InterMat Staff

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The #20 Indiana University wrestling team defeated #16 Northwestern Sunday afternoon, 23-11. It marks the third straight win for IU over the Wildcats, and the Cream and Crimson's 10th victory in the last 11 meetings between the two schools. Northwestern is a really good team and is having a fine season," said Head Coach Duane Goldman. "It was a nice win for us, they are all big wins in this conference." The match began with the 174-lbs. bout where Trevor Perry won the first of seven individual bout victories for the Hoosiers. Perry was a 9-6 winner over Robert Kellogg. After a Northwestern tech fall at 184 pounds, Indiana then ripped off four straight victories to build a 17-5 lead with three matches remaining. Matt Powless started the streak with his fourth Big Ten victory of the season, topping John Schoen by an 8-2 tally. At heavyweight, Nate Everhart improved to 5-1 in conference action by posting a 10-2 major decision. The marquee match-up of the day came next when defending 125-lbs. national champion Angel Escobedo faced #3 Brandon Precin and his 23-1, 5-0 record entering the contest. The bout lived up to the billing, ending in sudden victory after Escobedo recorded a takedown and the 3-1 win. Matt Ortega was also in the win column, garnering a bonus point by majoring Eric Metzler in the 133-lbs. match. #13 Kurt Kinser clinched the team victory in the second last match of the day. The Bloomington, Ind., native notched a big win over #14 Jason Welch. Kinser is now 2-0 versus Welch this season after pinning him earlier in the year. Kinser's high school teammate at Bloomington South, Paul Young, put the icing on the cake at 165 pounds. A total of nine takedowns occurred in the 16-14 scoring outburst. Young notched three takedowns in the third period alone to push ahead for good.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- The No. 15 Oklahoma State wrestling team picked up two wins in Gallagher-Iba Arena Sunday, beating Binghamton, 40-6, and knocking off Wyoming, 34-6. In doing so, OSU improved to 14-7 on the year. The Cowboys won nine of 10 bouts in both duals, racking up a total of four pins, two technical falls and four major decision victories along the way. "Overall not the greatest two matches we've wrestled, but definitely what you're hoping for," Coach John Smith said. "You're hoping for an escape out of the matches without somebody wrestling poorly and getting upset and I thought we did that." Particularly dominant for OSU were Brandon Mason, who pinned Binghamton's Ryan McGarity in 4:30 in his first match and claimed a 17-0 technical fall win over Wyoming's Alex Rieder in his second match and Clayton Foster, who scored a 15-0 technical fall win over Binghamton's Cory Waite and a 14-4 major decision win over Wyoming's Alfonso Hernandez. "It feels pretty good. I'm kind of mad I didn't get the pin in the first match, and then in the second match I got the major (decision)," Foster said. "The guy was tough to turn but I am still mad I didn't tech or pin him too." Cowboy senior Newly McSpadden toppled a ranked opponent when he scored a reversal with 1:19 remaining in the third period of his bout against No. 19 Shane Onufer of Wyoming to claim a 5-4 win. The Cowboys put a cap on the regular season when they host Oklahoma at 2 p.m. Sunday in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Seniors Obenson Blanc, Brandon Mason, Newly McSpadden and Jared Shelton will be recognized prior to the dual. "We're right there where we can achieve greatness, we just have to go out there and take it," Mason said. "You can't really say we're on a roll now. We need to go and continue to perform against OU and at Big 12 and then at Nationals."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In his final home match as a Buckeye, senior wrestler J Jaggers went out in style. With Ohio State already having secured the team victory, Jaggers stepped onto the mat vs. Illinois' Ryan Prater at 141 pounds and pinned the Illini in 4:49 to lift the Scarlet and Gray to a 26-13 victory Sunday in St. John Arena. With the win, Ohio State moves to 14-2 on the season, including a 5-1 mark in the Big Ten. The triumph also marked head coach Tom Ryan's 150th career victory. In 14 seasons as a head coach (including three at Ohio State), Ryan owns a winning percentage of .609. In his fifth and final year competing in front of family and friends in the historical arena, the 14th-ranked Jaggers, a native of Northfield, Ohio, was consistently on the attack in the early moments of the match despite a scoreless first period. The second stanza appeared to be heading in the same direction with a lot of action, but not any points to show for it. However, with just 11 seconds remaining in the period, Jaggers was able to get Prater on his back to record his fourth pin of the season. The match got underway at 149 pounds and junior Lance Palmer quickly gave Ohio State a 4-0 lead following his major decision over Eric Terrazas, 10-2. Ranked fourth in the country, Palmer ended the first period with a tight 2-0 lead, but wasted little time in adding onto his score in the second stanza on a takedown and escape. The Buckeye native from Columbia Station, Ohio, was awarded two additional points because of three Illinois warnings. Coupled with a riding time of 4:06, Palmer was a 10-2 victor. Joining Jaggers in the Senior Day celebration, 17th-ranked Jason Johnstone faced No. 2 Mike Poeta at 157 pounds. Johnstone, who hails from Massillon, Ohio, had his hands full against the two-time All-American and Big Ten champion. Poeta ended the first stanza with a 4-1 advantage which he increased into a 7-2 lead by the end of the second period before the 10-4 final. Following a scoreless first period, second-ranked Colt Sponseller tallied an escape and takedown in the second period to take a 3-0 lead against No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud at 165 pounds . There was not any scoring in the final period, but Sponseller was awarded a point because of a pair of Illinois warnings. The sophomore native of Glenmont, Ohio, amassed a riding time of 2:25 to cap his victory. With Ohio State up 10-3 after three matches, junior Dave Rella garnered his 15th win of the season when he defeated John Dergo, 8-6, in the 174-pound bout. The match was a close affair the entire seven minutes. Hailing from Akron, Ohio, Rella was down 2-1 after the first period. In the second stanza, it was back and forth scoring as Dergo opened the period with an escape at 1:51. Eleven seconds later, Rella scored a takedown before another Illinois escape at the 1-minute mark. Rella countered with a takedown with 29 seconds remaining in the period. The stanza concluded with a 5-5 tie on a Dergo escape at the 14-second point. With Rella opting for the down position, he got out of Dergo's grip in three seconds and then scored a takedown at 1:31. A final escape at 1:07 by Dergo was not enough as Rella held on for the win. No. 2 Mike Pucillo increased the Buckeye lead to 14-3 following his 10-2 major decision win over No. 12 Jordan Blanton. Up 4-1 after the first period, Pucillo, a junior from Strongsville, Ohio, kept Blanton scoreless in the second period, while he scored an escape and takedown. Finally in the third period, Pucillo tallied another takedown and brought his total riding time to 2:38 in the win. Illinois was able to get back seven points at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Buckeye junior Jason Cook lost an 8-2 decision to Patrick Bond. Classmate Corey Morrison encountered ninth-ranked John Wise and suffered a 12-1 setback. At 125 pounds, it was again sophomore Nikko Triggas who scored a crucial six points for the Buckeyes with a pin. Ohio State held a slim 14-10 lead, but Triggas propelled the Scarlet and Gray to a 20-10 advantage when he dropped B.J. Futrell in 3:36. In the match Friday against Michigan, Triggas' pin was critical in the Scarlet and Gray's 26-17 win vs. the Wolverines. In the featured bout of the day, it was No. 2 Reece Humphrey vs. No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy at 133 pounds. Humphrey, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., entered the matchup with 21 wins and just one loss. Kennedy was 22-2 before the match. Humphrey was up 2-1 at the end of one period and held a 3-1 advantage after two. However, a reversal by Kennedy at the 1:47 mark in the third, along with a riding time of 2:06 by the Illini was enough for him to earn his 23rd victory (4-3) of the season. Notes: The 26-13 win by the Buckeyes against the Illini is their first since 1994. Illinois owned a 10-match win streak. Last season, Ohio State came up short by one point, falling 19-18 in Champaign. Ohio State celebrated Senior Day with four Buckeyes and their families – Wes Bergman, J Jaggers, Jason Johnstone and Owen Schaefer. Colt Sponseller recorded his team-leading 27th win (3 losses) of the season and is 6-0 in the Big Ten. Mike Pucillo remains undefeated at 14-0 and is 6-0 in the Big Ten. Sponseller, Pucillo and Lance Palmer are undefeated in the Big Ten at 6-0. With two consecutive pins on the weekend, Nikko Triggas leads the team with 12 on the season. The Buckeyes will travel to Evanston, Ill., Feb. 20 for an 8 p.m. ET match-up against No. 16 Northwestern. Ohio State then will take on No. 18 Wisconsin in Madison Feb. 22. The Buckeyes vs. Badgers dual will air live on the Big Ten Network at 1 p.m. ET.

Columbia, Mo. -- Closing out the regular season at home, the fifth-ranked Missouri wrestling team (18-4, 3-1) upset second-ranked Iowa State (13-3), 18-15, to finish the campaign 3-1 in the conference for just the third time in league history. Missouri's 18th win of the year ties for the most ever recorded in program history, a mark first set in 1967-68 (18-0-1) and again in 2001-02 (18-3). Tiger Head Coach Brian Smith becomes the first Missouri wrestling coach to ever record two 18-win seasons. Missouri collected wins in five of the 10 matches, beginning with 10th-ranked 141 pounder Marcus Hoehn (Farmington, Mo.). One of six seniors recognized prior to the days' dual, Hoehn pulled off an upset of his own by topping third-ranked Nick Gallick, 4-3, in sudden victory. Tied at three at the end of regulation, Hoehn and Gallick were forced into a one minute sudden victory period to determine the winner. Gallick, who had been hit with stalling in the third period, was tagged again with 10 seconds remaining on the clock. The second stall call against Gallick awarded Hoehn the decisive one point victory. A loss at 149 points brought the Cyclones within three points of the Tigers. Earlier in the dual, Iowa State won the 125 pound match, 4-2, in the second tie breaker and forfeited at 133 pounds. Wrestling at 157 pounds, eighth-ranked Michael Chandler (High Ridge, Mo.) held on for his third career win over seventh-ranked Cyler Sanderson. Blanking the Cyclone, 4-0, Chandler scored a takedown late in the first period, escaped four seconds into the second period and tallied 2:04 of riding time for the win. Fifth-ranked Nicholas Marable (Collierville, Tenn.) earned his sixth win of the season by a score of 3-2. Besting seventh-ranked Jon Reader, Marable and his opponent were scoreless through the first three minutes of the match. Marable chose down to start the second and escaped in five seconds. Starting down in the third, Reader escaped but was returned to the mat, only to escape again. With time running out, Reader was unable to score any further points, giving Marable his 21st win of the season. Rebounding from his Friday night loss, fifth-ranked Raymond Jordan (New Bern, N.C.) proved the stronger wrestler, outscoring 18th-ranked Duke Burke, 6-1, at 174 pounds. Jordan held Burke to a single escape in the third, collecting a second period escape, and takedown as well as a takedown in the third and 1:43 of riding time for his final win in the Hearnes Center. The Tigers suffered losses in the final three weight classes, but held on for the win, just the second ever over ISU in the Hearnes Center and fourth over Iowa State in the Tigers' 63 year history. Missouri will have nearly three weeks to prepare for the 13th annual Big 12 Championships, March 7, in Lincoln, Neb. Held on the University of Nebraska campus in The Coliseum, the all day tournament will feature several of the nations' best grapplers in a competition for Big 12 supremacy.

IOWA CITY, IA -- The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team celebrated senior day with a 25-9 victory over #11/#13 Minnesota Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes remain undefeated at 22-0 with the win, beating the Golden Gophers for the second time this season. Iowa stays atop the Big Ten standings with a perfect 6-0 mark, and posted its 36th straight dual win. Minnesota fell to 14-7 (5-3 Big Ten). Hawkeye seniors Charlie Falck (125), Alex Tsirtsis (141), Derek Coorough (149) and T.H. Leet (165) were honored before the dual. Minnesota started the dual with an upset at 125 pounds, as freshman Zach Sanders scored a takedown with eight seconds left in the match to beat Falck. Sanders, who is ranked eighth in the nation, snapped Falck's six-match winning streak and handed the fourth-ranked Hawkeye his first dual loss of the season. The Hawkeyes responded with top-ranked Daniel Dennis scoring a 9-7 victory over #5 Jayson Ness to tie the team score at 3-3. Dennis, who posted a 6-4 win over Ness when Iowa beat Minnesota 27-7 in the second round of the 2009 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls last month, remains 6-0 in Big Ten duals and has won his last eight bouts. Iowa posted wins at the next two weights as Tsirtsis and junior Brent Metcalf (149) extended their own winning streaks. Tsirtsis, who is ranked second in the nation, posted a 2-1 decision over #8 Mike Thorn at 141 to score his sixth-straight win. Metcalf stuck Joe Grygelko in 4:38 to post his 59th straight win and his 14th pin of the season. The top-ranked Hawkeye junior is now 27-0 on the season. Minnesota took the dual into intermission with Tyler Safratowich's 8-2 victory over Matt Ballweg at 157. The Hawkeyes responded after the break with four straight wins to clinch the team victory. Junior Ryan Morningstar kicked the run off with a 9-4 decision over Scott Glasser at 165. Hawkeye 174-pounder junior Jay Borschel followed with an 11-3 major decision over Kaleb Young. Junior Phillip Keddy posted his 25th season and 12th straight victory, beating Sonny Yohn, 10-6, at 184. Hawkeye junior Chad Beatty scored Iowa's final win of the dual with his 5-4 victory over Gordon Bierschenk at 197. Beatty and Borschel have won their last five matches. Minnesota closed out the dual with a victory at heavyweight when Ben Berhow beat Iowa redshirt freshman Jordan Johnson, 12-9. Johnson was competing for injured Hawkeye starter Dan Erekson. Next up for the Hawkeyes is their final Big Ten road trip to close out the 2008-09 regular season. Iowa will wrestle at #20/#23 Indiana (15-5-1, 2-3-1 Big Ten) Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) at University Gym. The Hawkeyes will then travel to #16/#13 Northwestern (9-6-1, 2-3-1 Big Ten) for their final dual of the season Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT). The dual will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

MADISON, Wis. -- The 18th-ranked Wisconsin wrestling team made it two in a row Sunday, winning their second consecutive home meet by taking down No. 25 Purdue 19-15 in front of 821 fans at the UW Field House. Wisconsin improves to 9-7-0 overall, 3-4 in Big Ten duals while Purdue drops to 11-6-1, 0-5-1. You can re-live all the action with the archived Web stream and Wrestling Blog. The Boilermakers started out the meet with a 6-0 advantage, but the Badgers used a win at 141 and a pin at 149 lbs. to claim the lead. The match had three ties, including a 15-15 tie heading into the final bout of the afternoon at heavyweight. Wisconsin senior Kyle Massey won a 10-2 major decision over Chris Kasten of Purdue to provide the final 19-15 margin in favor of Wisconsin. Purdue used victories in the 125 and 133 lbs. weight classes to start off the meet. Matt Fields of Purdue knocked off Drew Hammen 7-4 at 125 lbs. and Carson Beebe defeated the UW's Tom Kelliher 4-2 at 133 lbs. Senior and No. 1 ranked Zach Tanelli extended his winning streak to 16 matches with an 8-4 win over Purdue's Juan Archuleta. Tanelli had two takedowns, an escape, a point for Purdue stalling and 3:38 of riding time in the win. One of the marquee matches took place at 149 lbs. with No. 5 Kyle Ruschell matching up against No. 8 Jake Patacsil from Purdue. Ruschell scored an early takedown at 1:46 and shortly after, rolled Patacsil for the pin in 1:54. It was Ruschell's second pin of Patacsil this season and he leads the season series 2-1 against the Purdue grappler. Ruschell's win gave the Badgers the 9-6 advantage but Purdue got even before the break with a win at 157 lbs. Purdue's Nick Bertucci registered a 6-0 decision over the UW's Ben Jordan. True freshman Andrew Howe got the Badgers back in front with a 9-3 decision over No. 16 Luke Manuel. Howe, who is ranked No. 8 for 165 lbs. had the 5-1 lead heading into the third period and scored a takedown and had 1:07 of riding time in the third for his 10th-straight victory. Purdue tied the score yet again and took the 15-12 lead with wins at 174 lbs. and 184 lbs. Nick Corpe knocked off the UW's Travis Rutt 5-1 at 174 lbs. UW sophomore Eric Bugenhagen wrestled 14th-ranked A.J. Kissel tough at 184 lbs. but fell in the 1-0 decision. Kissel scored an escape with 1:58 left in the third for the win. The Badgers then tied the score for the final time and took the lead with wins at 197 lbs. and heavyweight. Third-ranked Dallas Herbst knocked off No. 13 Logan Brown with a 2-0 decision. Herbst registered his ninth-straight win with a third period escape and 1:12 of RT. Finally, Massey gave the Badgers the 19-15 win with the 10-2 major decision over Chris Kasten at heavyweight. Massey had the 6-1 lead after the second period and never looked back, scoring a takedown, was awarded a point for Purdue stalling in the third and h ad 4:02 of riding time. Wisconsin closes out the 2008-09 dual season at home next Sunday when No. 6 Ohio State comes to the UW Field House for a noon matchup. Sunday's bout will air live on the Big Ten Network.

BUFFALO, NY -- Junior Lou Ruggirello and red-shirt freshman Justin Accordino posted wins by fall to lead the 23rd-ranked Hofstra Pride to a 24-13 victory over the Bulls of Buffalo at UB Arena Sunday afternoon. The Pride improved to 9-6 on the season while Buffalo fell to 9-9. The Pride jumped out to a 15-0 lead, winning the first three matches including two victories by fall. Freshman Steve Bonanno (25-12) opened the contest with a 6-3 decision over junior Dan Bishop (10-16) for a 3-0 lead. Hofstra's eighth-ranked 133-pound junior Lou Ruggirello (24-3) recorded his 15th fall of the season with a pin of freshman Taylor Golba (7-13) in 1:20. Red-shirt freshman Justin Accordino (19-10) followed with his ninth fall of the season with a pin of freshman Mark Lewandowski (14-10) in just 40 seconds. It was Accordino's third fastest pin of the season and gave the Pride a 15-0 advantage in the match. The Bulls got on the board at 149 pounds as red-shirt freshman Desmond Green (33-6) posted a 25-13 major decision over Pride sophomore Jeff Rotella (4-10). Buffalo made it two straight wins at 157 pounds as freshman John Martin-Cannon (21-16) downed Hofstra freshman Fran O'Brien (0-4), 11-4, to close the deficit to 15-7 in the contest. But the Pride came back with their own run, winning the next two matches. Sophomore Ryan Patrovich improved to 17-6 on the season with an 8-3 decision over Buffalo freshman Ron Majerus (10-16) at 165 pounds. Tenth-ranked senior Alton Lucas (21-5) recorded a third period takedown to break a 4-4 tie and go on to a 7-5 victory over senior Nate Rock (22-13) at 174 pounds. But Buffalo senior Mickey Moran (20-10) stopped the Hofstra mini-run with a third period reversal and a penalty point to down Pride freshman Ben Clymer (18-10), 3-2, at 184 pounds to close the Bulls' deficit to 21-10. At 197 pounds, Buffalo sophomore Jimmy Hamel (27-10) turned a 4-3 deficit entering the third period into a 7-5 victory over sophomore Joe Fagiano (13-6). In the match finale at 285 pounds, Buffalo freshman Brett Correll (15-19) posted a second period escape while Pride freshman Jordan Enck recorded a third period escape before Enck (16-16) posted a takedown with 20 seconds remaining for a 3-1 victory to close out the Pride's 24-13 victory. The Pride will close out their regular season this Friday night, February 20 when they travel to Cambridge, Massachusetts for a 7 p.m. match against the Crimson of Harvard. Following that match the Pride will prepare to defend their conference title in the CAA Wrestling Championships on March 6-7 in Chesapeake, Virginia.

EDINBORO, Pa. -- Edinboro used falls from Gregor Gillespie and Joey Fendone and a technical fall from Torsten Gillespie to pick up its first-ever win over Hofstra on Saturday night at McComb Fieldhouse. The Fighting Scots had lost their previous two meetings with the Pride, but this time they came away with a 26-13 victory. Edinboro, ranked 13th in the latest USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Coaches Poll, is now 13-4, while 23rd-ranked Hofstra falls to 8-6. The victory is the 135th for head coach Tim Flynn, tying the school record held by Fred Caro, who coached at Edinboro from 1963-84. Flynn is wrapping up his 12th season at the helm and has a 135-39-3 record. Gregor Gillespie is also close to a landmark, as the senior won his 144th career match, moving within a win of Jason Robison's career record of 145 wins. Gillespie is now 33-0 for the season and 144-10 for his career after pinning Fran O'Brien at 3:59. In fact, it looked the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 157 lbs. was going to put the finishing touches on his 14th technical fall when he flattened O'Brien for his third fall in his last five matches. The match started at 125 lbs., with top-ranked Paul Donahoe winning an 8-3 decision over 20th-ranked Steve Bonanno. Donahoe led 5-1 after two periods thanks to a pair of takedowns. He picked up a third takedown in the third period and had 1:55 in riding time. He is now 27-0 and 113-18 for his career. Ricky Deubel had upset Hofstra's Lou Ruggirello earlier in the year to win the Southern Scuffle, but he wasn't able to make it back-to-back wins against the eighth-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs. Following a scoreless first period, Ruggirello chose the top and picked up two near-fall points with just under a minute remaining in the second period. He would add a takedown with 17 seconds left and with a point for riding time, was a 5-0 winner over Deubel. Deubel, ranked 19th, falls to 23-10 and suffers just his second loss in his last 14 matches. Hofstra's Justin Accordino gave the Pride a 6-3 lead as he won a 9-4 decision over Steve Waite at 141 lbs. The bout was scoreless after one period, but Accordino had a big second period. He would record and escape and takedown in the first thirty seconds, then turned Waite twice for a total of five points and an 8-0 lead. Waite came up with a pair of takedowns in the third period but could not make up the large deficit. The sophomore is now 8-3 and sees his five-match winning streak come to an end. Torsten Gillespie gave the lead back to the Scots as he won be technical fall over Jeff Rotella, 18-2 at 5:12 at 149 lbs. Gillespie seized control midway through the first period. Rotella actually went ahead with a takedown at 2:07, but Gillespie reversed Rotella and would then tilt him twice for six points in the final minute. Rotella chose down to start the second period, and Gillespie made him pay for it. He turned Rotella three more times for a 15-2 lead after two periods. Gillespie is now 24-14. Hofstra picked up wins at 165 and 174 lbs. to close the match to 14-13. Ryan Patrovich upset ninth-ranked Jarrod King at 165 lbs., using a third period escape for a 3-2 win. Patrovich registered a takedown with just over a minute remaining, with King escaping to trail 2-1 after one period. King would even the match at 2-2 with a quick escape to start the second period. The senior just returned to the mat last night after missing a month due to injury. He falls to 23-4. He had pinned Patrovich earlier in the year in the Oklahoma Gold Classic. Alton Lucas, ranked tenth at 174 lbs., followed with a 16-4 major decision over a game but outclassed John Foley, who is now 0-2. Foley is filling in for Paul Paddock, who suffered a knee injury earlier in the week. Edinboro put the match away with wins in the final three bouts. Chris Honeycutt was a 6-0 winner over Ben Clymer. The sophomore, ranked 17th at 184 lbs., is now 24-6. He scored the only points of the first period with a takedown midway through the period. That was followed by an escape and takedown in the second period for a 5-0 lead. He rode out Clymer in the third period and finished with 3:20 in riding time. Pat Bradshaw rebounded from a loss last night at buffalo with a solid 6-2 decision over Joe Fagiano at 197 lbs. The match was tied at 2-2 after two periods, although Bradshaw owned riding time. He rolled out for a quick escape to start the third period, then added an insurance takedown with 34 seconds left. The junior is now 22-6. Fendone faced a scary opponent in Hofstra's Jordan Enck, who had defeated Cornell's Zach Hammond in his last match. Hammond earlier pinned Fendone. The Boro senior never gave the Hofstra freshman a chance. After a scoreless first period, Fendone chose the top to start the second. He broke Enck down and finished the fall at 3:44. It is Fendone's 16th fall of the season, good for sole possession of fifth in a season. In addition, it is his 41st career fall. That moves himj into sole possession of fourth place, just one fall behind Jason Robison and Tom Herr for second place. Fendone is now 24-5 and has a 99-37 career record. Edinboro completes its regular season next week, hosting Pittsburgh on Friday, February 20, then traveling to Morgantown, WV to face West Virginia on Sunday, February 22.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The No. 21-ranked University of Northern Iowa wrestling team closed its home dual season with an 18-12 victory over the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs in front of 475 fans in the West Gym. The Panthers honored its senior class prior to the match and all three came up big on Saturday with victories to pace the home squad. UNI moved to 8-6 on the season, while Chattanooga dropped to 11-10 overall. Senior Andrew Anderson got the draw to start the dual for the Panthers at 197 pounds. Anderson secured a takedown 34 seconds into the match and did not trail as he scored a 5-3 victory over Chattanooga's Ethan Winel. However, the Mocs won three straight matches to a take a 9-3 advantage in the dual. Chattanooga's Cody Sliger scored a 3-1 sudden victory over UNI's Dustin Bauman at heavyweight and 125-pounder Demetrius Johnson scored a 9-6 win over UNI's Cruse Aarhus. The Mocs' Josh Statum tallied a 6-2 triumph over the Panthers' Steven Fitzgerald at 133 pounds to the visitor's run of victories. The Panthers turned the tide at 141 pounds behind redshirt freshman Trent Washington's 6-4 victory over No. 9-ranked Cody Cleveland. Washington nearly ended the match in the first period on a five-point move, but Cleveland avoided the fall and trailed by a 5-0 count at the end of one. Cleveland was able to earn a three-point nearfall of his own at the 1:29 mark of the second period to pull within two. Cleveland pulled even closer to start the third period as Washington was dinged for his third caution of the match to make the score 5-4 in Washington's favor. Washington earned an escape four seconds into the third and was able to hold off Cleveland's shots in the final seconds for the triumph. Click here to find out more! UNI's Trevor Kittleson knotted the dual at 9-9 following his 6-2 victory over Chattanooga's Kelly Felix at 149 pounds. Kittleson trailed 2-0 after Felix began the match with a takedown, but Kittleson settled in and did not allow Felix to score again. Kittleson racked up a 1:22 in riding time and added an escape and a penalty point in the final period for the 6-2 victory. Chattanooga's Joey Knox provided the visitors with their final win of the day at 157 pounds with a 2-1 triumph over UNI's Tyson Reiner. The match was scoreless after two periods with Knox riding out Reiner in the second. Knox escaped to start the third to tally the first points of the match. Reiner was given a stalling point with 41 seconds left in the match and nearly won it with a shot in the final three seconds, but referee Mike Exline did not award the takedown and Knox hung on for a 2-1 win via riding time (1:58). Panther senior Moza Fay got the home crowd on its feet with a takedown and nearside cradle in the first period against the Mocs' Seth Garvin at 165 pounds. However, Garvin avoided going to his back and trailed 2-0 following the first three minutes of action. Fay increased his lead to 6-2 after two periods, but could not get the takedown he needed in the closing seconds and had to settle for a 9-3 decision. Fay's victory tied the dual at 12-12. UNI's Jarion Beets made his return the mat successful with an 11-5 decision over Chattanooga's Jason McCroskey at 174 pounds. Beets had been out of action since the National Dual on Jan. 10 when he suffered a concussion in a match against the Michigan Wolverines. Beets held a 4-2 lead going into the third period but then he unleashed an all-out blitz on McCroskey and nearly scored a major decision as he tallied three takedowns in the final two minutes. It was only fitting on Senior Day, that senior Alex Dolly clinched the match for the Panthers. Dolly recorded an 8-3 victory over Tyler Roberson at 184 pounds. The match was tied 2-2 heading into the third period, but Dolly took over with a pair of takedowns, an escape and a riding time point for the win. The Panthers will close the dual season next weekend with matches at South Dakota State (Feb. 21) and at North Dakota State (Feb. 22).

Lincoln -- Jordan Burroughs claimed two technical falls en route to shattering the Nebraska single-season dual takedown record and leading the fourth-ranked Huskers to notable dual wins over UNC Greensboro (43- -1) and North Carolina (24-15) at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday. Husker Head Coach Mark Manning picked up his 150th career dual victory, while NU moved to 17-2-1 on the season. NU is 9-0-1 in the last 10 duals, its longest unbeaten streak since notching the same mark to start the 1995-96 season. The highlight of the night went to Burroughs, though, as he broke NU's single-season dual takedown record in impressive fashion. The Sicklerville, N.J., native entered the night six short of the record he set last season with 98. Burroughs reached the mark and surpassed it with 21 takedowns in 25-9 and 24-9 technical falls over UNCG's Andrew Saunders and No. 20 Thomas Scotton of UNC, respectively. Burroughs has 114 takedowns in 18 dual appearances to go with his 27-0 record this season at 157 pounds. Two other Huskers posted bonus-point victories against the Tar Heels, as Nebraska picked up its 22nd consecutive dual win over an Atlantic Coast Conference school. Stephen Dwyer claimed a 12-2 major decision against No. 17 Keegan Mueller, while Vince Jones posted five takedowns against Daneil Llamas for a 13-5 major decision. Andy Pokorny started the dual with a 5-3 decision against Nick Shields, as Pokorny went 2-0 on the day at 125 pounds, while Craig Brester topped No. 17 Dennis Drury, 9-3 at 197 pounds. Matt Vacanti won by forfeit at 133 to round out NU's points. In the first dual of the night, the Huskers easily handled UNC Greensboro, racking up three pins and a technical fall en route to a 43 to -1 victory. Vacanti, Brester and Andy Johnson recorded the falls, while Burroughs earned his first technical fall of the night. Brester accomplished the task quickest, falling Jeremy Cannon in 52 seconds. Vacanti pinned Casey Boyle in 1:18 and Johnson earned a 2:49 pin against Brett Miller in his first dual appearance of the season. Five other Huskers posted decisions to help NU win all nine contested weight classes. Pokorny started the contest with his first dual victory since Jan. 18, posting a 4-2 decision over Mitchell Johnson at 125 pounds, while Robert Sanders returned from a minor shoulder injury with a 7-3 victory over Ben Wilmore at 149 pounds. Alex Ward moved to 3-0 in duals this season with an 8-6 win over Victor Hojilla at 165 and heavyweight Tucker Lane notched a 9-4 decision over Joe Sheffield. Jones earned an unusual victory at 184, claiming two escapes and a stalling point to go with a riding-time advantage for a 5-4 win, despite giving up two takedowns. Curtis Salazar won by forfeit at 141. Nebraska finishes the dual season at home against Iowa State on Feb. 22. Wrestling is set to begin at 2 p.m. in the NU Coliseum. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or online at Huskers.com.

Tempe, Ariz. -- Teddy Astorga delivered the key pin, John Drake won a pivotal overtime bout and heavyweight Kurt Klimek won the final decisive bout Saturday afternoon as Cal State Fullerton pulled out a 20-18 Pac-10 wrestling dual meet victory at Arizona State. The win in the final dual meet of the season improved the Titans' record to 11-6 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-10. Each team won five bouts in the nip and tuck affair. Each captured three decisions and one technicall fall. But the Titans' won because of the 6 team points Astorga captured with a fall at 149 pounds over Vicente Varela at 2:54 compared to the four ASU got from a major decision. T. J. Dillashaw provided the other Titan bonus points with a technical fall at 133 (16-0) over David Prado. ASU held an 18-14 lead after eight bouts. But Drake won the 197-pound bout in sudden victory, 5-3, over Jake Crawfor to put Klimek in a position to win with a decision, which he got over Imaniborn Etueven at 5-0. Both teams will next compete in Titan Gym on March 1-2 in the Pac-10 Championships.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team closed the home portion of its 2008-09 schedule with a dominant 31-6 victory over 24th-ranked Penn State on Friday evening (Feb. 14) in front of 771 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The victory was a big turnaround for the Wolverines, who fell to PSU by three points (18-21) at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals last month. Michigan (9-7-1, 4-1-1) won eight individual matches and earned bonus points in three, including a forfeit victory at 133 pounds, to snap a three-dual losing streak against the Nittany Lions and remain near the top of the Big Ten Conference standings. Sophomore Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy), ranked fifth at 141 pounds, opened the dual meet with his 15th consecutive win, earning a 3-1 decision against Frank Molinaro for the second time this season. After a scoreless first period, Russell took the only lead he needed on a reversal midway through the second frame, coming out on top of an extended scramble and nearly putting the Nittany Lion wrestler to his back before the official stopped action due to Molinaro's chinstrap coming up across his face. Russell picked up an additional point in the third when, out of a scramble and with the Wolverine draped over his shoulder, Molinaro threw himself backward to slam Russell on the mat. Russell, who improved to 6-0 in Big Ten duals, has not lost a match in more than two months. A Penn State victory at 149 pounds evened the dual score, but the Wolverines reeled off six straight wins to lock up the team victory. Junior/sophomore Aaron Hynes (Mt. Morris, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) claimed his second bonus win of the weekend with a dominant performance in the 157-pound contest, using a combination of leg attacks and turns to take a 17-6 major decision against Tim Darling. Hynes converted on an early double leg and a late front headlock and scored the remainder of his points on the mat, demonstrating a good knack for scrambling with three separate four-point moves. Hynes nearly had Darling stacked up on two occasions, but the Nittany Lion was able to stay off his back as Hynes had to settle for the major. Sophomore Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) picked up his first win over a ranked opponent in the 165-pound contest, rallying back from an early deficit to defeat 20th-ranked Dan Vallimont, 3-2. Vallimont took the first lead on a first-period takedown, but Zeerip scored a pair of escapes and rode out the entirety of the second period to earn 1:49 in riding-time advantage, which proved the difference at match's end. Fifth-year senior Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), the nation's top-ranked 174-pounder, went out a winner in his final match at Cliff Keen Arena with a 6-4 decision against 16th-ranked Quentin Wright. The Wolverine captain finished on a high crotch and a single leg in the first period and, despite giving up just his second takedown in the third, held on to improve to 22-0 on the season. Junior/sophomore Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./ChippewaValley HS), ranked 13th nationally, rolled past Jack Decker in the 184-pound contest, using a reversal and two third-period takedowns to win 7-1. After a scoreless first period, Biondo caught Decker off guard early in the second with an immediate switch for a reversal and rode out the period to build sizable time advantage. The Wolverine converted on a high crotch early in the final period and, after cutting Decker loose, scored out of a late scramble to cap the win. Fifth-year senior Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) spent little time on the mat in his final Cliff Keen Arena appearance, pinning the Nittany Lions' J.R. Brown just 1:38 into the 197-pound bout. Todd, ranked sixth nationally, struck quickly on a single-leg, lifting it high and dumping Brown to the mat to gain the advantage. The Wolverine captain went to work on top after a restart, using his signature near wrist-head scoop combination to earn his third consecutive first-period fall. Todd, who extended his win streak to 10 matches with the win, also pinned Brown in their meeting at the National Duals. Todd leads the Wolverine team with eight pins on the season. Junior/sophomore heavyweight Eddie Phillips (Woodland, Mich./Lakewood HS) cruised to a 7-0 decision against Cameron Wade behind takedowns in the first and third frames and a second-period reversal. The Wolverine wrestler controlled the bout from beginning to end, scoring out of a flurry late in the opening period before adding a last-second takedown in the third off an errant PSU half shot. Even in defeat, the Wolverines looked strong at 149 and 125 pounds. In the former match, junior/sophomore Mark Beaudry (Pueblo, Colo./South HS) narrowed the gap against second-ranked Bubba Jenkins to just two points in the third period after the Nittany Lion wrestler was hit with his second stalling call but could not penetrate Jenkins' defense in the closing seconds and fell 5-3. Senior Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) overcame an early deficit against 13th-ranked Brad Pataky at 125, using a lateral drop to pick up four points late in the second. Watts led by two after a quick escape in the third, but the Nittany Lion wrestler hit a four-point cement mixer soon after to retake the lead and hold on for an 11-9 decision. The Wolverines will close out the dual-meet portion of their 2008-09 slate next weekend with a pair of Big Ten road contests. U-M will travel to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Friday evening (Feb. 20) before wrapping the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 21) against Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Both duals are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Since dropping a heartbreaking match to Minnesota Feb. 1, the sixth-ranked Ohio State wrestling team has won three-consecutive matches in impressive fashion, including a 26-17 win against No. 17 Michigan in Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Friday. The Buckeyes, who now move to 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten, were spurred by a match-changing pin by sophomore Nikko Triggas at 125 pounds. The unranked Triggas, who hails from Moraga, Calif., pinned No. 17 Michael Watts in 2:02 to give the Scarlet and Gray its first lead of the match at 17-14 with just three bouts remaining. It was Triggas' team-leading 11th pin of the season. "A win over Michigan is always great," Triggas said. "There is nothing like shifting the momentum, especially with a pin." Ohio State would not relinquish its advantage as second-ranked Reece Humphrey followed with a 3:37 pin of Zac Stevens at 133 pounds. Despite senior J Jaggers dropping a close 4-2 decision to No. 5 Kellen Russell at 141 pounds, the Buckeyes held on for the victory with fourth-ranked Lance Palmer capping the evening with a 6-0 shutout of Mark Beaudry in the 149-pound division. The Buckeyes now have won back-to-back matches against the Wolverines for the first time since 1992 and for the first time in consecutive seasons since the 1991 and 1992 campaigns. It also was the Scarlet and Gray's first win in Ann Arbor since 1992. "Beating Michigan is a priority for this program," Tom Ryan, head coach said. "This was a total team effort and Nikko Triggas showed signs of the special young man we recruited." The evening began with the 157-pound matchup between Buckeye and Sandusky, Ohio, native Owen Schaefer and Wolverine Aaron Hynes. Schaefer, who will be one of four Buckeyes honored Sunday prior to Ohio State's match vs. Illinois for Senior Day, lost, 16-1, and the Scarlet and Gray were quickly down, 5-0. However, second-ranked Colt Sponseller, a sophomore from Glenmont, Ohio, wasted little time in getting the Buckeyes on the board after major decisioning Justin Zeerip. Following the second period, Sponseller tallied seven points to Zeerip's two. In the third stanza, Sponseller continued to dominate, limiting Zeerip to just a pair of escapes while he tacked on three more takedowns, an escape and a riding time of 1:13. A warning on Zeerip also awarded Sponseller an additional point. It appeared as though Dave Rella, a junior from Akron, Ohio, would have his hands full against No. 1-ranked Steve Luke, but it was more like Luke had his hands full against the feisty Rella at 174 pounds. Although Luke held an early 2-1 advantage on a takedown after the first period, Rella scored an escape 30 seconds in to the second period to even the score at 2-all. However, in just the first second of the final stanza, Luke was able to score an escape for the slim 3-2 win. With Ohio State trailing Michigan, 8-4, a major decision win by No. 2 Mike Pucillo at 184 pounds would pull the two rivals even at 8 a piece. Pucillo, a junior from Strongsville, Ohio, recorded a 10-2 victory over No. 13 Anthony Biondo. Pucillo entered the second stanza with a small 2-0 lead, but soon began racking up the points in the middle period courtesy of pair of takedowns to head into the third period with a 6-2 advantage. In the third period, Pucillo scored an additional takedown, along with an escape and compiled a riding time of 2:14 to solidify the win. Michigan again regained the lead (14-8) at 197 pounds when No. 6 Tyrel Todd pinned Jason Cook, a junior from Dayton, Ohio, in 1:41. Thanks to a 3-2 decision by junior Corey Morrison over Eddie Phillips at heavyweight, the Buckeyes were able to cut the Wolverines' lead to three. After a scoreless first period, Phillips struck first, escaping Morrison's hold two seconds into the stanza. After choosing down, the Buckeye, who is a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, countered with an escape of his own to even the score and 14 seconds later scored a takedown for a 3-1 lead. Phillips notched an escape at the 1:05 mark, but it was not enough as Morrison garnered the 3-2 win. It was then in the 125-pound bout, the momentum surely shifted to the Buckeyes' side on Triggas' pin. Prior to the pin, Triggas' had a 2-0 lead on a takedown recorded at 1:22. It took Humphrey, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., a little longer to record his eighth fall of the season. Nonetheless, Humphrey, who is ranked second in the country, held a 13-4 advantage over Stevens prior to the pin. Jaggers' loss to Russell was a close affair as a Russell takedown in the final minute of the third period was enough for the Wolverine to win, 4-2. Jaggers owned a 1-0 lead after the second period, but Russell scored a reversal early in the third stanza and answered Jaggers' match-tying escape (2-2) 34 seconds in the period with the winning takedown. With the Wolverines' needing a pin to tie the match, Palmer made sure that would not be the case with his 6-0 shutout against Beaudry. The sophomore from Columbia Station, Ohio, scored two takedowns, an escape and owned a riding time of 5:18 in the win. Notes: Colt Sponseller recorded his team-leading 26th win (3 losses) of the season and is 5-0 in the Big Ten. Mike Pucillo remains undefeated at 13-0 and is 5-0 in the Big Ten. Sponseller, Pucillo and Lance Palmer are undefeated in the Big Ten at 5-0. Buckeye head coach Tom Ryan is one win away from tallying his 150th-career victory. Prior to leading the Buckeyes, Ryan spent 11 seasons at Hofstra. Ryan improves to 2-1 against Michigan as the Ohio State head coach. Ohio State will honor its 2008-09 seniors – Wes Bergman, J Jaggers, Jason Johnstone and Owen Schaefer Sunday prior to the Buckeyes' match vs. No. 8 Illinois at 2 p.m. in St. John Arena. The Big Ten Network will re-air the match between the Buckeyes and Wolverines again at 6 p.m. Feb. 14, 1 p.m. Feb. 15, 1 p.m. Feb. 17 and 4 a.m. Feb. 18.

STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- Collecting wins in seven of 10 bouts, including three pins and two major decisions, the top-ranked Augsburg College wrestling team finished its regular season with a 35-10 victory over the No. 10-ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday night at UWSP's Berg Gymnasium. Augsburg (11-2 in dual meets), the top-ranked team in Division III wrestling, improved to 16-1 in the all-time series with Wisconsin-Stevens Point (15-4-1 in dual meets), dating to the 1992-93 season. Augsburg is now 238-21 against Divisions II and III teams since the 1989-90 season, losing just 16 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is 242-23 since the 1979-80 season and 166-13 since the 1989-90 season. Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.), ranked No. 5 nationally at 125, opened the match with a third-period pin for the Auggies, and the Auggies closed the match with two pins -- a 1:15 match-ender by No. 2-ranked Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) at 197, and a 5:38 win by Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), ranked No. 7 at heavyweight. Massey improved to 22-1 on the season with his 12th pin. Witzel is now 28-6 on the season, while Flodeen is now 16-4. Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 149, collected a 12-3, major-decision win to improve to 21-1 on the season, while Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 7 at 174, scored a 13-1, major-decision win to improve to 26-7 on the year. Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 4 nationally at 157, improved to 32-5 on the year with a 6-2 win, and top-ranked Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) improved to 29-0 with a forfeit win at 133. Lang collected his 26th bonus-point victory with his second forfeit of the year; he also has 17 pins, three technical falls and four major decisions. Wisconsin-Stevens Point's wins came at 141, as Chase DeCleene claimed a 9-6 win over Augsburg's No. 4-ranked Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West), and from two nationally-ranked wrestlers -- a 9-2 win by No. 7-ranked Chase Wozniak at 165 and a 14-4, major-decision win by No. 6-ranked Ben Engelland at 184. Augsburg is idle until competing at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional next Saturday (2/21) at Concordia University-Wisconsin in Mequon, Wis. Wisconsin-Stevens Point hosts Wisconsin-Eau Claire this Saturday (2/14) at 1 p.m., in its final home dual meet of the regular season.

ERIE, Pa. -- Eleventh-ranked Mercyhurst won the first six weight classes, including two by major decisions, to build a 20-0 lead as the Lakers finished with a 23-18 victory over No. 15 Findlay in the final dual meet of the regular season. The win is the eighth-straight for the Lakers and raises their record to 16-5-1, setting the program record for season dual-meet victories and winning percentage, eclipsing the 2005-06 squad that went 15-8. The victory also marks the 10th consecutive meet that Mercyhurst has went undefeated (9-0-1), tying the 2006-07 squad that holds the record for consecutive wins when it closed out the season winning nine straight before tying Pitt-Johnstown in the season finale. Payne Lint kicked action off at 125 lbs, entering the third period with a 4-2 advantage before surrendering an escape point with just under a minute left. However, the senior maintained the lead and added a point for riding time for the 5-3 decision. At 133 lbs, Michael Baxter narrowly avoided an upset after Findlay's Michael Peraino tied the match with 30 seconds remaining at 3-3 before Baxter finished with an escape to finish the Lakers second-straight decision at 5-3. Lance Pitcel turned up the intensity in the third period and made the team score 10-0 with his 10-2 major decision over Alex Shumaker at 149 lbs before Andy Lamancusa stretched his winning streak to 12 matches with a 13-3 major decision over the Oilers Michael Lybarger. The nation's top-ranked 165-pounder in Mercyhurst's Josh Shields entered the third period tied 2-2 with Shields answering Findlay's Justin Shannon 2-0 lead on a takedown of his own in the waning seconds of the middle stanza. Shields began the ending period down and quickly put up an escape point to make the score 3-2, which would stay as the final. Pat Leahy came from behind in the second period to take a 4-3 lead before giving up two points to Jeff Halvelka in the final 20 seconds to enter the third with a 5-4 deficit. Halvelka took the lead once more with just under a minute remaining to make it 7-6, outlasting a rallying Leahy for Findlay's first victory of the night. Findlay would claim the remaining three weight classes on the night, including falls by the nation's fourth-ranked Hiram Smith at 187 lbs (2:36) and Andy Zalaiskans at 197 lbs (2:40).

KENT, Ohio -- It was Friday the 13th and Stephen King could not have written a better script. With the blind draw pointing to a start at the 149-pound weight class, senior Clint Sponseller got the match off right and senior Drew Lashway finished it at 141 as Kent State dominated Ohio 29-6. With the match starting with Sponseller, you would hardly have known the fifth-year senior has not wrestled in over a month. Sponseller jumped out in the first period with two takedowns and added an escape and the riding point for the 6-1 win over the Bobcats Kevin Christensen. Thanks to Sponsellers performance in his final appearance at the M.A.C. Center, KSU was up 3-0 after one. A senior known for his overtime matches, it was fitting Eric Chine went to extras at 197. With both wrestlers getting escapes in regulation, it all came down to three overtime periods. When neither wrestler got the takedown in the first, Chine chose bottom and quickly escaped to go up 2-1. However, the most exciting point of the match came in the third overtime. Chine, needing to ride Ohio's Chris Iammarino out for the win, did just that. It looked as if Iammarino would square the match with seconds remaining, but Chine picked him up and slammed him to the mat for the win. Kent State held a 13-6 edge after six. Senior Jermail "Gentle Giant" Porter stepped to the mat at 285 and was anything but gentle. Porter and OU's Justin Powell danced around for the match's first 2:30 before Porter got the late takedown to take a 2-0 lead. In the second, Porter made Powell pay for choosing defense. Twice, Porter titlted Powell for three back points and rode him for the entire period to lead 8-0 after two. In his final stanza at the MAC Center, Porter added two takedowns and the riding point for a 13-2 major. KSU led 17-6. The final match of the night belonged to senior Drew Lashway. Lashway was patient with his shots to begin the match, but he got a hold of Germane Lindsey in the final seconds for the takedown and 2-0 lead and pushed the advantage to 3-0 with a second-period escape. In the third, Lashaway showed the faithful why he is a potential All-American. Lindsey cut the lead to two with an escape from bottom. Lashaway would counter with the match-clinching takedown and won 5-2 to give Kent State a 29-6 win and a perfect 4-0 record at the M.A.C. center this season. Despite the spotlight on the seniors, redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore, sophomore Nic Bedelyon and redshirt juniors Danny Mitcheff and Obie Simpson made their presence known. With the match squared at 6-6 after four, Kilgore put the Flashes up for good with a major at 184. Kilgore struck with a takedown to begin the match, but OU's Erik Schuth quickly countered with an escape and takedown of his own. However, as he has done all season, Kilgore reversed Schuth to regain the lead. Schuth would escape to knot the match at four after one. The second spelled doom for Schuth as Kilgore won the period 5-1. Starting from the bottom, Kilgore quickly escaped and added the takedown for the 7-4 lead. Schuth would then tap for injury time and then escaped on the restart, but Kilgore added another takedown before the end of the period for the 9-5 lead after four. In the third, Kilgore netted three more takedowns and the riding point for the 16-8 major win and put the Golden Flashes up for good. Coming off a tough match at Buffalo, Bedelyon wasted no time in exciting the home crowd. In the first, Bedelyon struck with a takedown and added five back points for the commanding 7-0 lead. In the second, the Bobcat's Tim Silvers chose down and Bedelyon made him pay. Bedelyon got the tilt to build a commanding 9-0 lead before the pin at 4:09. Mitcheff patiently waited for his shots at 133 and took them when they came in the second. Danny started down in the second and added the escape for 3-0 lead. In the third, Mitcheff added a takedown and the riding point gave Mitcheff a 6-1 win. With the match squared at 3-3 going into 165, Simpson wasted no time in winning his fifth-straight dual. Simpson got two first-period takedowns and never looked back in a 5-2 win. Kent State will have to make the quick turnaround when the wrestle Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti Sunday at 4 p.m.

CLARION, Pa. -- Pitt took seven of 10 matches from Clarion and redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman recorded his 10th fall of the season, moving into a tie for seventh place for falls in a season as the Panthers got back on the winning track with a 24-10 win over Eastern Wrestling League rival Clarion. Clarion (7-13, 0-4 EWL) went up 3-0 with a decision by Jay Ivanco in the 125-pound match. Junior Jimmy Conroy quickly tied the match at 3-3 with an 8-2 decision over Cameron Moran at 133. The Panthers (4-6-1, 4-0-1 EWL) increased their lead to 9-3 with Nauman's 10th fall of the season 52 seconds into the third period over Sal Lascari. Senior Mark Powell made it 12-3 in favor of Pitt with his 9-4 decision over Greg Lewis at 149. At 157 pounds, Clarion's Hadley Harrison was a 12-2 winner by major decision over Phil Sorrentino, pulling the Eagles to within five at 12-7. Pitt would put the match out of reach with three consecutive decisions. Sophomore Ethan Headlee started the momentum with a 4-0 shutout decision over Dominic Ross at 165 and was followed by freshman Karl DiCiantis' 3-2 decision over Scott Joseph at 174 and freshman Zac Thomusseit's 5-3 sudden victory decision over Clint Podish in the 184-pound match. After dropping the 197-pound contest, Pitt closed out the match on a high note as junior A.J. Hunte wrestled up at the heavyweight division from his usual 197-pound slot for the third time this season, pulling off the 10-9 decision over Roman Husam. Pitt remains on the road on as it completes the regular season at No. 13 Edinboro Friday, Feb. 20. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- No. 8 Illinois dominated No. 20 Indiana in front of 673 fans Friday at Huff Hall, winning the final six bouts and eight of 10 to take the dual, 25-6. No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy scored the only bonus points of the night for either team with his 15-5 major decision, No. 2 Mike Poeta improved to 7-0 and John Dergo and No. 12 Jordan Blanton each won their fourth-straight Big Ten match. "We've been wrestling well the last few times out and we continued that tonight," Illinois head coach Mark Johnson said. "We challenged our guys and they have responded really well in our last four duals." After a scoreless first period at 125, No. 5 Angel Escobedo started down in the second against B.J. Futrell. Escobedo was awarded a point when the referee called Futrell for fleeing the mat and Escobedo escaped in 30 seconds. Off a neutral restart, Futrell got in on a leg but Escobedo fought him off. Futrell started down in the third, trailing 2-0, and nearly escaped twice off different restarts, but Escobedo maintained control and locked up the riding time point, riding Futrell out for the 3-0 decision. At 133, No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy nailed a double-leg takedown on Matt Ortega 50 seconds into the bout. Kennedy planted him on his back on the takedown, nearly getting back points, but Ortega flattened out. The Hoosier escaped with 1:25 left in the period and Kennedy executed a smooth throw-by takedown with 1:12 left for a 4-1 lead. Kennedy cut Ortega loose off a restart and countered a shot by the Hoosier for the takedown. After cutting Ortega loose, Kennedy shot off another restart and got the double-leg for a takedown and an 8-3 lead with 1:22 of riding time after the first. Ortega started down in the second and Kennedy cut him loose. Ortega was warned for stalling with 1:24 left, but Kennedy blocked a shot by the Hoosier, turned him for the takedown and Ortega escaped to give Kennedy a 10-5 lead at the end of the period. Kennedy started down in the third and escaped with just over a minute left, then was awarded a point for stalling at the one-minute mark when Ortega bailed out on a Kennedy shot. Kennedy finished the takedown for a 15-5 major decision after riding time, giving the Illini a 4-3 win. Ryan Prater and Andrae Hernandez got into a scramble with 40 seconds left that lasted the rest of the period, but neither man was able to score. Hernandez started down in the second and Prater immediately turned him for a two-point near-fall. But Hernandez slipped out of his hold off a restart and flipped over for a reversal to tie it at 2. The pair battled to the edge of the mat where Prater was able to free his leg for the escape and a 3-2 lead with 20 seconds left. After no further scoring, Prater started down in the third and quickly escaped for the 4-2 lead. Prater worked Hernandez's head for much of the period, then tossed it by and grabbed both ankles for the takedown. Off a restart, Prater got a fast tilt for two more back points and an 8-2 win, pushing Illinois up 7-3. Eric Terrazas and Nick Walpole battled through a scoreless first period and Terrazas started down in the second. Walpole worked hard to turn the Illini freshman, but Terrazas fended him off. Walpole rode him out then started down in the third and escaped in 13 seconds for the 1-0 lead. Terrazas got a leg on the edge of the mat with one minute left, but Walpole fended him off and eventually turned the corner for the takedown. Walpole rode him out for the 4-0 win that cut Illinois' lead to 7-6. At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta tossed Kurt Kinser by him on the edge of the mat and looked to get the takedown, but Kinser fought out of it and got the stalemate. After Kinser blocked another shot, Poeta put together a nice reshot and got behind him for the takedown. Off a restart, Poeta was looking for the tilt, but Kinser slipped out and got a leg for the reversal. Poeta quickly went out the back door for a 3-2 lead then dropped from Kinser's head to his ankles for the double-leg takedown and rode him out for a 5-2 lead after a period. Poeta started down in the second and escaped in two seconds. From a tie-up position, Poeta dropped to an ankle for a single-leg takedown and rode him out for the 8-2 lead with 1:01 of riding time after two periods. Kinser started down in the third and Poeta let him loose after he wasn't able to get a tilt. Kinser continued to block Poeta's shots without putting forth much offense himself and Poeta nearly landed a double-leg late, but Kinser fought it off as Poeta took the 9-3 decision. No. 15 Roger Smith-Bergsrud shot off the whistle against Paul Young and connected with a double-leg takedown right off the start. Young escaped with 2:16 left and got Smith-Bergsrud's leg with 1:20, but the Illini senior scrambled through and got the takedown for a 4-1 lead. Young escaped with 40 seconds left, making the score 4-2 after a period. Young started down in the second and quickly escaped, but Smith-Bergsrud shot in and got both ankles for a takedown on the edge of the mat. Young escaped off a restart to make it 6-4 in the Illini's favor, but Young got a leg and tripped Smith-Bergsrud for the tying takedown at the end of the period. With Smith-Bergsrud holding 1:15 of riding time after two periods, he started down in the third and quickly escaped for a 7-6 lead. After blocking a shot by Young, Smith-Bergsrud got an ankle and finished the takedown on the edge to extend his lead to 9-6. Young escaped with 35 seconds left, but the Illini veteran shot in on a double-leg and planted Young for the finishing takedown, then added riding time for the 12-7 win that extended Illinois' advantage to 13-6. At 174, John Dergo and No. 15 Trevor Perry traded shots for the first three minutes of the bout without scoring and Dergo started down in the second. He escaped in just a few seconds and quickly got in on a leg. After some last-gasp defense by Perry, Dergo finished it for a takedown, but Perry escaped 18 seconds later. Perry was warned for stalling on a Dergo shot with 30 seconds left, but neither scored the rest of the period. Perry started down in the third and escaped quickly, making it 3-2 in Dergo's favor. But Dergo got in on a leg with 1:05 left and finished the takedown for a 5-2 margin. Dergo added the riding time point for a 6-2 win that pushed the Illini ahead 16-6. No. 12 Jordan Blanton got a leg with 1:45 left in the first against Eric Cameron, lifted it and finished the takedown on the edge with 1:36 remaining. Cameron escaped with 1:10 left and was hit with a stalling warning with 10 seconds left in the period. The lanky Hoosier started down in the second and escaped in 15 seconds to tie the bout at 2. Cameron was hit with a stalling point but was able to work behind Blanton and eventually take him down for the 4-3 lead on a re-shot. Off a restart, Cameron went down to a leg and Blanton was able to jerk it out and escape with two seconds left to tie the bout at 4. Blanton started down in the third and escaped in 15 seconds to go up 5-4. After a series of tie-ups, Cameron tried a slide-by takedown and got a leg, but the Illini rookie blocked it and held on for the 5-4 win that sealed the team victory at 19-6. At 197, Patrick Bond blocked a shot by Matt Powless late in the first and turned the corner for the takedown before riding out the Hoosier. Bond started down in the second and scrambled around, getting a reversal on the edge of the mat before Powless escaped with 1:15 left. Powless got in on a leg after a restart and scored the takedown to get within 4-3, but Bond escaped and the period ended with no further scoring. Powless started down in the third and escaped with 1:37 left to make it 5-4 in Bond's favor. The Illini was warned for stalling but countered a weak shot by Powless with a takedown. An escape by the Hoosier made it 7-5 and Powless got a point when Bond was called for stalling, but he held on for the 7-6 win that improved Illinois' lead to 22-6. No. 9 John Wise got a leg on Nate Everhart at heavyweight and quickly finished the takedown with 1:37 left in the first. Wise kept looking for the tilt as he rode Everhart hard, but the Hoosier escaped off a restart with 30 seconds left to make it 2-1 after three minutes. Everhart started down in the second and escaped with 1:15 left to tie the bout at 2. After no further scoring, Wise started down in the second and escaped in nine seconds for a 3-2 lead with 1:39 of riding time. The Illini was hit with a stalling warning and later Everhart shot but Wise caught him halfway through and reversed his field with a fierce double-leg takedown. Everhart escaped with 1:10 left to make it 5-3 with Wise holding two minutes of riding time advantage. Everhart shot and got in shallow on a double-leg, but Wise blocked it and turned the corner for a takedown. Everhart escaped, but it was too little, too late as Wise walked away with the 8-4 decision and Illinois finished off the Hoosiers, 25-6.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- For the second-straight dual meet the Rutgers wrestling team relied on its heavyweight D.J. Russo (Netcong, N.J.) and the Scarlet Knight delivered again. The sophomore pinned Navy's Tyler Moyer in 3:26 to give RU an 18-17 victory over the Midshipmen Friday night at Halsey Field House for its first victory over the service academy in eight years. In RU's last dual meet on Saturday, Russo pinned his opponent in 3:06 in the final bout to lift the Scarlet Knights to a 19-17 victory over No. 21 American. Rutgers, which last earned a victory over Navy on Jan. 27, 2001, improved to 20-5 on the season and 8-1 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association, extending the program's school-record victory total. It is the Scarlet Knights' ninth victory in 10 dual meets. Navy jumped out to a 7-0 lead through two bouts before the Scarlet Knights notched their first victory. Freshman Trevor Melde (Hewitt, N.J.), who entered the national rankings this week, posted RU's first win with a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Navy's Matt Pagan at 141 pounds. The Scarlet Knights and Midshipmen split the next two matches with each school's nationally-ranked wrestler taking the victory. Navy's Bryce Saddoris, ranked seventh in the nation, earned a major decision at 149 pounds before RU freshman Scott Winston (Jackson, N.J.), ranked 11th in the nation, earned a 5-4 decision over Navy's Glenn Shober at 157 pounds to make it 11-6. Rutgers continued to chip away at the Mids' lead when senior Matt Pletcher (Eastampton, N.J.) earned a 3-1 victory over Navy's Matt DeMichiel at 165 pounds. Navy victories at 174 and 184 pounds halted the Scarlet Knights' momentum as the Midshipmen pulled out to a 17-9 advantage heading into the final two bouts. That would be the last bout the Mids would win, however as senior Karim Mahmoud (Wallington, N.J.) posted a 6-1 decision against Navy's Philip Neese at 197 pounds to make it 17-12 and set up Russo's final-bout heroics. The Scarlet Knights return to action Wednesday against Drexel at 7:00 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team, ranked No. 24 nationally, hammered Michigan State 28-12 in a Big Ten road dual. With five freshmen in the startling line-up, Penn State got wins from four of them, including the dual clincher from Clay Steadman (McKean, Pa.) at 197. Sophomore Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 125, got the Nittany Lions off to a hot start with a 17-2 technical fall over MSU's Eric Olanowski. Senior Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) did not make weight at 133 and gave up a forfeit, but Penn State quickly answered with two more wins. Red-shirt freshman Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) got a 4-0 win at 141 and junior All-American Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) returned to action after missing the last five duals by getting a 21-6 technical fall over Michigan State's David Cheza at 149. Jenkins, ranked No. 2 nationally, improved to 20-0 with the win. Michigan State's Anthony Jones picked up his 21st win of the year with an 8-4 victory at 157 over Nittany Lion freshman Tim Darling (Nazareth, Pa.) before a 10 minute intermission, cutting Penn State's lead to 13-9. Junior All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 20, notched a hard-fought 6-5 win over Michigan State's Rex Kendle at 165. True freshman Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.), ranked No. 16 at 174, posted a 10-3 win at 174 to put the Lions up 19-9. Michigan State's Nick Palmieri downed Lion Jack Decker 7-5 at 184 to cut Penn State's lead to 19-12. But freshman Clay Steadman (McKean, Pa.), also wrestling for the first time since being injured against Indiana on Jan. 23, iced the dual meet with a 4-1 win at 197, putting Penn State up 22-12. Nittany Lion heavyweight Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) capped off the 28-12 dual win by pinning Michigan State's Steve Andrus at the 3:30 mark. Penn State had 11 takedowns to Michigan State's eight but the Lions rolled to victory on the back of seven wins and seven bonus points. Penn State is now 8-10-2, 1-4-2 in conference duals. Michigan State is now 6-7, 1-5 in the conference. The Nittany Lions close out their Big Ten season at Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 14, in a 7 p.m. match-up. Penn State's final home dual of the season is set for Friday, Feb. 20, when it hosts Penn at 7 p.m. in a non-conference battle. Single event tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Penn State students get in FREE with a Penn State ID. All Penn State dual meets and post-season action can be heard live in the Centre Region on WRSC (1390 AM State College), WHUN (1150 AM Huntingdon) and live at www.GoPSUsports.com as part of the All-Access package. BOUT-BY-BOUT: 125: Penn State's Brad Pataky (Clearfield, Pa.), ranked No. 13 at 125, took on Michigan State freshman Eric Olanowski at 125. Pataky once again wasted no time in going on the offensive, nearly scoring ten seconds in before action moved out of bounds. But Olanowski countered his next shot and took a 2-0 lead at the 2:26 mark. Pataky worked to escape from Olanowski's control, forcing the Spartan into a stall warning escaping at the 1:20 mark. The Lion then added a quick takedown to take a 3-2 lead with just over a minute left in the opening period. Pataky then worked to turn the Spartan to his back but Olanowski signaled for an injury timeout. After the reset, Pataky gained control of Olanowski, turned him for three back points with :11 left, rolled him back to his stomach and managed another two-point near fall to lead 8-2 after one period. Olanowski chose neutral to begin the second stanza, but Pataky used a strong high double leg to up his lead to 10-2 with 1:15 left. Gaining control of Olanowski's arm once again, Pataky muscled the Spartan over for three more back points to lead 13-2, then picked up a point on another Olanowski stall. Then with :07 left, Pataky ended the bout by turning Olanowski for three more points and a 17-2 technical fall as the second period ended. The early win put Penn State up 5-0 133: Penn State's Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) did not make weight, allowing No. 6 Franklin Gomez to get a forfeit victory at 133. The six points put Michigan State up 6-5. 141: Penn State freshman Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.) took on Spartan Collin Dozier at 141. Molinaro got in high on Dozier's right thigh, looking for an early takedown, but Dozier fought off the effort to force a reset. But Molinaro would not be denied the early lead, powering through Dozier for a 2-0 lead at the 1:56 mark. The Nittany Lion then put together a strong ride, building up a solid time advantage while trying to turn Dozier to his back. Molinaro rode Dozier out to lead 2-0 with 1:56 in riding time after one period. He then chose down to start the second stanza. He forced Dozier into a stall before escaping to a 3-0 lead but Dozier gained control of his left leg and nearly notched his own takedown. Molinaro managed to fight his way to a stalemate at the 1:00 mark. Molinaro picked up his first stall warning before the second period ended. Dozier, down 3-0, chose down to start the third period, but Molinaro was once again strong on top, forcing Dozier to the mat. Molinaro secured the bonus point, but Dozier was nearly able to reverse him before a stalemate at the :34 mark. Still on offense, Molinaro was able to continue his ride for the remainder of the bout and posted a solid 4-0 win. The decision allowed Penn State to retake the lead, 8-6. 149: Returning to the line-up for the first time since Jan. 24, Penn State's Bubba Jenkins (Virginia Beach, Va.) took on David Cheza at 149. Jenkins entered the bout 19-0 and ranked No. 2 nationally. Jenkins looked to shake off the ghosts of a long lay-off with early offense. The Nittany Lion gained control of Cheza's ankle and worked his way into a score. But after taking the 2-0 lead, the Nittany Lion called for an injury timeout, forcing a reset with 2:15 left. After the reset, Jenkins quickly tilted Cheza for three near-fall points and a 5-0 lead. Cheza escaped to a 5-1 deficit with 1:42 left, and then took Jenkins down at the 1:15 mark to cut the Lion's lead to 5-3. Jenkins got hit with a first stall warning with :40 left in the period but managed a reversal with :10 left to take a 7-3 lead into the second period. Jenkins chose down to start the middle stanza and quickly escaped to an 8-3 lead. Cheza looked to shoot on Jenkins, but Jenkins countered for a takedown, nearly pinning the Spartan in the process but picking up three back points. Jenkins reset himself and picked up three more near fall points to lead 16-3 after two periods. Cheza chose down to start the third period and quickly escaped to a 16-4 deficit. Jenkins nearly caught Cheza in a mixer, but Cheza countered and took Jenkins down, nearly picking up back points. But Jenkins did not just counter the near fall attempt, he worked his way around for a reversal at the 1:00 mark to lead 18-6. After a reset, Jenkins steadily worked himself into control of the Spartan, turning him for three near fall points and finishing on top. Jenkins finally got the technical fall call from the officials, winning 21-6 at the 6:59 mark to put Penn State up 13-6. 157: Red-shirt freshman Tim Darling (Nazareth, Pa.) continued his Big Ten welcome at 157 by taking on Michigan State sophomore Anthony Jones, who was 20-9 heading into the dual. Jones used a solid double leg to take and early 2-1 lead after a Darling escape. The duo battled to a stalemate and a reset with 1:40 left. Jones looked to work in on Darling, but the Lion freshman was able to fight off a late Jones shot and trailed only 2-1 after the opening period. Jones chose defense to start the middle period, but Darling was able to force the Spartan's stomach to the mat and put together a very strong ride, working the clock down but giving up a point on an illegal hold. After the reset, Jones managed to reverse Darling with just :01 left and led 5-1 heading into the third period. Darling, with a 1:48 riding time edge, chose down to start the third period and steadily worked his way to a reversal with 1:23 left, cutting Jones' lead to 5-3. Needing takedowns, Darling cut Jones loose and trailed 6-3 with 1:15 left. After a reset at the 0:46 mark, Jones used a solid high double to notch another takedown an take an 8-3 lead. The Spartan then rode Darling to the :01 mark to get his 21st win of the season with a solid 8-4 victory. The win cut Penn State's lead to 13-9. 165: Nittany Lion All-American Dan Vallimont (Lake Hopatcong, N.J.), ranked No. 20 at 165, took on Michigan State's Rex Kendle, who entered the bout with a 20-9 record. Vallimont took the first shot, nearly taking a quick 2-0 lead. But Kendle was able to step back and keep things scoreless. Vallimont, however, continued to b the aggressor and final got his takedown to lead 2-0 at the 1:45 mark. Kendle, however, was able to reverse Vallimont and tie the bout at 2-2 with 1:30 left. The Spartan was able to ride Vallimont out as well. Tied 2-2 but facing 1:20 in riding time, Vallimont chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 3-2 lead. The Nittany Lion then gained control of Kendle's leg and looked for another takedown, but Kendle countered on the edge of the mat and took Vallimont down to lead 4-3. Vallimont quickly escaped to tie the bout, but Kendle still had 1:29 in riding time. With :45 left, Vallimont used a low single to gain control of Kendle and take a 6-4 lead with just under :30 left. Vallimont then rode Kendle out to carry that lead into the third period. Kendle chose down to start the final stanza and quickly escaped to a 6-5 deficit. Kendle upped the offensive pressure, trying to work his way around Vallimont for a go ahead takedown. Each man was hit with a stall warning at the :30 mark and Kendle could not break through Vallimont's defense. The Nittany Lion All-American's 6-5 win put Penn State up 16-9. 174: True freshman Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa.) took on Michigan State's Ian Hinton at 174. Wright took a quick 4-0 lead with a fast takedown and a two-point near fall. The Nittany Lion, ranked No. 16 nationally, then dominated Hinton on top. After a reset, Wright forced Hinton to the mat repeatedly, looking for a chance to turn the Spartan for more near fall points. While not managing to turn Hinton, the 2:29 ride-out allowed Wright to carry the 4-0 lead into the second period. Wright chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 5-0 lead. Wright tripped Hinton to the mat for a takedown and a 7-0 lead with :50 left. A Hinton escaped with :32 left gave the Spartan his first point and Wright led 7-1 after two periods. Hinton chose down to start the third period and escaped to a 7-2 deficit, but Wright had secured a riding time point. Looking for a major, Wright nearly picked up another takedown with :20 left to take a 9-3 lead, but a locked hands call kept him from securing the major. Still, the 10-3 decision put Penn State up 19-9. 184: Nittany Lion senior Jack Decker (Roseland, N.J.) battled MSU's Nick Palmieri at 184. The duo spent the first minute battling in the center of the mat, with each man hoping to gain control of the other's shoulders. A double-stall warning at the 1:04 mark forced a reset and Decker began shooting low on Palmieri. The Lion's offensive efforts paid off with :37 left when he countered a soft Palmieri shot, worked behind the Spartan junior and took a 2-0 lead with a takedown. Palmieri took a second injury timeout, so after the reset, Decker chose down with :20 left. But Palmieri was able to turn Decker to his back for two near fall points as the period ended. Tied 2-2, Decker chose down to start the second period and escaped to a 3-2 lead with 1:25 left (Palmieri had 1:02 in riding time). Decker and Palmieri battled evenly for the remainder of the second period. Since he had the riding time edge, Palmieri chose neutral to start the third period. Palmieri took a 4-3 lead with a takedown at the 1:02 mark, but Decker quickly escaped to a 4-4 tie Still, Palmieri's 1:10 riding time edge was still a deciding factor. Decker took a shot, but Palmieri countered and iced the bout with a high double with :14 left, taking a 6-4 lead. Decker escaped, but Palmieri was able to notch a 7-5 win and cut Penn State's lead to 19-12. 197: Red-shirt freshman Clay Steadman (McKean, Pa.) stepped in at 197 to take on Spartan Tyler Dickenson. Steadman, like Jenkins, had not wrestled since being injured in the dual at Indiana on Jan. 23 and was making his first appearance since then. Dickenson gained control of Steadman's right thigh, but the Nittany Lion freshman was able to counter and nearly work his way around for his own takedown at the :51 mark. The stalemate forced a reset. Steadman once again countered a Dickenson shot as the period ended and nearly managed a takedown at the end of the first period. But time ran out with the bout still tied 0-0. Steadman chose down to start the second period and quickly escaped to a 1-0 lead. Neither man found any chances to score, but Steadman's steady offensive pressure enabled the Lion freshman to set the tone. Trailing 1-0, Dickenson chose down to start the final period and quickly escaped to a 1-1 tie. Steadman, however, countered a Dickenson shot, skipped around behind him and took a 3-1 lead with a swift takedown at the 1:40 mark. Steadman then dominated Dickenson from the top, riding the Spartan out, getting the bonus point and winning 4-1. The decision pot Penn State up 22-12, icing the dual. HWT: Penn State red-shirt freshman Cameron Wade (Twinsburg, Ohio) took on MSU's Steve Andrus at heavyweight. The freshman duo battled evenly throughout the first half of the opening period. Wade gained control of Andrus' right leg and looked for the lead with a takedown, but the Spartan was able to pull back and keep the bout scoreless with 1:00 left to wrestle. With the score knotted at 0-0, Wade chose down to start the second period and quickly reversed Andrus to take a 2-0 lead. He then turned the Spartan to his back and ended the dual with a pin at the 3:30 mark. The fall gave the Nittany Lions a 28-12 dual meet win.

AMES, Iowa -- Before Friday's wrestling match between No. 2 Iowa State and Tennessee-Chattanooga in Hilton Coliseum, Cyclone fans gave Moc head coach Chris Bono and UT-Chattanooga assistant coach Nate Gallick, a round of recognition worthy of two former Iowa State national champions. It was all downhill from there for the visitors. Iowa State won the nine contested weight classes in a 37-6 rout that improved the Cyclones to 13-2 overall in dual competition. UT-Chattanooga is now 11-9. The Cyclones showed skill from their feet, tallying 27 takedowns to UTC's two. "I like how we are wrestling," Iowa State head coach Cael Sanderson said. "We scored a lot of points tonight. (UT-Chattanooga) is a young team but they are coached by Cyclones and that means they fight. Now we'll get on the bus and head for Missouri." The Cyclones wrestle the No. 5 Tigers Sunday at 2 p.m. in Columbia, Mo. In a matchup of top-10 wrestlers in the 141-pound weight class, ISU's Nick Gallick was dominant. Ninth-ranked Cody Cleveland of Chattanooga was shut out by Gallick's offensive attack as the ISU All-American scored a major decision, 12-0. Gallick regained the team lead for ISU after the Cyclones' empty spot at 133 pounds. Gallick has won 19 straight matches against collegiate wrestlers. "I'm feeling good right now," Gallick said. "I am being aggressive and going out there to score bonus points. " Iowa State's Jake Varner proved once again why he is the No. 1 wrestler in the 197-pound weight class. The two-time NCAA finalist turned UTC's Ethan Winel to his back in the first period at the 2:33 mark to score his fifth dual fall of the season. The Bakersfield, Calif. native has 12 total pins in his junior campaign and stands at 22-1 this season. Junior ISU heavyweight David Zabriskie didn't need to win his fourth-straight match in overtime as he handled Chattanooga's Cody Sliger, by a 19-6 major decision. Zabriskie tallied seven takedowns over the match to improve to 25-2. ISU's Jon Reader (165) and Jerome Ward (184) both won by major decision. Reader showed off his offense against Chattanooga's Seth Garvin, winning 14-2. It took Ward until the very end of the third period to secure his major decision for the Iowa State team. The redshirt freshman notched the final takedown needed at the 0:03 mark to win 10-2 over UTC's Tyler Roberson. Sometimes a wrestler does not need a takedown to score a pin. Junior Duke Burk proved the point for the Cyclones. The Peoria, Ill. native found himself nearing a takedown against Jason McCroskey of Chattanooga and had put his opponent in poor position. Burk planted the Mocs' wrestler on his back in 4:36 to score the big bonus points for ISU. Iowa State's Mitch Mueller (149) and Cyler Sanderson (157) both won by sound decisions for the Cyclones. Mueller, ranked 18th at 149-pounds, beat the Mocs' Dan Waddell, 9-2. Sanderson was the victorious wrestler in a heated battle against Chattanooga's Joey Knox. The returning All-American used three takedowns in the third period to power past his opponent, 11-6. To start off the dual, 10th-ranked Tyler Clark scored a decision for the Cyclone effort. Clark fought off the efforts of UTC freshman Demetrius Johnson to win by a score of 7-5. It was Senior Night for the Cyclone wrestling team and as ISU hohored Joey DeMarie (141), Ricky Lundell (149) and Chris Pursel (174). The meet's start was delayed 10 minutes to accommodate referee Randy Hartman. Hartman's plane was diverted to Cedar Rapids instead of Des Moines because of weather Friday afternoon. Hartman was a trooper, renting a car in Cedar Rapids and driving to arriving in Ames moments before the meet began.

IOWA CITY, IA -- This Friday the 13th was pretty lucky for the top-ranked Iowa wrestling team. The squad blanked #25 Purdue, 38-0, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to remain undefeated at 21-0 (5-0 Big Ten) this season. Iowa has won its last 35 matches, and despite adverse weather conditions, 5,709 fans turned out for the dual. It was the first time Iowa shut out an opponent since beating Binghamton (48-0) on Nov. 29 at the Journeymen Duals in Troy, NY. Purdue fell to 11-5-1 (0-4-1 Big Ten) with the loss. Iowa dominated the dual, scoring 36 takedowns while holding Purdue to two. Iowa senior Charlie Falck opened the dual at 125 with a 14-4 major decision over Purdue's Matt Fields, extending his own winning streak to six matches. Junior Daniel Dennis (133) and senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) followed with match-ending technical falls to build a 13-0 lead for Iowa. Dennis, who was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Tuesday for his wins at Michigan State and Penn State last weekend, posted his seventh straight victory with a 20-3 win over Carson Beebe in 6:58. Tsirtsis picked up his 90th career victory and his 20th win in Carver-Hawkeye with a 17-1 victory over Matt Hemry in 5:00. The Griffith, IN, native has won his last five bouts. In one of the night's marquee match-ups, junior Brent Metcalf improved to 25-0 on the season with a 14-4 major decision over Jake Patascil at 149. Metcalf, who is ranked number one in the nation, extended his winning streak to 57 matches while handing eighth-ranked Patascil his fifth loss of the season. Hawkeye sophomore Matt Ballweg followed with a 6-2 decision over Colton Salazar at 157, and junior Ryan Morningstar tallied his 70th career victory with a 5-2 win over Luke Manuel at 165. Iowa junior Jay Borschel made his return to the lineup with a 15-3 major decision over Nick Corpe at 174. Borschel, who scored his 20th season victory with the win, missed the last three duals due to injury. Iowa junior 184-pounder Phillip Keddy extended his winning streak to 11 matches with a 14-4 major decision over Jason Martin. Hawkeye junior Chad Beatty, who is ranked #18 at 197, scored an escape in the tiebreak period to upset #13 Logan Brown, 2-1. Beatty has won his last five matches. Iowa redshirt freshman Jordan Johnson preserved the shutout for the Hawkeyes with his 5-2 win over Chris Kasten. Johnson was wrestling for injured Hawkeye starter Dan Erekson. Iowa will host #11/#13 Minnesota (14-6, 4-2 Big Ten) Sunday at 2 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in its final home dual of the 2008-09 season. Hawkeye seniors Derek Coorough (149), Charlie Falck (125), T.H. Leet (165) and Alex Tsirtsis (141) will recognized before the dual. The Golden Gophers lost at #18/#17 Wisconsin (15-19) earlier tonight. Iowa Public Television will air a live broadcast of the Iowa-Minnesota dual, while the Big Ten Network will air a taped-delay broadcast at 7 p.m. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Hawkeye Head Coach Dan Gable will call the action for the broadcast.

The Wisconsin wrestling team picked up its first home conference win Friday night, beating Minnesota 19-15 in front of 1,050 fans at the UW Field House. Wisconsin grabbed six victories in the match, bringing the Badgers to 8-7 on the season, 2-4 in the Big Ten. The Golden Gophers drop to 14-6, 4-2 in conference. Wisconsin's win also gives the Badgers 40 points in the sixth annual Border Battle. Wisconsin now leads the Border Battle, 205-175. The Badgers are now 1-1 in dual action against Minnesota this year after dropping a 22-15 match at National Duals. You can re-live all of Friday's action with the archived Web stream and Wrestling Blog. The Badgers fell behind early 9-0, but used two wins at 141 and 149 lbs., in addition to four consecutive victories at 165, 174, 184 and 197 lbs. to seal the victory. Minnesota jumped out to an early lead in the 125 and 133 lbs. weight classes. Minnesota's Zach Sanders, ranked eighth at 125 lbs., won a 10-4 decision over Wisconsin junior Drew Hammen to help the Golden Gophers to a 3-0 lead. Fifth-ranked Jayson Ness of Minnesota then pinned Badger junior Erik Senescu at the 1:51 mark at 133 lbs. to bring the Golden Gopher lead to 9-0. Top-ranked Zach Tanelli then took on Minnesota's No. 8 Mike Thorn at 141 lbs. and got the Badgers on the board with a 7-5 decision at 141 lbs. Tanelli led 3-1 after the second period but Thorn scored two escapes and a takedown to even the score at five with 32 seconds left. Tanelli registered an escape of his own with 29 seconds left and had 1:20 of riding time for the win. Tanelli improves to 22-3 overall and extends his winning streak to 15 matches. At 149 lbs., junior Kyle Ruschell registered bonus points with a 12-4 major decision over Minnesota's Joe Grygelko. Ruschell scored four takedowns in the third period, including one in the last second to secure the major decision. Ruschell, who is ranked No. 5, is now 21-5 overall this year and 12-2 in dual action. Freshman Ben Jordan wrestled tough at 157 lbs. but fell in a close 7-5 decision to Tyler Safratowich. With Minnesota up 12-7, the Badgers rattled off four victories in a row to take over the lead and clinch the win. True freshman and eighth-ranked Andrew Howe improved to a perfect 11-0 in dual action with a 4-1 decision over Scott Glasser at 165 lbs. Howe had a takedown, 1:22 of riding time and an escape in the win. True freshman Travis Rutt, who is a New Prague, Minn., native, registered his first victory of the Big Ten Conference dual season at 174 lbs. He took down Kaleb Young with a 3-1 sudden victory. Both wrestlers traded escapes in regulation but Rutt registered the match-winning takedown with 32 seconds left in sudden victory. Rutt's win put the Badgers ahead 13-12 and sophomore Eric Bugenhagen extended the UW's lead to 16-12 with another close win at 184 lbs. Bugenhagen met Sonny Yohn and each wrestler traded escapes until Bugenhagen registered a takedown with 1:01 left in the third. Yohn escaped with just two seconds left and that's all he could do in the 3-2 win for Bugenhagen. "That's the dual meet right there with Rutt and Bugenhagen getting wins," UW head coach Barry Davis said. "Rutt kept his poise and got the takedown there at the end which was really good. The last couple of matches, he didn't keep his pose as much so he did a good job there. I can't say enough about Eric Bugenhagen tonight. That was a big win and that was pretty much the dual meet right there and that was a great win for us." Senior Dallas Herbst cemented the Badger victory with a 5-2 decision over Minnesota's Gordon Bierschenk at 197 lbs. Herbst, who is ranked No. 3, had a takedown and two escapes for his 18th win this season. Minnesota registered one more win as Ben Berhow upset UW's eighth-ranked heavyweight Kyle Massey, 3-2 to put the final tally at 19-15 in favor of Wisconsin. "The win was good but I think we could have gotten a couple more wins there," Davis said. "I thought we'd do better at 157 lbs. and heavyweight. When you lose that last match at the end, it takes something out of you but the win was good." Wisconsin returns to action at the UW Field House Sunday at 1 p.m. when No. 25 Purdue comes to town.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- True freshman Scotti Sentes pinned Troy Doylan at 125 pounds, and ninth-ranked Central Michigan went on to win six of the first seven bouts in a 22-14 win at No. 5 Missouri Friday night. The fifth-ranked Tigers are the highest-ranked opponent CMU has defeated since a 21-13 win over No. 4 Michigan last season. The Chippewas (15-2-1 overall) improved to 3-1-1 against top-10 ranked opponents this season. Missouri falls to 17-4 overall. Sentes's fall at 125 pounds was his third of the season. He improved to 21-5 overall with the win. Sentes was leading 11-1 when he stuck Dolan at the 5:51 mark. Conor Beebe and Tony D'Alie then followed with decisions at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively, before Steve Brown scored bonus points with a 10-2 major decision at 149 pounds. Beebe scored takedowns in both of the first two periods and used a 2:15 riding time advantage for his 6-5 decision at 133. A third-period takedown by D'Alie sent the 141-pound bout to overtime tied at 3-3; D'Alie tallied a takedown and three-point nearfall in sudden victory for the 8-3 decision. Brown scored four takedowns and had a riding time advantage of 4:41 in his major decision at 149. His victory gave CMU a 16-0 lead on the scoreboard. Michael Chandler claimed Missouri's first win of the match with a technical fall at 157 pounds. CMU, however, answered with decisions by Trevor Stewart and Mike Miller at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, to stretch its lead to 22-5 with three matches remaining. A second-period escape and riding time were enough for a 2-0 decision for Stewart at 165. Miller, facing No. 5-ranked Raymond Jordan, tied the score at 1-1 with a third-period escape and was the recipient of a penalty point when Jordan was called for stalling later in the third period. The loss was just the third of the season for Jordan, who fell to 28-3 overall. Missouri claimed decisions in each of the final three bouts, including a 4-2 decision by Dorian Henderson over Vince DiDona at 184. The match was tied 1-1 after regulation and 2-2 after both Henderson and DiDona scored escapes in the first tiebreaker. Henderson's takedown in the second sudden victory period was the difference. CMU is back in action Sunday, visiting Northern Illinois for a Mid-American Conference dual at 1 p.m.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall's grapplers won five of the six bouts wrestled at Bream Gymnasium to hand Gettysburg a 35-13 setback at the Battlefield. The victory was the Diplomats (5-10) 58th in 66 meetings with the Bullets (1-22). 174-pounder Justin Herbert (19-9) racked up his 33rd career pin and ninth of the season, flattening Luke Mitchell 46 seconds into the second period. The Diplomats' all-time pins leader was up 14-5on the strength of four takedowns, two near falls and a reversal when the official slapped the mat. Gettysburg led for much of the early portion of the match. F&M spotted the Bullets six points with a forfeit at 125 pounds. Michael Slabinskli ran the lead out to 9-0 with a 10-4 decision over Matt Murray (3-16). Murray managed an early takedown, but Slabinski reversed it and turned the Diplomat for a near fall to take the lead for good. Frank Higgins (3-11) got F&M on the scoreboard with a technical fall of Jack Bostrom, midway through the sedons period. Bostrom scored the first points against on a takedown, but Higgins went to work with an escape, a takedown, and three near falls to close the first period. Jay Tracy (2-4) collected a forfeit at 141 to give F&M its first lead of the night, 11-9. The advantage was short lived as Andrew Goldstein bested Al Gianforti (11-15) 14-6 to make it 13-11 in favor of the hosts. It was the Bullets last win of the night. Anthony Bongarzone (13-14) posted an 8-3 decision of Anthony Iorio at 165 pound to put the Diplomats out in front for good. That was followed by Herbert's pin and 12 more points without breaking a sweat at 184 and 197. The final bout was one of the night's most spirited matchups. F&M's Nico Somers (13-11) managed a takedown in the first period. Working from the bottom in the second, Somers escaped and took Bobby Christopher to the mat once more. Christopher reversed to get on the board, and escaped at the start of the third period, but both wrestlers ran out of steam, leaving Somers with the 6-3 win. The Diplomats return to the mats and their Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Slate on Saturday when F&M heads to Lehigh to take on the Mountain Hawks, who ranked seventh in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA Division I Team Rankings released on Monday.