlers travel to Goodrich Greenville seeks to defend its title in the top tournament within the Wolverine State this coming Wednesday at the 19th annual Goodrich Tournament of Champions. This year's field will feature eight teams ranked inside the top four of their respective divisions in the most recent team rankings compiled by Michigan Grappler. Ranked first in Division 2 is Allegan; Greenville, Swan Valley, and Hesperia are ranked second in Divisions 2, 3, and 4 respectively; Detroit Catholic Central and Dundee are third in Divisions 1 and 3; while St John's is ranked fourth in Division 2. Of the nine nationally-ranked wrestlers from the state of Michigan, only Taylor Massa (St John's) and Jordan Thomas (Greenville) are slated to compete in this event, at 152 and 160 pounds respectively. Massa is also one of five wrestlers ranked as best in their weight class in the Wolverine State regardless of division by Michigan Grappler (as of December 17th). Others are Jacob Schmitt (St John's) at 103 pounds, Joe Rendina (Dundee) at 130 pounds, Colin Zeerip (Hesperia) at 135 pounds, and John Rizgallah (Allegan) at 189 pounds. First against second bouts could emerge at 130, 135, and 152 pounds. Rendina and Tyler Keselring (Greenville) are at 130 pounds; Zeerip and Jaylyn Bohl (Allegan) are at 135 pounds; while Massa, Adam Bonner (Greenville), and Troy Lamson (Swan Valley) are the top three wrestlers at 152 pounds. Another weight of note is at 119 pounds, where it could be a Goodrich TOC finals rematch between Alec Mooradian (Detroit Catholic Central) and BJ Suitor (Swan Valley); Mooradian won the matchup last year between eventual state champions. Other events to note over the New Year's week ... ***Medina Invitational Tournament (Monday and Tuesday) -- St Edward, OH; Massillon Perry, OH; Claymont, OH; and CVCA, OH headline the 39-team field. ***Manheim Invitational (Tuesday and Wednesday) -- Easton, PA; Reynolds, PA; and Robinson, VA headline the 14-team field. ***Granite City Tournament (Tuesday and Wednesday) -- Oak Park River Forest, IL; Neosho, MO; Oak Park, MO; Fort Zumwalt West, MO; and Francis Howell Central, MO headline the expanded 24-team field. ***Sierra Nevada Classic (Tuesday and Wednesday) -- Buchanan, CA is the anchor team, while Derek Garcia (Sedro Woolley, WA) at 171 pounds is the top wrestler in this mega-bracket event.

There are fathers and sons in wrestling ... then there are the Peerys, a true wrestling dynasty. The father, Rex Peery, and his two sons, Hugh and Ed, each won three NCAA wrestling championships. That's a total of nine titles. A haul of hardware no other wrestling family can match. This year, InterMat Rewind salutes the Peerys -- their lives as a family, their individual careers in wrestling and coaching, and their lives off the mat -- with a series of individual articles. This summer, we profiled Rex Peery. Meet Hugh Peery Robert Hugh Peery was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma when his dad Rex was a student at Oklahoma State University. As Hugh pointed out in an interview for this profile, "I was born in dad's freshman year, but he had worked two years after high school before going to college, because of the Depression." Hugh Peery"There's a photo of me in a diaper on the mat with my dad." Hugh Peery's immersion in wrestling continued in his youth. In the 2003 book, A Turning Point, written by Jamie Moffatt and Roger Olesen, Hugh said that his dad often brought him to wrestling practice at Oklahoma State. "When I was four or five, Dad took a job coaching wrestling at the high school level. As I was growing up, I would go over to the high school and would wrestle every day. When I got to high school, I wrestled guys that had, maybe, two or three years' experience, while I already had been wrestling for 15 years and learning from my father. I had a great advantage." Taking advantage of that early start Hugh Peery's actual, competitive wrestling career officially began at Tulsa Central High School, where his father was head coach (having taken the job when former coach Art Griffith took the helm at Oklahoma State upon the passing of Ed Gallagher in 1940). "I started as a sophomore. Back then, freshmen couldn't compete." That first season, Hugh Peery placed third in the state. However, in his junior and senior years, he won Oklahoma high school state titles at 112 pounds in 1949 and 1950. "There were only about 13-14 teams in the state at the time," Hugh said, providing some historical perspective on the state of high school wrestling in Oklahoma 60 years ago. That second state title may not have happened in Oklahoma, if it weren't for some generous friends. Just before Hugh's senior year, Rex Peery was offered the head coaching job at the University of Pittsburgh. Dad, his mother Clara, sister Ann, and younger brother Ed all made the move to Pennsylvania ... while Hugh stayed in Tulsa, with family friend and teammate, John Eagleton. "I am forever indebted to the Eagletons," said Hugh Peery. "It was a tough year for me. I truly missed my family, especially once wrestling season was over." Go east, young man After graduating from Tulsa Central in 1950, Hugh joined the rest of his family in the Pittsburgh area. He told a story about the family building a new house. "Dad decided to build a house in Shaler Township, because they had a good wrestling program." "Before construction started, a guy brought concrete blocks. The driver offered to take them off the truck, but dad said, 'These guys will do it,' so we did." And got a good workout in the process. That summer, Hugh and his brother Ed posed for photos in an updated version of the classic instructional book, simply titled Wrestling, which had been originally written by legendary Oklahoma State coach Ed Gallagher. Wrestling for dad, again Rex Peery (Photo/1952 Owl Yearbook)Hugh Peery resumed his wrestling career at Pitt, wrestling for his father Rex, as he had his sophomore and junior years at Tulsa Central High. "I loved wrestling for my dad," Hugh disclosed. "He always put us through the paces, rope climbing, ladder climbing, chinning." Hugh told a story about a practice session match that sounded as if it were anything but a friendly roll around on the living room rug: "When I was a freshman at Pitt, I took him down for the first time in a practice session. So he had to keep wrestling till he took me down. Thought he'd have a heart attack." Before wrestling an official intercollegiate match at Pittsburgh, Hugh Peery competed at the 1951 Pan American Games in Argentina, bringing home a gold medal. In the interview for this profile, Hugh Peery was characteristically modest when talking about his college career as a Pitt Panther ... and, in fact, opened that portion of our conversation remembering a bitter defeat. "I lost one match as a sophomore, to (Bob) Homan of Penn State, a Mepham (High School, Long Island, New York) grad, at Penn State. It was the worst match I have ever wrestled." That loss to Homan was Hugh Peery's first -- and last -- in college. He crafted a 56-1 overall record at Pitt, including a 48-match win streak that started the very next match after losing to Homan. "I wrestled him the next year, had him on his back in 15 seconds. Never pinned him, but beat him 18-8." "I was not much of a pinner," Hugh Peery continued. "I wasn't strong enough." Hugh Peery's biography at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in his native Stillwater, Oklahoma, states, "He was noted for his speed and clever style. He was an exceptional takedown artist with a wide variety of moves, and his usual pattern was to establish an early lead and maintain pressure with a vast repertoire of rides, escapes and pinning holds." This description of Hugh Peery's wrestling style is borne out by looking at the brackets for the three NCAA championships where he wrestled. As wrestling historian Denny Diehl pointed out in his analysis of Hugh for the book The History of Collegiate Wrestling, the elder Peery son had only one close match in three national college tournaments ... and that was a 6-5 victory over sophomore Terry McCann of the University of Iowa at the 1954 NCAAs. McCann went on to win two NCAA titles and a gold medal in freestyle at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Hugh remembered that match well, saying, "(McCann) was tough. I won on riding time." A very full plate his sophomore year In the 2003 book A Turning Point, Hugh Peery was very disclosing in discussing his time at the University of Pittsburgh. "My sophomore year, 1951-1952, was the hardest. I was trying my darndest to get into Pitt's pre-dental program the following year; I was wrestling and trying to win the NCAAs; and also attempting to make the Olympic wrestling team. I was constantly making weight and totally engrossed with my studies so that I might be accepted into the pre-dental program." (Hugh had wanted to be a dentist since seventh grade.) The elder Peery son continued, "I achieved all three goals that year, but it was probably a mistake going for the early dental program. It was just too hard, along with all the wrestling. I could have put off the dental program for a couple years." At Hugh's first NCAAs in 1952, held at Colorado A&M in Fort Collins, he was the top seed in the eight-man bracket at 115 pounds. After drawing a bye in the first round, Hugh shut out Ted Bredehoft of Cornell College of Iowa, 4-0. In the semifinals, the Panther defeated fourth-seeded Richard Meeks of the University of Illinois, 6-3. He then won his first national title with a convincing 13-6 win over Will Howard, the third-seeded wrestler out of the University of Denver. Hugh Peery (Photo/1953 Owl Yearbook)After winning his first NCAA title, Hugh Peery made the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, traveling to Helsinki, Finland to compete. He won two of three matches, but, as with that bitter loss in college his sophomore year, the one loss in the Olympics is what has stayed with him more than a half-century later. "I felt that I was screwed by the judges in my match against the Russian," Peery is quoted in A Turning Point. "It was my third match and I thought I had it won. I never turned the guy, but I took him down, oh, maybe 15 times, but I was never awarded any points by the two Eastern bloc judges. I lost on a split decision and ended up in sixth place." "My father was very intent on my being on the Olympic team," Hugh Peery told A Turning Point authors Moffatt and Olesen. "After going over to Europe and competing in the Olympics and having a bad experience there, I came home and told Dad, 'Never tell me again what I have to do.' Actually, if I had won a gold medal at those Olympics, I probably wouldn't have wrestled any more. I already had won an NCAA championship and with an Olympic gold, what else was there?" Coming back from Olympic disappointment Despite the disappointment from the 1952 Olympics, Hugh Peery continued wrestling. Junior year, Hugh, his dad and his Pitt teammates traveled halfway across Pennsylvania to Penn State, site of the 1953 NCAAs. Again, Hugh was the No. 1 seed among a dozen wrestlers in the 115-pound weight class. In the opening round, Hugh faced a familiar foe in Illinois' Richard Meeks, this time getting a 9-4 win. In the second round, Hugh defeated Art Helf of Franklin & Marshall, 6-2. The semifinals saw the Panther demolish Ed Dawkins of Ursinus, 11-1. In the title bout, Hugh Peery scored a 5-1 win over Bob Christensen of Northwestern to win his second national crown. Hugh Peery shared some of his memories from his second NCAA tournament with A Turning Point authors Jamie Moffatt and Roger Olesen, saying his first match of the event vs. Meeks was the most memorable. "I had wrestled him before and was pretty sure I could beat him. We got into a scuffle at the edge of the mat, and I got mad at him. My dad was coaching me and got made at me. It wasn't a tough match; I think I pancaked him for five of my points. But Dad wanted me to win the Outstanding Wrestler award, and he thought my outburst at mat side cost me." (At the 1953 NCAAs, Outstanding Wrestler honors went to Frank Bettucci, 147-pound champ from Cornell University.) As a senior at Pitt, Hugh Peery won all of his regular-season matches, then claimed the EIWA (Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) title at 123 pounds. (It was the first year Pittsburgh had competed in the conference.) At the 1954 NCAAs held at the University of Oklahoma, Hugh was again the top seed in the 11-man 115-pound bracket. He got off to a powerful start, pinning his first two opponents -- Kansas State's Joe Landholm, at 3:55, and Auburn's Robert David, in exactly four minutes. In the semifinals, Hugh had the one close match of three years of NCAA tournaments, edging Iowa's Terry McCann, 6-5, to advance to his third straight title match. As in past years, the Panther had a fairly easy championship bout, scoring a decisive 9-2 win over Charles Ofsthun of the University of Minnesota to claim his third consecutive NCAA title, joining his dad Rex as a three-time national collegiate champ. Dan Gable with Hugh Peery (Photo/TheMat.com)That was the end of Hugh Peery's competitive wrestling career. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh's Dental School in 1956, Hugh Peery wanted to join the Navy. He served as an assistant coach to family friend Ray Swartz at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis for a couple years, but, as he told A Turning Point authors Moffatt and Olesen, that, unlike his father, "I recognized that coaching was something I really didn't want to do as a career." Instead, Hugh Peery realized that nearly lifelong dream of being a dentist. He established his practice in the Pittsburgh area, where he worked in his chosen profession for 51 years before retiring about two years ago at age 75. Hugh Peery was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1980 -- the same year as his younger brother Ed. They joined their dad Rex, who had been welcomed into the Hall as part of its initial class in 1976.

Continuing one of the great traditions in collegiate wrestling, Northwestern is set to host the 47th edition of the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30 in Welsh-Ryan Arena. Among the former All-Americans included in this year's field is Northwestern's own Brandon Precin, who is aiming to defend his 125-pound Midlands title from a year ago. Takedown Wrestling Media will again provide whistle to whistle coverage of the 2009 Midlands Championships. Our broadcast schedule will mirror that of the competition. Join Scott Casber and Steve Foster for the call. Should be a lot of fun and great wrestling action in this Holiday Classic. Our family at TDR will be dedicating this broadcast to the memory of our friend Adam Frey. Visit NUsports.com for complete session-by-session scheduling, a weight-by-weight preview and for up-to-date tournament brackets throughout the two-day affair. Final seeding will be determined by the tournament committee and posted on NUsports.com on Monday evening and the tournament gets underway at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. http://nusports.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/nw-2009-midlands-championships.html Tune in to Takedownradio.com. We look forward to this tournament each year and hope you do as well.