InterMat Staff

KENT, Ohio -- The M.A.C. Center is KSU's house, and Pittsburgh was quickly made aware of this fact. The 24th-ranked Kent State Golden Flashes improved to 9-4 this season by declawing the 3-6 Pittsburgh Panthers 27-3. After the match, Kent State head coach Jim Andrassy talked being aggressive against the Panthers. "It was a very strange match as far as what their fans and coaches were complaining about. I thought our guys kept their composure... I thought Pittsburgh did not do much and our guys came out, attacked and put pressure on them. Just because you do a lot in the third period with 30 seconds left doesn't mean our guys are stalling. Our guys are working their butts off for 6:30 and they are trying to keep their lead. You cannot wrestle for 30 seconds and try to get stalling calls." Last year's slugfest between these two teams featured three overtime matches. It looked as the 2009 version might feature more of the same. At 125, sophomore Nic Bedelyon and Chris Albright needed extra time after solving nothing after seven minutes. Bedelyon would waste no time, grabbing the quick takedown in the extra session for the 7-5 win. A crucial penalty point for Danny Mitcheff proved the difference at 133. Both tallied escapes from the defensive position in the second and third periods, but a locking hands penalty on Jimmy Conroy of Pitt in the third was the difference as Mitcheff won 2-1. KSU led 6-0. Pitt looked to eighth-ranked Tyler Nauman to stop the bleeding at 141, but 11th-ranked fifth-year senior Drew Lashway would have none of it. Both grapplers were in a stalemate after the first period. In the second, Nauman chose defense and quickly jumped out with an escape. It would be his first and only lead. Lashaway took the lead with a takedown, but Nauman knotted the score with his second escape. Lashaway countered with his second takedown to take the lead for good, but Nauman escaped before the horn to cut the deficit to 4-3 after two. In the third, Lashaway chose neutral and built a commanding 6-3 lead with his third takedown and held on for the 6-4 upset win. Redshirt junior Jeremy Depoy dropped a 5-2 decision to Mark Powell at 149, but redshirt freshman Ross Tice quickly took any momentum away from the Panthers at 157. After a scoreless first period, Phil Sorrentino chose down and recorded the only points with an escape. In the meantime, the two did not have a clean start and Sorrentino was hit with a caution. In the third, Tice took the lead before any time passed in the period. Sorrentino was hit with three more cautions and Tice quickly took a 2-1 lead. Tice made the escape and won 4-1 when Sorrentino was penalized for misconduct. Losing close matches all season, redshirt junior Obie Simpson had a perfect opportunity for a marquee win as he battled 18th-ranked Ethan Headlee. Headlee looked as if he had Simpson's number as he got the early takedown, but Simpson quickly turned the tables with a reverse and two back points. The lead ballooned to three when Headlee was hit for misconduct. In the second, Headlee chose down and cut the deficit to two with an escape. In the final stanza, Simpson started down and broke the hold for an escape, but not before Headlee secured the riding point. Essentially up 6-4, Simpson was hit for stalling twice but held on for the 6-5 triumph. Redshirt sophomore Chris Estep used a different approach to defeat A.J. Brentzle at 174: the riding time. After a scoreless opening three minutes, Brentzle chose down and could never grab the escape as Estep rode him the entire period. In the third, Estep held the riding point with a quick escape and secured the win with a takedown. Golden Flashes held a commanding 18-3 lead after seven matches. With tight matches in the first two matches in front of the hometown crowd against Clarion and Northern Illinois, redshirt freshman Dustin Kilgore wanted to leave nothing in doubt at 184. Kilgore recorded the takedown in the early seconds in the match and took a 5-1 lead in the second with another takedown and a stalling point. Looking for the major, Kilgore went to work in the third. Starting down, Kilgore jumped out to a 7-1 lead when he reversed Pitt's Zac Thomusseit. Thomusseit earned the escape, but Kilgore quickly countered with another takedown. With the riding point secure, Kilgore looked as if he would record the major decision. However, Tomusseit escaped with seconds left and final shots by Kilgore were unsuccessful in a 10-3 win. Fifth-year senior Eric Chine immortalized himself in Kent State athletic history with the 100th win at 197. Chine began the match with a takedown, but escapes in the first and second by the Panther's Matthew Wilps knotted the score at two. However, Chine recorded the takedown to go up 4-2 after two. In the third, Chine chose defense and the lead ballooned to three with the escape. Chine all but secured the match with his third takedown, but Wilps quickly escaped and recorded his own two-pointer. However, it was two little to late as Chine held on for the 7-5 win. "No one recruited him out of high school," coach Andrassy said of Chine after the match. "He was a guy I saw at high school nationals, brought him in, and he has done a good job for us. I am really happy for him and I am happy for his family. He has done a good job for us." Chine joins fifth-year senior teammate Jermail Porter as the two Kent State wrestlers to record win number 100 this season. Ranked third in the country, Porter looked to make a little history of his own as he took on sixth-ranked Zach Sheaffer. After another scoreless first period, Porter chose down and got the escape to go up 1-0 after two. Tempers would flare in the third, but Porter would hold his ground. Sheaffer started down and tied the match with his escape, and both wrestlers would fight to a draw most of the period. Porter took a shot with about 25 ticks remaining and got the lead for good with the takedown and three quick back points. Sheaffer would break the hold and proceeded to slap at Porter's head. With 12 seconds to go, referee Joe Chesbrough added insult to injury for Sheaffer by whistling two misconduct penalty points on him and both wrestlers had to be restrained. Order was quickly restored and the final seconds ticked away on Porter's 8-2 win. With the win, Porter is now tied for third in 110 career wins with Steve Reedy (1977-81) and Mike Tolar (99-2004). The Golden Flashes continue their quest for a Mid-American Conference championship next Saturday (Feb. 7) when they travel to Alumni Arena to take on the Buffalo Bulls at 7 p.m.

Philadelphia, PA -- Five Hofstra wrestlers went 2-0 as the Pride split two matches in Philadelphia Saturday afternoon, losing to Penn, 18-16, before downing CAA-rival Drexel, 30-10 in the nightcap. Hofstra improved to 8-4 on the season and 5-1 in the CAA. In the first match of the day in the Palestra at Penn, the Quakers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead behind a win by fall by senior Cesar Grajales in 6:50 over Pride sophomore Jeff Rotella (4-7). But Hofstra came back and captured the next four matches to take a 13-6 lead in the contest. At 157 Pride junior Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (17-6) rolled to a 15-6 major decision over sophomore Gabriel Burak. Sophomore Ryan Patrovich (14-5) gave the Pride a 7-6 lead with a 7-4 decision over senior Andrew Coles at 165. Hofstra's 10th-ranked senior Alton Lucas (18-4) won his eighth straight match with a hard-fought, 6-4 decision over sophomore Scott Giffin at 174 pounds. Pride freshman Ben Clymer (17-7) won his fourth consecutive match with a 4-3 decision over senior Colin Hitschler on a takedown in the final seconds. But the Quakers, trailing by seven, did not roll over and would capture the next three match-ups to regain the lead, 15-13. At 197, Penn junior Thomas Shovlin posted a 12-6 decision over Pride senior Anthony Tortora (14-13) while senior Trey McLean wore down Hofstra freshman Jordan Enck (14-14), 10-5 at 285 pounds. Then, Penn's 12th-ranked junior Rollie Peterkin gave the Quakers the lead with a 4-2 win over Hofstra newcomer Steve Bonanno (23-10) at 125 pounds. Hofstra regained the lead, 16-15, at 133 pounds when ninth-ranked Lou Ruggirello (20-3) posted a 4-0 decision over sophomore Bryan Ortenzio on a first period takedown and a third period reversal setting up the deciding match at 141 pounds. In the finale, freshman Mark Rappo jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one period on the way to an 8-2 victory over Pride red-shirt freshman Justin Accordino (15-10) and the match. In the second match of the day, just several blocks down the street from Penn, the Pride captured seven of the 10 matches, including a victory by fall by Accordino and tech fall wins by Ruggirello, Bonilla-Bowman and Patrovich to take a 30-10 CAA victory over the Drexel Dragons. The Pride improved to 5-1 in the CAA and 8-4 overall. Hofstra captured the first three matches of the contest to take a 15-0 lead. At 125 pounds, Steve Bonanno (24-9) recorded a 12-3 major decision over sophomore Michael Gomez. Lou Ruggirello (21-3) remained undefeated in the CAA with a tech fall decision over Drexel freshman Frank Cimato. Red-shirt freshman Justin Accordino recorded his seventh fall victory of the season, pinning freshman Matt Dugan in 2:30. Accordino improved to 16-10 on the year. Drexel captured the next match at 149 pounds as Dragon freshman Robert Robinson downed Jeff Rotella (4-8), 9-5. Rotella was filling in for starter P.J. Gillespie, who is out with a shoulder injury. Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (18-6) started another run of four consecutive wins with a 25-9 tech fall victory over senior Billy Haydt at 157 pounds. Ryan Patrovich boosted the Pride lead to 24-3 in the contest with a tech fall victory over junior Scott Hunter at 165 pounds. It was Patrovich's third tech fall of the season as he improved to 15-5. Alton Lucas (19-4) posted a 10-4 decision over sophomore Dave Woodall at 174 pounds while freshman Ben Clymer captured his second match of the day with a 3-1 decision over sophomore Justin Wieller to boost the Hofstra lead to 30-3. The Dragons captured the final two matches of the day as 12th-ranked senior Jon Oplinger recorded a 16-8 major decision over Pride senior Anthony Tortora (14-14) at 197 pounds and sophomore Kyle Frey downed freshman Jordan Enck (14-15) at 285 pounds. The Pride return to action on Sunday, February 8 at 5 p.m. when they host the third-ranked Big Red of Cornell at the David S. Mack Sports Complex. Nick Gallo, who captured the Pride's only national championship in 1977 at 126 pounds, will have his singlet retired and raised to the rafters during halftime ceremonies.

TEMPE -- On the strength of three wins by fall and seven victories overall, the Arizona State University wrestling team snapped a three-dual losing skid on Saturday night as the Sun Devils handed visiting Cal Poly a 36-10 defeat in Pac-10 action inside Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The victory squared the Sun Devils' record at 5-5 on the year with a 3-1 mark in the Pac-10 while the Mustangs fell to 3-10 overall and 0-5 in the league. Opening at 157 pounds, the visitors took an early 3-0 lead as No. 14 Chase Pami won a 6-2 decision over ASU's Te Edwards. The Sun Devils tied the dual at three one match later when Kyle DeBerry scored a 6-1 decision over Joel Shaw. ASU took the lead for good at 174 when Eric Starks won by forfeit, claiming for the first of the team's four, six-point victories. Jake Meredith followed at 184 points as he used two takedowns and four, three-point near falls to score a 16-0 technical fall over Ben Crosby just 4:50 into the match. Jake Cranford followed that up with a victory by fall at 1:50 of the 197 match as he took Bo Lukehart to his back and stuck him for the 20-3 lead. The Mustangs won the heavyweight bout for three more points as Kelan Bragg scored a 3-2 decision over Imanibom Etukeren. David Prado, in only his second collegiate dual for the Sun Devils, picked up an impressive victory as he scored on two takedowns and was working for near fall points before he stuck Andy Nowak at 4:48 for the pin and his first collegiate win. The Mustangs won at 133 with Jake Tanenbaum taking an 11-2 major decision over Angel Alegre, bringing the team score to 26-10. But, the Sun Devils closed out the dual in strong fashion, starting at 141 where No. 6 Chris Drouin piled up takedowns and near fall points to win a 13-3 major over Andy Wagner. The final match of the night saw another exciting finish for Vicente Varela. Although the 149-pound freshman didn't need overtime, he did bring the crowd to its feet for the second time in as many duals as grabbed Eric Maldanado, swung him to his back and tightened his hold before pinning the Mustang in 2:32 to close out the win for the Sun Devils. A pair of tough road conference duals await the Sun Devils next weekend as they face Stanford and Oregon State in their final road duals of the season. First up, the Sun Devils and Cardinal of Stanford meet in Palo Alto, Calif., at 7 p.m. PT on Friday night before ASU travels to Corvallis, Ore., to face the Beavers of Oregon State at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team stormed back from a 10-point halftime deficit to force a 17-17 tie against 19th-ranked Northwestern on Friday evening (Jan. 31) in front of 549 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines claimed wins in four of the five individual bouts after the intermission and picked up a pair of major decisions to complete the comeback. With his team down by three points entering the final match, junior/sophomore heavyweight Eddie Phillips (Woodland, Mich./Lakewood HS) used the first round of tiebreakers to upend Ben Kuhar 3-2 and even the team score. After a scoreless first period, Phillips put himself in control with a switch and immediate reversal in the middle frame. Kuhar earned an escape and picked up another early in the third, holding Phillips' riding-time advantage below a minute to force overtime. After a scoreless sudden-victory frame and a U-M escape midway through the first 30-second tiebreaker, Phillips rode out the entirety of the second tiebreaker to seal up the decision and his third straight win. Sophomore/freshman Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) and fifth-year senior Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) earned major decisions at 165 and 197 pounds, respectively, to neutralize the Wildcats' bonus wins. Zeerip dictated the pace against Kyle Bertin -- younger brother of former Wolverine standout Ryan Bertin -- in the former bout and locked up a cradle off a NU shot midway through the second period to gain the only advantage he needed. The Wolverine rookie blew the match open, however, midway through the third, driving Bertin to his back during a flurry on the mat and picking up an additional five points late to claim a 9-1 major decision after riding time. Todd, ranked sixth in the latest NWCA/InterMat poll, appeared poised to stall out his second opponent in as many matches but had to settle for a 16-5 major decision over John Schoen at 197 pounds. The Wolverine captain scored five takedowns, converting on a spin around and an ankle pick before finishing three single legs in the final period. Schoen, meanwhile, was hit with four stalling calls in the match's first six minutes but avoided the fifth as Todd took him down twice in the final minute of regulation. With the win, Todd improved his record to 11-1 on the season with eight bonus victories. Michigan's other fifth-year senior captain -- top-ranked Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) -- perfected his record to 17-0 on the season with an 11-5 decision over Robert Kellogg at 174 pounds. Luke secured three double-leg takedowns in the opening period and added a single leg along the edge in the second to control the bout from start to finish. Sophomore Kellen Russell (High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) claimed the Wolverines' lone victory at the lower weights, taking a 4-2 decision against 16th-ranked Keith Sulzer in the marquee match at 141 pounds. Russell, ranked fifth, scored the bout's only offensive points, initiating a flurry midway through the opening period before countering on a Sulzer half shot to come around for the points. The Wolverine wrestler rode out the remainder of the period and picked up a second-period escape -- sacrificing his time advantage -- to pad his lead to three points. Sulzer earned a reversal out of an early scramble in the third period, but Russell escaped quickly and held on to claim his 11th straight win. The Wolverines will wrap up their weekend homestand tomorrow (Sunday, Feb. 1) with a 2 p.m. meeting against No. 19 Indiana at Cliff Keen Arena. Volunteer coach Andy Hrovat will host a free pre-meet clinic, slated to begin at 11:30 a.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The fifth-ranked Ohio State wrestling team started its 2009 Big Ten dual action with a tightly contested 18-16 victory over No. 19 (tied) Indiana Friday night in St. John Arena. A crowd of 1,473 watched the Buckeyes and the Hoosiers battle through four lead changes before Colt Sponseller scored an 8-3 decision for Ohio State in the final bout. The Scarlet and Gray received decisions from Sponseller (165), Lance Palmer (149), J Jaggers (141), Dave Rella (174) and a pin from Mike Pucillo (184). The Buckeyes move to 10-1 and 1-0 in the Big Ten Conference while the Hoosiers drop to 13-3-1 (0-1-1 Big Ten). In addition, the Buckeyes recognized more than 40 alumni at halftime of the meet and Luke Fickell, Ohio State football co-defensive coordinator, served as the honorary captain. Fickell was a three-time Ohio high school state champion while wrestling at Columbus' DeSales High School. Starting the meet was the 174-pound division, Rella decided No. 15 Trevor Perry, 6-4. After a scoreless first period, the Buckeye jumped ahead in the second period, scoring an escape and a take down to move the score to 3-1 heading into the final stanza. In a tightly contested third period, Perry posted a late takedown and Rella an escape to make it tied at 4-all with 13 seconds left. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Rella recorded a pivotal takedown to win, 6-4. Second-ranked Pucillo pinned Hoosier Eric Cameron in 2:41 to put the Buckeyes up, 9-0, after two weight divisions. With the pin, the Cuyahoga, Ohio, native remains perfect on the season and owns a 9-0 record. At 197, Ohio State freshman Cody Gardner fell behind in the first period, 4-1, to Indiana's Matt Powless and was unable to battle back, dropping a major decision, 11-4. After three weight classes, Ohio State held a 9-3 lead. The heavyweights were up next. Representing the Buckeyes was No. 17-ranked Corey Morrison taking on Hoosier Nate Everhart. The match was close with Indiana's Everhart up by only one after the first. Everhart opened the second period with a reversal to move the score to 3-0 before Morrison scored an escape to take it to 3-1 after two. Despite tying it at 3-all in the final period, Morrison dropped to Everhart, 4-3, in the last 40 seconds. Indiana pulled within three points of Ohio State with the decision, 9-6. Wrestling at 125, Ohio State's Nikko Triggas fell to No. 6 Angel Escobedo, 7-1. The grapplers were scoreless after the first and Indiana's Escobedo was only up 2-0 after the second but in the third, Escobedo scored two takedowns and an escape for the win and tie the conference dual at 9-all heading into the break. The second half was started with Buckeye Pat Harrington going up against Hoosier Matt Ortega at 133 pounds. Ortega, 20-6 on the season, scored a 12-4 major decision over the freshman from Sandusky, Ohio, to give Indiana a 13-9 lead after six rounds. With Ohio State trailing for the first time in the evening, Jaggers, ranked 12th in the nation, posted three takedowns and a reversal to earn a 9-6 decision over IU's Andrae Hernandez at 141. With the victory, Jaggers pulled the Buckeyes to within one of the Hoosiers with the score standing at 13-12 Indiana. With two takedowns and a reversal, No. 4 Palmer battled Nick Walpole to an 8-2 decision at 149, giving Ohio State its second lead of the evening. The Buckeyes held a 15-13 advantage heading into the second to last round. At 157, the Scarlet and Gray's Sean Nemec fell to No. 12 Kurt Kinser. The match was scoreless after the first before Nemec, a Lakewood, Ohio, native, opened the second period with a takedown, holding a slight, 2-1, lead. However, a Kinser takedown with a minute left in the third would prove enough to take the match, 4-2, and regain the lead for Indiana, 16-15, with one round remaining. The final bout of the day, and the deciding match, pitted Ohio State's second-ranked Sponseller vs. Paul Young. Sponseller, a sophomore for the Buckeyes, moved to 22-3 on the season after downing Young, 8-3, and securing the Ohio State 18-16 win.

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Talk about going for a ride. The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team defeated Bucknell 40-3 on Friday, and in the process compiled just under 17 minutes of riding time in nine contested bouts. "We spent a little bit more time on top than usual because we wanted to get that fall," said UI junior 197-pounder Chad Beatty, who rode Rob Waltko for 3 minutes, 12 seconds. "It helped that we were going to our scoring attacks to the legs quicker and we didn't spend a lot of time tying up. We went straight to our shots." Iowa improved to 18-0 and the Bison slipped to 8-8. Two Bucknell competitors -- David Marble at 133 and Andy Rendos at 165 -- entered Friday's match with top 20 individual rankings. Here is the riding time breakdown for the victorious Hawkeyes: Charlie Falck (2:10), Daniel Dennis (2:13), Alex Tsirtsis (1:06 with a fall in 1:22), Brent Metcalf (2:22 with a fall in 4:20), Matt Ballweg (2:11), Ryan Morningstar (0:06), Phillip Keddy (3:26) and Beatty. "If we go straight to our shots, we're going to spend more time on top," Beatty explained. "Riding and trying to get the fall. Especially tonight we were definitely trying to get the pins." Tsirtsis (141) and Metcalf (149) were successful getting falls in back-to-back bouts. Ballweg (157) and Keddy (184) won by shut out. Of the nine individual matches, Bucknell scored offensive points in only one -- Shane Riccio's 7-2 decision over Colby Covington at 165. Beatty improved to 10-3 on the season with his second consecutive victory. With a national ranking anywhere from 13th to 19th, Beatty is beginning to enter more matches as the favorite. "I don't know if you're ever favored," he said after posting a 26-11 match termination. "On paper, maybe, but what does that mean? That's just like rankings -- they don't really mean anything. I prepare for every match the same, it doesn't matter if you're favored or not favored. You still have to be up for the match, it doesn't matter who you're wrestling. You still have to go out and score points and be offensive and wrestle your match." The Hawkeyes -- winners of 32 consecutive dual matches -- are back in action Friday, Feb. 6, at Michigan State.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A pair of pins from Michigan State redshirt freshmen Ian Hinton (Nappanee, Ind.) and David Cheza (Grand Blanc, Mich.) helped the MSU wrestling team defeat 17th-ranked Wisconsin, 25-17, on Friday night (Jan. 30) in its first home Big Ten meet of the season. Cheza pinned Wisconsin's Greg Burke in the last bout of the night clinch the win for the Spartans. The win gives the Spartans (6-4, 1-2 Big Ten) their first Big Ten victory of the season, and sets the Badgers at 6-6, with an 0-3 Big Ten mark. "I'm very proud of our team," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "I thought we wrestled hard in all 10 weight classes, and it kind of validates what we've been working on. It's nice to see us come out with a victory." MSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after 157-pound sophomore Anthony Jones Jr. (Highland Park, Mich.) earned a 7-3 decision over Ben Jordan. Wisconsin tied the match at three after 10th-ranked Andrew Howe beat MSU senior Rex Kendle (Edwardsburg, Mich.), 6-4. In a thriller of a bout at 174, Hinton recorded a takedown with no time left on the clock to force overtime. With 13 seconds left in the extra session, Hinton pinned then Wisconsin's Travis Rutt to give MSU six crucial points and a 9-3 lead. MSU junior Nick Palmieri (Highland Heights, Ohio) then extended the lead to 12-3 with a 6-2 decision over Eric Bugenhagen at 184. The Badgers won the next two bouts to tie it up at 12 going into halftime. Third-ranked 197-pounder Dallas Herbst pinned MSU's Tyler Dickenson (Pewamo, Mich.) in 2:12 to cut the lead to 12-9, and ninth-ranked heavyweight Kyle Massey earned a 5-2 decision over Spartan junior Alan O'Donnell (Lakewood, Mich.) to draw the teams even. MSU 125-pound redshirt freshman Eric Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.) helped the Spartans regain the lead with a 7-0 decision over Drew Hammen. Sixth-ranked 133-pounder Franklin Gomez then recorded a major decision over Tom Kelliher, 11-3, to give MSU a 19-12 lead. Zach Tanelli, Wisconsin's top-ranked wrestler at 141 pounds, earned a 21-5 technical fall win over redshirt freshman Collin Dozier (Virginia Beach, Va.) to cut the lead to 19-17. Cheza then pinned Burke in 6:22 to seal the MSU victory. "David Cheza is a redshirt freshman," Minkel said. "He has the whole dual riding on his shoulders, a lot of pressure for a young guy, and he stepped up." The Spartans return to Jenison Field House next Friday, Feb. 6, to take on defending national champion Iowa at 7 p.m.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- No. 7 Illinois won its 11th-straight match over Purdue, topping the No. 25 Boilermakers, 29-11, at Holloway Gymnasium Friday. The Illini won seven of the first eight bouts of the night and eight matches total, with B.J. Futrell, No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy, Ryan Prater, No. 2 Mike Poeta and No. 12 Jordan Blanton all scoring major decisions. "This is something we needed," Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. "We needed a team performance like we had tonight to get a win by this kind of margin. We we wrestled well at the start, in the middle and at the end and it showed on the scoreboard." The match started at 125, where B.J. Futrell blocked a shot by Akif Eren off the starting whistle, got a double-leg and put Eren on his back for the takedown. After a restart, Eren got free Futrell shot off a second restart and got a double-leg for a 4-1 lead. Futrell turned Eren for a two-point near-fall with just under a minute left in the first period and Futrell rode him out for the 6-1 lead with 2:04 of riding time after three minutes. Eren started down in the second and, after another restart, Futrell let Eren up to make the score 6-2. Eren was charged with his second stalling call, giving Futrell a point, and Futrell powered through on a double-leg for a 9-2 lead after the second period. The wrestlers started neutral in the third and Eren got a single-leg that he secured for the takedown. He let Futrell up to make the score 10-4 and Futrell quickly shot for and got another takedown with one minute left in the match. Futrell let him up off a restart and, after not additional scoring, got the riding time point for a 13-5 major decision. No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy controlled Carson Beebe for an early takedown and rolled him into a cradle for a two-point near-fall and a quick 4-0 lead. Beebe escaped with a minute left in the first, but Kennedy got a single-leg and controlled the second leg for a takedown and a 6-1 lead after a period. Kennedy started dowon in the second and quickly escaped. Beebe shot with 1:30 left in the period, but Kennedy fought it off and scored the takedown at the edge of the mat. Kennedy worked a strong body scissors looking for a turn, but Beebe avoided the back points and Kennedy led 9-1 after five minutes. Beebe started down in the third and Kennedy let him up and got a throw-by takedown before letting Beebe up. Kennedy quickly got a leg and finished the takedown for a 13-3 lead. Kennedy let him up and got another throw-by takedown, and Beebe was given a stalling warning before Kennedy let him up. Kennedy got another takedown and Beebe was hit with another stalling warning, but time ran out before Kennedy could secure another takedown, giving him a 19-5 major decision after adding the riding time point. At 141, Ryan Prater shot early and got a leg, but Purdue's Matt Hemry fought him off long enough to get a stalemate after the wrestlers went off the mat. After another near-takedown at the edge, Hemry put Prater on his back once again right on the edge but didn't control him, allowing Prater to scramble out and get the takedown for a 2-0 lead. Prater got a quick two-point near-fall off the restart and looked for another tilt before the first period ended. He wasn't able to get it and led 4-0 after three minutes. Hemry started down in the second and Prater turned him for two more back points. Prater continued to work over Hemry and got another two-point near-fall for an 8-0 lead and 2:47 of riding time after two periods. The wrestlers started neutral in the third and Hemry got a leg, but Prater fought him off and got the takedown. Prater got another turn for three back points third time and Hemry was hit with stalling, keeping Prater from the final near fall and holding him to a 13-0 major decision. Next up, No. 7 Jake Patacsil got a quick takedown on the Illini's Eric Terrazas at 149 and started to work for a turn. Terrazas was hit with a stalling warning with 1:20 left in the first and Patacsil got a turn for a three-point near-fall and a 5-0 lead. Patacsil got Terrazas on his back three more times before the end of the period for a 14-0 lead after a period. Patacsil started on top in the second and got the decisive turn and three-point near-fall for the 17-0 technical fall at 3:36. At 157, No. 2 Mike Poeta got a takedown 25 seconds into the match against Colton Salazar, but the Boilermaker escaped in 16 seconds. Poeta got a leg near the edge and Salazar tried to get out, but Poeta controlled the second leg for the takedown and a 4-1 lead. Poeta was finally able to turn Salazar for the three-point near-fall just before the end of the period for a 7-1 margin. Poeta started down in the second and quickly sat out for the escape. Without any further scoring in the period, Poeta led 8-1 after five minutes. Salazar started down in the third and Poeta looked for the quick turn before letting him up. Salazar shot and got an ankle, but Poeta scrambled around on him to avoid the takedown and work into a potentially dangerous hold position that was broken. Poeta got a takedown with 40 seconds left plus a two-point near-fall for a 12-2 lead. He let Salazar up and looked for a takedown, but the Boiler held him off and Poeta got the 13-2 major decision after the riding time point was added, putting Illinois ahead 16-5 at the intermission. No. 18 Roger Smith-Bergsrud got in on a leg against No. 11 Luke Manuel, but Manuel slithered out of it to avoid any scoring. Smith-Bergsrud shot near the end of the first period and Manuel sidestepped it but was called for stalling and the period ended scoreless. Manuel started down in the second and escaped in 17 seconds and after a scoreless rest of the period, Smith-Bergsrud started down in the third. The Illini escaped with 30 seconds left, Manuel was hit with a stalling point, giving Smith-Bergsrud a 2-1 lead, and Smith-Bergsrud got both ankles near the edge of the mat before securing the takedown as time expired for the 4-2 upset victory. At 174, John Dego secured a takedown just over a minute into the match against Nick Corpe and rode him for exactly one minute before Corpe escaped. After a blood timeout, Dergo countered a shot by Corpe, grabbed a leg and tripped him for the takedown and a 4-1 lead with 1:17 of riding time after the first period. Dergo started down in the second and quickly escaped. Off a restart, Corpe got a double-leg takedown, but Dergo quickly escaped. Near the edge of the mat, Corpe got a throw-by takedown to make it 6-5 in Dergo's favor and the Illini got out quickly once again. Dergo got an ankle and controlled the second one for a takedown on the edge of the mat, then worked for the turn, but couldn't get it and took a 9-5 lead into the third. After a neutral start to the third, Corpe shot and Dergo fended it off, then turned the corner and got behind him for the takedown. Dergo let him up, looking for a takedown to get a major decision, and got both ankles before the horn, but Corpe got into a waistlock to keep the final to a 12-6 win for Dergo. No. 12 Jordan Blanton got a high crotch into a single-leg against No. 14 A.J. Kissel and spun him around for the takedown. Blanton worked to turn the Boiler, but Kissel fended it off before nearly getting a reversal to end the first period with Blanton up 2-0. The pair started neutral in the second and, off a restart, Blanton got a single-leg that he worked into a takedown before Kissel escaped to make the score 4-1, which is how the second period ended. Blanton started down in the third and was charged with a talling warning before Blanton got a reversal. Kissel escaped and Blanton scored a takedown after a sloppy shot by Kissel. The Boiler escaped, but Blanton got another single-leg and took him over for another takedown. Blanton rode him out and added the riding-time point for an 11-3 major decision, sealing the team victory by giving the Illini a 26-5 lead. After a last-minute scratch to Patrick Bond, junior Jake Norman stepped on the mat against No. 13 Logan Brown. Brown got a single-leg with 35 seconds left in the first period and tripped Norman for the takedown, then got the Illini on his back for a fall in 2:35. In the final match, No. 10 John Wise and Chris Kasten battled through a scoreless first period and Wise started down in the second. Wise escaped in 34 seconds and the pair went scoreless the rest of the period as Wise led 1-0 after five minutes. Kasten started down in the third and escaped to tie the bout at 1, but Wise got a leg with 50 seconds left and worked it into a takedown with 34 seconds left and rode him out for the 3-1 win and the 29-11 team victory. The Fighting Illini return to Huff Hall on Friday, Feb. 6 for their third-straight televised dual on the Big Ten Network. Illinois will face No. 19 Northwestern at 7 p.m. and the BTN will televise the match on a tape delay at 9:30 p.m.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The 12th-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad hoped for a dominant performance on Friday evening versus North Carolina State after experiencing its first loss last week. Mission accomplished. The Sooners improved to 15-1 on the season with a 38-6 stomping of the Wolfpack in front of 1,540 Oklahoma fans on hand for the second annual "Beauty and the Beast" event. The wrestlers, competing alongside the OU women's gymnast team, scored victories in eight bouts to roll. The gymnastics team defeated Minnesota, 196.500-195.675. "I am really pleased with tonight's performance," head coach Jack Spates said. "I thought we were particularly strong in the third period tonight." Highlighting Friday's performances was No. 13 Kyle Terry earning his 20th-straight victory this season over No. 3 Darrion Caldwell at 149 pounds. With Terry leading 5-0 in the first period, Caldwell was forced into an injury default after injury time ran out. The loss marked Caldwell's first this season (28-1). Another upset for Oklahoma was unranked Seth Vernon scoring a win over No. 15 Joe Caramanica at 141 pounds. "That was a huge win for Seth," Spates said. "Just one of the many great performances tonight." Sophomore Joey Fio set the tone for Oklahoma at 125 pounds by pinning Greyson Mills (2:39) to put the Sooners up 6-0. It was then Sooner Brian Shelton falling at 133 pounds to Darrius Little to put the Wolfpack on the board. Shelton led 3-2 with 12 seconds remaining but gave up a takedown as time expired, losing 4-3. After upsets by Seth Vernon and Kyle Terry in the following bouts, Oklahoma led by a 15-3 margin. Chad Terry at 157 pounds extended the OU lead with a 9-5 decision over Kody Hamrah. Shane Vernon was the next Sooner to check in a dominating performance over NC State's Quinton Godley, winning the 165-pound battle by a 16-1 technical fall to put OU on top 23-3. The Wolfpack's Jake Burge then decisioned Oklahoma's Derek Peperas, 5-2, to post NC State's second win on the evening at 174 pounds. Peperas, a transfer from Old Dominion who became eligible this semester, competed in place of No. 7 Jeff James. Pat Flynn then recorded his eighth pin of the season against Mark Jahad at 184 pounds to give Oklahoma a commanding 29-6 lead. Six more points were put on the board for OU as NC State forfeited at 197 pounds, giving junior Eric Lapotsky the automatic victory. Redshirt sophomore Nathan Fernandez closed out the rout by posting a 10-4 decision over Bobby Isola. The Sooners will step back into conference action next Friday, Feb. 6, when they host No. 6 Missouri at the McCasland Field House in Norman. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., and is free to the public. "I like the way we have wrestled so far," Spates said. "We wrestled great at Iowa State and just came up a little short. If we wrestle the way we are capable then we will be fine. Our focus has to be wrestling hard and smart, and our guys are making great strides as the season progresses."

The 10th-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team (12-4, 2-0) got pivotal wins from Gordon Bierschenk and Tyler Safratowich to best No. 16 Penn State (7-7-2, 0-1-2) in a Big Ten wrestling dual at Rec Hall in State College, Pa. Friday night. With his team trailing by a 15-11 score with three matches remaining, Bierschenk pinned Penn State's J.R. Brown in the 197-pound match to give Minnesota a 17-15 lead that it would not relinquish. The pin was Bierschenk's third of the season and improved his record in Big Ten duals to 2-0. Leading by an 8-3 score midway through the third period, Bierschenk turned what would have been a decision win – which would have cut the Gophers' deficit in the dual to 15-14 – into a pin with less than one minute remaining in the match to earn six team points for a 17-15 lead in the dual. After a frustrating loss in his last match to Michigan State's Anthony Jones, Safratowich bounced back with a resounding 23-8 win by technical fall win in 6:33 over Shane Everett at 157 pounds. The 18th-ranked Safratowich now needs just three more victories to become the 35th wrestler in school history to amass 100 career wins. Joe Grygelko earned the first dual meet win of his career when he bested Penn State's Colby Pisani in the 149-pound bout. A pair of takedowns in the opening period and an escape in the second helped the redshirt freshman vault to a 5-2 lead. After Pisani's escape in the final stanza cut the deficit to 5-3, Grygelko secured the win with a late takedown. Riding time helped the Greenfield, Minn. native to the final 8-3 margin. Sophomore heavyweight Ben Berhow improved his season record to 18-6 with a 5-3 decision win over Stephan Tighe in the ninth match of the evening to spot Minnesota a 20-15 advantage. The win by Berhow proved valuable when PSU's No. 17 Brad Pataky gained a 14-7 major decision win over the Gophers' Zach Sanders in the final bout to close the final score to 20-19. Mike Thorn's 12-5 decision victory at 141 pounds over Frank Molinaro tied the dual meet score at three points per side. The win by the eighth-ranked Thorn came after the Gophers' No. 5 Jayson Ness suffered a 4-3 defeat at the hands of the Nittany Lions' 11th-ranked Jake Strayer in the opening bout of the meet at 133 pounds. The Gophers continue their first full weekend of Big Ten dual action on Sunday when they meet No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus. The dual between the Gophers and Buckeyes is scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. start and can be viewed live in the Gold Zone at gophersports.com.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The No. 22-ranked University of Northern Iowa wrestling team overpowered the Northern Illinois Huskies on Friday night in the West Gym and scored a 34-6 win on Military Appreciation Night. UNI won nine of the 10 dual matches to improve to 7-5 on the season. Northern Illinois fell to 4-6 on the year. The night began with the Panthers' Cruse Aarhus scoring a 4-1 victory over NIU's Izzy Montemayor. Aarhus trailed 1-0 entering the third period, but came away with an escape, takedown and riding time point in the final stanza. The Panthers' only real misstep of the evening occurred at 133 pounds where NIU's Tristen DeShazer pinned UNI's Steven Fitzgerald at the 1:29 mark of their match. DeShazer used a headlock to get the first-period fall. It proved to be the final win of the night for the Huskies. UNI bounced back at 141 pounds as Trent Washington avenged an earlier season loss to NIU's Pat McLemore, 4-2. Washington tallied 2:05 of riding time in the match and used a pivotal first-period reversal to earn the victory. McLemore had scored a 10-9 win over Washington at the Midlands Championships in December. The Panthers' Brett Robbins provided some thrills for the home crowd as he won his 149-pound match on a reversal with only seven seconds left in the match against Will McDermott. The match was scoreless entering the third period, until Robbins netted an escape. McDermott took a 2-1 lead with 15 seconds left in the match, but Robbins managed to score a reversal and add a riding time point for the 4-2 victory. UNI 157-pounder Tyson Reiner used an all-out third-period assault on NIU's Bryan Deutsch to tally a 14-6 major decision. Reiner entered the third period leading 4-3, but the Panther netted four takedowns in the final 1:09 of the match to earn a bonus point for the home squad. Returning All-American Moza Fay put the crowd on their feet with a second-period fall over NIU's Bran O'Connor. Fay led 4-0 after one period and then after a wild scramble caught O'Connor on his back midway through the second period for the pin. It was Fay's 20th win of the season and 34th career fall. At 174 pounds, the Panthers' Scott Hazen battled the Huskies' Derrick Yant. Hazen held command of the first two periods and led 4-1 after five minutes of action. But Yant refused to give in and took a 6-5 lead with only 44 seconds left in the match. Hazen was able to escape to tie the match at 6-6 and then won the match with a riding time point after accruing 1:24 of advantage time. UNI's Alex Dolly scored a pair of first period takedowns en route to a 6-4 victory over NIU's Brad Dieckhaus at 184 pounds. Dolly led 4-2 after one period and made it 6-3 with 1:15 left in the second. Dieckhaus rode out Dolly in the third period, but the sixth-year senior from Mishawaka, Ind., was able to hang on for the 6-4 triumph and improve to 5-3 on the year. Senior Andrew Anderson jumped all over NIU's Scott Penny in the first period and led 6-1 at the conclusion of three minutes. Anderson added to his lead in the second with a reversal with only 24 ticks left in the period. Penny netted a third-period escape, but Anderson was able to register the 8-2 victory. It was Anderson' 20th win of the season to against only six setbacks. Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley added to his team-high win total with a third-period fall over NIU's Zak Saevre at the 6:10 mark of the final match of the evening. Brantley led 10-2 at the time of his fall and was able to catch Saevre in a cradle on the far-side of the mat for the victory. The win moved Brantley's season mark to 23-6 overall. The Panthers will return to the mat on Fri., Feb. 6, in Ames, Iowa, when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The dual will begin at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second time this season, Augsburg College's Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn./Centennial HS) claimed a huge pin over a Wartburg College wrestler at 197 pounds, lifting the Auggies to a 21-16 triumph over the Eagles in a battle of the top two rated teams in NCAA Division III wrestling on Friday night before 1,168 fans at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall. Massey clinched the victory for the Auggies with a 1:16 pin of Wartburg's Dylan Wrage (FY, Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock HS) at 197 pounds, giving the Auggies an insurmountable lead in the dual. Massey, now 17-1 on the season with nine pins, is ranked No. 2 nationally at 197. Augsburg (9-2 in dual meets), the top-ranked team in Division III wrestling, completed a season sweep of the No. 2-ranked Knights (13-2 in dual meets). Augsburg topped Wartburg 21-20 in the finals of the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals on Jan. 11. In that dual, Massey also had a first-period pin in the penultimate bout of the dual. Augsburg is now 13-9 in the all-time series with Wartburg. Augsburg is now 236-21 against Divisions II and III teams since the 1989-90 season, losing just 16 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Against strictly Division III opponents, Augsburg is 241-23 since the 1979-80 season and 165-13 since the 1989-90 season. Augsburg's Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.), ranked No. 1 nationally at 133 pounds, remained unbeaten at 28-0 with his 25th bonus-point victory, a 1:43 pin of Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Matt Kelly (JR, Dubuque, Iowa/Hempstead HS). Lang recorded his 17th pin of the season; he also has three technical falls, four major decisions and a forfeit. At 125, No. 5-ranked Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) of Augsburg rallied to tie his match with No. 6-ranked Mark Kist (SO, Eagle Grove, Iowa) with exactly 1:00 of riding time. After a scoreless overtime, Flodeen gained a reversal and three-point near-fall in the second 30-second overtime period, then held on in the third overtime period to claim a 7-2 win. Augsburg's Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 1 at 149, took advantage of a reversal, two-point near-fall and 3:01 riding time to claim a 5-2 win over Wartburg's No. 2-ranked Jacob Naig (SR, Emmetsburg, Iowa). Holst is now 15-1 on the season. At 174, Augsburg's Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), ranked No. 7 nationally, scored a key takedown with 43 seconds left in the third period to claim a 4-2 win over Wartburg's Grant Jenkins (SR, Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware HS). Two Wartburg wrestlers extended long winning streaks with victories. Top-ranked Aaron Wernimont (SR, Pocahontas, Iowa) extended his winning streak to 71 straight matches with a 14-4, major-decision win over Augsburg's No. 5-ranked Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), the lone bonus-point win of the evening for the Knights. Wernimont is now 34-0 on the season. And at 184, top-ranked Romeo Djoumessi (SR, Waverly, Iowa/Waverly-Shell Rock HS) improved to 6-0 on the year with his 35th straight win, a 6-4 triumph over Brad Baus (FY, Mukwonago, Wis.). Also for the Knights, No. 2-ranked Zach McKray (SR, Iowa City, Iowa/City HS) scored a 5-3 win over Augsburg's No. 7-ranked Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West HS). Top-ranked Justin Hanson (SR, Dakota City, Iowa/Humboldt HS) at 165 improved to 29-1 with a 14-7 win over Brandon Bahr (FY, Bemidji, Minn.), and at heavyweight, Wartburg's No. 4-ranked John Helgerson (SO, West Union, Iowa/North Fayette HS) scored a 3-1 win over Augsburg's No. 7-ranked Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.). Augsburg has a dual meet at Division II Minnesota State Moorhead on Sunday (2/1) at 2 p.m. Wartburg faces No. 3-ranked Delaware Valley (Pa.) on Saturday (1/31) at 7:30 p.m. in Waverly, Iowa.

Event: UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 Venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena (Las Vegas, Nevada) Date: January 30, 2009 The UFC Monster will be in attendance with RevWrestling.com senior writer Andrew Hipps staff writer Jim Beezer, when the UFC opens it's new year with one of the best fight cards in recent memory. In what many expect to be an epic battle, BJ Penn will attempt to be the first UFC fighter to hold belts simultaneously in two different weight classes. He is also out to avenge a split decision loss to GSP three years ago. Both fighters have improved greatly since that contested affair. It will be a fight for the ages, as each has a genuine dislike for the other. Let's take a look at the card and try to put some money in our wallets. We destroyed the UFC betting line in UFC 93, going 9-1 against the spread, as posted right here on Rev. Let's do it again! In the featured fight, I like the posted +170 underdog odds on BJ PENN (13-4-1), right here at the Wynn Casino. Tho' I marvel at the growth of GSP (17-2)'s fight career, I believe BJ is unique as a fighter. Often looking "soft," he is able to contort his body into positions like no others. If his cardio can last, and if he can avoid the early onslaught of St. Pierre's strikes, kicks, and takedown attempts, BJ may find a frustrated GSP, ripe for the omaplata submission hold that ends this one. Take BJ PENN to shock the world, and send the UFC Monster to the winner's window again. In a very intriguing match-up of two undefeated (13-0) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighters, Lyota MACHIDA takes on a very dangerous Thiago SILVA. Two contrasting styles will pit the patient Machida against the overly aggressive striking power of Silva. Machida has wins over BJ Penn, Rich Franklin, and Tito Ortiz on his resume. He makes everyone look bad, as he uses his precise striking skills and karate angles to elude the attacks of his opponent. He likes his distance, while Silva is always in your face. Take MACHIDA -240 to survive this onslaught and beat his rival down, winning a unanimous decision over Silva. Stephan BONNAR (14-4) will forever be remembered for his epic toe-to-toe battle with Forrest Griffin. He has battled a severe knee injury that ended his last season. But, his experience and underrated jiu-jitsu skills will be enough to take care of undefeated Jon JONES (7-0), a former JUCO national wrestling champion. Jones will rely on his athleticism and powerful strikes, but I think he is a bit too green to handle the arsenal of weapons that Bonnar will bring to the octagon cage. Take BONNAR-170 to win by second-round armbar submission. Karo PARISYAN (26-5) has been knocking on the door of a title shot, but he always seems to lose just prior to the opportunity. Dong HYUN KIM (10-0-1) is a lanky striker known as the "Stun Gun." Parisyan will most likely uses his judo experience to throw Kim to the mat and mount him for a quick ending of ground-and-pound. Kim will need to avoid the takedown and stay standing, using jabs and accurate striking to win this battle. I don't see that happening. Take PARISYAN -250 to win by first-round TKO. Both Nate DIAZ (10-2) and Clay GUIDA (24-6) have brothers who are mixed martial arts fighters. In fact, I had to correct the large electronic Wynn sports book odds board, when they posted "Nick" Diaz as the fighter instead of his younger brother Nate! It is a good sign when the UFC Monster knows more about the fights than the bookmakers! Clay Guida is one of the most popular UFC fighters because he goes, and goes, and goes � always advancing his attacks, and backing away from no one. But Diaz got his jiu-jitsu black belt from the Gracies after almost a decade of study. His lanky body will again be used to wrap his long legs around Guida neck for a patient submission. Take DIAZ -120 to win by second-round triangle choke submission. On the undercard, Jon FITCH (21-3) will be fighting for the first time after his five round beating he took at the hands of GSP. He had won 15 straight before that. His opponent is the very experienced Japanese fighter, Akihiro GONO (28-13-7). How does a fighter get seven (7) draws? Gono has 14 wins by decision, seven by KO and seven by submission. Interesting. I see no value with laying heavy wood (-600) on a fighter who lost his last fight. For value only, take GONO +425 to win a split decision over the former Purdue wrestler. Thiago TAVARES (17-2) should be able to use his jiu-jitsuu skills to get the better of TUF fighter Manny Gamburyan (10-4). Take Tavares -125 to win by second-round rear-naked choke submission. Chris WILSON (13-4) should cruise over John HOWARD. Over 92% of UFC website readers think so, according to their fight poll. That's good enough for me. Take WILSON to win by second-round KO. An interesting match-up pits a strong wrestler, Jake O'BRIEN (10-2), against a kicker and striker in Christian Wellisch. In a textbook MMA fight of wrestler vs. striker, we usually find the wrestler controlling the body of his opponent and neutralizing the striker's game. Repeat here. Take O'BRIEN -220 to stick Wellisch. Unknowns Matt ARROYO (3-2) and Dan CRAMER (0-0) take to the octagon in a strange match of newcomers. Who knows what might happen here? Oddsmakers have made Arroyo a strong -190 favorite here. We will go with that. Take ARROYO -190 to win a decision over Cramer. In summary: Lay $100 to win $170 on BJ Penn. Lay $120 to win $ 50 on Lyoto "the Dragon" Machida. Lay $170 to win $100 on Stephan Bonnar. Lay $150 to win $ 60 on Karo Parisyan. Lay $132 to win $110 on Nate, not Nick, Diaz. Lay $ 20 to win $ 85 on a Gono upset of Finch. Lay $100 to win $ 80 on Thiago Tavares. Lay $ 60 to win $ 20 on Chris Wilson. Lay $ 88 to win $ 40 on Jake O'Brien. Lay $ 57 to win $ 30 on Matt Arroyo. In total, we are laying $997 to win $745. Let's give the $3 to the cocktail waitress for her efforts. Enjoy the fights. I know we will! Good luck. More later. The UFC Monster

The Belmont Abbey wrestling team wrapped up its home schedule with a 23-15 win over Limestone this evening at the Wheeler Center. The Abbey improves its dual meet record to 2-10. Belmont Abbey claimed six of the ten matches, including a pair of come-from-behind wins in the final seconds of the third period. With the Abbey winning the first match and dropping the next two, Appolon Jean-Paul, wrestling in the 149 pound bout, trailed 3-1 with 13 seconds left when he swung the momentum back to the Crusaders when he scored a near fall with under ten seconds left to secure a 6-3 lead and give the Abbey a 7-6 lead, which it would never relinquish. That win was followed by victories from Corey White and Nick Rees, and then Adam Phillips claimed the second dramatic win of the night. Trailing 3-2 with under five seconds left, Phillips recorded a two-point takedown to claim a 4-3 win. Seniors Chris Neidermeier and Tim Stanton, who were honored prior to the match, both won their bouts, as Neidermeier claimed a 14-4 major decision win at 125, and Stanton registered a pin just 1:56 into his bout at 197

Loras College (6-10, 4-4 IIAC) defeated Simpson College (1-10, 0-7 IIAC) 30-10 in an Iowa Conference dual Jan. 29 in Indianola. The dual began at 125 pounds where Pat Pfantz defeated Casey Miller (So., Overland Park, Kan., Blue Valley NW H.S.) 11-4. After Mark Beatty won by forfeit at 133, Jordan Loy edged out Caleb Brus (So., Creston, Iowa, Creston H.S.) 3-2 in their 141-pound match. Calvin Barber (Jr., Winterset, Iowa, Winterset H.S.) got the Storm on the board with a 15-4 major decision over Mitch Gansen at 149. Erik Hansen, who is ranked No. 4 in Division III at 157, earned a 7-1 decision over Ben Hektoen (Sr., Birmingham, Iowa, Fairfield H.S.) in the next match. Wade Dowling (Jr., West Des Moines, Iowa, Valley H.S.) beat Joel Allen 3-2 at 165. Matt Dickman earned a 12-5 victory over Curtis Barber (Jr., Winterset, Iowa, Winterset H.S.) at 174. Jordy Ammons (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Knoxville H.S.) posted the final Storm win of the night when he defeated Mike Levasseur 7-3 during the 184-pound match. Alex Grafft pinned Sam Collora (Jr., Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Mt. Pleasant H.S.) 2:11 into the 197-pound contest. Jeremy Klein won by forfeit at heavyweight. "We battled and fought hard in the matches that were contested," said Simpson head coach Clint Manny. "I wish we could have gotten the matches with Caleb at 141 and Ben at 157. The effort was there."

Mario Mason came to the University of Minnesota this past fall after an extremely successful prep wrestling career at national powerhouse Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey. Mason, who was ranked as the No. 1 high school senior in the U.S. by RevWrestling.com, won virtually every tournament he entered in high school, including the Beast of the East, Walsh Ironman, NHSCA Nationals, Cadet Nationals, Junior Nationals, and Prep Nationals. Mario MasonThe 19-year-old Mason is redshirting this season at Minnesota. He has competed in the Bison Open (11/15), Kaufman-Brand Open (11/22), UNI Open (12/7), and Flash Open (1/3), and compiled a season record of 14-2. RevWrestling.com recently caught up with Mason and talked to him about a variety of subjects, including his redshirt season, Dustin Schlatter, Jeff Buxton, Ryland Geiger, Adam Frey, Cory Cooperman, and much more. There was some talk at the beginning of the school year that you might wrestle in the Gophers lineup as a true freshman. Why was the decision made to redshirt this season? And was that something you were comfortable with? Mason: Yeah, the coaches asked me what I wanted to do. They didn't leave it in my hands, but took it into consideration. It was the coaches' decision ultimately, but I had a say in it. Redshirting has allowed me to grow, mature, and get stronger. What has been the biggest adjustment for you going from high school wrestling to college wrestling? Mason: Between the workouts and school schedule, it's pretty rigorous. We have a couple workouts a day that are pretty tough. Getting down to weight in college is harder than just going to high school, working out once, and doing whatever you need to do to get down to weight. Mario Mason has a compiled a record of 14-2 this season wrestling in open tournaments (Photo/The Guillotine)You have a 14-2 record this season competing in open tournaments. How would you assess your overall performance this season in open competition? Mason: I don't feel that I have wrestled my best. I wasn't too happy with some of my performances, even when I was winning. The first tournament or two, I think it had to do with getting down to weight, which was tough. I didn't exactly cut weight the right way. Just doing that a little better should help my wrestling. And also getting in condition for a seven-minute match, which takes a little bit of time. You competed at 149 in the first three open tournaments, but then moved up to wrestle at 157 for the Flash Open. Why did you move up to 157 for that tournament? Mason: It was just an open tournament, so I just wanted to wrestle and not cut as much weight. That's about it. So the plan is still to compete at 149 next season? Mason: Yeah, that's still the plan. Dustin Schlatter is also redshirting this season at Minnesota. Being that you two are close in weight, I imagine that you work out with him regularly. What has been like working out with Dustin? Mason: It's a good experience. He's bigger than me. Being that he's one of the best wrestlers in the country, it's just a good feel. It makes me have to work out a lot … and work on things that I need to do to get better. Last season, there were eight Blair Academy wrestlers who competed at the NCAAs in St. Louis. There are several Blair Academy wrestlers making an impact this season in college, including Rollie Peterkin, Kellen Russell, and Hudson Taylor. If an All-Blair Academy team of current college wrestlers was assembled, could that team finish in the top 10 at the NCAAs? Mason: I think it definitely could. If all of our guys got their act together and wrestled tough, we could put together a pretty good team. Blair has a very good team right now, too. They're No. 1 in the country again. Blair Academy coach Jeff Buxton has a coaching resume that certainly speaks for itself. But what makes Buxton such a great coach? Mason: He's like a college coach. He stays on the guys. He puts the team through tough workouts. He's a great leader and enforcer. And a great teacher, too. People listen to him. He has been very influential to so many people. Ryland Geiger is also redshirting this season at Minnesota. He attended Blair Academy as a sophomore, where he was a high school teammate of yours. Now he's a college teammate. Describe your relationship with Ryland Geiger and what it has been like reuniting with him. Ryland GeigerMason: He was actually one of my good friends in high school. We're rooming together this year. He came to Blair as a sophomore. I met him through one of the assistant coaches, Paul Clavel, who had coached him in Virginia. I knew Coach Clavel for a long time. So I just became friends with Ryland through wrestling, living down the hall from him in the dorms at Blair, and now coming to Minnesota together. It's just a great experience. We can help each other in wrestling, school, and everything. One of your former teammates at Blair Academy, Adam Frey, is courageously battling cancer right now. Have you been able to talk to him much during his battle with cancer? Mason: Yeah, I've talked to him a few times. I'll occasionally text him and ask him how he's doing. When I went home for break, I went to the Beast of the East, where he was helping coach his younger brother, Garrett, so I talked to him there. He tells me that he's going to beat it. So God willing, he beats it. We'll be praying for him. You have wrestled and trained with a lot of great wrestlers throughout your career. Who is the toughest wrestler you have ever faced in competition? Mason: When I was a sophomore in high school, I wrestled Lance Palmer. He beat me pretty good when I was a sophomore. That was probably one of my toughest matches in high school. Who is the toughest wrestler you have ever worked out with? Mason: Probably some of the coaches here at the U … like Jared Lawrence. Dustin (Schlatter) is definitely one of the toughest wrestlers I have trained with. There are some other coaches that I have worked with in my wrestling career … like Jonathan Johnson, Sheldon Thomas, Cory Cooperman, Jeff Buxton … I mean, there have been a lot of them. I could list off a million names. Cory Cooperman, a Blair Academy graduate, redshirted at Minnesota before transferring to Lehigh, where he became a three-time All-American (Photo/Danielle Hobeika)You mentioned Cory Cooperman, who is now an assistant coach at Cornell. He attended the University of Minnesota as a redshirt before transferring to Lehigh, where he went on to become a three-time All-American. When you were in high school, did you talk to Cory at all about the Minnesota program? And if so, what did he tell you? Mason: Well, to tell you the truth, I didn't talk to Cory about Minnesota until I was actually looking to go there. But I worked out with him a lot during my high school career. He helped me out a ton. I visited Cornell too. Cory told me that if I wasn't going to attend Cornell, then Minnesota would be a great place to go to school and wrestle. He said it's a great environment for wrestling. Cory Cooperman is very highly-regarded as technician. How has Cory helped you out in your wrestling career? Mason: He does a lot of funk wrestling. He's very good with that. He's very flexible, too. But also by wrestling hard. He's helped me a lot with setups on my feet. Just wrestling him in general helped me out a lot. If something happened when we were wrestling live, he would show me how to improve on something technically, so I was able to get better that way. Mario Mason won virtually every big tournament during his days at Blair Academy (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)Looking ahead to next college season, it appears that Minnesota has the potential to make some noise with a lineup that will have a mix of young talent and also experience. What are your thoughts on next year's Gophers team and its potential? Mason: I believe we definitely have a lot of potential. From top to bottom, we're going to have a very solid team. There are several freshmen who could even be in the lineup this season. But holding everybody back, just keeping everybody together, is going to make us even stronger in the upcoming years. Do you plan to compete in any other open tournaments this season? Mason: I'm not sure yet. But I plan to wrestle in freestyle tournaments after the college season. Which freestyle tournaments? Mason: If I can, I'll be going to go to Las Vegas, which is the qualifier for the Junior World Team. I don't know yet what else, but I'll definitely be competing if I can. Please Note: This story also appears in the April 17 issue of The Guillotine. The Guillotine has been covering amateur wrestling in Minnesota since 1971. Its mission is to report and promote amateur wrestling at all levels -- from youth and high school wrestling to college and international level wrestling. For information on how to subscribe, click HERE.

Join TDR's Scott Casber and Steve Foster Saturday night January 31st at 6:30 PM for the play by play and color of Missouri Tiger wrestling. Missouri is coming in off of a big road win defeating 3rd ranked Cornell University. Coach Brian Smith and The 6th ranked Tigers of Missouri will offer up a battle and look to improve on their 11-1 record when the 4th ranked Huskers of Nebraska come calling. Nebraska has fought hard all season long scoring some upsets and earning a 12-2-1 record. This is going to be a battle between these 2 programs, one that will affect the Big 12 overall and will have some national implications as well. Fans of both wrestling programs may listen live to the broadcast at no charge by visiting Takedownradio.com, click on the listen live button, sign up and register for free at LivesportsVideo.com, our streaming partner, sit back and listen to the pre match interviews, the play by play and color and the post match interviews. This all starts at 6:30 PM Saturday January 31st on TakedownRadio.com courtesy of the University of Missouri Wrestling program.

The Brute Adidas studios of TDR hit the road again this weekend as America's Wrestling Radio heads to The home of the Tigers of Missouri in Columbia. Scheduled guests include- Brian Smith- Head Coach of the 6th Ranked Missouri Tiger Wrestling Program. Having just defeated the Big Red of Cornell the tigers must be prepared for the evenings competition with the Cornhuskers of Nebraska. Ben Askren- 2 X Hodge Award winner, 2 x NCAA Champion and 2008 Olympian joins us to discuss his career, what he's doing now and where he plans to be in a year or so. Tim Cysewski- Head Coach of the Northwestern Wildcats (19th), Northwestern just upset 15th ranked Wisconsin. we'll talk about that victory and the valuable points scored by pin and the RSF- Robert Kellogg. The Wildcats seem to be on a roll as they opened Big 10 action with a win over the Spartans of Mich 31-6 on the 23rd. Mike Haluska- Head Coach of the Portland State Vikings. This program may be on the ropes but with good performance and strong wrestling based support we can beat this thing. Tune in and find out how you can help. Next the Vikings will head down to California for a double dual on Jan. 30 followed by the California Open. Jamie Varner- (Loch Haven) "Showtime" WEC 155 Light Weight Champion joins us to discuss his strengths and weakness, wrestling and his future. His win last Sunday night at WEC 38 against Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone earned him fight of the night bonus of $7500. He credits his wrestling background.

PITTSBURGH -- Zach Sheaffer's 2-0 decision over Rashard Goff in the heavyweight match broke a three-match losing streak and gave head coach Rande Stottlemyer his 250th career win as the University of Pittsburgh wrestling team found its way back to the win column with a 38-3 sinking of Cleveland State. "We had a pretty good performance to say the least tonight," said Stottlemyer. "We really should have won the 10th match as [Alex] Munoz got out to a great start but just couldn't finish." Sheaffer, now 17-4 on the year, escaped just three seconds into the second frame and held on in the third, riding the 18th ranked heavyweight in the country for two straight minutes, capping Pitt's biggest win since last season's 42-0 shutout of Findlay. Entering the third period scoreless, freshman Chris Albright was able to rack up two takedowns within a minute span and survive a late reversal as time ran out in the 125-pound match. Albright's 4-3 decision put Pitt (3-5, 3-0 EWL) on top 3-0. Junior Jimmy Conroy broke the floodgates open in the first period with two takedowns and a near fall, building a 6-2 advantage which included 1:16 of riding time. In the bottom position to start the second, Conroy wasted no time in escaping and tallying his third takedown of the match, increasing his lead to 9-2. Three more back points and another takedown in the third period gave the 17th ranked 133-pounder a 15-4 major decision and Pitt a 7-0 lead. "We had some really good performances tonight from Ethan [Headlee], [Tyler] Nauman, Jimmy [Conroy] and [Zach] Sheaffer. Those four guys are really stepping up in a leadership role for this team." Despite falling behind 2-0 just 20 seconds into the first period of the 141-pound match, redshirt freshman Tyler Nauman bounced back and earned his team-leading ninth fall of the year with 13 seconds remaining in the first period. Nauman's fall was his 22nd win of the year, another team-high for the Middletown, Pa. native. Senior Mark Powell put Pitt on top 16-0 with his 3-1 decision in a nine and a half minute marathon match at 149 pounds. Powell and Antonio Nicholson traded escape points in the second and third periods before forcing overtime. With 22 seconds left in the second sudden victory period, Powell was able to maneuver his way into a takedown, ending the longest match of the year for any Pitt wrestler. Cleveland State was finally able to stop the Pitt offensive in the 157-pound match. A late takedown by Corey Carlo knotted the match up at four and called for a second straight sudden victory ending. Just eight seconds in, Carlo secured a takedown, winning 6-4 over freshman Alex Munoz. Sophomore Ethan Headlee continues to chase Nauman for the team lead in wins and pins. Less than 20 seconds into the second period and working from the top position, Headlee recorded his 21st win and eighth fall of the season over Rob Michaels in the 165-pound bout, putting the Panthers up 22-3. It was all Pitt in the 174-pound match as redshirt A.J. Brentzel poured it on in his first start of the 2008-09 season. A flurry of scoring in both the first and second periods gave Brentzel a comfortable 9-3 lead with over three minutes of riding time heading into the final stanza. He added another takedown as time ran out, running away with a 14-3 major decision. Freshman Zac Thomusseit made it two dual wins in a row with his 7-0 shutout over J.T. Miller in the 184-pound contest. Thomusseit tallied a takedown in each period and tacked on a riding time point for the decision. The Panthers continue action this weekend with their third match in six days as they travel to Kent, Ohio for a Saturday night dual with the 24th ranked Golden Eagles. Match time is set for 7 p.m.

Mankato, Minn. -- The #3 ranked Minnesota State wrestling squad downed the ninth-ranked Upper Iowa Peacocks 29-12, in their first home meet of the year. The Mavericks earned their eighth win of the season upping their dual record to 8-3 on the season, including a 4-0 Northern Sun record. Sophomore and second ranked 149-pounder Tommy Abbott (Wilmington, Del.) gave the Mavericks their first victory of the night with a major decision victory over Derek Stolarzyk. Junior Travis Elg (Mountain Lake, Minn.) continued the winning, earning his own major decision win in the 157-pound match. The next grapplers to earn victories were senior Tim Matheson (Circle Pines, Minn.) and freshman Aaron Norgren (Good Thunder, Minn.); both picking up wins by decision in the 165-pound and 184-pound matches. In the upper weight classes, 197-pound Sophomore Pat Mahan (Owatonna, Minn.) and 285-pound, third-ranked junior Brady Wilson (Faribault, Minn.) both finished off their matches with wins by pin fall. With Brady Wilson's win this evening, his career record now sits at 98-19. Sophomore Andy Forstner (Madelia, Minn.) picked up the Mavericks final win of the evening in the 125-pound match. The Mavericks will be wrestling at home this Friday, 7:00 p.m. at the Taylor Center.

How do you celebrate the one-hundredth year of a legendary college wrestling program? In the early 1900s, the Penn State Wrestling Club practiced outdoors at Beaver Field (Photo/A Century of Penn State Wrestling)Sure, you could bake a huge cake, decorate it with a hundred lit candles, wheel it out during a dual meet, and have the crowd sing "Happy Birthday." Luckily, when the folks at the Penn State Wrestling Club realized that the Nittany Lions' wrestling program would reach its centennial year of existence, they chose to celebrate this incredible milestone in much bigger ways. Instead of hosting a single birthday bash, they created a series of special events during the 2007-2008 season … and, they created a series of commemorative items, including a 272-page book, A Century of Penn State Wrestling, now available from the PSU Wrestling Club. How to mark a century of PSU wrestling Penn State's first dual meet took place on March 27, 1909. Surprisingly, it wasn't on campus … or anywhere in State College. That first dual was an away meet, at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. As A Century of Penn State Wrestling explains, We realized that the 100th anniversary of Penn State wrestling's beginning and the 100th year of Penn State wrestling were two related, but different concepts. Unlike the customary practice with birthdays and wedding anniversaries, celebrating the 100th anniversary of Penn State's first wrestling match would make little sense. By the end of March, the Nationals would be over, the wrestlers would all be 20 pounds heavier, and the sports world would either be in a March madness frenzy over NCAA basketball or looking forward to the start of major league baseball … So Connie and her associates decided the best course to follow would be to celebrate the entire 100th season with a series of special events, all the home matches at the Nittany Lions' lair -- Rec Hall, of course -- along with the production and sale of a myriad of commemorative items … culminating in the publication of a book … We knew this undertaking would not be easy, and we were right. It quickly snowballed into a flurry of meetings, conferences, trips, letters, emails, faxes, phone conversations, delving into dusty archives, sorting through old photos -- exhausting yet a labor of love … How the book came about "We found out six years ago that we were coming up on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Penn State wrestling program," says Connie Christiansen, member of the Penn State Wrestling Club. "We organized a committee -- the Centennial Committee -- that included four of us from the Club: Betty Arnold, who worked in the Penn State library at the time; Russ Ruhf, keeper of Penn State stats, who had started writing a Penn State wrestling history of his own; John Dalbor, who writes the "Looking Back" column for our Penn State Wrestling Club newsletter; and myself, to head up the committee, serve as the computer person and 'organizer' of information and photos." "We met (as the Centennial Committee) for the first time in December 2004. We realized we had so much good stuff -- photos, information -- we thought there might be a book in all this." "We met once a month for two years," Christiansen continues. "As the deadline drew nearer, we met more often -- sometimes once a week." "We got along great. I can't remember ever having an argument." The book takes shape "One of the first things we did was to establish a table of contents, which served as a roadmap for gathering and organizing information and photos," says Christiansen, who, interestingly, is a native of Harlan, Iowa and a graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, but a long-time Pennsylvania resident and Penn State wrestling booster. The book's first chapter is "How It All Started -- The Beginnings of Penn State Wrestling", then moves to a timeline that provides an encapsulated overview of the past century of Nittany Lion wrestling. This is followed by individual chapters on some of the highlights over the years -- such as the 1953 NCAA championship team -- presented in chronological order. The book also includes chapters on Penn State coaches, dual meet competition, conference competition, how Penn State has performed on the national stage, freestyle success, and honors on and off the mat. When asked how the book's chapter outline came together, Connie Christiansen replies, "We discussed various options. We didn't want to focus just on the coaches, and we realized that we had competed in different conferences, so, presenting the information, say, organized by coach, or by conference, didn't seem to work." Now that the outline for A Century of Penn State Wrestling was in place, Christiansen says, "Next was selecting the front cover photo … We discussed various options, and came across a photo from the 1930s of a match inside Rec Hall. We don't know the date of the photo, or who's wrestling, but we thought the image said, 'Penn State wrestling history' so we decided to use it." "Once we had the front cover photo selected and the cover's design in place, we then could promote the book well in advance … We promoted the book in our club's printed newsletter and online, and at our events." Photos tell stories of their own The attention to detail in selecting a photo for the front cover extends throughout the book. A Century of Penn State Wrestling serves up an abundance of photos -- team photos, portraits of individual wrestlers and coaches, match action shots -- along with some priceless images from the earliest days, including photos of club wrestling on the grass at Beaver Stadium Field! In the early 1900s, the Penn State wrestling club practiced outdoors at Beaver Field (Photo/A Century of Penn State Wrestling)"I love wrestling photos," says Connie Christiansen. "Penn State's wrestling photographer Marshall Goldstein had given me slides and photos he had shot from 1964 to 1990 … In addition, our local printer who produces our club's Updates (newsletter), has a collection of photos, too. As soon as we'd have something written, we'd send the text over to them, and they'd start laying out the pages, thinking of how to incorporate the photos they had." "We wanted to make sure photos were an important part of the book." "We were especially thrilled to find team photos for just about every Penn State wrestling team over the years," Christiansen adds. "Past coaches helped us identify individuals … Now all those photos have been archived at the Penn State Library." "We spent about $1,000 archiving photos, organizing and cataloging them." Putting the Penn State story into words In talking about putting together the text for A Century of Penn State Wrestling, Connie Christiansen says, "We went through eight drafts before the final print. It was truly a labor of love for everyone." "Right from the start, we wanted to encompass readability for various audiences. We wanted it to have appeal beyond the Penn State wrestling program …We tried to avoid being 'booster-ish.'" A Penn State dual meet at Rec Hall in the early 1950s (Photo/A Century of Penn State Wrestling)"We asked (former Penn State coach) Rich Lorenzo to read the book, to make sure it was factually accurate, and true to the program. John Black, Penn State football writer, also read the book throughout, to provide a different perspective, that of someone familiar with Penn State and its traditions, but not necessarily immersed in the school's wrestling program." In any kind of historical research, there are usually some incredible finds along the way. When asked what the Centennial Committee came across in its research for the book that was surprising or unexpected, Connie Christiansen responds, "We were surprised to hear how the program started here, as a club sport. We also found it fascinating to learn about those who started the program." "It was also surprising to realize, in the early days of the program, they wrestled only a few meets each year." Another interesting discovery came from studying the vintage photos of Penn State wrestling meets from 50 or more years ago: "It was eye-opening to see the fans in the old photos. It was pretty much all men, all dressed in suits and ties. It's hard to imagine them being able yell or cheer much, dressed that way," says Christiansen, who quickly adds, "It's neat to see how interest in the sport has expanded over the years to include women and people of all ages." Money matters "When we started working on the book, we didn't know what it would cost to put it together," Connie Christiansen discloses. "We had $70,000 in memorabilia, celebration, and production costs. But we have wonderful people who supported us. We received grants from Penn State and the Alumni Association, as well as donations from individuals and businesses." "We started a Century Club for people who wanted to support the book. For a gift of $100, we put their name in the book, and gave them a copy when it was published. We had 170 donors who participated in the Century Club." "We advertised the book for three years, took advance orders. People placed orders right from the start." Helping other schools commemorate their mat milestones Penn State wrestling is one of the oldest major college mat programs in the United States. However, there are plenty of college programs that may be fast-approaching their centennial or other significant anniversaries. "We think it's so important for individual programs to record their history and share it with others, and honor all those who have been involved in their program," says Connie Christiansen. "We'd be willing to help other programs commemorate their milestones," says Connie Christiansen. "They can certainly learn from our experience. The one bit of advice I'd offer up front is -- start early. As you can see, it took us a number of years to put together a book, create other memorabilia, and arrange for commemorative events. It's not something where you can say, 'Next season is our anniversary' and expect to do a book." Rec Hall has been the home to Penn State wrestling for nearly 80 years. Here's a photo of the Nittany Lions in action in the 1930s, in the first decade of the building's use (Photo/A Century of Penn State Wrestling)As someone who writes about legendary wrestlers and historical wrestling events, it's great to see one of the all-time great college wrestling programs honored with a book of the quality of A Century of Penn State Wrestling. You don't have to "bleed blue and white" to enjoy this book, for it provides a fascinating look back at wrestling as it once was, that any participant or fan of the sport can appreciate. To purchase a copy of A Century of Penn State Wrestling, visit the official Web site for the Penn State Wrestling Club www.pennstatewrestlingclub.org.

As many of you have probably already heard, the Portland State University wrestling program is in imminent danger of being dropped. The President has assembled a "Task Force" to determine the following fate of the wrestling program: 1) Keep the program as it is. 2) Keep the program as a club sport. 3) Drop the program. 4) Fund the program so that it can be more competitive. There is a scheduled "public comment" opportunity for the wrestling community on Wednesday, February 4, at 5:30pm. The meeting will take place at the Smith Memorial Student Union (in the ballroom). Members of a special "Presidents Task Force" will be present to hear the wrestling community's comments and concerns. It is crucial that all local and regional high school and youth wrestling teams make time to attend this meeting. A strong show of community support is crucial to saving the program. Former PSU wrestling coach, Marlin Grahn, will be making a round of calls to the Portland area high school and youth club coaches asking for their commitment to attend this meeting. Further, we would like to make an urgent request to the entire northwest U.S. wrestling community to voice your concern directly to the "President's Task Force" via an e-mail to the following address: psuwrestling@pdx.edu In your E-Mail, please be sure to convey the following speaking points: • Intercollegiate wrestling fully supports the Portland State University intercollegiate athletic department's mission statement. One of their stated objectives is as follows: "To obtain unprecedented local and national recognition." • Portland State University is virtually guaranteed a nationally competitive wrestling team simply by sponsoring the sport. On average, approximately 80-85% of all D-I schools with a wrestling program will advance at least one wrestler to the NCAA's each year. This is primarily because we have approximately 260,000 high school wrestlers and only 220 NCAA member institutions with wrestling teams. • Portland State University has a rich wrestling tradition as evidenced by the following (in some cases, the same wrestlers won multiple titles): - 2 NCAA D-I National Champions - 19 NCAA D-I All Americans - 16 PAC 10 All Academic Team Members - 22 NCAA D-II National Champions - 62 NCAA D-II All Americans - 7 Olympians - 1 World Champion • Historically, the Portland State University wrestling program has played a major role in replenishing the depleted pool of high school and middle school teachers/wrestling coaches in the Northwest. In fact, there are currently 49 active teachers and/or wrestling coaches at the youth and/or scholastic levels who are alums of PSU. • In the Northwest U.S., there are approximately 43,000 high school wrestlers in Oregon and the neighboring states and only 13 NCAA intercollegiate wrestling teams (about 338 college roster spots). Intercollegiate wrestling is clearly underserved. • Eliminating the Portland State University wrestling team could force the entire PAC10 Wrestling Conference to dissolve based on having too few PAC 10 schools sponsoring wrestling. • Even without scholarships, several IVY League wrestling programs (i.e. Cornell, Harvard, Penn, etc) are among our most nationally competitive wrestling programs. This is also evidence that strong students do excel in wrestling. • Intercollegiate wrestling is relatively inexpensive to sponsor based on the NCAA's cost per student-athlete estimates. As you convey your thoughts, please be respectful of the university administration. We want to always take the high road. Make sure the key decision makers know that the regional and national wrestling community stand ready to help the administration develop a plan that ensures the future of their varsity wrestling program. While the grass roots wrestling community conveys the above-mentioned speaking points, the NWCA will be working with prominent Portland State University alumni, business leaders, and politicians to promote similar messages. Further, we will be addressing the "presidents task force" on February 4 to speak on behalf of the Portland State University wrestling program and its importance to serving the needs of the growing scholastic wrestling population in the Northwest.

Seriously ... It's impossible not to like David Taylor. In an era where it's become commonplace for athletes and teams to dodge competition, the high school senior from St. Paris Graham (Ohio), who maintains a 4.0 grade point average, seeks out competition. In a battle of two of Ohio's best ever, David Taylor moved up from 135 to 140 and beat Collin Palmer (Photo/Kevin Schlosser) This past Saturday afternoon, in front of a packed gymnasium at St. Paris Graham High School, David Taylor, a three-time state champion, bumped up a weight class from 135 to 140 to face another three-time state champion, Collin Palmer of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. The Iowa State-bound Taylor and Ohio State-bound Palmer did not disappoint. Palmer struck first with a beautiful duckunder. Palmer looked to be in control of the match after he picked up a reversal in the second period to go up 4-1. But Taylor battled back, picking up a reversal of his own to cut the deficit to one point, 4-3, going into the third period. In the final period, he picked up a quick escape and then added a takedown to go up 6-4. Taylor was then able to tilt Palmer for a two-point nearfall, which all but sealed the deal as Taylor won 8-5. Nobody has ever questioned Taylor's talent. How could you? All the kid has ever done is win. And mostly in dominating fashion. He has won five Cadet or Junior National titles in Fargo. He has just two career losses in high school, both of which he has avenged. In December, Taylor became the first wrestler ever to win four Walsh Ironman titles. Although Taylor's talent has never been in question, people have questioned whether he could remain on top moving up from the lowerweights to middleweights. Taylor competed at 103 as a freshman and sophomore before moving up to 112 as a junior. This season, Taylor moved up four weight classes to compete at 135. If Taylor's tournament victories at the Super 32 in November and Walsh Ironman in December weren't reason enough to think he would be extremely successful as a middleweight, then his victory over Palmer, who was four weights heavier last season, should be. All one has to do is watch David Taylor and Collin Palmer wrestle and it quickly becomes clear that both should go on to have very successful collegiate wrestling careers. But just how successful? Collegiate success is never easy to predict. I can think of countless examples of wrestlers who won everything there was to win in high school only to go to college and never be heard from again. Things happen. Like injuries. Some wrestlers lose their drive and motivation for the sport. Others don't improve at the rate other people expect. With that said, I'm going to go on record and say this: I think Collin Palmer is going to be a very good college wrestler at Ohio State, much like his older brother, Lance, a junior at Ohio State who is already a two-time All-American. David Taylor, on the other hand, is going to be special. When Taylor's college wrestling career is through at Iowa State, he'll go down as one of the best college wrestlers of his generation. Bold statement? Certainly. But the kid possesses all the ingredients a wrestler needs to be special. David Taylor, shown here as a junior 112-pounder, moved up four weight classes to 135 pounds for his senior season. In December, Taylor became the first four-time Walsh Ironman champion ever (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)Taylor is a monster on the mat, which should help him immensely as he makes the transition from high school wresting to college wrestling. He's phenomenal on his feet and can score with a variety of attacks. He can scramble with the best of them. However, above all else, Taylor has a drive to be the best … like few I have ever seen. I was at Iowa State during the Cael Sanderson Era. So I have watched countless Cael matches and listened to countless Cael interviews. I see so much of Cael Sanderson in David Taylor. Not only in his wrestling, but even more so in his demeanor off the mat. Both are humble and unassuming and have a quiet confidence about them. Neither ever seems completely satisfied and is always looking to improve. Both have a love for the sport that is unrivaled. And both continued their dominance moving up several weight classes in high school (Cael went from 119 to 135 to 145 to 171.) Before moving to Ohio in junior high, Taylor lived in Wyoming, which is when he met the Sanderson family. Taylor would make the hour-and-ten-minute trek with his parents from his home in Wyoming to Heber City, Utah, a few times a week to practice with guys like Jason Chamberlain, and be coached by Cael's father, Steve Sanderson. Before long, Taylor and his family got to know the Sandersons well. So it's no surprise that Taylor chose to wrestle for Cael at Iowa State. David Taylor will be heading to Iowa State to wrestle for Cael Sanderson (Photo/Kevin Schlosser)Taylor will be entering a perfect situation at Iowa State. He will be wrestling for the greatest college wrestler ever and someone he grew up admiring in Cael. In addition to learning from Cael, he will have the opportunity to learn from some great assistant coaches in Cody Sanderson, who he has known for years, and Casey Cunningham, an NCAA and U.S. Nationals champion. The Cyclone room is full of talented wrestlers around his weight … like All-Americans Nick Fanthorpe, Nick Gallick, and Cyler Sanderson. Next season, Iowa State will be a senior-laden team, so Taylor is expected to redshirt, which will allow him to grow as a wrestler and mature physically before he steps into the lineup for the 2010-11 season. As great as David Taylor has been, I promise you, his best days are still ahead. Related Content: David Taylor-Collin Palmer Match (Flowrestling.com) David Taylor Interview (Flowrestling.com) Collin Palmer Interview (Flowrestling.com) David Taylor Named 2008 Ohio Wrestler of the Year (OhioWrestlingSite.com)

St. Paul, Minn. -- For the third time this season, a St. Cloud State University grappler has captured Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Wrestler of the Week honors. Tad Merritt (Canby) earned the award for the first time in his career it was announced today, as the red-shirt freshman went 2-0 on the weekend with a pin over the top ranked 165-pound wrestler in NCAA Division II. Merritt pinned #1 Aaron Denson of Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 22, in the Huskies' loss to the #1 ranked Mavericks. Merritt battled back from an early four-point deficit in the match to tie it, and went on to pin Denson at the 5:31 mark of the match. Merritt capped off his weekend with another victory by fall against UW-Eau Claire. Merritt was bumped up to 174 lbs. on Saturday and did not miss a beat, as he recorded pin number two over Keith Dawson at the 1:14 mark. Merritt is now 24-3 on the season with 14 falls. Both the win and fall total are tops on the 11th ranked Husky squad. Previous Huskies to win the award were John Sundgren (Blaine) on December 9 and Derek Skala (Owatonna) on November 18. SCSU will continue its 2008-09 schedule on Jan. 30 with a home match against Northern State at 7 p.m., and a match on Feb. 1 at home against the University of Mary on 2 p.m.

Andrew Hipps, Founder & Director Jeremy Hipps, Assistant Director Tony Nguyen, Event Coordinator Kathleen Hennessy Rehbein, Director of Volunteers Steve Elwood, Head Recruiter Rod Frost, Head Official Carrie Learn, Head Pairer Joanne Hipps, Hospitality Danny Zuelke, Director of Operations Mike Schultz, Announcer John Solseng, Lead Volunteer