InterMat Staff

Facing an improved Stanford team on Friday night on the road, the University of Wyoming wrestling team showed up with a big effort and walked away holding a 25-9 dual victory. Wyoming improves to 3-1 in dual matches this season, while Stanford drops to 5-2. The Cowboys are now 5-0 all-time versus the Cardinal. The dual was a good measuring stick for the `Pokes since Stanford had beaten fellow Western Wrestling Conference member, and reigning league champion Northern Iowa earlier this season by a score of 19-12. UW got a major decision victory from sophomore Chase Smith at 141 pounds to begin the match and never looked back. Earning decisions for the `Pokes were sophomores Alfonso Hernandez at 197 pounds, Joe LeBlanc (184), Michael Martinez (125) and Brock Smith (174). Juniors Cole Dallaserra (149) and Matthew McLaughlin (Hwt.) also got wins for the Cowboy team. "I am proud of our effort tonight," UW head coach Mark Branch said. "This was a dual that concerned us, following up finals week and against a much-improved team. I think that ultimately our advantage was that we have already seen a lot of tough competition this year and this dual did not faze our guys. We had watched film in preparation for Stanford and focused on keeping pressure on their guys. I saw improvement in that area, it made a difference and was good to see. "With Shane (Onufer) out, Ernie (Alex Rieder) was asked to cut some weight over the last two weeks and make 165 pounds for this dual. Even though he lost tonight, his effort was incredible and he really sacrificed for the good of the team. Brock's (Smith) win was a big swing for us and certainly a turning point. After having some struggles early on in his match, he really fought back, stayed tough and pulled out an important win." The evening began at 141 pounds where UW got a dominant 12-2 major decision from Chase Smith. That win would prove to be the only bonus-point victory for Wyoming, but did set the pace for the rest of the team. Dallaserra then earned a workmanlike 6-3 decision in the Cowboys' favor at 149 pounds to put the team score at 7-0. Next, Stanford won two straight, Lucas Espericueta over Mikah Kadera, 7-2 at 157 pounds, and No. 16 Nick Amuchastegui by a slim margin over Alex Rieder, 8-6 at the 165 pound weight class. That brought the team score to 7-6 in favor of the `Pokes. The Cowboys then won five straight to leave no doubt and put the dual out of reach. That run started with a comeback victory for Brock Smith at 174 pounds. With the score tied 4-4 late in the third period and down over a minute in riding time to Stanford's Jake Johnson, Smith dug in his spurs and got a two-point takedown on the edge of the mat with 10 seconds remaining. Smith would win 6-5 despite Johnson tacking on the riding time point. In the marquee match-up of the night, No. 5-ranked LeBlanc out-muscled No. 13 Zack Geisen at 184 pounds and won handily, 8-1. LeBlanc narrowly missed out on an eight-point major decision which would have earned UW an additional team bonus point, however he did rack up over four minutes of riding time and kept the pressure on Geisen the entire match. Following suit for the Cowboys was Hernandez at 197 pounds with a solid 7-1 decision and McLaughlin, who won by injury default at heavyweight. McLaughlin was leading 2-1 after two periods, with a riding time advantage, in his match when Dylan Rush was forced to bow out with a shoulder injury sustained from twice being slammed to the mat by Wyoming's big man. No. 9-ranked Martinez out-lasted a formidable opponent in Ryan Mango at 125 pounds, scoring two third period takedowns to win 8-4. The Cardinal did pick up another win at 133 pounds, when Justin Paulsen beat Kasey Garnhart 10-3, but ultimately that bout played little role in the final team tally of 25-9 in favor of the Cowboys. Wyoming will now travel to Reno, Nev. for the Reno Tournament of Champions which will take place all day on Sunday, Dec. 20. Results: # 141 pounds - Chase Smith (WYO) by major decision over Bret Baumbach (STAN), 12-2, 4-0 WYO # 149 pounds - Cole Dallaserra (WYO) by decision over Mike Kent (STAN), 6-3, 7-0 WYO # 157 pounds - Lucas Espericueta (STAN) by decision over Mikah Kadera (WYO), 7-2, 7-3 WYO # 165 pounds - No. 16 Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) by decision over Alex Rieder (WYO), 8-6, 7-6 WYO # 174 pounds - Brock Smith (WYO) by decision over Jake Johnson (STAN), 6-5, 10-6 WYO # 184 pounds - No. 5 Joe LeBlanc (WYO) by decision over No. 13 Zack Giesen (STAN), 8-1, 13-6 WYO # 197 pounds - Alfonso Hernandez (WYO) by decision over Richard Kessler (STAN), 7-1, 16-6 WYO # Hwt. (285) - Matthew McLaughlin (WYO) by injury default over Dylan Rush (STAN), 5:00, 22-6 WYO # 125 pounds - No. 9 Michael Martinez (WYO) by decision over Ryan Mango (STAN), 8-4, 25-6 WYO # 133 pounds - Justin Paulsen (STAN) by decision over Kasey Garnhart (WYO), 10-3, 25-9 WYO

DAVIS, Calif. -- The fourth-ranked Oklahoma State wrestling team stormed to a 43-0 win over UC Davis at The Pavilion on Friday. With the win, the Cowboys improved to 3-0-1 on the year, while the Aggies dipped to 0-2-0 overall in defeat. The most impressive OSU win came at 149 pounds, where Cowboy junior Quinten Fuentes erased a 7-0 first-period deficit to take an 18-11 lead in the third period before pinning No. 18 Barrett Abel at the 5:42 mark. The win was Fuentes's first ever over a ranked opponent. Fuentes started the third period in the down position but scored a quick reversal, then got Abel in a hammerlock and recorded the fall. Cowboy 141-pounder Jamal Parks continued his strong wrestling of late, pinning Justin Arredondo in a tidy 1:09. Parks scored a quick takedown, then turned Arredondo to his back for a two-point nearfall. Arredondo tried to sit out, but Parks got him in a reverse headlock and threw him on his back again and turned that into a pin. Parks's last three matches have resulted in two wins over opponents ranked higher than himself and Friday's win by fall. Making his varsity debut for the Cowboys Friday was 174-pound sophomore Mike Benefiel, who pinned UC Davis's Alex Darkhovsky in just 50 seconds. Benefiel strung together a 13-1 record on the open tournament circuit during the first semester and continued that positive momentum by getting Darkhovsky in an upper-body tie-up then sweeping his legs to set up his quick pin. Also in his first varsity action was 185-pounder Elliott Hellwege, who claimed a 6-4 win over Stephan Hampton on the strength of a takedown in the second period and another takedown in the third period. Senior 125-pounder Chris Notte set the tone with a 22-5 technical fall win over Kody Klaus to start the dual. Notte bagged eight takedowns, a reversal, a three-point nearfall and a riding time point in his domination of the Aggie freshman. Also impressive for OSU was redshirt freshman 165-pounder Alex Meade, who racked up 11 first-period points on the way to his 15-6 major-decision win over Joey Wilson. Meade's win improved his season record to 13-1. Senior heavyweight Jared Rosholt added an 8-0 major decision win over Ricky Alcala to cap the dual. The shutout win was the first of the year for the Cowboys and the first since the Pokes pounded Clarion, 44-0 at last year's Virginia Duals. The Cowboys drive to Reno to compete in the Reno Tournament of Champions Saturday. The action begins at 11 a.m. Central time with the finals slated to begin at 8 p.m. Central time. Results: 125 pounds: No. 12 Chris Notte (OSU) tech fall Kody Klaus (UCD); 22-7; 7:00 133 pounds: No. 7 Jordan Oliver (OSU) dec. No. 14 Brandon Low (UCD); 6-4 141 pounds: No. 3 Jamal Parks (OSU) fall Justin Arredondo (UCD); 1:09 149 pounds: Quinten Fuentes (OSU) fall No. 18 Barrett Abel (UCD); 5:42 157 pounds: No. 8 Neil Erisman (OSU) dec. Trevor Machado-Ching (UCD); 8-4 165 pounds: No. 8 Alex Meade (OSU) MD Joey Wilson (UCD); 15-6 174 pounds: Mike Benefiel (OSU) fall Alex Darkhovsky (UCD); 0:50 184 pounds: Elliott Hellwege (OSU) dec. Stephan Hampton (UCD); 6-4 197 pounds: No. 8 Alan Gelogaev (OSU) dec. Abe Otrambo (UCD); 7-4 285 pounds: No. 2 Jared Rosholt (OSU) MD Ricky Alcala (UCD); 8-0

InterMat is providing a running notebook for Day 1 (Saturday) at the 2009 Beast of the East. The most recent updates are listed at the top. Cover-It-Live blogging will occur on Sunday focusing on quarterfinal, semifinal, and placement round activity. A recap of the tournament will be published on Monday. 9:41 p.m. EST: Heading towards the end of our evening here. Consolation round four in progress. 100th win just occurring for Rob Jillard (Delsea Regional, NJ) -- a 119 pound wrestler. There will be only 16 wrestlers alive in the tournament after tonight -- quarterfinalists and eight in wrestleback. 8:35 p.m. EST: Team score race is interesting. Blair Academy, NJ is in third right now with 82.5 points; nine in the quarters and one in consi. Those nine in the quarters will start racking up points in the money rounds -- quarters and then semis. First place is Central Dauphin, PA with 88.5 points; the Rams have 5 in the quarters, and five in consolation. Wyoming Seminary, PA is in second with 83.5 points; six in the semis, and the rest of the lineup (8 total) alive in wrestleback. Rounding ou the top five is St. Mark's, DE with 66.5 (7 QF/2 CON) and Cox, VA 65 (3/7). The top ten has a two-way tie for sixth at 55 points - Eastern Regional, NJ (5/1) and Jackson Memorial, NJ (1/9). The three-way tie for eight at 54.5 points involves Boyertown, PA (1/8); Bethlehem Liberty, PA (2/6); and Northampton, PA (1/11). 8:20 p.m. EST: And that is an end of the round of 16 with Karl Green (Mt St Joseph, MD) winning 4-0 at the 285 pound weight class. Updated team scores and QF pairings to come later tonight. 8:03 p.m. EST: A third relatively lukewarm win for the third seed at 189 pounds, Billy George (Long Branch, NJ), by a 3-1 score. He'll move on to competition on Sunday moring. 7:59 p.m. EST: Interesting matchup at 171 just comes to an end with an upset as the 12 seed David Melnick (Caesar Rodney, DE) upends fifth seed Cody Allala (Hopewell, VA) 7-6. 7:31 p.m. EST: Tiebreakers match at 152 - a battle of New Jersey state place winners between Eric Reger (Delsea Regional) and Dave Newcomer (Eastern Regional). Actually, ultimate tiebreaker, Reger chose down; Newcomer rode him out in one continuous sequence! 7:03 p.m. EST: And another quarterfinal defeat for Central Dauphin. This time it's Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA) with the 4-0 win over Tyler Buckman at 130. The third ranked freshman in the nation advances to tomorrow's quarterfinal against Vinny Fava (Elmwood Park, NJ), who survived with a 6-4 overtime win. 7:00 p.m. EST: Zach Horan (Nazareth, PA) after being down 5-0 early against Kevin Gooding (Central Dauphin, PA) came back to win 13-10 at 125 pounds. The third seed and two-time state runner-up advances to the quarterfinal tomorrow morning. 6:49 p.m. EST: Hard luck loss for the second straight week in the round of 16 for Kyle Johnson (Wyoming Seminary, PA) at 119 pounds; this week it's a 3-1 loss to the one seed Robert Deutsch (Eastern Regional, NJ). Last week he lost a one-point affair to Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ) at the Ironman in this round. And fourth-seed Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco Prep, NJ) hangs on for a 3-2 win over Shane Arechiga (Good Counsel, MD). 6:30 p.m. EST: It was a tilt-a-thon at the start of that round as the fifth-seeded Evan Botwin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) earned a 15-0 technical fall in 2:54 against Andrew Viera (Long Branch, NJ) to advance to the quarterfinal round. The top seed Zach Bridson (Timberlane, NH) joins him in the quarters with his third fall of the day. 6:15 p.m. EST: 16's about to start on ALL ELEVEN MATS! 5:35 p.m. EST: Things going slower than expected. We're about two-third through the second consolation round. Maybe 6:00 p.m. EST for the round of 16. Team scores through all of consi1: Central Dauphin 69.5 (8/5), Blair Academy 61 (10/3), Wyoming Seminary 55 (9/5), Cox 45.5 (6/6), Christiansburg 42 (4/7), Boyertown/Bethlehem Liberty/St Mark's 40.5 (4/9, 4/8, 7/5), Long Branch 40 (6/5), Eastern Regional 39.5 (5/4) Team scores after two rounds of championship (and part of consi 1) Central Dauphin, PA 69.5 (8 RD16/5 CON); Blair Academy, NJ 61 (10/3); Wyoming Seminary, PA 51.5 (9/5); Boyertown, PA 40.5 (4/9); Eastern Regional, NJ 39.5 (5/4) and St. Marks, DE (7/6); Long Branch, NJ 39 (6/6); Christiansburg, NJ 38 (4/8); Bethlehem Liberty, PA 37.5 (4/9); Cox, VA 37 (6/8) 3:20 p.m. EST: We're fully done with that round of 32 and now into the first consolation round, which is a partial round. Then there is a full second consolation round before the round of 16 -- which should have many seeded wrestlers going HEAD-TO-HEAD! Team scores coming. 2:55 p.m. EST: Highest seed of the tournament to fall to defeat so far is the third seed at 215 pounds Dillon Hoffman (Blair Academy, NJ). Earning the upset victory -- if you wish to call it such -- is Matt Idelson (Garnet Valley, PA) by a 4-0 score. 2:30 p.m. EST: Five seed going down at 160, that is a win for Mike Brown (Bethlehem Liberty, PA) over Nick Lawrence (Timberlane, NH) 4-3. Central Dauphin, PA still leading the tournament with 62 points; but Blair Academy, NJ has surged back to second place with 53 points. Third place is Wyoming Seminary, PA with 45.5 points. Rounding out the top five is Eastern Regional, NJ at 39.5 and St Mark's, DE with 35.5 points. The Rams have nine alive on the championship side, while Blair and Wyoming Seminary have 11 each. 2:10 p.m. EST: Yikes that was quick. Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) with the fall at 160 pounds in SIX SECONDS! That's your No. 1-ranked wrestler in America at the weight class. The top seed Bo Candelaria (Middletown, PA) at 152 survives 5-3 against Matt Huffstickler (Skyline, VA). As a scheduling note, after this round is two rounds of consolation wrestling with a projected start for the round of 16 at about 4:30 p.m. EST. 2:00 p.m. EST: Top seeds seem to be advancing with relative ease. In terms of that 119-pound match, still not sure which kid won -- though the brackets have Orecchio winning. Apologies for the error. Brandon Rolnick (Lawrenceville, NJ); Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA); Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ); and Codey Combs (Sussex Central, DE) all winning big within the last ten minutes. We are around the 152 weight right now in the round of 32. 1:01 p.m. EST: Upset special here with returning runner-up Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco Prep, NJ) going down to defeat 4-2 in the tiebreakers to Greg Rinker (Northampton, PA). Orecchio is the four seed in this tournament. 12:14 p.m. EST: Still in our first round of wrestling, second round (of 32) wrestling abouto to start in 5 minutes. Central Dauphin, PA your early team leader with 35 points; Boyertown, PA in second with 25-1/2; Bethlehem Liberty, PA third with 23-1/2; Christiansburg, VA in fourth with 23; and a three-way tie for fifth at 22 points between Connellsville, PA, Council Rock North, PA, and Eastern Regional, NJ. Blair Academy, NJ tied for tenth at 18-1/2 points. 11:14 a.m. EST: Bo Candelaria gets win No. 100 with a 15-0 technical fall in 4:00. Colton Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) with a win by fall in 3:01 -- the freshman doing it like his two older brothers early in this event. 11:09 a.m. EST: Ultimate tiebreaker, first of those today ... 145 pounds, Matt McBride (Camden Catholic, NJ) is your winner against David Miller (Cumberland Valley, PA). 5-5 the match score, McBride with a rideout to win. 10:23 a.m. EST: Brackets are up. Brackets will be updated one time per hour. 9:55 a.m. EST: First overtime activity of the day! Russ Parsons (Blair Academy, NJ) with the 5-3 overtime win against the No. 8 seed Ryan Hunsberger (Fauquier, VA) at 125 pounds. 9:32 a.m. EST: The No. 5 seed at 119 pounds goes down! Rob Jillard (Delsea Regional, NJ) with the 7-3 win over No. 5 Greg Flournoy (Fauquier, VA). 9:11 a.m. EST: The first seed of the tournament to go down, No. 8 seed Matt Kibblehouse (Salesanium, DE) loses 2-1 on a third period reversal to Cody Stageberg (Cox, VA) at 103 pounds. 9:04 a.m. EST: WE HAVE ACTION -- it's a fall by Zach Bridson (Timberlane, NH), the No. 1 seed at 103 pounds. 9:00 a.m. EST: Due to the weather, there was a 30 minute delay in the start of the tournament and the national anthem is being played right now. Notable team to scratch was Colonial Forge, VA.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team (6-5, 1-0 SoCon) opened its Southern Conference schedule with a 34-7 win over The Citadel (1-3, 0-1 SoCon) in Charleston, S.C. tonight. Sophomore Demetrius Johnson opened the match up with a 7-3 decision over Richard Alacron. Johnson scored two takedowns and a reverse while improving his record to 12-6. Senior Josh Statum followed that up with an 8-0 major decision over Jordan Dix. Statum had a takedown, near-fall and reverse in his eighth win of the season, giving the Mocs a 7-0 lead. The Citadel got on the board when Nick LeFevre scored a 10-0 major decision at 141 over freshman Chanse Hayes. The Bulldogs closed the lead to 7-4 with the win. The 149 match was full of action with The Citadel's Derek Royster scoring a takedown and a nearfall in the opening minutes against freshman Dean Pavlou. Pavlou recovered with an escape and a takedown of his own to end the first period. Pavlou added an escape and a takedown in the second period take a 6-5 lead. Pavlou added two takedowns in the final period to post a 10-8 decision and extend the Mocs' lead to 10-4. Citadel closed the gap to 10-7 when Turtogtokh Luvsandorj recorded a 3-1 decision at 157 over junior Bond Davis. UTC went back up 16-7 when sophomore Brandon Wright answered with pin in the first period against Justin Sparrow at 165. Another great match took place at 174 when No. 16 Jake Young took on James Oddo. Oddo was primed for the upset, leading 5-1 in the third period. However, Young turned the tables on Oddo and scored a Fall at 5:55. The match was put out of reach when sophomore Jason McCroskey recorded the Mocs' third consecutive pin over Kelby Smith at 184, giving UTC a 28-7 lead. Freshman Niko Brown and junior Matt Lettner both won by decisions in their matches at 197 and 285. Brown scored an 11-9 win over Andrew Delaney, the defending SoCon Champion at 197. The Mocs are back in action tomorrow at Davidson. The match begins at 5:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and can be followed via live stats on GoMocs.com. Results: 125 - Demetrius Johnson (UTC) - Dec. 7-3 - Richard Alacorn (CIT) - UTC, 3-0 133 - Josh Statum (UTC) - MD 8-0 - Jordan Dix (CIT) - UTC, 7-0 141 - Nick LaFevre (CIT) - MD 10-0 - Chanse Hayes (UTC) - UTC, 7-4 149 - Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 10-8 - Derek Royster (CIT) - UTC, 10-4 157 - Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (CIT) - Dec. 3-1 - Bond Davis (CIT) - UTC, 10-7 165 - Brandon Wright (UTC) - Fall 2:53 - Justin Sparrow (CIT) - UTC, 16-7 174 - No. 16 Jake Young (UTC) - Fall 5:55 - James Oddo (CIT) - UTC, 22-7 184 - Jason McCroskey (UTC) - Fall 1:27 - Kelby Smith (CIT) - UTC, 28-7 197 - Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 11-9 - Andrew Delaney (CIT) - UTC, 31-7 285 - Matt Lettner (UTC) - Dec. 3-2 - Ivan Muller (CIT) - UTC, 34-7

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bumped up from his typical spot at 197 pounds, John Schoen led off NU's night with a pin at heavyweight and Northwestern never looked back, dominating Cleveland State to the tune of a 42-6 dual victory in Cleveland Thursday night. The high-scoring affair marked the first time since Dec. 8, 2007, that the Wildcats scored more than 40 points in a dual match. Northwestern (2-3-1) can now set its sights on hosting and competing in the 2009 Midlands Championships, which get underway at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 29. With starting heavyweight Ben Kuhar sidelined due to injury, the sophomore Schoen filled the gap admirably, leading CSU's Chris Weber throughout the bout before notching the six-point fall with less than 30 seconds remaining in the third period. Schoen is off to an impressive 7-3 start in his second season as a starter. Cleveland State was forced to forfeit the ensuing match at 125 pounds, giving NU's Levi Mele the chance to have his hand raised and extend the 'Cats' team lead to 12-0. Up next at 133 pounds was senior Eric Metzler, who continued the momentum he gained in his last outing by posting a first-period pin of Cleveland State freshman Zech Huff (2:38). Very quickly, Northwestern had control of the match, leading 18-0. For the second straight match, Robert Joyce slid up from his previous spot at 125 pounds to 141, where he battled but eventually lost a 7-1 decision to the Vikings' Mike Mencini. Junior Andrew Nadhir quickly turned the tide back in Northwestern's favor, coasting to a 23-9 tech fall win over Dan Castillo and putting another five points on NU's side of the scoreboard in the process. Nadhir is now 9-2 on the young season and a perfect 6-0 in dual matches. True freshman Kevin Bialka registered the first victory of his career as a dual meet starter at 157 pounds, ringing up Corey Carlo for a 12-3 major decision. After an NU loss at 165 pounds, the 'Cats were bolstered at 174 by the return from injury of redshirt freshman Brian Roddy, Jr., wrestling just down the road from his hometown of Highland Heights, Ohio. Earning his first career dual start, Roddy squared off with CSU senior and two-time NCAA qualifier Marcus Effner but quickly proved he belongs, edging Effner 7-6 to extend Northwestern's lead to 30-6. In addition to Bialka, another true freshman posted a career-first on the night as Marcus Shrewsbury notched the inaugural pin of his collegiate career, doing so in the third period of his bout with Nick Anthony. Junior Aaron Jones emphatically slammed the door on the Vikings, pinning Jeff Schuller early in the second period to win his third straight match and give NU the 42-6 victory. The victory was the 151st in the career of head coach Tim Cysewski. Complete results from Thursday's win are available below. Visit the official Web site of the 47th Midlands Championships and watch a video tracing the origin and history of one of the nation's premier amateur wrestling tournaments! Results: HWT John Schoen Pin 6:35 Chris Weber (6-0 NU) 125 Levi Mele (NU) forfeit (12-0 NU) 133 Eric Metzler (NU) Pin 2:38 Zech Huff (CSU) (18-0 NU) 141 Mike Mencini (CSU) 7-1 Dec. Robert Joyce (NU) (18-3 NU) 149 Andrew Nadhir (NU) Tech Fall 23-9 vs. Dan Castillo (CSU) (23-3 NU) 157 Kevin Bialka (NU) 12-3 Maj. Dec. Corey Carlo (CSU) (27-3 NU) 165 Rob Michaels (CSU) 12-5 Dec. Robert Kellogg (NU) (27-6 NU) 174 Brian Roddy (NU) 7-6 Dec. Marcus Effner (CSU) (30-6 NU) 184 Marcus Shrewsbury (NU) Pin 6:05 Nick Anthony (CSU) (36-6 NU) 197 Aaron Jones (NU) Pin 3:23 Jeff Schuller (CSU) (42-6 NU)

This weekend marks the 17th annual Beast of the East, the 15th of which has been held in December. Blair Academy, NJ is the strong favorites to win the tournament for a tenth consecutive year, and for the fourteenth time overall. The only other teams to win the Beast are Brick Memorial, NJ in January 1994; Bald Eagle Area, PA in 1998; and St. Edward, OH in 1999. The Bucs have also never finished below third in the event (1998). While first place is likely locked, there should be a pretty strong battle for second place between Wyoming Seminary, PA; Central Dauphin, PA; and St. Mark's, DE. Other teams in the field to watch include Long Branch, NJ; Eastern Regional, NJ; and Cox, VA. Seeking third consecutive titles at the tournament this year are Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ) at 140 pounds and Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA) at 160; both wrestlers have also committed to compete at Cornell next fall. In addition, Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA) and Anthony Baldosaro (Eastern Regional, NJ) seek a third finals appearance -- they compete at 125 and 145 respectively. The following wrestlers seek to defend titles from the 2008 Beast of the East: Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ), competing at 119 pounds; Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ), competing at 112; Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary, PA), competing at 135 pounds; Villalonga; Baldosaro; Peppelman; Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ), competing at 189 pounds; and Boby Telford (St. Mark's DE), competing at 285 pounds. Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ) will not be defending his title this year, as he was scratched from the tournament. What: 17th annual T.G.I. Friday's Beast of the East When: Saturday 12-19-09 and Sunday 12-20-09 Where: Bob Carpenter Center, University of Delaware; Newark, DE Schedule: Wrestling on Saturday starts at 8:30 a.m. ET on 11 mats with 3 championship and 4 consolation rounds; the round of 16 is projected to start at about 5:30 p.m., and day one should end at around 9:30 p.m. Competition on Sunday starts at 9:00 a.m. on 11 mats with the quarterfinals on six mats and consolations on five mats, a second consolation round will then be wrestled; at approximately 11:30 a.m., the tournament will break down to only six mats with the semifinals on two of them. The consolation semifinals should end at approximately 2:15 p.m., with the finals matches for first through eighth place slated to being at 3:15 p.m. Tournament Web site: http://www.beastwrestling.com InterMat Coverage: Periodic updates through a notebook occur throughout the day on Saturday. Live blogging will occur on Sunday focusing on quarterfinal, semifinal, and placement round activity. A recap of the tournament will be published on Monday. 103: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 10 Tyson Dippery (Central Dauphin, PA); No. 15 Max Hvolbeck (Blair Academy, NJ). Commentary: Unlike in past years, the opening weight is without true superstars. That said, two wrestlers stand out above the field. Both are in their first year as starters, and both earned All-American honors in the Cadet National freestyle competition this past summer. Hvolbeck enters as the two seed after finishing third at 98 pounds, and third at the Ironman last weekend. Dippery enters the tournament as the four seed after earning sixth at 105 pounds, and then placing fourth at the Super 32. The toughest challenge for Hvlobeck looks to be Will Mason (Cape Henry Collegiate, VA), who finished fourth at National Preps last year. For Dippery, it looks to be the winner of a quarterfinal bout between Zach Bridson (Timberlane, NH) and freshman sensation Darian Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic, PA); Bridson was second at the New England Championships last year. Top Match on Saturday: Evan Botwin (Wyoming Seminary, PA) vs.. Max Rogers (Delbarton, NJ). Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Cody Stageberg (Cox, VA) Predicting a Finals Match: Dippery (Central Dauphin) over Hvolbeck (Blair Academy) 112: National Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Evan Silver (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 13 Dominick Malone (Wyoming Seminary, PA); No. 1 (at 103) Joey Dance (Christiansburg, VA); No. 14 John Fahy (Louisville Trinity, KY); No. 19 Shyheim Brown (Central Dauphin, PA); and No. 20 Caleb Richardson (Cox, VA). Commentary: The Beast of the East starts to become beastly in this weight class with six nationally ranked wrestlers, and those individuals are balanced three per side. Coming off an Ironman title last week, Silver is a clear favorite in defense of his Beast championship this weekend. Life will not be that easy, starting with a projected quarterfinal against two-time Super 32 placer Jake Smith (Robinson, VA); Smith was also a state runner-up and NHSCA Freshman Nationals runner-up last year. The semifinal bout is likely to be against either Richardson or Fahy, though Fahy would have to get past a New Jersey state placer -- and Super 32 placer -- to reach the quarters. Looking on the other side of the draw, one of the quarterfinals is projected to feature a rematch of last year's fifth place bout at 103 pounds; Brown defeated Pendergast 6-4 in that meeting and is projected to replicate that result here. In the other quarterfinal of the bottom half look for a matchup between Malone and Dance for the third consecutive weekend; Malone has won the past two meetings between these Cadet National freestyle All-Americans. Top Match on Saturday: Fahy vs. Kyle Casaletto (Southern Regional, NJ). Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Curt Delia (Delsea Regional, NJ) Predicting a Finals Match: Silver (Blair Academy) over Malone (Wyoming Seminary) 119: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 10 Sean Dolan (St. Mark's, DE); No. 11 Mark Grey (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 13 Robert Deutsch (Eastern Regional, NJ); No. 15 Bryan Whitt (Cox, VA); No. 5 (at 112) Brandon Jeske (St. Christopher's, VA); and No. 18 (at 112) Matt Sausman (Camden Catholic, NJ). Commentary: Yet another weight with six nationally ranked wrestlers present. However, unlike the 112 pound weight class, things are totally wide open here -- as they seem to be across the nation with this weight. The top seed in this weight is the two-time New Jersey state finalist Deutsch; however, he has finished fifth and sixth respectively in two appearances at the Beast. He is likely to have a very tough quarterfinal against either Eric Friedman (St. Paul's, MD) or Sausman, both of whom are up two weight classes from last year. A pair of wrestlers also up two weight classes from last year's tournament -- where they finished second and fourth respectively -- is likely to lead the other quarter in the top half; Joe Orecchio (Don Bosco Prep, NJ) and Greg Flournoy (Fauquier, VA). Grey and Dolan anchor the bottom half of the bracket as the two and three seeds respectively. Grey won this tournament last year at 103 pounds, while Dolan was runner-up at 112 two seasons ago. However, both wrestlers have unkind paths to a potential semifinal matchup. Dolan is looking at a quarterfinal date against Whitt -- a runner-up to Silver at National Prep last year; after having to get past a Saturday match against jujitsu star Shane Arechiga (Good Counsel, MD). Grey projects to face the freshman sensation Jeske, a two-time Super 32 placer and a tremendous talent in Greco-Roman in the quarterfinal round. Top Matches on Saturday: Friedman vs. Sausman and Matt Malfaro (Boyertown, PA) vs. Jeske. Friedman placed seventh in the Beast last year and second at National Prep, while Sausman was third in New Jersey and at NHSCA Sophomore Nationals. Malfaro is a returning Beast placer though he failed to place at the Pennsylvania state tournament. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Rob Jillard (Delsea Regional, NJ), eighth at state; Kyle Johnson (Wyoming Seminary, PA), third at National Prep in 2008. Predicting a Finals Match: Dolan (St. Mark's) over Deutsch (Eastern Regional) 125: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Devin Carter (Christiansburg, VA); No. 13 Zach Horan (Nazareth, PA); No. 14 Sean Boylan (St. Mark's, DE); and No. 20 Pat Prada (DeMatha Catholic, MD). Commentary: Carter has finished runner-up at the Beast each of the last two years, and is favored to break through with a championship this weekend. However, that path will not necessarily be easy starting with a quarterfinal against either Hunsberger or Marino. The other quarterfinal in Carter's half of the draw features Prada and Aaron Runzo (Kellam, VA), a battle of Junior National All-Americans. Prada placed seventh in freestyle, while Prada was fourth in Greco-Roman. A point of interest here is that Runzo knocked off Boylan in the finals at War on the Shore two weekends ago. Anchoring the bottom half of the bracket is Boylan and Horan. Boylan won the Beast in 2007 at 103 pounds, but was sixth last year at 112, while Horan has taken fourth twice in this event. Both wrestlers have favorable paths to a semifinal bout, with Horan having to most likely clear Ryan Ponte (Northfield Mt. Hermon, MA) -- third at last year's National Prep tournament; while Boylan is looking a match against fellow Beast placer Brandon Shultie (Sussex Central, DE). Top Matches on Saturday: Ryan Hunsberger (Fauquier, VA) vs. Anthony Marino (Bethlehem Liberty, PA); Hunsberger is a state runner-up, who placed seventh at last week's Ironman, while Marino placed fifth at state last year. Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Garrett Hammond (Wyoming Seminary, PA); the freshman placed eighth at the Ironman last weekend. Predicting a Finals Match: Carter (Christiansburg) over Horan (Nazareth) 130: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Sam Sherlock (West Mifflin, PA); No. 6 (at 135) Nick Schenk (St. Mark's, DE); and No. 7 Vinny Fava (Elmwood Park, NJ). Commentary: Three elite wrestlers stand out ahead of the rest of the field; however, there is much for storylines among the rest of this field. Both Sherlock and Schenk have finished second at the Beast during the course of their careers, while Fava was champion at NHSCA Junior Nationals this past spring at 135 pounds. The projected semifinal between Schenk and Fava could be one of the highlights -- if each is able to reach that point. Schenk has a potentially tough match on Saturday with NHSCA Junior National All-American Andrew Cornell (Long Branch, NJ). Fava is looking at a quarterfinal against either Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary, PA) or Tyler Buckman (Central Dauphin, PA). Life is slightly easier for Sherlock up in the top half of the draw. His likely quarterfinal is against BJ Young (Jackson Memorial, NJ) -- who has placed at the Super 32, Beast of the East, and NHSCA Junior nationals over the years but never in the New Jersey state tournament. The semifinal bout would project to be against one of two super sophomores -- Jacob Crawford (Millbrook, VA) or Todd Preston (Blair Academy, NJ) Top Matches on Saturday: Buckman vs. Morris, featuring the freshman sensation Morris seeking to make a statement on the high school scene against a returning state placer; Schenk vs. Cornell. Predicting a Finals Match: Sherlock (West Mifflin) over Fava (Elmwood Park) 135: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 7 Simon Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Commentary: With Austin Ormsbee (Blair Academy, NJ) out of his second straight major event, the field is absolutely ripe for a Kitzis torpedo. His quarterfinal bout is likely to be against the sophomore Devon Gobbo (Delbarton, NJ) -- who placed eighth in the Super 32 at 130 pounds. While the caliber of opponent improves in the semifinal, Kitzis is not likely to be challenged by either Alex Pelliciotti (Boyertown, PA) or Scott Festejo (Long Branch, NJ). Pelliciotti was third in the preseason Super 32 at this weight after placing fifth at the Beast and seventh in the state down at 130 last year, while Festejo was third in the state at 125 last year. The bottom of this weight bracket is a two-horse race between state champion Wendell Cannon (Sussex Tech, DE) and state third Shawn Greevy (Cumberland Valley, PA). Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Zach Epperly (Christiansburg, VA) -- ranked 24th among freshmen nationally by InterMat. Predicting a Finals Match: Kitzis (Wyoming Seminary) over Cannon (Sussex Tech) 140: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 (at 145) Chris Villalonga (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 12 (at 145) Taylor Walsh (Camden Catholic, NJ); No. 17 (at 145) Codey Combs (Sussex Central, DE); No. 13 Hank Stinson (Eastern Regional, NJ). Commentary: Seeking a fourth final at the Beast of the East, and a third title, Villalonga should have two matches against ranked competition. It is very likely that he will dominate his way into a semifinal match against Stinson, who was a state champion in 2008 but sustained an injury in the Beast last year and could not compete by season's end. However, Stinson is looking a tough quarterfinal bout against Cody Broomall (Smyrna, DE), who was a state champion last year with an upset victory over Schenk in the state final. The bottom half of the draw is anchored by a pair of state champions, Taylor Walsh (Camden Catholic, NJ) and Codey Combs (Sussex Central, DE). Walsh is a two-time finalist in the Garden State headed into his senior season, while Combs has won state titles in his first two years of high school. Combs could have a tough quarterfinal against Roman Perryman (Robinson, VA), a top three finisher at state in all three years of high school including a state title as a freshman. Saturday Match to Watch: Broomall vs. Charlie Packard (Brecksville, OH). Packard has a very funky style, which is very Jekyll-and-hyde, and finished fifth in the state last year. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Devin Biscaha (Jackson Memorial, NJ) -- fifth at NHSCA Junior nationals; Cohl Fulk (Wyoming Seminary, PA); and Colton Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA). Predicting a Finals Match: Villalonga (Blair Academy) over Walsh (Camden Catholic) 145: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 Anthony Baldosaro (Eastern Regional, NJ); No. 13 Ben Dorsay (Cox, VA); No. 16 Blake Roulo (Matoaca, VA); and No. 20 Alex Smith (Timberlane, NH). Commentary: Like Villalonga, Baldosaro is an InterMat top 10 recruit in the Class of 2010 seeking to repeat as champion at Beast of the East.; he also is after a third finals appearance in the event. The two-time New Jersey state champion should clear his way to the final with relative ease, as only a semifinal against either the Super 32 placer Smith or Ironman placer Conner Miller (Fauquier, VA) stands in his path. The bottom half of the draw a pair of top wrestlers from the Commonwealth of Virginia -- Dorsay and Roulo; Dorsay is a two-time state champ, while Roulo has finished second and third the last two years. Both wrestlers are returning Beast placers, with Dorsay placing third at this year's Super 32 and Roulo third in the Junior National Greco-Roman competition. Saturday Match to Watch: Roulo vs. Joseph Marino (Garnet Valley, PA); Marino is a returning state qualifier. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Shane Robinson (Absegami, NJ); Erik Gobbo (Delbarton, NJ) Predicting a Finals Match: Baldosaro (Eastern Regional) over Dorsay (Cox) 152: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 Brandon Rolnick (Lawrenceville, NJ); No. 14 Jesse Shanaman (Blair Academy, NJ). Commentary: Kind of a surprise the way the seeding works out with Bo Candelaria (Middletown, PA) as your top seed. He was runner-up at the Beast last year, fourth at state, and fifth at this fall's Super 32. As a result, that means the two nationally ranked wrestlers -- Rolnick and Shanaman -- would be projected to meet in the semifinal round. While each is expected to have legitimately credentialed opposition in the quarterfinal, look for them to advance through the match. Rolnick is looking at either Eric Reger (Delsea Regional, NJ) or Dave Newcomber (Eastern Regional, NJ); while Shanaman is looking at Rich Eva (Christiansburg, VA) or Issah Meade (Caesar Rodney, DE). In the top half of the draw, Candelaria is expected to have a tough quarterfinal against either Bobby Burg (Mercerburg Academy, PA) or Ryan Krecker (Nazareth, PA). His projected semifinal opponent would be Old Dominion signee Matt White (Woodward, OK), who is was Junior National freestyle All-American. However, that is no guarantee, as he has a likely quarterfinal match against either Austin Sommer (Northampton, PA) or Kenny Boyles (Smyrna, DE). Saturday matches to watch: Given the amazing amount of quality depth in this weight class, this is one of those to keep your eye on all day. Burg vs. Krecker -- Burg is a National Prep runner-up, while Krecker placed fourth at state. Sommer vs. Boyles -- Sommer placed third at the Beast and seventh at state, while Boyles was a state runner-up and Junior National Greco-Roman All-American. Reger vs. Newcomer is a battle of returning state place finishers in the Garden State. Eva and Meade is a battle of returning state champions. Unseeded Wrestlers to Watch: Doug Hamann (Jackson Memorial, NJ) is a returning Beast of the East placer, and Kyle Roddy (Brecksville, OH) is a state qualifier. Predicting a Finals Match: Rolnick (Lawrenceville) over White (Woodward) 160: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 1 Marshall Peppelman (Central Dauphin, PA); No. 5 Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, NJ); and No. 13 Preston Keiffer (Eastern Regional, NJ). Commentary: Though there are three nationally ranked wrestlers, the depth behind that trio is somewhat lacking. Like Villalonga, Peppelman is seeking to win his third Beast of the East championship and is strongly favored to at least reach the final. Standing in his way is a likely semifinal date with Chris Moon (Wyoming Seminary, PA), who placed seventh in the Beast last year and placed the same in last weekend's Ironman. The other side of the bracket features Visicaro and Keiffer, both of whom were Junior National freestyle All-Americans this past summer. Visicaro won a state title and NHSCA Junior National title, while Keiffer has placed fifth and fourth at state the last two years. Saturday Match to Watch: Moon vs. Will Resnick (Penncrest, PA), Resnick is a returning state qualifier seeking a statement upset victory. Predicting a Finals Match: Peppelman (Central Dauphin) over Visicaro (Long Branch) 171: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 7 Kenny Courts (Central Dauphin, PA) Commentary: In what along with 103, 135, and 215 are clearly the thinnest weights of this tournament -- both in terms of quality at the top and in depth -- Courts seeks a second Beast title in three seasons. However, it is very likely a local rival -- Tristan Warner (Cumberland Valley, PA) -- will be standing in his way. Should the two wrestlers reach the final, it would be the first of what could be five matchups this year. Warner, who placed seventh at the Beast last year, enters the bracket seeded third after failing to place at state but winning the Super 32 this fall. He is also likely to have the toughest of the four quarter brackets, with either Omar Akel (Long Branch, NJ) or Jay Wieller (Wyoming Seminary, PA) as a quarterfinal opponent. The likely semifinal is against a state champion Brad Hitchings (Trinity, KY) who placed fifth in this weight at the Beast last year. Courts -- the top seed in this weight -- should clear his half of the bracket with limited problems. A quarterfinal against either Bobby Bowman (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) or Joey Grainger (Great Bridge), and a semifinal against either Jamie Westwood (Queen of Peace, NJ) or Clint Allala (Hopwell, VA) stand in the way. Westwood placed seventh at state, is a two-time Super 32 placer, and was sixth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals this past spring. Saturday Match to Watch: Akel vs. Wieller -- Akel placed sixth at state this past year, while Wieller was fourth at National Preps. Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Zach Agostino (Egg Harbor Township, NJ). This state qualifier finished top three in both styles at Cadet Nationals in 2008. Predicting a Finals Match: Courts (Central Dauphin) over Warner (Cumberland Valley) 189: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 3 (at 171) Michael Evans (Blair Academy, NJ); No. 7 (at 215) Patrick Callender (Council Rock North, PA); and No. 13 Billy George (Long Branch, NJ). Commentary: The last scratch of Antonio Giorgio (Warwick, PA), who had not lost a match prior to the state tournament the last two seasons, does remove a little bit of the luster off of this weight class. However, the presence of three nationally ranked wrestlers, as well as two other Beast place finishers, makes for a pretty solid weight class. Leading the way is defending Beast champion Evans, who was champion at the Ironman last weekend. In his quarterfinal, he is projected to face Nick Kidd (Northfield Mount Hermon, MA) -- a returning New England champion. Then, the other quarterfinal up top is likely to place a pair of returning Beast placers against one another. Andrew Petroski (Springfield Delco, PA) placed fifth at the Beast, is a two-time state place finisher, and was fourth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals; while Nick Ruggear (Oxford, PA) was eighth at Beast and failed to place at state. The bottom half of the bracket features the pair of wrestlers that appeared in the NHSCA Junior Nationals final at this weight class last year -- Callender and George. The winner on that occasion was George, who finished third in his state tournament. Callender was a state runner-up, and also champion of the Super 32 in the 215 pound weight class. It is very likely that this will be your semifinal at around noon on Sunday. Unseeded Wrestler to Watch: Matt Mullet (Mt. St. Joseph, MD) placed eighth in this event last year, including a major upset pin of Ed Ruth in the opening round Predicting a Finals Match: Evans (Blair Academy) over Callender (Council Rock North) 215: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 8 Nate Gaffney (Connellsville, PA) Commentary: Along with the 135 pound weight class, this one is the most lopsided to one individual; and it would be a shock for someone other than Gaffney win the title. Gaffney is a defending state champion, who placed fifth in the event last year. His quarterfinal is most likely going to be against either Joey Spicer (Sussex Central, DE) or Conor O'Hara (Cox, VA). The semifinal bout could be against Dillon Hoffman (Blair Academy, NJ) -- who placed eighth at the Ironman last week. The bottom half of the draw is totally wide open. One quarterfinal is a likely battle of state qualifiers involving Ironman placer Spencer Willet (Brecksville, OH) and AJ Mott (DePaul Catholic, NJ). The other bottom quarterfinal projects to involve state placer Demetri Cox (Colonial Forge, VA) against National Prep placer Chris Gill (St. Christopher's, VA). Saturday Match to Watch: A battle of fifth place finishers at state between Spicer and O'Hara. Predicting a Finals Match: Gaffney (Connellsville) over Mott (DePaul Catholic) 285: Nationally-Ranked Wrestlers: No. 2 Bobby Telford (St. Mark's DE); No. 4 Karl Green (Mt. St. Joseph's, MD); and No. 6 Mike McMullan (Wyoming Seminary, PA). Commentary: Beyond the top three of this weight, there is painfully little here worth noting. However, this top three is all in the top six nationally of the weight class. Defending Beast champion Telford has smooth sailing to the finals as the top seed. His semifinal bout is likely to be against either the freshman Brooks Black (Blair Academy, NJ) or Billy Vaughan (Brecksville, OH); Black was third at the Ironman last week, while Vaughan finished a match away from placing. One note of interest is that Vaughan was the backup to Jeremy Johnson last year, an Ohio state champion that finished third at the Beast. The bottom semifinal featuring Green and McMullan is a rematch of the National Prep final won by McMullan 6-5. However, this summer Green was an All-American in both styles at the Junior Nationals. Predicting a Finals Match: Telford (St. Mark's) over Green (Mt. St. Joseph)

Happy Holidays wrestling fans- TDR returns to the Brute adidas home studios for our 2nd show of December. Steve Foster takes the helm as I take a personal day to attend my sons graduation. Steve has a great roster of guests. Join him 9:05 AM CST Steve's Guests on TDR This week: 9:05 Ken Kraft- Founder of the Midlands Tournament of Champions at Northwestern University. This is the event of the holiday season. Ken is the founder and we'll happily present this addition to the wrestling public. The date of this years Midlands Dec 29th and 30th 9:20 Tony Ersland- Assist. Head Coach of Nebraska- Jordan Burroughs is on everyone's mind. How has he done since breaking off his teeth at MN. Also, Tony and his wife are expecting... Twins! 9:40 Max Askren- 184 pound standout at Missouri. This is a good kid and a tremendous wrestler. he dropped down a weight to compete this year and looks to be on track to challenge for a title. 10:05 Jake Herbert- 2009: U.S. World Team Trials champion… U.S. Nationals champion… 2008: Bronze medalist at World University Championships… Fifth in Alexander Medved International… Dave Schultz Memorial International champion… 2007: Hargobind International (Canada) champion… Second in Sunkist Kids International Open… 2006: Bronze medalist at World University Championships… University Nationals champion… College: Four-time All-American at Northwestern University, where he was coached by Tim Cysewski… 2007 and 2009 NCAA Champion… 2009 Hodge Trophy winner… Took an Olympic Redshirt in 2008… Compiled 32-0 record in 2007… Second in 2006 NCAA Championships… Third in 2005 NCAA Championships… Three-time Big Ten champion in 2006, 2007 and 2009… 10:20 Joe LeBlanc- Wyoming Cowboy A returning All-American at 184 pounds, LeBlanc has handled an eventful past year maturely and has come back working harder than ever. He enters his sophomore year ranked in the top-five of multiple preseason national polls. LeBlanc has blossomed under the guidance of head coach Mark Branch and his goals consist of nothing less than an NCAA title. He continued to gain high-level experience this past summer when he wrestled at the FILA Junior World Team Trials. 10:40 Kurt Kinser- Indiana Hoosier Qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year after placing sixth at Big Tens ... moved up to the 157-lbs. weight class and posted a 19-10 record overall, 5-3 in the Big Ten ... finished the regular season ranked 15th nationally, ranking as high as ninth earlier in the year ... compiled five pins, a tech fall and two major decisions throughout the season ... tallied four wins over nationally-ranked opponents on the year ... earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Week laurels after beginning his season with a 5-0 weekend and individual title at the Michigan State Open ... defeated #8 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg) in the second overtime en route to his MSU Open crown ... followed that up by going 5-2 at the Las Vegas Open for a seventh place finish that included wins over #17 Matt Dragon of Penn and #13 Jason Johnstone from Ohio State ... also topped Northwestern's Jason Welch twice, once when he was unranked early in the season and again during the dual match when Welch was slotted #14 in the national rankings ... picked up a win at NCAAs, eliminating Jess Dong of Virginia Tech from the competition with a 10-2 major decision. 10:40 Steve Kinser- Proud Dad of Kurt- Kinser was a high school wrestler and kung fu expert. He finished second in state as a junior, and won state as a senior. Both of his sons wrestled in high school, the youngest Kurt also won state as a senior, capping off the Bloomington High School South team's excellent season. In 2008, Kurt was a redshirt sophomore at Indiana University, competing at the 149 and 157-pound weight classes. Steve Kinser had high expectations entering the 2009 season as he does every year, in search of another championship to add to his record 20 World of Outlaws titles. He began the season by recording Top-10 finishes in 14 of the first 15 races and took the series point lead for the first time since 2005 following a win in his home state of Indiana at Tri-State Speedway. He would hold the top spot for a couple of weeks as he entrenched himself as one of the drivers to beat each and every night. Though some bad luck befell him throughout the year, Kinser turned in yet another consistent season that saw him pick up 49 Top-10 finishes, with 32 of those being Top-Fives to finish the year fourth in the World of Outlaws championship standings. It marked the 26th time in his illustrious career that he has finished fourth or better in points. He was also a state champion Please note that Episode 36 of TDR TV is now up on all the top web sites around the country and is available for your viewing. TDR every week! It's appointment Radio and TV! Join us at Takedownradio.com. America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show airs on Supertalk 1570 in Michigan, AM 1460 KXNO in Iowa and on a radio station near you or on line at many of our broadcast partners around the world including Livesportsvideo.com. TDR "the Radio Program" airs 9 AM to 11 AM CST every Saturday morning we look forward to having you listen. Thanks and Happy Holiday's!

It seems hard to believe that people could be surprised to discover that Jahwon Akui is pretty good at wrestling. After all, he is the No. 9-ranked 160-pounder in the country by InterMat. He was a Cadet Nationals double champion in 2008 and a FILA Cadet Nationals double champion in 2009. But St. Rita, a parochial school on the south side of Chicago, is a football school, and Akui, its football star. Jahwon Akui was named Outstanding Wrestler at the 2009 Reno World of Wrestling ChampionshipsA diminutive but powerfully built running back at 5'5", the junior ran for 1,493 yards and 25 touchdowns with no fumbles on 196 carries despite missing five games with a high ankle sprain this season. He led the Mustangs -- a top-ranked team coming into the season -- to an 11-3 record and a Prep Bowl title on his way to winning the game's MVP award. "We're a football school," says Mike Murphy, Akui's teammate, "and people are surprised to hear that he's a really good wrestler!" Conversely, many wrestling people might be surprised to learn that Akui, an accomplished wrestler on both the state and national levels, excels first on the football field before he takes his show of explosive power and quickness to the mat. For all his natural, physical athletic ability, however, St. Rita wrestling coach Dan Manzella feels that Akui's inner strength is the key to success. "His willingness to compete," Manzella says of Akui's best attribute. "He just has no fear of any of his opponents. He wants to wrestle all the top competitors. I think it's partly because of his competitive nature, and also because he knows he can win." Perhaps it's that kind of attitude that has Akui charging toward a future on the gridiron in college like it was an orange pylon, despite some concerns about his lack of size. "I haven't made a final decision, but I hope I play football," Akui says. "[I'll play] whatever sport gives me the best opportunity to succeed. But if I had to pick one, I'd say football." Though shorter players like Maurice Jones-Drew and Reggie Bush have excelled in college and pro football, the general consensus amongst recruiting experts is that Akui would be a good fit at either a Division I school with an offense like Purdue's or Missouri's, or at a smaller FBS school. As a junior, Jahwon Akui ran for 1,493 yards and 25 touchdowns despite missing five games"A lot has to happen for him," Illinois football recruiting guru "Edgy Tim" O'Halloran says. "I don't think he has the size to be an every-down back. I think he'd be a good fit for someone; I just think he'll be more of a system type of back." Akui claims that he loves both sports equally, but he has no doubt about which is the more arduous activity. "Wrestling is easily more demanding," Akui said. "It takes 24 hours of work, every day of the week. You can't really relax ... it's a continuous strive to [improve]. You can get by in football with born athleticism, but wrestling takes a lot of determination and work, you have to be mentally tough." Akui got his start in wrestling with the Maywood Gladiators Wrestling Club when he was six. It wasn't until he was 11 and began winning matches on a national level that he truly fell for the sport. He chose to attend an athletic powerhouse in St. Rita's where two of the most legendary programs are the wrestling (state titles in 2003 and 04) and football teams (state title in 06). Notable wrestling alumni currently making their mark on Division I include Oklahoma State's Albert White (12th at 149, according to InterMat) and Iowa State's Jerome Ward (12th at 184). "It's pretty awe-inspiring," Akui says of wrestling for the Mustangs. "You walk past the wrestling room and you see Albert White's singlet, Jerome [Ward's] ... those are some pretty big shoes to fill. I appreciate it every time I get to put the blue St. Rita singlet on." As a sophomore last season, Akui was top-ranked entering the state tournament, but finished third with a 37-3 record. He rolled through the regular season despite St. Rita's always-difficult schedule, but suffered a heartbreaking 9-8 OT loss in the 160-pound state semifinals to Michigan State-bound Nick Proctor of Neuqua Valley (ranked No. 8 by InterMat at 171) -- an opponent he had beaten earlier that season. He still has two years left to bring home another state title to the South Side, but it's an experience that he knows he's learned from. Jahwon Akui hasn't made a final decision as to whether he will wrestle or play football in college, but says that he hopes play football"I've just got to stay hungry," Akui says. "Things happen sometimes and don't go your way, [but] you just got to keep wrestling. I think the toughest test was going from the semifinal match to the third place match, knowing that I couldn't get first place." It's that kind of maturity and perspective that led Coach Manzella to approach Akui with an unusual request last season. Manzella felt the Mustangs lacked bold, vocal leadership from his seniors. So midway through the year, he took the 15-year-old sophomore aside, and asked if he felt up the challenge of being a captain. "[Jahwon] stepped up and ran the wrestling room," Coach Manzella said. "He's a real fun-loving guy, but when he walks into the room, he gets right down to business. He's an unbelievable leader, and the heart and soul of this team." Akui enters the 2009-2010 season a bit hobbled after missing five football games with a reported high ankle sprain, but nearly 100 percent again. Currently the No. 2-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds in Illinois by Illinoismatmen.com, he says he plans on wrestling at 171 for now, but could easily drop down to 160 again if he wants to. But if Akui stays at 171, it will set a couple interesting Catholic League clashes with 2009 Walsh Ironman champ Charles Argue of Mt. Carmel.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The Purdue wrestling team got into the holiday spirit last week, helping out in the West Lafayette community over three days. They rang the Salvation Army bells and sang Christmas carols outside Walmart last Wednesday, went to the Jubilee Christmas at Faith Presbyterian Church on Saturday and volunteered at Harrison High School’s wrestling tournament on Sunday. “I think it’s important that we do our part in the community,” said Boilermaker third-year head coach Scott Hinkel. “The holiday season is a great opportunity for our whole team to get out there and give a little back, getting out of their comfort zones and helping out those in need.” On Wednesday, the Boilermakers battled freezing temperatures outside of the West Lafayette Walmart, encouraging everyone passing by to give a little bit. The Purdue wrestlers rewarded those who did give with renditions of a variety of Christmas carols. The squad followed with a trip to Faith Presbyterian Church, attending their annual Christmas Jubilee on Saturday. The team spent the day with local families in need, wrapping presents, sharing stories and doing their best to spread some of the holiday spirit. Sunday returned the team a little closer to their element, heading over to Harrison High School to help out with an all day wrestling tournament. They officiated matches and worked tables throughout the day, working in waves to help out. The Boilermakers have their next competition on Sunday, Dec. 20, hosting four teams for the Purdue Duals. Purdue is scheduled to compete in four dual matches, starting at 10 a.m., in Holloway Gymnasium in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Needing a victory in the final match, Cal Poly 149-pounder Eric Maldonado earned a technical fall as the Mustangs beat Cal State Bakersfield 22-18 in a Pacific-10 Conference dual wrestling meet Wednesday night at the Icardo Center. The Mustangs, who at 3-0 have already equalled their dual meet win total of a year ago, received victories from Maldonado, Chase Pami, Ryan DesRoches and the Novachkov brothers, Boris and Filip. Cal Poly sent four nationally ranked wrestlers into the dual meet while the Roadrunners had a pair. None of the six met each other and all six were winners. Pami, Cal Poly’s lone returning NCAA All-American, opened the dual meet with a 15-4 major decision against Andrew Balch at 157 pounds. Pami, ranked Nos. 4, 5 and 6 by various publications, improved to 11-2 on the year. DesRoches continued his mastery pinning opponents, earning a fall in 7 minutes, 13 seconds, over Troy Goodban at 174 pounds. DesRoches, ranked for the first time this season at No. 25 by D1CollegeWrestling.net this week, scored a reversal for a 21-7 lead 15 seconds into the final period and pinned Goodban shortly thereafter for his 13th fall of the season. He is 16-4 on the year. Cal State Bakersfield won the next four matches to take an 18-10 lead. The victories included a 9-4 decision by No. 15-16-18 Riley Orozco over Mustang Ryan Smith at 197 and a 3-1 decision by Nos. 9-10 Mitch Monteiro against Jim Powers at 285. Cal Poly rallied with wins in the final three bouts for the dual meet victory, avenging last year’s 24-10 loss to the Roadrunners in Mott Gym. Sophomore Boris Novachkov, ranked Nos. 7-8-9 this week, blanked Justin Durham with a 9-0 major decision at 133, scoring three takedowns, one escape, one penalty point and riding time. Novachkov is now 12-0 on the year. His brother, Filip Novachkov, followed with a 7-5 win over Elijah Nacita at 141, improving to 12-2. Novachkov, ranked Nos. 3, 4 and 8, led all the way with three takedowns and an escape as Cal Poly closed the gap to 18-17. Finally, Maldonado wrapped up the Mustang dual meet victory with his 22-7 technical fall against Calvin Miller at 149. Maldonado, now 3-2 this season, led 2-1 after the first period and 7-2 after the second period before posting six takedowns and a two-point near fall in the final period to win going away. Cal State Bakersfield had won five of the last six meetings between the two schools after the Mustangs earned three straight wins from 2001-03. The Roadrunners still lead the all-time series 25-15-2 against Cal Poly. The Mustangs, ranked as high as No. 16 this week, beat Cal State Fullerton 26-13 on Nov. 14 and upset then-No. 10-ranked Missouri 22-15 on Nov. 20. Cal State Bakersfield, which fell 31-9 to No. 4 Minnesota in November, is now 0-2 on the year. Both teams will compete in the 15th Annual Reno Tournament of Champions on Sunday at the Reno Downtown Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. Results: 125 – Frank Lomas (CSUB) fall Micah Ferguson (CP), 5:00 133 – No. 9 Boris Novachkov (CSUB) maj. dec. Justin Durham (CSUB), 9-0 141 – No. 8 Filip Novachkov (CP) dec. Elijah Nacita (CSUB), 7-5 149 – Eric Maldonado (CP) tech. fall over Calvin Miller (CSUB) 22-7 157 – No. 6 Chase Pami maj. dec. Andrew Balch (CSUB), 15-4 165 – Joey Granata (CSUB) dec. Travis Rasmussen (CP), 10-3 174 – Ryan DesRoches (CP) fall Troy Goodban (CSUB), 5:13 184 – Mike Larson (CSUB) dec. Tyler Holt (CP), 9-5 197 – Riley Orozco (CSUB) dec. Ryan Smith (CP), 9-4 285 – No. 10 Mitch Monteiro (CSUB) dec. Jim Powers (CP), 3-1 Note: Dual meet started with 157-pound match.

Park Ridge, Ill. -- University of Minnesota wrestling heavyweight Ben Berhow was named Big Ten Wrester of the Week on Dec. 15, after posting a 2-0 mark last week. The honor is the first of his career for the junior, and he is the first Golden Gopher of the season named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. A native of Hayward, Minn., Berhow's week began when Minnesota hosted Nebraska on Dec. 10. With Minnesota trailing 3-6 early in the match, the 11th ranked Berhow came up against seventh ranked Tucker Lane. In his previous two matches Berhow faced two wrestlers also ranked in the top-10, dropping narrow decisions in each. Berhow and Lane also matched up earlier in the season, with Lane earning a 3-1 overtime win. This time, Lane again took charge early, and held a 6-5 lead in the third period. A third period takedown by Berhow gave him a 7-6 lead as time began to wind down. Before the end of the third period, Lane was able to gain one last point on an escape, and regulation ended with the score tied 7-7. In the first overtime period, Berhow scored a takedown to end the match and earn the 9-7 win. The win also tied the match at 6-6, and the Gophers would not trail again on their way to the 28-14 victory. Three nights later, on Dec. 13, Berhow capped the Gophers dominating 41-3 win with a pin in the final match. The third-period fall was his second of the season, and his first in dual meet action. Berhow is now 7-3 on the season and 2-2 in duals. Berhow and the Gophers are currently ranked No. 6 in the country and are 3-1 in dual meets. They next compete at the Southern Scuffle on Dec. 29 and 30, hosted by the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Their first dual is against the current No. 2 team in the nation, Iowa State, and is in the Sports Pavilion on Jan. 3 at 2:00 p.m.

Jake Herbert

Trennis Henderson

Charlie Falck

Barry Davis

NEW CONCORD, Ohio -- The Waynesburg University wrestling team won every contested match and received three forfeits as they rolled over Muskingum by the score of 46-6 on Tuesday night. Freshman 125-pounder Alex Crown got the night started right with a pin in 37 seconds over Shawn Feistamel. The Jackets received forfeits at 133 and 141 pounds, extending their advantage to 18-0. At 149, the Jackets kept the big wins coming as sophomore Jesse Byerly rolled to a 20-3 technical fall victory over Kenny Poland. Sophomore Garrett Johnston followed with a 10-0 major decision win over Ralph Geesey, making it 27-0 Yellow Jackets. Sophomore Alex Evanoff picked up a 17-5 major decision at 165 over Adam Harris, and the Jackets added a forfeit at 174 to extend their lead to 37-0. Junior Corbin Semple won by 7-0 decision over Jacob Getto to take a 40-0 lead. The Muskies picked up a forfeit at 197 for their only win of the night, but senior Melvin Warrick got the six points back by pinning Kenny Weber in 5:38. With the win, the Yellow Jackets got their dual match record back to .500 (3-3), while Muskingum fell to 0-3. Though things went fairly easily for Waynesburg in Ohio, they’ll face a much stiffer challenge on Friday, when they host The Apprentice School, which is a powerhouse from the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA).

Wildcats seek to remain King(s) of the Mountain Central Mountain, PA seeks to defend its championship from last year in its home tournament, the King of the Mountain. However, they will have to withstand a challenge from arguably the best team in New Jersey -- High Point. Other notable teams in the field include Council Rock South, PA; Kiski Prep, PA; defending Reno ToC champions Phillipsburg, NJ; Massillon Perry, OH; and Reynolds, PA. Nine wrestlers that appear in the national rankings anchor this field. Most notably is the group of either three or four nationally ranked competitors at 152 pounds -- including the top wrestler in this weight nationally in Dylan Alton (Central Mountain, PA). Also projected to compete here is a pair of wrestlers ranked sixth and seventh respectively at 152 pounds -- John Guzzo (High Point, NJ) and Jason Luster (Kiski Prep, PA). It is also possible that Eric Hess (Benton, PA) -- ranked 12th in this weight -- competes in this weight class, though he could end up at 160 pounds. A pair of nationally-ranked wrestlers are also slated to compete at 285 pounds, where No. 3 Evan Craig (Abington Heights, PA) and No. 9 Tyler Demott (Benton, PA) project to meet in a battle of the preseason favorites in each Pennsylvania classification at the weight. Mike Rhone (Benton, PA) is ranked in the nation at 119 pounds; however, his weight class will be an absolute battle with the presence of state champion Nick Francavilla (High Point, NJ) and Mason Beckman (Reynolds, PA), who won the toughest weight class of the Walsh Ironman last week. Two other wrestlers ranked first in the nation are slated to compete in this event -- Josh Dziewa (Council Rock South, PA) is ranked at 135, though he may also end up at 140; and Andrew Alton (Central Mountain, PA) at 145. The fields at both 135 and 140 are formidable. A trio of state placers is projected for the 135 pound weight class -- Jordan Rich (Central Mountain, PA); Drew Wagenhoffer (High Point, NJ); and Zach Dailey (Massillon Perry, OH). At 140 pounds, a pair of Ironman placers anchors the challenge group in Evan Henderson (Kiski Prep, PA) and Shane Foster (Massillon Perry, OH); Oliver Burkhardt (Phillipsburg, NJ) was a state placer last year; Brian Brill (Central Mountain, PA) was a Cadet freestyle runner-up; and Lorenzo Thomas (Pittsburgh Central Catholic, PA) is a returning state qualifier. The tournament's other nationally-ranked wrestler is Mitchell Port (Bellefonte, PA), who is eighth nationally at 125 pounds. Last year in this event, he ended the 100-match winning streak of Shane Young with a 6-2 victory in the championship match at 119 pounds. Among the wrestlers seeking to block Port's title defense are state qualifiers Matt Rappo (Council Rock South, PA); Dylan Durso (Reynolds, PA); and Cameron Throckmorton (South-Western, PA). Clovis depth crystal clear Even with Clovis, CA having seven wrestlers competing at the Ironman -- where they were able to muster an 11th place finish -- the rest of the squad dominated all comers at the Clovis West Shootout on the way to an overall championship. The six victories were 38-25 over Laguna Hills, 51-9 over Bella Vista, 66-6 over Ventura, 39-18 over Vacaville, 76-3 over Gilroy, and 67-10 over El Dorado. Second place among "home" teams was Bakersfield. Vacaville and Laguna Hills were the top two on the "away" side. Outstanding wrestler honors went to Moses Quesada (Clovis East, CA) at 140 pounds -- home team light weights; Brian Schoene (Bakersfield, CA) at 285 -- home team upper weights; Bobby Morales (Laguna Hills, CA) at 135 -- away team light weights; and Jake Briggs (Bella Vista, CA) at 140/145 -- away team upper weights. CW Shootout All-Tournament Team (Photo/Ian Shaw)Wrestlers were named to the all-tournament team on the basis of being undefeated and having the most wins in the weight class for which they weighed in. Bakersfield led the way with Ian Nickell (103), Micah Cruz (119), Jeff Lanier (125), Natrelle Demison (130), and Schoene earning all-tournament honors. Vacaville, CA was the only other team with multiple wrestlers on the all-tournament squad, as Tyler Johnson (145) and Adam Delagarza (189) were selected. Rounding out the roster were Shane Tucker (Bella Vista, CA) at 112; Morales; Quesada; Johnny Pedraza (Hanford West, CA) at 152; Nikko Reyes (Clovis West, CA) at 160; Martin Fabbian (Buchanan, CA) at 171; and Devin Barbo (Clovis, CA) at 215 pounds. Dvorak Memorial to feature premier talent from Illinois, nation The premier regular season event for wrestling in the Land of Lincoln will be contested on the Monday and Tuesday before Christmas at Machesney Park Harlem High School outside of Rockford, IL. The field has a pair of state champions and runners-up from last year -- Oak Park River Forest, IL and Montini Catholic, IL won titles; while Yorkville, IL and Iowa City West, IA took home second place. The field also includes perennial powers such as Mt Carmel, IL; Providence Catholic, IL; Neuqua Valley, IL; and Bishop Lynch, TX. While the Friars of Bishop Lynch are favored, Montini Catholic is the defending champion. Fourteen wrestlers currently ranked by InterMat anchor the field, with three slated to compete at 160 pounds; which, like last year, will be the featured weight bracket of the event. Nick Moore (Iowa City West, IA) -- ranked second in the country - seeks to repeat as Dvorak champion in a weight that his teammate Derek St.. John, now at Iowa, won last year. The two prime challengers will be Nick Proctor (Neuqua Valley, IL) and Jahwon Akui (St.. Rita, IL); Proctor is ranked eighth at 171, and Akui ranked ninth in this weight. Three other wrestlers will lead the charge seeking to derail the big three -- Trey Adamson (Bishop Lynch, TX); Sam Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, IL); and Jeff Koepke (Hersey, IL). While there is only one ranked wrestler at 189 pounds -- 16th ranked Stephen McPeek (Bishop Lynch, TX) -- the competition will be very rigorous. Challengers of note include Cadet freestyle champion Austin Mardsen (Crystal Lake Central, IL); two-time Super 32 placer Ben Brooks (Oak Park River Forest, IL); and a pair of state placers in Sterling Hecox (Machesney Park Harlem, IL) and Matthew Dwyer (Hononegah, IL). A pair of ranked wrestlers appears in weight classes 130 through 140. At 130 pounds, it is Edwin Cooper (Providence Catholic, IL) and Colton Rasche (Montini Catholic, IL); Cooper ranked 10th at 125, while Rasche is ranked 13th in this weight. Another wrestler to watch in this weight is Case Garrison (Bishop Lynch, TX), who placed fifth at the Walsh Ironman. At 135 pounds, Chris Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) and Jed Lightfoot (Yorkville, IL) are ranked; Dardanes 13th at this weight, and Lightfoot 17th at 130 pounds. Two others to watch are Tyler Argue (Mount Carmel, IL) and Troy Silver (Bishop Lynch, TX), who placed fifth and sixth at the Walsh Ironman. Finally at 140 pounds, Nick Dardanes (Oak Park River Forest, IL) is ranked second in the country while Stephen Robertson (Montini Catholic, IL) is ranked 17th at 135 pounds. Rounding out the list of nationally-ranked wrestlers in this field are Kevon Powell (Montini Catholic, IL) at 103 pounds; Derek Elmore (Machesney Park Harlem, IL) at 112 pounds; Eddie Klimara (Providence Catholic, IL) at 119 pounds; and Tanner Eitel (Bishop Lynch, TX) at 171 pounds. However, in the 171 pound weight class, Walsh Ironman champion Charles Argue (Mount Carmel, IL) pinned Eitel in preliminary competition on Friday evening. Diverse field to converge at KCI Center The Toshiba Midwest Classic in Kansas City, MO will play host to teams from ten different states. Park Hill, MO seeks to defend its title and enters the event as a strong favorite with four nationally-ranked wrestlers -- Skylar Wood (119), though ranked at 112; Alan Waters (125); Kaleb Friedley (145), though ranked at 140; and John Eblen (189). In addition, both Bricker Dixon (112) and Hayden Bock (215) were state runners-up last year; and Dixon was a double Junior National All-American this past summer. Top challengers to Park Hill include Skutt Catholic, NE; Collins Hill, GA; and Blue Springs, MO -- the three teams that were within 15 points of the championship last year. Two weight classes have a pair of ranked wrestlers present. First, Waters is ranked sixth at 125 pounds, with TJ Mitchell (Collins Hill, GA) ranked 17th. Then at 145 pounds, Friedley and Greg Amos (Holt, MO) project to meet in a match that could preview the state championship bout; Friedley ranked eighth at 140, while Amos is ranked 11th in this weight class. However, in the 125 pound weight class Cody Brewer (Oak Park, MO) is a very tough challenger, already with two state titles in this his junior campaign. Other nationally-ranked wrestlers in this field are Brad Perkins (Oak Park, MO) at 103 pounds; Thomas Gilman (Skutt Catholic, NE) at 112 pounds; Daniel Baucke (Christian Brothers, TN) at 130 pounds; Joel Smith (Collins Hill, GA) at 140 pounds; and Drake Houdashelt (Fort Zumwalt West, MO) at 150 pounds. Gilman is looking at a key projected final with Dixon, while state champion Bazell Partridge (Collins Hill, GA) hopes to spoil this at 112 pounds. Baucke's prime competition includes a pair of state champions in Ian Fisher (Perry, OK) and Michael Roberts (Canyon Randall, TX) -- as well as freshman sensation Jake Marlin (Creston, IA). State champion Devin Aguirre (Ponca City, OK) is the prime challenger to Smith at 140 pounds, though Jake Gregerson (Granite City, IL) and Josh Howk (Blue Springs, MO) do have state finals experience. Merry Christmas, Minnesota style Rochester, MN will be home to the vast majority of the top scholastic wrestling teams from the Gopher State this Friday and Saturday for the Minnesota Christmas Tournament. Five of the six teams inside the top three in Class 3A and 2A, the two bigger classifications, are in this tournament; Apple Valley, Hastings, STMA, Simley, and Plainview-Elgin-Millville. In total nine of the top 12 in Class 3A and five of the top seven in 2A appear in the field, as do two of the top teams in North Dakota -- Bismarck and West Fargo. Ten nationally-ranked wrestlers by InterMat, and a total of 17 wrestlers ranked first in their state division anchor the field. The tournament's premier weight class should be the one at 160 pounds, where Joe Latham (Bismarck, ND) -- ranked 15th in the nation -- is the favorite. Also ranked first in their state division in this weight class are Blaine Miller (Plainview-Elgin-Millville, MN) and Jordan Campa (STMA, MN); Steven Keogh (Apple Valley, MN) is ranked second to Campa and in the field as well. Four other weight brackets have a pair of top ranked wrestlers in their state division. At 119 pounds, it is Dakota Trom (Apple Valley, MN) and Drew Fleming (Watertown-Mayer, MN). In the 130 pound weight class, it is Ben Morgan (Forest Lake, MN) and/or Matt Kelliher (Apple Valley, MN), as well as Garrett Garness (Kasson-Mantorville, MN). Kevin Nelson (Forest Lake, MN) and Joe Schumacher (Bismarck, ND) appear at 135 pounds. Finally at 189 pounds, it is Tyler Lehmann (West Fargo, ND) and Kraig Schumm (STMA, MN). Other than Latham, nationally-ranked wrestlers by InterMat include Morgan (ranked at 130); Kelliher (ranked at 135); Brandon Kingsley (Apple Valley, MN) at 140 pounds; Dylan Ness (Bloomington Kennedy, MN) at 145 pounds; Destin McCauley (Apple Valley, MN) at 152 pounds; Jake Waste (Apple Valley, MN) at 171 pounds, but ranked nationally at 160; and Scott Schiller (West Fargo, ND) at 215 pounds. No anchor team, but many strong individuals at Reno ToC In the past Reno was an absolute buzzsaw of a tournament with power teams and dominant individuals at every single turn. However, at present the tournament is on a slight down-turn. The field this year has no team that is the definitive favorite; in fact, last year's top three teams in the standings are all not in the field this year. Should Tulsa Union, OK be back in order from their football tournament run, the Hurricanes may be pre-tournament favorites. However, there are 13 individuals ranked by InterMat in the tournament field with a pair of weight classes having three each. At 135 pounds, Louis Trujillo (Rio Rancho, NM) is ranked fourth in the country; with Kade Moss (Bingham, UT) ranked eighth; and Luke Goettl (Mingus, AZ) ranked 14th. Former Reno ToC runner-up Joey Rizzolino (Easton, PA) is also projected to be in this weight class. At 152 pounds, Steven Hernandez (Bishop Gorman, NV); Justin DeAngelis (Jenks, OK); and Travis Gallegos (Foothill PC, CA) are also all top 100 members of the Class of 2010 as well. A pair of ranked wrestlers is present at 189 pounds with Austin Morehead (Sutter Union, CA) ranked 17th in this weight, and Adam Delagarza (Vacaville, CA) ranked 14th at 171 pounds. Other challengers include state placer JT Felix (Centennial, CA) and Tanner Hall (Meridian, ID); Hall is a state champion and Cadet National Greco-Roman champion. Rounding out the nationally-ranked wrestlers are Jesse Delgado (Gilroy, CA) -- ranked fifth at 119 pounds -- but projected to compete at 125; Mark Hartenstine (Easton, PA) ranked 12th at 140 pounds; Jake Snider (Ponderosa, CO) ranked ninth at 145; Dominic Kastl (Gilroy, CA) ranked 16th at 160; and Ronnie Balfour (Tulsa Union, OK) ranked 12th at 160 but projected to compete at 171 pounds. Notable challengers to Delgado in a deep 125 pound weight class are Shane Thomas (Catoosa, OK); Chris Martinez (Clovis West, CA); Bryan Grubbs (La Costa Canyon, CA); Tommy Siciliano (Newburg, OR); and Fabian Garcia (Turlock, CA). Hartenstine is looking at a likely battle with the much ballyhooed Ben Morgan (Catoosa, OK) -- a senior who has not materialized in high school as expected. Snider is looking at a challenger group mostnotably led by Nick Wooden (Spring Creek, NV). Tulsa Union dominant but not champs at home tournament Despite four champions -- Josh Walker (112), Kyle Ash (145), Kyle Crutchmer (152), and Ronnie Balfour (171) -- Tulsa Union, OK was not able to muster the team title at their home event. Winning the Mid-American Nationals was Claremore with 201 points, who were led by their lone champion Jordan Basks (135). Key to the 201-188 point margin victory was the fact Claremore had ten total placers, while Tulsa Union only had three wrestlers place in the top eight other than their champions. The distance between second and fourth was similar to that between first and second, while fourth to fifth had a more than 50 point chasm. Finishing third was Allen, TX with 185 points and five top three finishers anchored by a title from freshman Oliver Pierce (140). Finishing fourth was Tuttle, OK led by their lone champion Shane Woods (215). Both Allen and Tuttle had eight total placers. MVP honors went to Balfour with three technical falls heading into the final and then a pin over Cole Gracey of Tuttle, OK in a battle of returning state runners-up. Other wrestlers earning Mid-American Nationals titles were Jett Shell (103) and Rhett Leach (119) from Sallisaw, OK; Cory (160) and Cody (285) Dauphin from El Reno, OK; Zach Housley (125) from Grove, OK; Taylor Moeder (130) from St. James Academy, KS; and Max Adair (189) from Lawton MacArthur, OK. Dueling Paths The top two teams in the state of Indiana competed at the Traicoff Invitational this past weekend. In the final round of Saturday's event at Calument High School, Mishawaka dominated the defending state champions Crown Point to the tune of a 43-17 victory. The two returning state runners-up for the Cavemen -- Ryan Stahl (152) and Christian Lentz (215) -- each secured pins; while the two anchor wrestlers for Crown Point, Jason Tsirtsis (130) and Eric Roach (145) were only able to secure a 3-1 decision and technical fall victory respectively. Replay allows for re-examined perspective For those that followed the Cover-it-Live blog of the Walsh Ironman this past weekend on InterMat, the 119-pound semifinal between Hunter Stieber (Monroeville, OH) and Ty Mitch (Aurora, OH) had an ending that was incredibly controversial and confusing. The video replay is shot from opposite of where the media was positioned. In my opinion, instead of the call being absolutely awful; we just have a controversial match ending. Through the wonders of Flowrestling, you can decide for yourself. The circle of life This past weekend was the Alaska State Wrestling Tournaments. In Division 4A, Colony used five state finalists to score 220.5 points on the way to a state title. Winning championships were Kenny Boykin (171) and Eric Fan (215) while Charles Coisman (119), Sam Loggions (130), and Renn Wright (285) finished in second place. Other teams with multiple champions were Anchorage East with a quartet of champions in Nathan Marquez (103), Matthew Malnoske (125), Skyler Moore (130), and Nathan Hoffer (140); Lathrup had a pair -- Dillon Achman (112) and Joe Hughes (119); while the host squad - Chugiak -- got titles from Ben (135) and Grant (145) Sullivan. Dillingham earned the title in 1/2/3A with six wrestlers making the finals to score 192 points. Champions were Jared Miller (112), Jesse Rogers (119), Reed Tennyson (145), and Quentin Blackford (215); finishing as runners-up were Dennis Wilson (119) and Jerry Hulshing (171). Bethel, Cordova, and Kotzeblue each also had a pair of champions. While Alaska ended its scholastic wrestling season last weekend, New Jersey is just starting its season this weekend. It happens that the top two teams in the state will open their seasons in bordering states -- High Point at King of the Mountain in Pennsylvania, and Long Branch at Beast of the East in Delaware.

Seeking to expand recruiting options for student-athletes, Ouachita Baptist University’s Board of Trustees has voted to add two new NCAA Division II athletic teams – men’s wresting and women’s golf. The additional programs will bring the total number of athletic teams at Ouachita to 16. “We are most pleased to announce that we will begin men’s wrestling and women’s golf next fall,” said Ouachita President Rex M. Horne, Jr. “The golf is in response to stated interest from present and potential students. Wrestling meets a need and growing interest. “We will be the first university in Arkansas to offer collegiate wrestling,” Dr Horne added. “In fact, there is only one university in Texas that offers the same at a time when high school wrestling is growing dramatically here in Arkansas. This is another way Ouachita is a recognized leader.” This marks the first time that Ouachita has expanded its athletic options since 2000 when the university joined the Gulf South Conference and added men’s soccer and women’s softball. The Ouachita women’s golf team will compete in the Gulf South Conference, bringing to 10 the total number of GSC schools with women’s golf. Men’s wrestling will compete independently against collegiate teams in Oklahoma, Missouri and other surrounding states. “To be the first institution in the state to have collegiate wrestling will give us a stronghold on it,” noted Ouachita Athletic Director David Sharp. “For high school wrestlers in the state who want to compete on the collegiate level, we will give them that opportunity. “From a women’s golf standpoint, I’ve had a lot of inquiries the past few years about adding women’s golf,” Sharp said. “I think there’s really an interest there.” The new programs “give more opportunities to some student-athletes who want to continue their competition in intercollegiate sports,” Sharp added.”I think we will attract quality students who will add to and enhance a group of student-athletes that we already deem as exceptional.” Greg Hatcher, president of the Arkansas Wrestling Association, has announced the non-profit association will provide wrestling mats, uniforms and other assistance to help Ouachita’s wrestling program get under way. The association also has donated wrestling mats to more than 40 Arkansas high schools to help launch their wrestling programs. Emphasizing that “wrestling creates leaders,” Hatcher said the opportunity for wrestlers to “go one-on-one with no one to bail you out” helps build confidence and discipline as well as “great self-defense skills.” He also cited wrestling’s fitness benefits for student-athletes. Hatcher is founder and owner of the Hatcher Agency, the largest health insurance agency in Arkansas. A graduate of Alma College in Alma, Mich., he lettered in wresting, soccer and baseball while in college. He is a member of the Alma College Sports Hall of Fame and recently was named the school’s Distinguished Alumnus. He also is the author of “55 Steps to Outrageous Service.” Ouachita Baptist University, a private Christian liberal arts university in Arkadelphia, Ark., has been ranked the No. 1 Baccalaureate College in the South for three years in a row by U.S. News & World Report. With an enrollment of almost 1,500 students from more than 30 states and 50 nations, Ouachita seeks to foster a love of God and a love of learning in a vibrant, Christ-centered learning community.

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt freshman wrestler Anthony Zanetta has been named the Eastern Wrestling League’s wrestler of the week for his efforts against Rutgers and No. 14-ranked Penn State. Zanetta (Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks) posted a 7-4 decision over Joseph Langel of Rutgers at 125, before defeating No. 7-ranked Brad Pataky of Penn State, 15-9. The true freshman improves to 5-0 on the dual match season, and has earned his first ranking of the season, moving into the top 20. In the win over Pataky, Zanetta jumped out to an 8-3 lead after the first period and earned three points for the Panthers as they earned a 19-19 tie against in-state rival Penn State. Pitt is off until the end of the month when they make their trek to Evanston, Ill. to compete at the Midlands Championships. Action at the two-day event starts on Dec. 29.

Senior Craig Brester has been awarded for his outstanding performance as he was named Big 12 Wrestler of the Week on Monday by the league office for matches Dec. 7-Dec. 13. Brester is 13-0 this season and used a pair of impressive victories last week to solidify the second Big 12 weekly award of his career. The Howells, Neb., native pinned Minnesota’s Joe Nord (1:10) Thursday night in Minneapolis before defeating his fourth ranked opponent in the past two weeks with an 8-2 decision over No. 9 Tyler Sorenson of South Dakota State on Saturday. Brester leads the Huskers in victories (13) and pins (6), winning six of his last nine matches by fall, including four pins in under 2 minutes. The 2009 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational champion, Brester also has one technical fall and one major decision to total eight bonus-point victories this season. Currently ranked No. 2 in the nation at 197 pounds, Brester is a two-time All-American and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 2009 Big 12 Championships. His previous Big 12 Wrestler of the Week honor came on Feb. 18, 2008 following back-to-back wins over No. 12 T.J. Morrison (Rider) and No. 10 Joe Rovelli (Hofstra). Brester and the Huskers return home this week for a double-dual against No. 6 Central Michigan and Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday at the NU Coliseum. Action begins at 10 a.m., between the Chippewas and Lopers, followed by Nebraska duals vs. Central Michigan and Nebraska-Kearney with 10-minute breaks between each match.

Last week’s show was cancelled due to severe weather conditions in Iowa. Scheduled guests from last week, Wil Kelly and Bill Tate, Jr. will both be radio show guests on the program this Wednesday along with author Jamie Moffatt. "On the Mat" is a presentation of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum and can be heard live on the Internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:05 - 6:00 PM Central time on AM 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show. Author Jamie Moffatt recently released a new book titled, "Strobel: Stories From A Life With Wrestling." This book documents the coaching career of former Lehigh University head wrestling coach Greg Strobel. Moffatt also wrote "Wrestlers at the Trials," a terrific book covering the Olympic trials from 1960 through 1988. Kelly is in his first season coaching the Cedar Falls Tigers. Kelly was a three-time high school state champion for Dubuque Wahlert and also won an NCAA Division III title at 141 pounds as a Wartburg Knight in 2003. Kelly is also heavily involved with youth wrestling and runs his own wrestling training center called USA Mat Club. Bill Tate, Jr. was part of the legendary Waterloo Boys Club in the 1970s, one of the top kids clubs at the time that produced many state and national champions. Tate was a high school state champion for Waterloo Columbus in 1983 at 155 pounds. He wrestled at Iowa State University where he won a Big Eight title and helped the Cyclones win the NCAA team championship in 1987. Tate also served as the head wrestling coach at Waterloo Columbus for several years and had many outstanding teams.

Joe Baranik

Linda Shields

Cung Le

Corvallis, Ore. -- The Oregon State wrestling team signed Taylor Meeks (Orting, Wash.) to its 2010-11 class, announced Monday by head coach Jim Zalesky. Meeks is projected to wrestle at 184/197 pounds. “Taylor fits into our coaching philosophy,” Zalesky said. “He is very aggressive and puts a lot of points on the scoreboard.” A two-time Washington state champion, Meeks is also a three-time district and league champion for Orting High School. As a freshman, he finished third. Currently he boasts a 118-5 overall record, including 80-1 over the last two years. He placed third at the NHSCA Junior Nationals, falling in a close 4-3 decision to No. 1 Tyler Beckwith of New York and defeating No. 3 Tyler Lehman of Minnesota. Meeks is ranked fourth in the country by WIN Magazine at 189 pounds. He is a former Cadet All-American, finishing fourth at the Cadet Nationals in Freestyle. He finished fourth in 2007 in Fargo and first at the Rocky Mountain Rumble and Tri-State. And he was fifth at the Western Regionals in 2008.