InterMat Staff

STILLWATER, OK -- University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands made his 50th win at Iowa extra sweet with a 20-13 victory at Oklahoma State Sunday afternoon in Stillwater, OK. The win snapped the Cowboys' nine-match winning streak in the series and was Iowa's first in Stillwater since 1996. It was also Brands' first win over Oklahoma State since he took the Hawkeye helm. Iowa improved to 15-0 on the season, picking up their 29th straight win. Oklahoma State fell to 11-4 with the loss. The Cowboys put the first points on the board at 125 with senior Obenson Blanc's 6-2 win over Hawkeye redshirt freshman J.J. Krutsinger. Krutsinger was wrestling for injured Hawkeye starter Charlie Falck. Iowa rolled off wins at the next three weights to take an 11-3 lead and never looked back. Iowa junior Daniel Dennis started the streak at 133 with his 3-2 win over junior Chris Notte. Hawkeye senior Alex Tsirtsis posted his 85th career victory and his fifth-straight win at 141 with a 4-1 victory over redshirt freshman Jamal Parks. Tsirtsis also remains undefeated at 13-0 in dual competition. Iowa junior Brent Metcalf posted his 52nd straight win with a 23-6 technical fall in 5:47 over Luke Silver at 149. Metcalf, who scored Iowa's only team bonus points on the afternoon, is now 20-0 this season. Oklahoma State won a decision at 157 when sophomore Neil Erisman posted a 4-1 victory over Hawkeye sophomore Matt Ballweg, but three Iowa juniors followed with decisions to seal the team win. At 165, Ryan Morningstar scored nearfall points in the second period to beat Shenandoah, IA, native Brandon Mason, 3-1. Jay Borschel fought off a last second takedown attempt by Cowboy senior Newly McSpadden to post a 3-2 win at 174. Phillip Keddy posted his fifth straight win with a 12-7 decision over sophomore Cody Hill at 184 to remain undefeated (15-0) in dual competition. The Cowboys won the final two bouts, but it wasn't enough for the team win. Senior Clayton Foster scored a 9-1 major decision over Hawkeye redshirt freshman Brodie Ambrose, who was wrestling for injured starter Chad Beatty, at 197. Hawkeye heavyweight Dan Erekson put up a fight against top-ranked junior Jared Rosholt in the final match, but lost the bout 9-5. Up next for the top-ranked Hawkeyes is the 2009 Big Ten season opener. The Hawkeyes (15-0) will hosts #15/13 Wisconsin (6-3) Friday, January 23 at 7 p.m. and #7/15 Illinois (7-0) Sunday, January 25 at 5 p.m. The Big Ten Network will air a live broadcast of the Iowa-Illinois dual, and the match has been designated as a "Be Bold, Wear Gold" event.

With a DJ blasting music, an impressive light show, giant monitors showing video clips and a smoke filled entrance for the 28 finalists, the introductory fanfare of the 2009 Five Counties Wrestling Tournament in Fountain Valley, California was outdone only by the wrestling that took place following it. The finalists of this year's "Beast in the West" represented the best out of an 86 team field, with wrestlers traveling from all over California as well Colorado and New Jersey to take part. The marquee match of the weekend was at 125 pounds, where two standing California state champion -- David Klingsheim of Liberty and Martin Gonzalez of Gilroy -- faced off for the second time in seven days. Last week, in the finals of the Doc Buchanon tournament, Klingsheim won 6-4 in overtime. This week, he got it done in regulation 11-5. With the score tied 3-3 going into the third and final period, Klingsheim remained confident. "I felt I was better than him from our feet," Klingsheim said. "I knew I could get out and thought I could get another takedown." Klingsheim did indeed score again from his feet, countering a wild counter to his shot which resulted in an impressive five-point move. "I wasn't planning that (move) at all. It was something that I just fell into. It's not something I drill." Klingsheim is expected to drop to 119 for the remainder of the season and was happy to beat Gonzales in their second match of the season. "We've been around each other for ten years. It can get tougher to wrestle the same opponent." Klingsheim, ranked third in the country in his weight class by RevWrestling.com, has signed a letter of intent to wrestle at the University of Nebraska. Poway High School won this year's event with seven placewinners and 162 points, but went 0-3 in the finals. With a sizeable number of Poway fans in the crowd, perhaps the most unpopular call of the night took place at 130 pounds when Henry Yorba, trailing by one, was in deep on a shot on Jose Mendoza of Selma HS. While seemingly improving position and nearing enough control to be awarded the takedown, the ref called a stalemate with only 16 seconds left in the match. This allowed Mendoza to hold on 3-2 for the victory. Yorba's finalist teammates didn't fare any better with Conrad Snell losing to Laguna Hills' Mitch Newcomer, 8-4, at 135 and Ian Daube losing to Cavalry Chapel's sophomore sensation Morgan MacIntosh, 9-6, at 171. There was no shortage of third-period lead changes at 152, where Tyler Sheridan of De La Salle scored a takedown in the third period to go ahead of No. 1 seed TJ Belton of Central Catholic, 5-4. The advantage was short-lived as Belton managed to score a reversal with short time left on the clock to retake the lead and the victory. "I was looking for an escape," Belton said," but the reversal was there, so I was like 'I'm gonna take it.'" While several of the finals showed hints of bad blood between the competitors, Belton and Sheridan appeared friendly and illustrated a strong sense of sportsmanship before, during and after their match. "We were at the Oklahoma duals together for like two weeks." Belton explained. "We bonded. I know him really well. I talk to him every time I see him." Given the strong performances by both wrestlers, they could be talking during the state tournament. The first two periods of the 140 final between No. 1 seed Vlad Dombrovskiy of Natomas and No. 2 seed Jonah Cruz of Bakersfield saw lots of action and scrambling but no points. The two tall and lean wrestlers had the leverage and smarts to prevent each other from earning a takedown in the first period then Dombrovskiy seemed to gain a small advantage after riding Cruz out in the second. However, midway through the third, Cruz seized a split-second opening to earn two quick nearfall points and then got into position to force a stalemate. Cruz tried to hold on for the win, but Dombrovskiy was very active on the bottom and earned a reversal to send the match into overtime. Another wild scramble resulted in Cruz coming out on top and earning the sudden-victory win. During the flurry, Cruz said he was concentrating on meeting the criteria for a takedown. "I was thinking I've got to stay behind his arms. It's like the rulebook says if you're behind his arms, it's two points." The danger of the positions that Cruz got into during the match were not lost on him, who came close to getting caught in a defensive fall more than once. "That goes through my head every time I roll across my back. I've just got to keep moving." Finals Results: 103: Alex Cisneros (Selma) dec. Nick Babcock (Broomfield) 14-3 112: Alfonso Osuna (Brawley) dec. Courtland Hacker (Broomfield) 5-1 119: Jesse Delgado (Gilroy) dec. Chad Thornock (San Jacinto) 10-1 125: David Klingsheim (Brentwood Liberty) dec. Martin Gonzalez (Gilroy) 11-5 130: Jose Mendoza (Selma) dec. Henry Yorba (Poway) 3-2 135: Mitch Newcomber (Laguna Hills) dec. Conrad Snell (Poway) 8-4 140: Jonah Cruz (Bakersfield) dec. Vlad Dombroski (Sacramento Natomas) 4-2 OT 145: Taylor Hodel (Vacaville) dec. Cody Bollinger (Hesperia Sultana) 3-2 152: T.J. Belton (Modesto Central Catholic) dec. Tyler Sheridan (Concord De La Salle) 6-5 160: Stephen West (Buchanan) dec. Patrick Martinez (Temecula Valley) 4-3 171: Morgan McIntosh (Santa Ana Calvary Chapel) dec. Ian Daube (Poway) 9-6 189: Ryan Loder (Granite Bay) dec. Danny Reyes (Hesperia) 5-1 215: Drew Muelman (Mountain View St. Francis) dec. Brian Schoene (Bakersfield) 6-1 Hwt: Jose Lopez (Norwalk John Glenn) def. Luis Barragan (Gilroy) Pin Top 10 Teams: 1. Poway 162 2. Selma 151.5 3. Buchanan 144 4. Cavalry Chapel 117.5 5. Central Catholic 103.5 6. Gilroy 103.5 7. Vacaville 91.5 8. Broomfield (Colorado) 90.5 9. Laguna Hills 89 10. Lemoore 88.5

OSWEGO, NY -- In the field of 17 teams, the University at Buffalo wrestling team captured their ninth New York State Wrestling Intercollegiate Championship, Saturday evening on the campus of Oswego State. The Bulls took first place by scoring 168.5 points followed by last year's champion, Army with 162.5 points. Mickey Moran (Pittsburgh, PA/Shaler Area), Nate Rock (Ephrata, PA/Ephrata) and Kevin Smith (Mexico,NY/Mexico) each captured the title of their respective weight classes. In defense of his title at 184, Moran would once again face Nate Holley of Cornell. This year the tables would be switched with Moran as the top-seed and Holley as the second-seed. Moran and Holley wrestled a close fought match with Moran coming out the victor in a 3-2 decision and the 184-lb title. Joining Moran as top-place finishers were Smith and Rock with both wrestlers capturing victories over Army wrestlers, which helped the Bulls win the team title. As the top-seed at 133, Smith captured this year's title with a 6-1 decision over second-seed Whit Dunning of Army. Rock followed Smith with the same outcome, a 6-1 decision over Ryan Mergen of Army. At 125, Dan Bishop (Whitehall, NY/Whitehall) took second place for the third straight year as he lost a 3-2 decision to Mike McInally of RIT. Freshman Mark Lewandowski (Depew, NY/Lancaster) made his first appearance in the New York State Wrestling Championships taking second place at 141. Lewandowski dropped an 8-2 decision to top-seed Casey Thome of Army. Jimmy Hamel (Natick, MA/Natick) also took second-place in his respective weight class. Hamel lost in a 5-3 decision to Richard Starks of Army in the 197-lb championship. In the 149-lb championship match, Desi Green (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) faced top-seed Matt Kyler of Army, ranked 12th in the latest USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Team & InterMat/NWCA/NWMA Individual Rankings and last year's 149-lb champion. Green dropped his decision to Kyler by the score of 5-1. After losing his first match, John Martin-Cannon (Brockport,NY/Brockport) took third place at 157, with four consecutive victories in the wrestlebacks. In the bout for third place, Cannon captured a 3-1 sudden victory over Willie Horwach of Ithaca. At 165, Ron Majerus (Mexico, NY/Mexico) took fifth place by defeating Patrick Knight of NYU in an 8-2 decision. At 285, Brett Correll (Shelby Township, MI/Eisenhower) faced the same opponent he opened this weekend's competition against sixth-seed, Jabril Patterson of Brockport. Correll came out with another victory over Patterson, defeating him by a 10-3 decision and taking seventh place. The Bulls will look to improve their 1-0 record in Mid-American Conference competition, as they travel to Athens, Ohio to take on Ohio University beginning at 12:00 pm.

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Central Michigan won eight of 10 individual bouts to claim its ninth straight victory, a 24-8 decision at Bloomsburg on Saturday. The Chippewas, ranked sixth in this week's NWCA/InterMat poll, improved to 10-1 overall with the victory. All eight of CMU's victories came via decision, with five of those matches decided by three points or less. The Chippewas trailed 8-6 after four matches, but rallied to win the final six bouts. The dual began at 141 pounds. Eric Kruger (141) and Steve Brown (149) posted decisions of 4-1 and 3-1, respectively, to give the Chippewas an early 6-0 lead. The Huskies (5-5 overall) then posted back-to-back victories at 157 and 165 pounds to take an 8-6 lead. Matt Moley, ranked 10th nationally at 157 pounds, scored a trio of three-point nearfalls to take an 11-0 first-period lead on CMU's Tyler Grayson. Moley eventually won by technical fall in the third period. Ricky Schmelyun and Trevor Stewart were scoreless heading into the third period of their matchup at 165 pounds. Schmelyn scored a takedown in the third period, however, and his 3-1 decision momentarily put the Huskies in front. Mike Miller's 8-2 decision at 174 pounds was the first of six consecutive CMU victories to close the match. Miller scored takedowns in the first and third periods in the win. At 184 pounds, Vince DiDona scored a third-period takedown to break a 4-4 tie in an eventual 6-5 decision. Eric Simaz did most of his scoring in the third period at 197 pounds, tallying a takedown and three-point nearfall in the final period of his 7-1 victory. Jarod Trice's first-period takedown gave him the lead for good in the heavyweight bout. His victory stretched CMU's lead in the team score to 18-8. Scotti Sentes and Conor Beebe closed the match with wins for CMU at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Sentes trailed 2-0 after an early takedown in the 125-pound bout. His second-period takedown gave him a 4-2 lead, however, and he tacked on the riding time point for a 5-2 decision. Beebe, meanwhile, posted a 5-0 shutout at 133. He took down Bloomsburg's Jason Guffey in the first period, then scored escape points in the second and third period before adding the riding time point. CMU is back in action Sunday, visiting No. 24 Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.

EDMOND -- Dustin Finn's third-period fall in the final match capped a late rally that enabled No. 5-ranked Central Oklahoma to escape with a 20-20 tie against sixth-rated Adams State Saturday afternoon at Hamilton Field House. The Grizzlies jumped out to an 11-0 lead after the first three matches and led 14-3 midway through the dual before UCO got back-to-back bonus wins from Mikey Morgan and Tommy McCarty to tie it. ASC then won decisions at the next two weights to surge in front 20-14, but Finn arranged the tie with his 12th pin of the season. The top-ranked junior heavyweight broke a scoreless tie with Jeff Schossow in the second period with a two-point near-fall and then turned Schossow early in the final stanza to get the fall at 5:24. "In a lot of ways we were fortunate to come out with a tie, but we also lost a couple of matches we shouldn't have," UCO coach David James said. "Bonus points are huge in duals like this and we certainly proved that." The Grizzlies broke on top at 125 pounds where second-ranked Arsenia Barksdale built a 10-1 lead through two periods before holding on for a 10-6 triumph over Tim Elliott, with ASC getting another decision at 133 and a technical fall at 141 from top-rated Raymond Dunning in going on top 11-0. Luke Elmore gave UCO its first win with a clutch 8-1 upset of fourth-ranked Joey Deaguero at 149, using a takedown and three-point near-fall in the first period to take control of that match. ASC came back to get a 2-0 win at 157 from No. 3 Noomis Jones over Kelly Henderson to make it 14-3 before intermission, during which UCO recognized its 1979 NAIA national championship team. The Bronchos came back strong after the brief break, getting a first-period fall at 165 from Morgan – his 12th win in 13 outings – and a 16-0 technical fall from McCarty at 174. Morgan needed just 1:22 to score his seven fall of the season, while McCarty had five near-falls and took just 3:04 to end his match early. That tied the dual at 14-all, with ASC getting a 4-1 win at 184 and a 3-2 victory at 197 on a takedown with 18 seconds remaining to grab the 20-14 lead and set the stage for Finn's dramatics. UCO, now 9-3-1 on the year, returns to action Thursday when it hosts Fort Hays State at 7 p.m.

ITHACA, N.Y. -- ­In its first home dual of the new year, the No. 2 nationally ranked Big Red wrestling team defeated Eastern Michigan, 28-10, at the Friedman Wrestling Center. The match began at heavyweight with senior Zach Hammond winning a 5-3 decision. In the second bout of the day, junior Troy Nickerson pinned his opponent in a school record, 13 seconds. Returning NCAA champion Jordan Leen won by technical fall, while senior Steve Anceravage and sophomore DJ Meagher defeated their competition by major decision. At heavyweight, Zach Hammond took on EMU's Wes Schroder. Hammond opened with a takedown at 2:18 of the first period and would record one more before the period expired to lead 4-2. Schroder chose to start the period in the down position and quickly escaped to come within a point. In the third period, Hammond finally escaped from Schroder's clutches with 48 seconds left in the bout. Neither wrestler was able to score again before the time ran out, and Hammond came away with a 5-3 win to put the Big Red up 3-0. At 125 pounds, Nickerson faced off against Jordan McGuire. Nickerson immediately attacked at McGuire earning the takedown and moving the Eagles' wrestler on to his back. Nickerson won by fall in 13 seconds which broke the school record for the fastest fall. The previous record of 14 seconds was held by Bruce Morgan at heavyweight from Nov. 17, 1990 At 133 pounds, sophomore Mike Grey took on Sean Clair. Clair came into the mat full of energy and received a point for a fleeing the mat penalty to Grey at 1:16. Clair took a three point lead with 30 seconds left in the period with a takedown and earned two back points. Grey chose neutral in the second period, but neither wrestler was able to score. Grey let Clair up from his opening down position looking to score and grabbed his first points with a takedown at 1:35. Grey quickly released Clair once again looking for points. Clair countered a move from Grey with 47 seconds left in the period and rode out the Big Red wrestler for the remainder of the period. With 1:11 in riding time, Clair won a 10-2 major decision. Sophomore Corey Manson faced off against Zach Donofrio at 141 pounds. Donofrio scored the only points of the first period with a takedown with 40 seconds left on the clock. Manson chose to start the second period down and notched the only point of the period with the escape. Donofrio escaped from his opening down position in the third, and countered a shot by Manson to notch his second takedown. With 1:56 in riding time, Donofrio won a 6-1 decision to cut Cornell's lead to 9-7. At 149 pounds, sophomore DJ Meagher took a 2-0 lead on JJ Johnson with 51 seconds left in the first period with a takedown. Meagher rode Johnson out for the remainder of the period. Meagher quickly escaped from his down position in the second period and took a 5-0 lead with a takedown with 28 seconds left on the clock. Johnson chose to start the third period down on the mat. The Eagles' grappler could not escape Meagher's hold and after a three-point nearfall and 3:14 in riding time, the Big Red wrestler won a 9-0 major decision. After a short halftime break, Leen took the mat at 157 pounds for the Big Red against EMU's Josh Moulton. Leen took a two point lead at 2:04 of the first with a takedown and after a minute took an 8-0 advantage with two nearfalls. Moulton chose top in the second period, and with less than four seconds off the clock, Leen grabbed two more points with a reversal. Leen earned back points two more times before wining a 15-0 tech fall in 4:45. At 165 pounds, Josh Basting faced off against Nick Hendrick. Hendrick earned two points with a takedown at 2:11, but Basting escaped to come with in one. The Eastern Michigan wrestler chose to start the second period down on the mat, but could not escape Basting for the full two minutes. Basting chose down in the third period and with two seconds off the clock made his escape to tie the match at 2-2. Basting took the lead with 25 seconds left on the clock with a takedown, and with 1:57 in riding tame won a 5-2 decision to give Cornell at 21-7 lead. No. 5 ranked Anceravage quickly went on the attack against Chris Eggert at 174 pounds. The Big Red All-American notched a takedown at 2:33, but let Eggert up quickly looking to score points. Anceravage grabbed two more takedowns and added two back points as the clock ran out in the first period with Anceravage holding an 8-2 advantage. Eggert started the second period down on the mat, and Anceravage once again let him up before stalking him to score more points. The Big Red wrestler grabbed three more takedowns, before Eggert countered Anceravage with three seconds left in the period to notch his first offensive points with a takedown of his own. Anceravage chose neutral from the third period start. He notched two more takedowns and with 2:33 in riding time won a 19-10 major decision. At 184 pounds, No. 16 Justin Kerber wrestled Derek Foore. With only 10 seconds off the clock, Kerber took a two point lead, and racked up 1:30 in riding time before Foore could escape. Kerber started the second period down and earned the only point of the period with a quick escape. Foore chose to begin the third period down on the mat, but was unable to escape Kerber until 20 seconds left in the bout. With 3:05 in riding time, Kerber won a 4-2 decision. Junior Matt Panasevich took on John McClure at 197 pounds. McClure held a 2-1 slight advantage after the first period with a takedown and Big Red escape. McClure chose down in the second period and grabbed another point with an escape. With 12 seconds left in the period, he went up 5-1 with another takedown. Panasevich chose down to start the third period but was unable to escape McClure's clutches. With 2:37 in riding time, the Eastern Michigan wrestler won a 6-1 decision. Cornell will next wrestle No. 12 Missouri on Sunday, Jan. 25 at home in Newman Arena.

GREELEY, Colo. -- The Northern Colorado wrestling team won eight of 10 weight classes to improve to 2-1 on the season against members of the Pac-10 Conference, defeating Stanford 25-7 on the mats Saturday evening in Butler-Hancock. "We took another step forward tonight," said Head Coach Jack Maughan. "We finished a little better tonight than we did last night (against #23 Northern Iowa). It's nice to be on a little more of a level playing field." The Bears (2-9-1) won the first five bouts to build a 16-0 lead. Junior Tony Mustari, ranked 18th in the nation, got the team off to a good start with a major decision victory over Matt Sencenbaugh at 19-7. He recorded his first takedown just 18 seconds in and added six more takedowns, one reversal and one two-point near fall for the victory. Freshman Casey Cruz had to fight back at 133 pounds. He went down 4-1 in the second period, but tallied a pair of reversals to take the 5-4 decision. Junior Kenny Hashimoto shook off a little more rust, winning his first match of the second in just two tries, posting an 8-3 victory over Cameron Teitelman. He led 4-1 after the first period with two takedowns, extending the lead to the eventual score of 8-3. At 149 pounds, freshman Mitchell Polkowske continued to dominate, winning his 22nd match of the year. He led throughout the bout, winning by a 9-3 decision. Sophomore Justin Gaethje needed a little extra time, but eventually pulled out a thrilling 5-3 victory in overtime. Lucas Espericueta got the only two points in the first period with a takedown and Gaethje scored one in the second stanza with an escape. Espericueta added another point with an escape with 1:29 on the clock in the third period and with just three ticks left, Gaethje got a takedown to knot the score. He recorded another takedown with 12 seconds remaining in the one minute overtime period for the win. Daniel Prater, a senior on the team who originally was wrestling at 149 pounds has moved up to 165 pounds this past week, a jump in two weight classes. He dropped a 13-3 major decision to Nick Amuchastegui. "Prater has a huge heart," said Maughan. "We're telling him to get as big as he can. He's willing to do whatever he can to help the team. Wrestling at 165 as a 149-er is no easy task." There was no scoring in the first period of the 174 pound bout, but freshman Brandon Kammerzell got on the board with an escape just nine seconds into the second stanza and held on for a 4-1 victory. Senior Ryan Johnson trailed Jake Johnson at 184 pounds, 2-0, but recorded an escape with just under a minute to go in the first period and then tallied a reversal midway through the second period for the 3-2 win. The second weight class Stanford won was at 197 pounds as Luke Feist defeated Patrick Carey in a 5-1 decision. Justin Tuell was the second Bear of the evening to win a 3-2 decision doing so with an early takedown and a late escape to give the Bears the 25-7 team victory. Northern Colorado heads north next weekend to take on South Dakota State and North Dakota State in Western Wrestling Conference action.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The 21st ranked ODU Monarchs (12-5) toppled three CAA opponents on Saturday, including handing #18 Hofstra it's first ever CAA loss for a perfect day at the CAA Duals. It was the first time since the ECWA merged with the CAA in 2002 that the Hofstra Pride suffered a conference dual loss. ODU halted Hofstra's overall undefeated streak at 63 straight conference wins. ODU improved to 12-5 on the season and 4-0 in the Colonial. Roy Dragon III led the way for ODU, posting three wins at heavyweight including a match-clinching win against Hofstra. The Monarchs posted a perfect 10-0 match against Binghamton, winning 46 to -1, and then bested Drexel with a 9-1 bout record, winning by a commanding 34-3 score. Then ODU faced Hofstra, edging the Pride 6-4 for a final score of 17-15. "The coaching staff is very proud of our team as we wrestled very hard and aggressive. In snapping the Pride's 63-match win streak, we beat a team that defeated nationally ranked PSU this year," said head coach Steve Martin. "The difference is this match came down to fight and who wanted it more. Roy Dragon III was the hero of this match as it came down to the wire and he pulled off the victory. Two other important victories in the day were Joe Budi pinning the #8 ranked wrestler in the nation and Chris Brown beating the #20 ranked wrestler." Against Hofstra, ODU was down headed into the 197 lb weight class when junior Jesse Strawn stepped in against Anthony Tortora. The ODU junior bounced back after a tough loss against Drexel's nationally ranked Jon Oplinger and won, but was unable to score any more than a regular decision, leaving ODU looking to Dragon for the last chance at winning. Dragon stepped up at the heavyweight class and battled Hofstra's Jordan Enck for a 4-3 decision and the overall team win. In the match, Brown also defeated #20 Ryan Patrovich at 165 lbs, 3-2, while James Nicholson (125), Ryan Williams (141), and Joey Metzler (149) also tallied wins against the Pride. Earlier in the day, against Binghamton, the Monarchs posted a perfect win against the Bearcats. The Monarchs won all ten weights for a 47-point victory in the first round on Saturday. The biggest of which came at 184 lbs, as true freshman Joe Budi stepped in against Josh Patterson, ranked as high as 8th in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News and W.I.N. Magazine. Budi was ahead of the top ten grappler when he was able to get him on his back and pin the Bearcat for the biggest win in his young career. ODU also got bonus point victories at 125, 133, 141, 165, 197 and HWT. Dragon started off a great day with a first period pin over Dan Bittner. Against Drexel, ODU got four bonus point victories, including the second technical fall by Nicholson at 125 lbs. With the perfect 3-0 day, he improves to 26-2 on the season and a 16-1 dual record for the Monarchs. Williams, at 141 lbs, also posted another major decision and went 3-0 on the day. He has gone 26-3 this season and is ranked 7th in the nation. With the two easy wins under the belt, the Monarchs advanced to face Hofstra in the third round. Hofstra was the seventh nationally ranked team the Monarchs have faced this season and the second ODU posted a win against. The win is just the second ever against the Pride and it was the first time ODU beat Hofstra since the 1990-91 season. ODU improved to 12-5 overall and 4-0 in the conference. The Monarchs will hit the road to face Bucknell next weekend, and then #6 Central Michigan on February 1. The next trip home for ODU will be when they host Virginia on February 8 at 5:30 pm.

USAFA, Colo. -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team put on a sterling performance on Saturday night as the Panthers tallied a 42-0 shutout of the Air Force Falcons in a Western Wrestling Conference dual. The Panthers not only won all 10 bouts, but won the takedown battle, 34-4. UNI improved to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in the WWC. The Panthers' 42-point margin was the largest in a shutout since a 1991 match when the Panthers scored a 48-0 victory over Ithaca. Senior Andrew Anderson (19-6 overall) got the Panthers started at 197 pounds with a 12-5 victory over Air Force's Jim Ciccone. Anderson used three first-period takedowns to go up 6-2 after three minutes of action. Anderson added two more takedowns in the third period to go along with an escape and a riding time point for the victory. Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley put the Panthers on top 8-0 in the dual following a technical fall over Air Force's Josh Larson. Brantley put on a takedown clinic as he notched 10 takedowns in the match. Brantley was able to secure a two-point nearfall in the third period to gain an additional bonus point for the technical fall. Brantley got the win at the 6:07 mark with a 25-9 triumph. Brantley's victory pushed his team-leading win total to 22 on the season. UNI redshirt freshman Cruse Aarhus recorded his first collegiate dual victory at 125 pounds with a 6-3 decision over AFA's Andrew Zwirlein. Aarhus took an early 2-0 lead, but fell behind 3-2 following a takedown from Zwirlein. Aarhus gained an escape prior to the end of the first period to knot the match at 3-3. Aarhus took his second lead of the match with an escape in the second period, 4-3. Aarhus put the match away with a third-period takedown to earn the 6-3 win. Aarhus' win gave the Panthers an 11-0 lead in the dual with the Falcons. Freshman Steven Fitzgerald then followed Aarhus' lead and notched his first collegiate dual victory as well with a fall at 133 pounds. Fitzgerald had taken a 5-0 lead with a takedown and three-point nearfall in the first period. Fitzgerald got the fall early in the second period from the top position. Fitzgerald improved to 3-4 on the season. The Panthers extended the dual lead to 23-0 following a first-period fall from 141-pounder Trent Washington. Washington tallied a pair of takedowns before earning the fall over AFA's Juancarlos Pino at the 2:26 mark. Washington's win moved his season mark to 7-5. UNI's Brett Robbins used seven takedowns and three nearfalls en route to a 23-8 technical fall over the Falcons' Alec Williams at 149 pounds. Robbins' win put UNI on top of Air Force in the dual, 28-0. At 157 pounds, UNI's Trevor Kittleson overcame a second-period deficit to score an 8-3 victory over AFA's Joseph Stafford. Kittleson trailed 3-2 just into the second period, but notched a reversal and did not look back. The Panthers added an escape and a takedown to go along with a riding time point for the victory. Kittleson's win improved UNI's advantage in the dual to 31-0. Senior Moza Fay continued the Panthers' assault on a shutout with a 10-2 major decision over AFA's Stephen Crozier at 165 pounds. Fay opened up a 9-0 lead in the match with Crozier before allowing the Falcon on the board late in the match. Fay secured more than five minutes riding time in the bout. Fay's win moved his season record to 19-2. Junior Scott Hazen had an impressive effort against last year's Western Wrestling Conference 174-pound champion in Air Force's Tyler French. Hazen notched a 9-1 major decision over French. Hazen scored on two takedowns, a two-point nearfall, a reversal and a riding time point. Hazen's win moved him to 11-8 on the year. Senior Alex Dolly closed out the dual with a thrilling 6-4 triumph over AFA's Sterling Tribble at 184 pounds. Dolly led 4-1 after a reversal early in the second period, but Tribble tied it up at 4-4 in the third period with a takedown. Dolly was credited with a reversal with five seconds left in the match to earn the decision, 6-4. The Panthers will return home to take on the Oklahoma State University Cowboys on Sunday at 7 p.m. in the McLeod Center. The match will be broadcast live on 99.3 FM (Y99.3 – Waverly) and on the web as a part of the UNI Panthers GAMEDAY Online.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- West Virginia University wrestling Coach Craig Turnbull announced that redshirt-junior Brandon Rader will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 season due to an injury he sustained last year. A Parkersburg, W.Va., native, Rader re-injured his left knee against NCAA runner-up Chad Mendes of Cal Poly on Jan. 2, 2008. Rader received a medical redshirt at the end of the 2007-08 season. He has yet to fully recover from the injury. Rader is the only true freshman in program history to garner All-American status. A two-time All-American at 141 pounds, he owns a 55-11 overall record.

WASHINGTON -- The American University wrestling team won its third-consecutive dual on Friday at Navy, defeating the Midshipmen 19-17 after trailing 14-6 after the first five weights. No. 12 Kyle Borshoff completed AU's comeback with a 5-3 upset win in a second sudden-victory overtime period at 149 lbs., making it the second straight dual he has won the final bout to secure American's victory. No. 3 Mike Cannon remained unbeaten on the year with an early second period fall. Navy jumped all over American early in the dual, winning four of the first five weights to take a 14-6 lead. Cannon, ranked third in the nation at 174 lbs., defeated Mike Billings by fall at the 3:44 mark for AU's only victory early on. Cannon scored the first take down of the match with just five seconds run off the clock and scored a second take down less than one minute later to take a 4-1 lead. He scored a third take down with 21 seconds remaining in the first period and took a 6-2 lead into the second. Cannon deferred his decision to begin the second and Billings chose down. Cannon quickly put Billings on his back to score the win by fall at 3:44. Heavyweight Quinton Pruett turned things around for the Eagles, scoring an 8-2 win over Tyler Moyer to bring AU to within five in the team score, 14-9. Pruett took an early lead in the match with a take down 30 seconds into the first. Moyer was able to escape eight seconds later and the two went into the second period with Pruett ahead, 2-1. Moyer escaped from his down starting position to tie the score quickly in the period but Pruett retook the lead, 4-2, on a take down with 11 seconds left. Pruett chose down to begin the third and escaped for a 5-2 lead then scored a take down with 1:05 remaining to go ahead 7-2. Pruett rode Moyer for the remainder of the period to take the win with riding time, 8-2. Freshman Thomas Williams pulled out a close 8-7 decision at 125 lbs. over Prescott Garner to close AU's deficit to two, 14-12. Williams took an early 4-0 lead over Prescott on a take down with 1:12 left in the first and two nearfall points. He scored a second take down shortly after but Garner immediately reversed to move the score to 6-2. Williams scored two more nearfall points after beginning the second period on top for an 8-2 lead. Garner was able to once again reverse though and heading into the third Williams held an 8-4 lead. Williams began the third down and was penalized twice for stalling, closing the score to 8-6. Garner held the riding time advantage but it was not enough, as the match ended with Williams still leading, 8-7. Navy retook a five point lead in the team score, 17-12, as Jasen Borshoff was defeated at 133 lbs. by No. 10 Joe Baker, 3-2. J. Borshoff escaped from Baker with 1:46 remaining in the third but could not score a take down in the closing moments to steal the win. Matt Mariacher earned a 13-4 major decision over Matt Pagan at 141 lbs., giving the Eagles one final chance at the victory trailing by one, 17-16. Mariacher scored twice in the first period with two take downs, taking a 4-2 lead into the second. Mariacher chose down to begin the second and escaped after 30 seconds for a 5-2 lead. A take down with just under one minute left in the period sent Mariacher into the third leading 7-2. Pagan began the third down and reversed Mariacher to move the score to 7-4 with 1:18 on the clock. Mariacher took over down the stretch though and after an escape, take down, two-point nearfall and riding time, took the bout by major decision, 13-4. Borshoff, ranked 13th in the nation at 149 lbs., put the Eagles over the top with a 5-3 victory over No. 5 Bryce Saddoris in two sudden victory overtimes. Neither wrestler managed a point in the first period and Borshoff scored first in the second with an escape from his down starting position. Borshoff remained ahead 1-0 and began the third up but fell behind, 2-1, on a Saddoris reversal. Borshoff escaped just four seconds after the reversal to tie the score at 2 and send the bout into overtime. Neither wrestler was able to score in the first tiebreaker and Saddoris took a 3-2 lead in with an escape in the first sudden victory. In the second sudden victory Borshoff escaped to tie the score and with 10 seconds remaining scored a takedown for the win, 5-3. American will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 18, at the Indiana Duals in Bloomington, Ind.

NORMAN, Okla. -- The 11th-ranked University of Oklahoma wrestling squad accomplished a feat Friday night that no other team in program history can rival – a perfect 13-0 record to start the season. Oklahoma outlasted the Maryland Terrapins, 22-15, at the McCasland Field House in Norman, battling back from a 12-11 deficit after six bouts to remain undefeated. "That was a great team we beat tonight," head coach Jack Spates said. "We had a lot of respect for Maryland coming in. Our guys need to continue to learn how to win tough and earn points. It feels good to be 13-0." For the second straight dual, Oklahoma faced a deficit entering the 174-pound match. Against Chattanooga last weekend, the Sooners rallied and won handily. Friday evening, the team rose to the occasion once again. Trailing 12-11, 174-pound Jeff James (No. 9) turned the tide back in favor of OU with a decisive 20-4 technical fall of Patrick Klenkel. Pat Flynn then improved to 19-2 on the year with a 9-3 win over Ryan Gray to put the Sooners up 19-12. Hudson Taylor (No. 11) took the win over No. 10 Eric Lapotsky at 197 pounds by a 6-2 decision, inching the Terrapins back to within four, 19-15. Sooner heavyweight Nathan Fernandez would need a win or lose by only a decision to ensure an OU victory. "I had to get a win, I wasn't worried about giving up bonus points," Fernandez said. The redshirt sophomore followed through. Fernandez out-toughed Patrick Gilmore, winning by a 6-2 final and improved his record to 17-4 this season, including nine straight. "Tonight Nathan faced a situation where the match was on the line," Spates said. "I thought he won by being aggressive and it was a really nice win for him." To begin the evening, 125-pound Joey Fio, ranked 11th, edged Brendan Byrne, 2-1. Junior Brian Shelton made it a 6-0 Sooner lead with a 6-1 decision over James Knox. Alex Krom then evened the match at six all with a pin of Sooner Seth Vernon at 141 pounds. Pushing Oklahoma back on top was redshirt junior Kyle Terry with a 21-5 stomping of Steve Fehnel at 149 pounds. Terry, ranked No. 15 in the country, now owns an impressive 17-match win streak. A pair of Maryland victories put the Terrapins back on top, 12-11, after 157-pound Kyle John upset No. 14 Shane Vernon, 14-7, and Brian Letters bested Ryan Smith at 165 pounds, 7-3. The Sooner squad will look to improve to 14-0 this Sunday, Jan. 18, when it travels to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7 p.m. CST

Wrestling with a full squad for just the second time in 15 duals, the Stanford wrestling team (4-10-1, 0-3 Pac-10) rallied to crush Air Force, 32-7, tonight in Colorado Springs, Colo. The margin of victory (25 points) was the largest for the Cardinal this year, and the team won a season-best eight of 10 bouts. Senior Luke Feist (14-9) highlighted the team victory with his team-leading ninth pin of the season. The Pac-10's co-pin leader at the start of the week, Feist now has 23 pins in his four years on The Farm. He currently stands just one pin short of fifth place on the school's career chart, and tied for tenth place on its single-season list. Nick Amuchastegui (20-4) also had a notable night. In defeating NCAA qualifier Stephen Crozier, the redshirt freshman secured win No. 20, the third Stanford wrestler this year to do so. Amuchastegui, who is now on a career-high seven-match win streak, also secured his place among the 10 winningest freshmen in school history, matching Brian Perry '07 for 10th place. Junior Tyler Parker (1-0) took the mat for the first time since Feb. 24, 2007 and secured a win at 149 pounds. Redshirt freshman Matt Winterbourne (1-2), the team's heavyweight, won the first match of his career. The dual began at 125 pounds, where rookie Matt Sencenbaugh (6-20) dropped a decision to Air Force sophomore Andrew Zwirlein. After taking a 5-0 lead with a near fall in the first period, Sencenbaugh gave up six points in the second to allow Zwirlein to take control. The Falcon wrestler claimed a 9-6 decision and gave his team its only lead of the night. Facing an 0-3 deficit, however, Stanford began to roll. Sophomore Porfirio Madrigal (12-6) started things off with a dominant performance in the second match, picking up a major decision over Tyler Untrauer at 133 pounds. The win was the first of six bonus-point victories for the Cardinal, a season high for the team. Madrigal scored three reversals and put Untrauer on his back twice to earn a 17-8 win. Sophomore Cameron Teitelman (10-12) followed suit, nabbing his first major decision of the year with a 9-0 win over Stephen Makuka at 141 pounds. Teitelman turned Makuka twice in the bout, and built a 7-0 lead by the end of the second period. At 149 pounds, Parker returned from injury and put an impressive start to his 2008-09 season. In his first match of the year, Parker crushed Air Force freshman Alec Williams with a 15-0 technical fall, ending the bout in the second period. Parker's win put the Cardinal up 13-3. Sophomore Lucas Espericueta (21-10) continued the Cardinal roll, earning another bonus-point win at 157 pounds. The Cardinal's returning NCAA qualifier had a 6-1 lead on sophomore Joseph Stafford by the end of the second period and pushed ahead to finish with a 10-1 major decision. With Stanford now up 17-3, Amuchastegui took the mat against Crozier, one of two returning NCAA qualifiers on the Falcon squad. Amuchastegui picked up a key takedown in the first period, then rode Crozier out in the second. The Cardinal freshman held on and eventually earned a 6-2 decision. In the next bout, freshman Victor Haug (8-14) lost a major decision to Air Force's other NCAA qualifier, junior Tyler French, 16-7. Jake Johnson (23-12), Stanford's current season win leader, cinched up the Stanford victory in the 184-pound bout, however, defeating Air Force senior Sterling Tribble, 6-1. Now up 23-7, the Cardinal secured it fourth win of the year, and first over a Division I opponent. Feist followed with his pin, sticking Falcon sophomore Kazden Ikehara in 1:14. Winterbourne, who returned from injury just last week, then won the first match of his career. The Cardinal heavyweight recorded three takedowns in the final period to defeat Josh Larson, 9-3. The Cardinal will be back on the mat tomorrow night, meeting Northern Colorado in Greeley at 6 p.m. (PT).

WAVERLY -- Junior 133-pounder Sean White of Grand Junction, Colo., senior 149-pounder Jacob Naig of Emmetsburg and junior 197-pounder Nick Shandri each gained falls, guiding the top-ranked Wartburg wrestling team to a 44-4 win over Buena Vista Friday, Jan. 16. The Knights, increasing their season dual record to 9-1 and upping their IIAC dual win streak to 126, raced out of the gate against the visiting Beavers (1-5). Sophomore 125-pounder Mark Kist of Eagle Grove scored a major decision followed by White's fall and a forfeit win for senior 141-pounder Zach McKray of Iowa City. Head coach Jim Miller's squad held a 34-0 lead before BV took its only win behind senior 184-pounder Brian Stueve. Wartburg continues IIAC dual action with its second battle in a week against rival Luther Saturday, Jan. 17. Meet time is 7 p.m. at the Regents Center on Luther's campus in Decorah. The Knights will also send individuals to the Central Invitational, slated for a 9 a.m. start at H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse on Central's campus in Pella.

FARGO, N.D. -- Winning six of 10 matches, including a key pin at 197 pounds by Jared Massey (JR, Circle Pines, Minn.), the Augsburg College wrestling team, ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III national rankings, claimed a 22-18 win over Division I opponent North Dakota State University in a dual meet on Friday night at NDSU's Bison Sports Arena. Augsburg, now 6-1 in dual meets, scored four straight wins after dropping the opening bout of the dual to take a lead it would not relinquish, improving to 6-5 in the all-time series against North Dakota State, now 2-6-1 this season in duals. This is the first time Augsburg faced North Dakota State since its last season as a Division II squad in the 2003-04 campaign. "A win like this shows that we can compete at a high level and win at a high level. We try to have a Division I experience at a Division III school," said Augsburg head coach Mark Matzek. The win is Augsburg's third straight over an NCAA Division I opponent in program history. In its last duals with Division I foes on Jan. 7, 2005, Augsburg beat both Cal Poly (25-15) and Oregon State (29-6) at the Oregon Classic Duals. Since 1979, Augsburg is now 6-10 against Division I opponents. After North Dakota State's Trent Sprenkle (FY, Billings, Mont.) opened the match with a third-period upset pin over Augsburg's Seth Flodeen (SR, Cannon Falls, Minn.) at 125 pounds, the Auggies claimed four straight victories. Top-ranked Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.) remained perfect at 25-0 on the season with his 22nd bonus-point victory, a 16-6, major-decision triumph over Tyler Steinwand. This season, Lang now has 16 pins, two technical falls, three major decisions and a forfeit. No. 7-ranked Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) improved to 21-6 with a win at 141, while Zach Hansen (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) scored a 5-4 decision at 149 and Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 5 at 157, claimed a 7-6 win, giving Augsburg a 13-6 advantage midway through the match. "The guys on the team are stepping up when called upon, especially our youngsters like Tony Valek and Zach Hansen, who was wrestling for a sick Willy Holst (SR, Prescott, Wis.)," Matzek said. After the Bison cut the lead to 13-9 with a win by Tyler Johnson (FY, Bismarck, N.D.) at 165, Augsburg's Zach Molitor (SO, Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti HS), a transfer from North Dakota State, built a 3-0 lead after two periods and claimed a win at 174, improving to 19-5 on the season. Molitor is now ranked No. 7 in Division III at 174. Kenny Moenkedick trimmed the Auggie advantage to 16-12 with a decision at 184, but Massey, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Division III at 197, scored a second-period pin of NDSU's Drew Ross to clinch the victory for the Auggies. Massey, now 14-0 on the season with eight pins, is a transfer from Division I Wisconsin in his first season with the Auggies after a four-year absence from collegiate wrestling (he competed at Wisconsin in the 2003-04 season). Tyler Hemmesch claimed a second-period pin of Augsburg's No. 4-ranked heavyweight, Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), in the final match of the evening. Augsburg's White Team (junior varsity) will compete on Saturday (1/17) at the Minnesota West Community and Technical College Open in Worthington, Minn. The Auggie varsity will compete in a dual meet at Division II Augustana (S.D.) on Tuesday (1/20) at 7 p.m. in Sioux Falls, S.D.

GREELEY, Colo. -- The University of Northern Iowa ran its conference dual win streak to nine in a row following a 28-13 victory over the University of Northern Colorado Bears on Friday in Butler-Hancock Hall in NCAA wrestling action. UNI came back from a 13-3 deficit in the dual by winning the final six matches, including falls from 165-pounder Moza Fay and heavyweight Christian Brantley. UNI improved to 5-4 on the season, while Northern Colorado dropped to 1-9-1. Northern Colorado jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the dual after winning three of the first four bouts. UNC's 125-pounder Tony Mustari, who is ranked No. 18 in the nation, began the dual with a 14-5 major decision over UNI's Cruse Aarhus. UNC's Casey Cruz then pinned UNI's Steven Fitzgerald at the 2:48 mark of their 133-pound match. Fitzgerald was making his collegiate debut for the Panthers. UNI got on the board at 141 pounds when Trent Washington topped UNC's Kenny Hashimoto, 10-4. Washington recorded four takedowns in the bout with an escape to go along with a riding time point to surge past Hashimoto, who was a national qualifier in 2007. The Bears' Mitchell Polkowske used a six-point third period to score an 8-2 win over UNI's Brett Robbins at 149 pounds. Robbins scored the first takedown of the match to take a 2-0 lead, but could not add to it and entered the third period tied at 2-2. Robbins attempted a shot midway through the final stanza, however Polkowske countered and recorded a takedown. Polkowske added a three-point nearfall to go with a riding time point to earn the 8-2 victory. The Panthers' Tyson Reiner responded with a strong effort at 157 pounds and notched a 7-3 victory over the Bears' Justin Gaethje. Reiner took it right to Gaethje by scoring two takedowns and led 4-2 at the close of the first period. Reiner added a second period escape and another takedown in the closing seconds to pull the Panthers to within 13-6 in the dual. Senior Moza Fay tallied his seventh fall of the season and improved to 18-2 overall with a second-period pin of UNC's Tanner Weiks. Fay got the fall at the 3:46 mark of his 165-pound matchup. Fay's win narrowed the margin in the dual to just one point as UNC led 13-12. At 174 pounds, UNI's Scott Hazen had to work some overtime to get his victory over UNC's Brandon Kammerzell. Hazen appeared to have the match in order in the closing seconds as he tallied a takedown to take a 5-3 lead. However, Hazen was called for a stalling while allowing Kammerzell to escape and the match was extended to overtime. Hazen used the extra time to score a takedown and score a 7-5 sudden victory. Hazen's win gave UNI its first lead of the evening in the dual at 15-13 over UNC. Senior Alex Dolly used five takedowns and plenty of riding time to secure a 12-6 decision over the Bears' Ryan Johnson at 184 pounds. Dolly began the third period in the neutral position but quickly scored a takedown to a take an 8-4 lead. After allowing Johnson to score a reversal, Dolly responded with an escape and another takedown to put the finishing touches on the triumph. UNI clinched the dual victory at 197 pounds when Andrew Anderson scored a 16-6 major decision over UNC's Patrick Carey. Anderson registered seven takedowns in the match as he moved to 18-6 on the season. Anderson's win gave UNI a 22-13 dual advantage. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Christian Brantley put the finishing touches on the dual win with a fall at the 6:12 mark of his match with UNC's Justin Tuell. The win improved Brantley's team-leading total to 21 on the season. The Panthers will be in action again Saturday night against the Air Force Academy. The match will begin at 8:30 p.m. (Central) and will be broadcast live on 99.3 FM (Y99.3 – Waverly) and online as a part of the UNI Panthers GAMEDAY Online.

Event: UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson Venue: 02 Arena, Dublin, Ireland Date: January 17, 2009 This is not one of the best fight cards we have seen in the UFC, as CEO Dana White continues to give worldwide exposure to this fast-growing sport. With a few interesting battles scheduled, the rest of the card is sprinkled with unknown European fighters, and hopeful, hometown favorites. But a fight is still a fight. Unfortunately, from a betting standpoint, this card looks full of clear favorites to me! It may be difficult to sweep the boards, laying juice as we go, in a sport full of upsets, but let's take a look and see if any 'dogs really have a chance … In the main event, former Olympic wrestler Dan HENDERSON (23-7) takes on former UFC middleweight champion Rich "Ace" FRANKLIN (26-3). Franklin beats everybody, but the ninja, Anderson "Spider" Silva. Hendo has a rock-hard head, and has never been knocked out! His dirty boxing and dominant wrestling skills make an inside game a must against Franklin. For Franklin to win, he will need to stay outside and kick and strike and score points. His chances of a mild upset are reflected in the betting odds. Take HENDERSON @ -125. He does everything just a little bit better than Franklin and wins by second-round ground-n-pound TKO. Former UFC champion Mark "The Hammer" COLEMAN (15-8) will someday be in the UFC Hall of Fame. But today he loses to Maricio "Shogun" RUA (16-3), who once was considered the best middleweight on the planet. He now fights as a light-heavyweight and has a career full of rehabing injuries, including a dislocated elbow to Coleman the first time they met. Both are former Pride in Japan fighters. Shogun is coming off his shocking loss and first submission loss ever to Forrest Griffen. I think he wants to put on a show tonight, and 44-year old Coleman's return to the UFC offers a great stage. Take RUA �360 to win by second-round, rear-naked choke submission. Welterweight Marcus "The Irish Hand Grenade" DAVIS (20-5) likes to stand and punch as much as his opponent, Chris "Lights Out" LYTLE (36-16-4). But, despite their reputations as devastating punchers, both of these fighters win more of their fights by submission! Interesting. Who's going to hit the canvass tonight? Neither. Take the DAVIS, Irish Hand Grenade, @ -145 in Ireland to win a close decision. Middleweight Denis KANG (31-10-1) has been fighting all over the world for the past decade, but this is his UFC debut. He went 3 1/2 years (4/03-9/06) without losing! His opponent is the very capable Alan "The Talent" BELCHER (12-4). There is a reason that Dana White is bringing Kang into the UFC. It's not to lose to Alan Belcher. Take KANG @ -250 to have an easy win by second-round triangle choke submission. Nobody has had more fights that Jeremy "Gumby" HORN (88-18-5). But, his task tonight is to find a way to stop Brazilian jiu-jitsu expert, Rousimar "Toquinho" PALHARES (17-2), from putting him to sleep on the mat. Palhares lost a decision to Dan Henderson in Atlanta in UFC 88. If the betting line weren't so steep, this would be my best bet of the night. I see Palhares being too quick and too strong for an old fighter who should stay with his coaching career, and put his fight shoes to rest. Take PALHARES @ -380 to beat Horn by second-round armbar submission. And on the undercard: Take Martin "The Hitman" KAMPMANN (13-2) @ -450 to kick his way to victory over Alexandre BARROS (13-5). Despite the beating he took by Nate Marquardt in his last outing, Kampmann's drop to welterweight is significant. His speed and striking power will make him formidable. This one should be easy. Take Eric "Red" SCHAFER (12-3-2) @ -125 to beat Antonio "Samuray" MENDES (14-3). In what should be a close light-heavyweight fight, Mendes will be out to show a better performance than the 1st round whipping he took by Thiago Silva. Schafer is coming off an impressive win over Houston Alexander in Houston's backyard! If Schafer is able to stay away from the long, lanky Mendes' strikes, he will win on the mat with a surprising first-round submission. Take lightweight Denis SIVER (12-6) @ -160, a German, against American, Nate MOHR (8-5), who will try to stand and strike, as his five losses have all been by submission! Siver knows that and will head to the mat for a quick submission win. Take welterweight John HATHAWAY (10-0) @ -250, a Brit, to defeat Irishman Tom EGAN (4-0) in a battle of two unknown, but undefeated strikers. One will drop. Which one will it be? It will be the hay-maker thrower who is on the card for entertainment purposes only. Take Tomasz "Gorilla" DRWAL (14-2) @ -270 to easily defeat Ivan "II Terrible" SERATI (10-2), whose resume has a loss to Vitor Belfort on it. Ivan isn't ready for the UFC yet, and his frantic punches may lead to his quick demise on the mat. So, in summary, we have action on all of the favorites. How many upsets will become the "bad apples" to spoil our pie? I would guess that maybe Franklin, Lytle, and Mendes would be the most likely to pull an upset. I guess we'll see. Let's see if we can score some cash with our "fictitious" $1000 bankroll. Lay $75 to win $60 on Henderson in true dirty boxing and ground-n-pound fashion. Lay $144 to win $40 on Shogun Rua in revenge mode. Lay $87 to win $60 on Davis in the "fight-of-the-night". Lay $125 to win $50 on Kang's UFC debut. Lay $152 to win $40 on Palhares as he schools Horn. Lay $90 to win $20 on Kampmann's leg-kicking, bridge-jump. Lay $50 to win $40 on Red Schafer. Lay $108 to win $40 on Drwal. Lay $100 to win $40 on Hathaway. Lay $ 64 to win $40 on Siver. In total, we are risking $995 to win $430. The $5 balance goes to RevWrestling.com for their outstanding wrestling coverage. Let's use these profits to join REV GOLD membership for all the inside information in the world of amateur wrestling. Good luck and enjoy the fights. I know I will. More later. The UFC Monster

NEWTON, Iowa -- The incredible athletic career of Dan Hodge, the only man to ever win national titles in both boxing and wrestling, has been published by Culture House Books and is now available. It is called Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story. Hodge came out of Perry, Oklahoma, to set the amateur wrestling world on fire in the mid 1950s. He won three NCAA Championships at 177 pounds for the University of Oklahoma, never losing a match or even a takedown. He also won three national titles in freestyle wrestling and one in Greco-Roman. He also competed on two Olympic teams. He made the 1952 team as an unheralded 19-year-old, at that time the youngest wrestler ever to make an Olympic team. In 1956, he won the silver medal in the 174-pound class in Melbourne, Australia. On April 1, 1957, Hodge was on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine, the only amateur wrestler ever accorded such an honor. After completing his amateur wrestling career with his third NCAA title in 1957, Hodge turned to boxing. He was 17-0 as an amateur boxer and on March 24, 1958, won the National Golden Gloves heavyweight title with a dramatic knockout victory in Madison Square Garden! Hodge boxed briefly as a professional, posting a record of 8-2 and at one time was being considered for a world title shot against champion Floyd Patterson. In the book, he discloses for the first time the behind-the-scenes problems he had with the business, and why he left boxing even though he had a promising future. After his horrible experience in pro boxing, Hodge became a professional wrestler and is regarded as the greatest junior heavyweight champion of all time. He is also considered one of the greatest "shooters" (a wrestler willing to wrestle for real at any time) in the history of the sport. The book concludes with a ranking of where Dan Hodge fits on the list of the greatest shooters of all time, dating back to the start of the early 1900s. Author Mike Chapman has known Dan and his wife, Dolores, for over 30 years and has spent considerable time with Dan talking about his incredible career. A recognized author and historian, Chapman is the founder of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, and the founder of W.I.N. magazine, one of the top wrestling publications in the country. He has been named National Wrestling Writer of the Year six times, by five different organizations. This is his 21st book, and 15th on wrestling. The book includes 66 photographs, many never seen before. The photos cover Hodge's careers in both wrestling and boxing, as both an amateur and professional. "Dan Hodge has lived a truly amazing life," said Chapman. "He has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in sports history -- from Jack Dempsey to Rocky Marciano, from Ed "Strangler" Lewis to Lou Thesz. There are photos of all of them with Dan in the book, plus many stories about them." The foreword was written by Jim "J.R." Ross, one of the best-known announcers and commentators in pro wrestling history. Oklahoma Shooter: The Dan Hodge Story is published by Culture House Books of Newton, Iowa, a small publishing company that specializes in books about sports legends and movie personalities. It sells for $22.95, with $5 shipping and handling costs. Persons can order the book by calling Culture House Books at 641-791-3072.

San Luis Obispo, Calif. -- T. J. Dillashaw (133), Adin Duenas (141), Tim Hawkins (184) and John Drake (197) each scored a major decision and three teammates picked up points Wednesday night to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 28-9 Pac-10 wrestling victory at Cal Poly. The Titans improved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in Pac-10 duals while the injury-riddled Mustangs fell to 3-7 and 0-2 after their final home meet of the season. It was Fullerton's first win over the Mustangs since 1992-93 and came after back-to-back one-point losses the past two seasons. Andre Gonzalez got a decision at 125 pounds to get Fullerton out ahead and Dillashaw and Duenas made it an 11-0 lead before Cal Poly hit its strengths. Three consecutive decisions closed the gap but Fullerton won the final four bouts to win going away. Fullerton is idle until more Pac-10 matches at Boise State on Jan. 23 and at Oregon State and Portland State on Jan. 25.

The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team will hold a Military Appreciation Night Jan. 30 in the West Gym when the Panthers take on the Northern Illinois Huskies at 7 p.m. All military personnel with a valid Military ID will receive free admission and all family members will receive a discounted ticket price ($3.00). The tickets must be preordered through the UNI athletics website (www.unipanthers.com). Individuals should click on the Tickets link and then click Promotions. The promo code is WRESPROMO1. The UNI ROTC will present the colors prior to the match. UNI wrestlers will be wearing UNI camouflaged singlets in honor of our soldiers in the armed forces. Following the meet, each singles will be featured on an online auction on the Panthers' website. The money raised through the auction will go toward Second Lieutenant Brian Gienau's memorial fund to build a fallen soldier memorial to be placed on the UNI campus. Gienau was a 2003 graduate of UNI, who was killed Feb. 27, 2005 while on active duty. During the meet's intermission there will be a special recognition of Gienau. Also during the ceremony, the crowd will be informed more about the singlet auction as to when and how they can bid on the singlets.

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. -- After jumping out to a 14-0 lead after three matches, the University of Pittsburgh wrestling team cruised to victory in its second Eastern Wrestling League match of the year, defeating Lock Haven University 30-9 here at Thomas Field House. The Panthers tallied four bonus-point wins on the night, led by sophomore Ethan Headlee's pin in the 165-pound match. After a forfeit in the 125 pound match, the Panthers (2-3, 2-0 EWL) built their lead with back-to-back major decisions from Jimmy Conroy and Ty Nauman. Conroy was an 8-0 winner at 133 over Billy Ashnault while Nauman upped his win total to 19 with a 14-5 win over Zach Kell in the 141-pound bout. Matt Fittery put Lock Haven (5-6-1, 0-1 EWL) on the board with a 6-1 decision over Mark Powell in the 149-pound match, but the Eagles would not gain anymore ground as Pitt went on to take the ensuing three matches. Phil Sorrentino was a 2-1 winner by decision over Ollie Cooperwood at 157, bringing the score to 17-3 in favor of the Blue and Gold. Headlee kept pace with Nauman, earning his 19th win of the year by pinfall, also tying him for the team lead in falls this season with seven. David Sullivan's 11-3 major decision over Travis Stem pushed Pitt's lead to 27-3, the largest lead of the night. Back-to-back decisions at 184 and 197 for Lock Haven closed the gap, but the damage was already done. A.J. Hunte finished off the night with a 3-2 win over Gabe Murtoff in the heavyweight match. Hunte recorded his first dual win of the season after wrestling up a class from his usual 197-pound slot. Pitt returns home for a Sunday afternoon dual with No. 6 Central Michigan University. The Chippewas and Panthers will commence action inside Fitzgerald Field House at 2 p.m.

NORFOLK, Va. -- The 21st ranked wrestling Monarchs head to Fairfax, Virginia and the campus of George Mason University for a trio of duals against Colonial Athletic Association opponents this Saturday at the CAA Duals. ODU will face Binghamton at 10:00 am, Drexel at Noon, and #18 Hofstra at 2:00 pm at the George Mason University Fieldhouse. The match against the Pride will mark the seventh dual against a nationally ranked team this season for Old Dominion. ODU is 2-1 against Binghamton all-time, including a win last season at the CAA Duals. ODU trails the all-time series with Drexel, 5-8, but has three straight wins against the Dragons. The Pride boasts a 61 match unbeaten streak in the CAA and will be putting that on the line against Boston University, Rider, the Monarchs and Sacred Heart. Old Dominion will lean on nationally ranked senior Ryan Williams (141) and sophomore James Nicholson (125) this weekend. Both have posted 23 wins this season and with a combined five losses between them, both have been ranked in the top ten. Williams is ranked seventh in the nation and Nicholson ninth. ODU will also look to #16 Jesse Strawn (197) and #18 Kyle Hutter (133) to grab big wins as they will each face nationally ranked opponents on Saturday. The Monarchs will see five nationally ranked individuals on the mat on Saturday at five different weights. Hutter will have the stiffest competition, facing #9 Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra) at 133 lbs. Two other Hofstra grapplers are nationally ranked in #11 Alton Lucas (174) and #20 Ryan Patrovich (165). Binghamton boasts one nationally ranked wrestler, a top ten 184-pounder in Josh Patterson; rookie Joe Budi will face him first thing on Saturday morning. When the Monarchs face off against Drexel, Jesse Strawn will face #12 Jon Oplinger at 197 lbs. Action begins at 10:00 am on Saturday at the GMU Fieldhouse.

Oklahoma State head coach John Smith will be the featured guest on Wrestling 411 Radio on Thursday, January 15. This Thursday's edition of Wrestling 411 Radio will air at 7 p.m. CST. The show can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link. An archive of the broadcast will be available immediately following the show. Smith is in his 18th year as the head wrestling coach at Oklahoma State University. During this tenure his teams have won five NCAA titles. The Cowboys will face top-ranked Iowa on Jan. 18 in Stillwater. As a wrestler, Smith was a six-time World and Olympic champion and a two-time NCAA champion. He is generally considered the best freestyle wrestler this country has produced. Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard live by visiting www.wrestling411.tv. Questions for any of the guests are welcome. You may e-mail your questions to Kyle Klingman at kklingman@mediasportsproductions.com.

Award winning journalist Andy Hamilton from the Iowa City Press Citizen and co-owner of Iowa's oldest wrestling publication, The Predicament, Wyatt Schultz will appear on this week's radio show. Hamilton has been with the Iowa City Press Citizen for 10 years and is considered one of the top wrestling journalists in the nation. Hamilton won the National Wrestling Media Association Writer of the Year in 2004 and The Dellinger Award from Amateur Wrestling News in 2005. Hamilton serves as the college wrestling beat writer and also covers college football. Wyatt Schultz is co-owner of The Predicament, Iowa's oldest wrestling publication. Schultz is well known for his expertise in wrestling photography and can be recognized at most of the premier wrestling events in the Midwest. Schultz covers high school wrestling throughout the state of Iowa and his hundreds of photos can be seen on thepredicament.com. Two-time NCAA champion and 1980 Olympian Chuck Yagla will also be in the studio tonight. Yagla will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, OK, in June. "On the Mat" is a weekly wrestling radio show that airs each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00PM Central time on KCNZ AM 1650 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The show is presented by the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum. You can also listen online at kcnzam.com.

Congrats to University of Iowa (D1) Champs! The individuals who made it through the storm to be recognized as OW's and they are: Division I: Reece Humphrey (Ohio State - 133 lbs.) Division II: Todd Meneely (Nebraska-Omaha - 157 lbs.) Division III: Jared Massey (Augsburg - 197 lbs.) NAIA: Joe Cornejo (Missouri Valley - 157 lbs.) NJCAA: Brad Lower (Iowa Central - 165 lbs.) Women's: Michaela Hutchison (Oklahoma City - 55 kg.) The 2009 NWCA National Duals are complete. We move to the next page. We return to our Brute Adidas studios for a great show this Saturday from 9 AM to 11 AM at Takedownradio.com. Join Steve Foster and Chris Arns, our in studio hosts and their guests. This week on TDR: 9:05 J Robinson- Head Coach Minnesota Gopher Wrestling makes his return to TDR. We'll talk to J about the National Duals and the balance of the season. We'll take a look at what makes Jayson Ness so dang good. 9:20 Derek Delporto- Head Coach Eastern Michigan returns to the show to discuss the eagles program, his second year as head Coach there and what shape his squad is in as we sit squarely in the middle of the season. January 11th the eagles defeated Cleveland State Vikings 31-10 winning 7 of 10 matches. 9:40 Mark Cody- Head Coach of American University Eagles in DC. Its been awhile since Mark's been on the show. AU Eagles defeats NC at home 25-19. Mike Cannon crowned Midlands Champion at 174 pounds. Early, in Aug of 2008 Mark Cody was awarded the Bob Bubb Coaching Excellence Award recipient. 10:05 Mark Manning- Head Coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The No. 4 ranked wrestling team dropped two hard-fought duals last Sunday to finish fourth at the NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Huskers (8-2) suffered their first loss of the season with a 22-11 defeat by No. 1 Iowa in the morning's semifinals and lost to No. 2 Iowa State by just one point in the consolation finals, 20-19. 10:20 Damon Lau-Founder of Round 5- Mixed martial arts collectable's- Randy Couture, Rich Franklin, Shawn Sherk figurines. Available on line and at over 3000 retail stores across the country. Athletes can sell ad space on shorts and help to create the design of the action figure. round5mma.com. Will there be NCAA Coaches and athletes at some time? Who are candidates? Gable, Sanderson, Brands, Smith........... 10:40 Jim Andrassy- Head Coach Kent State Golden Flashes. Kent State wrestled at the Virginia Duals and competed well. Wrestling 5 matches the flashes go 3-2 on the weekend and gave the Buckeyes a run for their money at Columbus 1 week ago. The Flashes are 6-4 on the year. TDR will feature Kent State vs. N. Illinois on Saturday the 24th of January at 11:05 AM CST Join Chris, Steve and all of us on America's Wrestling Radio Talk Show each and every week at 9:05 AM CST to 11:00 AM CST to hear from the experts, the coaches and the athletes. Visit Takedownradio.com