InterMat Staff

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Power and poise in the upper weight classes kept the second-ranked Iowa State Cyclones and fourth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers on the right side of the bracket at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. A pin by Jake Varner at 197 pounds and a decision by heavyweight David Zabriskie boosted ISU to a 19-15 quarterfinal win over upset-minded Boise State on Saturday afternoon at the UNI-Dome. Nebraska dug out of a 16-0 hole in rallying past Penn State 20-16 in the quarters. The Huskers lost the first four matches before winning the last six. Nebraska also had to rally from a big early deficit in a first-round 19-18 win over Northwestern. It was nearly a disastrous morning for the Huskers, who placed second behind Iowa in this event last year. Nebraska's bus wouldn't start on a cold Winter morning in the Midwest. The Huskers had to scramble to make it over to the UNI-Dome in time to make it for Saturday morning's weigh-ins. "The battery was dead in our bus, and we were kind of limbo for a while there," NU coach Mark Manning said. "We had a parent from another team who carted some of our guys over here. Nebraska-Omaha, our sister school in Nebraska, came through and brought some of our guys over here. It was kind of a crazy morning, but it all worked out." Top-ranked Iowa, meanwhile, rolled to a pair of lopsided wins while No. 3 Cornell pulled out a 17-16 victory over No. 6 Ohio State in the quarterfinals. That sets up one semifinal matchup between Iowa and Nebraska with Iowa State and Cornell squaring off in the other semifinal. Those duals are set for 11 a.m. Sunday with the finals at 3 p.m. Iowa rolled to a 24-6 win over Nebraska in the finals of this event last year. "It's obviously going to be a tough match, but that's why we're here," Manning said. "Iowa has a great team, that's why they're ranked No. 1. We're looking forward to wrestling them. It will be a real good challenge for us." In Iowa's 27-7 quarterfinal win over Minnesota, second-ranked Daniel Dennis of Iowa scored a 6-4 win over No. 6 Jayson Ness at 133 pounds. Ness was an NCAA runner-up last year at 125 and is a two-time All-American. "There were a lot more opportunities I could've had in that match, and maybe the right mindset wasn't there," Dennis said. "I got the win, which was important, but that's not the only thing. I have a lot more that I need to develop." Dennis, fresh off winning the Midlands, continues to put together a superb season. Joey Slaton started ahead of Dennis at 133 last year. Slaton placed second in the country while Dennis missed most of the season with a broken jaw. Dennis has been the starter nearly the entire season as Slaton has had trouble making it down to 133. "I took pretty good advantage of the time off I had last year," Dennis said. "I competed a lot in freestyle and that's helped me." Iowa won 17 of 20 matches on Saturday. Iowa coach Tom Brands was asked about a possible rematch with Iowa State in the finals. Iowa beat ISU in a December dual in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes also edged the Cyclones for the team title at the Midlands. "We don't look ahead," Brands said. "But (Iowa State) should want another shot at us. This is a national championship and you should want a shot at a title." Both of Nebraska's duals came down to the heavyweight bout and redshirt freshman Tucker Lane handled the pressure by earning a pair of victories to spark NU. "I'm looking forward to some tournaments because these dual meets are giving me a heart attack when we're falling behind so much early," Manning said. "We put ourselves in a huge hole. We battled back. Our veterans really stepped up and did a good job. Northwestern outwrestled us, but we were able to pull it out. We came back and wrestled a lot better against Penn State. "Tucker Lane, he's the man. He really came through and won some big matches." In Iowa State's 35-0 first-round win over Indiana, No. 7 Tyler Clark of ISU continued to look strong in knocking off returning national champion and top-ranked Angel Escobedo of Indiana by a 3-1 score at 125. "Tyler's done a great job," ISU coach Cael Sanderson said. "He started us out with the right attitude and wrestled hard. We're real happy with the progress he's made." Varner's first-period pin over Boise State's Brent Chriswell keyed the Cyclones in holding off a strong young team from Idaho. Zabriskie followed with a 6-2 win over Sam Zylstra in the final bout to clinch the win. "We needed a big performance and Jake really stepped up for us," Sanderson said. "He's a gamer and he's at his best in the big matches. Jake's working hard and he keeps getting better. It's nice to have two closers like Jake Varner and Dave Zabriskie in an event like this. We train hard and prepare for moments like this." In Cornell's win over Ohio State, the dual was deadlocked 13-13 coming down to the final two weight classes. Cornell's Cameron Simaz came through by scoring a 12-4 major decision over Cody Gardner at 197. That put Cornell up 17-13. OSU's Corey Morrison won by decision at heavyweight as the Buckeyes fell short by one point in the dual. Cornell's Troy Nickerson, who has placed third and second in the NCAA meet, also is back in the lineup. Nickerson missed last season with an injury and has been in and out of the lineup this year. Nickerson went 2-0 on Saturday at 125. In one of the best matches of the dual, returning national champion Mike Pucillo of Ohio State outlasted Justin Kerber 8-7 at 184. Iowa All-American Charlie Falck (125) will not compete this weekend. He suffered an ankle injury in the Midlands Championships. Falck did not weigh-in on Saturday. Falck's backup, J.J. Krutsinger, dropped both of his matches on Saturday. "Even though Krutsinger is 0-2, he's been very scrappy," Brands said. "He just needs to win some positions that he is not winning. He has to believe that he belongs here."

Lincoln-Craig Brester and Tucker Lane won the final two matches of Nebraska's dual with Northwestern to propel the Huskers past the Wildcats, 19-18, in the first round of the NWCA National Duals on Saturday. NU, ranked fourth in the nation, stayed perfect on the year with a 7-0 dual mark, while No. 20 Northwestern fell to 7-2. The Huskers now face No. 14 Penn State in the second round at 1 p.m. In an exciting dual, No. 1 Jake Herbert of Northwestern scored a pin at 184 pounds to give the Wildcats an 18-12 lead, but Brester and Lane saved the day for the Huskers. Brester, a junior who earned the No. 1 ranking in the nation earlier this week, posted NU's only bonus-point victory of the dual with a 13-2 major decision over John Schoen at 197 pounds. Brester scored two takedowns in the first period to take an early lead, but Schoen choose down in the second period and held off Brester for most of the period. Brester managed a two-point nearfall with 45 second left in the period and quickly cut Schoen to earn a takedown and take a decided advantage. Brester added another takedown in the final period to take the victory and pull the Huskers to within two points at 18-16. Knowing he needed only a decision to win the dual for NU, Lane accomplished the feat with an 8-5 victory over Ben Kuhar at heavyweight. Kuhar took a 5-4 lead with 57 seconds left in the match, but Lane was able to secure a reversal to retake the lead. Lane added a late takedown and had a riding-time advantage to pull away. Northwestern jumped on Nebraska early to take a lead, causing the late dramatics. The Wildcats posted wins in each of the first three bouts for a 12-0 lead, but with four straight decisions from 157 to 174 pounds. Junior Jordan Burroughs kept his perfect season alive with a close 7-2 decision over No. 17 Jason Welch. Burroughs, ranked second in the country, entered the third period up 4-2, but Welch was tough on top to give Burroughs fits throughout the final stanza. Burroughs held on for the win and moved to 15-0 on the season, while Stephen Dwyer also picked up his 15th win of the season at 165 pounds. Dwyer, a junior, earned three takedowns and compiled 2:57 of riding time for the win over Kyle Bertin. Senior Brandon Browne kept the momentum in Nebraska's corner with another victory at 174. Browne scored five takedowns and a reversal to nearly notch a major decision, but ended with a 14-7 decision. The Huskers now face the Nittany Lions, a team with the Huskers beat at last year's National Duals. NU won six of the 10 matches to post a 19-13 upset of No. 1 Penn State en route to the finals.

Hofstra junior Lou Ruggirello has been named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestler of the Week for all competition from December 10 through January 4, the CAA announced. He shares the award with two other conference wrestlers. Ruggirello, a native of Walden, NY (Valley Central), recorded a 5-1 mark over the time period including a 4-1 record and a second-place finish at the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, North Carolina last week. He collected his ninth pin of the season in a CAA victory over Binghamton on December 12 and added two more pins in the Scuffle. Ruggirello is currently ranked 10th by InterMat, 11th by W.I.N., and 12th by Amateur Wrestling News at 133 pounds. This is his second consecutive CAA Wrestler of the Week award this season. Cayle Byers of George Mason and Josh Patterson of Binghamton, both second-place finishers at the Southern Scuffle, were also named the Colonial Athletic Association Wrestlers of the Week. Byers, a sophomore from Chugiak, Alaska, won four of five bouts at the Scuffle and won all three at the ODU Quad, where he defeated the tenth ranked 197-pounder from Purdue. He also defeated 13th-ranked Jesse Strawn of ODU in a CAA dual. Byers is currently ranked sixth by InterMat and seventh by Amateur Wrestling News. Patterson, a junior from Ontario, NY (Wayne), collected a pair of pins at the Scuffle and won a major decision over the 10th ranked wrestler from Edinboro. His only loss was to the sixth-ranked 184-pounder from Kent State. Patterson is currently ranked eighth by AWN and 14th by InterMat. 15 of his 26 wins have come by fall. The CAA also announced that Mendbagana Tovuujav of George Mason was selected the CAA Rookie of the Week. A freshman from Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia (St. Benedict's Prep), Tovuujav jumped up from sixth in the CAA to 17th in the nation at 174 pounds. He placed fourth at the Southern Scuffle, winning five of seven bouts and was 2-1 at the ODU Quad. He defeated the second ranked 174-pounder in the CAA in his first conference dual. The Pride return to action this Sunday, January 11 when they host the Wolfpack of North Carolina State at the Mack Sports Complex. Match time is 1 p.m. To purchase Hofstra wrestling tickets online for the Hofstra-North Carolina State match or any other Pride home match, visit www.Hofstra.edu/athletics or call 516-HOF-TIXX (463-8499).

This weekend's NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals represents an exciting part of the collegiate wrestling season. The regular season individual tournaments are pretty much over and January and February mostly feature a sea of contests between two teams at a time. It's a rare event for the second half of the season in that it showcases a magnitude of marquee matchups all at once. Because college wrestling is spread out all over the country and the field so large, there are still plenty of questions that have not been answered by mid-January. Pollsters are still dishing out a fair amount of conjecture and seek more black and white statistics rather than chin-scratching to yield their rankings. The National Duals is an event that traditionally answers some of these questions. The extent to which injuries are healed is revealed, redshirts are burned, lineups solidified and new faces step it up and take their names out of the fine print and into the headlines. Here are some of the answers we might get this weekend. Cael Sanderson1. Can Iowa State catch a break? After a costly last second reversal in the Iowa-Iowa State dual at 141 pounds (by Alex Tsirtsis over Nick Gallick) and the call of a takedown that was awarded at the edge (stopping the action) then taken away in the finals of the 165-pound final of the Midlands (Ryan Morningstar vs. Jon Reader), one has to think that the chips have to fall the Cyclones way sooner or later. An 0-5 performance in the finals at the Midlands made it seem like there's a bit of a jinx on Iowa State. If they're due for a bit of luck, perhaps it will appear this weekend. 2. Will Troy Nickerson go? The 2006 NCAA finalist at 125 pounds is a key component to Cornell reaching new heights as a program in 2009. This season, Nickerson wrestled at 133 pounds against Penn State, sat out for the Body Bar Systems Invitational to get ready for the NWCA All-Star Classic, but sat out there are well upon re-injuring his shoulder. He did not compete at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational or the Southern Scuffle. The word is that he'll wrestle at the National Duals "if needed" but it's difficult to imagine the Big Red not needing him at some point during the weekend. If he does return and is reasonably healthy, how much rust and third-period oxygen deprivation, if any, can fans expect to see? Will anyone be able to challenge Iowa's Brent Metcalf this weekend? (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)3. Can Brent Metcalf get even better? Perhaps the greatest quality to one of the greatest active college wrestler is his determination to realize his full potential. There is no doubting his marked improvement from "great" to "super-great" since wrestling under Tom Brands and it is quite clear that Metcalf is willing to work on all aspects of his game. Far more than merely being offensive-minded at all times, admirers of the art of wrestling can appreciate a precision in his attacks that seems to be constantly improving. After tech-falling North Carolina State's Darrion Caldwell (the only wrestler to beat Metcalf during his college career) at the NWCA All-Star Classic, one wonders where this talented Hawkeye can go from here. Only his performance this weekend will tell. It's worth noting that there has been a bit of an exodus from Metcalf's weight class. While college wrestlers do grow, it seems to be more than a coincidence that Jordan Leen of Cornell, Jordan Burroughs of Nebraska, J.P O'Connor of Harvard, Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro and Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota (who is redshirting this season) all started their careers at 149 pounds and are now at 157 pounds. 4. What will happen at 125? The National Duals field at this weight includes No. 1 Troy Nickerson, No. 2 Angel Escobedo of Indiana, No. 4 Charlie Falck of Iowa, No. 5 Brandon Precin of Northwestern, No. 8 Zack Sanders of Minnesota and No. 9 Tyler Clark of Iowa State. Many of these ranked wrestlers haven't faced each other yet. There could be some significant shakeups in the next set of rankings. It's worth noting that Nickerson and Falck are both coming off of injuries, which would make for an interesting matchup if Iowa and Cornell were to meet in the finals. 5. Will there be a bracket buster? Last year, Nebraska was unseeded at made the finals. In 2003 it was Oklahoma. In 2002, Ohio State was in the championship from the No. 7 seed. With a field so rich in talent, it's far from unthinkable for an inspired team to make a Cinderella run for the title. Team upsets are often about how the specific strengths of one team match up against a seemingly superior one. And with so many teams not having faced each other this year, there can be many surprises. 6. Who will win the race for fifth place? If the top four seeds make the semis, the race for fifth place becomes just as interesting as the championship bracket. Penn State, Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State and Boise State all feature marquee wrestlers. Many interesting results will occur when all ten weights determine the winner. 7. Who will emerge as a new individual star? The National Duals have a history of turning the names of talented newcomers into stars. This event is late enough in the season that wrestlers not seasoned in the world of Division I wrestling can finally find their footing and the confidence to bring their games to previously-unseen levels. When looking at the careers of NCAA champions like Teyon Ware and Dustin Schlatter, one can't help but point to their performances as freshmen at the National Duals as moments when they became truly great. 8. Mike Pucillo vs. Jake Herbert? If the brackets were followed to the letter, these two NCAA champions could square off for the first time this season in the second round of consolations. 9. Who will be OW? The format of selecting the Outstanding Wrestler at the National Duals has a history of working against wrestlers on teams that make the finals. Each round a team competes in gives wrestlers on that team to earn a vote for OW. Because teams that place in the consolations wrestle more matches, their wrestlers have more chances to accrue OW votes. This format resulted in some head-scratching tallies, including Casey Cunningham of Central Michigan getting OW in 1999, despite suffering a loss in the event. How good is Rob Koll's team? We'll find out this weekend (Photo/Tech-Fall.com)10. How good is Cornell? Everyone's been talking about this being Cornell's year. Cornell is loaded this season, but has yet to field its strongest lineup. That lineup would include No. 1 Troy Nickerson at 125, No. 11 Mike Grey at 133, No. 4 Jordan Leen at 157, No. 1 Mack Lewnes at 165, No. 6 Steve Anceravage at 174, No. 15 Justin Kerber at 184, and No. 14 Zach Hammond at heavyweight. On paper, a dual between No. 2 Iowa State and Cornell would be very interesting, as would a final between the Big Red and the No. 1 Hawkeyes. But matches are not wrestled on paper and Cornell has to take care of business on the mat if they want to join the true upper echelon of college wrestling. Perhaps this weekend will be their coming out party.

Mike Chapman and Don Huff, both Waterloo, Iowa natives and two of the biggest impact players in the sport join our broadcast on January 7. Chapman is the founder and executive director of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute & Museum. Along with his wife, Bev, Mike has the run the museum since it originally opened in 1998. A member of five halls of fame, Mike had a distinguished career as a journalist and is the author of 21 books, 15 of those about wrestling. Among his many achievements, Mike created WIN Magazine and the Dan Hodge Trophy. Huff won two high school state championships as a Waterloo West High WaHawk in the late 1950s. He went on and competed collegiately at Colorado State College (now University of Northern Colorado at Greeley) and the University of Iowa. Huff had a fine coaching career at his high school alma mater where he served as an assistant to legendary Bob Siddens for 10 years before becoming the head coach in 1977. Huff's team won the state title in 1989 and he served as the head coach until 1998. The wrestling room at Waterloo West High School was recently named in Don Huff's honor. Huff is a true gentleman who continues to be a great ambassador for the sport. "On the Mat" can be heard live on the internet at www.kcnzam.com or locally in Northeast Iowa each Wednesday from 5:00 - 6:00 PM Central time on AM 1650, The Fan. Feel free to e-mail radio@wrestlingmuseum.org with any questions or comments about the show.

The top 20 poll, with points and the teams' last ranking: Rank School (State) Points Last Ranking 1. Nebraska-Omaha 159 1st 2. Newberry (S.C.) 143 5th 3. Nebraska-Kearney 142 3rd 4. Minnesota State-Mankato 141 2nd 5. Central Oklahoma 127 6th T6. Adams State (Colo.) 106 4th T6. Western State (Colo.) 106 7th 8. Upper Iowa 95 8th 9. Mercyhurst (Pa.) 94 10th 10. Wisconsin-Parkside 92 17th 11. Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 91 9th 12. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 69 12th 13. Findlay (Ohio) 64 13th 14. Chadron State (Neb.) 52 11th 15. Ashland (Ohio) 48 19th 16. West Liberty State (W. Va.) 38 14th 17. Central Missouri 32 20th 18. Augustana (S.D.) 30 18th 19. Minnesota State-Moorhead 18 15th 20. San Francisco State (Calif.) 9 NR Others receiving votes: Fort Hays State (Kan.), Gannon (Pa.), Limestone (S.C.), Shippensburg (Pa.) NCAA Division II Individual Rankings 125 Pounds 1. Curtis Schurkamp, San Francisco State 2. Arsenia Barksdale, Adams State (Colo.) 3. Devlon Webb, Chadron State (Neb.) 4. Tyler Mumbalo, Upper Iowa 5. Eddie Lopez, Western State (Colo.) 6. Matt Oliver, Newberry (S.C.) 7. Cody Zimmerman, Wisconsin-Parkside 8. Joe Werner, Minnesota State-Moorhead 133 Pounds 1. Joe Kemmerer, Kutztown (Pa.) 2. Cody Garcia, Nebraska-Omaha 3. John Putnam, Minnesota State-Mankato 4. Shane Valko, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 5. Michael Baxter, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 6. Marques Bravo, Western State (Colo.) 7. Grant Baker, Central Missouri 8. Tim Elliott, Central Oklahoma 141 Pounds 1. Raymond Dunning, Adams State (Colo.) 2. James Annon, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 3. Colby Robinson, Central Oklahoma 4. Travis Elg, Minnesota State-Mankato 5. Doug Surra, West Liberty State (W. Va.) 6. Mario Morgan, Nebraska-Omaha 7. Matt Irwin, Indianapolis (Ind.) 8. Tony Washington, Newberry (S.C.) 149 Pounds 1. Ryan Etherton, Nebraska-Kearney 2. Craig Becker, Wisconsin-Parkside 3. Tommy Abbott, Minnesota State-Mankato 4. Joey Deaguero, Adams State (Colo.) 5. Mike Long, Augustana (S.D.) 6. Esai Dominguez, Nebraska-Omaha 7. Latra Collick, Newberry (S.C.) 8. Kayne Melko, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 157 Pounds 1. Todd Meneely, Nebraska-Omaha 2. Travis Eggers, Upper Iowa 3. Noomis Jones, Adams State (Colo.) 4. Chase Walker, Mesa State (Colo.) 5. John Sundgren, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 6. Danny Grater, Fort Hay State (Kan.) 7. Keenan McCurdy, Nebraska-Kearney 8. Mitch Smith, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 165 Pounds 1. Kyle Keane, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 2. Josh Shields, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 3. Aaron Denson, Nebraska-Omaha 4. Tyler Tubbs, Minnesota State-Moorhead 5. Taylor May, Nebraska-Kearney 6. Corey VanGroll, Wisconsin-Parkside 7. Justin Shannon, Findlay (Ohio) 8. Tad Merritt, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 174 Pounds 1. Ross Taplin, Nebraska-Omaha 2. Marty Usman, Nebraska-Kearney 3. Justin Ferguson, Ashland (Ohio) 4. Jesse Feinsod, New Mexico Highlands 5. Brett Hunter, Chadron State (Neb.) 6. Larry Wilbanks, Western State (Colo.) 7. Tim Matheson, Minnesota State-Mankato 8. Mitch Norton, Upper Iowa 184 Pounds 1. Dan Scanlan, Limestone (S.C.) 2. Austin Boehm, Nebraska-Omaha 3. Brad Padgett, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 4. Hiram Smith, Findlay (Ohio) 5. Lucas Haag, Wisconsin-Parkside 6. Kyle Sand, Adams State (Colo.) 7. Charlie Pipher, Western State (Colo.) 8. Paul Sutton, Nebraska-Kearney 197 Pounds 1. Josh Majerus, Chadron State (Neb.) 2. Donavan McMahill, Western State (Colo.) 3. Jacob Marrs, Nebraska-Omaha 4. Josh Ohl, Ashland (Ohio) 5. Ty Copsey, Augustana (S.D.) 6. Keeno Griffin, Newberry (S.C.) 7. Derek Ross, Nebraska-Kearney 8. Malcolm Briggs, Wisconsin-Parkside 285 Pounds 1. Dustin Finn, Central Oklahoma 2. Cy Wainwright, Newberry (S.C.) 3. Brady Wilson, Minnesota State-Mankato 4. Tony Lewis, Nebraska-Omaha 5. Lynn Panko, Indianapolis (Ind.) 6. Cody Beck, Central Missouri 7. Travis Clark, Findlay (Ohio) 8. Trey Moss, Limestone (S.C.)

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ -- Bloomsburg University won seven of 10 bouts to beat Rider University, 26-10, on Tuesday in collegiate wrestling. The Huskies got off to a fast start winning the first six bouts, two by major decision and one by fall. Ian Moser (Dover, DE/Caesar Rodney) won at 125 pounds by a 13-4 score, while Jason Guffey (Muncy/Warrior Run) at 133, posted a 14-4 victory. Ricky Donald (Millville/Millville) won by decision 4-0 at 141 pounds before George Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/Riverside) won by fall in 4:36 at 149 pounds. Bloomsburg's Matt Moley (Phoenixville/Spring-Ford), ranked eighth in the country at 157, beat 17th-ranked Michael Kessler by a 4-0 score. At 165 pounds, Ricky Schmelyun (New Oxford/Bermudian Springs) won his 23rd match of the year by a 7-3 score, while Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin) at 197 pounds won the Huskies final match of the night by a 6-4 score. Bloomsburg, 4-4, will wrestle at Binghamton on Sunday at 2 p.m.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- University of Northern Iowa senior 165-pounder Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa/Anamosa HS) has been named the Western Wrestling Conference's Wrestler of the Week as announced by league officials. Fay posted a mark of 10-1 from Dec. 20-Jan. 3, which included a third-place finish at the prestigious Midlands Championships. Fay avenged his only loss this season, a quarterfinal tilt earlier in the tournament, to Wisconsin's No. 8-seeded Andrew Howe with a 9-3 triumph in the third-place match at Midlands. After dropping the match to Howe on Monday, Fay mowed down the competition Tuesday with four straight victories. Fay began the day with a 6-2 win over No. 6-seeded Trevor Stewart (Central Michigan). Fay took down another seed in No. 5 Luke Manuel (Purdue) with a 12-7 triumph. Fay then locked up with No. 2-seeded Nick Marable (Missouri) in the consolation semifinals and scored a 4-2 win over Marable. In the third-place match, Fay jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Howe responded with a third-period takedown to trim Fay's lead to 5-3, but Fay added an escape, a takedown and a riding time point to tally the 9-3 win. He added a trio of dual wins including a 17-1 technical fall over George Mason's Aaron Keeton, a fall at 1:48 over Buffalo's Ron Majerus and a fall at 4:52 over Cleveland State's Rob Michaels. Fay is 16-1 on the season and ranked No. 2 in the nation at 165 pounds. The Western Wrestling Conference is comprised of seven schools including the Air Force Academy, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State, Utah Valley and Wyoming. Other nominees: Utah Valley - Ben Kjar, 125 lbs., So., Centerville, Utah (Viewmont HS) Wyoming - Joe LeBlanc, 184 lbs, R-Fr., Meeker, Colo. (Meeker HS)

The pairings have been released for the Virginia Duals. The event gets underway on Friday at the Hampton Coliseum and concludes on Saturday. For complete results, click HERE. 2009 National College Division Pairings No. 1 Lehigh vs. Ohio University No. 8 Kent State vs. Bucknell No. 5 Penn vs. North Dakota State No. 4 Edinboro vs. Rider No. 3 Central Michigan vs. Liberty No. 6 Old Dominion vs. Northern Colorado No. 7 Virginia vs. Navy No. 2 Oklahoma State vs. Clarion 2009 American College Division Pairings No. 1 Brockport vs. St. Andrews Presbyterian No. 4 Duquesne vs. Anderson No. 3 Roger Williams vs. Apprentice School No. 2 Gannon vs. Wagner

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In a dual that came down to the final bout, junior Mike Galante earned a 9-5 decision over Mark Friend to lead No. 9 Lehigh to a 17-16 victory over No. 16 Penn State Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall. The Mountain Hawks trailed by two after nine bouts, but Galante racked up four takedowns in his victory, which improved the Brown and White to 12-0 on the season, matching the 1961-62 team for the best start in school history. "It was a great win for our guys," said Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro. "Rec Hall is a great place to wrestle. It's a tough place to wrestle and a tougher place to win. All year we have been finding ways to win the close matches and today was no different." The dual began at 174 with a wild battle between 14th ranked sophomore Alex Caruso and No. 15 Quentin Wright. Caruso scored the opening takedown in the first period but found himself trailing in the third. A second takedown and subsequent Wright escape tied the bout at five after regulation. In the sudden victory takedown, Wright shot a double-leg attempt and after a lengthy scramble netted the decisive takedown in a 7-5 win. Junior David Craig gave the Mountain Hawks the lead after two bouts with a 12-2 major decision over Jack Decker at 184. Leading 2-0 after one period, Craig reversed Decker in the second period and added a pair of tilts to build 9-1 lead. At 197, Lehigh extended its lead behind a dominant performance from freshman Joe Kennedy, who earned a 15-3 major over Clay Steadman. Kennedy scored the bouts first takedown late in the first period and added a pair of takedowns and a three point near fall to extend his lead in the second. Freshman Zach Rey continued the Mountain Hawks run with an 11-5 decision over Cameron Wade at heavyweight. The Nittany Lions gained four key points back as Brad Pataky won a 15-1 major decision over freshman John McDonald, but Lehigh maintained an 11-7 lead in the team standings at the halfway point of the dual. Penn State climbed within a point as Jake Strayer earned a 6-1 decision over junior Matt Fisk at 133, but classmate Seth Ciasulli extended the Lehigh lead with a 3-2 win over No. 20 Frank Molinaro at 141. They key to Ciasulli's win was a third period reversal and a riding time advantage gained in the second period. "We knew the matches at 174 and 141 would be toss-ups," noted Santoro. "We ended up splitting those two key matches, but the bonus points from 184 and 197 really helped us out. The Nittany Lions climbed back within one as defending NCAA runner-up Bubba Jenkins held off senior Trevor Chinn 7-2 at 149, and then Penn State took the lead as Dan Vallimont knocked off freshman Sean Bilodeau 9-4. In the deciding bout at 165 Galante converted a pair of first period takedowns and added a third in the second period. Friend spent most of the third period looking for a big move, but Galante would not allow it, and added one final score at the buzzer plus riding time advantage to lock up Lehigh's first victory over Penn State since January 7, 2005. The Mountain Hawks will return to the mats next Friday when they head to Hampton, Virginia to take part in the 27th Virginia Duals. Seeds and brackets for the 16-team dual tournament will be unveiled early next week, with wrestling action set to begin Friday at 9 a.m. All of Lehigh's Virginia duals matches will be broadcast live online at Lehighsports.com, with streaming audio powered by Yahoo! Sports College Broadcast.

TEMPE, Ariz. -- CSUB wrestlers won seven of 10 matches Sunday, claiming a big 36-15 dual victory over Pac-10 rival Arizona State in the Wells Fargo Arena. The Roadrunners improve to 4-3 overall and remain perfect in the Pac-10 with a 3-0 mark. Opening at 149, CSUB's Calvin Miller made quick work of ASU's Josh Calteux, earning a fall victory at 2:36 to put the 'Runners up 6-0. Trevor Hall followed with an 18-3 technical fall over Tejovan Edwards at 157 and Joey Granata pinned Kyle DeBerry in 4:50 at 165 to give CSUB a 17-0 advantage. Granata's pin was the junior's team-leading seventh of the season. At 174, Erik Starks gave the home team its first points of the night, claiming an 8-4 decision over Troy Goodban. But CSUB's Ernesto Ancona followed with a 6-2 decision over Jake Meredith at 184 and No. 16 nationally ranked Brandon Halsey improved to 12-1 on the season by pinning Jake Cranford at 197. In the heavyweight battle, Bakersfield's Mitch Monteiro went ahead 7-0 early, then ultimately earned a win by fall over Imanibom Etukeren to give the 'Runners a 32-3 lead. Monteiro, the No. 7 nationally ranked heavyweight, improved to 18-6 on the season. Redshirt freshman Frank Lomas put up a fight early against No. 8 ranked Anthony Robles, but the Sun Devil was able to put Lomas on his back, earning a pin victory for ASU at 125. Keeping the Sun Devils from claiming consecutive wins, Thomas Kimbrell scored early and often in a 17-4 major decision over Angel Alegre at 133. Arizona State's No. 5 ranked Chris Drouin closed things out with a fall victory over Anthony Box at 141. CSUB continues Pac-10 action Friday, traveling to San Louis Obispo to take on Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The 'Runers then travel to Stanford where they will face Drexel University and Columbia University in a pair of neutral site duals on Saturday.

The #9-ranked Mountain Cat wrestling team opened up a 23-6 lead after eight matches and cruised to a 23-13 victory at East Region rival Kutztown University, Monday night. Scott Morgan (125 lbs.) (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and Jon Moore (184 lbs.) (Leechburg, Pa.) both won by major decision to lead the Mountain Cats. Pitt Johnstown, also ranked #3 in the region, improved to 3-1 on the year. Ryan McIntyre (Claysburg, Pa.) dealt Bret Martinez an 8-1 loss at 149 lbs. to start the match, before Mazen Kholi (Allentown, Pa.) slipped by Chris Chambers 5-4 at 157 lbs. with a take-down as time was running out to increase the lead to 6-0. Kutztown came back to even the match with a forfeit victory at 165 lbs. That was as close at Kutztown would get, as the Mountain Cats won the next five bouts. Steve Makin (Portage, Pa.) increased the lead to 9-6 with a 3-2 decision over Sonny Flood at 174 lbs. Moore won a 13-2 major decision over Bobby Mort at 184 lbs, and Patrick Walsh (Leesport, Pa.) and Chris Dempsey (Sewickley, Pa.) both won by decision. Walsh scored a 5-0 win against Scott Snyder at 197 lbs., and Dempsey followed with a 3-1 decision over Kevin Bolinsky at heavyweight. Morgan then won an impressive 15-6 major decision over Clayton Youtz in the 125-lb. bout to put Pitt Johnstown up 23-6. Kutztown won the last two bouts to set the final score at 23-13. Joe Kemmerer, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 133 lbs., won an 11-0 major decision over Matt Scherich (West Finley, Pa.) and John Paukovits defeated Adam Whetstone (Claysburg, Pa.) 9-4 at 141 lbs. With the loss, Kutztown, ranked #6 in the East Region, fell to 3-2-1. The Mountain Cats travel to the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals at Northern Iowa University on Saturday and Sunday. Pitt Johnstown's next home match will take place on Friday, Jan. 30, at 7:00 p.m. when nationally-ranked Ashland (OH) University visits the Sports Center.

TDR's studios will be on the move again this week as we come to you LIVE from the UNI Dome on the campus of the Panthers of the University of Northern Iowa for the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. We have recently completed our partnership with LiveSportsVideo.com for our video and audio streaming. Visit them for the play by play and visuals of all but the finals. We will audio stream the finals for those of you with no cable or Sat. TV. Wrestling Fans Make sure you have signed up for your free account at Livesportsvideo.com in advance. 2009 Confirmed Teams Division I: Boise State, Buffalo, Cornell, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Wyoming. Division II: Carson-Newman (TN), Central Oklahoma, Chadron State (NE), Findlay (OH), Limestone (SC), Mercyhurst (PA), Minnesota State-Mankato, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Nebraska-Kearney, Nebraska-Omaha, Newberry (SC), Pitt-Johnstown, St. Cloud State (MN.), Upper Iowa, Western State (CO.), Wisconsin-Parkside. Division III: Augsburg (MN), Buena Vista (IA), Coe (IA), Concordia (MN), Cornell College (IA), Delaware Valley (PA), Dubuque (IA), Heidelberg (OH), Johnson & Wales (RI), Luther (IA), Ohio Northern, Olivet (MI), St. John's (MN), Wartburg (IA), Wabash (IN) Wisconsin-La Crosse. NAIA: Briar Cliff (IA), Campbellsville (KY), Cumberlands (TN), Dana College (NE), Dickinson State (ND), Great Falls (MT), Lindenwood (MO), McKendree (IL), Missouri Valley, Montana State-Northern, Morningside (IA), Northwestern Colle (IA), Notre Dame College (OH), Oklahoma City, Southern Oregon, University of the Cumberlands (KY). NJCAA: Colby Community College (Kan.), Ellsworth Community College (Iowa), Harper College (Ill.), Iowa Central Community College, Labette Community College (Kan.), Neosho County Community College (Kan.), North Iowa Area Community College, St. Louis- Meremec Community College . Women: Jamestown College, Lindenwood, Menlo, Missouri Valley, Northern Michigan, Oklahoma City, Pacific, University of the Cumberlands Broadcast Schedule: Saturday 9:00 AM CST to Completion Sunday 9:00 AM CST Championships between 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM CST

Wrestling 411 Radio will offer special weeklong coverage of the NWCA National Wrestling Duals from Cedar Falls, Iowa. The National Duals, held at the UNI Dome on the campus of Northern Iowa, will feature teams from Divisions I, II, III, NAIA, junior college, and women. Wrestling 411's coverage begins on Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 7 p.m., and concludes with a special post-finals highlight show at 5 p.m. on Sunday, January 10. There are 14 shows scheduled throughout the week. Jason Bryant and Kyle Klingman host the show. On January 6, 7, and 8, Wrestling 411 Radio will provide three live preview shows. Guests for these shows include Wyoming Head Coach Mark Branch, Coe College Head Coach Jon Oostendorp, and former two-time NCAA champion and 1980 Olympian Chuck Yagla. On Friday, January 9, Wrestling 411 Radio will broadcast live from the grand reopening of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum. The museum was destroyed by a flood this past summer and will be open to the public for the first time since June of 2008. Wrestling 411 Radio will provide live updates every two hours on January 10-11. Special guests will appear on the program both Saturday and Sunday. Visit www.intermatwrestle.com for live updates throughout the National Duals. For a complete schedule and a list of all teams competing, visit www.nationalduals.com. Fans can also visit www.livesportsvideo.com and www.collegewrestlingnetwork.com for additional coverage. Wrestling 411 Radio can be heard by visiting www.wrestling411.tv and clicking on the "Listen Live" link. All shows are archived on the site. Broadcast schedule: Tuesday, January 6, 2009 7 p.m. – National Duals Preview Show – Division I & II Guest – Mark Branch, University of Wyoming Head Wrestling Coach Wednesday, January 7, 2009 7 p.m. – National Duals Preview Show – Division III, NAIA, JUCO, Women Guest: Jon Oostendorp, Coe College Head Wrestling Coach Thursday, January 8, 2009 7 p.m. – Live from the Cedar Falls, Iowa Guest: Chuck Yagla, former two-time NCAA champion for the University of Iowa and this year's recipient of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement for Officials award. Friday, January 9, 2009 3 p.m. – Live from the grand reopening of the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. Scheduled to appear at the grand opening are six Olympic wrestling champions, including Bill Smith (1952), Doug Blubaugh (1960), Dan Gable (1972), Ben Peterson (1972), Ed Banach (1984), and Randy Lewis (1984). Ben Askren, 2008 Olympian and two-time NCAA champion for Missouri, Jim Raschke, pro wrestling legend and 1963 world bronze medalist, and Chuck Yagla are also scheduled to appear. Saturday, January 10, 2009 Live highlight shows at 10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m., and 8:45 p.m. Sunday, January 11, 2009 Live highlight shows at 10:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 2:35 p.m., and 5 p.m.

NEW YORK -- The Beat the Streets Wrestling Program hosted a holiday training camp for New York City high school wrestlers on December 29-31, 2008 and January 2, 2009 at the Beat the Streets Manhattan Training Center. Students had the opportunity to train over the holiday week and learn new technical skills, as well as take part in basic cardiovascular conditioning, drilling, and live wrestling. The intensive camp was free for New York City high school wrestlers currently participating in Beat the Streets. The four-day training camp featured prestigious guest clinicians who designed and led the workouts to help students hone their technique. The guest clinicians included Greg Strobel, two-time NCAA Champ for Oregon State, former coach at Lehigh University, 1996 Olympic Coach, and USA Wrestling National Teams Director; Bobby Pennotti, NCAA All American for Montclair State; Yero Washington, two-time All American at Fresno State and Assistant Coach at Columbia University; and Joe DeMeo, three-time World Team Coach who has coached over 300 national champions and is a Former Coach at Albany State. "The holiday training camp provides New York City high school wrestlers access to some of the most recognized wrestlers and coaches from across the country," said Brian Giffin, President and Executive Director of Beat the Streets. "This camp is one of the many opportunities Beat the Streets offers its students that exposes them to different aspects of wrestling. We are proud to see that many of our students dedicate their free time to learn more about the sport of wrestling. Beat the Streets will continue to do its part to provide them with the best tools to enable them to succeed." Founded in 2004, Beat the Streets' mission is to expand wrestling in the New York City Metropolitan area from beginner to the Olympic level. Approximately 3,500 boys and girls from New York City schools currently participate in Beat the Streets after-school programs. Beat the Streets recently helped raise more than $2 million, the largest contribution to any school sport in the history of New York City's public schools. The organization works closely with a wide range of partners including coaches, school administrators, and current and former professional athletes to provide opportunities for children of diverse backgrounds to participate in opportunities beyond its own programs, including wrestling clinics, tournaments and summer camps. Please visit www.beat-the-streets.org for more information on the Beat the Streets Wrestling Program.

Dylan Ness is a different cat. That's the way Gordy Morgan, a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman Team who has known Dylan since he was a little boy, describes him with a chuckle. Dylan Ness won USA Wrestling's Triple Crown in 2008 (Photo/The Guillotine)Dylan's wrestling coach at Bloomington Kennedy High School, Chuck Vavrosky, describes him as a happy-go-lucky kid until it's time to wrestle. Then the other side of Dylan comes out. The side that makes him one of the most feared high school wrestlers in the country. In 2008, Dylan claimed USA Wrestling's Triple Crown in the cadet division by winning a national title in all three styles of wrestling (folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman), a feat that has only been accomplished five times ever in the cadet division. He crushed the competition at the prestigious Cadet Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota in July, going a combined 17-0 in the Greco-Roman and freestyle competition with 10 technical falls and four pins. Dylan was also Triple Crown winner as a schoolboy in 2006. Between 2007 and 2008, Dylan won a combined five national titles (two in folkstyle, two in Greco-Roman, and one in freestyle) as a cadet. Growing up a Ness It's not hard to figure out why Dylan Ness took an immediate liking to the sport of wrestling. By the time he started wrestling with the Bloomington Athletic Association, when he was in kindergarten, wrestling had already become a way of life for the Ness family. Dylan's older brother by five years, Jayson, now a two-time All-American and NCAA runner-up at the University of Minnesota, was racking up trophies at state and national events. Dylan's father, Jay, grew up a hockey player in Minneapolis. His mother, Sally, grew up in Plymouth. The couple moved to Bloomington because of the reputation of the hockey programs in the city. In Bloomington, kids aren't allowed to start playing organized hockey until second grade. During the summer, when Jayson was young, Sally would take him to the park regularly. In the winter, she would bring him to the McDonald's indoor playground. But that wasn't enough. She felt that Jayson needed more activity. Sally noticed that when Jayson would play tag with the other kids, he always needed breaks because he would be out of breath (He was initially diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, although it was later determined that he was misdiagnosed and had asthma.) "I'm like, 'Jay, we can't wait until second grade," recalled Sally Ness. "He needs to get some exercise.'" Sally soon found out that in Bloomington kids could start wrestling in kindergarten. So instead of waiting until second grade to start playing organized hockey, she signed Jayson up for wrestling. After all, it was only $25 to join, plus Bloomington had a strong wrestling tradition. Bloomington Kennedy High School was a wrestling powerhouse in the late 70s and early 80s. The Eagles qualified for the state team tournament from 1978 to 1986, winning state titles in 1980 and 1984, and produced standout wrestler likes the Morgan brothers (John, Gordy, and Marty), and Joel Sharratt. Once Jayson signed up for wrestling, Jay took the attitude of, "OK, if my son is going to be a wrestler, I'm going to do everything I can to help him be successful." So Jay Ness, who had never seen a wrestling match until Jayson started wrestling, literally became a sponge. He soaked up as much information as he could about wrestling by reading books, going to practices, and picking the brains of great wrestling minds throughout Minnesota, people like the Morgan brothers, Brandon Paulson, John Thorn, Pat Zilverberg, and Pat Bigboy. Gordy Morgan (Photo/The Guillotine)"I could tell their family loved wrestling," said Gordy Morgan, who has served as the head freestyle coach of the Minnesota Storm Wrestling Club since 2001. "They would ask me a bunch of questions. Before we knew it, we were friends." Jay picked up a wrestling mat to put in the basement so the Ness boys and their friends could practice at home. Gordy, who lived nearby, would come over to their house and work on technique with Jayson, while Jay took notes, and Dylan and Gordy's son, Ben, played together. "I would show Jayson stuff, and then when I would get done, I would say, 'OK, Jayson, I'm showing you this stuff now, but I want you to be able to show Dylan and Ben this stuff someday,'" recalled Gordy. Jay and Sally Ness were supportive wrestling parents to the core. They were not only there for their own kids, but also for other kids. When other parents weren't able to take their kids to the wrestling tournaments, Jay and Sally would take care of it. They fed the kids dinner, let them practice on the wrestling mat in their basement, let them stay overnight, and took them to the tournaments. You name it, they did it. Jay took Dylan and Jayson to wrestling tournaments and camps all over the country. Dylan was successful from the get go. And he loved every minute of it. He won his first national title, in Greco-Roman, as a novice (12 and under). Dylan was winning and creating a unique wrestling style in the process. "Dylan was a scrapper," recalled Brad Pike, a two-time All-American for the University of Minnesota, who started coaching Dylan in the Bloomington Wrestling Club in 1998. "He was unpredictable. You didn't know what his next move would be or the next thing he was going to try. He wasn't just a basic wrestler. He did the moves his own way. He was successful wrestling that style, but in a way, it was sometimes harder to coach him because he had his own take on how to do the moves. He didn't do the moves the way someone would traditionally do the moves. He always liked to use a little more funk." Dylan's matches were wild and high scoring. Points would be flying around everywhere. Gordy would often times say to Jay, as the two sat in Dylan's corner, "You watch the scoreboard. I'll coach the match." The stories of young Dylan Ness are comical. Like the first time he went to Tulsa Nationals as a kindergartner, got pinned in 20 seconds, threw a fit and refused to get off the mat, and then told Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson, who was coaching him at the time, that he's the worst coach ever and doesn't know anything about wrestling. (The two are now friends.) Or the time he showed up at the kids state tournament with a blue Mohawk given to him by Josh Holiday, and when he wrestled his matches, the blue dye from his hair would get on his opponents' singlets. Or the time he tried to impress Marty Morgan, when Jayson was being recruited to the University of Minnesota, by putting his national championship trophy and straight-A report card on the table for the then-Gopher head assistant coach to see. Or the other time he tried to impress Marty Morgan, while Jayson was being recruited, by flexing his 12-year-old muscles and shouting, "Hey Marty, recruit this!" A short time later, after Dylan asked for his dad's help to get a pickle jar open, Marty looked over at Dylan and said, "Hey Dylan, when you can beat the pickle jar, we'll start recruiting you." Wrestling at Bloomington Kennedy Dylan broke into the varsity lineup at Bloomington Kennedy as an eighth-grader weighing only 90 pounds. He posted a 23-13 record as an undersized 103-pounder, placed third in the section tournament, and missed qualifying the state tournament by one match. The next season, as a freshman, Dylan went 39-3 and placed third at the state tournament at 103 pounds. Last season, Dylan compiled a 40-2 record and once again placed third again at the state tournament, this time at 119 pounds. Dylan's only loss at the state tournament came to Apple Valley phenom Destin McCauley, a sophomore who is on track to become Minnesota's first six-time state champion. Dylan Ness lost in the state semifinals last season to Apple Valley phenom Destin McCauley, but came back to place third (Photo/The Guillotine)Against McCauley, Dylan went for the big move at the beginning of the match, a throw, and it backfired. He quickly found himself down 5-0. A five-point deficit against a wrestler as skilled and savvy as McCauley is virtually impossible to come back from. McCauley, who won a Cadet Nationals title in Fargo last summer, cruised to a 15-4 victory. "I think Dylan learned a lot from that match," said Jayson, who was in Dylan's corner coaching him in that match. "He has learned to slow things down. He comes out with a lot more confidence in his matches now. He is just a lot better at attacking. In that match, Dylan came out slow and a little bit scared. He went for the homerun move and he didn't need it. He learned there is a time to use the big moves, or junk, and there is a time to wrestle solid and stay in good position." Vavrosky, who has been the head wrestling coach at Bloomington Kennedy since 1986, also questioned Dylan's match strategy against McCauley. Recalled Vavrosky, "I asked Dylan, ‘Did you think you had to have a big move to beat Destin? Or did you just think that big move was there?' Because in order to beat someone of Destin's caliber, you have to be very sound technically with your basic stuff. That's how you're going to beat him. A big move will not beat a wrestler of his caliber on most occasions." Off-season success Those close to Dylan believe that loss to McCauley at the state tournament helped fuel him in the spring and summer tournaments. Dylan admits it himself. "That loss helped me a lot because I knew that I wrestled really bad," said Dylan. "I had to come back. I knew that I could do a lot better than that and felt that I could prove it in the spring and summer." Dylan Ness (Photo/The Guillotine)Last April, Dylan went out to Cedar Falls and won USA Wrestling's Folkstyle Nationals with a pin in the championship match. In June, he went 6-0 at the Cadet National Duals (Greco-Roman) in Kansas City, and was named to the All-Tournament Team. Then, in July, Dylan capped off the Cadet Triple Crown by winning Cadet Nationals in freestyle and Greco-Roman in Fargo. "Watching Dylan wrestle in Fargo last summer was incredible," said Jay. "That's the most confidence I've ever seen him show on the mat. I think he matured. He really felt that he could do what he set out to do. It was a lot of fun watching him." Brotherly love Dylan and Jayson are each other's biggest supporters. They grew up always doing things together. The sport of wrestling has only brought the two brothers closer together. In some families, there is rivalry between siblings. That is not the case with Dylan and Jayson. There is only love, support, and friendship. The two brothers have remained close despite the five-year difference in age. "It's great to see Dylan accomplish some of the things I could never do," said Jayson. "It goes to show that all the hard work he has put in, and all the time he has spent following me around, is paying off. It shows that he has actually been paying attention and learning things." Jayson has passed on a lot of what he has learned in the sport to Dylan, just like Gordy asked him to do over a decade ago. Unfortunately for Gordy, his signature half nelson series he showed Jayson when he was a little guy … Well, Jayson passed it on to Dylan, who used it to pin Gordy's son, Ben, a state champion for Forest Lake High School, two years in a row in the finals of the St. Francis Invitational. Not only has Jayson passed on wrestling skills to Dylan, but also things off the mat. "Jayson would always fold his clothes when he would go out to wrestle," said Sally. "It was about respecting everything around you. So Jayson told Dylan that. And now Dylan folds other people's clothes when they wrestle. It's just a respect thing. It's not from me. It was passed on from Jayson to Dylan." Jayson has wowed crowds at wrestling events for many years because of his on-the-mat exploits. Last season, he pinned 20 opponents, tying Marty Morgan's single-season pin record at the University of Minnesota, using Gordy's signature half nelson series for many of the pins. Jayson, because of his humility and pinning prowess, has become a fan favorite not only for Minnesota wrestling fans, but also wrestling fans throughout the country. Jayson often times acknowledges his hometown fans after he gives them what they came to see. Last season, Jayson Ness tied Marty Morgan's single season pin record at the University of Minnesota (Photo/University of Minnesota Sports Information)"It might appear like Jayson likes the spotlight, but I don't think he does," said Sally. "I think Jayson noticed that when other people didn't acknowledge somebody, it didn't look right. The crowd came to see you, so you should acknowledge them. They are there for you, so don't shy away. And then Jayson told Dylan that. So Dylan has picked it up at an earlier age, to respect the people out there who come to see you." Even though Jayson has passed on many things he has learned to Dylan, the two brothers are much different in many respects both on and off the mat. Dylan is a free spirit who just goes with the flow, while Jayson is much more organized and prefers structure. Dylan's wrestling style is wide open with a lot of flair. Jayson's wrestling style is controlled with virtually no flair. "I think they're very different," said Vavrosky. "Jayson comes at you with a total work ethic. He's all business, whereas Dylan is a happy-go-lucky kid. He's having a good time in the wrestling room, but yet he's working at becoming a better wrestler all the time." Gordy also sees those differences in the two brothers. "If you wanted to pick a kid who is a textbook, straight-and-narrow wrestler, by the book, no frills, that's Jayson," said Gordy. "He just works hard and doesn't ever really go out of the box. If you look at Dylan, he's out of the box. He thinks out of the box, so the stuff he does is out of the box. But he makes sure it will work for him." Now and the future Dylan moved up four weight classes from last season when he competed at 119 pounds. He's now competing at 140 pounds in his junior season. On December 20, Dylan won the Minnesota Christmas Tournament in Rochester, which is Minnesota's premier midseason individual tournament. In the finals, Dylan won 11-4 over Hofstra recruit Luke Vaith of Hastings High School. "I tell you what … It's unbelievable how his mentality has changed this season," said Pike, who has been an assistant coach at Bloomington Kennedy since 2001. "He has grown up a lot. He has filled into his body. And he's very focused." Dylan, who is ranked as the eighth best high school junior in the U.S. across all weight classes by RevWrestling.com, is still looking for that elusive state title after losing in the state semifinals the past two seasons. Dylan Ness has given a verbal commitment to wrestle at the University of Minnesota (Photo/The Guillotine) "It's really important to me to win the state title," said Dylan. "I have finished third the last two years. I just want to get to the top of the podium and prove that I can win state. I've done the national stuff. Now I have to get the state title." Although Dylan is still only a junior in high school, he has verbally committed to wrestle at the University of Minnesota after high school. "I just wanted to get done with it early," said Dylan of his verbal commitment. "I don't want to have to deal it with next year as a senior. I don't have to look at other schools. I can just worry about wrestling and having fun. The U is close to home. My brother is there. I know all the coaches and the guys. So it's just nice." So what are Dylan's wrestling aspirations after high school? "I want to win an NCAA title and hopefully make it to the Olympics and do well there." Please Note: This story also appears in the January 2 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.

Three Huskers posted six bonus-point victories to propel the No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team to dual wins over No. 15 Michigan (22-13) and Northern Colorado (39-3) in front of more than 960 fans at the NU Coliseum on Sunday. Jordan Burroughs, Stephen Dwyer and Craig Brester collected four major decisions and two technical falls between them to move Nebraska to a perfect 6-0 in duals this season. The Wolverines and Bears dropped to 3-3 and 1-5-1, respectively. Wrestling at 157 pounds, Burroughs opened with five takedowns in the first period against Michigan's Aaron Hynes en route to a 24-8 technical fall over the Wolverine and posted a 19-8 major decision over Northern Colorado's Justin Gaethje in his second match of the day. Gaethje wrestled the junior from Sicklerville, N.J., close until Burroughs exploded for six takedowns in the final period to take a commanding lead. Burroughs is now 14-0 on the season and is second on the team with seven major decisions. Dwyer accomplished the same feat at 165 pounds, collecting a major decision and technical fall to improve to a 14-1 record. The junior racked up more than two minutes of riding time against UM's Just Zeerip for a 9-1 major decision and recorded three nearfalls to earn a 23-6 technical fall over Northern Colorado's Tanner Weiks. Dwyer leads the Huskers with three technical falls and has five major decisions. Brester continued thrashing opponents at 197 pounds by adding two more major decisions to his 15-0 record. The junior from Howells, Neb., downed Michigan's Erich Smith 15-4 courtesy of a six-point first period and notched four takedowns in the first period against UNC's Patrick Carey en route to a 19-6 victory. Brester has posted bonus-point victories in 14 of his 15 matches this season and is tied for the team lead with seven major decisions. Redshirt freshman Tucker Lane won a 4-1 decision over UM's Chad Bleske before pinning Justin Tuell of Northern Colorado in 4:15 at heavyweight, while Patrick Aleksanyan (133) and Robert Sanders (149) also posted perfect 2-0 records on the day to help solidify NU's lower weights. Freshman Jon Burns made his career debut against Michigan, but lost an 8-0 major decision to fourth-ranked Kellen Russell at 141 pounds. Burns bounced back by pinning Northern Colorado's Lance Gallegos in 2:53. Vince Jones and Brandon Browne also lost one match on the day to a ranked opponent. Top ranked Steve Luke of Michigan defeated Browne 6-2, while No. 11 Anthony Biondo earned a 9-6 decision over Jones. Both Huskers earned victories over Northern Colorado opponents in their second matches of the day. Nebraska returns to action next weekend at the NWCA National Duals at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No. 6 Ohio State wrestling team opened the New Year with a 20-15 win over Kent State Sunday night in St. John Arena. The Buckeyes came back from a 13-15 score going into the final two matches to hold off the Golden Flashes. The Buckeyes began their rally at 149 when fourth-ranked Lance Palmer defeated Clint Sponseller, Ohio State's Colt Sponseller's brother, in a 9-0 major decision and gave the Buckeye a 17-15 lead going into the final match. In the first period, Palmer took down Sponseller at 2:05 to get the early 2-0 lead. Palmer went on to take down Sponseller again in the third period with 59 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Palmer holds a 10-2 record this season. The final match, Ohio State's No. 15 Jason Johnstone and Ross Tice battled at 157 for the outright team victory. Tice opened the match with a take down, but Johnstone took the lead after an escape and a take down to give him a 2-1 lead to end the first period. The second period ended with a 6-2 score in Ohio State's favor. The match ended with a total of three take downs for Johnstone in a 9-3 victory and sealed the win for the Buckeyes. In the first two matches, two members of the Buckeye squad won in major decisions and gave Ohio State an early lead. In 165, Colt Sponseller defeated Obie Simpson and posted five take downs to finish with a final 12-4 score. In 184, top-ranked Mike Pucillo held off No. 6 Dustin Kilgore with a 6-1 win to extend Ohio State's lead to 10-0. Pucillo recorded two take downs and an escape. Kent State, however, battled back into the match with three upsets against the Buckeyes. In heavyweight, No. 14 Corey Morrison of Ohio State was upset by Jermail Porter in a 4-3 decision. Morrison was ahead after two periods, 3-1, but Porter was able to take down Morrison with 15 seconds remaining and claimed 1:15 in riding time to close the match. Morrison moved to 12-5 this season. With a 5-2 final, Ohio State's No. 18 Nikko Triggas was upset by Nic Bedelyon. Triggas was taken down in the final minute to claim the victory for Bedelyon. Triggas is 13-6 on the season. The Golden Flashes took the lead after No. 12 J Jaggers was pinned by Kent State's Drew Lashaway to make the score 15-13 in Kent State's favor. Ohio State continues its win streak with a 4-0 record, while Kent State fell to 3-2 record. The Buckeyes will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the National Duals Jan. 10-11.

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas -- The No. 11th-ranked Oklahoma wrestling team breezed through the Lonestar Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas, Saturday, easily defeating North Carolina (27-3), Nebraska-Kearney (32-7), Appalachian State (43-3) and Stanford (35-3) to improve to 11-0 on the year. Winning 35 of 40 possible matches, Oklahoma outscored its opponents by a 137-16 margin, or an average of 34-4. All individually-ranked Sooners went unbeaten at the Texas tournament, including four wins each for No. 9-ranked Jeff James (174 pounds) and No. 19 Nathan Fernandez (285). Picking up three wins were No. 13 Joey Fio (125 pounds), No. 14 Kyle Terry (149), No. 13 Eric Lapotsky (197) and No. 19 Flynn (184). Oklahoma flexed its depth, as 17 Sooners took the mat on the day, including three-time All-American Will Rowe, J.R. Roman, Seth Vernon, Kyle Bergstedt, Chad Terry, Brian Shelton and Josh Hinton. The reserves went 8-3 on the day. The 11 wins so far this season marks the 14th consecutive campaign the Sooners have posted 10 or more wins under head coach Jack Spates. The team is off to its best start since 1985, when Stan Abel's squad began the year 12-0. The Sooners will look to remain unbeaten on the season when it hits the road to Chattanooga, Tenn., next Sunday, Jan. 11, at 1 p.m.

DICKINSON, N.D. -- Claiming six champions and co-champions to go along with 18 placewinners, the Augsburg College wrestling team claimed victory at the Dickinson State University Blue Hawk Classic on Saturday at Dickinson State. Augsburg, ranked No. 7 in the latest NCAA Division III national rankings, collected 149.5 team points to win the title, ahead of second-place Dickinson State (N.D.), the No. 4-ranked team in the latest NAIA national rankings, with 76.5 points. Chadron State (Neb.), ranked No. 11 in the latest NCAA Division II national rankings, was third with 70.0 points, and the University of Great Falls (Mont.), ranked No. 3 in the NAIA, was fourthy with 65.5 points. Concordia-Moorhead, ranked No. 21 in Division III, was fifth with 60.0 points. Augsburg's Travis Lang (SR, Bismarck, N.D.), the top-ranked wrestler in Division III at 133 pounds, continued his dominant start to the season with two first-period pins to share the title at 133 with teammate Alex Johnson (FY, Foxhome, Minn./Breckenridge HS). Lang, now 20-0 on the season, has recorded 18 bonus-point triumphs -- 14 pins, two major decisions and two technical falls. Andy Witzel (JR, Fulda, Minn.), ranked No. 3 at heavyweight, improved to 19-1 on the season with three wins, including two pins, to share his weight class title with teammate Tyson Barrett (JR, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS). Jason Adams (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.), ranked No. 9 nationally at 157, collected three wins, including a 15-0, technical-fall win in his opening match and a 57-second pin in the finals, to win his weight class crown. Zach Molitor scored the 174-pound title for the Auggies with three wins, including a 5-0 win over Chadron State's Brett Hunter, currently ranked No. 5 in Division II, in the finals. Brandon Bahr (FY, Bemidji, Minn.) placed second for the Auggies at 165, while three Auggies placed third in their weight classes -- Zach Hansen (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 149, Orlando Ponce at 157 and Beau Hansen (SO, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 165. Placing fourth for Augsburg were Tony Valek (FY, Belle Plaine, Minn./Scott West) at 141, Brett Landrum (SO, Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata HS) at 165, Matt Curtis (JR, Coon Rapids, Minn.) at 174 and Brad Baus (FY, Mukwonago, Wis.) at 184. Placing fifth for Augsburg were Garrett Long (JR, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS) at 184 and Andy Peterson (JR, Grand Marais, Minn./Milaca HS) at 197, and Freddie Vigil (JR, Bakersfield, Calif./South HS) placed sixth at 125, as did Trenton Larrieu (FY, Spring Valley, Wis.) at 174. Augsburg returns to action next Saturday and Sunday (1/10-11) at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Division III National Duals at the University of Northern Iowa's UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Central Michigan won eight of 10 individual bouts en route to a 29-6 nonconference dual win at Michigan State on Saturday. The win was CMU's eighth straight over the Spartans. The Chippewas (5-1), ranked 12th in the most recent NWCA/InterMat poll, have won 13 of their last 14 duals dating back to last season. Freshman Scotti Sentes put CMU in front for good with a major decision at 125 pounds. Sentes scored a takedown and three-point nearfall in both the first and third periods in an 11-0 shutout of Eric Olanowski. Sentes improved to 11-3 on the year with the win. Franklin Gomez, the nation's top-ranked 133 pounder, scored an 11-4 decision over CMU's Conor Beebe. From there, however, the Chippewas won seven of the match's final eight bouts to win going away. Tony D'Alie stretched CMU's lead to 10-3 by pinning Colin Dozier at 141 pounds. D'Alie was leading, 11-5, when he stuck Dozier with 44 seconds remaining in the third period. Steve Brown and Tyler Grayson then scored decisions at 149 and 157 pounds, respectively. Grayson forced overtime with an escape late in the third period, then won the match with a takedown and two-point nearfall in sudden victory. A trio of third-period takedowns led to an 11-3 major decision at 165 pounds for Trevor Stewart over Rex Kendle. Mike Miller then used a second-period escape and riding time to grind out a 2-0 decision against Ian Hinton at 174 pounds. Michigan State's only other victory came at 184 pounds, where Nick Palmieri posted an 8-6 decision against Vince DiDona. Palmieri scored two takedowns in the first period and another in the third. Eric Simaz and Jarod Trice delivered decisions at 197 pounds and heavyweight for CMU. Simaz used a second-period reversal and riding time to claim his 3-1 victory, while a takedown in the final minute helped Trice secure his 4-1 decision at heavyweight. CMU is back in action next weekend, competing in the Virginia Duals. The two-day tournament begins Friday, Jan. 9.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The University of Northern Iowa wrestling squad picked up a pair of dual wins on Saturday with triumphs over Buffalo (28-6) and Cleveland State (32-10) to run its current dual win streak to four in a row. Head coach Brad Penrith said he was pleased with his team's effort in earning the two victories. "We performed well and it was a good challenge to have back-to-back duals," Penrith said. "It was nice to get some new guys in there and get those guys some wins." A couple of the 'new' guys Penrith referred to really aren't new to the Panther program as both senior Alex Dolly (184 lbs.) and junior Brett Robbins (149 lbs.) returned to the mat for the first time this season. Dolly was wrestling for the first time since earning a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA, while Robbins was wrestling for the first time in nearly two years after elbow surgery and a knee injury sidelined him. Dolly picked up a pair of dual wins as he scored a 7-2 victory over Buffalo's Mickey Moran and a then notched a 22-6 technical fall over Cleveland State's Derek Cummins. Robbins' win came at 149 pounds against Cleveland State when he secured a 7-1 victory over the Vikings' Antonio Nicholson. Robbins was impressive in his debut as the only point he allowed was a third period escape after he had already steadied himself with a 6-0 lead. UNI senior Moza Fay recorded a pair of falls on the day at 165 pounds to improve to 16-1 on the season. Fay scored a first-period fall over Buffalo's Ron Majerus at the 1:48 mark. Fay then came back with a second-period pin of Cleveland State's Rob Michaels at the 4:52 mark of the second dual. Sophomore Caleb Flores (125 lbs.) also tallied two wins on the day but he had to work a little longer than Fay for his victories. Flores scored a 6-3 win over Buffalo's Dan Bishop, but then had to rally late against Cleveland State's Jordan Keller. Keller led 1-0 in the final seconds before Flores was able to score a takedown and claim the 2-1 win. Sophomore Trevor Kittleson (157 lbs.) earned two dual wins. Kittleson scored a 15-2 major decision over Buffalo's John-Martin Cannon and followed it up with a 10-5 decision over Cleveland State's Carey Carlo. The Panthers were also scheduled to take on Gardner-Webb in their third dual of the day. However, Gardner-Webb could not make the trip to Cleveland because of inclement weather in North Carolina. The Panthers improved to 4-2 on the season. UNI will be in action Jan. 10-11 as it hosts the 2009 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals presented by Hibiclens.

PHOENIX -- The Arizona State University wrestling team won nine of 10 bouts and scored bonus points in seven of those bouts to easily hand host Grand Canyon a 41-6 defeat in dual conducted inside Antelope Gym on the GCU campus in Phoenix. The Sun Devils, wrestling as the visiting team on an in-state opponents mats for the fist time since 1993, improved to 4-2 overall on the year while the host 'Lopes slipped to 0-6. The last time the Sun Devils were the guests of another Arizona institution was on December 17, 1993, when ASU traveled to Phoenix College and handed its hosts a 40-0 blanking. The victory today improves the Sun Devils to 2-0-0 all-time in the series with the 'Lopes and gives ASU an all-time record of 60-9-0 against teams from the state of Arizona. The win at GCU also marked the 40th in a row over an Arizona school and the 18th in a row on the road. The dual opened at 157 pounds where Michael Swigart scored a 12-1 major decision to stake the visitors to an early 4-0 lead. At 165 pounds, Kyle DeBerry secured a major decision victory of his own as he downed Jack Porter, 11-0. Leading 8-0 in the team race, Eric Starks took a 7-0 decision at 174, putting ASU on top, 11-0. At 184 pounds, Jake Meredith recorded an early takedown and worked for back points before flipping his opponent, Adam Barnett, onto his back for the win by fall in 1:44. Jake Cranford, who recently moved up in weight to 197, picked-up the Sun Devils' third major decision win of the day, taking care of Brian Cooper, 10-2. Leading 21-0 in the team standings, the Sun Devils put the team victory out of reach as the ‘Lopes gave forfeit victories to Imanibom Etukeren at heavyweight and No. 8 Anthony Robles at 125. Those two wins, both worth six teams points, pushed the visitor's advantage to 33-0. Clinging to a shut-out victory in the team race, ASU was tested at 133 pounds where Angel Alegre and former Sun Devil Alex Contreras battled. Contreras scored a two-point reversal in the second period before Alegre escaped and then added his second escape to the start the third to tie the score at 2-2. In the overtime period, both men looked for the win when Contreras shot in. Alegre sprawled and eventually gained control to move behind for the takedown and a 4-2 victory. No. 5 Chris Drouin followed that ASU victory with a technical fall win of his own, downing his opponent, 16-1, in 5:24. With one bout remaining, ASU was looking for its second shut out of the year, but a scramble on the mat put Josh Calteux into a tough position where he was caught for the pin fall at 2:19, giving GCU's Bryan Scambler the win and bringing the final team score to 41-6. ASU will wrestled again on Sunday evening when Pac-10 rival CS Bakersfield (3-3, 2-0 Pac-10) invades Wells Fargo Arena for a 6 p.m. dual.

The University of Minnesota wrestling team went 3-0 in dual meet action at the Lone Star Duals on Saturday in Dallas, Texas. The Gophers defeated Army (26-15), Air Force (41-3) and Harvard (28-20) to improve their dual meet record to 6-2 this season. Zach Sanders and Jayson Ness each posted 3-0 records on the day to pace the Gophers. Chris McPhail recorded pins on both of his matches at 197 pounds and Ben Berhow (Hwt.) was also unbeaten, notching major decision wins in both of his matches. Sanders, ranked seventh in the most recent NWCA/InterMat poll at 125 pounds, improved his record to 20-1 with his three wins on Saturday. Sanders' pin in his match with Air Force's Andrew Zwirlein was his fourth of the season. His 20 wins this season leads the team. Two of Ness' three wins on the day came via pin. The two-time All-American boosted his 2008-09 record to 19-1 with 13 pins. Ness pinned Army's Whitt Dunning in just 1:43 and Air Force's Derek Gillespie in 2:32. The Bloomington, Minn. native needs just seven more pins this season to match his school record 20 pins he set last season. Minnesota opened their day with a 26-15 win over Army. Sanders got things started for the Gophers with a 20-8 major decision victory over Army's Travis Coffey and Ness followed with his first pin of the day over Dunning to push the Gopher lead to 10-0 through two matches. The Gophers also got a pin from Matt Everson at 165 pounds, a major decision win by Safratowich at 157 pounds, and decision wins from Mike Thorn (141 pounds) and Sonny Yohn (184 pounds) to secure the dual win over the Black Knights. Against Air Force, the Gophers parlayed pins from Sanders, Ness and Chris McPhail (197 pounds) to cruise to a 41-3 win. A technical fall win from Safratowich at 157 pounds and major decision victories from Thorn (141 pounds), Brent Eidenschink (184 pounds) and Ben Berhow (Hwt.) helped the Gophers rack up their second-highest dual meet team point total of the season against the Falcons. The Gophers required a comeback to defeat Harvard 28-20 in their final dual of the day. Minnesota opened up a 9-0 lead on the strength of a forfeit win by Zach Sanders at 125 pounds and an 8-2 decision victory by Ness over Harvard's Thomas Picarsic at 133. The Crimson bounced back with a pin by second-ranked Corey Jantzen over Thorn at 141 pounds, a technical fall win by Walter Peppelman over Brian Peterson at 149 pounds and a narrow 3-2 decision victory by No. 3 J.P. O'Connor over Safratowich at 157 pounds to vault to a 14-9 lead. The Gophers responded with wins in four of the last five matches, including a pin by Chris McPhail in just 2:35 over Sean Murphy at 197 pounds and a 18-7 major decision win by Berhow in the heavyweight bout to seal the victory. Minnesota returns to action next weekend at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Gophers' next home dual is set from Jan. 25 against Michigan State at the Sports Pavilion. Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER or by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080.

PHILADELPHIA -- No. 23 Penn put on quite a display in The Palestra on Saturday, scoring 129 points over three duals en route to a perfect 3-0 day at the Penn Duals. The Quakers opened the day with a 42-9 win over Delaware State, then followed that with a 49-0 shutout of Franklin & Marshall and ended the day with a 38-7 victory over East Stroudsburg. 19 matches ended with bonus points for the Red and Blue, including all five victories from the Rappo brothers. Older brother Rick picked up a forfeit victory in the dual with F&M and then added a pin of ESU's Matthew Rizzo at the 3:44 mark of their match. Younger brother Mark did Rick one better, scoring bonus points in all three of his bouts. He started the day with a pin at 4:19 over Delaware State's Wilson Williams. In his second bout, he scored a 17-2 technical fall win over F&M's Stephen Sabreen at the 5:23 mark. He capped his remarkable day with his second pinfall, needing just 3:23 to capture ESU's David Luthy on the mat. Matt Dragon continued his impressive 2008-09 season, picking up two tech fall wins in his two matches. Dan Zander went 2-1 on the day with two pinfall wins. Penn ups its dual record to 4-1 heading into next weekend's Virginia Duals.