InterMat Staff

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 6 nationally, opened up the 2010-11 season with a resounding 41-3 win at Bloomsburg. The young Lions, with five freshmen starters, won nine of ten bouts and picked up three pins in front of a standing room only crowd in BU's Nelson Field House. Five of Penn State's starters were either true or red-shirt freshmen making their collegiate debuts and all five of them were victorious. True freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got the night started in fine fashion with a 5-3 win over Bloomsburg's Sean Boylan at 125. Sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) thrilled the many Penn State faithful with a fall over three-time New York state high school champion Nick Wilcox at the 2:59 mark at 133. True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 14 at 141, made his much anticipated collegiate debut with a quick pin of BU's Derek Shingara at the :54 mark. Sophomore James English (York, Pa.), stepping in for No. 3 Frank Molinaro at 149, notched a thrilling 8-4 TB win against Bloomsburg's Josh Roosa. Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), also making his collegiate debut, put on an offensive clinic. Ranked No. 6 at 157, Taylor posted a 20-5 technical fall in just 5:00. Taylor's show gave the Nittany Lions a 23-0 lead heading into intermission. Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) had a successful PSU debut, posting a 3-2 win over talented Huskie sophomore Josh Veltre at 165. Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 174, then put on an offensive show, notching seven takedowns on his way to a 20-4 technical fall at the 6:16 mark. All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 184, brought the many Penn State faithful in the capacity crowd to their feet with a quick second period pin. Wright got the fall just :07 into the middle stanza, putting Penn State up 37-0 at the 3:07 mark. Bloomsburg got its first win as Richard Perry posted a 7-4 win over Lion Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.) at 197. Heavyweight Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 9 at HWT, notched a convincing 8-0 major over BU junior Zac Walsh, a national qualifier. Penn State posted a convincing 24-3 edge in takedowns and, by virtue of three pins, two technical falls and a major, had 14 bonus points to BU's none. Penn State, under the guidance of head coach Cael Sanderson, continues a busy opening weekend when No. 15 Lehigh invades Red Hall on Sunday, Nov. 14, for a 2 p.m. dual. Season tickets for the 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season are on sale now. This year's package features seven home duals (the Nittany Lion Open is not part of the package) and costs only $42 for adults and $28 for youth (18 and under). Fans can place new orders for season tickets by calling Joel Diamond at 814-867-2557. A $5 per order handling fee will be added to new season ticket holders. Single dual tickets will go on sale later this fall. The 2010-11 Penn State wrestling season is presented by the Family Clothesline. All Penn State events will once again air live on Forever Broadcasting's WRSC (1390 AM) and WSQV (92.1 FM). All radio broadcasts are streamed live at GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. The 2010-11 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline. Results: 125: Frank Martellotti PSU dec. Sean Boylan BU, 5-3 3-0 133: Bryan Pearsall PSU pinned Nick Wilcox BU, WBF (2:59) 9-0 141: #14 Andrew Alton PSU pinned Derek Shingara BU, WBF (0:54) 15-0 149: James English PSU dec. (TB) Josh Roosa BU, 8-4 18-0 157: #6 David Taylor PSU tech. fall Frank Hickman BU, 20-5 (5:00) 23-0 165: Jake Kemerer PSU dec. JoshVeltre BU, 3-2 26-0 174: #13 Ed Ruth PSU tech. fall Mike Dessino BU, 20-4 (6:16) 31-0 184: #3 Quentin Wright PSU pinned Nate Graham BU, WBF (3:07) 37-0 197: Richard Perry BU dec. Justin Ortega PSU, 7-4 37-3 285: #9 Cameron Wade PSU maj. dec. Zac Walsh BU, 8-0 41-3 Attendance: 2,374 Records: Penn State 1-0 (0-0 Big Ten), Bloomsburg 3-1 (0-0 EWL) Up Next for Penn State: home vs. #17 Lehigh, Sunday, Nov. 14, 2 p.m. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: True freshman Frank Martellotti (Pittsburgh, Pa.) made his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg rookie Sean Boylan at 125. Martellotti got on the board early, using a low single to score on the edge of the mat at the 1:53 mark, taking a 2-0 lead. The Lion rookie then put together a strong ride, maintaining control of Boylan for :32 before Boylan escaped to a 2-1 score. Martellotti nearly notched a second takedown as the period ended but time ran out. Boylan chose down to start the second period but could not break free of Martellotti's ride. The Lion freshman maintained control long enough to build up a 1:01 riding time edge before Boylan escaped to a 2-2 tie. Neither wrestler managed a scoring chance over the final minute and the bout went to a third period tied 2-2. Martellotti chose down to start the third period and this time it was Boylan that was tough on top. But Martellotti burst out from underneath at the 1:25 mark to take a 3-2 lead. Martellotti countered a quick Boylan shot with a strong double leg to take a 5-2 lead with another takedown at the :52 mark. Boylan escaped to a 5-3 deficit at the :24 mark with Martellotti owning only :54 in riding time. Martellotti nearly scored again but Boylan was able to keep from giving up any points. Still, the strong 5-3 decision for Martellotti put Penn State up 3-0. 133: Nittany Lion sophomore Bryan Pearsall (Lititz, Pa.) took on freshman Nick Wilcox at 133. Wilcox, a three-time New York state champion in high school, looked to score early, getting control of Pearsall's ankle early, but the Lion sophomore was able to move out of bounds to force a reset at the 2:00 mark. Another Wilcox shot led to a tie-up at the 1:25 mark, but Pearsall forced a scramble that allowed him to work his way around the side of the Huskie to get his own takedown at the :54 mark. Leading 2-0, Pearsall began to put together a very strong ride, looking to tilt the Huskie. With just :04 left, Pearsall worked Wilcox to his back and, with just :01 left got the pin. The fall put the Lions up 9-0. 141: True freshman Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.), ranked No. 14 nationally at 141, made his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg's Derek Shingara. Alton slipped under Shingara just :07 into his first bout to take an early 2-0 lead. The savvy Lion rookie quickly worked his way into control of Shingara's shoulders, deftly tossed him to the mat and wasted no time in getting the pin. Alton planted Shingara just :54 into his first collegiate bout and put the Lions up 15-0. 149: Two-time All-American Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), ranked No. 3 at 149, was held out of the opener due to an injury and sophomore James English (York, Pa.) stepped in for the start. English took on Huskie sophomore Josh Roosa. The duo battled evenly for the first period and neither man found an opening in which to score. Tied 0-0, Roosa chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. English worked the center of the mat, forcing Roosa towards the outside circle for the bulk of the second period. Slight shots by the Nittany Lion were not enough to break through Roosa's pure defensive style and the Huskie held a 1-0 lead after two periods. English chose down to start the third period and quickly scrambled out to an escape and a 1-1 tie. Roosa took his first shot at the :51 mark of the third period, but English was able to easily step back out of trouble. The Lion then countered and nearly scored with :32 left, almost tossing Roosa to the mat. But Roosa worked his way out of trouble to keep the bout tied and send the match to a first sudden victory period. English took the period's first shot but Roosa fought it off. Roosa fought off two more late English shots to force two tie-breaker periods. English chose down for the first tie-breaker period and quickly reversed the Huskie and nearly pinned him. Three near fall points and an escape by Roosa gave English a 6-2 lead after :30. Roosa chose down to start the final :30, escaped and was quickly taken down again. A final escape by Roosa mattered not and English posted a thrilling 8-4 win, putting Penn State up 18-0. 157: Red-shirt freshman David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio), ranked No. 6 nationally at 157, made his collegiate debut against Bloom's Frank Hickman. Taylor wasted no time in getting his first collegiate takedown, scoring just :16 into the bout. Hickman escaped but was immediately taken down by Taylor again. Taylor tried to pin Hickman but the Huskie was able to scramble his way out of trouble and escape to a 4-2 deficit. Taylor then opened the floodgates. A quick takedown led to three near fall points and a 9-2 lead. Hickman managed to escape again, but Taylor used another quick single for a fourth takedown and quickly tilted Hickman for three more back points to lead 14-3 with 1:28 in riding time after one period. Taylor chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way free to an escape and a 15-3 lead. Hickman looked to score on a low single, but Taylor sat out and countered the move, forcing a tie-up with 1:12 left. Taylor then used a strong high double off the reset to take a 17-3 lead with 1:02 left. The Lion freshman began working for another tilt but got a bit loose on his move and was reversed by Hickman. The move cut Taylor's lead to 18-5 after a Taylor escape. With just :04 left, Taylor snagged a scrambling Hickman as he tried to scamper away and got a takedown to clinch a two-period technical fall. The 20-5 win at the 5:00 mark put Penn State up 23-0 heading into intermission. 165: Red-shirt freshman Jake Kemerer (Greensburg, Pa.) made his collegiate debut against Bloomsburg sophomore Josh Veltre at 165. Veltre got in deep on Kemerer's right leg and nearly took a 2-0 lead with a trip on the edge of the mat. But Kemerer was able to work his way out of bounds to keep the match scoreless a minute in. Kemerer matched Veltre's move, using a slow single to nearly score with :32 left. But this time, Veltre stepped out of bounds and forced the reset. Scoreless after one period, Veltre chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Kemerer nearly scored again at the :40 mark, almost finishing off a high single. But the Huskie sophomore was able to step back, out of trouble, and hold onto his slim lead. Trailing by one, Kemerer chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Kemerer continued to pressure Veltre and his work paid off as a low single led to a takedown at the 1:27 mark, the first of his collegiate career. Veltre escaped to a 3-2 deficit and action returned to the center circle. Kemerer countered a Veltre shot with :39 left and tried to work his way behind the Huskie for a clinching takedown. Veltre backed out of bounds, forcing a reset with :09 left. Kemerer fought off one late Veltre shot and notched a 3-2 win, putting Penn State up 26-0. 174: Red-shirt freshman Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 174, made his collegiate debut against Huskie sophomore Mike Dessino. Ruth, like many of his fellow freshman, got on the board early with a takedown less than :30 into the bout. Dessino worked with way to an escape with 2:00 left, cutting the lead to 2-1. But Ruth was relentless, using a low single to take Dessino down for another takedown. This time, Ruth deftly turned Roosa for two back points and led 6-1. Dessino finally scrambled to an escaped with :45 left, only to get taken down by Ruth again with :32 left as the Lion freshman used a strong high double to move out to an 8-2 lead. A strong Ruth ride-out gave Ruth an 8-2 lead with 2:09 in riding time after one period. Ruth chose down to start the second period and steadily worked his way to an escape and a 9-2 lead. Ruth was relentless on offense, using a low trip to get his fourth takedown and move out to an 11-3 lead after a Dessino escape. With just :14 left, Ruth heard the call from the Penn State coaching staff to add one more takedown and the Lion promptly used a low double to take Dessino down and lead 13-3 after two periods. Dessino chose down to start the third period but Ruth quickly turned it into a far side cradle for three near fall points. Ruth added two more takedowns and posted a 20-4 tech fall at the 6:16 mark. 184: All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 3 at 184, returned to the mat for the first time since 2008-09 by taking on Bloomsburg senior Nate Graham. Wright scored just :04 into the period, taking Graham down with a low double. Graham, a senior, scrambled his way to an escape, cutting the lead to 2-1. The early takedown was the lone offense of the first period. Trailing 2-1, Graham chose down to start the second period, but Wright made him pay. The Lion All-American worked his arms around Graham's shoulders, moved his body over top of him and turned the Huskies' shoulders to the mat in just :07 to get the pin at the 3:07 mark. The victory put Penn State up 37-0. 197: Sophomore Justin Ortega (Oxford, Pa.), a starter at 174 last season, got the nod at 197 for Penn State and met Bloomsburg freshman Richard Perry. Perry used a strong high throw to get Bloomsburg's first takedown of the dual, taking a 2-0 lead at the 2:45 mark. Ortega worked his way to an escape, cutting the lead to 2-1, and action returned to the center circle. Perry's early score was the only takedown of the period and the Huskie took that 2-1 lead into the second stanza. Ortega chose down to start the second period but could not break free of a solid Perry ride until the 1:21 mark, giving Perry a 1:07 riding time edge. Tied 2-2, action returned to the center circle. With a 1:07 time edge, Perry chose neutral to start the final period. Ortega needed a takedown to try and keep Penn State's hopes of a shut-out alive. But Perry was able to back away from each Ortega charge. Ortega took a slight shot on the edge of the mat, but Perry stepped aside the move and countered for a second takedown and a 4-3 lead (after a quick Ortega escape). One more Perry takedown and an Ortega escape gave the Huskie a 7-4 win with the riding time point, breaking Penn State's shut-out hopes and cutting the Lion lead to 37-3. 285: Junior Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio), ranked No. 9 at heavyweight, faced off against Bloomsburg's Zac Walsh in the dual's final bout. Walsh, a junior, was an NCAA qualifier last year. After more than two minutes of battling, Wade used a single leg to trip Walsh to the mat and take a 2-0 lead with :28 left in the opening period. A Wade ride-out allowed him to carry that lead into the second period. Wade chose down to start that stanza and quickly escaped to a 3-0 lead. Wade gained control of Walsh's left leg and worked to pull him onto the mat. But the Huskie was able to force a stalemate at the :47 mark. Wade tripped Walsh to the mat with :24 left on the clock, getting a second takedown to move up to a 5-0 lead. Wade then rode the Huskie out once more to lead 5-0 after two periods. Walsh chose neutral to start the final stanza, but Wade was too much for the Bloomsburg junior. The ninth-ranked Lion countered a quick Walsh shot and moved over his hip for another takedown and a 7-0 lead. Another strong ride by the Lion senior gave him the bonus point and a very impressive 8-0 major decision. The four points gave Penn State a 41-3 dual meet win.

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. -- No. 10 Illinois got big wins in swing matches from Eric Terrazas, Kyle Dooley and Mario Gonzalez to earn an 18-13 win over No. 11 Missouri in front of a sold-out crowd of 900 at the Jon Davis Wrestling Center on Friday. Dooley upset No. 20 Dan Gonsor, who pinned Dooley at the Lindenwood Open two weeks ago, 7-3, Terrazas scored a 7-2 win and Gonzalez earned a 7-0 victory that sealed the team victory. “The big thing was that we won the swing matches at 149 and 197, and we pulled out an upset at 157,” Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. “Dooley got pinned by that guy at a tournament two weeks ago, so it was huge for him to bounce back and get a big win tonight.” The night started with an exhibition between Illinois’ Daryl Thomas and Missouri’s Luke Cherep. Thomas gained control early and dominated Cherep for a 13-6 decision. At 125 pounds, Missouri’s Alan Waters got a leg on the edge of the mat and Arlis sprawled out. But Waters gained control of Arlis’ head, too, to earn the takedown. Waters rode him out for the 2-0 lead after a period. Arlis deferred and Waters started down to start the second period. Waters got out quickly and scored another takedown to go up 5-0. Arlis started down in the third and Waters scored a two-point near-fall before Arlis kicked out. Arlis scored a late takedown and was looking for a pin but couldn’t finish it as he dropped an 8-3 decision. B.J. Futrell started the scoring at 133, getting a leg from Nathan McCormick and finishing it on the edge of the mat. After putting on a ride of over one minute, McCormick escaped, but Futrell once again picked McCormick’s ankle and took him down for a 4-1 lead after one period. Futrell started down in the second and scrambled through for a reversal to go up 6-2 after McCormick escaped. Futrell added another takedown in the second period and rode out McCormick for an 8-2 lead after five minutes. McCormick started down in the third and escaped quickly. The two wrestlers ended the period on their feet with Futrell adding the riding-time point for a 9-3 win, tying the match at 3-3. No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy took an early shot and connected, eventually working it into a takedown after breaking No. 17 Todd Schavrien’s defensive hold. Schavrien escaped after Kennedy rode him for 45 seconds and the two finished the period on their feet with Kennedy leading 4-1. Kennedy started down in the second and Schavrien rode him hard, keeping control for the entire period. Schavrien then started down in the third and escaped to cut Kennedy’s lead to 4-2, but Kennedy gained control of Schavrien’s legs on the edge of the mat for the deciding takedown with 35 seconds left. Schavrien escaped but Kennedy held on for the 6-3 win to give the Illini a 6-3 lead. Eighty seconds into the match at 149, Eric Terrazas earned a penalty point after Missouri’s Kyle Bradley made an unsportsmanlike contact after the whistle had blown. Terrazas then got in on a double-leg and finished it for a takedown. Terrazas rode him out for a 3-0 lead with over a minute of riding time after one period. Bradley started down in the second and Terrazas rode him hard for the whole period, racking up 3:16 of riding time. Terrazas chose neutral to start the third but Bradley scored a takedown with 42 seconds left in the match. He cut Terrazas loose and Terrazas shot in on a single-leg, which he finished for a takedown with five seconds left for the 7-2 win after adding the riding-time point. Kyle Dooley shot in on a double-leg and planted Missouri’s No. 20 Dan Gonsor on the edge of the mat for a takedown. Gonsor escaped and had Dooley’s leg, but the Illini sophomore kept hold of the Tiger’s foot to force a stalemate. Doolely then worked through another takedown on the edge for a 4-1 lead with 90 seconds left in the first period. Gonsor escaped but the pair ended the period on their feet with Dooley leading 4-2. Dooley chose neutral to start the second, but Gonsor shot just 15 seconds into the period. Dooley fended it off for another stalemate, holding onto his lead. The two finished the period on their feet and Gonsor chose top position to start the third. Dooley was given a stalling warning with 63 seconds left, but he escaped Gonsor’s grasp and when the Tiger chased him, he got both ankles and scored a takedown on the edge of the mat for a 7-2 lead. He was called for stalling, giving Gonsor a point, but he rode out the Tiger for a 7-3 win that increased the Illini margin to 12-3. Conrad Polz had two good shots early in the first period, but No. 13 Zach Toal fended off both of them to keep the bout scoreless. After a blood timeout late in the first period, Toal shot off the whistle and got a takedown, but Polz escaped quickly. Polz started down in the second and got out in 17 seconds to tie the match 2-2. Toal picked Polz’ ankle and got the takedown but Polz escaped quickly to make Toal’s lead 4-3. Toal started down in the third and escaped in 15 seconds to go ahead 5-3. Toal added a takedown with 35 seconds left, Polz escaped and Toal countered a late shot by Polz to make the final score 10-4 with the riding-time point. No. 3 Jordan Blanton scored a takedown with two minutes left in the first period against Patrick Wright. Wright escaped and the two finished the period neutral before Blanton started down in the second. Blanton escaped and the pair wrestled neutral the rest of the period. Wright started down in the third and got out quickly. He got in on Blanton’s legs but the Illini junior kept hold of one of Wright’s legs as time ran out during the scramble, with Blanton winning 3-2 to increase Illinois’ lead to 15-6. Redshirt-freshman Tony Dallago fended off a couple of early shots from Missouri’s Dorian Henderson and nearly landed a takedown, but Henderson circled behind him and got a takedown of his own. Dallago scrambled free to make the score 2-1. Henderson started down in the second and reversed Dallago as the Illini tried to earn near-fall points. Henderson scored two near-fall points and Dallago escaped, but Henderson scored another takedown off a restart. Dallago started down in the third and escaped, but Henderson knocked him back and covered him for another takedown. Dallago escaped and Henderson scored another takedown. Dallago escaped and Henderson blocked a shot, scrambling into position. He added the riding-time point for the 15-5 win, cutting Illinois’ lead to 15-10. Redshirt-freshman Mario Gonzalez came out as the aggressor against Missouri’s Jake Glore, scoring a takedown with 1:30 left in the first period after winning a scramble. Gonzalez rode him out and started down in the second. He quickly reversed Glore and rode him out for a 4-0 lead after two periods. Glore chose neutral to start the third and Gonzalez took him down with 30 seconds left before riding him out for the 7-0 win, locking up Illinois’ team victory as the Illini went ahead 18-10. Missouri’s third-ranked Dom Bradley and Pat Walker wrestled a scoreless first period before Bradley started down in the second period and escaped. The two wrestled neutral through the second period and started neutral in the third before Bradley scored a takedown and rode out Walker for a 3-0 win. The Illini return to action as a team on Dec. 3-4 at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, but Blanton will wrestle at the NWCA All-Star Classic on Nov. 21. Results: 125: Alan Waters (MU) dec. Logan Arlis (ILL), 8-3 (0-3) 133: B.J. Futrell (ILL) dec. Nathan McCormick (MU), 9-3 (3-3) 141: #2 Jimmy Kennedy dec. #17 Todd Schavrien (MU), 6-3 (6-3) 149: Eric Terrazas (ILL) dec. Kyle Bradley (MU), 7-2 (9-3) 157: Kyle Dooley (ILL) dec. #20 Dan Gonsor (MU), 7-3 (12-3) 165: #13 Zach Toal (MU) dec. Conrad Polz (ILL), 10-4 (12-6) 174: #14 Jordan Blanton (ILL) dec. Patrick Wright (MU), 3-2 (15-6) 184: Dorian Henderson (MU) maj. dec. Tony Dallago (ILL), 15-5 (15-10) 197: Mario Gonzalez (ILL) dec. Jake Glore (MU), 7-0 (18-10) HWT: #3 Dom Bradley dec. Pat Walker (ILL), 3-0 (18-13)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Lehigh wrestling team put forth its second straight impressive performance to start the season, as the 15th-ranked Mountain Hawks won eight bouts in knocking off No. 14 Pittsburgh 29-7 Friday night at Fitzgerald Field House. Just like in Lehigh’s win over Drexel a week ago, junior Sean Bilodeau was a winner by fall, while Lehigh’s two true freshmen posted bonus-point wins. The win moves the Mountain Hawks to 2-0 on the season, while Pitt falls to 0-1. “We wrestled well and wrestled hard,” said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. “We’re still making some little mistakes but the guys are going hard for seven minutes. We have something to build off of. Today was a good test and we responded well by attacking and pushing the pace.” After winning all ten weight classes in the season opener against Drexel, Lehigh fell behind early on Friday, as senior Mitch Berger dropped a 17-4 major decision to 14th-ranked Panther Anthony Zanetta at 125. From there, however, it was all Lehigh as the Mountain Hawks rolled to seven straight wins to take a commanding 26-4 lead. Like last Friday, true freshmen Frank Cagnina and Stephen Dutton got the Brown and White going in the right direction. Cagnina picked up his second major in as many bouts with a 12-4 win over Shelton Mack at 133. Cagnina scored takedowns in each of the first two periods and broke the match open with three takedowns in the third to earn the major decision and tie the dual at four. With Pittsburgh missing Tyler Nauman at 141, Dutton took full advantage against backup Mike Tully to post a 15-2 major decision. Dutton built a 7-1 lead after one period with a pair of takedowns and a three-point near fall and added a reversal and two-point near fall to open the second period. Sophomore Joey Napoli won his second straight bout without the benefit of a takedown as he downed Dane Johnson 5-1 at 149. The difference in the bout was a three-point near fall for Napoli in the second period as he added a third-period escape and riding time. The wildest bout of the night took place at 157 where Bilodeau met Donnie Tasser. In the first period, Bilodeau took Tasser to his back for two-and-two and led 4-1 after the first three minutes, but the Panther Turned the tide with an escape, a takedown and a pair of three-point near falls in the second period to take a 10-5 lead. Bilodeau began the third period down but reversed Tasser before putting him on his back before securing the fall at 6:16. “Sean made a little mistake and gave up eight points in about 40 seconds,” Santoro explained. “But then he came right back and scored some big points of his own.” At 165, junior Brandon Hatchett made a first period takedown stand in a 5-1 win over Adam Counterman, setting the stage for a big win by freshman Austin Meys over 19th-ranked Ethan Headlee at 174. Meys avenged a loss to Headlee last season at the Penn State open by winning the battle on their feet with a first period takedown. The match was 2-2 going to the third period after a pair of Headlee escapes. In the final period, the two men traded reversals, before Meys escaped to take a 5-4 lead and with riding time prevailed 6-4 to extend Lehigh’s lead to 23-4. “Meys was very methodical but he really controlled the match,” Santoro said. “Headlee is a very tough kid, but Meys wrestled hard and was in control. That’s a good win for him.” Panther true freshman Max Thomusseit gave sophomore Robert Hamlin all he could handle in their matchup at 184. Thomusseit scored a pair of first period takedowns to lead 4-2 after one. Hamlin picked up a takedown in the second period, but was reversed by Thomusseit and trailed 7-5 after two periods. Hamlin took advantage of his superior conditioning in the third period with an escape and two takedowns to rally for a 10-8 victory. Pittsburgh finally stopped the Lehigh run with a win at 197 as Zac Thomusseit downed junior Joe Kennedy 7-4. Kennedy struggled to find his offense and gave up a four-point move in the third period which proved to be the difference. The only battle between two ranked wrestlers came in the final bout of the dual at heavyweight as junior Zach Rey squared off against Pitt’s Ryan Tomei. The wrestlers traded escapes in regulation and went to overtime tied at one. After a scoreless sudden victory period, Rey picked up an escape in the tiebreakers and kept Tomei from scoring to prevail 2-1. Lehigh will wrap-up its road trip on Sunday when the Mountain Hawks travel to No. 6 Penn State. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. start from Rec Hall. The dual will be broadcast on WLVR-FM as well as online at Lehighsports.com. Results: 125 – Anthony Zanetta (Pitt) maj. dec. Mitch Berger (Lehigh) 17-4 133 – Frank Cagnina (Lehigh) maj. dec. Shelton Mack (Pitt) 12-4 141 – Stephen Dutton (Lehigh) maj. dec. Mike Tully (Pitt) 15-2 149 – Joey Napoli (Lehigh) dec. Dane Johnson (Pitt) 5-1 157 – Sean Bilodeau (Lehigh) Fall Donnie Tasser (Pitt) 6:16 165 – Brandon Hatchett (Lehigh) dec. Adam Counterman (Pitt) 5-1 174 – Austin Meys (Lehigh) dec. Ethan Headlee (Pitt) 6-4 184 – Robert Hamlin (Lehigh) dec. Max Thomusseit (Pitt) 10-8 197 – Zac Thomusseit (Pitt) dec. Joe Kennedy (Lehigh) 7-4 285 – Zach Rey (Lehigh) dec. Ryan Tomei (Pitt) 2-1, t.b.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The defending NCAA and Big Ten champion University of Iowa wrestling team hosted its annual wrestle-off semifinals Friday evening at the UI Field House practice gym. Ten bouts were contested during the intrasquad event. The Hawkeyes will hold their wrestle-off finals Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the UI Field House practice gym. Results will be posted on hawkeyesports.com after the matches. Five of Friday's 10 matches were decided by two points or less, and two extended into overtime. Posting wins and advancing to Saturday's finals were senior Matt Ballweg (157), juniors Tyler Clark (133), Jeret Chiri (149), Vinnie Wagner (184) and Jordan Johnson (Hwt)., sophomore Nate Moore (133), redshirt freshman Derek St. John (157) and true freshmen Ethan Owens (141), Jake Ballweg (149) and Mike Evans (174). Iowa will open the 2010-11 season Nov. 19 with the third-annual Iowa City Duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will face Iowa Central at 4 p.m. and Coe College at 6 p.m. Season tickets can be ordered from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9323, or online at hawkeyesports.com. Tickets are $67 for members of the public and $55 for UI faculty and staff. Tickets for the Iowa City Duals are $10 for adults and $5 for youth if purchased in advance, and $12 for adults and $6 for youth if purchased at the door. Thursday’s Wrestle-Off Results 133 - Tony Ramos tech. fall Charlie Joseph, 20-4 in 6:47 Friday’s Wrestle-Off Results 133 – Nate Moore dec. Nick Trizzino, 3-2 133 – Tyler Clark dec. Tony Ramos, 3-2 TB 141 – Ethan Owens tech. fall Joe Moore, 17-1 in 4:57 149 – Jeret Chiri dec. Stew Gillmor, 8-5 149 – Jake Ballweg maj. dec. Ethan Sebert, 9-1 157 – Matt Ballweg dec. Nick Moore, 3-2 157 – Derek St. John dec. Michael Kelly, 11-4 174 – Mike Evans dec. Jeremy Fahler, 7-2 184 – Vinnie Wagner dec. Tomas Lira, 2-0 Hwt. – Jordan Johnson dec. Bobby Telford, 2-1 TB Saturday’s Wrestle-Off Match-Ups - 10:30 a.m. 125 – Matt McDonough vs. Matt Gurule 133 – Nate Moore vs. Tyler Clark 141 – Mark Ballweg vs. Ethan Owens 149 – Jeret Chiri vs. Jake Ballweg 157 – Matt Ballweg vs. Derek St. John 165 – Aaron Janssen vs. Jake Kerr 174 – Ethen Lofthouse vs. Mike Evans 184 – Grant Gambrall vs. Vinnie Wagner Hwt. – Blake Rasing vs. Jordan Johnson

BUFFALO, NY -- The eighth-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad (2-0) cruised past Buffalo, 28-7, at Alumni Arena Friday to remain unbeaten on the season. “It was a good outing against a tough team,” head coach Jack Spates said. “They beat Nebraska last year and we wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t be among their victims. I thought the guys showed a lot of character. We seemed a little sluggish from the trip, but we were the ones winning the close matches and we were the ones coming from behind at the end. Overall, there were a lot of good things I saw.” Jarrod Patterson, the reigning Big 12 Champion at 125 pounds, got the Sooners started with a 4-1 victory over the Bulls’ Taylor Golba, which put the Sooners up 3-0. The Sooners fell behind 4-3 after OU’s Dustin Reed fell to Buffalo’s Kevin Smith at 133 pounds, 14-5. OU regained the lead, 7-4, when returning All-American Zack Bailey scored a 14-4 major decision victory over UB’s Andrew Schutt in the 141 pound bout. The bout at 149 pounds between OU’s Nick Lester and BU’s Desi Green went to seven overtimes before Lester finally claimed the victory, 6-2, with a four point near fall. “Nick Lester twisted his ankle early in the match and came back to beat Green, who is ranked No. 10, to upset him,” Spates said. “That was a good win for him.” Matt Lester became only the second Sooner victim to fall in the dual after he lost, 4-2, to the Bulls Mark Lewandoski. That narrowed the Sooners lead at 10-7. Oklahoma’s Chase Nelson got the Sooners back on the winning track after defeating UB’s John-Martin Cannon, 4-3, in overtime. “Chase Nelson also came back to force overtime against a ranked wrestler and got a good win,” Spates said. Returning All-American Tyler Caldwell made his debut for the Sooners at 174 pounds. The Wichita, Kan., product handled the Bulls Ron Majerus with a 7-1 win, putting OU up 16-7. In the 184 pound Bout OU’s Erich Schmidtke won a 4-0 decision over Jimmy Hamel to give the Sooners a 19-7 lead over the Bulls. Keldric Hall had three takedowns to claim a 9-4 decision over UB’s Josh Peters in the 197 pound bout. OU’s Nathan Fernandez had the only pin of the night over Buffalo’s Brett Correll with a time of 2:48. The fall ended the dual with a final score of 28-7. “A lot of tough bouts and a lot of good wins today,” Spates said. The Sooners get little rest as they go in search of their 12th-straight Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic title Saturday, Nov. 13, at Sunny Brockport. Results: 125 – No. 9 Jarrod Patterson (OU) dec. Taylor Golba (UB), 4-1 133 - No. 10 Kevin Smith (UB) maj. dec. Dustin Reed (OU), 14-5 141 – No. 1 Zack Bailey (OU) maj. dec. Andrew Schutt (UB), 14-4 149 - Nick Lester (OU) dec. No. 10 Desi Green (UB), 6-2 (7OT) 157 - Mark Lewandowski (UB) dec. Matt Lester (OU), 4-2 165 – Chase Nelson (OU) dec. No. 15 John Martin Cannon (UB), 4-3 174 – No. 8 Tyler Caldwell (OU) dec. Ron Majerus (UB), 7-1 184 – No. 18 Erich Schmidtke (OU) dec. No. 14 Jimmy Hamel (UB), 4-0 197 – Keldric Hall (OU) dec. Josh Peters (UB), 9-4 HWT – No. 10 Nathan Fernandez (OU) Fall 2:58 over Brett Correll (UB)

Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic

Oklahoma at Buffalo

AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa State wrestling team started off its 2010-11 home-opener with a bang in a 32-12 win over Boston University Thursday. Cyclone Patrick Hunter made a statement in his first match in Hilton Coliseum with a pin of Bubba McGinley in 3:43 at the 125-pound weight class. Nate Carr, Jr. earned a hard-fought 4-2 149-pound victory over Nestor Taffur. An early takedown was the difference in an otherwise very even match. At 157 pounds Iowa State's Trent Weatherman came out with a new fire. The redshirt freshman used a takedown and three near-fall points in the first period to coast to a 7-1 victory over Nick Tourville. After a successful opening weekend, Iowa State's Andrew Sorenson continued to look strong at 165 pounds. Sorenson garnered five takedowns in a dominant 16-4 victory over Kyle Czarnecki. "I never want to lose track of how we want to wrestle," head coach Kevin Jackson said. "Aggression and movement is what we are all about, and Andrew Sorenson really showed tonight that he has bought into what we are teaching. He has turned the corner and I am very excited about the possibilities for him." Jon Reader received a forfeit at 174 pounds. At 184 pounds Matt Riley earned his first victory as a Cyclone. Riley used a reversal with only 27 seconds left in his match against Bran Crudden to seal a tough 4-2 win. "It feels great to get my first win," Riley said. "I wish it did not have to come down to the last minute, and I should have done a better job finishing my takedowns, but a win is a win." Jerome Ward scored three takedowns in the 197-pound match against John Hall to move to 5-1 on the season with a 7-3 victory. Iowa State's Matt Gibson came out and immediately imposed his will on opponent Kevin Innis in the 285-pound match. Gibson earned a quick takedown and used a bow-and-arrow to rack up three back points early in the match. The redshirt sophomore from Vallejo, Calif. hit a cradle as time expired to ensure bonus points with a 14-3 victory. "I loved coming out for my first time at Hilton as a Cyclone," Gibson said. "It was great to hear all of my friends and family cheering loud for me, and being on the cardinal and gold mat for the first time." All of this led to Hunter's reversal and pin in the second period of the 125-pound match to bring everyone in Hilton Coliseum to their feet. Iowa State forfeited at 141 pounds and Cyclone Brandon Jones was pinned by national qualifier Fred Santaite at 133 pounds. "I am not sure if it is a conditioning level or a mind-set, but we are not wrestling evenly as a team from a conditioning stand-point," Jackson said. "When you see a Patrick Hunter or an Andrew Sorenson going out there and really going after someone, then some other guys just not pushing it, you know something needs to be tightened down a bit." The Cyclones are hosting the Harold Nichols Open on Saturday at the Bergstrom Indoor Facility. The doors will be opened to the public at 9 a.m. and the admission is $5 for children 12 and under and $10 for adults. Iowa State 32, Boston University. 141-pounds (BU) win by forfeit 149-pounds Nate Carr, Jr. (ISU) dec. (BU), 4-2 157-pounds Trent Weatherman (ISU) dec. Nick Tourville (BU), 7-1 165-pound Andrew Sorenson (ISU) mdec. Nick Czarnecki (BU), 16-4 174-pounds Jon Reader (ISU) win by forfeit 184-pounds Matt Riley (ISU) dec. Bran Cudden (BU), 4-2 197-pounds Jerome Ward (ISU) dec. John Hall (BU), 7-3 285-pounds Matt Gibson (ISU) dec. Kevin Innis (BU), 14-3 125-pounds Patrick Hunter (ISU) wbf Bubba McGinley (BU), 3:43 133-pounds Fred Santaite (BU) wbf Brandon Jones (ISU), 4:17

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Hello Wrestling Fans The season has started! Scott Casber and Steve Foster return along with Ryan Freeman and Geoff Murtha to the Brute Adidas studios for this weeks show brought to you by Kemin Agrifoods. Geoff Murtha joins us courtesy of Mass Mutual Financial Services. This weeks show airs LIVE, 9 AM to 11 AM. Listen on air or on the computer or your Blackberry or I Phone with the I Heart Radio App. Our Guests Include: (All times Central) 9:01 Jake Herbert- Assist. Head Coach Northwestern 9:20 Jared Frayer- Assist. Coach Wisconsin 9:40 Steve Knight- Founder Excel Wrestling to discuss the Excel Wrestling "Hall of Heroes" and Les Anderson's Induction http://www.excelwrestling.com/fallcamp_dinner.html thewrestlingsite.com and Recruitawrestler.com 10:01 Jim Heffernan- Head Coach University of Illinois 10:20 Jeff Murphy- Kemin's Big 10 and Big 12 report and Murphy's Top 20 Breakdown 10:50 Amy Ruble- Wildrose Resort Wrestling fans- Episode 83 of TDR TV wrestling news is now on. Check your TV Guide for listings. How to watch and listen- TDR and TDR TV. It's appointment Radio and TV! 6.1 MILLION HOMES AND GROWING! TDR on Radio: LIVE Saturday at 9:00 AM CST on 1460 KXNO in Iowa. Saturday nights at 7:00 PM Eastern on Supertalk 1570 in Michigan, TDR TV: Mediacom Cable Ch. 22. IA, MO, AK, NE, MN, IL Tues. 5 PM, Sat. 10 AM Time Warner Cable NY Ch. 813 (Check Local Listings) Comcast Cable Tennessee Ch. 96 Fridays 5 PM CATV- CCN, Pennsylvania Ch. 8 Fridays 5 PM Western Reserve Ohio Cable Ch. 9 Fridays at 5:30, Sat's 10 PM, Tues 11 PM Time Warner Texas- Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Etc. -TBA Time Warner Southern California- Los Angeles, San Diego, Etc. -TBA Long Lines Cable NW Iowa, NE Nebraska, SE South Dakota- TBA Call your local cable operator and ask them to carry TDR TV, It works! TDR on Internet: You can join us 9 to 11 AM Saturday mornings at Takedownradio.com TDR TV On Internet: 32 various web sites now carry your favorite wrestling news show Thanks to our affiliates, our media partners at Livesportsvideo.com. Thanks for watching and listening!

ALAMOSA, Colo. -- A stunning fall by freshman Casey Lynn (Cortez, Colo.) in the 141-pound match highlighted a 15-point, 4-match winning streak for the Green Team, which held on to post a 15-12 victory over the Black squad in Wednesday night's annual Green & White Intrasquad Wrestling Dual here in Plachy Hall. Lynn, a state champion for the Montezuma-Cortez High School Panthers last season, was trailing Grizzly junior Kevin Schmitt (Arlington, Texas) 4-0 after the first period but got a fall just 37 seconds into the period giving the Green squad a 9-6 lead that they would not relinquish throughout the rest of the 7-match slate, which proved to be competitive with over half of the matches being decided by three or fewer points. The Green team also claimed a thrilling come-from-behind 10-8 sudden victory win at 149 pounds from sophomore A.J. Knoll (Arbury Hills, Ill.), a transfer from NCAA Division III Dubuque (Iowa), and a 5-1 victory from sophomore Daniel Kelly (Parker, Colo.) over sophomore Max Ortega (Rio Rancho, N.M.) in what was touted as the premier match of the evening to build a 15-6 lead before 4-1 and 5-2 decisions by redshirt freshmen Jessy Amos (Anchorage, Alaska) and Paul Cabbage (Rio Rancho, N.M.) helped the Black team close the final gap. The Black team had taken the early lead as true freshman Jerry Huff (Broomfield, Colo.) took a 6-2 lead before pinning redshirt freshman Dominic Madril (Westminster, Colo.) with just 17 seconds left in the second period of the 125-pound match. Redshirt freshman Corey Johnson (Newcastle, Calif.) then started the Green Team's run with a 6-3 decision over fellow redshirt freshman Michael Lee (Albuquerque, N.M.) at 133 pounds. Lynn, who had given up a takedown and 2-point near fall to Schmitt in the first period of 141 pounds, then continued Green's momentum, before Jesse Long (Albuquerque, N.M.) built a 6-2 lead after the first period in his bout with Knoll. Extending that lead to 8-3 through two periods, Long suddenly watched a Knoll takedown and 3-point near fall just moments before the final buzzer tie the score while barely erasing a potential riding time bonus point. Knoll then scored the winning takedown 40 seconds into the extra 1-minute period helping Green extend its lead to 15-6. Kelly, one of just two returning starters on the Grizzlies' new-look 2010-11 roster, then claimed his victory over Ortega, a 5-time high school state champion out of Rio Rancho, New Mexico who wrestled at Division I Indiana last season, as the Green team built up a 15-6 advantage. Amos, a 2-time state champion while in high school, then was dead-locked with Mark Mabry, Jr. (Benson, Ariz.), also a 2-time state high school champion, through two period before he scored a third period takedown mid-way through the period en-route to his 4-1 win. Down 15-9 at that point, the Black team then needed a pin from Cabbage, who looked to be in complete control of Grizzly sophomore Dominic DeMarco (Shingle Springs, Calif.) in the opening period. Cabbage was up 4-0 through three minutes but could not score from the neutral position in the second period. Cabbage then chose the top position to begin third period but gave up a reversal to DeMarco, ending the Black team's hope of coming back for a tie. The Grizzlies will begin their regular season this Saturday at the Cowboy Open, to be contested in the War Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Action on 10 mats is slated to begin at 9 a.m. and will include teams throughout the Rocky Mountain region.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The season-opening dual between No. 11 Missouri and No. 10 Illinois has officially been declared a sellout, as announced Wednesday. “I want to thank everyone who bought tickets from Mizzou for the dual with Illinois this Friday night,” said head coach Brian Smith. “The dual is a complete sell out and there will be no tickets sold at the door. We’re also up to over 1,300 fans on our team’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/University-of-Missouri-Wrestling/134324256594995). Thanks to all of our great TigerStyle family and fans!” The matchup between two of the top teams in the country takes place this Friday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in Edwardsville, Ill. The two teams will compete at the Jon Davis Wrestling Center, one of the elite facilities in the country. Stay tuned to mutigers.com later today as we’ll have more information about the meet.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly, coming off a season in which it posted an 8-4 dual meet record, finished third in the Pacific-10 Conference Championships and produced a pair of NCAA Division I All-Americans, officially opens its 2010-11 wrestling campaign Saturday with a 2 p.m. Pac-10 dual meet against Cal State Fullerton in Mott Gym. The Mustangs are ranked as high as No. 19 in the preseason polls and have as many as seven ranked wrestlers while Cal State Fullerton is unranked as a team but has three matmen in the individual rankings. Cal Poly beat the Titans 26-13 in last year’s dual meet at Fullerton. Cal Poly sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships and four of them return. Two captured All-American honors -- Chase Pami finished second at 157 pounds and Boris Novachkov was seventh at 133 pounds. Pami is gone, but back for another season of competition are Boris Novachkov and three other national qualifiers -- Filip Novachkov, Ryan DesRoches and Nick Fisher. The 2010-11 roster features eight returning Pac-10 Conference Championship placewinners, including 133-pound champion Boris Novachkov. “Coming off the success we had last season, we have high expectations for this group of guys,” said Perry. “We’re right there to win the Pac-10 and that will be our main sight this year, to win the conference title. “There are a lot of positives carrying over to this year and we want to put as many All-Americans and National Champions on the podium in March,” Perry added. “We have the talent to do it. We just need to have self belief and our wrestlers have to believe in the system they’re in.” Added Azevedo, entering his eighth season as head coach, “We definitely are looking to be one of the top teams in the Pac-10, realizing that Boise State is ranked No. 2 in the country. We have a group of guys who could be right up there. Our goal is to win the conference and get six or seven wrestlers to the nationals.” The Novachkov brothers will switch weight classes this year, with Boris taking the 141-pound slot and Filip dropping to 133. Boris Novachkov finished his sophomore season with a 28-5 overall record, a Pac-10 title and a seventh-place national finish. He was 8-2 in dual meets and notched four pins on the year. Filip Novachkov, now a senior, was 25-8 a year ago, finishing second in the Pac-10 finals and posting a 2-2 mark at the nationals. He was 11-1 in dual meets and recorded seven falls for the season. Other returning Pac-10 placewinners are Fisher (second at 149 pounds), Ryan Smith (second at 197), Ryan DesRoches (third at 174), Steven Vasquez (sixth at 165), Kelan Bragg (sixth at 184) and Jim Powers (seventh at 197). DesRoches (pictured above) led the Mustangs with 17 falls a year ago, finishing the season 34-10 overall and 9-2 in dual meets. Fisher was 17-8 a year ago with seven falls while Smith was 19-11 with a pair of falls. Vasquez notched a 17-14 record and Bragg was 9-14. DesRoches will drop one weight class to 165 this year while Vasquez takes over at 174. Bragg has slimmed down to 184 to make room for Smith at 197. The Mustang roster also is bolstered by the addition of three transfers -- 157-pounder Barrett Abel and 184-pounder Stephan Hampton from UC Davis and 285-pounder Atticus Disney from Minnesota. Abel was a Pac-10 champion a year ago and finished the season 21-9. Cal Poly’s lineup for Saturday’s dual meet is expected to include Jake Tanenbaum at 125, Brandan Rocha at 133, Boris Novachkov at 141, Geoffrey Doss at 149, Abel at 157, DesRoches at 165, Vasquez at 174, Bragg at 184, Smith at 197 and Disney at 285. Filip Novachkov is ranked as high as No. 5 at 133 while Boris Novachkov is ranked as high as No. 9 at 141. Other ranked Mustang wrestlers in the preseason include No. 15 Fisher at 149, No. 16 Abel at 157, No. 25 DesRoches at 174, No. 25 Smith at 197 and No. 25 Disney at 285. Cal State Fullerton’s trio of ranked wrestlers are 125-pounder Andre Gonzalez (16th), 141-pounder Adin Duenas (No. 10) and 285-pounder Kurt Klimek (No. 17). Duenas, the Pac-10 champion at 141 last year and a two-time NCAA qualifier, is not slated to wrestle Saturday. Gonzalez and Klimek both were fourth in the Pac-10s a year ago. Cal State Fullerton head coach Dan Hicks (Oregon State ‘80) is in his ninth season and has compiled a 70-66-1 dual meet record. In addition to Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly has 10 other dual meets on the schedule, including home dates with Wyoming and Cal State Bakersfield, and also will compete in the Fullerton Open, Midlands Open, Las Vegas Invitational, the Reno Tournament of Champions and the All-California Open. The 2011 Pac-10 finals are slated for Feb. 27 at Oregon State and the NCAA Championships will be held March 17-19 in Philadelphia.

TEMPE -- Ben Askren, a 2008 Olympian and two-time NCAA champion, has been added to the Arizona State University wrestling coaching staff, second-year Head Coach Shawn Charles announced today. Askren, who joins former Sun Devil All-American Brian Stith as the program’s two assistants, takes on the position after serving as the Sun Devils’ Director of Operations last year. “With all his accolades, Ben certainly brings a lot of wrestling credentials to the table,” Charles said. “Ben’s influences on our program will be another valuable tool to help prepare our student-athletes to compete at a high level and to become national champions. He is very accomplished at all levels of wrestling and I feel that his knowledge will go a long way in helping our young men mature on the mats and reach their goals of success. I feel Ben will be vital in helping us move in the right direction as we look to put the Sun Devils back on top in the Pac-10 and the NCAA standings.” Askren was one of the elite collegiate competitors in the nation during his time at Missouri (2003-07) where his exciting style of wrestling led him to the finals of the 174-pound weight class at the NCAA Championships four times. A three-time Big 12 champion, Askren won the national title in each of his last two seasons by winning 87 matches in a row and pinning numerous foes. For his dominance, he was named the Dan Hodge Winner twice while also collecting the Schalles Award (Best Pinner) twice. Askren, who competed with a very unique style which many called ‘funk’, built a career record of 153-7 in Columbia with 93 wins by fall (fourth-best in NCAA history) while also posting a national record of 18-consecutive wins by fall in the first period. A four-time NWCA All-Academic and four-time Academic All-Big XII honoree, Askren spent the past two years as a volunteer assistant coach with the Tigers while training for and competing in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where the member of Team USA went 1-1 in the 74kg freestyle competition. Since his Olympic run, Askren has continued competing in several events, including grappling and mixed martial arts. Currently the Bellator Welterweight Champion, Askren won gold for Team USA at the 2009 World Grappling Championships in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., defeating fellow American Jacob Volkmann in the final of the 84kg no-Gi division.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- No. 15 Lehigh will face its two oldest in-state rivals this weekend as the Mountain Hawks take to the road to face No. 14 Pittsburgh and No. 6 Penn State. The Mountain Hawks opened the dual season in dominant fashion, with a 45-0 shutout of Drexel on November 5. Sean Bilodeau, Austin Meys and Zach Rey all won by fall for Lehigh, as the Mountain Hawks posted six bonus wins on the night. On Friday, Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro will square off against his alma mater, and his mentor, Rande Stottlemyer while on Sunday, the Mountain Hawks will face their most often wrestled rival for the 99th time. Three Lehigh freshmen enjoyed strong varsity debuts in the Mountain Hawks’ win over Drexel. True freshmen Frank Cagnina (133) and Stephen Dutton (141) each posted impressive bonus-point wins as Cagnina earned a 16-4 major decision over Frank Cimato and Dutton won by technical fall over Josh Yurasits. Cagnina and Dutton became the first true freshman duo to start a season opening dual for Lehigh since Aaron Patterson and Bruce Kelly in 1998-99. Deferred freshman Austin Meys also enjoyed a dominant debut, using a quarter nelson to pin Justin Wieller in the second period of their bout at 174. Pittsburgh opens its dual season on Friday night against Lehigh at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers return five NCAA qualifiers from last season and are coming off a 17-1-1 dual season in which the only loss came against the Mountain Hawks. Pittsburgh enters Friday’s dual with an 11-match winning streak and a 16-dual unbeaten streak dating back to last year. The Panthers are led by junior All-American Tyler Nauman, who comes in ranked fourth at 141, and senior heavyweight Ryan Tomei, who is ranked fifth. Pittsburgh sent a large contingent to last weekend’s Clarion Open with impressive results. Fourteen Panthers placed at the tournament, and six Pittsburgh grapplers won titles. All six are in Pittsburgh’s projected lineup: Nauman, Adam Counterman, Ethan Headlee, brothers Max and Zac Thomusseit and Tomei. Penn State opens its home schedule against Lehigh on Sunday after the Nittany Lions open their dual season Friday night at Bloomsburg. American wrestling legend Cael Sanderson enters his second season at Penn State with a younger team that features a number of talented freshmen and sophomores. Penn State was 13-6-1 in duals last year, but finished ninth at the NCAA Championships. The Nittany Lions had three All-Americans, with two-time All-America Frank Molinaro returning for his junior season at 149. Just two Nittany Lions are ranked in the latest Amateur Wrestling News rankings, 2009 All-American Quentin Wright at 184 and heavyweight Cameron Wade. Penn State also features a number of highly-touted true freshmen and redshirt freshmen who will make their varsity Rec Hall debuts on Sunday. This weekend, Lehigh will face its two most-often wrestled in-state rivals in Penn State and Pittsburgh. Lehigh has wrestled Penn State more often than any other school in history, with Sunday’s dual marking the 99th meeting in the series. The Mountain Hawks have won two straight duals against the Nittany Lions. Lehigh and Pittsburgh meet for the 56th time on Friday, with the Mountain Hawks winning 12 of the last 13 duals in the series. Action begins Friday night when Lehigh visits Fitzgerald Field House to face Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. Sunday, the Mountain Hawks will face Penn State at Rec Hall at 2 p.m. The Penn State match will be broadcast on WLVR-FM as well as Lehighsports.com with pre-match coverage beginning at 1:45.

WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Pins in back-to-back matches by sophomore Jefferson Thomas (Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville Area) and senior Troy Hayre (McLean, Va./McLean) at 174 and 184 pounds helped clinch the Lycoming College wrestling team’s first win of the season, as the Warriors claimed a 24-17 win at McDaniel on Wednesday, Nov. 10. With a 12-9 lead heading into the 174-pound match, the Warriors (1-1 overall) took control in the 174-pound match as Thomas took a solid 11-1 lead over Jacob Reik before putting him on his back at the 2:22 mark of the first period. Hayre got his job done 24 seconds faster, earning the pin at the 1:58 mark over Brad Thomas to give Lycoming an insurmountable 24-9 lead. Junior Stephen Hinton (Montclair, Pa./Forest Park) gave Lycoming the early lead with a 3-1 decision over Earl Eppard, but the Green Terror (0-3 overall) took the lead with a pin and a decision before 10th-ranked senior Isaiah Britton (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Township) posted a 6-0 decision against Sean McGarry at 149 points. Sophomore Colton Eyer (Orangeville, Pa./Millville) tied the meet at 157 pounds by wrestling a strong match to take a 7-3 decision from Anthony Powers and sophomore Dave Smith (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) added an 8-4 win over Matt Peters to give the Warriors a 12-9 lead heading into Thomas’ match. The Green Terror closed out the meet with eight points at 197 pounds and heavyweight. In exhibition matches before the meet, freshman Greg Wetzel (Pleasant Valley, N.Y./Arlington) posted a decision in a 157-pound match and freshman Zach Hickernell (Richland, Pa./Eastern Lebanon County) won his first collegiate match with a pin. The Warriors get back on the mat on Saturday, Nov. 13 when they head to Wilkes University for the John Reese Duals, where they will take on SUNY Oneonta, Wilkes, Centenary (N.J.) and Hunter. The first match will begin at 11 a.m. If the Warriors sweep the duals, 17th-year head coach Roger Crebs will win his 300th match at Lycoming, where he would join his mentor and former collegiate coach, Budd Whitehill, in the 300-win club. Results: 125: Stephen Hinton (L) dec. Earl Eppard 3-1; (0-3) 133: Tommy Goretsas (M) pinned Terrell Nixon 0:45; (6-3) 141: Mike Tancredi (M) dec. Andrew Lewis 9-2; (9-3) 149: Isaiah Britton (L) dec. Sean McGarry 6-0; (9-6) 157: Colton Eyer (L) dec. Anthony Powers 7-3; (9-9) 165: Dave Smith (L) dec. Matt Peters 8-4; (9-12) 174: Jeff Thomas (L) pinned Jacob Reik 2:22; (9-18) 184: Troy Hayre (L) pinned Brad Thomas 1:58; (9-24) 197: Will Yeo (M) dec. Kyle Crouthamel 4-3; (12-24) HWT: Brock Glotfelty (M) tech. fell Zach Eckstrom 16-1 (7:00). (17-24)

SCRANTON, Pa. -- The Gettysburg College wrestling team won five of the final six matches to defeat the University of Scranton 24-18 in its dual match opener on Wednesday. Gettysburg (1-0) won its dual opener for the first time since defeating Elizabethtown College 24-23 to start the 2000-01 campaign. Senior heavyweight Bobby Christopher (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) clinched the victory with his first pin of the season against Joe Williams in 1:06. It was Christopher’s 67th win at heavyweight, breaking a tie for second on the school’s all-time list with Glenn Faust ’84 and putting him seven shy of leader Mike Pattanite ’07. The visitor’s remaining wins all came via hard-fought decisions. Junior Abe Evans (Dover, Pa./Dover) and freshman Dan Traficanti (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kiski School) each posted their first wins of the year at 125 and 141, respectively. Evans led late against Mike Murcia before the Royals’ lightweight scored a takedown with four seconds remaining to pull ahead 4-3. The Bullet junior pulled off an escape right before the buzzer to send it to overtime where a takedown sealed a 6-4 win. After sitting out Gettysburg’s first action last weekend, Traficanti logged his first collegiate win by posting a reversal in the third round for a 2-1 decision. Scranton jumped ahead in the team score in the following match as the Bullets forfeited at 149 pounds. Sophomore Joe Fiore (Hicksville, N.Y./Kellenberg Memorial) and freshman Dan Grabfelder (Collegeville, Pa./Germantown Academy) pulled Gettysburg into a 12-12 tie with 6-1 and 10-6 decisions at 157 and 165, respectively. First-year Jared Leon (Hillsborough, N.J./Hillsborough) put the visitors back in front with a late reversal for a 4-2 win at 174. Scranton regained the upperhand when Chris Silakoski pulled off an overtime pin of freshman Jared Schlett (Glen Rock, N.J./Glen Rock), but sophomore Marshall Puls (New York, N.Y./Hotchkiss) forced the third tie of the match by picking up a takedown and an escape in a 3-0 win over Greg Casimier at 197, setting the stage for Christopher’s winning pin. Next on Gettysburg’s schedule is the Fall Brawl hosted by Ursinus College on Saturday, Nov. 13. Opening matches are slated to start at 9 p.m. in Collegeville, Pa. Results: 125: Abe Evans (G) dec. Mike Murcia, 6-4 (ot) (GC, 3-0) 133: Vinny Signoriello (S) pinned Matt Spano (2:59) (US, 6-3) 141: Dan Traficanti (G) dec. Nick Proto, 2-1 (Tie, 6-6) 149: Tom Manning (S) won by forfeit (US, 12-6) 157: Joe Fiore (G) dec. Steve Glickman, 6-1 (US, 12-9) 165: Dan Grabfelder (G) dec. Frank Siclari, 10-6 (Tie, 12-12) 174: Jared Leon (G) dec. Matt Terry, 4-2 (GC, 15-12) 184: Chris Silakoski (S) pinned Jared Schlett (7:57, ot) (US, 18-15) 197: Marshall Puls (G) dec. Greg Casimir, 3-0 (Tie, 18-18) 285: Bobby Christopher (G) pinned Joe Williams (1:06) (GC, 24-18) Exhibition 174 Anton Serhan (G) pinned Joe Weitmeyer (4:35)

Hoboken, NJ -- The College of New Jersey wrestling team started the 2010-11 season with a quality win as the 12th-ranked Lions picked up a 30-9 win over 18th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Wednesday in Hoboken. The Lions opened up a 9-0 lead as Dan Hughes (Delran, NJ/Delran) at 125 pounds, Dan Herr (Rockaway, NJ/Morris Knolls) at 133, and Brian Bollette (Newton, Kittatinny) at 141 each won decision. TCNJ added a pair of wins by fall later in the match as Kyle Packer (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) used 51 seconds of his bout at 157 pounds to record a pin, while Mike Denver (Bayville, NJ/Central Regional) won by fall in 4:51 at 184 pounds. The Lions return to the mat this weekend competing at the Ursinus College Fall Brawl on Saturday. #12 TCNJ 30, #18 Stevens Institute of Technology 9 Weight-by-weight 125: Dan Hughes (TCNJ) def. Ling (Stevens), Dec. 6-2 133: Dan Herr (TCNJ) def. Boehm (Stevens), Dec. 7-3 141: Brian Bollette (TCNJ) def. DiLiello (Stevens), Dec. 7-0) 149: Caserta (Stevens) def. John Barnett (TCNJ), Dec. 7-6 157: Kyle Packer (TCNJ) def. Chrin (Stevens), Fall: 0:51 165: Justin Bonitatis (TCNJ) def. L. Dormann (Stevens), Dec. 8-4 174: Brian Broderick (TCNJ) def. R. Dormann (Stevens), Dec. 3-1 184: Mike Denver (TCNJ) def. Sharkey (Stevens), Fall: 4:15 197: Adam Koziol (TCNJ) def. Termini (Stevens), Dec. 3-1 (S.D.) 285: Schmalz (Stevens) def. Jeff Furbish (TCNJ), Fall: 1:18

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The 2010-11 Iowa wrestling team will host its intrasquad wrestle-offs this week at the UI Field House practice gym. Matches are scheduled for Thursday at 5 p.m., Friday at 4:30 p.m. and Saturday at 10:30 a.m. Results will be posted on hawkeyesports.com after the matches. The defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Hawkeyes will open the 2010-11 season Nov. 19 with the third-annual Iowa City Duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will face Iowa Central at 4 p.m. and Coe College at 6 p.m. Wrestling season tickets can be ordered from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9323, or online at hawkeyesports.com. Tickets are $67 for members of the public and $55 for UI faculty and staff. Single meet prices are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, if purchased in advance, for the Iowa City Duals, Michigan State, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Indiana and Michigan duals. The price is $13 for adults, $7 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under for the Iowa State and Ohio State duals. The day of the meet tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth for the Iowa City Duals, Michigan State, Southern Illinois Edwardsville, Indiana and Michigan duals, and $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under for the Iowa State and Ohio State duals. Thursday’s Matchups 133 – Tony Ramos vs. Charlie Joseph 149 – Jeret Chiri vs. Ethan Sebert Friday’s Matchups 133 – Nate Moore vs. Nick Trizzino 133 – Tyler Clark vs. winner of Ramos/Joseph 141 – Mark Ballweg vs. Joe Moore 141 – Josh Dziewa vs. Ethan Owens 149 – Dylan Carew vs. winner of Chiri/Sebert 149 – Jake Ballweg vs. Stew Gillmor 157 – Matt Ballweg vs. Nick Moore 157 – Michael Kelly vs. Derek St. John 165 – Jake Kerr vs. Joe DuCharme 174 – Mike Evans vs. Jeremy Fahler 184 – Tomas Lira vs. Vinnie Wagner Hwt. – Bobby Telford vs. Jordan Johnson Saturday’s Matchups 125 – Matt McDonough vs. Matt Gurule 133 – Winner of Nate Moore/Trizzino vs. winner of Clark/Ramos/Joseph 141 – Winner of Mark Ballweg/Joe Moore vs. winner of Dziewa/Owens 149 – Winner of Carew/Chiri/Sebert vs. winner of Jake Ballweg/Stew Gillmor 157 – Winner of Matt Ballweg/Nick Moore vs. winner of Kelly/St. John 165 – Aaron Janssen vs. winner of Kerr/DuCharme 174 – Ethen Lofthouse vs. winner of Evans/Fahler 184 – Grant Gambrall vs. winner of Lira/Wagner Hwt. – Blake Rasing vs. winner of Telford/Johnson

Link: InterMat Weight Class Rankings Link: InterMat Fab 50 Team Rankings Link: Josh Lowe Audio Interview The pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns have left, and the smell of turkey is in the air, the month of November is here, and this means the beginning of the scholastic wrestling season is upon us. In high schools across the country, preparation for the season has begun in earnest. InterMat is here to provide perspective on the upcoming season with national high school rankings. Five-time defending state champion Apple Valley, MN is ranked No. 1 in the InterMat Fab 50. (Photo/The Guillotine)In addition to the customary Top 20 in each weight class individual wrestler rankings, this season marks the return of national high school team rankings for InterMat with the Fab 50. After examining the lineups for many programs across the country, an elite group of four has emerged -- Apple Valley, Minnesota, Blair Academy, New Jersey, St. Paris Graham, Ohio, and Brandon, Florida. Starting the season in the top position will be an Apple Valley squad featuring five seniors that have committed to NCAA Division I programs, four of whom are ranked among the Top 100 prospects in the country by InterMat. In addition, the Eagles feature three other squad members that are ranked in the Classes of 2012 and 2013. The seven wrestlers appearing in the individual rankings are senior Jordan Kingsley (112), junior Dakota Trom (130), senior Matt Kelliher (135), junior Brandon Kingsley (140), senior Destin McCauley (152) -- the top-ranked Class of 2011 wrestler in the nation, senior Steven Keogh (160), and senior Jake Waste (171). Top 10 Teams in InterMat Fab 50 1. Apple Valley, MN 2. Blair Academy, NJ 3. St. Paris Graham, OH 4, Brandon, FL 5. St. Edward, OH 6. Bakersfield, CA 7. Wisconsin Rapids, WI 8. Wyoming Seminary, PA 9. Simley, MN 10. High Point, NJNipping right on the heels of Apple Valley is perennial powerhouse Blair Academy, New Jersey. The Buccaneers also feature seven wrestlers ranked in the Top 20 of their weight class: freshman Joey McKenna (103), senior Evan Silver (119), senior Caleb Richardson (125), junior Mark Grey (130), junior Robbie Preston (135), senior Austin Ormsbee (140), and sophomore Brooks Black (285). A pair of these wrestlers -- Silver and Ormsbee -- is ranked first in the country at their respective weight class. Ranked third in the country is perennial power St. Paris Graham, Ohio, which has strung together a decade of dominance in which they have won the state tournament every year and doubled the next best in the standings on half of those occasions. The Falcon squad features six wrestlers ranked in their weight class: junior Ryan Taylor (112), senior Nick Brascetta (140), sophomore Bo Jordan (145), senior Matt Stephens (152), senior Kyle Ryan (171), and junior Huston Evans (189). Two others are not ranked in their weight class, but are ranked in the Classes of 2014 and 2012 respectively -- Micah (119) and Isaac (160) Jordan. Tyler Liberatore (Brandon, FL) defeated Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, MN) to win the Junior National freestyle competition. Liberatore begins the season ranked No. 6 at 135 pounds, while Kelliher is ranked No. 7 in the same weight class (Photo/Jeff Beshey, The Guillotine)While the era of "The Streak" that was famously featured in the ESPN documentary "The Season" is more or less gone, the elements of what make the Brandon, Florida program special remain. Those being tremendous coaching led by legendary head coach Russ Cozart, a tremendous feeder program, and a major commitment to off-season wrestling. This squad features six nationally ranked wrestlers, all of whom were Junior National All-Americans this past summer in freestyle and/or Greco-Roman: junior Colton Howell (103), junior Rossi Bruno (125), sophomore Kevin Norstrem (130), junior Tyler Liberatore (135), junior Clark Glass (152), and senior Wally Figaro (160). Testing yourself outside of the season in major, competitively relevant platforms -- and performing at a high level in these opportunities -- is a key element in growing as a wrestler, as well as a common thread among the majority of those in the national rankings. This is in particular the case for wrestlers towards the top, and at the top, of the national rankings. Below is a profile of each of the top-ranked wrestlers in the country. 103: Darian Cruz, sophomore, Bethlehem Catholic, Pennsylvania. Cadet National freestyle runner-up at 98 pounds, and Super32 champion at 103 pounds. 112: Anthony Ashnault, sophomore, South Plainfield, New Jersey. Undefeated state champion at 103 pounds and Cadet National double All-American at 105 pounds. Super32 champion at 112 pounds with five consecutive victories over state champions, the last three against nationally ranked opposition. 119: Evan Silver, senior, Blair Academy, New Jersey. Three-time National Prep champion, undefeated in the 2009-10 season at 112 pounds, and Junior National freestyle runner-up at 112 pounds. 125: Nico Megaludis, senior, Franklin Regional, Pennsylvania. Two-time state champion, who seeks to become only the third ever four-time Powerade champion this coming December, and also was a Junior National freestyle runner-up at 119 pounds in 2009. 130: Jesse Thielke, senior, Germantown, Wisconsin. Three-time state champion, FILA Junior Greco-Roman world team representative the last two summers, and two-time Cadet National double All-American (Greco champion in both years at 98 and 112 pounds respectively). Dominant champion of a 130 pound weight class at the Preseason Nationals that featured four other ranked wrestlers. 135: Hunter Stieber, senior, Monroeville, Ohio. Three-time state champion and Walsh Ironman finalist (champion as a freshman), 17-0 the last two summers at the Junior National Duals in freestyle, and two-time Cadet National freestyle finalist (champion in 2007 at 98 pounds, runner-up in 2008 at 112 pounds). 140: Austin Ormsbee, senior, Blair Academy, New Jersey. Three-time National Prep champion and was Junior National freestyle champion this past summer at 135 pounds. 145: Alex Dieringer, senior, Port Washington, Wisconsin. Three-time state finalist (champ as freshman and junior) and three-time double All-American in Fargo with no finish below third in six tournaments. In this calendar year, he has USA Wrestling national title in Junior National freestyle and folkstyle as well as at the Preseason Nationals -- all at 145 pounds. 152: Destin McCauley, senior, Apple Valley, Minnesota. Heads into this season with a 238-7 career record, as he seeks a sixth state final appearance, only failing to win the title as a sophomore. Has finished in the top three in all four of his Fargo appearances in freestyle, with a Cadet title at 135 pounds in 2008 and a Junior title at 152 this past summer. 160: Bryce Hammond, senior, Bakersfield, California. State champion this past season at 160 pounds, after finishing fourth at state as a sophomore at 152 pounds. His off-season performances include a NHSCA Sophomore Nationals championship at 152 pounds, and a Cadet National freestyle runner-up finish in 2008 at 152. 171: Logan Storley, senior, Webster, South Dakota. Seeks to join only one other wrestler in state history to stand atop the podium six times at the state tournament this coming February. Heads into his senior season coming off a superlative off-season that included a Junior National freestyle championship, NHSCA Junior Nationals championship, and Disney Duals district division gold medal. 189: Morgan McIntosh, senior, Calvary Chapel, California. The two-time state champion was a Junior National freestyle champion and FloNationals champion at 189 pounds since the completion of the high school season. In addition, McIntosh finished third at the FILA Junior Nationals in freestyle this spring at 185 pounds and was a double Cadet National runner-up in 2008 at 189 pounds. 215: Andrew Campolattano, senior, Bound Brook, New Jersey. In position to become only the second four-time state champion in New Jersey history. Though a verbal commit to Rutgers in football, he has a strong history of offseason success with a Junior National Greco-Roman title in 2009 at 189 pounds as well as earning a Cadet double in 2008 at 189 pounds. 285: Cody Krumwiede, senior, Waverly-Shell Rock, Iowa. State champion the past two years at 215 pounds after finishing sixth as a freshman in the same weight class. The Junior National freestyle runner-up at 215 pounds this summer bookended that performance with USA Wrestling national titles in Junior National folkstyle and at the Preseason Nationals over the course of the off-season. In surveying the national landscape, there is terrific diversity yet certain states show dominance. The teams in the InterMat Fab 50 come from 17 different states, while 35 states populate the individual weight class rankings. Teams and wrestlers from Pennsylvania dominate the national rankings. Seven teams and 37 wrestlers (including a pair in the No. 1 position) come from the Keystone State. Two states follow Pennsylvania with five teams each in the rankings -- Illinois and New Jersey. A trio of states -- California, Minnesota, and Ohio -- features four of their programs in the Fab 50. Another trio -- Florida, Iowa, and Oklahoma -- have three schools in the rankings. Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, and Virginia have a pair of programs in the rankings, while the rankings are rounded out by single programs from Georgia, Nebraska, Texas, and Wisconsin. On the individual side, the Land of Lincoln is the leader of the rest of the pack. Coming off of an absolutely dominant offseason from its USA Wrestling program, 27 wrestlers from Illinois are among the Top 20 in their respective weight classes. California and Ohio with 24 wrestlers each ranked, and New Jersey with 19 wrestlers ranked round out the top five states. The following are the totals of ranked wrestlers for the remaining 30 states that have a ranked wrestler: 19 -- NJ, 17 -- IA, 15 -- MN, 13 -- FL,12 -- MI, 11 -- NY, 9 -- MO, OK, 7 -- VA, 6 -- IN, WI, 5 -- OR, 4 -- MD, WA, 3 -- CO, GA, KS, NE, SD, 2 -- ID, KY, MT, TX, 1 -- DE, LA, MA, NC, TN, UT, WV, WY The unveiling of the preseason national rankings is only the beginning of a season of comprehensive national high school coverage. Look for weekly notebook articles that analyze the landscape every Wednesday throughout the season. The national team rankings will be updated seven times during the course of the season on a bi-weekly basis starting December 8, with the eighth and final rankings projected for March 23, 2011. Weight class rankings will be updated twice during the season, once after all the state tournaments, and the season-end rankings will be published in April. Finally, the graduating class rankings will be updated at the end of this month, once during the season, and then accompanying the season-end rankings.

Old Dominion University wrestling has signed five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, ODU head coach Steve Martin announced. Pete Baldwin, Brandon Choate, Robert F. Deutsch Jr., Chris Mecate, and Taylor Moeder have all signed NLI's and will join the wrestling Monarchs next fall. Pete Baldwin ( 149/157 • Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola) Baldwin is ranked No. 32 overall in the nation by InterMat, having produced a career record of 271-20 while his high school record is 166-6 while winning a state championship and two second place finishes. Baldwin won the Greco-Roman Southeast Regional Championship at 145-pounds last year and took third at the freestyle regional, beating three of the top-10 ranked high school wrestlers in the nation. Brandon Choate ( 133/141 • Orwigsburg, Pa./Blue Mountain) Choate has won three-straight Schuylkill League Tournament titles and has a career record of 87-20. He advanced to the state quarterfinals in 2009-10. Robert F. Deutsch Jr. ( 125/133 • Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional) Deutsch is ranked No. 52 overall by InterMat and is ranked No. 9 at 125-pounds by TheOpenMat.com. The Voorhees, N.J. native has a high school record of 113-12, earning second place (103) at the state tournament as a freshman, first (112) as a sophomore and third (119) as a junior. Deutsch has placed third or better in seven out of 12 tournaments since 2006, including a third place finish at the 2009 Beast of the East and a second place finish at the 2008 Cadet Nationals. Chris Mecate (141 • Highland, Calif./Redlands East Valley) Mecate is ranked No. 46 overall by InterMat and No. 9 at 141-pounds by TheOpenMat.com. He won the Super 32 Tournament as a sophomore at 119-pounds and was named the 2009-10 Wrestler of the Year by The San Bernardino County Sun. Taylor Moeder ( 149 • Shawnee, Kan./St. James) Has won two-straight Kansas state titles, going 40-1 last year as a junior and is ranked No. 8 at 141-pounds by TheOpenMat.com.

St. Cloud, Minn. -- The St. Cloud State University wrestling team kicked off the 2010-11 season at the annual Black/Red Classic on Friday, Nov.5, in Halenbeck Hall. The Red team outscored the Black team 19-13 in front of over 200 SCSU wrestling fans. Before the match, the Huskies honored two former St. Cloud State University greats: John Barrett (1987 Alum) and Nick Wilkes (2009 Alum). Both men served as honorary coaches respectively for the team event. St. Cloud State wrestling is gearing up for Harold Nichols Cyclone Open on Saturday, Nov. 13, in Ames, Iowa. The Huskies are currently ranked No. 2 in the latest 2010-11 preseason NCAA Div. II poll. In the highly competitive Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Huskies were selected No. 1 in the coaches' 2010-11 preseason poll. Results: 125 – Dylan Wright, decision Zach Stewart, 2-1 133 – Westy Hanson, decision Eric Ellington, 2-1 141 – Gabe Suarez, decision Matt Leibforth, 3-2 149 – Jacob D. Horn, decision Jacob R. Horn, 6-3 157 – Joey Falde, maj. decision Michael Kairouz, 11-3 165 – Tad Merritt, maj. decision Kurt Salmen, 16-5 174 – Shamus O’Grady, decision Ben McPhail, 4-1 184 – Mic Berg, decision Erik Rogness, 4-1 197 – Open 285 – Jacob Kahnke, winner by fall Chris Brassell, 2:45 149 (Exh.) – Chad Kubach, decision Josh Howk, 5-2

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ian Paddock, a sophomore on the No. 12 Ohio State wrestling team, was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week the conference announced Tuesday. It is the first weekly laurel for the native of Warsaw, N.Y. This past Sunday, Paddock won the 133-pound division at the UB Open in Buffalo, N.Y. Paddock went 4-0 at the tournament, outscoring his opponents by a 35-6 margin en route to the title. Ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News, Paddock defeated Bloomsburg's Jeremiah Biddle by a 17-2 technical fall in the opening round, followed by a 2-0 overtime decision over Edinboro's Matthew Hasbrouck. He then took a 10-4 decision against Edinboro's Mitchell Port to advance to the finals, where he defeated 14th-ranked Kevin Smith of Buffalo, 6-0, to earn the title. Paddock and the Buckeyes will return to action at the Buckeye Duals Nov. 21 in St. John Arena. The Scarlet and Gray will host No. 14 Pittsburgh and No. 15 Nebraska. The Panthers and Cornhuskers will begin the day with a 10 a.m. match. Ohio State then will wrestle Pittsburgh at 11:30 a.m. before concluding the event against Nebraska at 1:30 p.m. For fans who cannot make it to the Buckeye Duals, live scoring updates will be available at the NWCA Stat Tracker link on www.nwcaonline.com.

NORMAN, Okla. --Oklahoma tallied two pins in route to a 39-0 shutout over the University of Central Oklahoma Tuesday night. “It was a really strong performance with so many positives,” head coach Jack Spates said. “Two pins on the night and the guys are buying into what we are doing. They believe in their training and they are wrestling confidently and aggressively. It was just a real solid performance. I’m very impressed with our guys and proud of them.” Big 12 Champion Jarrod Patterson started the Sooners off with a 6-0 lead after scoring the first pin of the night on the Bronchos’ Austin Quinton. Patterson had acquired a 9-2 lead before securing the fall in the third period with a time of 5:38. The Sooners jumped ahead 9-0 after freshman Dustin Reed defeated UCO’s Trison Graham, 8-5. The freshman from Choctaw, Okla., managed two takedowns and a near fall in the bout. At 141 pounds All-American Zack Bailey ran out to an 8-3 lead after the first period and never let up on UCO’s Kaleb Cradduck ending his bout with a 19-6 tech fall. Bailey’s tech fall put the Sooners up 14-0. “You look at Zack Bailey and the improvements that he has made. His opponent had him beat on that first shot. Defense has never been his forte, but he keeps fighting, scrambling and coming out. Then you add his top-work, which he has improved a thousand percent. We believe in top-work and it was evident tonight.” Oklahoma redshirt freshman Nick Lester showed great poise after falling behind 5-6 at the end of the first period to the Bronchos’ Ben Morgan. In the second Lester was awarded a three-point near fall to take the lead, 8-6. Lester secured two more points on an escape and 1:16 of riding time to give him the, 10-6, decision. “Look at the poise of a Nick Lester, who gets behind,” Spates said. “Things are looking bad, but he keeps his composure, keeps battling and keeps scoring.” Twin brother Matt Lester continued the momentum after running away from UCO’s Chris Watson in the 157 pound bout. Lester secured a near fall in the second period to go up 7-3, and won the match, 13-3, putting the Sooners up 21-0. Chase Nelson gave the Sooners their second pin of the evening against Derrick Adkins at 165 pounds. Nelson was up 7-1 off of two takedowns and a near fall before making the pin at the 1:01 minute mark. After the third pin of the night the Sooners were up 30-0 over Central Oklahoma. Nolan McBryde filled in for Tyler Caldwell at 174 pounds. After a scoreless first period, McBryde took a 1-0 lead after making an escape. At the end of the third period UCO’s Patrick Finn had a takedown, putting him up 3-1, but McBryde got a reversal with seconds remaining to put the match into overtime. In overtime McBryde scored a takedown to get the victory, 5-3. “Iceberg (Nolan McBryde) did a great job as our backup at 174 in a tight match,” Spates said. “The fact that we are scoring at the end like that is real important.” Erich Schmidtke, fresh off his 184-pound Oklahoma Open Championship, continued his winning ways against the Bronchos’ eight-ranked Tanner Keck. Schmidtke went up 2-0 in the first off a takedown and in the second he secured a three-point near fall. Schmidtke rounded out the third with an escape and 2:17 of riding time to give him a, 7-0, win. Sophomore Keldric Hall added three more points to the Sooners total after downing UCO’s Jarret Edison, 9-3, in the 197-pound bout. OU’s lone senior Nathan Fernandez assured the Sooners shutout after defeating the Broncho’s Randy Toche, 11-4, in the heavyweight bout. The eighth-ranked Sooners are 1-0 in dual action and will travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to take on Buffalo Friday, Nov. 12, before competing in the annual Brockport/Oklahoma Gold Classic Saturday, Nov. 13. Oklahoma will attempt to win its 12th-straight team title at the event. Results: 125 - Jarrod Patterson (OU) def. Austin Quinton (UCO), Fall 6:38 133 - Dustin Reed (OU) def. Trison Graham (UCO), Dec. 8-5 141 - Zack Bailey (OU) def. Kaleb Cradduck (UCO), Tech. Fall 19-6 149 - Nick Lester (OU) def. Ben Morgan (UCO), Dec. 10-6 157 - Matt Lester (OU) def. Chris Watson (UCO), Maj. Dec. 13-3 165 - Chase Nelson (OU) def. Derrick Adkins (UCO), Fall 1:01 174 - Nolan McBryde (OU) def. Patrick Finn (UCO), Dec. 5-3 184 - Erich Schmidtke (OU) def. Tanner Keck (UCO), Dec. 7-0 197 - Keldric Hall (OU) def. Jarret Edison (UCO), Dec. 9-3 285 - Nathan Fernandez (OU) def. Randy Tonche (UCO), Dec. 11-4

The average winter temperature in Mongolia is -13 degrees Fahrenheit. Siberia's average is -15 F. Washington D.C. checks in at 38 F. Not surprisingly, Mongolia is the most sparsely populated country on the planet (Greenland doesn't qualify) with fewer denizens than Chicago spread across a country significantly larger than Peru. Even so, the quality of wrestling in Mongolia is remarkable. And for the second time in as many seasons, college wrestling fans in the United States are being treated to one of the Asian nation's finest athletes: Ganbayar Sanjaa, 23-year-old American University junior known to his teammates as "Gana." Ganbayar SanjaaGana came to wrestle in America after a wrestling coach in Mongolia insisted that the then 14-year-old use his wrestling talents as a way to leave Mongolia and make a better life himself. Mongolia is a desperately poor country with limited opportunity for higher education and career advancement and, according to Gana, even if he developed into one of the toughest wrestlers in the country, and was invited to train alongside the national team in Greco or Freestyle, he'd still never be paid-to-win like is common in other underdeveloped wrestling-rich countries. Gana's coach sensed that given a friendly nudge, he could make a new life for himself outside of Mongolia. "All you do is practice and train, all the time," said Gana. "That is what the team is always doing and I wanted to get an education." As for wrestling in Nadaam, the nation's annual celebration of the manly pursuits (wrestling, horseback, archery), Gana said, "That is not for my size man." Gana received a student visa a few months after his 19th birthday and chose to attend Utah Valley State University in Orem, Utah, where a cousin had been living and studying. He enrolled in English classes, which he figured would be the first step to getting into school full-time. However, after a year of classes his English hadn't improved. But by chance one of the assistant coaches, an Uzbek who had wrestled for Steve Lampe at Colby Community College (Kansas), knew he could improve Gana's English enough to make him eligible to compete. Steve Lampe"His English was rough, but he could flat out wrestle," said Lampe, who has coached over 20 athletes from Asia. "We went out and got him some remedial books from the elementary school and then made sure we put him in the dorms. He wanted to be in dorms." Gana assimilated quickly to his new surroundings, coach and teammates. He was well-liked among the guys at Colby for being quirky and telling stories from home, but he wasn't without his idiosyncrasies. The heat; Gana hated the heat. The average temperature of his dorm room hovered in the 50s (a nice summer day by Mongolian standards). It was enough to get the mild-mannered and respectful Gana riled up on occasion. The only time Lampe ever saw Gana visibly agitated was after his Colby teammates cranked the heat in an effort to shed a few extra pounds. "He took his shirt off and tried to wrestle guys in the room like it was the 1970s or something. And he's only saying, 'No. Heat. Bad.'" Ganbayar Sanjaa (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)While the heat of a wrestling room was an inconvenience, Gana was also struggling with the difficult decision to leave his family in Mongolia. A few months after arriving at Utah Valley State, Gana was informed that his father had passed away. Upset, he prepped his bags and prepared to travel home for the funeral, but when he spoke to his cousin about the visa process, it became obvious that something might go awry if he left suddenly and then tried to re-enter the United States. That uncertainty ended the discussion. "My mom made me stay," said Gana. "She said, 'You stay until after school.' And that is what I am going to do. I don't want to take a chance with getting back into the country. The life is here." According to Coach Lampe, "[Gana] loves his family but he knows that if he stays here for a few years and gets citizenship, that he'll be with them in America, and a better life." Mark CodyAmerican University head wrestling coach Mark Cody knew that he was getting a special transfer when Lampe described the sacrifices Gana had made to provide a better life for himself and his family. Several years before he'd been referred Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov by Lampe (As the wrestling world is aware, Abdurakhmanov ended up being one of the Eagles' finest wrestlers and if it weren't for one of the more disputed calls in NCAA history, he might have been a national champion). Cody knew from speaking with Lampe that Gana, a two-time junior college national finalist and 2009 national champion, would be another special, top-level wrestler with a leadership-worthy work ethic and commitment to his team and their goals. "If we had a room filled with guys that had Gana's concentration it would almost be too much," Cody said. "Our team is talented and successful, and Gana has proven to be someone they all respect for his kindness and humor." Ganbayar Sanjaa (Photo/Johnnie Johnson)Gana hasn't complained about the heat yet, either, as Cody maintains he keeps a pretty temperate room. The season is young but Gana is looking solid after a 2-0 start at this past weekend's Pentagon Duals. That's a start, but he'll have to do a lot of work to make it to the NCAA tournament this season. Ahead of Gana in the EIWA are four wrestlers ranked among the InterMat Top 20 at 149 pounds: No. 2 Kyle Dake of Cornell, No. 5 Kevin LeValley Bucknell, No. 12 Corey Jantzen of Harvard, and No. 14 Marion Mason of Rutgers. Another difficulty many foreign competitors face is staying healthy for the entire five-month trudge that is the Division I wrestling season. Maybe the final obstacle for Gana, like Abdurakhmanov before him, is the need to continually improve on the mat. Though Coach Cody assures that he's "got some stuff on top," it's no secret that Asia hasn't churned out the style of wrestling conducive to domination on the mat. But then again, maybe Cody was right -- last Friday Gana posted an 18-3 technical fall in his match against Franklin & Marshall. Regardless of this season's outcome, Cody is already making one promise to his star Mongolian: If Gana wants to be a wrestling coach, he'll make sure it happens. Gana can be like the men who've helped him get to this point and reach out to an athlete in need. He'll have an education and maybe even some of his family beside him as well. With any luck, he may even get control of the thermostat.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Virginia Tech 133-pound true freshman Devin Carter has been named the first Atlantic Coast Conference Wrestler of the Week of the 2010-11 season after winning the first six matches of his collegiate career, including a major decision over the nation’! s No. 8-ranked wrestler in his weight class. Carter, a native of Christiansburg, Va., opened with a 15-0 technical fall over Iowa State’s Ben Cash in the Hokies narrow 17-16 loss to No. 25 Iowa State in last Friday’s dual meet. Carter then claimed the 133-pound title in Sunday’s Hokie Open at Salem, Va., with an impressive sweep of his five matches. Carter’s victories included wins over ACC opponents Pat Owens (10-5) and Mike Rappo of North Carolina (injury default), and a pin of Old Dominion’s Justin LaValle in 2:32. Carter capped his tournament showing with a dominating major decision over Old Dominion’s eighth-ranked Kyle Hutter in the title match.